Person of Note - Adalbert Erdmann

Wojciech  (Albert or Adalbert) Erdmann* (1842 - 1918)

      was one of the earliest Polish settlers, having arrived in Milwaukee around 1873.  When he died, the following article ran in Milwaukee's Kuryer Polski (on October 15, 1918):

My (google) translation is:

Old Settler Dies

Wojciech Ertmann*, from Jadwigówa**, parted from this world on Thursday afternoon.

 One of the oldest Polish settlers on Jadwigowie, Mr. Wojciech Ertmann, residing at 899 Franklin Place, said goodbye to this world on Thursday afternoon after a short and serious illness, after living 76 years. The deceased was widely known in circles of older settlers and was one of the oldest parishioners Jadwigowie. He belonged to several companies. The deceased Wojciech Ertmann was born on April 3, 1842 in the Great Duchy of Poznan. He leaves a wife, Antonine Ertmann; two daughters, Mary Kaminski and Gertrude Andrzejewski; two sons, Leo and Francis, and 12 grandchildren.

*His name has been spelled in various sources as "Ertmann," "Erdmann," "Ertman," "Erdman," and even "Erthmen" and "Artmann."  It is spelled in the article as "Ertmann" which is also the spelling used on his tombstone.  However, his wife and children seemed to have spelled it consistently as "Erdmann" which is why that spelling is used on the tree.

**I am not sure as to what "Jadwigówa" is referring. My best guess is that it is a reference to the neighborhood around St. Hedwig (Sw. Jadwiga) Church.

Adalbert Erdmann was the maternal grandfather of John G. Kaminski (Featured Profile #45).  John Kaminski told the story that as a young boy he watched the seagulls soaring at the lakefront and that he told his grandfather that he would one day soar like them.  Adalbert Erdmann may very well be the grandfather mentioned in that quaint story.

Honoring Our Heroes - Memorial Day 2015

As is our custom, we set aside Memorial Day to remember some of those individuals from our community who lost their lives while in service.

Raymond Bush, Jr. (@1923 - 1945) – The only child of Raymond Bush, Sr. and Elizabeth (Rosinski) Bush. He was a Technician Fifth Class in the 70^th Infantry Division, 276^th Infantry Regiment, 3^rd Battalion, I Company. He and several of the men in his same company were killed in action on February 18, 1945. From this information, it appears that he died in the attack on Saarbrucken.

 

John Talkowski  photo courtesy of  Grace Janusz

 

 John Talkowski  (1914 1945) -  The son of Stanley Talkowski and Rose (Zygarlicki) Talkowski.  He grew up in Walworth County.  He entered service in Milwaukee on April 16, 1941, before America had joined the War.  He rose to the rank of Technician Fourth Class, in the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. (The same division as Gerard Paradowski, Featured Profile #42.)  He was wounded while fighting in New Guinea and eventually died of his wounds on April 14, 1945.  He is buried in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

John Talkowski in New Guinea. Photo
courtesy of Grace Janusz.

Frank Wojciechowski (1893 -1918) - The son of John Wojciechowski and Antonina (Kuich) Wojciechowski.  He entered the service on November 22, 1917 at Camp Custer at the relatively old age (for soldiering) of 24.  Prior to that time, he had been a bartender for Frank Konwinski. [The records state the name of his employer to be "Kononinwinski", but it is assumed that the reference is to his brother-in-law, Frank Konwinski, or a relative of his brother-in-law.] He was originally a member of the 340th Machine Gun Battalion, 85th Infantry Division.  Although this unit was in France, it never saw action.  It appears that, at some point, Frank Wojciechowski transferred to the 39th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division where he was a Private, First Class.  He was wounded in the Argonne Offensive and died of his wounds on October 18, 1918.

Elmer Wojciechowski
originally published in Milwaukee
Journal, March 30, 1946
 

Elmer A. Wojciechowski (1922 - 1945) - The son of Joseph Wojciechowski and Lottie (Trempala) Wojciechowski, he was a nephew of the Frank Wojciechowski listed above.  He enlisted in the army on December 1, 1942. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division.  Originally listed as missing in action, it was latter confirmed that he had been killed in action on February 19, 1945 in the assault of the Siegfried Line at Munzingen Ridge.  He is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium.

