Witam na mojej rodziny
Welcome to my family
My great grandparents came to Buffalo, NY from Poland. They settled on the East Side of Buffalo. When I was a baby, my parents bought a home on Eller Avenue in the Schiller Park area of Buffalo. I lived there until I was twenty six years old. The neighborhood had many small, family owned businesses back then. There was a bakery, fish market, fruit and vegetable stand, meat market, and theatre to name only a few. I attended Most Holy Redeemer Elementary School and Turner/Carroll High School and was my high school class Valedictorian. I was very active growing up as I had to keep up with two older brothers. I played softball, track, and cheerleading in school. of course we were always playing chase, kickball, football, and hockey in the neighborhood.
My Dziadzia (Grandpa) Mike lived on Clinton Street near Fillmore Avenue. It was quite close to Central Terminal. I would go with him and his dog Heidi to the terminal so she could run around in the fields there. His house was just down the street from Bocce's Pizza. At the time, that was the best place to go for pizza.
I don't really know much about my great grandparents. The only one who was alive when I was born was my Grandma Koons. We called her Grandma Koons because she lived on Koons Avenue in Buffalo. I do have great memories of my Grandma Adel. She would cook extravagant meals for every holiday. She would always have a tray of ribbon candy out on her coffee table. After our holiday dinner, we would all sit down and play various card games for money. She always made birthday and Christmas presents interesting by making money trees or tiny little tents made out of rolled money. She was a very creative woman! My grandmother would crochet dresses for me to wear. Unfortunately for her and my mother, I was a "tom boy" and preferred jeans and sneakers.
I don't really know much about my great grandparents. The only one who was alive when I was born was my Grandma Koons. We called her Grandma Koons because she lived on Koons Avenue in Buffalo. I do have great memories of my Grandma Adel. She would cook extravagant meals for every holiday. She would always have a tray of ribbon candy out on her coffee table. After our holiday dinner, we would all sit down and play various card games for money. She always made birthday and Christmas presents interesting by making money trees or tiny little tents made out of rolled money. She was a very creative woman! My grandmother would crochet dresses for me to wear. Unfortunately for her and my mother, I was a "tom boy" and preferred jeans and sneakers.
Holidays and celebrations were centered much on our Polish heritage. We went to the Broadway Market often, had traditional Polish meals for Christmas Eve, and every wedding and First Communion party involved dancing the Polka. Unfortunately, the older my brothers and I get and the more our older relatives pass away, the less these traditions take place.
We try to keep up on some of the traditions, but it's very hard. Every year I say I am going to the Broadway Market for Easter goodies, but I never get around to going. My children have no clue how to dance the Polka. This year I'm not only determined to teach them, but to also attend a Polish festival. These Polish traditions were such a big part of my life. I want my children to have traditions in their lives. I think it is one important aspect of who we are.
