HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE GRANNIE!

Today would have been Little Grannie's (also known as Lillian Braciszewski Stachowiak) 114th Birthday.  Lillian is the one in the middle in the above photo.  I am guessing the other two ladies were her friends.

I thought about her a lot recently.  She was a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan and would have loved to watch them in the World Series.  Obviously, she would have loved to see them win it!  She had a little transistor radio that she would take to bed and listen to the games. 

I inherited a bunch of photos of Lillian after my Mom's death this past May.  I am still trying to figure out who some of the people are in the photos.  I really wish my ancestors would have written names on the back of photos. 

I think Lillian's brother Stanley and his wife Frances are the unknown couple in this photo. 

4'9" and weighing only 70 pounds -- she really was our Little Grannie! 

Happy 114th Birthday, Grannie!!

50 YEARS AGO TODAY -- REMEMBERING GRANDPA LEONARD

July 31, 1967 -- It was a Monday night in the hot San Fernando Valley and my siblings and I were watching one of our favorite shows "The Monkees" when my Mom received a phone call. I think the call came from law enforcement but I can't say for sure.  The person was telling my Mother that her father Leonard Stachowiak had died at the age of 61.  We all knew that Grandpa had emphysema due to his many years of smoking, but as kids you think people are invincible.

Our Mother was devastated!  How could she not be?  She idolized her Father.

Leonard Stachowiak was born on March 10, 1906 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  His parents were Charles Stachowiak and Anna Szukalski.  He was the 6th child (a sister died at 3 months of age in 1904) of 9 children. Leonard and his family attended Mass at the Polish Catholic Church of St. Cyril and Methody in Milwaukee.

His father Charles Stachowiak was the first Polish tinner to own his own business in Milwaukee. Even though, he his business was doing well, after taking a vacation to Southern California, he decided that is where and he and his family should live.  Packing two railroad cars full of their personal belongings and business machinery and supplies, Charles and Anna moved with their children to Van Nuys, California in 1926.

Now, when Leonard actually moved to Van Nuys or if he moved and just visited Milwaukee on occasion is up for debate. Leonard is not listed as living with his parents and siblings in Van Nuys in the 1930 US Census.  Whether he was still in Milwaukee, somewhere else in Southern California, in transit or his name was just spelled so incorrectly that it is hard to find him, is still a mystery and hopefully one day will be discovered.

What I do know is that Leonard married Lillian Helena Braciszewski on October 5, 1931 at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church in Van Nuys, California. (Lillian was widowed and living with her sister's family in Milwaukee in 1930).  Their daughter Joan was born in July of 1933.

Leonard worked as a sheet metal worker for most of his adult life.  He worked with his father and brothers in the family owned business after moving to California.  Their shop was located behind Charles and Anna's home.  In 1949, he started working at Lockheed where he continued to work for 12 years until his death.

Grandpa Leonard loved to bowl!  He bowled a perfect game -- 3 times in his life.  He also loved golfing.  At least once a week, after work he would go golfing. On July 31, 1967, Leonard went to the golf course at Griffith Park for his weekly game of golf.  While waiting to start at the first hole, he had a massive heart attack.  A physician was nearby and tried to revive him  with CPR but nothing could be done to save him.  He had died immediately.

July 31, 2017 -- Today we remember the 50th anniversary of Grandpa Leonard's death.  We remember while he was a fairly quiet man, how he liked to tell jokes.  We remember how we felt cheated that he was taken from us way too soon!  We wonder how our lives have would have been different if he had been a part of it for even 10 years more.  We are very grateful for even the short time we had with this very special man.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

                                                       
                                                             

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

                                    Lillian Braciszewski Stachowiak & Lou Sooey

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

       My maternal grandparents (Leonard and Lillian Braciszewski Stachowiak) lived in Van Nuys from 1931 to 1967 (my grandfather's death) and then my grandmother continued to live in Van Nuys until the early 1990's. They moved into this house on Cedros Avenue in 1944.  They were the first owners.  I have many fond childhood memories of visiting my Grandparents in this house. A very special treat was sleeping over at their house.