Rest in peace.




 

Paradowski People Of Note

Because we have been highlighting the Paradowski family recently, there are two other people associated with that family who deserve special mention.

Milwaukee Sentinel 11.21.1969

The first is Helen (Gieniusz) Paradowski (abt. 1914 - 1969), the first wife of Gerard Paradowski  (Featured Profile #42).  She set an example for all of us in her volunteer activities.  As some point in her life she held the following positions:  President of Woman's Court and Civic conference of Milwaukee, national president of the auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and an officer in the Milwaukee auxiliary, president of the American Legion Auxiliary, FDR unit # 444, first president of the local Eagles Auxiliary and president of the auxiliary of the Milwaukee society.  At the time of her death, she was the only woman member of the Memorial Center board of trustees and a corporation member of the Child Care Centers, Inc.  She was a leader in fund drives for the Mother's March on Polio, the Red Cross and the United Community Fund.  Not forgetting to foster the arts, she had also been a board member of the Fred Miller Theater (now known as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and worked with the Milwaukee Symphony's Woman's League.

Source:  "Mrs. Paradowski Dies, 55," Milwaukee Sentinel, November 21, 1969, pg. 13

The other individual who deserves special mention comes from an Italian family but he married into the Paradowski clan.  His name is probably familiar to anyone who lived in Milwaukee in the late 1960's:  James Groppi.  He was another individual who set an example by his actions, although many of us did not see it at the time.

Father James Groppi started his career as a regular parish priest at St. Veronica's parish in 1959.  (I was actually attending church there at that time, but I was way too young to remember him).  In 1963, he was transferred to St. Boniface, an inner-city parish.  It was there that he saw first hand the detrimental affects of poverty and social injustice.  He decided he must do what he could to correct the situation. 

It is way beyond the scope of this note to try to tell the story of his work.  (Those interested can read the sources listed below, and many others, that can be found about his career.)  Suffice it to say that his activities garnered national attention, and quite a lot of local animosity.  Much of that animosity arose from the historically Polish neighborhoods on the South and East Sides.  One of the things that Father Groppi strove for was the basic principal that anyone should be able to live in the neighborhood of their choosing.  However, that's not the way many in the Polish neighborhoods saw it.  By the 1960's, those neighborhoods were already loosing much of their ethnic identity and cohesiveness as young families choose to move to the suburbs.  This flight meant there was room for non-Poles to move in, but many in those neighborhoods wanted to shut out any non-whites.  The perceived differences of the new-comers generated fear: fear of increasing crime and decreasing property values, among others.  As a leader of the civil rights movement, and one who kept pushing, and pushing and pushing even harder for fair housing, Father Groppi became a lightning rod for this fear and the hatred it generated.

There was one especially regrettable incident in August, 1967.  In what was undoubtedly intended as a provocation, Groppi held a picnic for 250 of his mostly-black parishioners in Kosciusko Park.  An angry crowd of 2,000 whites gathered and jeered at them for the audacity of coming into "their" neighborhood.  The mob threw rocks and bottles at the picnickers.  Police wearing riot gear had to come to restore order.  It was not one of the bright spots in the history of our community.  Now, we recognize that James Groppi was right, and those who opposed him were wrong.  A person should not be denied a house because of the color of his or her skin.  It was sad to see the once vibrant, close-knit Polish neighborhoods decline, but that was caused by many socio-economic factors and not by the individuals who wanted to move into the community.

Without trying to downplay the error of our community, it is also safe to say that the prejudices of the Polish community were probably shared by most of the whites in Milwaukee at the time.  If our reactions to Father Groppi were more violent than others, it may be because it was our neighborhoods that were most "on the front line."  Father Groppi was definitely ahead of his time in his views on civil rights and it was our fault not to recognize more quickly the justice in his actions.

Another belief held by Father Groppi that was not shared by most at the time (and which is still anathema to many, including the Church hierarchy) was the conviction that Roman Catholic priests should be allowed to marry.  James Groppi carried out that conviction in April, 1976, when he married the woman he loved, Margaret Rozga.  (She is the daughter of Jeanette (Paradowski) Rozga, and a first cousin, 2x removed to Roman J. Paradowski (Featured Profile #39)).  The two had met during a voting rights trip to Alabama in 1965 which only goes to show that the Milwaukee Polish community also had civil rights advocates. The marriage meant that he could no longer function as a Roman Catholic priest.  He thought briefly of converting to the Episcopal faith and the Episcopal Bishop in Detroit offered him a position.  However, Groppi could neither give up his Roman Catholic faith, nor live apart from his city.  Instead, he returned Milwaukee and drove a cab.

