Beer in the Drab Household

Memories of our family written by Michael Hansen, Sep 2007. (note: this is also posted on Louise's Legacy site)

Dear Carin,

You asked for it, here it is! (regarding request for the “beer story”)

Grandma Drab (Aloysia) was a bit of a prude. She didn't approve of drinking (although all of my uncles, after the example of their father, loved their beer. I guess it was a Bohemian trait.) When I was 16, my father gave me permission to have a glass of beer or wine with dinner, if I would promise not to drink outside the family circle. Since I didn't care for beer, (ME?), I agreed. That year, when we were at the Berry Hill Rd. domicile for our Thanksgiving celebration, Uncle Joe came into the room and asked "Who wants a beer with dinner?" Well, just to irritate Grandma, I said "I will!" Grandma right away declared, "No you won't, Michael!" And I said, "Yes I will, Grandma. My father said I can have a beer with my meals, if I want !" Grandma turned her wrath on him; "Is that true, John?" she asked, accusingly. "Yes, that's right, Momma." My father answered, sheepishly. Well, I got my beer, and regretted it. It ruined an otherwise delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I hated beer, but I made my point! Which brings me to my real story... I learned to love beer, thanks to my term as a campus chaplain at the Stephens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, where I was inducted into the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and was FORCED to drink beer, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Grandma didn't allow Grandpa (Aloysia & Frank hereafter referred to as Momma and Poppa) to keep more than a six-pack in the refrigerator (which she always called the "Frigidaire") at any one time. So when Momma died in June of 1967, just before I was ordained, my Father decided that we should drive out the following month to see how Poppa was doing. As we pulled up in front of 124 Berry Hill Road, there was Poppa sitting in his rocker on the porch as usual. As we walked up, the first thing he said (after “Hello”) was "Do you want a beer?" (It was a hot day.) "Michael, go to the fridge and get us each a beer." I did, and opened the fridge to see the entire refrigerator stocked with bottles of beer, except for the top shelf , which held a token milk, butter, and eggs! Poppa had triumphed!

Uncle John just told me Pop's favorite brand for years was Knickerboker, which went out of business in the 50's, but has since been resurrected as a microbrewery in Brooklyn. Then Pop switched to the old stand-by, Budwiser, which he referred to as "My friend, Bud."

Additional factoid: when Pop met Momma he worked on the Cutter Estate in Oak Dale, just outside of Bayshore. Momma was an upstairs maid on another estate. John couldn't remember the name.

love, Uncle Michael

A Virgin Mary Sighting?

Memories of a family story written by Michael Hansen, Sept 2007.

Dear Carin,

Grandpa Drab (Frank Sr.) related this story to me about two years before he died. (Ask Uncle John for the name and location of the nursing home he was in at the time. I think it was East Islip, LI.) Uncle John doesn't give the story much credence, but I do, being more gullible. As you mentioned in your entry, Frank was fatherless and apprenticed to a shoe-maker. When he was about nine or ten he was walking to school early in the morning, right after dawn, between two farms. Out in the field to one side he noticed a woman standing in the middle of the field. He was puzzled because she was dressed rather formally for a farmer’s wife, so he climbed the fence and walked over to her. She looked at him with a smile and said, in a very musical voice, "I am your mother." Frank said that he immediately realized it was the Virgin Mary. She then said, "Don't be afraid or concerned. I will protect you and care for you." Then she vanished in a blur. He felt very encouraged by the vision and felt all his life that he was guided and protected by the Virgin Mary. There is no question that pop was a very devout and prayerful man and would pray the rosary every day, which leads me to believe his story. It may have been a day dream that developed into a reality for him, but that doesn't make it any less authentic.

