The Fortune-Teller’S Son: A Riveting Tale of Survival and Sacrifice from Old Vienna to America Based on the True Story of Otto Rigan

By Angela Blondeau

Why was six-year-old Otto Rigan alone on a ship to America in 1927?

Ottos father, Mathias, was left on the dock in Austria by his parents when they sailed to America. Why was he left? Though he was young, Mathias adopted a monkey and earned a living as a fortune-teller in Vienna.

Marriage produced a son, but within two years, his wife departed for Americaleaving Mathias with little Otto and Mucki to raise alone. Life was sparse, but the bond of love and devotion between the three was deep. When Mathias received a demand to send Otto to America, he faced an emotional dilemma. Left by his parents and then by his wife, could Mathias endure another partingthis time his boy?

Could Otto adapt to a new culture, language, and life without the only things he knew and cherishedhis devoted father and his monkey? Whats to become of Otto, the monkey, and Mathias? Could Mathias go to America to find his wife?

The heart-wrenching and emotional turmoil that each character faced in this true story of the Rigan family lies within the pages that begin in a village in Austria in 1880 to life in old Vienna to Chicago to the Worlds Fair to World War II to a military career and to places beyond in search of a father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543463262

Angela Blondeau

British born, Angela voyaged to America with her parents, aboard the Queen Mary, to settle in the Hollywood Hills. She apprenticed at Warner Brothers cartoon studio enjoying a career in animation. Later she and husband opened a photo studio in Monterey, Calif. before moving to France with three dogs. That adventure inspired Angela's first book, A Taste of the Berry. Widowed, she moved to N.Y. with current husband. Now in Coronado, California with rescue pup. Working on next book, she enjoys oil painting, gardening, ballet, classical music and assisting animals. Works towards peace for all creatures and nature on Earth.

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Copyright © 2017 by Angela Blondeau.

Library of Congress Control Number:            2017916887

ISBN:                     Hardcover                     978-1-5434-6328-6

                                Softcover                      978-1-5434-6327-9

                                eBook                            978-1-5434-6326-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 11/14/2017

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Table of Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1.     A Village Called Modra

Chapter 2.     Papa’s Dream

Chapter 3.     Mathias Meets Mucki

Chapter 4.     America And Back

Chapter 5.     Monkey Business In Vienna

Chapter 6.     Mitzi-Katzi’s World

Chapter 7.     Otti, A Christmas Babe

Chapter 8.     A Man, A Boy And A Monkey

Chapter 9.     A Judge’s Maid In America

Chapter 10.   Are There Pickles In America?

Chapter 11.   On The Big Ship, Alone

Chapter 12.   Just Mathias And Mucki

Chapter 13.   Are You My Mutter?

Chapter 14.   Chicago High Life

Chapter 15.   Leaving Gilbert Mansion

Chapter 16.   Goodbye Mucki

Chapter 17.   Summertime For Otto

Chapter 18.   Graduation

Chapter 19.   Otto Enlists

Chapter 20.   The War

Chapter 21.   Courting Lori, And I Do!

Chapter 22.   Tent Life

Chapter 23.   Moving Around

Chapter 24.   The Accident

Chapter 25.   Life In Paradise

Chapter 26.   Civilian Life

Chapter 27.   Off To See The World

Chapter 28.   Seeking Mathias

Epilogue

Dedic

ated

to Otto’s beloved father,

image1.jpg

Mathias Rigan

1888 – 1943

Who loved his son enough to give him up

Foreword

It was December 14, 1927, my sixth birthday, and my father had taken me by train from the only home I had ever known, a tiny apartment on Erdbergstrasse in Vienna, Austria to an ocean liner loading dock in Bremen, Germany.

Whilst standing on the dock with my father and other waiting passengers of the SS President Harding, my father without any remembered word of explanation suddenly began to embrace me and hug me with such intensity that I cried out from the pain. It was obvious that something was wrong, as my father was crying very deeply. This was something I had never experienced before. Something was making my Vati unhappy, and it frightened me, too.

