Hamtramck Haunts describes coming of age in a working class family of Polish immigrants, bent on making a living in America. Hamtramck was a bustling city of 50,000 in the 1930s, completely surrounded by Detroit and still is. The personal history gives a picture of neighborhood activities where the parish church and school preserved some of the culture of village life in eastern Europe, and other community institutions aided in acculturation. Coping with illness, tragedy, and heartbreak was not a deterrent to education, a career, and a fulfilling marriage.