Bio: Platisha, Valentine & Antonija

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Platisha, Zgonc, Cesnik, Bergant, Celesnik, Krainz, Kobal, Kaltinger

----Source: Family Scrapbook

Valentine Platisha was born February 14, 1879 in Skofja Loka, Jugoslavia. His father was Gasper and Mother, Marija Matuneli. He came to the United States October 4, 1905. First he went to Pennsylvania, then to Kansas where he worked in a coal mine until 1913. Valentine married Antonija Zgonc May 9, 1909 in Scammon, Kansas. She was born in Malem Vihu na Kranjskem on December 29, 1892.

They came to Willard in 1913 to look over the land and returned to Kansas. In 1914 they came back to Willard and bought eighty acres in the Town of Hendren from Ignac Cesnik. This land was on the east side of the South Mound. Later it was sold to Gregor Celesnik and then to Frank Bergant.

The land had to be cleared to build a two room house. It is still a part of the present house on that property. Later the barn was built which is still there. Mr. Platisha became ill with T.B. in the Spring of 1918. He spent the summer in the sanatorium in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He came home at the end of September.

In 1918, during the flu epidemic, Mr. Platisha came down with the flu in November. Soon after, daughter Antonia came down with it, then Stanley and Louise. The last one to get it was Mrs. Platisha. During their illness Mr. John Horvat Sr. and Mr. Anton Krainz helped with the chores. Mr. Krainz took care of all the sick and the house work. He wore a string of garlic around his neck all the time and never got the flu.

On December 13th in the morning Mr. Platisha died and that evening daughter Louise. On December 16th, Friday, son Stanley died in the morning and in the afternoon Mrs. Platisha. They were buried in homemade pine boxes made by Mr. Joe Kobal. They were some of the first buried in the Catholic cemetery.

That left only daughter Antonia, age eight and son Valentine, age eleven months as the only two members of that family. It was the request of Mrs. Platisha to have Mr. and Mrs. Krainz take any children that were left. They were good friends in Kansas and sponsors in Baptism to Louise and Valentine. Valentine had been at Krainz's for several weeks before. The afternoon of December 16th Antonia went to Krainz's to make this their permanent home.

Submitted by: Antonia Kaltinger