         The house is located on Cedros Avenue just a few houses north of Vanowen.  I remember that the Pacific Bell Telephone Company was located across the street at the corner of Cedros and Vanowen.  If you continued south on Cedros, Saint Elizabeth's Catholic Church was located at the next large intersection of Cedros and Kittridge.  South of that on Cedros was Van Nuys High School.

        Just for fun yesterday, I looked up their address on Google Maps.  The house doesn't look that much different than when they lived there.  It is the same color of yellow, but it does have a ramp up to the front door now.  It also has a lot more plants and trees when they lived there.  Little Grannie was a stickler for neatness and didn't like things looking messy.  Our joke used to be that if she saw a leaf fall, she would immediately go outside and rake it up.

        The above photo is of my Dad on his wedding day.   Mom and Dad got married at Saint Elizabeth's, which was just down the street.  Mom had attended elementary school at the parish elementary school and then attended high school at Van Nuys High School.

FUNERAL CARD FRIDAY

         This is the funeral card for my Grandpa Leonard Stachowiak. He was married to Little Grannie (Lillian Braciszewski).  Today I am honoring both of my Grandpas by posting their funeral cards on my blogs.  Grandpa Charlie Sherlock's card is posted on my HomeoftheSherlocks blog.

          I remember the death of my Grandpa Leonard.  He died on the 1st hole of the golf course at Griffith Park.  He loved golfing and did so on July 31st after working all day.  Leonard had a massive heart attack and even though there was a doctor in attendance, he couldn't be saved.  I am sure that his emphysema contributed in some large way to his demise.  Through all the sadness, though, what has always made me happy is knowing that he died doing the thing he loved.  We should all be as lucky!!

TRAGEDY STRIKES SEVERAL TIMES

            In one of my latter posts, I was discussing the birth and "miraculous" survival through infancy of Lillian Braciszewski (better known as Little Grannie).  After Little Grannie's birth, her sister Cecilia was born in 1906.   So by now, John and Josephine (Gruszka) Braciszewski are probably thinking that the worst is behind them -- they immigrated to the US with three little boys, had another son after arriving in the US, and then the tragedy of their daughter Helena's death at 5 months old followed by the premature birth of Leokadia less than 3 months later.

         Well tragedy would continue to follow them.  Josephine gave birth to a son John on 5 April 1907 but he died  two months later in June.  Then baby Boleslaus was born on 15 Feb 1908, only to die 5 months later on 27 Jul 1908.  The final baby, another son named John was born on 4 Jan 1910 but he died the same day he was born. How absolutely horrible for both Josephine and John!  By 1910, Lillian is 6 years old and is aware of what is going on.   But of course, that wasn't the last tragedy to hit Little Grannie in her childhood.

        On 14 Dec 1914, her father John Braciszewski would die at the age of 49.  Lillian had just turned 11 years old. She would drop out of school after 8th grade to work in a candy factory to help support her family.  Tragedy would strike Lillian more times in her lifetime (a topic for another post) but she always dealt with it and stayed strong.  Little Grannie, you were an amazing woman!

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

     It is very exciting to find a photo and a story about your grandparents in an old newspaper, especially when it is a story you haven't heard before. Imagine my happiness when I located this photo and story of my grandparents Lillian Braciszewski Stachowiak (yes, that famous Little Grannie) and Leonard Stachowiak in the Van Nuys News in a December 1949 issue. It is not hard to pick out Little Grannie in the photo.  She is the tiny woman holding the baby and Grandpa Leonard is the man to the left.

     What was the story about you ask?  Well, Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church parish in Van Nuys, California built a new church in 1949.  The parish was established in 1920 and Lillian and Leonard had been parishioners at St. Elizabeth's for over 16 years.  My  mother was baptized in the old church. and two years later (after this story) my parents would be married in this new church.
 
