Hamtramck Haunts

About the Book

Hamtramck Haunts describes coming of age in a working class family of Polish immigrants, bent on making a living in America. Hamtramck was a bustling city of 50,000 in the 1930s, completely surrounded by Detroit and still is. The personal history gives a picture of neighborhood activities where the parish church and school preserved some of the culture of village life in eastern Europe, and other community institutions aided in acculturation. Coping with illness, tragedy, and heartbreak was not a deterrent to education, a career, and a fulfilling marriage.

About the Author

Born in Detroit, Michigan, raised in Hamtramck, the third child of four, Charlotte’s first language was Polish. Her father, Andrew Kasperowicz, emigrated to the U.S. in 1909, returned to his village in 1921 to marry Josephine Wróblewski and bring her to America. Widening horizons became the watchword especially for Charlotte. It began with the first move – five blocks north, to a house behind a commercial strip. The Great Depression, World War II, and her mother’s lifelong yearning to return to her homeland shaped a career, marriage, and a life style.