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LAST NIGHT WE
WENT ON A JOURNEY
Ahoj all,
I would like to let everyone
know that Last night, We went on an unexpected journey, up hills and down hills,
and into valleys with snow sprinkled here and there I watched with tears in my
eyes as the sign Kosicka Bela appeared before us. I held my breath, this is
the village where my Grandmother Julianna Lazorik was born. As the car
maneuvered through little dirt roads past the post office and the church, past
the Village Center, to the end of the Village of approximately 1000 people.
The Narrator told of the population in years gone by and the present and all
the old names, of the village. The car continued through the little streets,
pointing out, old abandoned houses, worn and tattered by age. He explained
where they stored the grain and the livestock, and how and why some had double
roofs, he pointed out the water wells. We felt like we were there actually
touching the houses and smelling the cool crisp air. Along side the old
houses, were the new houses put up by family members of the next generation,
the old ones vacant and left to crumble. Down more little roads to a hill and
a beautiful panoramic view of the whole valley and village. Now I know why my
Grandmother settled in the Scranton, Throop Olyphant, PA. Area. It looks so
similar. On to the church and the cemetery a view of the Church and a brisk
walk through out the cemetery, the narrator looking for Lazoriks, but alas,
there were none, maybe the Lazoriks don't live there anymore, as I had
suspected sadly we left, continuing our journey to the edge of the village,
then on toward the next, Kostolany nad Hornadom. A stop for a sighting
of both place’s about 10 miles apart, showing just how close they really
were, just west of Kosice and on again a view of the village in the distance,
much more spread out than the last village. A stop, at the sign for Druzstevna
pri Hornade, or Kostolany nad Hornadom, the narrator gave us a little
history. This village had a population of approximately 800 or so people, then
a drive through the whole village to get an over view. This is the village
where my Grandfather, Andrew Jozef Ambrisko lived. The emotions that were
felt during this journey were astounding.
My 76-year-old Father watched
with Awe, seeing for the very first time, where his Mother & Father lived
as children. He had never been there, before this. We were taken up the hills
again, behind some cemetery workers in a truck. The narrator continued the
journey pointing out highlights and little bits of information, then on to the
church and cemetery. Another cemetery with so much anticipation we wondered if
we would find anything there??? The narrator energetically hiked through the
cemetery in search of Ambrisko's "Lucky day...I found one," he
said. Jozef Ambrisko 1962-1995, we were laughing & crying at the same
time "Lucky Day here's another one," Jan Ambrisko 1914-1990 &
Maria Ambriskova 1918 -she must be still alive!! More close by all in line
Alzbeta Ambriskova 1904-1965 and John Ambrisko 1907-1974...then finally Maria
Ambriskova 1891-1969. The narrator mentioned the flowers on the graves,
showing someone visits regularly, there is definitely living family still
there. We left the cemetery knowing that there was possible family still
alive, fuel for future research. Another panoramic view of the whole village,
another little road leading to a creek going up another hill in search of a
mill possibly? No a waterfall and some geese pruning them selves in the fresh
spring sunshine, breathtaking and to think we experienced all this, in the
comfort of our own living room.
The Narrator...our own...
Vladimir Linder.
This was a wonderful gift for
my Father. Vladimir did such a wonderful job filming my Grandparents Villages.
The quality of the video was so clear, so beautiful we were actually taken
there. Yes, we took a trip last night to Slovakia, Land of our ancestors.
Dakujem Vladimir......lubim ta....
You are truly an
artist.........
Cathy Ambrisko Mullenix
Ylbrd@aol.com
PS: Vladimir, I received the
tape late yesterday. We have watched it 5 times since.
Thank You, Dakujem,
there are no more words to describe what you have done. My Father is so happy.
When are you going to Slovakia
again?
LINDER VIDEO PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS 21 NEW TITLES
23 DVD's
ALL NEW 2007 COLLECTION NOW ON DVD'S
LINDER VIDEO PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
34 NEW TITLES 36 DVD's
ALL NEW 2006 COLLECTION NOW ON DVD'S
Go
to ANCESTRAL VILLAGE VIDEOS
Ancestral
village video of Liptovská Lužná
GO TO
FOLKLORE VIDEOS
GO TO JOURNEY THROUGH SLOVAKIA VIDEOS
JUST
RELEASED VIDEOS DECEMBER 2005
GO TO CHRISTMAS VIDEOS
GO
TO ANCESTRAL VILLAGE PHOTOGRAPHY
Published in the
Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 7, No. 2, Summer 1999
Copyright © Vladimir Linder
1999
3804 Yale
Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The
above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished,
or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express
written permission of Vladimir
Linder. All rights reserved.
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