     On the occasion of this story, Saint Elizabeth's was holding its first Baptism at the new church, which is a cause for celebration.  According to the story, "First baby to be baptized in the handsome new structure now housing St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church was John William Smiley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smiley.  ... Rev. Patrick Francis O'Dwyer [the priest that married my parents] and Rev. Earl Walker officiated at the 11:30 o'clock ceremony.  [Okay, I have never heard the half hour called "o'clock"!]

     "Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Stachowiak served as godparents and later attended a family party at the Smiley home which celebrated both the christening and the 59th birthday of the infant's maternal grandmother Mrs. Mary Bauer".

     Well, I have never heard of the Smileys but obviously they considered my grandparents good role models and entrusted them with the special role of godparents.

SIBLING SATURDAY

           Little Grannie's (Lillian Braciszewski Stachowiak) siblings included from left to right -- Francis, then her father John, Lillian (love the hair and her dress), big brother Stanley, little sister (only in age) Cecilia, mother Josephine Gruszka, Edward and Michael.

          While the photo shows a happy family  (okay, relatively happy), much heartbreak was in store for them. That will the topic of my next post.

AND THE REST OF THE STORY

         I remember the stories that Little Grannie (Lillian Braciszewski) would tell us grand kids -- that she weighed only 3 pounds at birth ... that she was born in 1903 (Nov. 3rd) but her parents (John and Josephine Braciszewski) didn't register her birth until 1905  ... and that she had 4 older brothers (Stanley, Michael, Edward and Francis) and a younger sister Cecilia (who I had met several times when she would come to visit from Milwaukee).

        When I started researching Lillian and her parents, I found some puzzling news.  I thought either there was a mistake or Little Grannie had been wrong about her birth date.  Who tells people that they are older than they are except for kids wanting to drink before their 21st birthday?

        I found a birth record that showed a daughter Helena was born to John and Josephine Braciszewski on 6 Mar 1903 in Milwaukee.  Is this really Lillian's birth record since her middle name was Helena? I could swear that we always celebrated her birthday on Nov 3rd.  Then I found a death record for Helena, dated 21 Aug 1903.  Okay, this is definitely not Lillian's birth record but how did her mother give birth to 2 babies in the same year, not born on the same day or month?  Then I got to thinking, if Josephine had gotten pregnant a month after giving birth to Helena, she could have given birth to Lillian 7 months later.  That would explain the low birth rate of 3 pounds.  It would also explain why Lillian's parents waited for 2 years to register the birth.  After all, they just had a full term baby die at 8 months, what could they possibly hope for with a tiny premature baby back in 1903?   I think they would be very surprised to know that the tiny Little Grannie lived a long life, dying at age 94.

WHERE TO BEGIN?

         I guess I will begin with Little Grannie's (Lillian Braciszewski -- the lady on the far right in the photo) family tree.  Her maternal grandmother (and my 2nd great grandmother) was Antonina Zuchowska..  She is the oldest relative that I have information on (other than a name) of Lillian's ancestors.  Antonina was born in Poland in 1825.
        Thanks to the wonderful Poznan Marriage Project (at poznan-project.psnc.pl), I found information on Antonina's marriage to my 2nd great grandfather Jacob Gruszka.  Antonina was 22 years old at the time of the wedding while her spouse Jacob was 26.  They were married in 1847 in Lechlin, Wielkopolskie, Poland.  Jacob's parents are listed as Joannes and Marianna Gruszka while Antonina's parents are Thomas and Marianna Zuchowska.  The Poznan Marriage Project is a great resource because you can get a lot of information, however, the parent names aren't always given.
        I can't find any more information on Jacob Gruszka.  He must have died in Poland before 1896 because Antonina immigrated to the US in that year to live with her daughter Marianna. In the 1900 census, Antonina is living at 1129 3rd Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her married daughter Marianna, her son-in-law Ignatz Reszel and 5 great grandchildren.  Antonina's marital status is listed as widowed.  I can't find Antonina in the 1910 census -- not with Marianna's family nor with her other daughter Josephine's family.  I did find a Marjanna Gruszka that died on 26 March 1903 in Milwaukee (according to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries at www.cemeteries.org site). I wonder if that could be her.
According to my research, I only found two children from the marriage of Antonina and Jacob -- Marianna and Josephine.  So, there could be more siblings out there  -- I have located more Gruszka's in the US.  Time (and more research) will tell if we are related or not.
 

