3 Salitrik Siblings

Julia, William and Gertrude in the late 1980s at Willliam's home in Uniontown, Pa., which was also the house where they grew up. If this photo is from 1988, then Julia is  80, William is 73, and Gertrude is 77.

Sr. Gertrude and her satchel

Sr. Mary Kathleen, Sr. Gertrude (then called Sr. Leo) Sr. Cecilia (O.L.V.M. Vicar General), Sr. M. Gabrielle (O.L.V.M. Superior). Location and year unknown.

Sr. Mary Kathleen, Sr. Gertrude, Sr. Anthony. Sr Gertrude wrote on the back of this photo "Sr. Anthony and I are supposed to look alike."

Location Unknown

I have no idea when or where this photo was taken.  Do you?

The Floating Nun

Sr. Gertrude in a rowboat.. Anyone know when and where these photos were taken? There seems to be a C.Y.O. (Catholic Youth Organization) logo on the boat.

Sr. Gertrude Recounts Her Long Career

In 1996 I asked Sister Gertrude to list all the places she had been stationed. She wrote me this letter in reply: 

One Sunday in 1937, I picked up the Sunday Visitor. There was an ad that struck me. It told about the Catechists who teach children who attend public schools but do not have anyone to teach these children about God. It sounded like this would be a good place in inquire so I wrote to VN [Victory Noll] about seeing the ad. They responded by sending The Missionary Catechist and some papers to fill out. I did that and later I received more information also telling me to have a physical at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, giving me the name of the doctor. Fortunately my cousin Helen Drapp was a student nurse there, so I did go. Helen met me and took me to the doctor for the physical. I sent all of the information and waited with no response, so I gave up.

Then one day I came home for dinner and there was a letter from Catherine Ley. She said that VN gave her my name and we could go together. Well, I wrote to VN and they responded with a registered letter. VN said they did send me the information but I never got it. Now I had it.

I had to do some sewing, but again I was fortunate because William and Dorothy were living with us and Dorothy is a good seamstress. So she took care of that. Then I also had to have a trunk. My sister was going to find me one in one of the stores, but she met one of the girls from the parish. When Jewell told what she was going to do, [the fellow parishioner] said “I have one that she can have. I was going to enter the convent but I changed my mind so she can have it and all that is in it.” So I got it.

After I had everything arranged, I wrote to Catherine and told her that my sister and two brothers were going to drive. So it was decided that she would go by train and I would get the ride with August, etc. I was most anxious to see Catherine. It was very good to meet her.

On August 30, [1938] my brothers August and Elmer and my sister Jewell brought me to Victory Noll.

The first week was getting used to the place and getting our postulant clothes, etc.

This photo is badly damaged and overexposed, but it does show Sr. Gertrude as a postulant. (She's second from the right.)  It's interesting to see a full-body view of the O.L.V.M.S. postulant's habit.

First Profession – August 5, 1941

On August 5, 1941 we made our first vows. My mother, William, Dorothy, Roger and Gertrude came for the occasion. Then at that time we had to go home with a companion, so Catherine and her parents came to Uniontown. Then I went with the Leys and stayed at her home for a week. At night we stayed with the Sisters of St. Joseph in her parish. After that week was over the Leys brought me back to Uniontown. We stayed here for one week. Here we stayed with the Vincentian Sisters at St. Mary's. This is also where we received our appointments. The letter came to our place. The appointment told us where were could be going. I was assigned to El Paso and Sister to Ely, Nevada. At the end of the week, my brother Elmer and his friend Johnny Kopack drove us to VN. We stayed here until we went to our missions. Transportation was by train.

First Mission – El Paso, Texas

In this first mission, we were 11 Catechists. We lived in a tall building on the second floor, one large room divided into enough space for one person divided by curtains. I taught the younger children like first grade, etc. In some of the parishes there was a building or room and I had one class that I taught outside.

