#romanian immigration to canada

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Read Murder Charge In Police Ambulance,” Toronto Star. December 22, 1932. Page 3. ---- Mike Tkach Remanded for Week on Removal from Jail to Hospital ---- Sufficiently recovered to be moved to the Don jail hospital from the Toronto Western hospital where he has been near death for almost three months from self-inflicted bullet wounds, Mike Tkach was remanded for one week on a murder charge.

Tkach attempted to take his own life following the alleged murder of Mrs. Fanny Robulack, Sixth St., New Toronto.

Tkach was moved by ambulance from the Toronto Western hospital to the rear of the court house where Magistrate Keith and Crown Attorney C. F. Moore visited him. They read the charge in the police ambulance which was accompanied by a police guard.

He is considered sufficiently recovered to stand trial.

Drove 39 Miles an HourFound guilty of driving 39 miles an hour, T. J. O’Connor was fined $10 and costs.

William Saley pleaded not guilty to a charge of ignoring traffic signals. 

‘I wouldn’t have done such a thing intentionally,’ he said. He was remanded for sentence.

F. R. Pember escaped a speeding fine when he explained that his truck had not been out of the yard for six months and had been dismantled for two months.

Auto CollisionHarold Sampson, charged with failing to return and give his name and address following an accident in York township, was remanded until Dec. 20.

Sampson’s car collided with a parked machine, Counsel Harry Rose informed the court. Sampson drove to a garage, escorted a lady passenger home and then reported the accident at police headquarters, counsel said.

[rotzaprachim]

the thing about “secret israeli restaurants” is americans are generally more positive to israelis than arabs so a vague restaurant is more likely to be hiding arab origins than israeli

pretty sure the og tweet poster was Canadian but yeahhhhh I read it and blinked about the antisemitism but I also read it and blinked about the fact that like bro… are you…. are you that fucking unaware about the extent of anti-Arab and anti-middle eastern racism in the us&canada? Are you that fucking obtuse? Oh my god. It literally doesn’t fucking matter what “origins” the restaurants are “hinting at” but I couldn’t fucking process how a white Canadian would think that “people who simply describe themselves/their business establishment as “middle eastern” or “Mediterranean” are inherently sketchy” is in any way a productive idea to have for literally anyone

a) a restaurant/establishment describing themselves as “Mediterranean” or “middle eastern” would be inherently sketchy and suspicious (as loaded as “middle eastern” itself is, “Mediterranean” can often be taken more positively in the west and anglophone/francophone worlds, after all nutritionists have been going on about the “Mediterranean diet) for a while) but also

B) that those people would inherently be (in his opinion) Zionists and/or Israelis

also feel this person has big “have never interacted with middle eastern person in my life” because as much as xenophobia and various other issues pushes people to go for either the “Mediterranean/middle eastern” marker, there’s plenty of other reasons why establishments go for those identifiers like.

1) a lottttt of Mediterranean diaspora families, due to immigration and intermarriage, really are franco-lebanese, or palestinain-Greek, or Ashkenazi Jewish and Algerian, or Moroccan Spaniards, or something like that, (check the Arabs, Jews, and Italians of the greater nyc area lol) and

2) in diasporic situations one (1) grocery store or deli often services OR competes with others for a broader market share, I’ve lived places where I regularly shopped at a Turkish/greek/arab grocery store (Labelled itself “Mediterranean”) and a Persian/armenian/arab grocery store (Labelled itself “middle eastern groceries”) because it would be dishonest to say that these grocery stores are for any one “nationality!” Walk into many a Mediterranean or middle eastern grocery store or deli and you’ll see Turkish products from Germany, maghrebi Jewish products from France, halal versions of jamón and chorizo, and labneh from lebanon next to Greek and Persian yogurt. My favorite local market once had an entire NOT HALAL!!!!! Fridge Labelled in three languages to store the frozen pork products for the Greek and Romanian markets next to the general halal cheese boreks.

I’m not saying this is the case everywhere or like it’s all peachy perfect in diaspora but this just comes across as someone who has a lot of political Ideas about Mediterranean & middle eastern people but haven’t met them in real life. Also it’s a love letter to the diaspora grocery store with 6+ ethnicities inside them and an entire wall of tomato pastes. If there’s one in your city you should patronize them! (Also note the fantastic phenomenon of the “Black Sea” grocery, the mass halal Mart, and the particular greater London “Indian Bangladeshi Sri Lankan Persian Pakistani polish” mart

Also lol gonna have to lol at the “I’m so angry these diaspora Israelis would hide their nationality in order to avoid harassment because I want to boycott and harass them”

[justforbooks]

With her book The Return of Martin Guerre (1983), the historian Natalie Zemon Davis, who has died aged 94, attracted a wide readership and inspired future historians. It came out of working as a historical consultant on a film of the same name released the previous year, starring Gérard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye, and directed by Daniel Vigne.

Martin Guerre, a peasant farmer in the 16th-century Pyrenees, left his wife Bertrande to go on a journey, only to have his marital role usurped by an impostor who “returned” pretending to be him. After some years of cohabitation, Bertrande denounced the impostor, her testimony seemingly confirmed by the return of the real Martin Guerre. The impostor was duly tried and executed.

The film-makers’ questions about period detail and behaviour intrigued Davis. But other aspects of the movie genre troubled her, so she went back to the archives and wrote up her own compact account of 120 pages.

A gripping narrative and a lesson in method, Davis’s book raised questions about the reliability of evidence and the motives and worldviews of peasant men and women from a faraway place and time. It is an example of a microhistory, where historians turn away from the big canvas of kings, queens and battles to understand ordinary lives, often through a highly localised case study.

The Return of Martin Guerre was one of a series of works including Society and Culture in Early Modern France (1975), Fiction in the Archives (1987), Women on the Margins (1995) and The Gift in Sixteenth-Century France (2000). Davis’s trademark was the longer essay or biographical study, often focused on marginal or misunderstood personalities, all spiced with a sharp attention to issues of religion, gender, sex, class, money and power. Historical records for her were never dull: she once described them as “a magic thread that links me to people long since dead and with situations that have crumbled to dust”.

Born in Detroit, Natalie was the daughter of Helen (nee Lamport) and Julian Zemon, a textile trader, both children of east European Jewish immigrants to the US. While studying at Smith College, Massachusetts, at the age of 19 she fell in love with Chandler Davis, a brilliant mathematician and socialist activist; they married in 1948 and went on to have a son and two daughters. Her first degree, from Smith (1949), was followed by a master’s at Radcliffe College (1950).

Her life with Davis was productive and fulfilling but also complicated her early career, as his principled stances against McCarthy-era restrictions on political expression led to both him and her being barred from a number of posts, and from travelling abroad. This she needed to do for her doctorate on 16th-century France.

After finally gaining her PhD at Michigan University in 1959, Davis went on to hold positions at Toronto, moved in 1971 to the University of California, Berkeley, where she was appointed professor, and in 1978 to Princeton, retiring in 1996. She became only the second woman to serve as president of the American Historical Association (1987), and the first to serve as Eastman professor at Oxford (1994). In 2012 she was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, and in the US was awarded a National Humanities Medal.

Davis helped establish programmes in women’s studies and taught courses on history and film. Her AHA presidential address, History’s Two Bodies (1988), summed up her thinking about gender in history. It was also the first such address to be printed with illustrations. Her book Slaves on Screen (2002) was one of the first in-depth treatments of this topic by a professional historian.

In her last two books, Davis returned to the exploration of mixed identities. Trickster Travels (2006) was about the 16th-century scholar Leo Africanus, whose complicated Jewish and Muslim roots in North Africa she expertly unpicked. Listening to the Languages of the People (2022) focused on the 19th-century scholar Lazare Sainéan, a Romanian-Jewish folklorist and lexicographer who published one of the world’s first serious studies of Yiddish, but had to abandon his Romanian homeland for Paris in 1901.

