John Slebzak, Page Two

After almost 18 frustrating months of following up one scrap of information after another, mostly in vain, I finally found a living son of John Slebzak. I called him in May of 2008. He was 85 years old. He knew nothing about the Lewis Hine photos, and in fact, had never seen a photo of his father as a child. I mailed him copies of the photos, and interviewed him several weeks later. He asked me not to reveal his name or quote him directly.

John Michael Slebzak was born in Poland (or Russia) on February 17, 1898. According to the 1910 Census, he came to the US in 1905, settling in Baltimore with his parents, Andrew and Mary. Andrew's occupation was listed as farm laborer. They had five other children listed: Joe (18), Martha (14), James (10), Joseph (8), and Walter (infant). At the time, the family was living at 1609 S. Caton Ave, in the Halethorpe section of Baltimore.

John served in the Navy during World War I. For a while, he lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he married Helen in 1920. He returned to Baltimore with his family in 1929, after he got out of the Navy and worked some construction jobs in Staten Island. He continued to work in construction in Baltimore for most of his life. They had three children. Helen was deaf most of her life. In fact, in the 1930 Census, John's occupation is listed as "harbinger of deaf mutes." John and Helen divorced in the 1960s. John died in September of 1971, in Halethorpe. He was 73 years old. Helen passed away in 1982, at the age of 84.

Noon hour on berry farm, Bottomley's near Baltimore, Md. The dining room, July 1909, Lewis Hine.

Shanties and cooking shacks on berry farm of Bottomley's, near Baltimore. Md. At times, four families live in one shanty: three families is the rule--two rooms, July 1909, Lewis Hine.