2943: An Immigrant Girl's Childhood in St. Louis (2002)

Rags, old iron. With the cry of the ragman calling for secondhand goods, enter the poor but jubilant world of Millie Petrov, an immigrant girl whose parents traded the harsh Eastern European peasant life for a new beginning in America. Visit the St. Louis of the 1920s and this bustling immigrant neighborhood, where the clatter of streetcars is background music for the colorful family who lives in the upstairs flat at 2943 Chouteau Avenue: Mama and Papa, Millie and her seven brothers and sisters. In this crowded two-room flat, the Petrov family struggles to learn English and become good Americans. Here they eat lard on bread for dinner because Papa searches for that million-dollar invention rather than working for somebody else. Mama has h... full descriptioner sad face on as she steps off the streetcar at the end of the day, stooped and tired from scrubbing floors for other people. But Millie and the kids enjoy their childhood, poor or not—years full of mischievous adventures, hilarious escapades and touching moments. Watch as through it all, love of country and their belief that family is everything triumphs over every hardship. Join Millie as she draws from her rich well of memories to take you on a joyous and heartwarming journey into America's not-too-distant past and a Serbian girl's first decade in America. (less description)

Author: Millicent Petrov Shyne

Categories: Ethnic & National, Historical, Specific Groups, Family & Childhood, Memoirs, Europe, Biographies & Memoirs, History