War declared on December 8, 1941. We did a lot of home visiting. It was difficult since most of the homes had boys going to war. I was there two years and in 1943 we were asked to sing the midnight Mass for the soldiers. This was a very special assignment, one that I re-live every Christmas. The Mass took place in a very, very large building. There must have been (at least to me it looked like) 1,000—all different languages, etc. One soldier sang the Christmas songs with a very good voice. Then we 11 Sisters (we had about 4 sisters with good voices) sang the Mass. This was very special to me.

In 1943 and 1944 I was in Lubbock, Texas. We had classrooms in a nice building and some classes in Church. On Sundays two of us went to the out missions for the Mass. We had the Paulist Fathers who were very, very nice to the people and us. We had our classes after the Mass in the Church. Then in 1945, 1946 and 1947 I was sent to San Angelo. Here we had most the classes in church and in the out missions. We did have homes or some sort of shelter where we taught. Here our title was changed to Sister.

I made my Perpetual Profession in 1947. We made our retreat that year in San Antonio. I was the only one in the group making my profession so I had all of the honors. The Mass was very nice and the Sisters had a nice get-together after Mass. Sister Elizabeth Ann Clifford was one of the Sisters with me in San Antonio. All went well.

Then I was changed and was in South Bend, Indiana. We were asked to take the census for 3 parishes or so. He were taught only on Sundays. We had a nice hall. The rest of the week we were visiting the people. I enjoyed this year. We attended the plays of Notre Dame and St. Mary's. We saw two stage performances of Gilbert & Sullivan shows. We also attended the graduation ceremony (summer) of two of our Sisters receiving their degrees. I was in South Bend only one year. Then from 1948 to 1952, I was in Ida, Michigan. Here we taught in our convent and in the church—also in the pastor's basement. Now they have a very nice Catechetical Center. We are not there, however. The people and the pastors were always good to us. Two Sisters stayed there until my Mother died in 1950. I did go home for that sad visit.

Bishop Andrew Grutka

Then in 1952 to 1959 I was sent to Gary, Indiana. Now this was a little different. We were four Sisters there. We had good places to teach. I had the altar boys on Saturdays. We also supervised the young people in the evenings. They had dances and other programs. This was a very nice assignment. However, Gary belonged to the Diocese of Fort Wayne. In December of 1956, Gary was made a diocese. Bishop Grutka, who is the first Slovak-American to be made a bishop, made history for the Slovak people. He asked for two Sisters of our order to work for him in the office. So Sister Mary Ruth Kramer and I were asked to work for the Diocese of Gary. It was nice working for him for two years. I did many odd jobs. One was filing. He said that I could read all of his Slovak mail but I didn't do it. I learned a lot about many problems that go with being a bishop. My dad died while I was there. I went home for that in 1952.

Then in 1959 I went to Redlands, California. Here again we were about 19 Sisters. We lived in a mansion. Here I taught in garage. We went to the different place like San Bernardino. There I taught in a Lutheran Catechetical Center. This was a very nice place and the pastor would not charge us anything. We didn't use the electricity because we didn't need it. It was a very cheerful room. I did like that place very much but it didn't last too long because on December 29 I was sent back to El Paso. This was one of the my biggest surprises. It was a good one. There was a sick Sister there and they needed someone. The Superior said that I should go because I was there before and I knew the place. So I went back but to a different setting. The house (the same one) was renovated. Each of us had a room. We were still 11 Sisters. We had a Sister cook and we didn't have to take turns cooking, etc.--so it was a different setting. However the teaching places didn't improve too much. We did go across the border to take some supplies, etc. I crossed the Rio Grande on foot.

In 1962 I was sent Las Vegas, New Mexico. The first year that I was there we taught in homes but not for too long. We taught after school in the school rooms. That was a big improvement. We were there when President Kennedy was killed. We didn't have TV but the people invited us (they lived across from the church) so we did get to see the funeral. That was a sad day.

