John Bartko and Anna Slebodnick give birth to their second child, a son, John Bartko Jr., on March 9, 1915.   John Jr. is the sixth grandchild of Alex and Anna Scšur Kudrick.  The other five grandchildren are Michael Mudry age 7, Anna Mudry age 5, Mary Mudry age 3, George Bartko age 2 and Susan Mudry age 1.

Three of Alex and Anna Kudrick's nine children are now married.  They are:

Anna Scšur II who married John Mudry in 1909.  John and Anna have four children (Michael, Anna, Mary and Susan) and are living in the village of Oneida, south of Cranberry.

John Bartko who married Anna Slebodnick in 1914.  John and Anna have two children (George and John Jr.) and are  living in a duplex house at 17 West Cranberry Avenue in the borough of West Hazleton.  Alex and Anna Kudrick are living in the other half of the duplex house at 19 West Cranberry Avenue.  Click here for more on the borough of West Hazleton.

Mary Bartko who married John Kelhart in 1916.  They have no children, but Mary is pregnant with her first child.  The Kelharts are living at 18 West Clay Avenue which is on the same lot as the Cranberry Avenue property, but in back of it (to the north) fronting on West Clay Avenue. 

Events of 1917:  Two international stories consume the Hazleton newspaper headlines the year John Bartko Jr. is born.  The major events of which I speak are World War I and the end of the Romanoff Dynasty in Petrograd, Russia.

The involvement of the United States in World War I is played out before the concerned eyes of the Kudrick families living in the mining community of Oneida and in and around Cranberry Avenue in West Hazleton.

In February, Germany begins its ruthless sea warfare by defining "barred zones" and "safety lanes" around the ports of England, Ireland and the western coast of Europe.  Germany dictates travel conditions for American vessels to follow or risk attack by German submarines.  The unilateral action by the German government clearly puts the United States into a crisis mode of operation in Washington.

The Hazleton newspaper carries a running total of the ships sunk by German submarines.  For the month of February alone it is 183 ships, including two American ships.

On April 2 the Aztec, an armed American steamship, is sunk by a German submarine in a night-time sneak attack near Brest off the northwest coast of France.  The next day, April 3, President Wilson asks Congress for a stronger navy, a new army of 500,000 men, full co-operation with Germany's foes and a war declaration against Germany and Austria-Hungary.  We must defend democracy is the cry!

By May 19, President Wilson calls the nation to arms by signing a bill for the drafting of men into the service.  Approximately three months later, on August 2, the United States' Senate and House vote to declare war on both Germany and Austria-Hungary.  Americas are on their way to France or like the popular song of the day states, they are going "Over There."

The second major story of the year being discussed in the Kudrick families is the revolution in Russia and the end of the Romanoff dynasty. 

The European families of Alex Kudrick and Anna Scšur were influenced by the Russian customs and religious beliefs since their villages were close to the Russian border.  I remember my father's ability to understand the Russian language spoken in the 1950s without having a single day of language training.  Hence this is a topic of some interest to the Kudrick families.

One week after John Bartko Jr. is born, on March 16, it is reported in the Hazleton newspaper that what started out as three days of food riots in Petrograd has turned into a major revolution.  Czar Nicholas II has abdicated and it is reported that his wife, the Empress Alexandra a German by birth, is in hiding and fears for her life.  The following day, March 17, it is confirmed that the Romanoff dynasty is ended and that Russia has become a republic under the leadership of moderate Alexander Kerensky.

Nine months later the Hazleton newspaper reports that Russian revolutionists have seized the city of Petrograd and Alexander Kerensky has fled.  The Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Leon Trotsky (spelled as Trotzsky) revolt and seize the Winter Palace in Petrograd.  The Bolsheviks win a bloody battle in Moscow as they defeat a group of women soldiers defending the palace.  The Bolsheviks pledge to seek an immediate peace with Germany which they do.  The war for Russia is over--shortly after seizing power the Bolsheviks conclude an armistice on the Eastern Front with Germany.