He died in 1985 at the age of 54 from a brain tumor.  He left his wife and three children surviving.  His funeral mass was said in St. Leo's Church and he is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. 

Sources:

Balousek, Marv, "James Groppi: Radical Priest and Unpopular Hero," in Wisconsin Heroes, excerpted at Madison.com

Folkart, Burt A., "James Groppi, Ex-Priest, Civil Rights Activist, Dies," L.A. Times, November 5, 1985

Fr. James Edmund Groppi at Find a Grave.

Gurda, John, The Making of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Historical Society (1999, 2006, 2008)pgs. 365-76.

Heise, Kenan "Milwaukee Activist James Groppi, 54" Chicago Tribune, November 5, 1985

Ivey, Mike, "Father Groppi's Legacy Demanded Stinging Speech, says Rozga," from The Capital Times

"James E. Groppi, Dead at 54; Ex-Priest Led Rights Fight," New York Times, November 5, 1985

James Groppi on Wikipedia

Stotts, Stuart, Father Groppi:  Marching for Civil Rights, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2013

Honoring Our Heroes - Memorial Day, 2014

On this Memorial Day, I would like to take the time to remember some members of our community who lost their lives while in the service of our country:

Ralph Boschke (1924 - 1945)

 

This famous photograph shows U.S. Marine Pfc. Paul E. Ison dashing across Okinawa's infamous "Death Valley" in the spring of 1945.  Paul Ison was in the 13-man squad led by Ralph Boschke and was with him when Ralph was killed in action.  The enemy had been spotted concealed in a nearby cave.  Boschke and Ison crawled forward together with a satchel charge.  The plan was to explode the satchel charge on the roof of the cave to bury the Japanese inside.  Unfortunately, they were spotted before they were close enough to lay the charge.  A burst of machine gun fire caught Boschke across the chest, killing him instantly.  Ison lived to tell his story.

Ralph was the son of Max Boschke and Agatha (Konkel) Boschke.

George Dominiak (abt. 1920 - 1944) - a private in the U.S. Army, he was killed in action, France, November 29, 1944.  He was the son of Frank Dominiak and Rose (Kurzynski) Dominiak.

Charles P. Link (1933 - 1951) - the son of Charles Link and Pauline (Brandt) Link, he was serving as a Pfc. in the Army, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, when he was killed in action in Korea on October 17, 1951.

Ralph Mokwa ( abt.1921 - 1944) - was the son of Anthony Mokwa and Sally (Jagodzinski) Mokwa

Published in the Milwaukee Journal, March 15, 1944

Ralph's first cousin Leroy Kitzke was killed in action on Saipan later that year.  (See Honoring Our Heroes)

Raymond J. Szymanski (1922 - 1944) - the son of Ignatz Szymanski and Salomea (Polak) Szymanski, he was killed in action in Italy, May 25, 1944.

John S. Zaczek (1915 - 1944) - the son of Joseph and Mary Zaczek, he was a Motor Machinist Mate, 2nd Class in the U.S. Naval Reserve at the time of his death, May 10, 1944.

Rest in Peace.

Person of Note - Dr. Frank J. Schultz and A New Feature

One of the sons-in-law of Joseph Martynski (Featured Profile #25) was Dr. Frank J. Schultz.  Even before he appeared in the Kuryer Polski article about Joseph Martynski, Dr. Schultz had had is own article in Memoirs of Milwaukee County, edited by Jerome Anthony Watrous at page 419.

 He went on to have a long and successful career.  However, other than serving as the Milwaukee County Coroner, he never obtained the public office to which he obviously aspired.  The following is his obituary which appeared in the Milwaukee Journal on October 8, 1956:

Frank Schultz was not the only person in this family group to run for public office.  His nephew through his wife, Louis S. Polewczynski, served as State Assemblyman (Republican) from the 8th District in the 1927 session.  However, he was defeated by Mary (Olszewski) Kryszak in the next election and (as far as I can tell) never again held public office.