St. Frances of Rome Church in Azusa, CA, circa 1967

In 1965 to 1969 I was sent to Azusa, California. We had a Catechetical Center but for the out places we did have a bus. We also taught in some private homes. This was a sad time when some Sisters and Priests were leaving. I wouldn't call this my happiest year but the teaching and living conditions were very modern. We did have a nice convent and [my niece] Gertrude Salitrik and a nurse friend were in the area and stayed with us one night. This was something special. 1966 was my Silver Jubilee. I went to Victory Noll for that and your Baba (my sister Jewel) and a number of family member came for that.

In 1969 I went to East Los Angeles. This was different. We did have a nice convent and the churches had Centers. One didn't but I taught in the Catholic school in one place. I had a some company here also. My brother John and his wife, Helen, and Helen's mother, Mrs. Keinhoffer, came to visit Dr. Keinhoffer. They stopped for a visit and I went to their place. It was a very, very special SURPRISE and enjoyable. Then, at this time I was very tired and I asked to come to Victory Noll just to take a rest. My job was to be a receptionist. I wasn't too excited over that but in the end it was good.

Exterior view of the chapel at Victory Noll, with infirmary in the background. Circa 1966.

You do know your Uncle August. He was in the Printers' Home in Colorado Springs. I was asked if I had any place in mind where I wanted to go. I said “Colorado. " The mission in Colorado Spring closed just the year before but a parish wanted a Sister visit the high rises in Denver so I took that job. I did get to visit August at the printers' home several times. I stayed in Denver for 16 years. My work there was visiting and taking Communion to the elderly. But Denver was the place where I was victim of violence. On September 8, 1988 at about 11:30 a.m. I was coming home and a lady knocked me down. I had my leg broken. A couple called 911 and I was taken to the hospital with a broken right leg. I got a lot of sympathy and received many cards, etc. Fr. Woodrich was very good to me as well as everybody else. It took until May for my leg to heal enough that I was able to walk with a cane. Sr. Mary Lou asked if I wanted to come to Victory Noll but there were several Sisters in Denver and Sr. Genevieve was our cook so she took real good care of me. I was well taken care of. So for 16 years I was in Denver.

Victory Noll House of Prayer, circa 1966

On June 2, 1992 I came back to Victory Noll. There were a number of opportunities to serve here and there was a place to help Sr. Mary Joan in the Physical Therapy Department. So I worked for her until 1999.

There is always something to do here at Victory Noll. I still crochet so I made a number of baby afghans for the gift cabinet, water the plants, etc. We have a lot of time to read and pray, etc.

While in the missions we had our retreats every summer either at Victory Noll or some other place. I made several in Colorado Springs.

Then we also had classes either at Victory Noll or some place near where we were missioned. The one I enjoyed was in Los Angeles at the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hollywood. One afternoon we had some free time so another sister and I took a walk through the streets. We did see some old houses overgrown with weeds but we also say some nice spots.

Then during all these years I enjoyed seeing different attractions. In El Paso we went to see White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns. In Los Angeles we went to Disneyland and was the Ramona play in Hemet, California outdoors in the hill. This was special. We saw Watts Towers and the tar pits in Los Angeles, Niagra Falls, and the Notre Dame game vs. Air Force-- Notre Dame won.

All of these years had their ups and downs, but I think the UPS won.

The Girl Who Was Rescued From A Brothel

This undated photo shows Sr. Gertrude Salitrik (left) and her friend Mary Mager (right). Mary and her family lived on Reppert Boulevard where it met Cycle Street in Uniontown, Pa. Mary Mager has gone down in Salitrik family history as "the girl Julia rescued from a brothel."

This is what my grandmother Julia Salitrik Lazor told me about the incident:  At some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s Mary Mager was hired by a man named Frank Monaghan, Sr. to work as a maid at his hotel.


At first, Mary's parents were pleased that she had the job--they were a poor family of Slovak immigrants and needed every penny Mary could earn. Monaghan seemed to be a decent boss--even generous. He gave Mary food such as sacks of potatoes to take home to her family on the weekends. But after a while Mary stopped coming home on the weekends, and when family members tried to visit her, Monaghan drove them away.

