Mary was the oldest surviving sibling in her family. She was predeceased by a brother, Andrew, who was born and died in infancy in Europe circa 1924.
Mary graduated on D-Day with Honorable Mention from McKeesport Senior High School, Class of 1944. She went to work for United States Steel, National Tube Co. which was manufacturing bomb parts for World War II at this time. After the war, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio for an opportunity to work at a sweater factory while living with relatives. She returned to "Da Port" a couple of years later and worked for the (defunct) Vienna Bakery up until she got married to John Hancharik of Versailles in 1949.
They honeymooned at Niagara Falls and Mary's favorite story that she told her kids dealt with her bilingual skills. She and her new husband, John, walked into Canada across the Peace Bridge leaving her possessions at the hotel on the American side. When returning to the United States, the officials detained her because of her European accent. They believed that she was attempting to gain access illegally. Without her ID, she was not able to convince them that she was a US citizen. Husband John had to retrieve her ID and marriage license to get her back to the States! Mary spoke Slovak fluently and this was the preferred language used when conversing over the phone back in the days of multi-party lines.
Mary loved to bake and kept meticulous records of the results of every batch of pastries that she made. She enjoyed Polka music, playing Bingo and watching good drama at the movies.
Mary graduated on D-Day with Honorable Mention from McKeesport Senior High School, Class of 1944. She went to work for United States Steel, National Tube Co. which was manufacturing bomb parts for World War II at this time. After the war, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio for an opportunity to work at a sweater factory while living with relatives. She returned to "Da Port" a couple of years later and worked for the (defunct) Vienna Bakery up until she got married to John Hancharik of Versailles in 1949.
They honeymooned at Niagara Falls and Mary's favorite story that she told her kids dealt with her bilingual skills. She and her new husband, John, walked into Canada across the Peace Bridge leaving her possessions at the hotel on the American side. When returning to the United States, the officials detained her because of her European accent. They believed that she was attempting to gain access illegally. Without her ID, she was not able to convince them that she was a US citizen. Husband John had to retrieve her ID and marriage license to get her back to the States! Mary spoke Slovak fluently and this was the preferred language used when conversing over the phone back in the days of multi-party lines.
Mary loved to bake and kept meticulous records of the results of every batch of pastries that she made. She enjoyed Polka music, playing Bingo and watching good drama at the movies.
Mary was the oldest surviving sibling in her family. She was predeceased by a brother, Andrew, who was born and died in infancy in Europe circa 1924.
Mary graduated on D-Day with Honorable Mention from McKeesport Senior High School, Class of 1944. She went to work for United States Steel, National Tube Co. which was manufacturing bomb parts for World War II at this time. After the war, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio for an opportunity to work at a sweater factory while living with relatives. She returned to "Da Port" a couple of years later and worked for the (defunct) Vienna Bakery up until she got married to John Hancharik of Versailles in 1949.
They honeymooned at Niagara Falls and Mary's favorite story that she told her kids dealt with her bilingual skills. She and her new husband, John, walked into Canada across the Peace Bridge leaving her possessions at the hotel on the American side. When returning to the United States, the officials detained her because of her European accent. They believed that she was attempting to gain access illegally. Without her ID, she was not able to convince them that she was a US citizen. Husband John had to retrieve her ID and marriage license to get her back to the States! Mary spoke Slovak fluently and this was the preferred language used when conversing over the phone back in the days of multi-party lines.
Mary loved to bake and kept meticulous records of the results of every batch of pastries that she made. She enjoyed Polka music, playing Bingo and watching good drama at the movies.
Mary graduated on D-Day with Honorable Mention from McKeesport Senior High School, Class of 1944. She went to work for United States Steel, National Tube Co. which was manufacturing bomb parts for World War II at this time. After the war, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio for an opportunity to work at a sweater factory while living with relatives. She returned to "Da Port" a couple of years later and worked for the (defunct) Vienna Bakery up until she got married to John Hancharik of Versailles in 1949.
They honeymooned at Niagara Falls and Mary's favorite story that she told her kids dealt with her bilingual skills. She and her new husband, John, walked into Canada across the Peace Bridge leaving her possessions at the hotel on the American side. When returning to the United States, the officials detained her because of her European accent. They believed that she was attempting to gain access illegally. Without her ID, she was not able to convince them that she was a US citizen. Husband John had to retrieve her ID and marriage license to get her back to the States! Mary spoke Slovak fluently and this was the preferred language used when conversing over the phone back in the days of multi-party lines.
Mary loved to bake and kept meticulous records of the results of every batch of pastries that she made. She enjoyed Polka music, playing Bingo and watching good drama at the movies.
