First Communion Shirley Longwell

I believe this picture is from the first communion of Shirley Longwell (my mother.) All of her sacraments took place at St. Adalbert Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is pictured with her younger brother Ronald. I do not know who her sponsor was for this. Her Godparents at her baptism were Walter Swiegoski & Victoria Palczewski. I do not know who Walter Swiegoski was. Victoria was her aunt. She had followed her sister Pauline Skrobat to Grand Rapids and they both married and lived there. Shirleyś confirmation sponsor was the daughter of another sister of her mother from OIl City, Pennsylvania. Eileen (Schossler) Gabreski (my 1rst cousin 1x removed) was Shirleyś confirmation sponsor. Her mother Mary (Skrobat) Schlosser was the sister of Pauline Raczkiewicz (Shirley´s mother and my grandmother.) In the late 1940s, Eileen was a student at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. She always had high aspirations--in her high school yearbook it says she planned to enter Temple University and study medicine. Instead of traveling back to Pennsylvania for school holidays, she would visit with her Aunt Pauline and family in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this way, Shirley got to know her older cousin.

Restored Baby Picture of Shirley Raczkiewicz

This baby picture of Shirley Raczkiewicz (my mother) hung over the stove of HER mother so it was not in very good condition. My sister Linda asked someone to help improve it and here is the result. It really gives a better sense for what she looked like at the time.

Shirley Attends Catholic High School & I Chose the Public High School

In the Fall of 1950, Shirley began high school. Instead of being able to attend Catholic Central, her first two years were at the Catholic Central West Annex. It opened in 1944 for freshmen and sophomores on the west side of the river. The school was housed on the third floor of St. Adalbert School and was staffed by 7 School Sisters of Notre Dame There was room there because of a drop in St. Adalbert School attendance after World War II ended and Catholic Central was full. Renovations would eventually increase its size and the building of West Catholic was still in the future. Father Maksymowski, the pastor of St. Adlabert had to respond to Bishop Francis J. Haas’ directive years earlier in 1951 to develop a “West Catholic Central.” Apparently many of the early students resented this because of limited athletics and the desire to have more freedom to leave the neighborhood and meet students from other areas. By the time Shirley attended, the school and its reputation had grown and students from all over the city would attend dances there. Surprisingly since this was before the freeway, many who came had never seen the beautiful church and large buildings surrounding it. While it probably did not occur to her family to send Shirley to the public high school, my parents gave us a choice for high school between West Catholic and Union High School. I chose the public high school, Linda briefly chose West Catholic then transferred to Union and Lori chose Union. In 1952, Shirley began her junior year at Catholic Central. The renovated building was completed that year. Lay teachers made up 21% of the faculty (the year before) as fewer teaching sisters were available. The culture shock for Shirley was that the Catholics from the east side of the city were much wealthier and she didn’t feel like the kids from the westside were well accepted but instead looked down upon. For me,culture shock came in 9th grade with my first experience with integrated schools which was accomplished with court mandated bussing since the residential areas were still pretty segregated. Catholic Central High school was organized into nine departments: religion, math, science, English, history/social studies, foreign languages, business, physical education, and fine arts. When I was in high school there were separate college prep or vocational track classes. Amazingly, we still took aptitude tests which told us which “male” or “female” careers would best suit us. We had the option of different electives than she had such as Psychology. Shirley rode the city bus from the west side of the city over the river to the east side in downtown Grand Rapids. In ninth grade, I had a school bus to West Middle and then in high school, we had to make our own way to the high school. As I get to know new relatives, I try to place them and their family into the picture. Curt Wolf’s father Laverne Wolf was a senior at the main Catholic Central campus during Shirley’s first year of high school. They probably did not cross paths because she would have been at the West Annex that year. Pictures of Laverne Wolf (on FB page) History of Catholic education in GR--GR info starts p. 61 (p. 72 of PDF) https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=theses History of Polish immigrants/churches in GR https://www.therapidian.org/history-polish-immigrants-churches-and-aid-societies-westside The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia (https://dutchamericans.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/1993_07_skendzel.pdf The First Hundred Years: The Basilica of St. Adalbert http://www.mipolonia.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/St.-Adalbert_1881-1981_Grand-Rapids_MI.pdf

Shirley Raczkiewicz was born

When Shirley Ann Raczkiewicz was born on January 15, 1936, in Grand Rapids, Michigan Her father, Anthony, was 40, and her mother, Apolonia, was 31. Her family lived at 501 Milwaukee NW. She was baptized at St. Adalberts on February 9 by Father Makaymowski The sponsors were Walter Swiegoski and Victoria Palczewski. “Vicki” was her aunt, her mother’s sister. Shirley grew up with two siblings, Lorraine and Anthony, who were much older than her --14 and 10 years older and her brother Ronald was born in 1940 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when Shirley Ann was four years old. She had a half sister Bronislawa from her father’s first marriage who died young and a sibling that was born and died unnamed at the beginning of her parents’ marriage. Shirley’s siblings are now deceased.

