The Box From Hell (BFH) - #1

[birdie74]

You asked me previously if GB spoke with an accent; no, he was definitely a native American speaker, though his language was very old-fashioned and rather peculiar, probably originating somewhere in the northeastern United States.

Annasmom, I know this sounds silly, but when I read your description of GB's accent, I think of Thurston Howell III. I used to think of Mr. Howell whenever I heard William Buckley speak, too.

Was GB's accent anything like that, or if not, can you think of a famous person he sounded like?

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, I know this sounds silly, but when I read your description of GB's accent, I think of Thurston Howell III. I used to think of Mr. Howell whenever I heard William Buckley speak, too.

Was GB's accent anything like that, or if not, can you think of a famous person he sounded like?

It has been a very long time, but the first name that came to mind was Jimmy Durante. I don't know who Thurston Howell III is, but William F. Buckley had a very cultured Massachusetts voice, and that wasn't GB. He was pretentious, not cultured.

 

[marysawol]

Thurston Howell III, was he the "rich guy" portrayed in Gilligans Island?

 

[birdie74]

That's right. I used to watch Gilligan's Island all the time. Jimmy Durante is very distinctive too, so that helps put a voice to him.

 

[birdie74]

Durante was from Brooklyn. I keep thinking about Frosty the Snowman now.

 

[MagicRose99]

Thurston Howell III, was he the "rich guy" portrayed in Gilligans Island?

The actor's name was Jim Backus... LOL!

 

[SherlockJr]

Originally Posted by KivaSupporter
Sherlock and I talked to Seka in IL tonight. Unfortunately, she is not the right person.

However, she gave us some good suggestions which we will follow. She also oferred to check with her Serbian friends who might be able to help.

I want to add that Kiva did an excellent job with this phone call. We first called when Seka was not home yet. Her mother, who speaks very little English, answered the phone. KS spoke with the mother in her language and we were directed to call back in one hour.

Darn, Darn, Darn!! Well, back to the drawing board. Thanks for contacting her. Sounds like she is one of the good guys though. Nice to have another contact.

When you get a chance, could you write a summary of her suggestions? Thanks!

Seka provided a couple Serbian websites to place messages for looking for local people there. These were forwarded to KS, because they look "Greek" to me! She also suggested contacting churches in the SF area which may have records for GB. Perhaps he was the godfather to a child years ago. She suggested some type of Orthodox Church.

After our call was ended, Seka called me back and we talked for another hour and a half. She said she would contact people in Serbia right away to help find the Seka we are looking for. She believes, like KS mentioned, her family was wealthy. She thinks that Seka is probably living in the US and probably still in SF. Seka also explained the name Seka is not really a name, just a word meaning "little sister", kind of like how Anna was referred to "the tot".

Seka also thought GB was an Englishman by the words he used, especially "Cheerio". However, KS explained that when learning the English language in Serbia, the England English version is taught there. And with the knowledge of history GB had about Yugoslavia and Tito, I would lean more toward GB originally coming from Yugoslavia.

 

[SherlockJr]

For anyone who has a subscription to Ancestry, does this site have more recent immigration or naturalization records from the 70's and 80's? KS explained it takes 5 yrs to become a US citizen. If Seka was here we know at least from 76-78, she may have been on a student visa during that time.

One more thing, Dr. Doogie, remember someone here in the forum kept reminding you about the FBI file? This really needs to be done now, not only for GW, but GB as well.

 

[birdie74]

It looks like the ancestry immigration records only go to 1957. I do have a subscription in case anyone ever needs something looked up.

 

[SherlockJr]

It looks like the ancestry immigration records only go to 1957. I do have a subscription in case anyone ever needs something looked up.

Birdie, what all information is provided on these records besides their name, dob, and place of origin? Does it list the parents names or anything else?

 

[iNTERESTEDWOMAN]

Very interesting Sherlock. Thank you for taking the time to tell us more about the phone call.

Did you ask Seka anything about the name Eifee, and any significance it might have in Yugo.? Just wondering.

 

[iNTERESTEDWOMAN]

It looks like the ancestry immigration records only go to 1957. I do have a subscription in case anyone ever needs something looked up.

You are such a sweetie!

Birdie looked up some stuff for me on ancestry the other day...It was very nice of her.

 

[SherlockJr]

...Did you ask Seka anything about the name Eifee, and any significance it might have in Yugo.? Just wondering.

Funny you asked that! I thought about that around 2am, two hours after our last phone call ended. It is on my list for our next conversation with her.

 

[Cubby]

For anyone who has a subscription to Ancestry, does this site have more recent immigration or naturalization records from the 70's and 80's? KS explained it takes 5 yrs to become a US citizen. If Seka was here we know at least from 76-78, she may have been on a student visa during that time.

One more thing, Dr. Doogie, remember someone here in the forum kept reminding you about the FBI file? This really needs to be done now, not only for GW, but GB as well.

That would be me. Now that you mention this Sherlock, it has me wondering again about the passport for Anna. I know we hit some road blocks but we found that LE CAN request the info by simply sending a letter on official letterhead. I'd like to see a little push to get LE to spend the 15 min it would take to draft a letter and request the passport. They may be busy, but Anna's case deserves no less and this is not something which will take a great deal of time.

 

[birdie74]

Birdie, what all information is provided on these records besides their name, dob, and place of origin? Does it list the parents names or anything else?

All of the records aren't on the same type of form, so it's hard to say for sure. Some have a lot more info than others. I haven't seen ones that list parents, but they ususally have name, gender, age, occupation, nationality, language, and often address or where the person will stay where they are going. I've seen some that name the friend or relative the person will stay with. There are passport applications that give more details, like physical descriptions. I'll look through them and see if I can find anything significant.

 

[SherlockJr]

All of the records aren't on the same type of form, so it's hard to say for sure. Some have a lot more info than others. I haven't seen ones that list parents, but they ususally have name, gender, age, occupation, nationality, language, and often address or where the person will stay where they are going. I've seen some that name the friend or relative the person will stay with. There are passport applications that give more details, like physical descriptions. I'll look through them and see if I can find anything significant.

Check and see if the name "Rodic" shows up...please :blowkiss:

 

[birdie74]

I see a few Rodics, mainly coming from Hamburg.

 

[birdie74]

Do you have any other info about Rodic to narrow down which you want?

 

[SherlockJr]

Do you have any other info about Rodic to narrow down which you want?

It was only a suggestion that the Rodic name was changed to Brody when coming to the US. I know this is a long shot. Any George Rodic?

 

[birdie74]

Not with that spelling, but there are Georges named Rodak, Rodick, and Rodek. I'll go through them and post info on any that seem like they could be him.