More Weddings and More Phamily Stuff

I had posted several phamily wedding photo's and I thought I put this one up of my mom's oldest sister Mary Steblay-Mishmash. Her husband, Charles "Uncle Charlie" Mishmash was a wonderful man. He took excellent care of her. They raised three children together, Charlotte, Sonny and Cec. Auntie Mary lost the love of her life on Mother's Day 1965. It is a date imprinted into my mind. A sad day. Auntie Mary visited his grave every day of her life until she was ill herself and could not go any longer. That, my friends, is true love. He was a wonderful carpenter and she a seamstress.  She was small, he was very tall. Beautiful hearts, gone from this earth but forever in our hearts.

This is my Grandma Kocman's youngest sister, Anna. She was married to Steve Malin. I did not know them but I do know they are buried together at Fort Logan Cemetery in Denver, CO. He was a military man. Wedding photos from long ago are so intriguing. I am always wondered what each person was thinking.

My sister Pat's wedding to Gary Ricklefs.  August 19, 1958. Flower girls (l to r) Mary Kocman (Hoffert) and cousin Sharon Trontel. Ushers (l to r) Cousin Ronnie Petkovsek, brother William Kocman. Bridesmaids cousin Charlotte Mishmash  Taullie (next to bride) and cousin Jeanne Medved Litherland. That photo was taken at the Mineral Palace Park in downtown Pueblo. Words are hard to find regarding my sister. She was always smiling, so pretty, so tall. She was an excellent mother and grandmother. She would be tickled pink to see her  great grand children today.

So many people would benefit if they followed this simple rule.

No one will be there for you like phamily. Being raised in BoJontown was a blessing and I am so sad so many do not embrace their heritage. Perhaps one day they will and I hope it will not be too late.

Until next time...

BOJONS AND MUSIC AND RANDOM MEMORIES

My dad loved music. He owned several albums and I wish I had those to this day. Mario Lanza was one of those performers he admired. He liked him because I think he sang this man's songs:

Caruso was a great opera singer. I often wondered how my dad admired him and enjoyed listening to him while following this fellow:

From opera to country western music. Eddie Arnold sang a song called "Cattle Call" and boy could he yodel in that one!

You know sometime I go off topic in a quirky sort of way! I have wanted to share this Love is...with you and what a more perfect time than now. Always be proud of your roots.

Dad and his lucky lottery check, he won $50 when the Colorado Lottery first came out and he was so happy with that check that I took a picture of him in his favorite navy blue polka dotted shirt. My dad was not a dancer, at least not when I was a young woman.  My mom enjoyed polka dancing and dad was just content to sit back and watch. I love music like he did and I love dancing just like my mom.

Auntie Ang Steblay had the greatest collection of music, especially some great polka music. She had an album that featured a sweet song called "Little Fella". Always enjoyed sharing her music with her. She loved Liberace too. Now that I am older I understand why I like a variety of music, because I had so many wonderful influences on me as a kid.

There was a popularity for polka music. My sister had a friend, Dorothy Skerjanic and her husband John and they belonged to a "Polka Club" and they went dancing with people who belonged to this club. Dorothy could hold her own on the dance floor as well as with people in a conversation. Gosh, a great BoJon memory.

I could not find any photos of the Silver Saddle Dance Club that was popular in Pueblo for many years. It was located on Pueblo Blvd. on the South Side of town  but this google image reminded me of it. It was owned by a lady called Mrs. G and had the largest dance floor I ever danced on. When I was younger John Nemick, a fellow BoJon was the best country western dancer around. All the gals lined up to dance with John, another wonderful BoJon memory. Uncle Louie and Auntie Ang had a neighbor, Matt Novak, he was an older gentleman but Matt could dance. His wife passed away in child birth and Matt was kind of an older bachelor when I was younger. He went dancing at the Silver Sadlde every weekend. It was kind of sad when Mrs. G. passed away away, so did her dance club. Lots of nice memories there.

When our kids were younger we spent many Sunday mornings cooking breakfast and dancing in our living room. Our neighbor Chris, at the time, had lots of folks from Mexico living with his phamily and they would crank up that Mexican music after nine a.m. We were not to be outdone and would crank up a variety of music so the kids could dance with us. That is an excellent memory.

Memories will always remain. Most BoJon's I knew were good dancers or singers and many played the accordian. A gal I went to high school with was raised in an Italian phamily. Her first husband shared her love for the accordian and they played their hearts out together. David Starcer, another BoJon who grew up on Berwind Street was a terrific dancer. He had a unique style and he could jitterbug. It was one dance that always threw me off the dance floor. I even remember my late mother-in-law telling me stories about going out dancing when she was a young gal. I think music and dance are universal and not a lot of people can say they dislike music. Do you have a favorite type of music? Are you a dancer? I wish I had more photo to share. I wish I had a nice BoJon wedding to go to.

