On August 13, 2005, the descendents of Frank and Anna Borich gathered for a reunion in Alborn, Minnesota. More than 90 people spent the afternoon sharing stories and their feeling of pride in coming from a wonderful, brave, and loving couple. It was also the 100th year of Frank and Anna's marriage in Stall, Austria, before the young couple set off on an odyssey to a new life in the New World.
The author of this story is the youngest son of Frank and Anna. He was born late in their lives (Frank was 51 and Anna 48) and so is the only child still alive. The reunion inspired him to relate Frank and Anna's marvelous journey. Unfortunately, the couple themselves never wrote down the many stories they told. But they did tell stories – stories of a marriage filled with joy, sadness, and long hours of work – yet surrounded always by love for each other and their family. Their stories talk of life in northern Michigan and Gary, Minnesota, and finally a farm on the rocky soil of northern Minnesota at Alborn. It concludes on a retirement farm in Meadowlands, Minnesota, where they are buried today.
In many ways their story is similar to those told by thousands of immigrants who came, and still come, to the New World looking for a better life. But it is also the unique story of a special couple who left a wonderful legacy.