My mother wrote about her trip: "In 1975, Czechoslovakia broke-up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but really, their history goes back to the first settlers in the first half of the 15th century. For 500 years, they managed to cope with both the vicissitudes of nature and human beings. The inhabitants had to deal with ever increasing taxation by landlords and overlords. In 1646, the people were converted from the Roman Catholic religion to the Greek Catholic faith and for them, conditions improved. A catastrophic crop failure in the 1850's resulted in a decrease in population and a significant emigration overseas. World War I was the next calamity. These lands became part of the front line between Austria-Hungary and the Russian armies. With the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the territories became part of Hungary. They again became a front line in World War II and on Oct 12, 1944 were " liberated" by the Soviet Army and became part of Czechoslovakia. In 1974, I made a trip to the place where my parents once lived. I recalled the name of my mother's birthplace as Zboj which is in the easternmost part of Czechoslovakia near the border of Ukraine. My father was from the nearby village of Ulic. I remember how my father would sign his name John Sulic with a little mark over the c to indicate that it is pronounced ch. When he emigrated just before World War I, the immigration officer at Ellis Island changed his name to Sulich. I had a memorable visit with my mother's relatives over the weekend. They spoke no English and the Russian I spoke as a child slowly returned so I could communicate with them.
This was my adventure."

My mother's parents emigrated from eastern Europe in the early 1900's from what is now Slovakia. Her father in 1914 and her mother in 1921. They passed through Ellis Island on their journey and here are their records. Interesting note - my Grandmother traveled on the Olympic - sister ship to the Titanic.

My grandfather and grandmother were from neighboring villages, but they didn't know each other until they had both emigrated to Endicott, New York. There was a shoe factory called Endicott Johnson ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endicott_Johnson_Corporation ) that utilized a lot of Slovakian workers and Endicott became a magnet for Slovakian emigrants. My grandfather was the oldest of three brothers and a sister and was the first to emigrate. His sister followed, but World War One intervened and the two younger brothers stayed behind. My grandfather was born in 1890 so he was 24 when he left for America. Here is picture of him.

I recall my mother being very happy having reconnected with her extended family. Now, fast forward 20 years and along comes the Internet. I had created my own website that includes my mother's description of her Slovakia visit, and one day I see a comment from someone claiming to be a relative. My first reaction was that it was a scammer, but they attached the picture that includes my mother that you see above! It was Michaela Sulic, a girl about my daughter's age, who teaches Math and English in Slovakia. She had been searching the internet for references to Sulich and came across my web site! Well, this opened a door for communication with my mother's relatives and we have been enjoying communicating and sharing with these folks for the past 15 years. Then, in 2023, Susan and I retired and took a month-long trip to Europe. As part of our trip we visited these relatives. They were so gracious and hospitable and took us all around the "old country." Here is a picture of us taken at the exact same spot where my mother's picture was taken years earlier (a family driveway.)

Over the years the region was claimed at times by Hungary, Austria, and after WW2, by Russia, making emigration impossible.

My mother was born and raised in Endicott where Russian was spoken in the home. She only learned English when she went to elementary school. In 1974 (when I was 19) she and my father were visiting Vienna, Austria, which borders Slovakia. My mother was able to obtain a pass to cross the "iron curtain" and visit Slovakia. My father didn't go with her because this would have violated the terms of his security clearance. My mother took a train to her father's old village and, once there, began talking to locals until they were able to figure out who she was and put her in touch with her relatives. They took this picture:

My Sulich Family

I learned that the people from this region of the world consider themselves Carpatho-Rusyns and their land is Carpathian Ruthenia From wikipedia: The name Carpathian Ruthenia is sometimes used for the contiguous cross-border area of Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland inhabited by Ruthenians. The local Ruthenian population self-identifies in different ways: some consider themselves to be a separate and unique Slavic group of Rusyns and some consider themselves to be both Rusyns and Ukrainians. To describe their home region, most of them use the term Zakarpattia (Trans-Carpathia; literally "beyond the Carpathian mountains"). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcarpathia )

Visiting my distant relatives in my ancestral home was wonderful and proved to be the highlight of our trip!