My Croatian heritage comes from my dad’s side of the family. My grandpa had eight uncles and one aunt, and they originally came to the United States from Croatia. From a young age, all nine kids were musically inclined; they played instruments and sang. The family of eleven lived in a two-bedroom house in southern Illinois. Some of the kids slept on the front porch when the weather was forgiving because there was no room inside. Growing up, the eight boys became known as the Skertich Brothers. They played at venues, bars, and once in Pittsburgh, PA, they played in front of 40,000 people. My great, great uncle Nick who just passed away last year, was the youngest out of all the siblings. In 2003, he built a few very special custom violins made of real maple wood and gave them to different people in our family. He gifted one of them to my dad and now we keep it hanging up in our house in the “music room.” This object represents me and my family because it shows part of our identity. We are a very musical family and our ancestors came from Croatia. 

– Finley

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more