Anna (Annie) Koshko was born October 4, 1899 in Jessup, Pennsylvania. She married George Petrak in Clarence, Pennsylvania on July 29, 1919. She worked at a shoe factory. At home she expertly produced clothing and rugs. She died May 6, 1974 in Johnson City, New York.

Anna's daughter, Carolina Edwards, tells Anna's story:

She was the glue that held our family together. She taught me all about housekeeping and jobs around the house--cooking, cleaning, baking, washing clothes, etc.

In her spare (?) time, she would look at me, sit down at her treadle sewing machine and within 2 hours I had a new dress to wear. Half hour and I had a skirt. She never used patterns.

She had a loom and she would sew strips of cloth together. Us kids would then roll them into balls of various sizes depending on the colors. We had boxes of cloth balls all over the house. In our spare (?) time, we kids would transfer the cloth balls to shuttles and Momma would start to make rugs. And believe me--her rugs lasted. I still have some after 50+ years. Even washing in my machine and using my dryer, they've lasted. She recycled before recycling was popular. She taught me to use everything up and to make do with what you had.

Momma didn't start working at the Endicott Johnson Shoe Factory until I was in first grade. I got home at 2:30pm each school day and crawled in through a window which was left slightly open. When she go thome at 3pm I was playing with my dolls--having a tea party. But she never said anything about the tears in her curtains on that window. A torn curtain was a small price to pay for her child's safety. She went to work each day at 7am after getting all her children up and fed and her husband off. She had the job in the drying shed taking the cowhides off the dryer racks and putting them on six foot long wheeled carts. She had to put 25 of these hides on each cart. It was a hard manual labor for her, but for the extra money it brought into the home, she always was thankful as she didn't have much of an education. She always regretted that lack and made positive that her children would get diplomas.

When I was little (before my 1st Holy Communion) I'd go to Sunday mass with her and Daddy. she had this black coat with a huge rabbit collar on it and I usually fell asleep snuggled next to it. And as we got older, she made sure we all went to catechism on Saurday mornings and to church on Sunday mornings. She started a medal and cross collection which I still have. The missionaries or church groups would send letters asking for donations. She always kept the cross or medal they sent and enclosed a dollar. It wasn't much but it was all she could afford at that time.

Anna enjoyed playing bingo (that's where I get it from)--usually at the church festivals. They charged you 5¢ a card and she usually own a few times--winnings totalling about $3 for the two hours she played. She limited herself and any of us children that played (usually just me) to spend no more than $1.

At the P.T.A. meetings for our elementary school--George W. Johnson--she had to stand when they called a teacher's name (I think to see how many of the parents came). And she almost remained standing during the entire roll call because she had the most children in that school under different teachers. And I always went to those meetings with her--I was proud and the ice cream cone we got after the meeting didn't hurt either.

My mother was technically an average person--about 5' 4" tall--but that was love bound up in her. We knew when we did wrong cause it hurt her to spank us. With my father working most of the time, she was the "top sergeant" of the Petrak family. We never talked back as today's kids do. We never had many toys--mostly used hand-me-downs--but since we never knew better, we didn't realize the loss. We were fed, neatly dressed and learned our homework. She taught us respect for our elders and manners as best as she could. She canned everything she could--dill pickles, tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, plums, pears, peaches, cherries, apple sauce--whatever we had. Most of this produce was gotten free from their friends--as long as she did the picking. Except the cherries--we always made a one full day to Watkins Glen in New York to pick them. We made a fun day of it--a couple of gallons of Kool-Aid and sandwiches. We picked all morning--broke for lunch at about noon--then resumed picking til about 4pm--then back home. Those jars of canned food came in handy for our large family all year long.

She would buy live chickens and cut their heads off down cellar (and chickens can do some running around without their heads!). She used the feathers for our hand made pillows and feather comforters. Everything had a use--if not right at the moment--then some special time in the future. She was always busy--her hands terribly swollen with arthritis--but that did not stop her. She kneaded dough, sewed buttons on, put her curtains on curtain stretchers--nothing stopped her.

---- written by Anna Koshko's daughter, Carolina Edwards of Avis, Pennsylvania.

Special thanks to Carolina Edwards for her contribution to this page. Here are some documents that help tell the story of Anna Koshko's life:

Anna Koshko's birth certificate 763x670, 46 kB download

Anna's baptism certificate 545x865, 36 kB download

Anna and George's marriage certificate in Slovak(?) 619x1029, 91 kB

Another marriage certificate (the souvenir copy as some call it) 699x462, 23 kB

Anna was the fifth child of Andrew Koszkowski and Julia Radiak. Anna and George had eight children: Anna, Mary, John, Helen, George, Julia, Joseph, and Carolina.

Questions:
• Do you know more about Anna? Feel free to share. Pictures of her rugs or home-sewn rugs are welcome.

Record created: March 25, 2002
Record updated: June 22, 2004