Otto Rigan

From his Otto-biography,

Mucki and I

2010

Chapter 1

A VILLAGE CALLED MODRA

A drizzle of fine rain misted the green tangle of vineyards in the tiny foothill village of Modra, cuddled into the foothills of the Little Carpathian mountains, which was then part of the Austro-Hungary Empire. The steady rain muddied a small mound of newly turned earth, and dripped from the tattered hat of Michael Rigan as he knelt over the tiny grave to say a final goodbye to his infant son. This had been the third time Michael had buried a child born to him, and he whispered, please God, help me to help them. My children, my wife, please, no more deaths. Show me a way. He kissed his fingers and touched them to the moist soil, head bowed, before he struggled to his feet and turned for home. The old graveyard full of marked and unmarked graves, many with Irish names and Celtic crosses, had a church that was an exact copy of an ancient church in Ireland, built by the Irish during the crusades. The church was complete with a stone floor, unlike the other dwellings in Modra which had only earthen floors. Churches of both Catholic and Protestant denomination dotted the old villages, and the graveyards were a testament to the proud Slovak people who gave their lives through the many struggles with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany in their quest for emancipation.

The bent figure of Michael shuffled slowly along the wet, muddy streets of his village, not far from the old capital of Hungary known as Bratislava. His heart was heavy and his mind pondered his future as he returned to his humble home. Zuzanna, his wife, was waiting and watched him as he clambered slowly up the creaky, dark stairway. It’s done he mumbled as he staggered inside. Our baby son is now with God. Zuzanna, who had stayed at home to tend their eight other children, let out a great sob of anguish, as they fell into each other’s arms in their tiny upstairs room above the cobbler shop.

Michael and Zuzanna had married in 1876, and the children began arriving soon after. Michael, then just twenty years old, had not the privilege of a good education to help him professionally, but he had picked up the craft of shoe-making from his father. With his trade he was able to eke out a living, but it was all he could do to keep up with expenses incurred in feeding, clothing and housing his family of ten, including himself and Zuzanna.

Public life had been paralyzed for years due to political disagreements, wartime strife, overpopulation, and the economic climate of the 1880s in Europe, thus it was difficult for Michael and most other citizens of Modra to thrive. There were no secondary schools, thus trades handed down through generations were the only means of support. Agriculture was minimally subsidized, leaving farmers with small incomes, and the once famous majolica ceramic trade all but dried up.

As Michael hammered away making shoes in the tiny shop that smelled of leather and dyes, he would often look up from his toil and peer through the dingy paned window that looked out onto the dusty main street. He watched the parade of weary people dressed in their ragged clothing pass by his window, and a twinge of compassion tugged at his heart for each of those forlorn souls. He could also hear the laughter and footfalls of his children upstairs and couldn’t bear the thought of their growing into adulthood and facing the same fate with no future. He had to find a better way, and a driving force began to motivate him. America, yes! That has to be the answer, he whispered to himself. His older brother Samuel had emigrated to Chicago, where his first job as a janitor had recently given way to a more lucrative position, with good prospects for his future. Why can’t I do the same? Michael questioned aloud. Well, I can, he told himself, and that seed of desire to emigrate began to germinate. He was determined to follow the dream, no matter what it took, or how difficult a road it may be.

Mathias, their sixth child, was born with a hunched back and a left arm that had not developed normally. Malnutrition had taken its toll on many a child, a fact that Michael knew too well with the death of three of his children. He worried for his little Mathias and endeavoured to get him some extra nutrition, but the staples of life, like calcium-rich milk, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by in those austere times. Although Mathias was smaller than many other children his age, he seemed a happy boy and his parents loved him as much as their other children, though they carried a silent sadness in their hearts for Mathias. Perhaps they could find a knowledgeable doctor in America to help their deformed son.

Nighttime was most difficult for Michael as he lay in the cramped bed he shared with Zuzanna, with two of the children squeezed between them. Thoughts of the abundant opportunities Samuel in Chicago wrote about filled his mind with promise for his family, especially for Mathias. He was aware that their two tiny rooms over the shop had become too small for a household of ten and it was up to Michael to make their lives better.

