The California Immigrant

by Barbara Anne King

  Karlo had only been in the store once before since Lena did the shopping, so he was completely taken by surprise by what he saw. The store was packed with women shopping and gossiping and having coffee together. It was so lively, totally different from what he had been used to or expected.

  Martin escorted Karlo through the store, giving him the grand tour, stopping from time to time, while women asked Karlo about himself and the family. Finally, Martin got to the last stop on the tour. “What do you think of our fish counter?”

  “Well, give me a chance to study it.” Karlo looked carefully at each fish selection before answering. “From this side, I think some improvements can be made to make the fish more appealing such as a different arrangement. But what I really want to study, especially with my nose, is the other side of the case. Fish has to smell fresh to sell it.”

  “Okay. Let’s go around the corner so you can inspect the fish from the fishmonger’s point of view.”

  Karlo took a whiff. “Oh, how I love the smell of the sea. Fresh fish should smell of the sea.” Then he went down the line of fish, taking an olfactory sample as he moved along. “That one—the cod—is not fresh. My advice is not to sell it. Throw it out. The neighborhood cats will thank you.”

  “Are you crazy. I’m not throwing it out. First, I’ll try to cure it with salt. And then if it’s still not good when I try it months later, then I’ll get rid of it.” But all this talking about fish gave Martin an idea. “Karlo, how would you like to become a fishmonger? You know so much about fish already, and I bet you know how to filet them, too. You’d be a natural salesman behind the counter, giving tips to housewives on what to buy and how to prepare it. What do you say?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to think it over. You’ll have my answer tonight.” Martin caught a smug smile cross his lips and knew he liked the idea. This might be good for both of us.

  Chapter 35

  When Martin arrived home that evening, Karlo was waiting for him. “I’ve made my decision. I’ll become a fishmonger.”

  “That’s good news. You can start tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow won’t be soon enough for me.”

  “Be ready by seven a.m., and we ‘ll go together so I can get you started and introduce you to Hong who will show you what you need to know.”

  The next morning Karlo was waiting for Martin in the kitchen over a cup of coffee. He looked more energetic than he had in a long time. This was going to give him a new lease on life, Martin mused. “Let me join you in a cup of coffee. Then we’ll find something for breakfast at the store.”

  Martin and Karlo arrived at the grocery store just as Hong was opening the door. Martin introduced Karlo and asked Hong to join them at the fish counter as soon as he finished his opening duties. In the meantime, Martin gave Karlo an apron and a tour of the fish area. When Hong appeared, they showed Karlo how to set up the fish counter for the day with ice and the wide variety of fish stored in the cooler. Karlo had his own ideas, which he suggested they try for the display. With the three of them all pitching in, they had the counter ready in no time. It wasn’t long before a customer arrived. Karlo stepped right up to help her. Martin and Hong stood back watching, amused and impressed. The woman left with several pounds of fish, some of which she had never tried before, but had been convinced to purchase.

  Martin smiled all the way to the restaurant, thinking about how cleverly he had solved the home front problem. But his smile did not last long. At dinnertime, the first person through the door was Karlo. Martin looked up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “I finished my shift at the grocery and now I’m here for dinner. The last thing I want to do after a long, hard day as a fishmonger is to enter that noisy house with children carrying on and Lena screaming at them.”

  Martin frowned. When Karlo took a seat at a table, he went back to preparing for the dinner hour but he couldn’t keep his mind from thoughts of Karlo’s presence and what that meant for the future. But he was soon to find out.

  Karlo didn’t stay in his seat for long. Since there were no customers yet in the restaurant, he went into the kitchen to watch Martin and shoot the bull with him. “My plan is to have dinner here every evening after work. Maybe you can give me a task or two here as well.”

  Martin scowled but he did not want to get in an argument. “We can talk about that later. Did Chao tell you the specials of the day?”

  “Not yet so why don’t you.”

  “We have some fresh abalone. I’m going to dredge it in flour, then sauté it and nap it with a beurre blanc. Risotto and asparagus will round out the plate.”

  “You’ve sold me. Maybe you should become a fishmonger, too. Did I tell you that most of the customers bought more than they had intended. Hong was impressed.”

  After Karlo finished his dinner, he continued to hang around, talking to friends and barging his way into the kitchen whenever business slowed down. Martin was beside himself. This cannot continue.

  Martin didn’t know whether Karlo had gotten the message his body language was sending or not. Or if he wanted instead to eat his dinner at home, even though Martin could out-cook Lena even on a bad day. But he was happy Karlo wasn’t showing up night after night and didn’t give it another thought until a few weeks later.

  “How’s it going with Karlo home again in the evenings?”

  Lena raised an eyebrow. “He’s not spending his time here. I thought he was with you down at the restaurant.”

  Martin gave a sly smile. “I guess we have a mystery to solve.”

  “I doubt there is anything sinister going on. Let’s just ask him when we see him next.”

  As Martin and Lena prepared to head off to bed, they heard the lock on the door and Karlo lumbered in, humming to himself. They looked at each other, quizzical expressions on their faces. Before they could utter a word, Karlo appeared in the living room.

