Its’ been a while since I shared a mystery photo and I really need some help with this one.

Julia Scerbak, far right

Nana, aka Julia Scerbak, returned permanently to the United States in November 1910. She was 17 years old at the time. Julia is the young lady on the right and I think she looks like she is probably still in her teens so I would date this photo to sometime between 1910-1912.

Other than that, I don’t recognize any of the other females. Given, the span of years among the three children, this appears to be a woman with her daughters. Could this have perhaps been the First Communion of the little girl on the right? She is dressed in white and has a big white bow in the back of her hair.

Given that Nana lived in the First Ward of Passaic and only spoke Slovak when she first came back here, I am positive that these people are Slovak and most likely attended St. Michael’s Church on First Street. Today, it is the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel.

It’s possible that these people were simply friends with Nana, but so many of the parishioners at St. Michael’s were from Ujak/Udol and many were related either by blood or by marriage. Therefore, the woman could be a cousin of Nana’s or possibly even an aunt.

If you have Passaic Slovak family, please take a close look at these people. Leave a comment if you think you might recognize them.

Thank you!