Zuzanna, he uttered one evening as he lay in bed looking up at the crooked old timbers and cracked ceiling of the attic room. We must move! We can’t stay cramped together in this place with our eight children any longer.

There was a long silence before Zuzanna, who was dozing off, responded, sucking in her breath. Move, to where? Out to the countryside where you will have no customers? She turned over in bed to face him, cradling Mathias tenderly to her plump figure.

Michael stroked the ragged beard on his chin, and answered, I thought a move to Vienna would give us new opportunities, our three grown boys could have jobs, maybe more customers wanting shoes, and then we’d get on a list to migrate to America.

Zuzanna pulled herself up onto her elbow, disturbing Mathias for a moment. America! We can’t leave Modra, not with eight children. And Vienna? Michael, Vienna has too many people now, and few jobs. It would be hard to move away from our relatives, go there and try to reestablish your business. Then, uproot ourselves again to resettle in an unknown country! We don’t even speak the English. Oh Michael, I can’t think of that.

Zuzanna, Michael soothed, it’s for the children, and our future. Modra has nothing for us anymore, just the same poverty. I want to take us there, it’s a land of opportunity for us and our children. Many have gone before us, they learn the English, they find work and a better life. Look at Samuel, he took the chance! We can make it there too!

Zuzanna sighed, I know you are right, many are going. But it scares me. It seems so impossible, I can’t think anymore. I must sleep now.

Michael blew out the flickering candle at his bedside. I will find us a better life. I love you Zuzanna. Good night. He reached over the two sleeping children and gently touched his wife’s hand, before turning over and pulling the scratchy coverlet to his chin.

As Michael sat at his cobbler’s bench the following morning, images of men working in a thriving city, living in decent housing, and good food on the table, flooded his mind. He had to find a way to get onto a ship, cross the Atlantic, and pave the way to the New World.

A few days later, after some discussion with Zuzanna, her sister Sophie and husband Johann, Michael was convinced that he should go alone to America to see what the situation was. It was agreed that Zuzanna and the younger children could move into her sister and brother-in-law’s household while Michael explored his options there. Sophie and Johann had no children and he had a steady job in a big factory, so they were willing to accommodate the large family. Michael didn’t want Zuzanna to be left alone, caring for the children, while he was on his journey. Of course this plan would not transpire until Michael actually had gone.

Zuzanna was an honest wife and loving mother, taking care of her household duties without complaint. She washed the laundry in the deep kitchen sink, then hung the dripping clothing out the window to dry. There was always a pile of clothing that needed mending or darning as everyone wore the same shirt, pair of pants, socks, or pinafore for weeks on end. She saw to it that the older children had a good meal before sending them off to school. Then, with two children in tow, the youngest, Anna, and the small crippled Mathias, Zuzanna walked the earthen street to the center marketplace. Lots of potatoes, beets and other root vegetables, along with cabbage heads, went into her shopping bags. They were cheap and she could cook hearty meals like soups, stews, potato dumplings, cabbage slaw and kraut. The two children helped their Mama by carrying a cabbage or a cloth bag of vegetables back to their humble dwelling. All the children had their responsibilities within the household after they returned from school to help out their mother.

The three adult boys had completed what education they could have, and it was hoped they would find a trade working as apprentices in their village, and learning a skill. The contribution to the household from three working boys would be useful in supporting the family, but jobs were scarce. Their eldest daughter, Maria, had recently moved out of the household and married a man from Bohemia called Gabriel Sousek, and it was the young couple’s desire to move to Wisconsin and have a farm, but they didn’t want to go alone. Gabriel needed to continue his work in farming to save the necessary funds for their trip.