I hope you will stop by  Sally's and join the Blue Crew finding lots of great blues to share. I hope you embrace your own heritage and leave a legacy for the future generations to enjoy. Until next time:

Thinking About My BoJon Life

Thinking about my BoJon life...I feel good that so many people are thinking of their own phamilies and posting photos of them and telling stories of them. It all started with Mike Barnett. He started writing a blog, my sister Mary told me to check out his blog. As a result of it, I was able to visit with my cousin Audrey, before her passing last year. I got to reconnect with cousins I had not seen since I was a kid and it felt wonderful. Thank you so much to Mike and to my sister Mary for starting me on this track. I reconnected with Kay Samples Elliott our cousin who is going to visit Slovenia next month. I have learned so much from her research and also her encouragement. She always reminds me that our phamily history is like searching for a puzzle piece. Eventually it will all come together. I have had so much fun talking with cousin Juliane Cosimano Barden. It feels like we just picked up from where we left off. It has been an amazing journey.

Many years ago Noelle had a friend named Cindy who was a terrific artist. She drew this wonderful artistic picture of my mom. My daughter has the other copy which is mom, Noelle and Colton, my youngest grandson, This has been sitting in a folder in a safe place for a long while. I am going to get it into a frame and enjoy sharing it at my home. There is nothing like phamily to keep me smiling.

You know I am always searching   my boxes of photos. I hit into a huge box of framed photos today.When we bought our home in 2010 so many things sat in boxes. Well, I am reorganizing all our photos and let me tell you, there are not enough walls in this world to display all of them. But I can change them around and have these smiling faces looking at me. Noelle and Roger's kids- Christal with her first born daughter Jazlin. There is no way that pretty little baby turns 12 this year. Andrew is daddy to Jayden and Michael. I remember when he was learning to read, it seems like it was just yesterday. Then there is Colton.  He is so grown up, I am sure the years just slipped away while I was watching these kiddos be kids! Christal is mom to Alexis and Devin as well. She and her husband Alex have known each other for 19 years and counting. They were kids back then. I am so proud of my phamily.

My sister Mary Kocman Hoffert. She is holding Rebekah and Kate. Rebekah is 27 and Kate is nipping her heels. Kate is mom to two little ones, Ari and Zander. How is it these babies grew up so quickly? My niece Holly Hoffert Webb sent me this golden oldie. I am proud to have these photos of my those I love.

Holy smokes, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I had to be 12 and my nephews Gary and Charles are watching the camera while I hold their new brother Tony. I am not sure where Edward was off to. what memories. I hold them so close to my heart.

Kate graduated from nursing school. She was that tiny baby in the photo with her Nan and my Rebekah. No way can she be grown up! Her dad (Aaron) and mom (Karla) are so proud. Time keeps moving forward.

 Cousin Charlotte Mishmash-Taullie and my brother William Kocman with my grandma Cecilia Steblay. Graduation Day. Proud BoJon moments. We love showing off our loved ones.

My grandmother Cecilia's younger sister Mitzka with cousin Ivan and Anna and their children.This was taken in Yugoslavia now known as Slovenia. I think this is the only living photo of my grandmother's youngest sister that we have, I wish I had known her like my grandma and my Tata Rose. I have so many memories. They both had beautiful long hair and they would let me brush their hair for a long while. Then they would braid it and put it up into a bun.  I miss those days, simple pleasures that made me smile.

Think about your own people, your phamily, those you love. Do you feel this way? I think honestly, we all do.

I think this is a rare photo of all four of my siblings and both of my parents, all together. A real treasure for me. We were raised by people who loved each other, they loved their phamilies and they loved each others phamilies. I wish our generation were more like them. They never let go of the tie that bound them together.

This is a priceless photo. My grandmother Steblay at the clothesline. I know today people think they have to follow these silly covenant rules and live in these perfect neighborhoods. Not me, I live in an old school neighborhood, homes built from brick and mortar.  I have an old clothesline in my yard. It is not cool like this one grandma had and my sister still uses, but it works and there is nothing quite the scent of fresh linens taken off the clothesline. You can have your uppity neighbors with their rules and regulations. This BoJon bucks authority any time she can. I was born a rebel. I don't like being in the box, I think too many BoJons, like other people, put their heritage aside for things. I will never live in a perfect place. But if you come to visit me I will give you something to eat and to drink. My father use to say, if you can not afford to give someone even a drink of cold water and a little food, don't invite people to your home!

