Pacific Northwest Croatian

Issue 3, April 1999

The Mote Evich Family

Story written and submitted by Mitchell Evich

In Komiza in 1593, Mato Evich and Ivan Borcic were among the first people who signed up to go fishing in Palagruza with their own ships. (there were 30 others)**

The Evich Roots

Three Evich brohers (Tri Brata Ivcevich) were lost at sea in the Adriatic off Stupisce on the Island of Vise. They were fishing off the coast and were swept into the sea by a huge wave. The three massive rocks hat jut out at Stupisce are to this day, referred to as the Tri Brata Ivcevich (Three Brothers Evich).

One of the brothers was Sibic (Joseph). He had three sons: Antic, Sibic, & Jeric; and three daughters: Mandina, Belavelana, and the name is not known of the third. Sibic had four souns: Miho (Mitchell), Ive (John) [Andy Evich's grandfather], Jerie (Jerry), aand Antic (Anthony). Antic had two sons: Stepe & Miho and four daughters: Katica [Frank Repanich's grandmother], Margarita [Frances Tomich's grandmother), Mandina, and Belavelana. Stepe had three sons: Jack, Joe, and Tonko's Dad. Miho (Mitchell) married maria Zankich from Otok Svete Andria. They had four sons and two daughters. The eldest was Domina who married Jose Tolich (a shoemaker). They had three boys and three girls. Their children were Tomaso (who died in the army), Beppo (who is in Chili), Peter (who is in San Pedro), [Peter's wife is Ruth and they have three children]. Antonia married a Gregat and they had 5 children (Tonci, Jose, Luka, Nina, & Blasna). Beppina married a Mardesich, and Domina married a Borcic. Domina and her husband had three children: Perko, Joseph (a dancer), and Nada. The second child of Miho was Sibic who married (?) and had four sons and four daughters. (In the early 1980's all eight of these siblings were alive - the youngest being age 65!). The children were: 1. Maria, who married Ante Repanich. They had one son, Miho, and three daughters; Seks, Amka, and Zorica. 2. Domina, who married Frank Ivcevich and had three sons: Bepo, Luka, & Matte - and three duaghters; Maria, Marica, & Nevenka. 3. Kate, who married Jose Karuza and had one son, Slavka, and two daughters; Marian, and Miriam. 4. Miho (Mitchell), who married Jakica and had one daughter, Marica. 5. Vinko, who married Domina and had one son, Jose, and two daughters; Marica, and Jasna. 6. Ive (John) who married Alice and had one daughter, Meri Angela. 7. (?) who married (?) Repanich. 8. Mare who married Peter Bozanich and had two sons, Tonko and Beppo. The third child of Miho was Petar who married Maria Gracin. They had one daughter, Maria (who married Paul Kink) and three sons, Mike (who married Mickey Van Cruynnigan); John F. (who married Susie Duke), and Joseph (Who married Luella Dunham). Children of Maria and Paul Kink are: Peter, Dick, Mitchell, Victoria, and Marie. Children of Mike and Mickey are Jerry, Danny, & Evelyn. Children of John and Susie are Margia and Suzanne. Joseph and Luella had one son, Peter. The fourth child of Miho was Ive (John) who married Maria Costanti. They had two sons: Mitchell (who married Lois Campbell), Peter (who married Dorcas Elwood), and a daughter, Mary (who married ?). Mitchell and Lois' children are Dick and Paul. Peter and Dorcas' children are Marilyn, Margaret, Nancy, and Tom. The fifth child of Miho was Matte who married Barbara Borcic. They had one daughter, Mary (who married Jack Faulkner), and a son, Mitchell (who married Betty Jane Christi). Mary and Jack had two daughters, Barbara and Jackie. Mitch and Betty Jane had two sons, Mat and Mitchell. The sixth child of Miho was Margarita who married Dick Kink. They had three children, Victoria (who married Tony Zorotovich), Paul (who married Mary Valich), and Mary (who married Pat Irvin). Tony and Victoria had one daughter, Pamela. Paul and mary had two children, Michelle and Dick. Mary and Pat had two sons, Tim and Tom.