At the time of her death, Davis was completing a study of slave families in colonial Suriname: it is hoped this will appear under the announced title of Braided Histories. In this way she continued to explore unconventional topics, going against the grain of Eurocentric history and looking instead at the boundaries of identity and belonging in very different settings.

Visiting many universities and research centres in her retirement, Davis encouraged younger scholars by conveying the potential of history to inspire empathy and hope for change. While at my own institution, the University of Amsterdam, in 2016, she made it her main aim to talk to students rather than to other professors. In 2022-23 she presented her latest work in online seminars, and wrote and corresponded actively until shortly before her death from cancer.

Chandler died in 2022. Natalie is survived by her three children, Aaron, Hannah and Simone; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a brother, Stanley.

🔔 Natalie Zemon Davis, historian, born 8 November 1928; died 21 October 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[squirrelwrangler]

You've always interested me so much. Can I ask where you are from? :3 Are you American?

I'll admit, I'm a little befuddled by this ask, but as is obvious from my sporadic personal posts, yes I am American. I was actually born in Washington D.C., so I feel I can claim some weird extra US points by that. Both of my parents were officers in the US Navy, so while I have never lived outside of the US, as a child I moved frequently from one coast of North America to the other, so as far as which regional cultural subset, even though I currently live in Texas and have for the last 20+ years, I don't identify as Southern. (Plus if you know the sub-regions in Texas, living south of the Nueces River as I do means that my local area has some strong ties to Northern Mexico). I do have a Texan variant of the drawl but I talk fast and slur my words, so idk how recognizable it is. Also had to have some speech therapy as a young child (couldn't pronouce my Rs).

Family-wise at least maternally I have ties to the Pacific Northwest and upper Great Plains, but that constantly moving military family history means a strong disconnect from that intra-generational extended family in close proximity that is relatively common elsewhere. My paternal grandfather did immigrate to the States from what was then Czechoslovakia, and the village that he was from is still on the Czech Republic side, but ironically he was Slovak (and Hungarian). Other European ancestry is a mix of various German, Swiss, Romanian, English, and Swedish, and for some ancestors we can go back to canton records in the 1400s and others we're looking at a "Romanian" mercenary who entered the country less-than-legitimately through Alaska and worked for the proto-CIA, and he's not the only 'okay that's a fake name' dude. So yeah, overall am a pale-ass White American. (Family history claims a spec of Salish but also that it was so far back in the family tree that nobody pretends to have Native American ancestry).

Been to Italy once for a short trip, have hopped over the border to Canada and Mexico for afternoon trips once, and thanks to an aunt who lived there I've been to Hawaii as a very small child. But for the most part my entire life have been inside the continental US and almost always within a few miles of the ocean. That military brat history means government vouchers if you moved yourself aka every new base transfer my parents were driving us, U-hauls included, on a three to five day road trip across the US, so I've seen the roadside versions of most states. And quite a few state and national parks. And while I never lived in on-base housing, I grew up on Naval commissaries and Naval government hospitals and in areas outside of major cities - suburbs of Annapolis and north of Corpus Christi. San Francisco was the only really really big city I lived in, and D.C. the one I spent a lot of summer visits to. And if you know D.C., it doesn't have skyscrapers. Hate those. I have what I call the optimal seagull to pigeon ratio - it's better to live where the dominant parking lot flock is gull. You could not pay me to swim in the ocean; I don't like beaches. But I have to be within a 20 minute drive to said beach or else I feel miserable. Growing up I had no desire to enlist myself, but it's the closest thing to personal/familial culture above anything regional. I hated football long before I moved to Texas because I had to attend too many Army-Naval football games in shitty wet cold Maryland late autumn weather. (Also I hate most fish but will swear by crab and crab cakes).

As for religion- well my dad's family was staunchly Catholic, he was an altar boy- but he's the definition of lapsed, refuses to step into a church for fifty-odd years. And what I was raised as? Atheist but culturally Christian, I'd say. The sum total of my religious instruction was "God is 𝝅 because everything is broken down into circles including DNA" and then what history and especially art history books taught me. And yes, that makes living in the Bible Belt meets Latino Catholic region both amusing and extremely infuriating. Cis Female. Ace. Thirties.

Have owned dogs most of my life and most of those dogs have been sighthounds and the cats were Siamese, so I have a strong understanding and interest in domestic dogs while also thinking that the optimal hound should have a cat's personality and the perfect cat acts like a dog. As a teenager I did ride horses - English style, to break that Texan stereotype.

If you've never had tamales, you're missing out. Also Beef Stroganoff is served best on white rice, and there's no such thing as too much sour cream. And Hatch chilies are an abomination.

[someonedm]

Please do point that difference out, i literally cannot see it.

Is it the fact that european settlers have settled in northern america for generations, having close and inseperable ties to their homes? Like my friend who's 4 generations in Haifa, or my family who's 3 generations near Ramat Gan?

Is it the fact that due to immigration and slave labour, north america is full of ethnodiversity? Like my friends who are Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbekistan, French, Yemeni, Iraqi, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Danish, I even have one south korean friend.

Is it the fact that Israel is an apartheid? Like how native americans who live in reservations have no voting rights?

Here are some *actual* differences:

Israeli people do not have anywhere to go to *not only* because they haven't been there for generations and decades, but because those places don't exist anymore for a reason. They've been raided and destroyed. If you think those of us with European roots still have jewish communities in those countries, you must not be able to conceive the Shoa and the pogroms.

There are at least 80 times more Polish Jews in Israel than in Poland. There were more than twice as many polish jews who were murdered in the Shoa than there are polish jews in the world. Their homes, if not completely destroyed then, were seized by the communists. In 2021, the Polish Parliament passed a law that limited the claims of property by jewish polish Holocaust survivors.

Another difference is that if you were to expell all white people from US and Canada, and they *somehow* all found places to live and work and study, they'd be fine. But we fucking wouldn't. Shall the people who lived in Eretz Israel for centruries after the spanish inquisition, go back to spain, the same spain that celebrated the October 7th? Shall french jews who immigrated to Israel only one or two decades ago because of antisemetic violence, return to the people that hate them? Even the safe places hold significant trauma.

For most of us, it was never a choice. For all of us, there is no going back.

btw if you accuse Jews who don't want the total destruction of Israel of "wanting an ethnostate" while also advocating for the mass exodus of Israelis to Europe to create a united Palestinian nation...you support an ethnostate.

[gloryholegalleryto]

Queer Virus | Solo Exhibition by Dee Stoicescu

10 August - 3 September, 2019

Glory Hole Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of works by artist Dee Stoicescu, Queer Virus: Radical Sick Queer Softness and Romanian Diasporic Identity. Through the use of superimposed and layered imagery of the artists home, the hospital, medical terminology, and Romanian language Stoicescu affirms and asserts their own individualized experience as a queer person living with HIV, and in doing so questions and de-centres the pathologization of HIV/AIDS by society and medical professionals in both the past, and present. About the Artist Dee is a queer emerging artist living in Tkaronto, Ontario. Their photographic work plays with(in) the entanglement of their embodied identities: HIV+, AIDS survivor, chronically sick, mad, gender-fluid, non-binary, and Romanian diasporic subjectivity. Their multi-media practices include collage-making, curating, photography, jewelry-making, and creative writing. The methods featured in the Queer Virus exhibit include sentimental material objects found in/around their familial homes in Canada and Romania, free photo editing software, online translation tools, online searches for microscopic HIV viruses, and playfully phantasmic shadows cast by the setting/rising sun. They hold a Bachelor’s (Hons.) Degree in Women and Gender Studies from York University. Dee is the author and content creator of Viral Tendencies (viraltendencies.wordpress.com), a literary blog dedicated to their intimate experiences as a queer, intersectional feminist living and loving with HIV. Their writing grapples with, overlaps, and contemplates themes of immigration, living at/crossing borders, ‘lost’ ancestral language, reclaimed ‘infectious’ queer sexuality, poverty, and living with anxiety and depression. Dee is also the curator of Ruse Dream Vintage (est. 2012), an online vintage collection featuring finds ranging from the 1930’s to the early 2000’s. Follow Dee on Instagram @viraltendencies and Facebook at Dee Stoicescu This exhibition is made possible by generous funding contributions by Toronto Arts Council.

[singing-planets]

👨‍🚀 The Spaceman in the Space with Lyric 🚀 NEW episode 🌞 Singing Planets 🌞 Solar System 🌍

This is a story about the Spaceman who went into space and visited various planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. He even wanted to visit the Sun, but it was so hot that the Spaceman had to return to Earth. This children's song is written based on the famous English singing game, nursery rhyme, and children's song – "The Farmer in the Dell". It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants. From there, it spread to many other nations and is popular in a number of languages. It is Roud Folk Song Index number 6306.

LYRIC:

1 The Spaceman went to Space, The Spaceman went to Space, Heigh-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman went to Space!

2 The Spaceman in the Space, The Spaceman in the Space, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman in the Space!

3 The Spaceman on the Moon, The Spaceman on the Moon, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Moon!

4 The Spaceman on the Mercury, The Spaceman on the Mercury, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Mercury!

5 The Spaceman on the Venus, The Spaceman on the Venus, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Venus!

6 The Spaceman on the Mars, The Spaceman on the Mars, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Mars!

7 The Spaceman in the Space, The Spaceman in the Space, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman in the Space!

8 The Spaceman on the Jupiter, The Spaceman on the Jupiter, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Jupiter!

9 The Spaceman on the Saturn, The Spaceman on the Saturn, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Saturn!

10 The Spaceman on the Uranus, The Spaceman on the Uranus, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Uranus!

11 The Spaceman on the Neptune, The Spaceman on the Neptune, Hi-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman on the Neptune!

12 The Spaceman went to Sun, The Spaceman went to Sun, Heigh-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman went to Sun!

13 The Sun is weary hot! The Sun is weary hot! Heigh-ho, the derry-o! The Spaceman went to home!

One UK variant has "The nurse takes a dog"; it ends by clapping [patting] the dog.

Origin and dissemination.

The rhyme was first recorded in Germany in 1826, as "Es fuhr ein Bau'r ins Holz". It was more clearly a courtship game, with a farmer choosing a wife, then selecting a child, maid, and serving man who leaves the maid after kissing her. This was probably taken to America by German immigrants, where it next surfaced in New York City in 1883, in its modern form and using a melody similar to "A-Hunting We Will Go". From there, it seems to have been adopted throughout the United States, Canada (noted from 1893), the Netherlands (1894), and Great Britain; it is first found in Scotland in 1898 and England from 1909. In the early twentieth century, it was evident in France ("Le fermier dans son pré"), Sweden ("En bonde i vår by"), Australia, and South Africa.

Variations

Like most children's songs, there are geographic variations. In the United Kingdom, the first line is frequently changed to "The Farmer's in his den". The rhyme progresses through the farmer being in the dell or his den, his desire for a wife, hers for a child, its for a nurse, a dog, then a bone, and ending in: "we all pat the bone". Every player then pats the one picked as the bone.  The "Hi-Ho, the derry-o" lyric is variously replaced with, "Ee-i, tiddly-i", in London, "Ee-i, adio", "Ee-i, andio,", "Ee-i, en-gee-oh" or "Ee-i, entio", in Northern England, and "Ee-i, ee-i", in the West Country.

The Romanian language version is "Țăranul e pe câmp" ("The farmer is on the field"), but the "Hey-o" is replaced with "Ura, drăguţa mea" ("Hooray, my sweetheart"), and the last verses are: "the child has a nurse, the nurse has a cat, the cat catches a mouse, the mouse eats a cheese, the cheese is in a cask, the cask is in the garbage, the farmer to choose."

_________________________________________________________________

👶 👦 👧 Dear children and their parents! 👩 👨 👴 👵 Listen, sing, dance and fingerplay funny traditional English language folk songs with Singing Planets on YouTube!  

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYlUPSZFUMbcSDZw6km3jw?view_as=subscriber?sub_confirmation=1

Follow us! Singing Planets on facebook: https://web.facebook.com/kids.youtube.tv/ Singing Planets on Vk: https://vk.com/kids__tv Singing Planets on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kids_tv Singing Planets on twitter: https://twitter.com/KidsTV87311154 Singing Planets on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kids_youtube_tv/ Singing Planets on Ok: https://ok.ru/group/54144789905543 Singing Planets on blogger: https://kidstv-1.blogspot.com/ Singing Planets on Google: https://singing-planets.business.site/

© All rights reserved. Singing Planets 🌎

#singingplanets #spaceman #solarsystem

[internationalnewz]

Indians among eight migrants found dead near US-Canada border

Police say the deceased, believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent, were trying to cross into the United States from Canada.

TORONTO: Police in Canada have said they recovered the bodies of two more migrants who drowned in the St Lawrence River while attempting to enter the US from Canada illegally, taking the death toll to eight, including members of an Indian family.

The bodies were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

One other person is still missing.

Police say the deceased, believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent, were trying to cross into the United States from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.

"Unfortunately, these situations happen. It's not something new," Akwesasne Mohawk Police chief Shawn Dulude said of people trying to cross.

"We've seen it happen in the past, and hopefully as we move forward, it's something we can one day eliminate," the officer was quoted as saying by the Montreal Gazette newspaper.

Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin.

They are also increasing surveillance on the river, it said.

Authorities located the first body in the marsh around 5 p.m. on Thursday during an aerial search conducted at the request of the Canadian Coast Guard.

Throughout the day on Friday, search crews could be seen wading through a marshy area near the local marina with the help of a light airboat. A helicopter also scanned the river. The last two bodies, of a second infant and another woman, were retrieved from the water during the day.

Police recovered two more bodies from the river on Friday, after discovering six bodies and an overturned boat during a missing person search Thursday afternoon, CBC News reported.

They are believed to have been an Indian family and a Romanian family who were attempting to cross into the US, police said, adding, that an Akwesasne resident remains missing.

According to police, there has seen an uptick in human smuggling into the U.S.

Ryan Brissette, a public affairs officer with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, says the agency had seen a "massive uptick in encounters and apprehensions" at the border.

The agency saw more than eight times as many people try to cross from Canada into the U.S. in 2022 compared to previous years, he said.

Many of them — more than 64,000 — came through Quebec or Ontario into New York.

"Comparing this area in the past, this is a significant number," Brissette said.

"There's a lot of different reasons as to why this is happening, why folks are coming all of a sudden through the northern border. I think a lot of them think it's easier, an easy opportunity and they just don't know the danger that it poses, especially in the winter months," the officer said.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to cross illegally into Canada or into the United States through the Mohawk territory since January, and most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.

In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St.Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

[cserea]

Friends, if you didn't get the chance to see Diana Manole and me reading our poems earlier this week, you can watch the reading on YouTube at https://youtu.be/RmM3ymzT65U. Many thanks to the organizers, Romanian Cultural Institute in New York / ICR New York, Bucharest Inside the Beltway, and Cristina A. Bejan, who created this terrific reading series celebrating women immigrant writers, Romanian Women Voices in North America. To everyone who tuned in to see us, our heartfelt thanks.

[starstuffandalotofcoffee]

The Jewish Cookbook (Leah Koenig) on Pastrami

"And yet, without meat there is no deli - this is particularly true of pastrami (in New York and across America) and smoked meat (in Montreal, Canada, where a smaller, but analogous deli culture emerged at the turn of the 20th century. Both meats have roots in the Ottoman Empire. Turks cured mutton and fish with salt and spices, creating a jerkylike dish called basturma. That technique made its way to the Balkans, where Romanians changed the pronunciation to pastrama and used it to cure geese, beef, and other meats.

When Romanian Jews immigrated to New York City in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they brought pastrama with them. There, in the hands of skilled kosher butchers and deli men, it evolved into the heavily spiced, smoked, and steamed brisket-based pastrami people enjoy layered onto sandwiches today. At some point, pastrami methods also took root in Montreal, but the recipe changed again. Montreal smoked meat is rubbed with salt and spices and dry-cured (unlike pastrami, which is wet-brined), then smoked over hardwood, creating a meat that is certainly kin to pastrami, but also entirely its own thing.

Pastrami and smoked meat and unarguably central to delicatessen cuisine, but they are not traditionally dishes people cooked at home. Brisket, tongue, pot roast, and even corned beef were manageable for home cooks, but pastrami and smoked meat were so time consuming and required such a repertoire of spices and special equipment, people left it to the pros. Everyone else should patronize their local delicatessens as often as possible to help keep these Jewish institutions alive and thriving."

[twistdfirestarter]

BASICS

FULL NAME: ALIN SORIN DALCA

» MEANING: Alin [ Romanian meaning “to soothe.”]; Sorin [ Romanian meaning “sun.”]; Dalca [ Romanian, meaning “uncertain.” ]

NICKNAME: Everyone calls him Alin; he uses his full name for formal documents. When he was little, Alin was called ‘Tiny” because he was short.

AGE: 33 in appearance; 114-years old.

DATE OF BIRTH: 1907 February 4th, Monday.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Centralia, Pennsylvania.

OCCUPATION: Business owner.

RELIGION: Raised Catholic.

ORIENTATION: Pansexual.

GENDER: Cisgender Male.

SPECIES: Vampire.

PERSONALITY

STRENGTHS: Emotional, Uncompromising, Intelligent, Loyal, Quirky.

WEAKNESSES: Coward, Sarcastic, Emotional, Detached, Possessive.

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Sebastian Stan.

HEIGHT: 6′0″ [i82 cm.]

WEIGHT: 171 lbs. [78 kg.]

BUILD: Athletic.

GAIT: TBA

HAIR COLOR: Dark brown.

EYE COLOR: Blue.

BIRTHMARK: TBA.

OVERVIEW: » SCARS: TBA. » TATTOOS: None.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Centralia, Pennsylvania;  Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

RESIDENCES: Sanguine, Louisiana; Centralia, Pennsylvania; Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

NATIONALITY: Romanian-American.

ETHNICITY: Caucasian.

FINANCIAL STATUS: Upper-class.

EDUCATION LEVEL: High-school graduate.

DEGREES: None.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, Romanian, some French and Spanish, German and Austrian.

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: Adam and Sorina, both deceased.

SIBLINGS: Two siblings, Aurel and Anca.

CHILDREN: None.

PETS: None.

SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: » TBA.

FAMILY HISTORY: Born on the 4th of February, 1907 in Centralia, Pennsylvania, Dalca Alin or Alin was the eldest son of Adam Dalca and wife Sorina Dalca, both came from families of rich Romanian immigrants that arrived in the state of California back in the  early 1800s. Seeking good life and fortune in America, the Dalcas traveled across the country and settled in Pennsylvania where the clan bought a coal mining companies all throughout. The Dalcas also mined in the town of *Centralia until the coals underground the town burned in the 1960’s throughout the 70’s making the town uninhabitable for humans. The family managed to stay afloat and grew their richest after investing in many businesses including orchards and later on, shares in tech companies.

Alin was sent to an exclusive vampire colony in Canada by *Thomas, son of Alin’s trusted confidant and childhood friend, John. Thomas feared for Alin’s life after his family suspected there was something wrong with the Dalca’s primary heir. 

Alin has two younger siblings, Aurel and Anca. After Alin was turned vampire on his 33rd birthday by a traveling Roma woman he’d meet at his own lavish party. After realizing the changed the encounter brought to him,  Alin tried his best to hide it with the help of his bestfriend John whom he grew up with. Alin who then was living by himself somehow got away with only coming out at night, and excuses after excuses and lies upon lies were sewn by him and his confidant John. 

 After 10 years, Alin’s family and relatives couldn’t be convinced anymore of his true nature, so with John’s help, he traveled to Urani, Romania, where his ancestors are originally from, settling to start a new life. During these years, Alin sent updates to his family, telling them he had married and will soon have a son, a lie he and John formulated together not wanting to lose control over the family business in America. After a little over 30 years, Alin came back to Centralia in Pennsylvania with John and a new born boy, John’s son Thomas. They settled in a huge mansion in the ghost town inhabited by only a few people, passing himself to his family and relatives as his own son. 

Not everyone of course was convinced. Alin lived in Centralia for the next 40 years with John who was aging and Thomas who was being trained to be Alin’s company. Centralia and the surrounding town claimed that since Alin and his companies’ arrival, strange things started to happen. People missing, animal and properties vandalized… And Alin was once again staying away from his relatives, not being able to explain, why, like his ‘father’ before him, he couldn’t explain the youth he possessed. 

His family and relatives suspected that he was the original Alin and that he never died like John had told his clan. They wanted Alin and his friends out of Centralia and they wanted the whole business given back to them. They said that he was no longer the same man they knew. He was the devil and must die. This brought Alin so much pain and anger that he attacked his own brother’s and sister’s grandchildren. Realizing what he had done, he quickly stopped and saved the children’s lives. Alin was then caught by his brother’s eldest child and put a knife in his throat. He survived the attack and fled with Thomas to the west coast. John had by this time died of old age. Thomas who is about 40 years old now, had done his research and found out about Sanguine Society in Vancouver where he placed Alin. Thomas encouraged Alin to take part in the society, and perhaps find his place within the colony in the process. But Alin is stubborn. Although he recognized that the colony is a safe haven for him, he refused to follow its rules. 

Alin caused a lot of troubles during his stay in the colony; burned buildings and made pacts with resident vampires as he grew restless, realizing his suicidal tendencies. The stay in the colony did not work for Alin at all and Thomas became too focused making sure Alin didn’t do anything harmful to himself that the human companion neglected many aspects of their relationships including producing a successor to his title as Alin’s right hand man.

Alin grew erratic and had convinced another vampire to kill him but the plan changed when Thomas disappeared... Alin set to search for his human companion and learned of his friend’s death which brought another wave of erratic behavior from within...

Alin not sure what to do next, wandered around for an answer or even a clue as to what truly happened to his friend Thomas. He hired a private investigator that reported to him his friend was murdered... With this new information, Alin sought to find the people who committed the crime but first, he had to take care of his family whom he was accused of robbing their wealth. Could be they are behind Thomas disappearance and murder?

ROMANTIC HISTORY: Alin had many lovers in the past but he easily got bored of them.

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS: Alin had great fondness towards John, his bestfriend whom he grew up with in Centralia and later on became his companion when he turned. John took care of him and loved him in return so much so that he trained his only child to be Alin’s companion after he was gone. Then, there was Thomas who was John’s son, Alin’s second human companion who took great care of him. Like John, Alin had great affection towards Thomas as well and took good care of Thomas until his death... Alin never took another human companion after Thomas passed. Somehow he believed that his friend will come back to him in some shape or form...

THOUGHTS ON LOVE: None.

HEALTH

PHOBIA(S): Living forever alone.

HANDICAP(S): None.

MENTAL DISORDER: Depression, alcoholism.

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S): None.

PREDISPOSITION(S): None that he is aware of.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"William Dyck Positively Identifies Krafchenko As Passenger of Dec. 3," Winnipeg Tribune. December 31, 1913. Page 1 & 2. ---- Describes How Robber Forced Him to Drive Away at Revolver Point and Swears He Admitted Shooting Manager H. M. Arnold ---- "If you don't drive on, and drive fast, I'll blow your brains out like I did the other fellow's." In words to this effect, William Dyck in the witness stand at the preliminary hearing in the trial of John Krafchenko [pictured] before Magistrate Bonnycastle, last evening at the city police court, declared he was forced at the point of a gun to drive the alleged murderer from Plum Coulee immediately after the tragedy had been enacted on December 3.

When the court resumed after dinner last evening Mr. Hastings, counsel for the crown, declared that William Dyck would be the next witness. As the lawyer said this an expectant hush pervaded the court room, and heads were turned in the direction of the doorway through which Dyck, with heavy tread and stolid of demeanor, came in, escorted by Chief of Provincial Police Elliott. He is a heavy, thick-set man of unmistakable Mennonite type. His large and heavy features were utterly devoid of expression.

The main factors in the story told by the "star" witness were of a most damaging nature. Dyck said he had met Krafchenko on the night preceding the tragedy and had been told that If he did not have his car waiting, little after noon, in the appointed place something would happen to him. At that time, he declared, Krafchenko flourished a revolver at him.

Acted Through Fear On the day in question, because of fear, he did as he was asked and at a little before one o'clock a man wearing a black overcoat, black beard and black cap, came running, got into the car and tersely ordered him to drive on.

They had not gone far, said the witness, before the man, whom he at that moment recognized as Krafchenko, put a gun to his head and told him to drive fast or be killed. He demurred and a bullet from the gun passed close to his head and out of the side of the car.

The details of the wild ride were told at length. During the journey, which brought them to a point between McTavish and Osborne stations, Krafchenko had removed a false beard and had torn it up. He had also expressed the hope that he had not killed Arnold, whom he had had to shoot "because he followed me up."

The overcoat, produced yesterday, was described accurately by Dyck, who spoke of taking the police to the spot in the willow bushes near Lowe Farm where the accused had deposited it. In the afternoon session most of the time was taken up by the examination and cross examination of Mr. and Mrs. Humboldt, regarding a watch which the accused is alleged to have shown them in their rooms on Hargrave street some months ago. Both witnesses were grilled strenuously by the counsel for the defence, and salient feature of the evidence of both was that when presented with the watch found in the murder car, declared that it was similar, but they were under the impression that Krafchenko's had a slight engraving on the back of the case, and the exhibit had not. Mrs. Humboldt said: "I am almost positive it had."

When the counsel for the defence refused to cross-examine Dyck, Mr. Hastings said he would have to ask an adjournment as he had not expected the witness to get through so quickly, and consequently his next witnesses were not at the court. As the year was almost out and a holiday occurred this week, he would ask for one week's remand. The request was granted and the date fixed for January 6, 1914, at two o'clock, the hearing to be continued in the city police court room.

On resumption yesterday afternoon, before any witnesses were examined, Mr. Hagel made the usual request that all unexamined witnesses be excluded. Mr. Hastings replied that this had already been done.

Wallace Root's Evidence The first witness called on resumption of the crown's case, was Wallace Root, commercial traveller, residing at Suite 1, Dawson Apartments. Furby street, Winnipeg. Root, sworn, said that in company with another traveller, named Leete, he was in Plum Coulee on the morning of December 3. it was their intention to go to Morden in the afternoon, and to this end they went to Dyck's livery barn. On entering the stable, Root says, he met a man wearing a fur coat. The man was standing near the door and was the only one in sight. The witness asked him if he were the proprietor. He received a reply in the negative, and was told that Duck was seated in a car which could be seen through the doorway, standing on the other side of the road. The two travellers crossed over to the car. William Dyck got out and an arrangement was made, after some conversation, whereby Dyck should take them to Morden at 1.30 in the afternoon. He could not do it earlier, Dyck said, because he had just arranged to take a man about four miles out into the country.

Questioned as to the condition of the car, Root said he noticed that the engine was running, that the top was up, and the curtains lowered.

"As we stood talking together," said the witness, "a man came down the lane at the back of the livery barn. He was about 300 feet away, and was running slowly. When he came nearer I noticed he had a black full beard. He was wearing a fur coat with the collar turned up. With one hand he was holding the coat closed. It was not buttoned. I also saw he was wearing tan shoes and a black cap."

The man, said Root, came right up to the three, who were standing beside the car. "I am ready now," he said to Dyck, and both got into the car, which immediately drove away. Just as the car moved, the witness noticed that the stranger had dropped some money. Root and his companion picked this up. It comprised a number of $1.00 bills and a bundle of $1.00 bills. He shouted two or three times after the moving car, but the occupants paid no attention.

Questioned as to any other comment that was made, the witness remembered accusing the stranger of wearing a false beard, and his friend noted that the bank was the same direction as that from which the stranger came.

Before allowing the witness to leave the stand, Mr. Hastings said "Look at the prisoner." The witness gave Krafchenko close scrutiny for the space of a minute. Then the crown counsel asked "Can you tell me if you have ever seen this man before?"

"No, sir," came the emphatic reply.

Krafchenko's Watch Major Humboldt, the showman, was recalled and asked what he knew regarding a watch shown him at one time by Krafchenko. Humboldt then stated that some months ago Krafchenko paid a visit to his rooms on Hargrave street. During the course of conversation, watches were discussed, and Krafchenko produced his as being an excellent timepiece. The witness described the watch as he remembered it. It was a 21-jewel gold watch with open face. He could not remember the exact number, but re-collected that contained in the serial was a double figure. Explaining this, he said he believed that there were two fours running consecutively about the middle of the number, which was a long one.

A watch was produced and Mr. Hastings asked the witness if he could identify it. After handling it for a moment Humboldt handed it back to the counsel, declaring that he could not open it, and would like to see the inside.

Hereupon, Mr. Hagel suggested that Humboldt must have opened the watch on a previous occasion, and should know how to do it now. To this the witness replied: "I have never opened that watch, or Krafchenko's watch. When Krafchenko handed me his it was opened to show the works."

The exhibit was opened and handed back to the witness, who read from the inside an inscription that the watch was a 21-jewel movement, numbered 2,144,375. The witness examined the watch very closely.

"This," he said, finally, "is very much similar, but I was under the impression that Krafchenko's watch had a very slight engraving on the back of the case." He also noticed that the exhibit was equipped with a small lever by which is operated the setting device. He was of the opinion that Krafchenko's was an ordinary stem wind and stem set timepiece.

Mr. Hagel, counsel for the defence, cross-examined the witness at length regarding his examination of Krofchenko's watch. Humboldt, in reply to questions, reiterated his statements that the watch was opened to show the works when Krafchenko handed it to him. He could not tell, he said, the make of the watch. He was not interested in that. It was more or less a cursory examination. Pointing to the lever of the setting device, Mr. Ha- gel said: "You think if that was on the watch you handled, you would have observed it?"

"I believe I would," was the reply.

"Are you aware," continued the counsel, "that there is a double number in the serial of almost every watch that is sent out by the manufacturers?"

"No."

"And you never knew the make of Krafchenko's watch?"

"I never looked at it."

"Did you ever see Krafchenko's watch before?"

"Yes; on one or two occasions he showed me the face; but the name was not marked on it, so far as I can remember."

"Can you tell me the make of this watch?" said Mr. Hagel, pointing to the exhibit. "No, I cannot."

"Well, can you read this?" queried the lawyer, presenting the watch to the witness, and showing the face of it.

The witness read "Hamilton Watch Company," which was plainly printed on the face of the timepiece.

Mr. Hagel asked a great many questions regarding the time of the day when Humboldt examined Krafchenko's watch, but the witness was not sure on any point, except that it was sometime during the afternoon.

"Are you sure," asked Mr. Hagel, "that the watch was opened when the accused handed it to you?"

"Yes; there is no doubt of it," Humboldt said. He passed the watch to his wife, after examining it.

Mrs. Humboldt's Testimony Mrs. Humboldt, wife of the former witness, said she believed she was present all the time when her husband was talking about watches with Krafchenko. In the first part of her examination she corroborated her husband's statements regarding the loan of a fur coat, which was never returned, and also regarding the rifle which Krafchenko requested her husband to take for him to Flum Coulee,

She said she did not examine Krafchenko's watch very closely on the day in question. It was simply handed to her in order that she might feel the weight of it. The watch was closed. She could only describe it as an open-faced gold watch. The exhibit produced previously was handed to her, and upon examining this, she said: "It is very much like it, but I thought it had a small engraving on the back; in fact, I am almost positive."

In cross-examination, Mrs. Humboldt said Krafchenko, she thought, who was wearing neither chain nor fob, simply took the watch from his pocket and handed it to her husband. The latter opened it, took a glance inside, closed it, and handed it to her with a remark about the weight of it.

Watch Found in Car Sheriff Augustus Charies Doran Piggott, of Morden, spoke of finding the watch produced. He went, he said, to Plum Coulee on December 4, on hearing of the crime, and searched William Dyck's automobile thoroughly. In a kind of toolbox located beneath the rear seat of the vehicle he found a watch. The exhibit was handed him and he identified it as being that which he had found in the car.

Apparently the last man to speak with Manager Arnold before his conversation with the murdered was Ole Lee, station agent of the Midland railway in Plum Coulee. The accused was well-known to Lee, who corroborated the testimony given on Monday afternoon by Lloyd Wagner, the bank ledger-keeper, in regard to Krafchenko's statement about the probable time of day when the Plum Coulee bank would be robbed. On that occasion, he said, during the course of conversation in the Commercial hotel sitting room, Krafchenko had told the witness and Wagner that if a robbery did occur it would not be at night, but rather in the daytime, as this would be easier than to blow a timelock.

During the week preceding the robbery the witness did not see Krafchenko. Lee, on being shown the watch previously produced, said that it looked very much smaller. He remembered that Krafchenko's watch was a gold open-faced, 21-jewel, Hamilton movement with a somewhat unique dial. This description coincided with that of the exhibit.

On the day of the tragedy Lee, on leaving the Commercial, hotel after luncheon, went down past the bank premises at about 12.30 on his way to the station. It was his custom, he said, to put his head in the door of the bank whenever he passed to say good- day to the bank men. On this occasion the storm door on Main street was open, and he looked in and said "Hello" to Manager Arnold, who was seated alone at his typewriter desk. The witness knew no more of the affair of his own knowledge, for, after this incident, he went on to the station.

Money Found in Car Constable Peter H. Levan, of Gretna, Man., said he took part in the search of Dyck's car when he returned at 8 o'clock in the evening, and found a bag of silver money on the left side of the front seat under the cushion. The bag contained $234.80. In addition, $19.20, in a bag, was found in Dyck's left overcoat pocket. The money was turned over to William Esau, teller of the Bank of Montreal at Plum Coulee.

The latter, re-called, spoke of counting the money and seating it in the bag. The amount stated by the constable was correct.

Constable George McKay, of Plum Coulee, was present when the $12.20 in silver was found in Dyck's left overcoat pocket. The constable produced the side curtain of the car in which there was a small pancture, which he believed to be a bullet hole. On this point, however, he was not sure. At this juncture the court adjourned for dinner.

William Dyck's Testimony An expectant hush pervaded the crowded room when Mr. Hastings, on the resumption after dinner, announced William Dyck, as the next crown witness. Every neck was craned toward the door of the court room and all eyes were centred upon the thick set figure of the Mennonite livery stable keeper whose startling testimony was expected to create a sensation.

Escorted by Chief of Police Edward Elliott, of the provincial force, William Dyck crossed the room. He is a man of unmistakable European peasant type, with heavy features, dropping moustache and bushy eyebrows, After taking the affirmation his religion forbidding the oath, Mr. Hastings began the questioning of the witness in a slow and measured manner.

The gist of the first questions were to the effect that William Dyck was a livery stable keeper in the village of Plum Coulee. He had been located in the district for about five years and had been in the livery business during the whole of his residence there. He owned a Case automobile and on being shown a picture of the "murder car" declared that it was very similar, and he believed it to be his.

"Do you know the prisoner?" asked Mr. Hastings.

The witness replied in the affirmative and in reply to very careful questions, made the following statement.

"I have known Krafchenko for about eight months, but it was only about two months ago since I became acquainted with him personally. The acquaintance was made Plum Coulee. He was staying at the Commercial hotel. He stayed for a week and before he went away he borrowed five dollars from me At that time he represented himself to be a boiler inspector employed by a Winnipeg firm. I saw him in Plum Coulee on the night of December 2nd. It was in a lane at the back of the Commercial hotel at about 7.30 or 7.45 o'clock in the evening. I was going from my barn to the hotel when I ran into him. He said: 'Hullo; Is that you Bill, and I said, 'Yes; is that you Jack?" He flashed a flashlight torch in my face. I ask- ed him to come into the hotel but he refused, saying that he was in trouble and daren't come. The police were after him for some trouble in Winnipeg. He then asked me if I was hard up and I replied 'No.' He then said I want you to make the drive for me tomorrow. When I asked him where to, he said: "There's a friend of mine coming here who is in trouble like myself and he must get away. I said. I could not do it, or I would get into trouble too. Krafchenko said there would be no trouble for me as no one would see this other man. I again said I couldn't do it and he drew gun from his pocket. He flashed the torch on it and pointing it at me said: "That's what you'll get if you don't do as I say. I then promised to do it. This seemed to please him and he then told me to have the car outside the barn pointing north at noon the following day. A man, he said, would come along the back lane and would be wearing a black coat and black whiskers 'like an old jew. I was to take that man out. He told me to have the engine running and he said he would be watching to see that I did exactly as he told me."

"Supposing you didn't agree?" queried Mr. Hastings.

"Well," replied Dyck, "he had the revolver pointing at me all the time, and I promised."

Dyck Was Afraid "Why did you promise him?"

"I was afraid of him."

"Was anything said about keeping the interview secret?"

"He said not to tell anybody about seeing him."

"And if you did say anything to anybody?"

"Well, he had the gun there all the time. He told me if I ever let anything out, he would get me anyway, or else someone else would."

"Then we come to the morning of December 3," continued the crown counsel. "What did you do in reference to your car that forenoon?"

"I looked her over to see if she to wanted any fixing, put some gasoline in the tanks and at the appointed time backed her out of the barn to the place mentioned."

Dyck was talking to two commerclal travellers beside his car when the man in the black coat came upon the scene. He had just arranged to take them to Morden at about 1.30 that day as soon as he returned from his present trip.

"Was the man walking or running when he came along?"

"He was running pretty fast."

"I got into the car," continued Dyck, "and just as I sat down I heard one of the travellers say: 'Hey, guy, you're dropping your money." When I heard this I wanted to get out, but the man came into the car and told me to drive on. I started the car and we drove northward because as soon as he was settled in the car he put a gun up to my head and told me to drive fast."

"And you didn't hesitate?"

"No."

"Did you hear any remarks from any of the travellers, except about the money?"

"No, I did not."

"What is the description of the man who got into your car?"

"He wore a black coat, black whiskers and a black cap."

Continuing the witness said: "I drove north about 175 yards and then he told me to drive east. I did so. As he told me this, I slackened the car up and said I would not drive him any further. He called me a vile name and told me that if I did not drive fast he would blow my brains out. 'The same as I did for the other man,' he concluded. He then fired a shot close to my head and the bullet passed through the car curtain."

"When he fired, what did you do?"

"I drove on."

"By that time did you know who the man was who was in your car?" asked the counsel.

"Yes. As soon as he said he would do for me what he did to the other man, I knew it was Jack Krafchenko."

"And your car continued to travel for about a quarter of a mile east and then turned south?"

"Yes. He told me to drive at high speed," continued the witness, "and I did so."

The route of the car, according to Dyck from this point was: one mile south, four miles east, one mile south again, "He then told me to take the best road to Lowe Farm village from there. I went four miles north and turned east one mile, then north again six miles about, and then eastward one mile and then two miles north, which brought us to a road running between Morris and Lowe Farm. We turned toward Morris, eastward."

"During the drive up to the point was there any conversation with you and the accused?"

"Yes. He spoke to me. 'I hope I didn't kill that son of a -------,' he said. I I asked who, and he replied 'Arnold.' He also told me that Arnold had followed him up and he had had to turn and shoot him."

"Was he wearing the beard then?"

"No, on the way to Lowe Farm he took it off and tore it up, scattering the pieces along the road."

"What did he do with the gun?"

"He kept it in his hand during the whole journey."

"What was he doing in the car?"

"He had the money and was looking it over and putting it into his pockets."

"Did he stay in the front seat?"

"Not all the time. He climbed over while the car was running into the back of the tonneau. He was behind there about five minutes when he returned to the seat beside me."

"How far did you go about, towards Morris?"

"About two miles; we then turned north again and passed through the outskirts of a Mennonite village. About three miles past this we got on to a trail leading through some willow brush. I went and stood there and he got out. He took off the overcoat and carried it into the brush about 35 yards, where he left it."

"Up to this time had he spoken of a watch?"

"Yes, at Lowe Farm he put his hand to his vest pocket and then said, 'Damn it, I've lost my watch.' He looked round the car for it, but could not find it."

"He got into the car again, and I did and we drove on in a northwestern direction to a point about twelve miles from McTavish station and about 15 miles from Osborne station. Here he told me to stop and he got out. He then threatened to break the spark plugs on my car so I could not get home, but when I objected he did not do it. He then instructed me what to say when I got back to Plum Coulee."

Krafchenko's Alleged Instructions "He told me to say that there were two men in the car, One was wearing a black coat and cap and black whiskers, and the other was a tall thin-faced young man, who sat in the back seat all the time. I was to say the third man got into the car round the corner just out of Plum Coulee. I was also to say that the young man came to the barn early in the morning and ordered the car, and to say that the young man got out of the car at McTavish and the other at Osborne."

"Did he say anything about pay before he left?"

"He had a bag of silver and asked me if I wanted it. I said no and then he grabbed a handful of change and put it into my overcoat pocket. The other in the bag he placed under, the seat with, I don't want this damn stuff, it's too heavy to carry.

"Did he say anything about what would happen if you told the truth?" "He said he would get me later, and If he didn't someone else would, anyway."

"Were you frightened?"

"I was."

"What next,' asked the counsel, as Dyck paused.

"He then told me to turn round and drive slowly back to town. I did so and when I started he struck across the country northward."

"What did you do then?"

"I drove back to Lowe Farm, where I telephoned my wife to say that was coming home."

"When I got into Plum Coulee," said Dyck, "the police were waiting for me. It was about eight o'clock. Constable McKay was there and I went with him to the Commercial hotel. I told him just what Krafchenko had told me to tell him."

"Then the story published in the papers was true as you told it then?"

"Yes."

"Why did you tell this untrue story?"

"I was afraid he would get me or that someone else would."

"You have stayed here from the time you came from Plum Coulee. That was on December 5? Have you remained here ever since?"

"Yes."

"Have you been over any part of the route you took with Krafchenko?"

"Yes. On December 18 we went as far as the road between Morris and Lowe Farm."

Mr. Hastings produced the coat previously exhibited, and the witness identified it as that deposited in the bush by the accused.

"After coming to Winnipeg, did you tell the authorities the same story?"

"No."

"You told them the true story?"

"Yes."

"Have you been kept in Winnipeg against your will?"

At this point, Mr. Hagel objected to the style of examination declaring that the subject was not relevant to the issue.

Mr. Bonnycastle said he did not think it would do any harm and the counsel for defence waived objection.

"Have you," continued Mr. Hastings, "been able to go out whenever you wanted to?"

"Yes."

"Were any restrictions placed on your movements?"

"No."

Mr. Hagel again interposed. "Oh, say, if you keen on this subject, we may possibly believe some of it," he said sarcastically.

The prosecutor kept on:

"The evidence you gave tonight was of your own free will?"

"Yes."

"Have you been locked up in the provincial jail in Winnipeg all the time?"

"No sir."

"How did you come to be there at all?"

"I asked protection for I was afraid."

"Oh yes," again interposed Mr. H gel, "I'll bet he just naturally ran up to that jail and tried to break in."

At this sally the court roared.

"Have you been out of the city at any time," asked Mr. Hastings?"

"Yes," concluded Dyck, "I went out shooting rabbits yesterday."

The prosecution were more or less set back on finding that Mr. Hagel had no questions to ask the witness. Mr. Hastings said he did not think Dyck's occupation of the stand would terminate so rapidly and he therefore would have to ask an adjournment. This was agreed to and the court rose to meet again on January 6, 1914, at two o'clock in the court room of the city police court.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hi there! I've learned quite a lot about Greek culture from this blog and honestly some of it has made me re-examine my view on certain issues. Instead of saying this is what things are like I now feel the need to specify that's what they are like in my own country (I'm a Scot) Tumblr is very US centric and I didn't mind because I love American cultures but it is important to realise Western Europe/the US and Canada doesn't always equate to the rest of the world. For example about 95% of Scots are white but since the 1970s and maybe even before we have had immigrants of South Asian, East Asian, Mediterranean, Eastern European and African origin who have since settled and had children and are now just as much a part of Scottish society as those of us whose families were here centuries before. I'm white myself but a lot of the understanding of racial dynamics on this site stem from the US which isn't a bad thing because I like to be informed but had I not seen this blog and spoken to more Greeks or Europeans in general I wouldn't have known about the Pontic and Assyrian genocides (I was aware of the Armenian one.) Thankfully we were taught in schools that oppression was not always based on skin colour, but nationality, religion and ethnicity too. I wouldn't say I had a hard time or felt oppressed in any way but my own country has felt oppression. I've heard nasty slurs used against Irish, Welsh, Polish and Romanian people as much as I have the idiots who use horrible slurs against Pakistanis, Indians and Nigerians. And I'd never actually given much thought about the changing ethnicities of certain deities. I don't normally care if someone racebends a fictional character but I can understand why it might cause confusion doing it to mythological figures who were painted in the way the majority of the culture they came from looked. I strive to tell stories with a diverse cast. I guess it's me understanding that a diverse cast in the US/Britain would be different to what a diverse cast in Greece, Turkey or Italy would look like. As for PJO well, I was never a big fan as I was HP but I always assumed it was good. But not even showcasing Greek people in a Greek story feels weird? Come to think of it I couldn't think of many mainstream Greece set stories that actually have Greek people in them (except the ones from Greece obviously) That's like watching Mel Gibson as William Wallace to me.

I'm sorry for rambling I guess I just feel like I need to rectify my own understanding of the world. I try my best to be just the right ammount of politically correct, I don't stand for bigotry and I always try to show respect to another world view even if it's different from my own upbringing. Thank you for your blog, it can be confusing sometimes to try and understand all complicated parts of history and race but I like learning!

Oooh, a Scot!! *waves excitedly* Haha I don’t mind the rumbling xD I rumble a lot here, too! I hope that I provide a somewhat balanced view of things but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to send me a dm.

I am happy to know how my blog made you think about the diversity in your country and how to best express it - and, at the same time understand other parts of the world outside of the US-centric view.

Most Europeans understand oppression can come from many things (and ofc that doesn't stop us from acknowledging racism and fighting against it). As you noticed there are some conventions about certain things from country to country. And yes, the diversity - and its percentage - may differ depending on the location.

Greece (as all countries xD) also has “native” diversity on its own, with the different “tribes” - one of them being the Pontic/Pontiac Greek people. So those must be taken into account as well if someone wants to showcase the various customs.

[kittybellestark]

Ok, talking about what you said about Sebastian and Romania, I just want to say that I am from Romania, and the situation is not so bad. Maybe it was then, but that was 30+ years ago, things have changed. I know it was hard for him because he was a kid and it was totally different in America. But, I must say, it becomes annoying ... he was not the only child who lived that period, many of them did not go anywhere and have a decent and beautiful life in Romania. Yes, there is a lot of corruption but other than that, is a normal and free country.

Hi, I’m not trying to invalidate Romanians or what Romania is currently like. I just want to push people to educate themselves especially when I see comments like I summarized in the previous post which romanticize the trauma that Sebastian Stan went through. And I’m only speaking about him now because of the interview he gave the other day talking about his experiences with Alexander and about Romania then and now and the discourse that has come from that. (Calling Seb a bad boy because he had to steal as a child, etc)

Yeah, so my points about Sebastian Stan and the interview is more about the reaction to him sharing his trauma. He spoke very openly about the trauma he had from his time in Romania and immigrating, and we see now that he is very very proud of his nationality.

But I still stand to the fact that no one should be romanticizing that trauma because he is famous. I don’t want to discount the experience people have had growing up and living in Romania.

Yes it was 30 years ago, but that’s still fairly recently in the gran scheme of things. Romania is still working through the effects of being under communism which we see in other countries such as Poland (where my grandparents had to leave the country due to similar issues).

In the interview, which I linking in my post, Sebastian and Alexander talk about how there are many people who stayed in Romania and had very happy lives.

So many people have romanticized what he had to go through. And that shouldn’t happen. Doesn’t matter whether his trauma was 30 years ago or not.

I’m in no way trying to say in my previous post that Romania is a poor country, with civil unrest where communism is still happening. But it is important to recognize that the recent history of Romania, and how that affects today.

I’m a second generation Canadian, but because of the trauma’s that my grand parents went through (living through wwii, being in a communist country, being forced onto a boat the make it to Canada to get refuge), my brother and I never learnt Polish traditions, or how to speak Polish. We couldn’t get our EU passports because our grandma wouldn’t get the paper work we needed to try and keep us safe. We’d have people make fun of our last names and my brothers first name (because they aren’t English names), Holocaust jokes were regularly, people have refused to accept service from me at my previous job because I looked to Polish (I’m 22). Obviously I’m not an immigrant, and the Polish experience vs the Romanian experience aren’t then same. But I’ve grown up listening to stories of what it was like to try and fit in and hiding apart of yourself, and being told if I ever traveled to certain places to give a fake last name if I’m asked. But there is trauma that my grandparents have experienced this is going to be similar to Sebastian’s, but if talk about my grandma’s experience people just won’t care bc they don’t have a connection.

And we see Poland (and many other Easter European countries) heading back towards authoritarian governments, which is only being escalated due to covid.

Obviously this isn’t everyone’s experience. I don’t want to say it is, but acknowledging history of other countries and understanding not to romanticize a persons trauma shouldn’t be a difficult thing or something I should have to say.

But yeah basically, romanticizing trauma is horrible. Being fans of Sebastian Stan we shouldn’t invalidate his experiences and his pain because others didn’t have the same experiences. If we’re going to be talking about Sebastians experiences we need to continue to educate ourselves in was happening back then. And we need to understand what is happening now. Eastern European countries aren’t in the greatest place politically. It sucks that people who don’t have a connection to these countries don’t understand what has happened or is currently happening in Romania or Poland or the rest or Eastern Europe. And it’s unfortunate that a lot of people will choose to not make the active decisions to educate themselves if I doesn’t affect them personally or a celebrity they love (in this case Sebastian Stan) lived through it.

My point is we shouldn’t take someone’s trauma and make it into an idea we have of Sebastian or any other celebrity. Everyone should keep an open mind about the immigrant experience and shouldn’t make mindless jokes about what that person went through.

People (specifically America/Canada) often don’t consider Eastern European people’s experience when they’re forced to move away for their safety because there’s a lack of education about it. None of these countries are brought up in history after WWII.

Anyways I hope that makes sense it’s like 2am so my thought process isn’t really all there. I’m sorry if I got things wrong but I just think these are really important things that need to be discussed and people need to educate themselves on and be more sensitive to it. I really don’t mean to invalidate your experiences, I just see that people are invalidating others experiences and that’s not cool. So sorry if I overstepped and got these things wrong

[detective-with-one-arm]

Frontier Verse Headcanons

Yeehaw, it’s Western brainrot time, here we go.

It’s the 1800s, British colonies have settled in Maritime Canada and the Americans have divorced themselves from the British empire.

Before she was even born, Rachel’s parents made the hard trek from their home country to Britain to stow away on a ship to the New World.

Somehow able to get by without much trouble, the family had moved into New Brunswick to become fishers and farmhands, having their own small land.

They were able to make a decent living and live a comfortable life, raising their livestock and catching and selling namely cod.

Rachel was born two years after her family’s successful immigration and had grown up in this life, looking after the animals alongside her older sister and having a rather special connection to them.

Over time, she grew into a strong, independent, and very capable young woman. One who caught the heart of a young Maritime sea trader named Frank.

Their family had been apart of New Brunswick’s lifeblood and life for generations since before the British settled in the colony. Rachel and Frank fell in love and eventually married, seemingly set to have their own child and for their households to merge.

But one fateful night, the unthinkable happened. The British authorities, jealous of and coveting the young woman, murdered her spouse seeing them as a traitor to the colonies by their French heritage.

There was nothing Rachel could do but mourn her late spouse.

Soon after, both of her parents fell ill and they had to sell their property in order to get by.

Rachel and Bianca agreed that they needed to find a new life, so Rachel offered to travel to the Americas by horseback in order to find a new life for themselves while Bianca worked for someone else’s land or ship.

Upon the back of her beloved Canadian Horse, Nightrunner, Rachel traveled inward towards the Great Lakes, searching for a new life for what was left of her family.

Many days and nights were spent, walking from town to down until she reached the Great Lakes.

Until she happened upon Detroit. A city much bigger than she had ever known, but felt strangely familiar. A city of immigrants, just like her.

In Detroit, she came to know the Sheriff named Hank Anderson. The two hit if off very well, but when unsavoury men tried to cause trouble, the man very quickly came to her aid, claiming her to be an adopted daughter due to a recent family tragedy.

Appreciative for his help, Rachel posed as such and began to live with him, taking the name Rachel Anderson so she could work with him.

In time, she became his loyal deputy.

This is what her pistol looks like. She also really knows how to use a whip and a lasso.

She also speaks with a rather unique accent. A strange combination between Maritimes French and American South.

Because of her heritage and her upbringing, she can speak Romanian, French, and English.

[etherealacademia]

Are you romanian?

yeah, my parents immigrated to canada so i was raised in canada but i’m a dual citizen and have worked/lived in romania