My mother visited her relatives in Slovakia in 1974 and 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."