Odysseys: Immigrant offers help to recent newcomers

Odysseys: Immigrant offers help to recent newcomers

Mila Kogos (middle) at a Penguins game with her granddaughter Anna (left) and daughter, Alona (right).

By Madeline Conway

When Lyudmila Kogos arrived in Pittsburgh on July 4, 1993, a set table was waiting for her in Squirrel Hill. She had traveled for hours with her husband, mother, father-in-law and 14-year-old daughter, as the family moved to Pittsburgh from Chisinau, Moldova’s capital city. Independence Day was her first day in the United States, and “Mila,” as she’s known to friends, spent it with the neighborhood that welcomed her and would become her home.

Victor Pelakh of Squirrel Hill, a former colleague of Mila’s late husband, Simon, had a refrigerator stocked with the multiple-course meal that he planned to serve them upon their arrival. He greeted the family at Pittsburgh International Airport. He arrived late, and they were exhausted after about 20 hours of travel, Mr. Pelakh remembers. Mila’s daughter, Alona, fell asleep on his couch.

Mila, now 55, has extended a similar hand to Moldovan immigrants in the years since she moved to Pittsburgh, a city she loves and unequivocally calls home. Born in Ukraine and having attended college in Moscow after moving to Moldova at age 4, she has helped seven families immigrate here, going so far as to play host to friends in her home upon their arrival.

“It was just a constant flow of people,” Alona recalled. “Quite a few families from Moldova or the former Soviet Union lived at our house at some point.”

Mila is part of a community of Russian-speaking immigrants living in the city, many in Squirrel Hill, that she credits for her success here.

“I had a very good experience with people all around,” Mila said. “They’re from different countries, but [in] this country, helping each other — that ‘what it’ all about.”

Problems facing the Moldovan economy in the years after the Soviet Union’1991 collapse prompted Mila, a trained engineer and teacher, to move to the U.S. with her family. They could have moved to New York City, where she has relatives, but Mila wanted to raise her daughter in a smaller city, she said. Mr. Pelakh, a U.S. resident since 1986, invited them to Pittsburgh, and although she had “no clue” what the city had to offer, Mila did some research and ended up bringing her family here.

She’s lived in Squirrel Hill since her arrival.

The neighborhood is central to the story behind Mila’s identity as a Pittsburgher. When they arrived, Mila and her extended family lived under one roof, an arrangement she said was in some ways challenging but provided them with support as they learned English. Friends throughout the neighborhood, too, were key in transitioning. Mila made friends in her English classes, and Mr. Pelakh introduced her family to others. Squirrel Hill has a sizable Russian-speaking population, and Alona said her mother and family have developed “such a great circle of friends.”

“We had so many friends, right away,” said Mila, who taught gymnastics in Moldova and had a gymnastics school in Pittsburgh.

When she talks about her love for Pittsburgh, from its skyline and bridges to its sports teams, Mila quickly returns to its people. She has seen Pittsburgh change physically over the past two decades, but its people “are not changing a lot,” she said. Mr. Pelakh, a retired engineer, years ago introduced Mila’s family to the lifestyle in Pittsburgh and taught them “basic things” such as how to pay their bills, but Mila ended up helping him make friends later on, he said.

“She introduced me to a lot of people, after a while,” Mr. Pelakh said. “I knew through them many more people than I knew before that.”

1 Comment

Jake SurtesNEW23 hours ago Why allow more people into the United States to compete for the too few jobs there are here? Doesn't sound like they are political refugees.

1. 
   According to the article, what was the first welcoming act Mila experienced in America?
   
   1. 
      A home-cooked meal b. A warm embrace c. A party d. None of these
      
2. 
   Based on this sentence in the reading, “Squirrel Hill has a sizable Russian-speaking population, and Alona said her mother and family have developed ‘such a great circle of friends’” you know that Squirrel Hill is similar to what?
   
   1. 
      Benevolent society b. ethnic neighborhood c. tenement d. business
      
3. 
   Based on information from the reading, why does Mila do what she does for immigrants?
   
   1. 
      She believes it is the right thing to do c. She wants a better life for her family
      
   2. 
      Others did the same for her d. She is proud to live in Pittsburgh
      

4. 
   What would be a synonym for unequivocally?
   
   1. 
      Hesitantly b. Regretfully c. Proudly d. Rightfully
      
      
5. 
   The comment typed by Jake Surtes would be similar to that typed by a what?
   
   1. 
      Nativist b. Social Darwinist c. Benevolent Society member d. Politician
      

6. 
   City Life
   
   1. 
      By 1900, 40% of Americans lived in urban areas (dramatic shift)
      
      1. 
         Immigrants responsible for much of the growth
         
      2. 
         Chicago, Il: 30,000 residents in 1850, up to 1.7 million by 1900
         
         1. 
            Location along RR + job opportunities for blacks and immigrants
            
   2. 
      Changing Cities
      
      1. 
         Cities not prepared for rapid growth; New technologies developed b/c of this
         
         1. 
            Skyscrapers – build buildings up and not out
            
            1. 
               Steel industry grew b/c of Bessemer Process, steel used to build skyscrapers, and modern elevator invented/modified in 1850
               