LITTLE GRANNIE AND THE POPE

               This week when I heard that Pope Benedict had announced his retirement, I immediately thought of my Little Grannie (Lillian Braciszewski) and one of my favorite stories about her. I'm the one in the 1st Communion dress and she is behind me.  Yes, by the beginning of 4th grade I was definitely taller than her!  Okay, back to my story ...
               Until 1978 all of the Popes (or at least all that we were familiar with) were of Italian descent.  Then in 1978, a miraculous thing happened -- someone of Polish descent or at least from Poland was elected Pope.  Little Grannie was thrilled to say the very least.  By this time, she was a widow (Grandpa Leonard died in 1967) and never learned to drive so I would take her on errands -- grocery shopping (I could reach the highest shelf), to the bank and of course out to lunch.  I was in college, had free time and you couldn't ask for a grandma that made you feel more special.
             At first I thought she just felt a kinship to Pope John Paul II due to their shared nationality.  Little Grannie told me that her grandparents and the Pope's parents were buried in the same cemetery in Poland.  So, in her eyes they were almost relatives!  Pope John Paul II visited the United States on a trip where he toured several cities.  Little Grannie was a big Dodger fan (well, as big as you can be at 4'9") and used to listen to the games on her transistor radio.  Well, she was as big a "Pope" fan as she was a Dodger fan and during that visit, I happened to be at her house (waiting for my car to get repaired) and there she was listening on her transistor radio to the commentary of where the Pope was visiting at that moment.  I think she listened to the radio for his entire trip to the US.
           Not until this week did I realize that the Pope's mother Emilia had died in 1929 when she was in childbirth and young Karol was only 8 years old.  Lillian also suffered the loss of a parent, her father John  Braciszewski died when she was 11 years old. So, there was more in common than I had originally anticipated.
             Jozef Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II's father, is buried in Rakowicki Cemetery in Malopolskie, Poland. I don't know why I didn't think to research my ancestors based on this information that I have known for years.  Maybe that is another purpose of remembering all these wonderful stories -- hidden clues that I hadn't previously thought of. Well, I would love to say that I researched the cemetery and found some of my ancestors but the only listing I could find so far, only has American soldiers who were buried there in a special section of the cemetery.  The good news is that I have more information than I started with and will continue my quest to discover more about my Polish roots.

MY POLISH ROOTS

             I am done procrastinating, well at least about this blog!  I have thought about blogging about my Polish ancestors for the past year or so.  My poor Polish ancestors have been ignored while I blogged about my Irish and German ancestors on my HomeoftheSherlocks blog.  In my mind, I didn't have enough stories to blog about.  What happens if I run out of things to say?  Well, I have decided to put caution to the wind and dive headfirst into the Polish genealogical pool!  So, here goes ...

            Both of my maternal grandparents are 100% Polish even though they were both born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My grandma Lillian (Leokadia) Braciszewski or as we affectionately called her "Little Grannie" was 4'9" and 70 pounds soaking wet.  For her entire life, she shopped in the "little girls section" of the store for her clothing.  Lillian's parents were John Braciszewski and Josephine Gruszka.

            My grandpa Leonard Stachowiak was probably 5'11" in height but always seemed so much taller, probably because he was standing next to the diminutive Lillian.  Leonard's parents Charles Stachowiak and Anna Szukalski moved to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles in the late 1920's after residing in Milwaukee.  Soon all their children followed suit, moving to Southern California.

             The above photo is of Little Grannie.  I am not sure when this was taken or what the occasion was. I will just call it my "Rose Queen" photo of Lillian.