For most of us, the above is as clear as mud, but with a little studying, we can figure out who is related to whom.

Mote & Barbara Evich

A European custom (at least in Croatia) was to name the first male child after the Paternal grandfater and the first female child after the Maternal grandmother. This is why my cousins, M.J., Mike, and a Mitchell in Komiza (who later came to San Pedro) were all named Mitchell. My two cousins, M.J. and Mike married their fiancees on about the same date while I was a student at Lowel school. My teacher (with a broad smile) said, "You must have been one of those two Mitchell Evich's who married recently - there CAN'T be THREE of you!" I should have said, "No, there are FOUR of us!" but didn't.

When my dad, Mote, was14 years old,he was seriously injured when a shotgun accidentally discharged on the Komiza dock. The fleshy part of his arm was damaged as were two fingers. He also received buckshot pellets in his groin. He lay in bed for a year (certainly different from today's medical miracles). He also had some of his fleshy part of his arm removed and two of his fingers partially amputated. In spite of this injury, he continued to be a fisherman and never allowed his handicap to slow him down. Mathhew (Mote) Evich was in the U.S. for a few years before going back to Komiza where he met and eventually married Barbara Borcic. They then migratetd to Bellingham, On their trip over to America, he sympathized with his wife's seasickness, but added with a grin, "I did get to eat her portion of the ship's food."

Before they got married and Mote was courting Barbara, one of her younger brothers warned her - "Don't marry Mote - he didn't give us a pet solde (five cents equivalent) like the other one did." (an earlier suitor) When Mote and Barbara left Komiza for the U.S. (Barbara was the oldest sibling in the family and had taken over the household duties at age 11) she left an ailing mother and seven brothers and sisters. She felt very sad about this, but of course her husband and marriage came first. She did have some elementarty school education in Komiza and wrote to her brothers and sisters in Croatian. She also sent used clothing and small amounts of money to her family, they were very appreciative and corresponded with Barbara by letters. Mary and I never saw any of our grandparents, but had three aunts and three uncles with many children as first and second cousins... this helped fill any void.

A brother and a sister of Mote remained in Komiza, but Mote and his two brothers and sister brought over two of their nephews to Bellingham in 1937 - John J. Evich and Peter Tolich. These two lived with their uncles for a few years, then both moved to San Pedro. One of my fondest memories of my upbringing was the lovely home-made bread my mother used to make. "The aroma is still with me today." Then there is the home-made Slavonian soup and the Hrustle, Pasurate, and anise flavored Christmas cookies!

Because of having asthma at an early age, I didn't always attend Mass with my parents. As a result, I was in disbelief when one of my classmates at Lowell School announced that he attended Sacred Heart Church. I thought only people from Vis and Komiza were Catholic! (My classmate was of Irish descent).

Mote purchased the purse seiner Independence in the early thirties. The seiner was built in 1917 and he ran the boat until 1944 when I took over the boat. My dad continued to fish as a crew member for 8 years and finally retired in 1952. He owned and/or partnered three other purse seine boats. He said he didn't like running a boat, but preferred crewing. He did operate the Lion for six seasons in Alaska (False Pass, Bering Sea, and Puget Sound). He was oncd praised by his skipper, Nick "LaBot" Vitaljic as "Moje Nojboje Couik!" ("He's my best man!") I believe that his attitude toward running a seiner changed after he first operated the Independence.

My father was a good man - overly serious perhaps, (an introvert) but insisted that both Mary and myself had a college education. My mother, Barbara, whole-heartedly endorsed this plan. My mother was a petite person, very kind and friendly, (more of an extrovert). The best tribute that I heard about her was from a Mrs. Bakke (a neighbor from across the street) "Barbara is such a nice neighbor that I am jealous of Mrs. Bidwell who lives closer and visits more often than I with Barbara."