Contrasting Catholic Education When Shirley Longwell Attended Vs. When I Attended (Elementary & Middle School)

Shirley attended Catholic schools for first through twelfth grade and there probably was no question about her attending the Catholic school instead of the public school. My parents sent us to Covell Elementary in our neighborhood for kindergarten since St. Adalbert School started at first grade and did not have kindergarten. They then sent all three daughters to St. Adalbert School for first through eighth grade. Shirley went to St. Adalberts through eighth grade. When she started school In September, 1945, it was nearly the end of the time period (1910 to 1945) which was the “Golden Age” of the Grand Rapids Polonia. The Polonia refers to the Polish diaspora -- Poles who live outside of Poland.) St. Adalbert’sl had nearly 2,000 families so it was the largest parish in the Grand Rapids Diocese. For elementary school through 8th grade, I also attended St. Adalbert’s School beginning in 1964. Enrollment in Catholic schools would peak in 1965. The church subsidized the school so there was no tuition when my Mom attended. Tuition started in 1957 for the high school and in 1965 for the elementary school. I started at St. Adalbert School in 1964 so my parents had to budget for that cost. I know my parents paid tuition for me and my sisters to attend and also needed to put more money n the weekly envelope to the church. Costs had increased because there were fewer sisters teaching and more lay staff. A third of the staff were lay teachers and the rest Notre Dame sisters. Catholic schools still exist in Grand Rapids today but many have been closed or merged. Shirley remembers walking a few blocks every day to get to school. The family lived near First St. and the school was on Fourth St. They had to cross one busy street -- Stocking Avenue -- to get there. When I was in kindergarten at the public school, the school was in the neighborhood, a few blocks away. I don't remember walking there but likely my Mom walked me with my sisters coming along. When I started first grade at St. Adalbert's, my parents taught me how to ride the city bus. I didn’t know that my father followed it the first few times to make sure I got off at the right place. I did that pretty much reliably except I do remember one time that I was eavesdropping on some teenagers and I missed my stop by a few blocks on the way home. I was very nervous walking back even though I knew what to do. Later our Dad brought me and my sisters to school on his way to work. On the census when Shirley was little, half or more of the adults in her inner westside neighborhood had immigrated from Poland. Ten years earlier when her older siblings were young, almost all their neighbors were immigrants -- mostly from Poland but other places like Germany also. Growing up, my family lived outside the neighborhood surrounding St. Adalbert. We were still within the city limits but on the farthest reaches of the westside. Our family was the only Catholic family among the families in the neighborhood that we knew. Shirley was taught by Notre Dame nuns who wore full habits. When I attended, a third of the staff were lay teachers and the rest Notre Dame sisters--some wearing full habits and veils and some wearing a shorter habit and veil. One thing that was the same is that students wore uniforms in both time periods. When Shirley attended, Mass was celebrated every morning and there were prayers throughout the day. I started out with daily Mass but it was celebrated once per week by the time I left. Mass transitioned from Latin to English The school was important to this group of parents who were of a mostly peasant background in order to pass on their faith and traditions to their children. Since new immigrants stopped coming by 1924, by the time Shirley attended school , an important goal was Americanizing children and helping them succeed in the culture while holding on to their faith. While the parents may have wanted them to hold on more to the old ways, Shirley’s generation was more involved outside the Polish enclave. When she started in September of 1943, the first half of Shirley’s first grade year was taught in Polish, then the instruction transitioned to English. Education at Catholic schools during this time period focused on religious education, citizenship, discipline and rote instruction. While the schools were moving toward a more American form, there was still a focus on religious instruction. Students learned grammar and reading, math, history and geography. Science was not emphasized until later. When I attended, the focus was not as much on maintaining a Catholic culture but more on a religious and moral development and a high quality education. Because of Vatican II, which was not accepted by everyone, there was more of an emphasis on personal responsibility regarding faith. A fond memory is in 7th or 8th grade, our teacher who was a sister brought in albums of the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber, “ Jesus Christ Superstar” which would have just come out. The new mission statement of the Diocese of Grand Rapids Catholic Schools: “ We prepare students to seek and fulfill God’s plan for learning and life.”

Shirley's Birthday is Coming Up!

My Mom's birthday is about a week away so I wanted to send out a reminder: Shhhhh!!!! It’s a secret! Don’t tell her! We plan to surprise my mother for her 85th birthday with a birthday celebration. Her birthday is on Friday, January 15. There are two ways to participate: one is to get my address so you can send me a birthday card for her. The second is to attend the driveby event. This will be on January 15 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Drop off a card and pick up a gourmet cupcake and extend your greetings from the car. Masks and social distancing required. We know it is January and will have made provisions to keep her warm. Don’t let her age fool you! I just took a walk with her and it was very cold. I wanted to give an early heads up so we can make this special for her. If you know my Mom, she does NOT look for the limelight but we want to make sure she is celebrated. To get her address for the “event” or my address to send a card, comment on this post and I will PM you or else PM me directly.

