|
My
name is Lena Jefferson but back when I was on the SS America it was
Magdalena Distl. I was 10 years old back on March 4th of 1950 when
my grandparents, my mother, (my father was killed in the war)
brother (age 5) and I boarded this ship in LaHavre to sail to a new
life in America. This was by far the best part of my life up to that
point. I was born in 1940 in Batschka Brestowatz Yugoslavia, having
to leave my homeland back in fall of 1944 during the war and living
in Austria as "Displace Persons" until my great-grandparents
sponsored our trip to this country. We left Austria on March 1, 1950
via train through Switzerland and spending the last evening in a
bombed out train station in Paris before heading for LaHavre.
We
boarded the SS America on the morning of the 4th. To be able to
travel together at the same time, my mother, brother and I were
first class passengers with my grandparents being what I now know is
tourist class. We were the only civilians in the first class
accommodations as the rest of the passengers traveling that way were
all military.
I
think one of my best recollections is the fact that most of the
adults were too sick to enjoy the food and the fine dining. I know
in our case, my brother and I were the only ones to see the inside
of the dining rooms. I remember that the stewards soon discovered
that most of the food they had to offer us, we had never seen. They
could not give us enough to eat. Anything and everything they had
left over was offered to us. Most of the fruits such as bananas,
watermelons, cantaloupes, we had never even seen much less alone
tasted. My brother had never tasted ice cream and told them that he
did not like it as it made his tongue cold. I had only tasted it
once in my lifetime.
Little
things like that come to mind. Since my mother never came up and
since I could not be in the room with her without getting seasick
myself, the dining area was our escape. Only problem, we did not
speak a word of English. Being children without adult supervision
also held some restrictions. Therefore, I never realized all that
this beautiful ship had to offer. Did not realize that until the
memories came back when going on a Carnival Cruise a few years ago
and it all came back then.
As
stated above, since most adults were too sick to enjoy everything
this ship had to offer There were usually only children at our
table, my brother and I, another boy and his sister. Most of the
people came up on the deck as we passed the Statue of Liberty. We
docked in New York on the morning of March 11, seven days after
sailing. We were one day late getting into New York due to a storm
that basically took us back a full day instead of forward. The
United States Immigration Office processed us through Ellis Island
and after intense questioning and searching, had our passport
stamped as "Approved".
After
spending a few days in New York with relatives, we visited
Philadelphia again seeing relatives and arrived in Dayton OH (where
I live now with my husband) on March 16, 1950 for a grand reunion
between my grandmother and her parents whom she had not seen since
1920. Two years later, my mother remarried here in Dayton OH and it
turns out that my stepfather is the uncle of the two children
sharing our table on the SS America. Small world to say the least.
I
cannot wait to show these pictures to my mother who is still alive
and doing very well. Will have to tease her about being able to see
the ship that she was not able to see when we were on it. I have
told her about it and she described our stateroom just as you show
it in the pictures. This trip was the beginning of my life in the
USA. I have been back to Ellis Island several times since it has
reopened as a museum and also the Statue of Liberty as I travel in
that area as Regional Sales Manager for a manufacturing company with
headquarters here in Dayton.
Lena D. Jefferson, Dayton OH
August 30, 1999
Update: My mother passed away
on Jan. 12, 2003 and my husband and I have purchased her farm from
the estate and now live on the 40 acres with a stocked pond, creek
and woods outside of Lewisburg OH
|