I had the advantage of a "tutor" to learn the English language. My sister, Mary, was three years older and helped me learn. Both of us grew up speaking both Croatian and English (as all the Croatian offspring did). Once, as a small child, I attended a wedding with my parents and I remember gathering pennies and jelly beans off the floor that the guests had showered on the bride and groom.

Mitch in front of a photo of his parents and the fishing vessel Independence.

Croatian Basketball Team: 1933-1934 junior varsity team - Back Row: Frank Holbrook, Jack Whitmore, Walt Wilkinson, Grant Clark, Nick Karuza. Front Row: Loui Geri, Joe Hansen, Billy Jim Dee, Mitch Evich, Leonard Beehan.

During the periods of about 1915 through the early 30's many of the Croatian women worked at the Pacific American Fisheries (which was the largest salmon cannery in the world at that time), and Bellingham Canning Company during the salmon season. In the earlier days of commercial salmon fishing, Mary (Ive's wife) and Barbara cooked for their husbands while they fished salmon at San Juan Island. (The women didn't fish with their husbands, but cooked ashore).

At one time there were about three hundred purse seine boats in Puget Sound and I believe over 80% of them were owned and/or operated by men of Croatian descent. The Bellingham fleet was operated largely by men from Komiza and Vis. The reason for this large number is that the cannery owners realized the experience, seamanship, etc. of the Croatians and offered them boats (which they eventually paid for). Many of the immigrants, after living in Bellingham for a few years, moved to San Pedro, CA where there was year-round fishing as opposed to only summer and fall (salmon) fishing in our area. At one time during the thirties there were more people from Komiza (and their children) living in San Pedro than there were in Komiza itself!

One evening in the late 1930's there were 32 young Croatian-American men seated around a large table at a local restaurant enjoying a few brews. Some of those present were Peter Pecarich, the Karuzas, the Zuanichs, the Kinks, the Kuljis', the Sarichs and myself. Quite a group, don't you think?

 

When I was in the eighth grade at Lowell Elementary, six of the five starters on the football team were boys whose parents came from Komiza and Vis. They were Martin Stanovich, Mike Karuza, Emil Mardesich, Dominic Mustappa, Nick Mustappa, and myself. In 1934 at Fairhaven High School, an all Slavonian basketball team was formed. They played Blaine High School in a home game. I was moved up to the varsity team to supplement the four Croatian boys on the A squad: Vinnie and Mike Karuza, Frank Muljat, and John Sarich. We played over one quarter of the game, and won! In the late 30's the young men of Croatian descent formed a basketball team which was quite successful. They were mostly ex-high school standouts. A Seattle group of Croatian-Americans challenged us to a three-game series for the Yugoslavian Basketball Championship of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle was the stronger team composed of about three ex-collegian players; one of them named Loverich, an all coast guard, who had played for the University of Washington. In the Championship game (which they won - they beat us two out of the games) we "held" Loverich to 32 points. He told us afterwards that he sustained as many scratches in that game as he did in his whole career!

Back Row: Maria Evich Kink (Peter Father, Paul Husband - single at this time), Mary Evich (wife of Peter), Margaret Evich Kink (sister of the three brothers - single at this time), Mary Costanti Evich (wife of John [Ive] Evich), Barbara Borcic Evich (wife of Mote).Front Row: John F. Evich on Peter (his dad) Evich's lap, Mitchell "Mike" Evich betwen Peter and Ive Ivich. Peter Evich (youngest son) on Ive's lap, Mary Evich (Ive's daughter) Matt (Mote) Evich holding Mitchell J. Evich (nephew of Mote). Photo was taken before my sister Mary or I was born. (before 1913)

When the young Croatian-American boys of the neighborhood were in their mid-teens, they formed a baseball team. One was the Zuanich Tigers (made up of Komiza offspring), the other, and most formidable opponent of the "Tigers" was the Sarich Cougars (made up of Vis offspring). Many of the young men were outstanding high-school athletes - but probably the MOST SKILLED was Mike Karuza who played football, basketball, baseball, and participated in track at Fairhaven High School. Because of his love for fishing, he didn't pursue a college athletic career. Four of the young Slavonians graduated from Fairhaven High School at the age of 16 (on different dates) They were Peter Zuanich, one of the Marincovich girls, Victoria Kink, and Mary Evich, my sister.