Michael was not one to wait around and let opportunity pass him by. He was determined to get information from local authorities to support his plan. He felt he had to travel the seventeen miles to Bratislava where the county seat was located. There he should find lists of American companies in need of workers, as they were posted in many cities of Europe. Industrial development had created an abundance of jobs, but there were not enough people in America to fill them. The new technology of converting iron into steel gave rise to a giant new industry, which had a variety of applications from railroad tracks and bridges to automobiles and skyscrapers in the larger cities. Agriculture and farming were expanding as well, and women could fill the needs of a growing garment industry. Large enterprises knew of the masses of hungry Europeans willing to provide the labor necessitated by the industrial revolution in America. They offered subsidized transportation across the Atlantic for those wanting to leave their homeland in exchange for hard work. This was a big temptation for the millions who had been forced into poverty by swelling populations, crowded cities, and dwindling employment. And Michael, along with his adult sons, could be part of that labor force. He could make an application to emigrate, and start a new life for himself and his family

The usual evening dinner in the Rigan household, consisting of potatoes and cabbage stew, sat steaming in a well-used crockery pot on the planked table, as Michael announced, I’m going to Bratislava. Zuzanna, who was serving out the stew to the young ones, stopped, spoon in mid-air, going to the big town? What for? she asked as she resumed ladling the hot liquid into the bowls. Michael responded as he began eating, I want to see what jobs are being offered, and put our family on the list. I really hope to find something in Chicago, as Samuel is there, and he tells me in letters that there is an enclave of Slavic people. We would be welcomed as family.

But Bratislava is some distance, Zuzanna sighed, concerned for her husband. It is almost to our capital, Vienna. You can’t walk there, my husband. she cautioned.

I will go by donkey cart and I will have the company of my men friends wanting to leave as well. Michael reassured her tenderly.

Zuzanna knew that she had to give her husband her blessing. It was for her and the family that he wanted to make the journey, and when Michael set his mind to something, there was no stopping him.

The early morning broke with rays of sunlight bath in the gentle hills and vineyards of Modra in a warm, golden glow, as Michael made preparations for his journey. He was filled with boyish excitement at the prospect of going. His friend Ivan arrived with the wooden cart and his donkey. Michael took one look at the small cart and the pitiful little donkey and couldn’t imagine going to Bratislava with three other men in such a cramped cart, let alone the burden on that poor donkey. Ivan, we must get a larger cart and two donkeys or horses if we want to go together, voiced Michael. Yes, I agree, and my neighbor offered to lend me his cart with a sturdy horse, but I was stubborn. Now I am sorry, but if he will lend them to us now, I can let him use my cart and donkey while we are gone, so he can make his rounds through the hamlet, Ivan suggested.

It was a wise solution, and Ivan returned with the larger cart and horse. The other two men arrived, each carrying a cloth knapsack of meager provisions that their wives had prepared. With a quick farewell and Godspeed from the family, the cart, horse and the four men were of trotting away to Bratislava, throwing a cloud of dust behind them as they became a speck on the horizon.

The eldest son, Jan, was now head of the family while Michael was away, making sure his mama, Zuzanna and his siblings were safe. He also was in charge of the little cobbler shop, and his father had left him a few shoes that needed finishing before the customers came by to pick them up. He was pleased that his father was going to Bratislava to explore the opportunities. It could change his world too. The smaller children thought it strange to have supper without Papa seated at the table. Mathias normally sat next to Michael, and as he looked at the empty chair, his little voice piped up, asking, where’s Papa? The three girls and the second youngest boy chimed in as well, yes, Mama, where is Papa tonight? Zuzanna looked lovingly at her children and with a soft smile on her lips, said, Papa has gone to Bratislava, so we can get to America. He will be home tomorrow. Mathias looked at his young brother, then his mother. What’s America? he questioned with a wrinkled nose.

Ah, my children, your Papa wants us to have a better life, and America is a country of warm honey and sweets. It is across the big ocean, something we have never seen here in Modra, but it is beautiful, and we will go there and find riches, smiled Zuzanna with a dreamy look in her dark eyes.

Michael and the three weary travelers returned the following day with hopeful news of the prospects of employment and a new life. The Rigan family name had been added to the list, with the three eldest boys being the best candidates, as they were young, strong and without burdens. It was likely that they would be called first, perhaps a matter of a week or two.