         2. 
            Mass transit
            
            1. 
               Elevated trains (1860s), subways (1897), cable cars, trolleys
               
            2. 
               Many moved to suburbs if wealthy enough & took transit to cities
               
         3. 
            New ideas – Mass culture = new entertainment options
            
            1. 
               Newspapers – 1896, Joseph Pulitzer added comics to his New York World newspaper; caught on nationwide
               
            2. 
               Department stores late 1800s
               
               1. 
                  Marshall Field – First large scale department store; restaurant inside, newspaper ads & window displays
                  
            3. 
               World Fairs – first ice cream cone in 1904
               
            4. 
               Central Park in NY – Frederick Law Olmsted
               
            5. 
               Amusement Parks – Kennywood Park in 1898
               

Learning Goal 9 – I will be able to:

Kennywood History

Founded in 1898 as a small trolley park near Pittsburgh, Kennywood was begun by the Monongahela Street Railway Company, which was controlled by Andrew Mellon. Today's Kennywood still contains two major buildings dating from 1898 -- a carousel pavilion and a restaurant (originally the Casino).

At the turn of the century, Kennywood was engaged in a fierce battle for survival with about a dozen other trolley parks and amusement resorts in Western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Street Railway Company wanted to get out of the amusement park business in 1902 so it subleased the park to first a Boston Company and later to a group from Aspinwall. In 1906, Pittsburgh Railway Company assigned its lease to A.S. McSwigan and Frederick W. Henninger.

Many changes occurred between 1900 and 1930. In the early 1910's, Kennywood built two large roller coasters: The Racer and the Speed-O-Plane. Important rides added in the 1920's were three coasters: Jack Rabbit (Designed by Miller and Baker in 1920), Pippin (designed by John Miller in 1924 and today known as the Thunderbolt), and Racer in 1927 replacing the old Racer built in 1910. The park added a huge swimming pool in 1925.

The Great Depression from 1930 to 1935 was especially hard on the park. Dancing helped keep the park in business during this period as great dance bands played in the park from 1930 to 1950. Kennywood prospered in the second half of the 1930's as new rides including Noah's Ark (1936) were added. During the Second World War period, the park couldn't add new rides, but it did buy a used ferris wheel and a miniature train. It still operates the latter.

In the 1950's school picnics grew by leaps and bounds. The park added many new rides to Kiddieland. Some popular rides in this period included the Hurricane, the Looper, the Rotor (the first ride imported from Europe), the Wild Mouse and the Octopus. With the 1960's and 1970's came competition from "Disneyland" and other theme parks. Kennywood decided to spend the money necessary to remain competitive. The Turnpike was built in 1966 followed in 1968 by the Thunderbolt, which was redesigned from the Pippin by resident coaster whiz, Andy Vettel. With the Thunderbolt came the designation "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World." The Dance Pavilion, a dark ride since the 1950's, burned in 1975.

In the 1980'sand 1990's Kennywood had to keep up with changes in the amusement industry. They added the Raging Rapids in 1985. The park was designated a national historic landmark in 1987. One of the most popular additions to the park was a new steel-looping coaster the Steel Phantom in 1991. The Steel Phantom's top speed was 80 MPH, its longest drop was 225 feet and it featured 4 loops. The park continued to grow with its largest expansion ever in 1995 Lost Kennywood. This replica of the Luna Parks from the turn of the century houses some of the parks most popular rides today. Some rides you can find in this section include the Exterminator, the Pittfall, the Pittsburgh Plunge and the Whip.

As Kennywood moves through the 21st century it continues to keep a balance of change and preservation of tradition which has always been important to its success. Kennywood remains one of "America's Finest Traditional Amusement Parks.

Learning Goal 10 – I will be able to:

1. 
   Progressives = reformers who tried to fix problems in American society, primarily cities
   
2. 
   Muckrakers – Progressive journalists who wrote about problems in society
   

1. 
   “Dug up dirt” – “raked muck” – exposed problems in society
   

1. 
   Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives – photoessay of conditions in NYC
   
2. 
   Upton Sinclair – The Jungle – led to passage of the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906 under president Teddy Roosevelt
   