A New Feature:  Family Lines

We have added a "Family Lines" feature to the Milwaukee Polonia Project Tree.  The good folks at Tribal Pages have given us the ability to show, by use of colored squares, the ancestors and descendants of individuals that we designate.  For example, the ancestors and descendants of Joseph Martynski (Featured Profile #25) are currently designated by an aqua square like this:

This feature will enable individuals who are looking at the Project Tree to know immediately if they run across the ancestor or descendant of an individual that we pick for a Family Line.  It will be easy to determine which family line is involved because each page on the tree should carry an index such as this:

Joseph Martynski is the only family line that we have designated so far.  However, it appears that we will be able to designate up to 16 family lines.  Exactly whose family we will show with a family line is still somewhat up in the air.  Our current plan is to show the family line of the current Feature Profile and to also show the family lines of some of the Polish Pioneers as designated by the Kuryer Polski.  (See Featured Profile #25 for an explanation of the Polish Pioneers.)

A Tale of Two Priests

In furtherance of the commemoration of a new Bishop of Rome, I offer the story of two priest, linked together by their church.

First, the Rev. John F. Szukalski.  He was the elder brother of Theofil Szukalski, (Featured Profile #23) and Marion Szukalski (Featured Profile #24), and the brother-in-law of Charles Stachowiak (Featured Profile #22).  He was the priest in charge of building Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church and was it's first pastor:

From Milwaukee Journal, April 7, 1915, p.2

After Fr. Szukalski had passed away, Rev. Bronislaw Celichowski was appointed to replace him as pastor.  Fr. Celichowski was the brother of Walter Celichowski (Featured Profile #13).

History of Milwaukee City and County, by William George Bruce and Josiah Seymour Currey, The S. J. Clark Publishing

 Co., 1922, Vol. 3 p. 320.

Fr. Celichowski died December 30, 1951.  His obituary can be found at "Fr. Celichowski Had Served Three Milwaukee Churches," Milwaukee Sentinel, Jan. 1, 1952, p. 1.

Honoring Our Heroes

In observance of Veteran's Day, I would like to honor some members of our community who gave their lives in service of their country.  Included with their names, are whatever facts I have been able to discover regarding the circumstance of their death:

Arthur Beckman (1913 - 1944) - Husband of Eleanor (Waszak) Beckman - died in Normandy, France, on December 8, 1944.

Joseph Kapczynski (1917 - 1945) - Son of Joseph Kapczynski and Anna (Domachowski) Kapczynski - died in the European Theater of Operations on April 4, 1945.

LeRoy Kitzke

LeRoy Kitzke (1925 - 1944) - Son of Bernard Kitzke and Irene (Jagodzinski) Kitzke - a Marine, he was killed in action on Saipan, June 28, 1944.

Ronald Kitzke (1947 - 1967) - Son of Ralph Kitzke and PRIVATE (Pichotte) Kitzke - a lance corporal in the Marines, he was killed in action in Vietnam, December 27, 1967.

John Machnik  (1920 - 1944) -  Son of Peter Machnik and Martha (Sniegowski) Machnik. 

John was a member of a unit designated to clear mines. On July 20, 1944, John,  his friend, Ben Kaiser, and fellow soldiers Kenneth Helseth and Roy Franze, were clearing a beach one-half mile south of Vada, Italy. One of them accidentally triggered an S-mine (known to the Americans as a Bouncing Betty because it would "jump" up to the height of a man's crotch before exploding.) It was one of the most feared weapons of World War II. John and Ben were killed. Kenneth and Roy survived, but were wounded.  (Source:  Blog of the 109th Combat Engineers)

Reginald Riviere (1930 - 1951) - Son of  Frank Riviere and Victoria (Kowalkowski) Riviere

Died of wounds received in combat on April 12, 1951. Before his death, he wrote to his parents that his squad had been attacked on a hill in North Korea. He had been hit by fragments from an exploding mortar shell which had torn through his stomach.
Source: Milwaukee Journal, June 20, 1951

George F. Rogalska (???? - 1918) - Son of Fred Rogalska and Lydia (Lemmons) Rogalska.  A PFC in the Headquarters Company, 128th Infantry Division.  He was killed in action in France on August 2, 1918.

