HERMENE WANIEK KAISER /FERDINAND KAISER
By:
Florence Frances Kaiser Zimmerman
Hermene Waniek Kaiser was born in Vienna Austria in Feb 9, 1885, and was 19 years old when she came to America. Ferdinand Kaiser was born in Czechoslovakia, Austria, in 1880, and came to this country when he was 18 yrs old. He was in America for two years, saving enough money to send for Hermene. Her family had the money to send her but, it was Ferdinand who paid to bring her over. After she arrived in America they stayed with dads cousins. I don't know when his cousins came over. A couple weeks after she arrived, they were married on 24 January 1903.
Hermene's mother maiden name was Holy, moms dads name was Waniek. Hermene's mother, Anna had several long talks with her to make sure she wanted to come to America before letting her come over. Hermene always said yes, she wanted to come. She decided to let her go then helped her get ready. They got things together for her, and got her on the ship. She must not have had a whole lot of clothes. Because she made herself suites and all new clothes after she came over. She was a good seamstress.
Hermene's brother was a government manager in Austria. She had a sister Olga that was younger than her, but I don't know how much younger. Hermene parents were well off, dads were not. When I was little I wrote a letter in English and Grandma translated it to German. I wrote a letter once to Ferdinand' step sister and got a reply.
Ferdinand father was a harness maker. Ferdinand Kaiser's father died when he was young, and his mother remarried Mr. Gottlieb Zwulick. Ferdinand's stepfather was mean to him, and he ran away when he was little. He took what clothes he had, roled them into a bundle, and put them on a stick and he left home. He went to Hermene Waniek's Aunt, (Anna and Peter Holy) place, and they raised him. No relation to him, I don't know how he knew them, but they raised him.
Both Ferdinand and Hermene came in through Ellis Island in N.Y. They didn't get their citizenship (naturalization) papers till during World War II. They went to school to learn English and American history. They both knew history better than the children who were taking it in school.
Ferdinand didn't work for a big factory or corporation. He didn't have a trade when he came to America, he had to take one up. He became a welder, he taught it to himself, both an arc and acetylene welding. He never did that before. He worked for a place in Norwood, a place called Nicks. He also worked on private airplanes, at Lunkens airport. Whenever they had things for him to do, they knew about dad, they wanted him because he was a dam good welder.
I can remember a story about dad when he was young. On his way to school in Vienna, he had to deliver his mom's bread dough to the bakers for baking. He dropped the dough and picked it up with grass and rocks in it, he wrapped it back up and delivered it to the bakers, he picked the bread up on the way home from school. His parents couldn't figure out where all the rocks came from!