Sophia (Soph-I-a, long "I", kinda like Saphire) Zealiski was just a 16 year old Chicago gal around 1898-9 when her childhood ended abruptly, but in due time.
Her father was a dead drunk, her mother died giving birth to her would-be sister, and now her brother, Marcus "Cardshark" Zealiski, the most famous newsie ever (alongside our beloved cowboy and Spot), abandoned her. He gave her hard-earned money to take a train, for he had no way of supporting her beyond that. Maybe you wouldn't, but I call that giving up! New York was the destination. She needed to leave her beloved and very unique big city for broadway, which she'd always fantasized about on some level or another.
Frightened to no end, she steped onto the platform in Grand central. Her plan: To wander and find the street-wise breed of orphans with attitude: Newsies. Not too shabby in her eyes. She knew how tough chicago newsies were from experience and imagined New Yorkers would be even more assertive.
As she watched people and things with glistening eyes, two of our well-know buddies (-Boots 'n Snipeshooter-)stared every time Sophie came to their selling sopts. Five times they saw her and FINALLY she noticed them. (BPD moment: brief period of deafness. How could you not notice a newsie? guess she was awed by New York, eh?)
They talked her up after they'd sold all they could, complaining, telling her every last detail of the strike 'n Jack, 'n everything they'd experienced as New York Newsies. She feigned no notice of the boys as she followed them into the lodging house, confronted the man runnin' the place and finaly worked a plan: She'd be the first newsette ever and stay with his wife a few rooms down from the boys bunks.
Manhattan suited her so well that in one week she'd charmed almost every newsie she'd met and picked up the accent. fun combo, Chicago and New york, huh?
Jack Kelly (Frankie S. technically) and his wonderful spouse Sarah Jacobs were saving every penny to be able to live in New Mexico longer then one day. The money Jack had obtained towards the strike's end would only get them so far. Sophie loved them, they loved her. Sarah's bro Les still worked as a newsie to help go to New Mexico with them and grow up some more.
The rest of the gang loved her as well, and she loved them all, naturally. However, there were two that stuck out. Racetrack reminded her soooo much of her brother's good side she couldn't help but almost fall for the kid!
Then there's Spot. He'd grown up and turned into quite the gentleman when she met him and his brooklyn crew. He was, after all the third most famous newsie in the history of working newsboys. The poor girl couldn't help but be devistated by her affection for both of them for a time, but it would work out beautifully.
Sophie's newsette life was a beautiful turn out to the sour period that had lead her to it.
Spot Conlon and Sophie Zealiski would end up married in 1910. This union was followed by Racetrack and Medda's neice from Sweden, Hannah,who stayed much longer then expected on her visit with Auntie Meddie!!!
Following Race and Hannah's short ceremony under the "world's" headlines,(as Spot and Sophie had done honoring newsie-dom with the others) the WHOLE ENTIRE crew took them to the lodging house to carve signartures and whatever else they please onto a wood plaque. It was to be a memorandum of the strike, their lives, the happy wedded couples three, and all other possible future couples that would come to be.
Jack, Sarah and Les would not go to Santa Fe without a good memory of this most important time in their lives: They all chipped in as best they could and got photograph copies of the plaque for all connected!
It is not known where every one of the boys' lives ended up, but their rough story lives thanks to the strike, doesn't it? All that can be said now is...