Robert Tutaj (1926 - 1945) - Son of Joseph Tutaj and Clara (Fennig) Tutaj - a Marine, he was killed in action on Okinawa on May 10, 1945, two days after the war in Europe had ended. 

John Wask (1914 - 1945) - Son of Andrew Wask and Marianna (Smolterowicz) Wask - John was a Sergeant in 28th Infantry Division. He was killed in action in the European Theater of Operations on February 5, 1945.

Person of Note - Ray "Buzz" Buivid

Ray Buivid - Published in the Milwaukee Journal 10/30/1936.

Ray "Buzz" Buivid (1915-1972)

Let me just say at the outset that I don't know what ethnicity Ray was.  My research has found some indication that "Buivid" is a Latvian or Lithuanian name.  On the other hand, both Latvia and Lithuania are in a part of Europe where borders switched frequently and ethnicities become fuzzy.  Moreover, Lithuania and Poland shared (at least) a common king between 1569 and 1795.  (I say "at least" because there was debate, even at the time, as to whether they were two countries with the same king, or were in fact the same country divided into two districts.)  Therefore, I cannot say that Ray was not Polish.  However, I can definitely claim him as one of our community because, at the very least, he joined it when he married Janna Celichowski, niece of Hattie Baranowski (see Featured Profile #12.)

Ray was born in Sheboygan, and lived there eight years before his family moved to Port Washington,  He came to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University.  He was an excellent athlete and became a starting back on the Golden Avalanche football team.  In 1936, as captain and back, he led that team to one of its more memorable seasons which culminated in Marquette's first bowl appearance in the inaugural Cotton Bowl Classic on January 1, 1937.  The game was billed as duel between two of college football's most prolific passers:  Ray Buivid and Sammy Baugh of the TCU Horned Frogs. Unfortunately, Ray's offensive line was no match for the TCU rushers.  He was shut out in that game and Marquette ended up losing to TCU 16-6.

Despite the final loss, 1936 had been a good year for Ray Buivid.  So good, in fact, that he had ended up third in the Heisman Trophy voting and was named an All-American  When the NFL draft came around, he was selected as the third pick overall, making him probably the highest player from our community ever selected in the NFL draft. Ray's route into the NFL ended up being not as straight as one of his passes. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals, but they traded him to the Chicago Bears before the season started.  Ray could not agree on a salary with George Halas, so he went to play for the New York Yankees (football team) of the American Pro League.  However, he soon quit that team over a salary dispute and went back to Chicago to play for the Chicago Bears.

His NFL career was short, only two years, but it was memorable.  In his rookie season, he was not a starter, but played behind veteran Bernie Masterson.  However, he still saw substantial playing time and ended up sixth in the league in touchdown passes thrown. In fact, he threw five touchdown passes on one game, becoming the first NFL rookie to accomplish that feat. The Bears won the Western Division that year by 2 1/2 games and on went on to the NFL Championship.  Unfortunately, there they lost to the Washington Redskins, led by Ray's Cotton Bowl nemesis, Sammy Baugh.

Some people attribute the shortness of Ray's career to the fact that he was a man ahead of his time.  His talents and style of play is much closer so the modern quarterback than to the back of his day.  Had he played a few years later, after the introduction of the "T" formation, he may have had a much bigger impact on the game.

After football, Ray had various jobs.  He ended up working for General Electric.  He was recovering from one heart attack, when he was struck again.  He died in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on July 5, 1972 at the age of 56.  He was survived by his wife, a daughter, Barbara Ann, and three grandchildren.

Another photograph of Ray during his Marquette days can be found here.

Sources:
"Buivid "Buzzed" to Fame at Marquette," Milwaukee Journal, July 6, 1972, p. 7 on Google News.
"Buivid Takes His Bride in a Scene of Blue and Gold," Milwaukee Journal,October 20, 1940, p. 57 on Google News.