This is December 16 2012.  Chelsea (wearing green) came to visit us. She is my pretty niece from Oregon. She was visiting the rest of her phamily and she wanted to talk "Bojon" cooking. When you live in Denver, it is a mile high and that altitude has an attitude with baking traditional BoJon dishes! But we gave a few recipes a try and I sent Chelsea home with copies of a bunch of BoJon cook books! You gotta love a girl who will embrace her BoJon heritage. We can not let our values and pride and all the things our ancestors suffered through so we could carry on their traditions. Don't let those things die. I don't care if you married a Flamingo dancer from Spain or an M.I.T. graduate- if you are a BoJon defend your heritage and spread it around. We have to instill the same values our parents instilled in us. There are not enough Chelsea's in the world. My niece Karla is married to Aaron. His heritage is in Spain and I can tell you that boy can cook like a BoJon!  When you can have your spouse embrace your heritage you have a keeper! Do not let that guy or gal go!

Now I don't have a tatoo. I will probably never have a tatoo but I think if I had one this would be it. My nephew Brian has this tatoo done in honor of his grandfather Edward J Kocman Sr.  I think if you have tatoos you should honor someone you loved and lost. Brian did an excellent job of honoring his grandfather. I can tell you by that smile on dad's face, he L O V E D all the little ones! He loved his family (phamily). I know it for a fact, the man raised me! Uncle Louie once told me that his father had a pierced ear. I thought my grandpa must of been a bit of a rebel! I loved that Uncle told me that little story of his dad.

The family - that dear octopus from  whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.   Dodie Smith

I will sign off here as usual but I would hope my parents would be proud that I am trying to preserve all that they worked so hard for and all that those before them worked so hard for. I need more photos of my Kocman phamily tree. Please come post some photos here. So in the words of all good BoJon's everywhere Lahko Noc til next time.

BoJon Friends and Family (Phamily)

This is a sweet picture. My Auntie Ang Jacklovich-Steblay and her friend "Little Ang" Meglen (wearing glasses). Little Ang and Auntie Ang were once room mates. Two BoJon gals working together. I believe Little Ang worked at the laundry with my aunt. Little Ang lived on the 1100 block of Bohmen Street. Her house was a tiny house. When I saw the current rage over tiny houses I thought of Little Ang. She lived a simple life in a very tiny house. She was a kind lady and my aunt visited here regularly and when I was quite young I use to love to tag along.

We knew everyone we grew up with. Most of us attended school together for years from St. Mary's Catholic School into high school. I attended Seton All Girls HS.

On July 28, 2010 my husband and I came to our hometown in Pueblo to attend a reunion of the Seton and Roncalli High Schools classes. Earlier that day we stopped by the old school building and took this photo. Lots of great memories in that school. My husband attended East HS but we both spent our childhood in Pueblo.

I found this and had to smile. We loved being with our friends and we hated to part ways. We grew up in a time when our parents said "get home now" and we did.  We rarely argued with our folks because we knew the outcome would not be in our favor.

Earlier in my posts I wrote about my childhood home and realized it was really the people and things we did that I missed, I was sad my childhood house was so different and not the pretty place I spent my childhood in , but I missed all the memories we made there with phamilies and friends. Mike Barnett and his sisters are lucky, they can still go to their childhood home and visit their dad. The mind is incredible when it can take you back to all those good times and wonderful friends we had. I remember lying on the grass with my friend Karen Mesojedic-Clark for hours at a time watching clouds drift by. We would talk about the different images we thought we saw in them. Life was good and we had no complaints. We enjoyed so many simple pleasures.

Speaking of old friends, Ursula Knific-Perko  and Chuck Perko are enjoying the sights and sounds of Slovenia with their daughter and son-in-law. I went through St. Mary's with Chuck and Ursula was a bit younger than we were. She shared a photo at Face Book that looked almost like a small Vietnam Wall with names on it. She said it was a sobering message in the home cemetery of Chuck's grandparents. In 1945 when WWII ended there was a massacre of all the men over 18 years of age. Our ancestors had so much to deal with. So much sorrow and pain and sadness. Someone shared a story of our Grandpa Kocman saying as a young boy Grandpa's 12 year old cousin walked out the door of his home to be murdered by the communists.  I hope we will never experience such pain. My daughter Noelle knew an older gentleman who use to frequent a restaurant where she worked for many years. His ancestors came from Russian and when he was a younger child Boris saw his father murdered by Communists. He memorized their faces and hunted them down. At age 16 he killed all those men and then told his family he would probably never see them again and fled to another country. He eventually ended up here in the Denver metro area. I am excited to see more shares that Ursula will share with us. She loves the country of Slovenia saying it is very beautiful. I am using a google image here to show the beauty of the country where our ancestor came from.

I wanted to share a lighter note before closing tonight. My sister found this unmarked photo and it appears these two unknown gentleman had a bit too much to drink, in fact, the one looks as though he is sleeping it off! I would really love to know the story behind this picture. Perhaps they had arguments with their wives or girlfriends and went out on a bender. If you have ever had  Slivovitz you will know that it tastes sweet and light until it knocks you on the head like a hammer!

