[original page 43]
We ate on long tables covered with tablecloths, and we were served by waiters. We were told by the Jewish sailor that the meats were kosher, which we ate. Mother would not touch the meat, but she did eat the fresh bakery goods and fruit compote, which we brought to her in our third-class stateroom. Our stateroom consisted of four individual bunks, all this for only six people!...
Imagine coming from our semi-primitive Visoko, Litovsk, and having an objection to anything, with all of the above-mentioned satisfactory features. But one phase of life on that real luxury liner did not please me. I had an unpleasant odd sensation and felt disturbed whenever I entered the large men's room on our deck. There were always many men standing in groups, smoking and talking. In the center of that large room was a square of partitioned sections with toilets. The heads, shoulders, and feet of each occupant [were] exposed.
Then, during my romping around on other levels of the ship, I discovered that on the second level there was a room where the toilets were completely enclosed. After a few trips to that newly discovered luxury, I thought it strange that only women were using those facilities. They did not object to my presence, and I welcomed their smiles.
We crossed the Atlantic Ocean in six and one-half days, less time than it [had taken] for us to cross the North Sea from Riga. The crossing was pleasant, and the passengers we met were friendly. We children had fun romping up and down the higher levels of the ship. We could not understand why Mother would not join us…
Canada and America!
We encountered no difficulty at the Port of Entry in Montreal, Canada.
We were instructed how to get on the correct train to Chicago, where we changed trains for St. Paul, Minn.- to end our travels for many years ... and to start a NEW LIFE for each of us.
At the Union Station in St. Paul we were met by Father, who had borrowed a horse and a junk wagon in which to transport us and our bundles of luggage. That horse and wagon was quite a contrast to the carriage in which we [had ridden] in Liverpool, England. That carriage had wooden wheels with a raised band of solid rubber in between the steel rims and canopy top. However, in the unusual new excitement, everything was overlooked. The wagon was loaded with our much traveled and handled bundles, all in perfect condition and impregnated strongly with ocean odors, and off we went, seated in comfort on the bundles.
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