My wife, myself, and both of our sons are graduates of WWU in Bellingham, WA. I was a teacher for 23 years and still teach as a substitute in the Bellingham school district. I turned 82 years old on April 1st 1999, and hope to continue to teach for a long time to come.

My wife, Betty Jane, is a retired school teacher and has her "roots" in Whatcom County. A road and a lake are named after her maternal side (Barret) of the family. One of the reasons so many of the second-generation Slavonians became teachers is that it allowed them the summers to operate and/or crew their commercial salmon fishing purse seiners. Also the second generation of Vis and Komiza people seemed to succeed financially and scholastically. Most of the second-generation young men went into fishing, some went into teaching and some in other businesses. (At least six of them became millionaires) - Not I, I remained the pleasant peasant that I am!

My mother died at a relatively young age (55) from heart failure. This was due to a bout with rhumatic fever as a young girl in Komiza. Of course there were, then, no really effective remedies for this. My dad died approaching his 79th birthday. After my mom passed away, I was single and "batching it" with dad and TV had just come to the fore. I mentioned a TV set that was on sale and said to dad, "Gee, we can get a $400 (listed) set for $350 and save $50." Dad's response (being the frugal person he was) "Whynot stay home and save $350?" The television bug finally got him and he settled for a similar sale two weeks later. Another time, I decided to clean out the garage. Dad had gone to town and this gave me the opportunity to do so. Clean out I did - an excellent job -for the garbage men to collect. Would you believe (frugality, again, reared its ugly head), Dad returned and when I left the house - before the garbage men arrived, Dad had put at least half of the pile back in the garage!

There were two pool halls operated by Croatian-Americans in Fairhaven. They were kind of a coffee shop gathering place for the purse-seine skippers. One skipper (he shall remain nameless) refused to enter the coffee shop for many months after the conclusion of the fall fishing -- why? Because he had a poor summer and fall fishing season and didn't want to be reminded of this!

Naturally we second generation Croatian-Americans were sometimes amused by the broken English our parents spoke; for example, a young lady named Esther met Sam (one of the immigrants) for the second time and brightly announced, "You remember me,. don't you, Sam?" Sam's response, "Shoorrr I remember you, your name is Usker." (Oscar).

Anecdotes below by Mary Kink Irvin:

"Strawberry Boss"

The Costanti boys delivered some groceries for us. Our hill of strawberries was covered with good, ripe berries. The boys started picking and eating. Paul stood at the top of the hill and kept shouting for them to stop. "I am the boss here." he said. They stopped eating and began to pepper Paul with ripe, red berries calling to Paul - "OK Boss - OK Boss" so his nickname was started: Boss = Bosco.

"Two Boys, One Pie"

Larabee School was having a pie sale. Tonkula Elich baked a nice pie. Her son, Louis and his friend, Paul, were to deliver the pie to his teacher. But halfway there, the pie was so tempting that they found a shady spot, sat down and ate it. Tonkula later asked Louis, "Did your teacher like the pie?" "Yes," said Louis, "She ate it all!"

"Shut the Door"

In the 6th grade class at Lowell School the students were slowly taking their seats. The last one in forgot to shut the door. The teacher turned to the class and asked how you say door in "Slav." Mike Karuza quickly raised his had and said, "Guzitsa." So the teacher went to the piano and played and sang... "Shut the guzitsa, Shut the Guzitsa!"

******

**Komiza - Land of My Forefathers - By David Felando

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