Same here. I was born (1953) and raised on the north side of the city of Chicago, and that's the way it was. Everyone was defined and referred to (often in un-PC terms) by their ethnic identity, and it was . . . OK.
Exactly.
My mom was One of Seven kids, all 'Irish and German' descent. Our family was like a league of nations and everyone used those *terms*, including themselves.
My dad was German, Aunt Sophie was Bohemian, Uncle Stanley was Polish, Aunt Teressa Italian, Uncle Bob was German, Aunt Joyce wasAnd when all my first cousins started getting married, forgetaboutit.EnglishBritish, and Aunt Leona was just a B*tch(not joking)So you can guess at what they were called, and called themselves.
somehow one of my older 'Irish-German-Bohemian' female first cousins got a WASP from Kenilworth to marry her. Now that was a shocker :-)