  “What…are you two waiting up for me? Am I not old enough to make my own curfew?”

  “Now that you bring up the subject, we would like to know what’s been keeping you out late.”

  “If you must know, I have a lady friend. We met at the fish counter so it’s as if we were properly introduced.” Lena’s mouth opened wide as if in shock. Martin had a difficult time suppressing a chuckle.

  “Don’t look at me like that, you two. Anna finds me a very attractive man, even if I’m only a shadow of my former self.”

  Lena regained her poise. “Anna…what is her last name?”

  “Kolonich. Her late husband was Matteo Kolonich. He started one of the packing plants in town. Now Anna’s two sons run the business.”

  “Well, now that we know you have a lady friend, when are we going to meet her?” said Martin.

  “When she gives me an answer.”

  Lena was almost afraid to ask. “What answer?”

  “The answer to my proposal. I want to marry her,” Karlo said with a mark of pride on his face.

  Lena and Martin looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then Martin took the initiative. “So, when she accepts, we will have a celebration with the family.”

  “It might be a wedding reception. At my age, I don’t want a long engagement.”

  It wasn’t long until Karlo announced that Anna had agreed to marry him. He told Lena and Martin, “Her sons seem to have some reservations about our plans. I think they want to keep their mother to themselves but even more so the business. They don’t want a new husband getting any part of it if Anna should die first.”

  The following Sunday the entire family on both sides gathered in Lena’s dining room to share dinner and discuss the wedding arrangements. Karlo spoke for both Anna and himself when he said, “We want a Catholic service with just family and close friends present. We’re not going to run off and elope as if our love is some sordid affair. We want it recognized for what it is—a love of souls yearning for affection and companionship in later life. And we want your blessing.”


  Martin glanced at Filip whom he thought should do the honors. But since he had not made a move in that direction, as one of the men of the house, Martin raised his glass and offered a toast. “Karlo and Anna, may you have many years of happiness and may the joining of our two families only increase your joy.”

  Within the month, the two families were gathered together again along with close friends at the Chapel of Notre Dame on Main Street. The bride, a tall, thin woman with nearly white hair, wore a full-length dress of beige silk and covered her head with a wide-brimmed hat trimmed with flowers and feathers. The groom wore a dark suit with a single white rose in his lapel. The service was a full Mass conducted by the monsignor of St. Patrick’s. A day that started out foggy turned to sun as the crowd left the chapel for the reception at Lena and Martin’s house. When they arrived, a champagne lunch was awaiting them along with a three-tiered wedding cake decorated with sugar roses.

  Martin had met Anna’s sons, Dimitri and Victor, a few years before and had served them at his restaurant many times. They were a pair of bookends—both tall, thin, and dark-haired with steely-blue eyes that could cut to the quick. Now he tried to develop more of a friendship with them since they were family. But they remained aloof and only gave curt answers to his questions. Martin realized that this union of Karlo’s had not been made in heaven.

  After sljivovica had finished off the celebration, Karlo and Anna left by train for a honeymoon in San Francisco. Neither of them had spent much time in the city, especially in recent years, so they looked forward to being there. Martin contacted Stan, his friend who was head chef at the Fairmont, to let him know Karlo and Anna would be staying at the hotel and asked him to give them the royal treatment. The pair returned home, looking like a pair of lovebirds still enjoying the springtime of their lives.

  Karlo had barely been back a day when he confronted Martin. “I no longer can devote all my time to fish mongering. Anna is lonely during the day and wants me to keep her company in more ways than one.” A sly smile crossed Karlo’s lips. “We need to make the most of the time we have left. But I can still work a few mornings a week which will give Anna time to get ready for my return.”

  Martin was not happy that he was going to lose the best fishmonger he had ever had or probably would ever have again. But he couldn’t complain since Karlo had moved out of the house, giving his family both space and peace. “All right, I understand. We will work out a schedule that suits you. I certainly don’t want to lose you entirely. You have been a real asset to the store, and you have a lot to teach your understudy.”

  Despite Prohibition, the twenties were roaring as wealth continued to increase in every sector of the economy. Apple prices were up as demand increased, raising bank accounts of every apple farmer in the valley. Martin’s restaurant and grocery store benefitted from the good fortune and tables were filled every night while shopping carts were filled every day. Martin could not believe his luck when he counted receipts at the end of the month.

  Meantime, the children were all thriving on the good fortune. Clara was turning into a real beauty with long, blond locks and an hourglass figure. The boys, Frankie, Marty, and Tom Paul, were showing signs of promise as their bodies grew strong and fit. While Frankie’s was tall and slim, both Marty and Tom Paul were built with sturdy, muscled bodies. The boys even displayed an interest in books, but it was math and science they preferred. All their teachers had praise for them when Lena attended their school conferences. Their futures looked bright, almost assured.