The family was grateful to be together again, and over a special dinner that Zuzanna had prepared, along with a good bottle of Modra wine, the family celebrated the joyful news. Now they had a definite plan. The idea of making an interim move to Vienna was abandoned as it was quite clear that Vienna would not solve the employment problem. It was agreed that their three adult sons, Jan, age 25, Daniel, 24, and Ludvik, 22, should go first, as soon as their applications were approved. Michael and his oldest daughter, Maria, 26, and her husband Gabriel, would follow later in the year, paying their own way. Their objective was that the family members who had emigrated and held jobs would send money back to Modra, to add to the fund to purchase the tickets to get Zuzanna and the five remaining children, Suzanna, age 18, Mathias, 14, Samuel, 13, Ludmila, 11 and Anna, 6, to America.

Chapter 2

PAPA’S DREAM

The summer of 1903 brought grand news and general jubilation when it was learned that their three eldest sons had been chosen by a large factory to join the workforce somewhere in Chicago. This manufacturer would pay the twelve dollars per person fare for the three boys to cross the Atlantic, and they would also provide housing for them in a Chicago neighborhood, if they wished.

Michael immediately wrote to Samuel and told him about the company in Chicago that had hired his three sons, as well as the location of the plant. He couldn’t wait for Samuel’s response and hoped that it was near Samuel’s neighborhood.

Zuzanna began sewing new shirts for her three sons, along with colorful peasant vests, as she wanted them to look their finest. The rules were rather restrictive as to what personal possessions they could bring, as anything over the bare necessities would be charged additional fare. It was unknown how long it would be before Michael would join his sons, but they all hoped it would be within the year.

The day of departure came with a mixture of joy and adventure, but also tears. The four sisters would miss their brothers, but the two younger brothers were rather excited to see their 3 brothers going to a new world of prosperity, knowing that before long they would be there too. The brothers promised their parents that they would send letters of their safe arrival, and details of their new lives in America. Michael hugged each of his boys and kissed their young faces. Go my sons, be prosperous, and find my brother, Samuel in Chicago, as he waits for you.

The journey was long and tedious as the train rocked and rattled on the noisy tracks. Images of the verdant Austrian and German countryside, in full summer foliage, flicked past the windows endlessly as the train traveled northward to Bremen in Germany where the port to the Atlantic Ocean lay. A sea of huddled people standing on the docks, clutching bundles of treasured belongings, confronted the three brothers as they alighted from their train. At once they were asked to show their documents, and ushered to a long line of waiting passengers near a gangplank to board the large vessel. The three brothers were on their way!

Life returned to normal in the Rigan family, with Michael making shoes downstairs whilst imagining his boys so far away in America. Zuzanna tended the remaining children as well as shopping, cooking, washing and mending. There certainly was more room around the kitchen table, and Michael and Zuzanna no longer had to share a bed with their children. But in the still of night, when the fire was out and everyone tucked soundly into bed, anxiety crept into Michael’s thoughts. He whispered often to Zuzanna in the dark of night, I want our boys to be happy, and have decent jobs where they learn a skill. I hope they are with Samuel and learning the American words, he worried. It is very important they know the English. I need to go soon and see them, and find my work there. Zuzanna soothed his mind with her soft voice and calming words, They are fine boys, and have some education to help them. And you will soon go to them. Maria tells me that she and Gabriel have saved more money and they are ready to leave. She wants you to go with them. So, you will have your dream, Michael. Now sleep. It wasn’t long before Zuzanna heard her husband’s soft breath of sleep, and she too drifted into contented slumber.

Michael had remembered his wife’s words as he had drifted into sleep, but now with a new day dawning he wanted to make plans with Maria and Gabriel for their journey West. Samuel had told him of many restaurants needing mature gentlemen as waiters. It was night work, and most younger, able-bodied men were selected for day work in the factories, so restaurant positions were difficult to fill, but it was good work for mature gentlemen. Michael expressed an interest to his brother by letter, and informed him of the plans to depart with his daughter Maria,