- Genre:biography & autobiography
- Sub-genre:Personal Memoirs
- Language:English
- Pages:404
- Hardcover ISBN:9781667849317
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Book details
Overview
This book is the love story of Otto Palme and Eleanora (Nora) Wallner told through the letters that Otto wrote to Nora during the time they were apart while Otto was in the Navy during World War I. There are 80 surviving letters spanning the period from March 1918, shortly after Otto enlisted, through August 1920, the month before they were married. The letters from Nora to Otto have been lost to the ages, but some idea of what she wrote about her feelings toward Otto and their predicaments, and the nature of her calming optimism, are conveyed in the responses in Otto's letters. The letters give a glimpse into the lives, dreams and concerns of two people in love whose plans were interrupted by the war, their steadfast dedication to each other throughout their time apart, and their determination to marry and spend their lives together.
Nora and Otto were both born in New Bedford in the 1890's. While the letters are the centerpiece of the book, the histories of Otto's and Nora's parents and their families are also explored. Otto's parents were immigrants from Bohemia who worked in the mills. Nora's parents were Austrian immigrants, her father a baker who ran a successful bakery.
Otto and Nora grew up friends and fell in love. When the US entered World War I, Otto enlisted in the Navy. For the next three years, Otto and Nora corresponded regularly, with occasional meetings when Otto could get home on leave. Finally, in Sept. 1920, they married and started their lifelong journey together, settling in the town of Rumford, RI and raising their family of three children. The story continues with their life together after marriage, told through the memories their children and grandchildren.
The book is illustrated with photos of the families, their houses and maps showing where they lived. While a sign painter by trade, Otto also painted artistically. Illustrations of some of his paintings are included, as are some of Nora's recipes.
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Eleanora (Nora) Wallner was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1894, her parents both Austrian immigrants. Nora's father, Anton Wallner, the son of a farmer in Halbenrain, had studied to be a baker so that he could go to America and start a bakery business. At age 24, Anton came to America in 1882 on SS Bolivia and settled in New Bedford where Anton started his own very successful bakery.
Nora's mother, Anna Sirk, was born in 1862 in Radkersburg, a few miles south of Halbenrain. Anna was the eldest of five sisters. Orphaned when just 16, Anna was left to raise and care for her sisters. Anna got work as a domestic at the farm of Peter Wallner in Halbenrain, Peter being Anton's father. Six years after he had come to New Bedford, Anton, who had a great affection for Anna and could not forget her, sent a letter home with fare for passage and asking Anna to come to join him, with intentions of marriage. In Feb. 1888, Anna made the voyage on SS Eider, with return fare tucked in her bosom in case things did not work out with Anton.
Otto Palme was born in New Bedford in 1890, his parents both Bohemian immigrants. Otto's father, Joseph Palme, was born in 1863 in Rochlitz an der Iser (Rokytnice nad Jizerou) in northern Bohemia (now Czech Republic). After completing school, Joseph worked in the mills and learned weaving and loom fixing. In 1883, at age 19, Joseph sailed to America on SS Belgenland to settle in New Bedford and work in the thriving textile industry there.
Otto's mother, Julia Janak was born in 1869 in the town of Kunžak in southern Bohemia. Julia, at age 14, sailed with her parents and two brothers on the same SS Belgenland that had carried Joseph Palme across the Atlantic just a month earlier. The Janak family also settled in New Bedford to work in the mills.
Joseph and Julia met in New Bedford. In March 1888 they were married on the same day, and in the next consecutive ceremony at the same place, that Anton Wallner and Anna Sirk were married. Thus, the paths of the two families intersected and over the years friendships formed and grew between them and amongst their children.
Otto and Nora grew up friends and fell in love. When the US entered World War I, Otto enlisted in the Navy and was stationed at the Naval Training Center, Newport, RI. For the next three years, Otto and Nora corresponded regularly, staying in touch between occasions when Otto got enough leave to get to New Bedford for a visit. It is these letters that are the central theme of the book. The letters continued when, in 1919, Otto was deployed on the USS Ohioan making six trips to France to transport returning troops back to the States. After his discharge, Otto worked in Newport and later, seeking better job opportunities, moved to East Providence. Finally, in Sept. 1920, Otto and Nora married and started their lifelong journey together, settling in the town of Rumford, RI and raising their family of three children. The final chapters are about Otto and Nora's life together after marriage, told through memories their children and grandchildren had of them.
There are historical sketches and maps of the European towns where the Palme, Janak, Wallner and Sirk families lived before coming to America, as well as a brief history of New Bedford and the growth and decline of the whaling and textile industries there.
The book is illustrated with photos of the families and their houses; of Otto's artwork; of the USS Ohioan and its crew and passengers; and of the ships that brought the families from Europe to America in the 1880's. Other topics include USS Ohioan passengers Sergeant York and celebrated carrier pigeon Cher Ami of Lost Battalion fame, and Nora's encounter with Christy Mathewson.
Genealogical references made of Palme and Wallner connections to surnames: Eastwood, Ferris, Fink, Franzel, Fritz, Fasching, Hobza, Janak, Lamprecht, Losert, Maier, Mayer-Schönberger, Myers, Pearl, Preston, Rigby, Sirk, Snell, Theinert, Wolf, Wolsch
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