  Chapter 36

  What had been a dream turned into a nightmare on October 24, 1929 when the stock market crashed, bringing the country to its knees. While stockbrokers in New York City jumped out of skyscraper windows, apple farmers huddled to discuss how to stem the crisis. Martin worried his businesses might go under during this challenging financial time, especially the restaurant to which he had given his heart and soul. He continued to struggle making ends meet for a couple of years, but finally he had to have a serious talk with Lena.

  “I’m afraid we might lose everything if we don’t do something fast. The restaurant is nearly empty day after day and housewives are extremely frugal at the grocery store. There are few choices left to us.”

  “Oh, Martin, I know how heavy your burden is. I’ve been worried sick but didn’t want you to know. Clara is twenty now, a young woman who should be thinking of marriage and a family. But who can plan a future in times like this?”

  “She could get a job and Frankie could work, too, after school. That would help our situation.”

  “Maybe I should go to work. Clara is old enough to run the household. If I have to earn a living in a packing shed, it won’t matter much since my youth is behind me. But I don’t want Clara to become a workwoman with rough hands and fractured nails. No man worth his salt would look at her if she ends up like that.”

  “If you are willing to work in a packing plant, I will talk with Karlo. Maybe Anna’s sons can find you a job.”

  Martin looked at Lena and saw tears bubbling up in her eyes until they overflowed and sent her into a full-blown crying fit. Instead of hugging her, he hung his head low, feeling like a failure. Lena had held up her end of the bargain, keeping a nice home, raising good children, and always being a loving, supportive partner to him. But had he kept up his end of the bargain? He was rarely home until late at night for the express reason of earning a living. But now, he couldn’t even do that with the situation the country was in. Lena was now going to have to help earn a living, too. No wonder so many New Yorkers jumped out of windows—they just couldn’t face themselves nor their wives.

  Karlo was adamantly against Lena working as Martin suggested. He refused to ask his sons-in-law if they could offer her a job. “You just have to do more, Martin. You are the man in the family. And don’t forget you are living in my house rent-free. What would happen if you had to pay a mortgage, too?”

  That was a low blow and Martin felt its power rivet through his body and also his mind. Karlo knew the money he was saving on rent was being sent back to the old country to help his family. “If you won’t help us, I’ll go to someone else. We have friends in this town that are sometimes better than family.”

  A silence lay between them while they both reflected on their words and the situation. “I’ll see what I can do,” said Karlo. “But I still don’t like the idea that Lena has to go to work in that environment with Chinks, Mexicans, and low-class women. She’ll never be the same again.”

  The next week Lena reported to Dimitri at the packing shed to begin her job. “I am going to train you to be an inspector and sorter. That’s an important job and requires awareness and dedication.”

  “What exactly will I be doing?”

  “You will be sorting the apples by grade and type, while separating out the ones not fit for selling.”

  “I thought I would be packing apples.”

  “That’s done after the grader passes them on. The packer must work quickly, wrapping each apple in paper and placing it in a crate, a job requiring skill but not judgment. You’re much better than that.”

  “I understand and am ready to start my job now.”

  “You will notice it’s chilly in the plant. That’s because we need to keep the temperature cold so the apples stay crisp. Remember to dress for the cold when you come. But in case you forget to wear a sweater or coat, I have some extras in the closet that you can borrow for the day.”

  Dmitri stood up and motioned for Lena to follow him to the shed. She immediately felt the chilled air when she entered, shivering. Dimitri noticed Lena wrapping her arms around herself and went to the closet to retrieve a sweater to keep her warm. Then he introduced her to Rose who was going to teach her everything she needed to know about inspecting apples.

  Lena looked around the room and recognized several of the women who were the wives of apple farmers. It turned out that there were different classes of women working in the packing sheds—some farmers
’ wives and daughters, some townswomen needing work, and some immigrant women of various races. Dimitri assigned Lena to work in an area with the farmers’ wives and daughters. Then Rose began to show Lena how to sort the apples and remove culls. The best thing about the job was that Lena could visit with the other women while she worked. Not only did it make the work go faster, but she passed the time in a pleasant way, even making new friends whom she might never have met otherwise.

  When payday came at the end of the week, Lena felt a new source of pride at receiving money for the work she had done. It was a major step forward for women when they won the vote in 1920. But it was a huge step for this one woman when she realized she could receive pay for a job well done just like a man. Lena put the money in her purse and went home with a sense of self-esteem she had never felt before. I like working much better than I realized.

  Meantime, Clara managed the household work and even took in sewing on the side. Frankie got a job at Filip’s apple farm while Marty got a paper route. Tom Paul was still a bit too young to work but helped Marty fold and deliver papers and make collections at the end of the month. When Tom Paul was old enough, he would get his own paper route to help the family, too.

  Martin had heard that more than a quarter of wage-earning workers in America had no job and now Oakies were heading to California in droves in search of farm work. They started in the southern part of the Central Valley and followed the harvest northward just like Martin had done after the earthquake—only they traveled with their entire family along, which was causing a housing shortage. Squatter camps were set up as temporary living quarters, but even so the million or more migrants put a strain on the communities they inhabited.