Cotton Bowl 1937
"Ex-MU Grid Ace Buivid Dead at 56," Milwaukee Sentinel, July 6, 1972, p. 9 on Google News.
1937 Chicago Bears Season on Wikipedia
1937 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards on Pro-Football Reference.com
Ray Buivid on Wikipedia.
Raymond "Buzz" Buivid on MU Scoop Wicki

Featured Profile #12 - Hattie Baranowski

 Hattie Baranowski (1886-1963)

Hattie became the first woman deputy sheriff in Milwaukee County when she was appointed on August 6, 1922. During her subsequent 32-year career as a deputy, she served under 14 different sheriffs and held such posts as bailiff in the juvenile court and courtroom deputy handling women prisons in the district court. The charges under care ranged from those who were merely drunk and disorderly to convicted murderers. According to the Milwaukee Journal, the qualifications for her job were "emotional stamina, resilience of spirit, human understanding, and a limitless compassion." "Miss Hattie" (as she was affectionately known) handled it all with a motherly, comfortable way and a generous spirit. She was especially loved of all the women deputies, often going beyond her job description. Her acts of kindness ranged from giving coats to women prisoners released in December, to taking them to church on Sunday, to finding them jobs. Even at the end of her long career when she had been exposed to all kinds of criminals, she was able to see "a lot of good in everybody." However, she was not a "bleeding heart."  She refused to let the prisoners blame others for their actions. She stated that, "All too many of the women prisoners were girls that came to Milwaukee friendless. When they arrived in jail, they said they hated Milwaukee -- and I always told them it wasn't Milwaukee, but themselves and the friends they had made that deserved the blame." She retired May 5, 1954 after a leg injury resulting from a fall left her unable to continue.

Prior to her appointment as deputy sheriff, she had served as a matron in the old county jail at N. Broadway and E. Wells Streets starting in 1914.

In 1949, she fought off a challenge by the county service commission to force her retirement under the alleged grounds that she was physically unfit.

 

An early picture of Hattie Baranowski along with the first all-female jury in the county can be found can be found here.

Relation to Nearest Featured Profile (Arthur Czerwinski):  sister-in-law of brother

Path From Nearest Featured Profile:  Arthur Czerwinski > brother, Roman Czerwinski > wife, Irene (Baranowski) Czerwinski > sister, Hattie Baranowski

Sources (page references on newspapers are to the page on Google News):

"Good in All," Says Retiring Jail Matron,  Milwaukee Journal, April 29, 1954, p. 1.

  

Miss Hattie Baranowski, Milwaukee Journal, January 31, 1963, p. 4

  

Mrs. Musso Hates to Leave Kind Peopleat Jail, Milwaukee Journal, May 30, 1915, p. 3.

 

Oust Woman Deputy Here, Milwaukee Journal, July 10, 1947, p. 25.

 

Sheriff Defends Woman Deputy, 63, Milwaukee Journal, July 1, 1947, p. 3.

Women Deputy Sheriffs Relate CareerExperiences, Befriend Women Prisoners, Milwaukee Journal, April 7, 1957, p. 10.

People of Note:

Dr. Stanley Baranowski  (brother of Hattie) - 

Listed in Who's Who in Polish America, he was an early physician in the Polish-American community. A graduate of the Marquette School of Medicine, he was a general practitioner for over thirty years. He was a medical consultant at St. Luke's Hospital, an organizer of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Polish Medical and Dental Association and a house physician at St. Joseph's Orphanage.

Featured Profile #9 - Jennie (Saskowski) Fons

Jennie (Saskowski) Fons making one of her recipes (from the Milwaukee Journal)

Jennie (Saskowski) Fons (1890 - 1989)

Jennie (Joanna) Saskowski was born in Milwaukee around September, 1890.  She was one of at least 13 children born to Valentine Saskowski and Josephine Peksa.  Even while she was a young girl, her family showed a penchant for getting in the newspapers.  One uncle, John Peksa, is mentioned in "Rumble at St. Vincent's."  Another, Julius Peksa, is mentioned in "The Old Rug Swindle."

However, Jennie's path to the newspapers led through her cooking.  Seriously, although she obtained only a fifth grade education, she did most of her studying in the kitchen.  First, growing up, as a daughter in a large family with many siblings, then married to Stephen C. Fons (1888-1940), then as a mother of six children, she had plenty of practice to became an excellent cook of Polish cuisine.  Even in her later years, she would host (and cook for) large family reunions.

