Stefan and Kata Kalish did not live long enough to see much of what became of their children as adults.
Their eldest, daughter Annie Kalish, who had been singularly responsible for bringing her siblings and parents to East St. Louis in the first place, married Mike Bukovich after her first husband, Frank Stengel, died around 1910. Together they had a son, Mike Bukovich Jr. Annie moved to Portland, Oregon, in the 1950s but eventually returned to East St. Louis, where she died in 1961.
In 1934, Annie’s eldest son, Frank Stengel Jr., married Mary Holcat. They had three daughters: Joyce, Mary Ann, and Virginia. Frank spent his entire career at Swift Company and died in 1993.
Annie’s second son, Charles Stengel, served as best man at the wedding of his cousin James Kalish in 1933. Charles had a cousin who lived in Medford, Wisconsin. When that cousin died, Charles moved to Medford, married the cousin’s widow, and helped her run the farm. He lived there for the rest of his life and died around 1964.
Around 1933, Mary and Franz Kavalier moved from East St. Louis to Fairfax, Virginia, where their son Frank was then living. In 1944 the family moved to Portland, Oregon, where Mary lived near her sisters Annie and Mildred. She died in Portland in 1961.
Stefan and Kata’s youngest son, Joseph Kalish, died of jaw cancer in March 1958. Little is known of his life after running the Savoy Hotel. He married twice—first in 1919 to Leah Brown in Benton, Illinois, the county seat of Franklin County, where Zeigler is located. She was 19. We know nothing more of the marriage except that it did not last. In 1927 he married Goldie Eliot, and about that marriage we know no more, either.
The youngest daughter, Mildred Kalish, first married Bronko Pavlovich and had a son they named Earl. That marriage ended in divorce—for good reason. Bronko reportedly beat Mildred. When word reached her brothers, a group of them paid Bronko a visit and returned the favor. His behavior caught the attention of East St. Louis authorities, who supposedly ordered him out of the city and forbade him from ever returning. Given that East St. Louis tolerated a great deal of criminal behavior, being run out of town says a lot about a man.
Mildred then married George Prebezac, a much kinder man, who adopted Earl and gave him his last name. Mildred and George moved to Portland, Oregon, around 1944. George died in 1969. Mildred died in 1988.
Mike Kalish, the fourth child of Stefan and Kata, remained in the East St. Louis area and lived until 1962. We know little of his life after the early 1930s—and even less about his second wife, Rose Heisler, and their daughter Violet, whose married name was Rudolph.
In 1943, Mike and his first wife Millie’s son Michael Kalish Jr. married Ellen O’Neill. They had seven children. It appears they raised their family in the St. Louis / southern Illinois area, where some of their descendants still live. Michael died in 2002. Ellen died in 2011.
Mike and Millie’s son Louis M. Kalish had lived with his father and stepmother after his mother died. In 1928, when his father went to prison, 14-year-old Louis dropped out of high school to look for work. He found a job as a dishwasher at an illegal casino and restaurant on the outskirts of East St. Louis, run by a man named George Zackarakis. George quickly noticed Louis’s work ethic, eagerness to learn, and exceptional math skills. He let Louis live in a spare room above the restaurant and taught him the gaming business.
Before long, Louis was dealing craps. In 1939 he married Victoria Bukowski. Their daughter Marcia was born in 1942, shortly before Louis was drafted into military service. As a U.S. Marine in the Pacific, Louis distinguished himself both for valor under fire and for being one remarkable craps dealer. Bankrolled by his mentor Zackarakis—who sent him seed money and a felt layout—Louis ran a floating craps game, carefully recording his fellow Marines’ debts on a slip of paper he kept in his pocket. He collected on some of those debts—but not all.
A devout Catholic, Louis carried a rosary wherever he was stationed and kept a small Bible in the pocket over his heart. Before every invasion, huddled with fellow Marines wondering if they would survive, he did more than pray. He would take out that slip of paper and cross out some names. Trained to play the odds—and knowing he might not live through the next assault—he figured forgiving some debts would put him in good stead with God.
His generosity eased up once the war ended. While waiting to go home, his battalion gambled again, and he amassed a considerable wad of cash.
Back in East St. Louis, he went to the nicest part of town, across from Clark Junior High, where lawyers and judges lived. When he made an offer on a house on Post Street, the skeptical seller asked how he planned to secure a mortgage for the $12,000 home. “I don’t need one,” Louis replied.
In 1949, daughter Sheila was born, followed by son Louis F. in 1952—known today as Lou Kalish. After the war, the elder Louis continued working in illegal gambling operations around town, which caused some awkwardness when daughter Marcia was asked at school, “What does your father do for a living?”
Deciding to move somewhere he could use his talents legally, Louis and Victoria relocated to Las Vegas in 1954. He eventually rose to the coveted position of pit boss at the Tropicana Hotel, continuing a distinguished career throughout the city until retiring in 1987. He died in 1999. Victoria lived until 2006.
Louis and Victoria lived in several homes in Las Vegas. After the birth of their fourth child, Stephan Kalish, in 1957, they bought a house with a most improbable address—one that reminded them forever of their roots: 545 East St. Louis Avenue.
It is a miracle alcohol did not kill Leonard Krokvica at a young age. But Leonard and Marie—known as “Daddo” and “Bobby” to their grandchildren—lived well into their eighties. Unlike Stefan and Kata, they saw plenty of their children’s adult lives, as already described.
Their daughter Mary Krokvica was much younger than her sisters Anna and Josephine—closer in age to her nephew James Kalish, who was only three years younger. Mary and James spent countless days together as children, with Mary always looking out for him. “Mary was Jimmy’s protector,” writes his granddaughter and family historian Ann Mahoney. “He needn’t worry about being picked on at school, as they would have to deal with her first.”
In 1933, Mary married the handsome Joe Broderick. They had apparently met at a meatpacking house—she worked in the sausage room, he was a calf buyer. Their daughter Dolores, called “Dolly,” was born in 1935.
Joe and Mary kept a small farm behind their house, not far from the East Side High School football field. James would take his daughters Lorraine and Jackie there to visit. The girls loved the flocks of pigeons raised on that little farm, which Mary and Joe sold to hotels in St. Louis to be served as squab in upscale restaurants.
Mary made a lasting impression wherever she went. “Mary could play the piano by ear and would delight everyone whenever she visited the Kalish household,” writes Ann Mahoney. “Although she was born in East St. Louis, she was fluent in Slovak and would sing traditional Slovak songs. She also loved Hawaiian music.”
Mary and Joe divorced, then reconciled and remarried sometime before Joe’s death in 1953. After the East St. Louis packinghouses closed, Mary moved across the river to St. Louis, took an apartment, and worked for years at the Missouri Athletic Club—one of the city’s most coveted private clubs. She delighted in the births of three grandchildren, but also endured tragedy when grandson Tom died of leukemia at age five.
Mary Broderick lived until 1980 and died at age 71.
Her father, Leonard Krokvica, died in 1954 in East St. Louis at age 86. His obituary listed his address as 1020 N. 13th Street—the same as Marie’s. After being kicked out years earlier, he had moved back at some point. Marie died in 1956 at age 85.
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Michael Durbin 