anvil Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 I agree with George on all accounts including the additional historical background. My Dads family (grandfather and grandmother) were from Serbia and Croatia. He worked the coal mines in Montana where he met his long parted two brothers. They moved to Pueblo, Co steel mills and Colorado Springs coal mines via three failed homesteading attempts around Sugar City where they tried to farm sugar beets. Alas in a rather illegal and historical early water scam, they lost their water rights.. and attempted dryland farming during the dust bowl. The three homesteads(160 acres each) all bordered lake Meredeth which was created by the scam but couldn't use the water. Dang, why didnt they settle around Crested Butte, another middle European enclave for coal mining. Besides being identified by some as Austrian, they were more commonly known as Bohunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 I believe that "bohunk" is a corruption of "bohemian" which also had beatnik/hippie connotations in the early 20th century. I have also heard the term "hunkie" used in the midwest in the mid-20th century. Almost all ethnic/national groups had some sort of nickname during that time period, some more derogatory than others. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 I guess we don't have it ALL that bad these days. GMC Logging truck, Oregon, Early 1920s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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