love, Uncle Michael

Love at First Sight? The Story of Frank & Aloysia's First Encounter

A memory of a family story written by Michael Hansen Sep 2007

Dear Carin,
Here is a contribution to the site , which I should have done a long time ago. Do you have in your notes how Grandma and Grandpa Drab met? In the second decade of the twentieth century both Frank and Aloysia lived and worked in the area of Bayshore, LI. On a Sunday afternoon they would both go bike-riding in the park. Now Aloysia Vodicka was quite a looker, as is evident from period photographs. As they passed each other on the bike path, going in opposite directions, Frank's head was obviously turned. As he was gazing at this receding beauty he wasn't looking where he was going and ran headlong into a tree. Aloysia heard the sound of collision and looked back to see Frank all tangled in his bike, lying on the ground. Compassionate as she was, (and by the way, Frank wasn't exactly ugly either), she turned around to help him. And the rest, as they say, is history. (Family History) This has to a unique, if not risky, way to flirt!
love, Uncle Michael

I have been told that Michael's memory above may have been romanticized a bit, but only in the telling that it was Frank that fell off the bicycle.  Apparently according to Father John Drab (one of Aloysia & Frank's sons) the overall story is correct but that it was Aloysia who was riding the bicycle and fell off it when she saw Frank!  That makes the story a bit more interesting if you ask me.  Either way it is a story of a beginning that would put a smile on anyone's face.

About the photo...

The photo above is a scan of a small photograph (2.5 x 4.5) found in Louise's possessions. It is probably one of the earliest, if not the earliest photos of Aloysia with her in-laws (or future in-laws as they may not have been married yet). There is no date on the photo but it does state on the back that it is the Drab family and lists the names of the people as follows:

Top Left to Right:

• Mary Souhrada... not clear of the connection but she is said to be a Drab or Vodicka relative 
• Barbara (Aunt)... this is the same Aunt Barbara Drab in the Drab Portrait of 1909*
• Frank John (Uncle).... this is actually John Drab shown in the Drab Portrait of 1909, Barbara's husband*

Bottom Left to Right:

• Aloysia Vodicka
• Mary Drab... may be the same Mary Drab in the Drab Portrait of 1909
• Frank Drab... he was the first cousin to our Frank Drab that Aloysia married (they shared the same name)*

It is likely that our Frank Drab was the person taking the photo since Aloysia is appearing here with all his family.

* a cousin Frank Drab of FL who is a direct descendant of the three asterisked people in the photo confirmed their identities 

Our Ancestral Bohemian Geography

The top map is from Mapquest.com and shows our family area (marked with red star) as southwest in location to Prague (shown as Praha on map). Bohemia today is known as the Czech Republic. On someone else's family genealogy site I found a closeup map of Kasejovice that I believe is fairly recent. To the southeast is an area labeled as Blatna (word is cutoff bottem right edge of image). On the western edge of that area called Blatna, is the town Vrbno. I believe these to be the towns of our ancestors according to the information I have that is shared below.

Kasejovice
Word of mouth from Louise has told us that this is the name of the town/village where her mother, Aloysia, lived. This would also be the last known residence of Aloysia's parents, Albert Vodicka and Anna Kahodnik, and any of their remaining children. Kasejovice is located southwest of Prague.

Vrbno (within area of Blatna)
In a box of photos that belonged to Louise, she had a piece of note paper that indicated she thought her father had come from Blatna. We also know from Louise that the Drab family came from Vrbno. This is confirmed in the notes provided with the 1909 portrait of Frank's Uncle John and family that states the family was from Vrbnv.

In the notes from Barbara's memories the story goes that both Frank & Aloysia were from Bohemia but did not meet until they were both in New York. When they met, it was a charming coincedence that they were from villages that were quite close to one another. Chances were though, that they never would have met in Bohemia because the two villages did not share a common marketplace. The two towns listed above seem to meet the proximity criteria of this story.

Mary Vodicka (Aloysia's sister)

There is not a lot known about Mary other than she was Aloysia's sister, born in the United States and died fairly young in 1919 during the famous flu pandemic that began in 1918. She was only 27/28 years old and she was still single. The one and only document that Louise had of hers was a copy of her death certificate.

Most of what we know so far comes from Barbara's memories of stories told by Louise. Mary, was Louise's aunt and Louise was not even two years old at the time of her Aunt's passing.

