The Floriani Brothers of Ahmeek

Vladimir Floriani Sr. was born in 1880 in Brod Moravice, a Croation municipality straddling the mountains between Croatia and Slovenia. Until the end of World War I his hometown was a part of Austria-Hungary. He wed Margaret Severinski there in 1905 before immigrating to Michigan's Copper Country. After he found work, he paid her passage to join him. Their separation lasted more than five years.

Arriving in Calumet, Vladimir found work as a trammer in the Hecla mine and lodging in Swedetown at the home of the Melko family. From 1906-1910 Vladimir worked as a trammer for Calumet & Hecla Mining Company in their mines at Hecla, South Hecla, and at Osceola. Back in Croatia, Margaret had news of her own. The couple's first child, Vladimir Jr., was born in February of 1906. Traveling with an infant carried extra risks and expenses, so perhaps the couple chose to have their son, who would be known as "Ledo," and spend the first few years of his life in the place of his birth. Finally, in 1910, they began their journey to the Keweenaw. For Margaret and Ledo, the voyage to join Vladimir took weeks. Vladimir finally met his son and namesake.

 

Vladimir Floriani, Sr. (1880 to 1946) married Margaret M. Severinski (1885 to 1959). They had four sons, Vladimir "Ledo" Floriani, Jr. (1906 to 1947), Veko L. Floriani (1911 to unknown), John C. Floriani (1912 to 1961), and Joseph D. Floriani (1914 to 1987).

NPS/L. Weber

The family stayed in Swedetown for a time, likely boarding with the Melko and then the Mrak families. Their second child, Veko, was born in Swedetown in April of 1911. The family soon moved to Raymbaultown, just south of Calumet, to be closer to Vladimir's work at the Osceola location. In Raymbaultown John Floriani was born in 1912 and then Joseph Floriani completed the family in 1914.

From 1916 to his retirement in 1923, Vladimir worked as laborer, trammer, and miner at Keweenaw County mines operated by Calumet & Hecla Consolidated Copper Company. The family moved to 2nd St. in Ahmeek Location, where the children grew up attending a school just a block from home. They also learned a lot at home. Vladimir had not arrived in Calumet empty-handed in 1905. He brought with him a great capacity and love for Croation music and instruments. These, he would share with his community and pass on to his sons.

 

Courtesy of Library of Congress

 

The Floriani brothers embraced their father's legacies. Ledo began working for the Ahmeek Mine. Alongside workers in many fields during the Great Depression, he lost his job with the mine's closure in 1931. Working the local dance circuit as a musician alongside his father, brothers and friends, Ledo also composed his own music. One of his tunes, the "31st Level Blues," became popular after it was performed for a local radio show. Ledo died in Ahmeek in 1947 at just 41 years of age, but not before passing the musical legacy to his own children.

Veko and Joseph attended Duquesne University, a Catholic school in Pittsburgh, PA. There, they became founding members of the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a musical troupe named for the tamburitza, a Croation instrument. The Tamburitzans began visiting the Calumet Theatre on their annual tours in 1938 and to this day haven't missed the stop in nearly 90 years.

 

The Floriani family's musical legacy lives on in its members, its community, and is preserved in the Library of Congress.

 

Open Transcript 

Transcript

Lyrics:

“Thirty-First Level Blues”

I’ve got the thirty-first level blues,
From my head down to my shoes.
In the morning I mope around,
In the evening my sorrows I drown.
When the boss comes down and says,
“Get up, don’t stall around.”
Shows some pep try and keep your rep
Work makes my back ache,
And someday his head I’ll break,
'Cause I’ve got those blues, those thirty-first level blues.

Duration:

1 minute, 15 seconds

31st Level Blues (Video) Recorded: September 25, 1938, Ahmeek, Michigan Performers: Veko Floriani, Vladimir Floriani Jr., and Vladimir Floriani, Sr Composer: Vladimir Floriani, Jr. Floriani wrote “Thirty-First Level Blues” in the style of Big Band jazz and swing, popular styles in the 1930s.

 

Sources:

Census, draft, and passenger records, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration.

Newspapers: The Calumet News, Calumet, MI. The Ironwood Daily Glove, Ironwood, MI. The Duquesne Duke, Pittsburge, PA.