2. 
   Major goal to help urban poor – codes, parks, sanitation, death rates down
   
3. 
   Problems exposed
   

1. 
   Shortages of affordable housing, people living in cramped tenements
   
2. 
   Sanitation problems b/c no trash collection, no laws governing food safety
   
3. 
   No laws requiring landlords to fix buildings or maintain safety standards
   
4. 
   Few/no windows, scarce running water, indoor plumbing, clean water
   
5. 
   Diseases & bacteria – 1870, Chicago babies=50/50 chance of living to 2.
   
6. 
   Air pollution – Pittsburgh: turned on lights during the day
   

4. 
   Eventually, new sewage and water systems improved sanitation
   

3. 
   Improving City Life
   

1. 
   1901 New York State Tenement House Act became model for all states
   
2. 
   Settlement houses – Neighborhood centers offered education, recreation, etc.
   

12. 
    1889, Jane Addams & Ellen Gates Starr opened Hull House, most famous
    

Cut up by the two-thousand-revolutions- a-minute flyers, and mixed with half a ton of other meat, no odor that ever was in a ham could make any difference. There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white--it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption. There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together. This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one-- there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit. There was no place for the men to wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the sausage. There were the butt-ends of smoked meat, and the scraps of corned beef, and all the odds and ends of the waste of the plants, that would be dumped into old barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of rigid economy which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and among these was the cleaning out of the waste barrels. Every spring they did it; and in the barrels would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water--and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public's breakfast. Some of it they would make into "smoked" sausage--but as the smoking took time, and was therefore expensive, they would call upon their chemistry department, and preserve it with borax and color it with gelatine to make it brown. All of their sausage came out of the same bowl, but when they came to wrap it they would stamp some of it "special," and for this they would charge two cents more a pound.

So what problems do you see? What foreign “substances” went into the sausage?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. 
   Problems and Solutions
   
   1. 
      Political
      
      1. 
         Late 1800s, politics dominated by political machines – organizations that used different strategies to get candidates in office
         
         1. 
            Stuffed ballot boxes, paid voters, bribes, etc.
            
         2. 
            Political bosses = leaders of political machines
            
         3. 
            Spoils System – giving government jobs based on loyalty, get unqualified people filling jobs
            
            1. 
               Begun by Thomas Jefferson, made famous by Andrew Jackson who fired federal employees after he was elected in replaced them with men loyal to him, but who lacked experience or qualification
               
            2. 
               Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 tried to award jobs based on merit; candidates for government jobs had to pass a test
               
      2. 
         Tammany Hall – New York City political machine, 12,000 gov’t jobs to supporters
         
   2. 
      Voting Problems and solutions
      
      1. 
         Government is providing more to the citizens and has to find ways to raise revenue to pay for it
         
         1. 
            Solution – 16^th Amendment
            
      2. 
         State governments chose US Senators – led to bribery and favoritism
         
         1. 
            Solution – 17^th Amendment
            
            1. 
               Gives people the power to vote for their own Senators
               
      3. 
         State governments and political machines selected candidates for office – led to more bribery, corruption, and unqualified candidates
         
         1. 
            Solution – Direct Primary
            
            1. 
               Voters choose their candidates for public office
               
      4. 
         State governments not listening to wishes and needs of their constituents
         
         1. 
            Solution – Initiative
            
            1. 
               Voters can propose new laws by getting signatures on petitions
               
      5. 
         State governments passing unfair/unpopular new laws or taxes
         
         1. 
            Solution – Referendum
            
            1. 
               Voters can approve or reject some laws/taxes passed by gov’t
               
      6. 
         Some politicians proving to be unpopular and/or incompetent
         
         1. 
            Solution – Recall
            
            1. 
               Special election before the end of a politician’s term in office
               
      7. 
         Some politicians making promises and the voters not able to tell if they were being kept/broken
         
         1. 
            Solution – Wisconsin Plan
            
            1. 
               Proposed by Robert LaFollette, makes a politician’s voting record public info so people can see how their representatives are voting
               
   3. 
      Big Idea – When people have more information and more say in the political process, they have more power.
      

1. 
   Initiative A. People elect senators instead of state governments doing it
   
2. 
   Referendum B. giving government jobs based on loyalty; fixed with Pendleton
   
3. 
   Recall C. Established income tax; government has a right to a portion of your money
   
4. 
   16^th Amendment D. People can initiate new laws or taxes
   
5. 
   Spoils System E. People can vote on a proposed new law or tax
   
6. 
   17^th Amendment F. People choose their candidates instead of state governments choosing them
   
7. 
   Direct Primary G. People can vote out of office a poor or corrupt official before their term is up
   
8. 
   Wisconsin Plan H. Makes a politicians’ voting record public information
   

These are screenshots from the website http://www.ontheissues.org and show how Keith Rothfus (your rep in the House of Representatives), Bob Casey (one of your senators in the US Senate) and Pat Toomey (your other Senator) voted on the issue of abortion.

From what you learned today, summarize in 4-5 sentences how this website is possible by explaining the history of this reform. What problems existed, what was done about them, and how does that relate to life today?

