Slava did not pass. I thought it was kind that Miss Boyko still put a star on her report card. It is blue and beside it, she wrote, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Never give up. Miss Boyko is such a nice lady. Slava didn’t seem to mind that she didn’t pass. She was thrilled with the ribbon and the star.
I feel sad about finishing the school year. I have no idea whether I will be back. The other day, Stefan showed me a newspaper photograph of women who had graduated from university. What a wonderful country this is, that women can go to university. It makes me wonder where they got the money to go.
Mama insists that I will be going to school in September and Tato says that one of the reasons we came to Canada is because girls as well as boys can have a future here. But if we don’t have enough money to pay our bills, what kind of future will we have? I dream of buying Mama and Tato a big house with windows and lots of rooms. We could sleep on the bottom floor when it is hot outside and on the roof when we wanted to. It would also be nice to only have one outhouse in the back and room enough to play and maybe room for a cow and a couple of chickens. I know that there are people who live in houses like this because I have seen them. In Canada, all things are possible.
Wednesday, June 24, 1914
St. Jean Baptiste Day
Today was a holiday and Tato stayed home from work although Mama still had to go in for half a day. We all walked together to St. Catherine Street to watch a most amazing thing. It is called a “parade.” It is something like a provody but much fancier. Instead of just a priest holding an Icon and us villagers walking behind, this took up the whole street and the people were carried on wagons pulled by horses. Each wagon was decorated like a stage for a play and the people were dressed in costumes. Tato said they’re called “floats.” On one of the floats was a man dressed up like John the Baptist holding his head on a platter.
Now that school is over, I must find a job. I can’t let Mama or Tato know because they would forbid me. That doesn’t change the fact that we need money. I hear them whispering and I know how close we are to disaster. What if Mama got sick, or Tato got fired? The streets are filled with clusters of men without jobs. I know that keeping things from my parents is bad, but if we were still in Horoshova I might be betrothed by now, so they shouldn’t be treating me like a child.
Stefan says that I can help him with his newspapers whenever they have an extra edition. He will pay me a penny each time. That is not enough though. Mary said she would go with me to the clothing factory.
Friday, June 26, 1914
on the roof at dusk
Today, Mary and I went to the garment factory where Natalka works. There are some girls who are younger than me. Surely they would hire me too? I didn’t see Natalka, but she may have gone in earlier.
We walked up to the man who was stamping the time sheets. I let Mary do the talking. The man looked us both over and said that Mary was hired but that I was too young. I told him that I saw girls younger than me go inside. He just shook his head. He filled out a time sheet for Mary, then stamped it, and she went inside. I will have to ask her what they do in there.
Saturday, June 27, 1914
I was so busy studying for my exams and now I don’t have to any more. Baba gives me housework and errands but I feel useless. She says to go out and play but I can’t find Stefan. Mary was at the factory this morning. I took Mykola with me and we walked to Slava’s house, but she wasn’t there either. One of the tenants told me that she and her father have moved. I don’t know what to think about that.
Baba has set me to work on making a duvet cover for my hope chest. This is very tedious work. I would like to start on some embroidery, but Mama hasn’t had time to teach me. Oy, I wish I could make bead jewellery instead of this plain sewing. At least that would be fun.
Later
I went to Maureen’s house for the first time today. It smells like cabbage just like ours does, because her maimeo (that’s Irish for baba) cooks cabbage too. They don’t eat cabbage rolls. They have cabbage and potatoes.
I also got to meet Maureen’s little sister, Brigid. She has the most beautiful toy! A small carved wooden house with four rooms and even tiny wooden furniture. There’s a small carved husband and wife and two children.
Maureen said that her father carved it before she was born. Brigid let me play with her. I would love to have a little house like that!
Sunday, June 28, 1914
in my cozy bed, writing by lamppost light
Dear Diary, I forgot to tell you about Maureen’s flat. It is very much like ours. I thought that because her family speaks English, she would be rich, but she’s not. There was a picture of the Virgin Mary on the wall and also a Cross. On the floor was a braided rug made from all sorts of colourful scraps of cloth. I think her father made their wooden kitchen table and chairs because they were decorated with carved patterns.
I told Tato about the little house that Maureen’s father had made for her and her sister. He said that if I drew a picture of it, he would try to make one for me and Mykola.
Monday, June 29, 1914
Another great tragedy. The clouds cried all day because Franz Ferdinand and Sophie have been shot.
I am talking about the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. And Ferdinand’s wife, Princess Sophie. The person who killed them — a student — was a Serbian who wanted his province to be free of Austria.
It is wrong for him to kill the Archduke and the Princess. I can only think how horrible it must be for their families. Ferdinand and Sophie had children. Who will look after them now?
I almost forgot. I tried a new food today. After I helped Stefan with his newspapers he asked if I would like a sandwich. I thought he meant something normal like lard or honey, but he handed me a slice of bread with something that looked like mud spread on top of it. It smelled like nuts. I nibbled at one corner. It tasted like nuts but it was gooey. He finished his whole sandwich before I even had a second bite.
“It’s not going to kill you,” he said. Then he told me it was called peanut butter. Imagine, making butter out of peanuts!
I took a big bite and almost choked! The taste is good, but it is so gooey that it sticks inside your throat. Stefan pounded me on the back and then he got me a glass of water. I finished the rest of the sandwich taking smaller bites.
His mother bought peanut butter at the Empire Day sale. Neither of his parents likes it, so Stefan has been eating it for breakfast and lunch nearly every day.
Stefan told me that I better not mention to my parents that I had been in his flat without his parents there. I felt my face go hot with embarrassment when he said that! I don’t think of Stefan as a boy. He’s just my friend.