The English translation is below the Slovenian text.
Odločitev za odhod v tujino, kjer da bo boljše življenje, ni bila in ni nikoli lahka. Tam sredi 19. stoletja pa je bilo potrebno prav veliko poguma, celo drznosti, da so se posamezniki le na osnovi govoric in ugibanj odpravili v neznano, v nekakšno »Indijo Koromandijo« – v Ameriko.
Našim ljudem so bile sinonim za Ameriko vse do prve svetovne vojne Združene države Amerike (gl. tri obdobja izseljevanja). Tem izseljencem smo na Preloki rekli »merikanci«.
Za naše kmečke fante in može, vajene vasi in vaške skupnosti, poljedelskega dela, je bil prihod v ameriška naglo razvijajoča se industrijska mesta in tekmovalno družbo gotovo velik šok. Zanje je bila torej vožnja čez Atlantik – vožnja skozi stoletja. Toda nekateri posamezniki se niso odločili za večja mesta, ampak za podeželsko okolje, ki je bilo bolj podobno njihovi izvorni lokaciji.
Eden od prvih Preločanov, ki se je s trdim delom, smelostjo in sposobnostjo prilagodil novemu načinu življenja v »novem svetu« in uspel v svojem novem domu, je bil Janko Starešinič – Jamin. Rojen je bil 3. avgusta 1849 na Preloki št. 36 (danes št. 22), v Ameriko je odšel verjetno leta 1872.
Kot vedo povedati njegovi pra-pravnuki, ki so nedavno navezali stike s Preloko.si, je najverjetneje »skočil z ladje« (»jumped ship«) v Charlestonu v Južni Karolini. Od tam ga je pot vodila v Severno Karolino, v podeželsko okrožje Sampson. Tam je spoznal družino Faircloth in začel delati na žagi. Kmalu se je poročil z njihovo hčerko Rebecco (gl. poročni list iz leta 1873). Za ta del Severne Karoline so značilni posebni borovi gozdovi (vrsta Pinus palustris), kjer so pridobivali smolo, glavno surovino za terpentin, takrat močno iskan in cenjen zlasti v ladjedelništvu in kot topilo. Veliko delovne sile je bilo potrebne tudi za sečnjo in žaganje lesa, ki so ga potem po Črni reki spravljali do obale. Janko, takrat že John, je bil dober in uspešen tesar. Zgradil je več hiš, ena od njih stoji še danes. Kot uspešen poslovnež je bil sprejet tudi med »masone« – v tamkajšnjo prostozidarsko ložo (»Freemasons«). Umrl je 11. novembra 1916 na svojem domu v Severni Karolini.
Njegovi potomci so nam poslali več njegovih fotografij, ganljivo je, da še vedno hranijo molitvenik, ki ga je vzel s sabo, ko je odhajal s Preloke. Tudi sicer imamo kar nekaj pričevanj, da so naši ljudje na to dolgo in nevarno pot v neznano jemali prav molitvenike.
V arhivu Preloke.si najdete še več zgodb Preločanov in okoličanov, ki so šli s trebuhom za kruhom v ZDA (npr. tukaj). Najbolj množično so odhajali ob koncu 19. in v začetku 20. stoletja, največ v Pittsburgh, takrat središče ameriške jeklarske industrije. Na Preloki tako rekoč ni bilo hiše, ki ne bi imela tam kakega družinskega člana ali sorodnika.
Ana Starešinič (27. 4. 2024)
P. S.: Uredništvo »digitalne« Preloke se iskreno zahvaljuje Denise Cumbree Long za obsežno gradivo iz družinskega arhiva potomcev Janka Starešiniča in se veseli srečanja z njo morda kmalu še v »realni« Preloki.
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About one of our first "Americans"
The decision to go abroad for a better life was not easy and is never easy. In the middle of the 19th century, it took a lot of courage, even audacity, for individuals to go to the unknown, to a "land flowing with milk and honey« - to America, based only on rumors and guesses.
To our people, the United States of America was synonymous with America until the First World War (see the three periods of emigration). We called these emigrants "Amerikans".
For our farm boys and men, accustomed to village communities and agricultural work, the arrival in America's rapidly developing industrial cities and competitive society must have been a great shock. For them it was a ride across the Atlantic - a ride through the ages. But some individuals did not emigrate to larger cities, but prefered the more rural areas that were more similar to their homeland.
Janko Starešinič - Jamin was one of the first residents of Preloka who, with hard work, courage and ability, adapted to a new way of life in the "new world" and succeeded there in his new home. He was born on August 3, 1849 at Preloka no. 36 (today no. 22), and he probably left for America in 1872.
According to his great-great-grandchildren, who recently contacted Preloka.si, he most likely "jumped ship" in Charleston, South Carolina. From there, his path led him to North Carolina, to rural Sampson County. There he met the Faircloth family and began working in a sawmill. He soon married their daughter Rebecca (see marriage certificate from 1873). This area of North Carolina is characterized by special pine forests (Pinus palustris species), where resin was extracted, the main raw material for turpentine, then highly sought after and valued especially in shipbuilding and as a solvent. A lot of labor was also needed for cutting lumber and sawing wood, which was then brought down the Black River to the coast. Janko, then already John, was a good and successful carpenter. He built several houses, one of which still stands today. As a successful businessman, he was also accepted among the "Masons" - the local Freemasons lodge. He died on November 11, 1916 at his home in North Carolina.
His descendants sent us several photos of him, and it is touching that they still keep the prayer book that he took with him when he left Preloka. Coincidentally, we have quite a few testimonies that our people took prayer books on this long and dangerous journey into the unknown.
In the Preloke.si archive, you can find even more stories of people from Preloka and the surrounding area who went to the USA »with a belly for bread« (e.g. here). Most of them left en masse at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, and the primary destination was Pittsburgh, then the center of the American steel industry. There was practically no house on Preloka that did not have a family member or relative there.
Ana Starešinić (April 27, 2024)
P.S.: The editors of the "digital" Preloka sincerely thank Denise Cumbree Long for the extensive material from the family archive of Janko Starešinič's descendants and look forward to meeting her later this year in the "real" Preloka.