by Elizabeth Pasto Hummer
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0ur parents, Emil and Lisabet Pasto, immigrated to this country at the turn of the century as teenagers, but even though they had attended the same school, they had never met because schools in Finland were segregated-boys half a day and girls half a day. They met in Ohio and were married there before moving, to Monessen, Pennsylvania, where there were more opportunities for employment. In 1910 father's father, who was in failing health, wrote asking him to return to Finland to manage the family estate, so my parents sold their house in Monessen and with four children in tow -Toivo, Toini, Tarno, and Tuure, they went back to Finland. Toivo and Toini entered school in Vaasa. They lived there for two years until grandfather died. The estate was sold and declared a historic site. They made plans to return to the land of golden opportunity where they could better educate their children. Mother was pregnant with me at the time and was anxious to get to America in time for my birth so that I would be an American. The year was 1912. The White Star Line was scheduled to launch a fabulous new ship on its maiden voyage to America. The ship was named Titanic and for months had been extolled as the largest, most luxurious, fastest, and safest ship ever built. Tickets were soon sold out for the 2500 passenger list, with many very wealthy and notable passengers booked for first class. Unable to get passage on this splendid new ship, the family had to settle for a lesser ship sailing three weeks earlier with a stop in Liverpool, England, the headquarters city of the White Star Line. It was there that Tanno, age 5, wandered off, causing great pandemonium as the family searched frantically before finding him blithely exploring the sights and sounds of a large industrial city. With no further mishaps, our ship arrived in the New York harbor well before my birth date of May 12th. The Titanic, its destiny disaster, sank on April 15, 1912. I can only imagine the shock and horror my parents felt as news trickled in about the colossal catastrophe which they had so narrowly escaped. It was a subject of great fascination in our family for many years. Incidentally, Captain Edward J. Smith, who was master of the Titanic, was the same captain who piloted the ship Majestic on which our mother was a passenger on her first voyage here in 1898. From the Finger Lakes Finns newsletter, February 2001. |