Slivovitz is often called Slivovitsa and is a plum brandy found through Eastern Europe.  The drinks name is based on a type of plum used to make this drink. In some areas it is illegal to make this brew at home but at one time it was quite popular and would leave it's calling card as it was between 80-100 proof! This liquor was brewed in a makeshift sill from old barrels. I remembering having a small sip of this brew as a childhood. It had quite a prominent licorice taste and I heard the adults talking about it's powerful effect. I guess you could say it was BoJon Moonshine!!!

Instead of a powerful liquor perhaps you will join me in having a cup of chamomile tea

.

To make an authentic cup of this tea you will need two teaspoons of the dried chamomile flower and pour one cup of boiling water over it. Seep for five minutes, strain it  and enjoy. You may add a bit of sugar or honey to sweeten the taste. With that I bid you:

July Birthdays and Just Thinking....

July is one of those months filled with many birthday wishes in our phamilies. We celebrate some and mourn the loss of those no longer with us. July is a fun filled fire cracker kinda month! So in keeping with my BoJon Heritage post I will add some July Birthdays of people who I love dearly and am very blessed to be related to! Would you stop by Ms. Jenny's and wish her and Mr. Jenny well. She has had some health issues and I am hopeful they will get to the bottom of her problems very soon. Tell her I celebrated the letter "J" with July birthdays and some just thinking...

Today would have been the birthday of my father Edward J. Kocman Sr. Many knew him by his nicknames "Haizie" to the phamily and BoJon neighbors and  "Spike" at the C F and I Steel Corp. where he worked. I know a lot of things about my dad, none of them are negative. I know how much he loved his wife, my mother Cecilia M. Steblay Kocman. He adored his children. He loved the little grand kids and great grands. I wish he could be here to witness how beautifully our phamily has grown.  My father loved his faith, he had a tremendous faith in God and passed that on to his children. He was quiet but kind. He took care of his entire phamily and felt it was not a burden but an important job hand given to him by Our Lord. He never uttered unkind remarks or words at or about anyone. He was as close to sainthood on this earth as you could get. He worked hard and took care of mom and the kids. He loved living and enjoyed many travels with my mother before his passing, too soon.  I miss you dad, you were a beautiful example of the faith you practiced and I miss you each day. But I know you are enjoying a wonderful life walking the streets of heaven who all those you loved that have gone too soon as well. So enjoy your heavenly birthday dad. I will see you there one day, I just know it.

Dad with one of his children.

Mom and Dad at the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, 1979. Look how precious my folks were, dad holding mom's hand.

Love is...always makes me smile and this one is appropriate for this post.

This is certainly so true of the July babies I know!  Cousin Ray Medved in California is born on July 25th. My husband is born on July 23 as well as cousins Chuck Barnett and Kay Samples-Elliott. Uncle Sam Cosimano was born on July 22nd. Grandma Kocman was born on July 15th. Nephew Anthony 'Tony' Ricklefs celebrated his 5-0 on July 13th.  Anna Skender  and my brother Edward J Kocman Jr. were born on July 5th. Hannah Robinson and my dad's brother Frank were both born on July 3rd. If I am missing anyone you need to let me know.

This is a photo of Anna Kocman-Skender, Millie Kocman-Cosimano and Stephanie Kocman- Samples. It is the only photo I have, thanks to Juliane, of three of the five sisters at an early age.

A nice message regarding birthdays, especially as the years fly by.

My sister can locate Grandpa Joseph Steblay in this photo but I am still searching.This was taken in the 1920's.

Uncle Sam Cosimano was a July 22nd baby. Probably enjoying some heavenly conversation with my dad and all the loved ones who have joined them way soon taken away from us.

A Log Cabin home in Lubjlana, Slovenia. Just thinking about cousin Kay heading to our ancestors homeland. She leaves in a month.

This unknown phamily is probably a relative on my mom's side of the phamily. Look how beautifully they are all dressed. Those little girls all have the same headband and the boy looks handsome in his  suit.  My sister came across several photos similar to this one. I wish people would have written on the back of their photos. A few of them are and some are even dated. It is sad no one would be able to tell us who this phamily is.

Chuck Barnett with a "catch"! I bet cousin Audrey spent many wonderful times fishing with her hubby. She was a fly fisherlady!

Do you remember the wonderful birthdays you celebrated as a kid growing up in the most wonderful neighborhood? I remember having lots of relatives gathered round. It was just something BoJon's did, sharing their special celebrations with all the loved ones.

A birthday tribute to my husband George Avery Robinson. He was such a cute little fellow and today he is an excellent husband and father as well as grandpa. Our immediate phamily is growing each and every year. This was Father's Day with his boys, Nick (left) and Jeremy (right). Until next time: