When I stop and think about all the strides my family has made since my great-grandfather Wenzel immigrated to America, I can’t help but be filled with pride. It all began with that brave first step Great-Grandpa took when he left his native Austria, not knowing what the future held in store. Things weren’t easy for him, no sir! A great many hardships awaited him when he arrived in this country with only $10 in his pocket, $300,000 in his bank account, and a dream. Yet it was a sacrifice he was willing to make to ensure his kids would have an even better life than he already had himself. Wenzel was only 17 when he secured one-way passage for himself aboard a steamship to Ellis Island, leaving behind the only home he had ever known. When I first heard the tale of his voyage, I could hardly imagine how difficult it must have been for him, all alone there in his first-class cabin as the foul stench of steerage passengers wafted up to his sitting room. At one point, so the story goes, the ship’s galley ran out of filet mignon, forcing him to subsist on 8-ounce rib eye steaks for the rest of the trip. But somehow Great-Grandpa made due, enduring the entire week-long journey without a single manservant at his disposal. Who could have guessed this wide-eyed kid from Austria, who spoke hardly a word of English, would become a successful businessman in America? When he first… [Read full story]
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