Eventually, some of her old Polish family recipes were published in the Milwaukee Journal and became the favorites of readers.  Her Polish sausage recipe was published in the Milwaukee Journal on December 23, 1962 in "Family Enjoys Breakfast Tradition".  Years later, one of her grandsons was bragging about Jennie's Polish sausage to a friend in northern Wisconsin.  His friend boasted that he had a better recipe.  However, when produced, it proved to be none other than Jennie's recipe saved from that 1962 article.  Here's that famous recipe.  Jennie took the basic recipe from her grandmother, but reduced the fat, garlic and spice.  When you read the proportions, remember that they didn't have any Kitchen-Aides back then, everything was hand-ground and stuffed.  And many women in Milwaukee Polonia, my mother included, would make a batch of this sausage every Christmas and Easter, and usually several times in-between, for years and years.

Mild Polish Sausage

About 1/4 lbs. port casings

15 lbs. port (butt)

4 Tbsp. salt (1/4 cup)

4 Tbsp. mustard seed (1/4 cup)

3 tsp. crushed marjoram

2 tsp. ground pepper

3 small garlic buds

About 2 cups stock, lukewarm

Soak casings in cold water until soft and pliable.  Wash them inside and out.  Leave them in cold water until they are stuffed.  Cut meat from bones and trim excess fat from meat if desired.  Leave some fat on meat as this is necessary for the sausage.  Coarsely grind the meat, then add remaining ingredients except casings, using just enough water to make the mixture soft enough to push easily into casings.   Stuff meat into casings by hand or with a grinder.  If using a grinder, use a plate with three bars across the opening rather than blades and a funnel attachment over the opening.  Slip a wet casing over the funnel opening and grind or push sausage through into casing.  Stuff firmly, but do not pack too tights.  Divide each link in half by pushing sausage aside and twisting casing at the center point.  Hang sausage on rod overnight to dry. [So in the original.  I'm not sure this would conform modern sanitary practices, unless they were hanging in a refrigerated room.]   Refrigerate until cooked.  To cook, simmer in water to cover 45 to 60 minutes until well done.

Jennie's cooking could not have been too unhealthy.  Even with all the hard work in her life, and bearing six children, she lived to be 98. Her obituary was published in the Milwaukee Journal on July 16, 1989, on page 13 of Google news.

Relation to Nearest Featured Profile (Louis Fons):  Sister-in-law

Path From Nearest Featured Profile:  Louis A. Fons > brother, Stephen C. Fons >wife, Jennie (Saskowski) Fons

Before leaving this family, there are two other individuals that need to be mentioned however, I don't think I can do Featured Profiles for them.  In the first case, I don't think I have enough material for a Featured Profile.  In second case, the individual is not of Polish descent and he is in the tree only through marriage.  Therefore, I've developed a new category:

People of Note:

Conrad Saskowski - (I believe this was Jennie's younger brother, unless there were two Conrad Saskowskis in Milwaukee.)  By profession, he was a guidance counselor and history teacher at South Division High School.  However, by inclination, he was a composer and booster of fine arts in the Polish Community.  He composed many pieces that were performed by Milwaukee orchestras, including the operetta, "Polonaise", the operetta "Yours to Command," the choral piece "Credo", the dance piece "Mazur" and the "Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa,"  He even penned the musical comedy "Blond Squaw" based upon an old Milwaukee legend.  He was the founder and the long-standing president of the Polish Fine Arts Club.  In recognition of his promotion of good will between the United States and Poland, he received the "Cross of Merit" from Poland in 1939.  (At the same time that Michael Domachowski also received that award.)

Billy Sixty, Sr. - (the father of Jennie's son-in-law.) - He was employed by the Milwaukee Journal for sixty-one years starting as an office boy in 1912.  He eventually became a sports writer, and for years he penned his own column, "Going Like Sixty."  He was also an excellent athlete in his own right not only in golf and bowling at which he most excelled, but he also took honors in baseball, handball, bicycle and motorcycle racing, swimming, tennis, ice skating and roller skating. In 1970, he was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.  He was also voted into the American Bowling Congress, and the Greater Milwaukee and Wisconsin State golf honorary halls.  For time, he also hosted a popular bowling television show in Milwaukee.  (For more information, see "Journal's Sixty Ends Long Writing Career."