My fathers dad, mom, and brother, John, came to South Saint Paul around 1920 from Romania. My father, Mike Ivascu Jr., was born in the USA in a small house, that has since been torn down, that used to be behind the west goal posts of the SSP High School football field (Does anyone have a picture of that house?) Most of the Romanian city of Sinicolimara (St. Nicholas the big) came to SSP because of jobs at the stockyards and plants. They did similar jobs in Romania. My grandmother, Maria Ivascu, so missed her mother in Romania! So when my dads sister, Elizabeth, was to be born she told my grandfather she would not have another child in America and wanted to go back to Romania!! Nope, my grandfather was not doing that, so my determined grandmother left him and took my dads older brother, John, and my little father and went back to Romania without my grandfather. I look just like this grandmother and I think I got her determination as well! he he My grandfather had to go back to Romania to get his family after my dads sister was born, but this time he also brought his mother in law! He bought her a house on Southview Blvd. where the Skelly station was later built. My grandfather and his brother, George Ivascu, built identical homes right next to each other with a shared driveway on 6th. Ave. So. by Lang Florist. My dad left SSP to join the Navy and our family moved to many states for his job. I can remember my dad wanted to come back to live in SSP. At 4 years old he taught me Kaposia cheers and we visited Minnesota twice a year. Finally when I was 5 we moved to SSP. We lived with my dads father and stepmother (his mom died) on 4th Ave. So. by Lorraine Park while our tiny home was built at 145 22nd Ave. So. I am so glad my dad insisted on moving to SSP. It was a great place to grow up and some of my best values in life were formed by this small town atmosphere. What an unusual place! Everyone knew each other or were related and there were sidewalks and corner small stores yet it was minutes away from two big cities! SSP got the best teachers in the state because they gave the highest salaries! I went to kdg. at Roosevelt that my dad had also attended but changed to the new Jefferson school in 1st grade when we moved into our new home. Oh those summers of hanging around the Jefferson recreation center, swimming at the North End Pool until my blonde hair turned green, Tennis Court Dances, and playing kick ball! Winters we lived at the Jefferson skating rink and sliding hill with kind Mr. Gackstetter keeping the warming shack warm! Sadly my dad died from lung cancer when I was 12 and my mom died 5 years later. Both deaths were the result of smoking that my dad got addicted to during WWII and my mom got the second hand smoke! Years later I taught 5th grade at Jefferson School where some of my old teachers were still teaching! I now live in San Diego but visit Minnesota twice a year! Thank you for this fun Facebook site!
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:06:58 +0000