Distraught, Mrs. Mager went to her friends the Salitriks for advice. Julia, who spoke Slovak as a her first language, but like her siblings spoke perfect English, was urged to help. At the time she was working as a bookkeeper for Mundel's furniture store and was probably the family's major breadwinner.

After failing to get past Monaghan herself, Julia went to the district attorney and told him that a Slovak girl was being held against her will and her family was worried. The DA laughed and said "Don't you know who Monaghan is? I can't do anything." Monaghan was powerful local bootlegger and pimp who was known for his violent temper.

Julia was appalled by the DA's attitude, but she thought quickly and devised a brilliant bluff, based on the fact that her brother was a linotype operator at the Union-Herald newspaper. "I know people who work at the newspaper," Julia told the DA. "And I'm sure they'd love to know that you refuse to help this girl or her family." The DA assumed that Julia knew reporters and editors on the paper, so the ploy worked. The DA got Monaghan to return Mary Mager to her family.

A few years later, Monaghan was brought to trial for some of his criminal activity and Julia testified about the Mary Mager incident. Monaghan later confronted Julia in a courthouse hallway. "I'll remember you, and I'll remember that dress," he threatened. Julia was frightened; when she got home she immediately burned the yellow dress she had worn in court.

Fortunately for Julia, Frank Monaghan did not live much longer.  He was murdered in 1936 in the basement of the Fayette County Couthouse--the very building where Julia testified against him and where he threatened her. Monaghan was in police custody at the time and was beaten to death by cops while getting "the third degree." (Monaghan had cut a county detectives's throat from ear to ear and nearly killed him.) The murder of Frank Monaghan was a scandal and is still the subject of local conspiracy theories. A book called Screams from the Basement: The Monaghan Affair was published in 2001, but it's badly written and poorly organized.

Wartime Prayers: Lubbock, Texas circa 1944

Photo stamped Lubbock, Texas. Written in Sr. Gertrude's hand: "This is the WAC from Philadelphia. This is the church we go to every morning. I'm sorry the Blessed Mother [statue] didn't show. The WAC liked it and so do I."

Picnic in the mountains near Las Vegas, circa 1963

Sr. Gertrude wrote on the back of this photo: "This is one of our picnics in Las Vegas, New Mexico in the mountains. That's me with my sleeves rolled up. We are making hamburgers. I guess this is two years old."

Postulant Gertrude, circa 1939

A blessing from her great-nephew, Father George

Sr. Gertrude receives a blessing from Father George Saletrik, grandson of her brother Elmer, in 1996. Note: Elmer and his descendants spell their surname Saletrik, as do August's. The rest of the family uses the Salitrik spelling.

August 1971

Sr. Gertrude  and Sr. Pauline, August 1971. Location unknown.. Could be East Los Angeles, could be the O.L.V.M.S. Motherhouse in Huntington, Ind. Notice that both sisters chose to wear habits that feature pockets. You can't have practical clothing without pockets!

At the Lake House, 1966

Sr. Gertrude is the second from the left, standing. Anyone know where the lake house was?
(As always, you can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Visiting her brother Johnny & his family, 1980

Sr. Gertrude with her brothers Elmer & August

This circa 1950 photo shows two of Sr. Gertrude's brothers in their prime, closer to the way they were when Sr. Gertrude still lived in Uniontown. That's Elmer on the left and August on the right. Their 13-year-old nephew Roger (William's son) is in the middle.

Sr. Gertrude and Elmer on July 11, 1995, when she visited him in his nursing home near Ohiopyle, PA. Elmer was more comfortable around animals than people. He was permitted to bring one his goats, Snowball, to the nursing home and she was a pet of the residents.
Notice the darkness of Elmer and Gertrude's hair! Salitriks (and Saletriks!) did not go gray.