Learning Goal 12 – I will be able to:
-Cite examples of problems workers faced during the Progressive Era (children’s employment, long hours, low wages, injuries on the job, company towns, scrip)
-Explain the solutions that were attempted
-Summarize the response of the US Supreme Court to worker’s rights laws and how it affected union membership

8. 
   Reforming the Workplace
   
   1. 
      Improving Conditions for Children
      
      1. 
         1.75 million kids under 15 worked in factories, mines, mills, etc. in 1900
         
         1. 
            Boys – sold newspapers, shined shoes, Girls – cooked or cleaned, worked at home w/ mothers
            
      2. 
         1916-1919, Congress worked to pass child labor laws
         
         1. 
            Ruled unconstitutional b/c Supreme Court said it’s not the government’s job to regulate wages
            
         2. 
            If the wage at the factory is too low, you have the right to go to a different factory and try to work there – Problem = ALL factories paid low wages!
            
   2. 
      Improving the workplace
      
      1. 
         Workers paid low wages to work in dangerous factories and mines for long hours
         
         1. 
            Some parents needed kids to work and lied about the ages of their children
            
      2. 
         1912, Massachusetts passed first minimum wage law
         
      3. 
         Company towns
         
         1. 
            Some employers made their workers live in houses owned by the employer, and made them shop in stores the employer owned as well
            
         2. 
            Paid in scrip
            
            1. 
               Fake money only good in the company town
               
            2. 
               Not completely outlawed until the 1950s, though unpopular and began disappear before
               
   3. 
      Safety and Working Conditions
      
      1. 
         1900 – 35,000 people died in workplace accidents
         
      2. 
         1911, Triangle Shirtwaist Company – New York City
         
      3. 
         146 people died b/c factory owners locked exits
         
      4. 
         Worker’s Compensation – guaranteed portion of lost wages to workers
         
      5. 
         Laws passed limiting workday to 10 hours
         
         1. 
            Supreme Court ruled against laws limiting workdays to 10 hours
            
            1. 
               Ruled government does not have the right to limit the working contract into which people and employers enter
               
      6. 
         Unions and membership increased – if laws wouldn’t help, unions would!
         
      7. 
         Not perfect and didn’t solve all problems, but first time government passed laws to help workers
         

-2. Why was the 1902 Coal Miner’s strike so important?

-3. True False The Supreme Court’s ruling against laws to help workers increased union membership.

Learning Goal 12 – I will be able to:
-Cite examples of problems workers faced during the Progressive Era (children’s employment, long hours, low wages, injuries on the job, company towns, scrip)
-Explain the solutions that were attempted
-Summarize the response of the US Supreme Court to worker’s rights laws and how it affected union membership

Problems	Solutions

US Supreme Court __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Learning Goal 13 – I will be able to:

9. 
   Women & Minorities
   
   1. 
      During the Progressive movement, women and minorities saw ways to get involved in bringing about changes to help make life more fair. They were taking advantage of new educational opportunities and working hard to prove that they should be treated equally
      
   2. 
      Women Fight for Temperance and Voting Rights
      
      1. 
         More educational opportunities for women
         
         1. 
            Temperance movement – sought to make alcohol illegal b/c they blamed it for many problems in society
            
            1. 
               Woman’s Christian Temperance Union – closed 1,000 saloons
               
            2. 
               1919 18^th Amendment – banned the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol
               
      2. 
         Suffrage = right to vote
         
         1. 
            Many fought against women voting
            
         2. 
            1848, Seneca Convention – First Women’s Rights Convention
            
            1. 
               Declaration of Sentiments
               
         3. 
            1855, National Women’s Rights Convention
            
         4. 
            1890, National American Woman Suffrage Association
            
            1. 
               Founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to promote women’s suffrage, or voting rights
               
         5. 
            Alice Paul and other reformers jailed for demonstrations and protests
            
         6. 
            1919, 19^th Amendment protected American women’s right to vote
            
   3. 
      African Americans Challenge Discrimination
      
      1. 
         Booker T. Washington
         
         1. 
            Born into slavery, encouraged African Americans to improve educational and economic well-being to end discrimination
            
      2. 
         Ida B. Wells
         
         1. 
            Wrote articles about unequal education available to African American children and the lynching of blacks in the south
            
            1. 
               Over 3,000 lynchings between 1885-1915
               
      3. 
         W.E.B. DuBois
         
         1. 
            Believed African Americans should protest unjust treatment and demand equal rights; one founder of the NAACP
            
            1. 
               National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
               
               1. 
                  Largest Civil Rights organization today
                  
   4. 
      The Progressive Movement’s Legacy
      
      1. 
         Made many long lasting changes to American society
         
      2. 
         Raised constitutional questions about just how much power the government has or should have. How much power should they have over American businesses? If the government is too involved, businesses will suffer, and if businesses suffer, people lose their jobs. But if government is not involved at all, businesses can take advantage of workers.