It is understood that both Mary and her older sister Aloysia were born in the US after their parents immigrated here. But the family decided to return to Bohemia for reasons unknown. The girls were just adolescents when they left the US and they both returned to the US individually upon becoming young adults. They each came back and worked as house maids for rich families in New York.

I have located what I believe to be records of Mary's immigration crossing as a teenager, returning back to her birth country. The document shows her name to be Maria, which has obviously been Americanized to Mary. These immigration records also show that she was indeed from the Bohmenian town Kasejovice (as recalled by Louise) and her nearest relative from that hometown is listed as Wojciech Vodicka. Wojciech, I found, happens to be a Polish or Czeck spelling for Albert. This makes sense as her death certificate lists Albert Wodicka as her father.

Although we don't know much about Mary's life, apparently she liked to be formally photographed quite often. Of all the family photos collected, she is in the majority of the formal/posed heritage photographs; the type taken by a professional photographer. Posted here are all the photographs of Mary. Only two of them have a note on them identifying the person as Mary. The one with a boy, states it is Mary & her boyfriend (looks like Louise's handwriting) and the other states it is Barbara & Mary. I believe it should read Mary & Barbara as the girl on the left is the same girl as Mary with the boyfriend. (Barbara may be a woman named Barbara Charo of which there are other photos. I am unsure at this writing as to who she is exactly.) Among these images there is one of Mary that has a message written on the back in the Czeck language. Obviously I have no translation at this time. Enjoy the scanned images... they really show off the different fashions of the times and give a small glimpse into Mary's life.

Mary Vodicka, Immigration Ship Manifest

Here is the immigration documentation I found for Maria (Mary) Vodicka. I am fairly certain this is our ancestor, Mary, who is the sister of Aloysia Vodicka (Frank Drab's wife). She lists Kasejovice, Bohemia as her last known residence and this is the town frequently referenced by Louise Drab. Also the closest relative/friend from Bohemia is her father listed as Wojciech, which is Polish or Czeck for Albert, the name of her father.

Ship Manifest Data:

SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria
Departed from Cuxhaven in 1908, arrived in NY

Maria Vodicka
single female
age 18 (est born in 1890)
housemaid
able to read and write
citizen of Austria
of Bohemian race or people
last residence Kasejoivec, Austria
nearest relative/friend in home country is father, Wojciech Vodicka in Kasejoivec
final destination NY, New York

source: Ancestry.com - ref: microfilm serial/roll: T715-1165, page # 162, line 15

Mary Vodicka, Death Certificate

Photocopy of document was in Louise Hansen's possession (Mary was her mother's Aloysia's sister)

Mary died from the flu in 1919 during the infamous Influenza Pandemic of 1918 that killed more people than WWI. It especially hit hard young adults between the ages of 20 and 30 which is not usual with flu.

Data from Photocopy of Death Certificate
by Carin Stefanelli 11/30/06

Transcript of Record Dated April 14, 1919
State of New York Dept of Health of the City of New York Bureau of Records
Place of death: borough of Bronx?
Institution: Lebanon Hospital
Registered No 1567

Name: Mary Wodicka
Sex: Female
Race: White
Marital Status: Single
DOB - not filled
Age: 27

Occupation: Domestic
Birthplace: USA
Time in US: Life time
Resid in NYC: Life

Name of Father: Albert Wodicka
Birthplace: Austria
Name of Mother: Anna Kahodnik
Birthplace: Austria

Former or Usual Residence: 771 W. End Ave.

Date of Death: Feb 5, 1919 6:10 pm
Date of Admission: Feb 1, 1919
Diagnosis: Influenzal Broncho Pneumonia, Pulmonary edema
House Physician Signature: Meyer Workman Feb 6, 1919
Filed Feb 6, 1919

Place of Burial: Bayshore LI
Date of Burial Feb 9, 1919
Undertaker: S.S. Potter
Address: 144 Lexington Ave.