This photo from June 6, 1973 was taken at the Union Printers' Home in Colorado Spring, Colo., where August was living due to ill health. His son Dave is on the left. Sr. Gertrude is standing next to Margo, Dave's wife. The woman with the white purse is Margo's cousin. That's August in the wheelchair, of course. He had the black Salitrik/Saletrik hair as well.

That's Augie on the left, smoking a cigar.

Sr. Gertrude took this photo on June 3, 1972 at the Balanced Rock at the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs, Colo. That's Sr. Mary Ruth Kramer in the driver's seat and August as passenger.

August and Gertrude's last visit in Cushing, Okla. on July 27, 1978. August died about four months later, on November 13. 

Final Years at Victory Noll

Las Posadas service, 1994

Sr. Gertrude crocheted baby blankets and sold them in the craft shop.

With a visitor from Slovakia. Sister always enjoyed speaking her first language.

Sr. Gertrude gathered pop cans and gave the money to a needy woman in Huntington.

Even as she got older and had to slow down, Sr. Gertrude liked to have little tasks to fill her day. In 2001, at age 90, she watered the urns in the cemetery.

The last photo of Sr. Gertrude, taken on May 17, 2010.She died about two months later.

Sr. Gertrude rarely missed the bimonthly meeting with the visiting dogs.

60th Anniversary, 1998

Sr. Gertrude & her childhood friend Marie

Marie Roskovensky Sulc and Sr. Gertrude  were friends for most of their lives, although Marie was one year younger. The two were schoolmates in  St. Mary's parochial school in Uniontown, Pa. Sr. Gertrude probably attended the wedding when Marie married Cyprian Sulc in June 1934. Marie and Cyprian founded Nehi Bottling Co. in Washington, Pa, which later became Royal Crown Bottling. Marie helped run the company until she retired at age 78. She loved to travel and took more than 30 cruises and traveled to Europe several times. Marie Sulc died on April 9, 2011.

During one of Sr. Gertude's trips home to southwestern Pennsylvania, Marie Sulc's daughter and son-in-law treated Marie and Sr. Gertude to a ride on the Gateway Clipper.

50th Anniversary, 1988

The sisters who entered O.L.V.M.S in 1938 celebrate their 50th anniversary in 1988. Just as in the 1938 photo below, two ladies are wearing white shoes and the rest are wearing dark ones. It is interesting to note that although all five women started their religious careers together, only two of the five chose to wear veils/habits at this point.

The same women 50 years earlier, upon their arrival at Victory Noll and wearing "civilian" clothes  Gertrude Salitrik, from Uniontown, Pa ; Catherine Ley (later known as Sr. Callista), from Pittsburgh;  Marie Chettle, from Missouri; Leocodia Rutkoski, from Detroit; and Betty Keifer, from Chicago.

Sr. Getrude's sister Julia and sister-in-law Dorothy traveled to Indiana to celebrate her 50th anniversary as a nun. Julia (in blue) looks very happy in this photo; she always looked forward to spending time with Gertrude. Notice Julia and Gertrude's jet-black hair.

Is This Photo From Denver?

Written on back of photo: 1976, Support Group, 3rd Floor. Front row:  Srs. Clarice, Mary Magdalen, Victoria.  Back row:  Srs. Barbara Marie, Mary Joan, Gertrude, Mary Jane. Does anyone know which city this was, or what "support group 3rd floor" means?

Images from Los Angeles, 1972-1975

Caption written on back of photo: Party at Santa Monica, June 1975. Sr. [S????], a Jesuit priest, Sr. Kathleen in red, Mrs. Murphy, Sr. [Patricia's?] mother.

Sr. Gertrude celebrates her 64th birthday.

Las Vegas, 1963

This photo shows Sr. Gertrude with some of  her catechism students in Las Vegas in 1963.   At this time her job was to conduct  catechism classes for kids who attended public school. Las Vegas was booming during this time, but I doubt members of the Rat Pack spent much time in the neighborhoods where Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters worked. Note that Sr. Gertrude (known as Sr. Leo back then) was not much taller than her students. She was quite petite.