Was it ever like Rockwell?

Yes, certainly! However, we never took pictures. Instead, most of our Rockwell moments were on Christmas Eve – our traditional Slovak, meatless, Catholic “12 course” dinner:
Oplatki – Wafer hosts for Catholic communion,
Machanka – Sour Mushroom Soup
Pascha – Bread
Perogi (six courses) – Potato, Sauerkraut, Sweet Cabbage, Cheese, Prune, Apricot
Fried fish – Most years, Lake Erie perch
Potatoes
Cole Slaw
Bobalki – Sweet bread rolls with honey and poppy seeds

Some finished it off with split pea or bean soup.

That meal has been a family tradition since my maternal grandmother and my 7 month old mom came through Ellis Island in 1925. It has been held every year since then with just a couple of exceptions – in 1975, when my maternal grandmother died, and in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID.

I’ve attended every year since 1952 with the exception of 1975, and a couple of other years when I could not be present.

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