My mom

Born: Ekatherine Dones
December 13, 1906
Beideck, Russia

After arriving in American, her name was changed to Catherine Dones.

Beideck, Russia was a German settlement near the Volga River in the Southwestern part of Russia.

My grandfather, grandmother, mother, aunt and uncle lived with my great grandmother on a farm in Russia when they decided that they wanted to come to America but my great grandmother did not want to leave her home so she asked them to wait until she passed away. A year later, she died and the family started to immigrate to America.

My grandfather left Beideck in January 1912 for America and left the family behind. He wanted to get settled before they all made the move. He went to Kansas and worked in the wheat fields and then on to Denver to work in the packing house. A few months later, the rest of the family sold all of their belongings, tied their clothing and bedding in a sheet and took a train to a town in Russia to catch the first of two ships. It took 2 weeks to get their paper work and passports, than another week for the Russian ship to arrive. They were all put in a large area with bunks 3 high and everyone slept together. They ate in the mess hall and were served tea, bran bread, jacket potatoes and pickled herring. The last 48 hours of the trip, they ran into a bad storm. My mom was sea sick the whole trip and my uncle hit his head and was unconscious most of the time. They finally landed in Scotland, got on a train and 2 days later, arrived in Liverpool, England where they were to board a U S ship headed for America.

Their ship, The Carmania, was a very clean ship with staterooms for each family. They were never allowed to go up on deck but all the kids entertained themselves in the dining room and helped the crew clean up. The crew would give them rye bread and dates for helping. This was where they got their first taste of ice cream, sweet pickles and white bread.

When the ship arrived at Ellis Island, they were all worried about the health inspection. If anyone had any health problems, mainly in the eyes, they were put back on the ship and sent home. They also had to go through a financial inspection and had to have a certain amount of money and if they didn't they were also sent back home. My grandmother had a new quilt filled with camel hair and the inspectors cut holes in it because they couldn't have anything new, and let it go through because it was defective.

They settled in Brush, Colo. School was very hard for them because they spoke only German. My mom only got to go to school until the 6th grade and then she had to drop out so she could help with her 10 siblings and also help in the fields.

In 1936, she married my dad and she finally was able to become an American citizen on November 4, 1948.

My blip today is a picture of her confirmation when she was around 13 years old, her paper work when she became an American citizen, a picture of her when she was 97 years old looking at the orchids that she grew and her double wedding ring quilt that she made for me when she was 90. When she passed away, she was almost 99. She had a very good and healthy life. She is missed by her family and friends and will always be in our hearts.

We love you mom and miss you.