Christmas cookies

Every year my Mom (Shirley Longwell) bakes cookies for Christmas. Some of her favorites to make are classic spritz cookies (using a cookie press), magic bars, a Dutch Banket recipe she got from a neighbor, Dutch sand cookies and meringue cookies. She usually has cut out a new recipe from a magazine or the newspaper to add to the collection. It is usually a multiple day operation with her having help from various people. For years, that help was me and my son Thomas but it has included other family members. This year she made cookies with granddaughter Marissa. Her recipe for meringue cookies: 2 egg whites ⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup sugar 1 6-ounce bag of chocolate chips. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in the other ingredients slowly. Bake on parchment paper on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes. These cookies will not turn out if made on a humid day.

My Mom's DNA Results

My Mom’s DNA results are 80% Eastern Europe & Russia, 8% Germanic Europe, 5% Baltics, 4% European Jewish and 2% The Balkans. Eastern Europe & Russia is made up of three parts Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland & Lithuania. My Mom’s DNA is specifically from the areas of Świętokrzyski & Lesser Poland (Malopolkska) which are regions in southern to southeast Poland. From Ancestry: In the early 1900s, villages in southern Poland were among the poorest in all of Europe. Peasants had no land and barely enough food to survive; tens of thousands starved each year. Most immigrants who left home in search of a better life were these unskilled workers. They often immigrated to established Polish neighborhoods in Chicago and New York, or went to New England and Pennsylvania to work in the mines.

Shirley's Thanksgiving Meal

This year is very different from our normal Thanksgiving celebration. Usually we have celebrated at my parents’ house. The pandemic numbers are very high in our state and our county has especially high numbers right now. Groups getting together inside are discouraged. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to revisit the menu of meals in the past. My Mom started out making everything. Thanksgiving foods usually are turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes, dressing, vegetables such as cauliflower, green beans and brussel sprouts, cranberries, pies such as pumpkin and pecan, a jello salad and Hawaiian rolls. Lately the turkeys have been turkey breasts which are easier to handle and please the crowd since only a few people like dark meat. Shirley’s recipe for mashed potatoes is especially well loved. Lately, all of us bring something, including grandson James and his wife Betsy making the mashed potatoes. In 2010, this is what Shirley said about the meal: “I usually like a 16 pound turkey. It is really big but I can handle it. It fits in the roaster and is not as heavy. Years ago I would buy 18 pounders but that’s a big turkey. I’ll have mashed potatoes, turkey, dressing, cranberries, sweet potatoes. I might make a JellO salad. I went to the store to get the vegetables. The cauliflower was $3.00 and I need more than one broccoli. It is over a dollar a pound for green beans. Don’t get them too early otherwise they start getting brown. I will make a little more than half of a ten pound bag of potatoes. I’m probably peeling which your Dad used to do. Who’s mashing? Marissa wants to stay over to put the table cloth on and help set the table so she can help.” Here is my Mom’s recipe for mashed potatoes: Potatoes (five pounds) Margarine (one stick) Sour cream (half cup) Milk (a little) Peel five pounds of potatoes and cut into medium chunks and put in a large pan with approximately one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 30 minutes or less. Drain well so there is no water on the bottom. Use an old fashioned potato masher to mash. Put in the margarine and sour cream and continue to mash. Add a little milk to thin it as you go along. Put them in a crock pot to keep them warm.

Shirley's Work Life

Shirley worked her first job at a parking garage in downtown Grand Rapids. Her boss was good to her and sometimes gave her a ride home so she didn’t have to take the bus in the dark. The 'new' Wurzburg's of 1951 was a collection of several older buildings,as well as a "Parking Pavilion" across Ottawa Avenue NW. She found out from her sister-in-law Ceil, a surgical nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan that an x-ray course was being offered. She was one of three students accepted. When the three students took their final exam, (probably downtown at Ferguson Hospital), all three of them flunked. Shirley was the only one who retook the exam and she passed and continued at St. Mary’s. Shirley was nervous and said she “shivered” around Dr. Benson, who would stop to grill them on how many bones in a part of the body or the name of a bone.She also remembers his kindness in letting her go for a week to Pennsylvania when her cousin Eileen Schlosser married Ted Marchibroda, a quarterback in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals who was later a coach for the Baltimore Colts and Indianapolis Colts. At one point he told her to come in at 9am instead of 8am because she was tired since she still worked at the parking garage. Dr Benson also gave the students meal punch cards when he discovered fellow student MaryJane from Mount Pleasant who lived in an apartment downtown, was bringing mayonnaise sandwiches to work. Unlike Shirley who continued to work at the parking garage, Mary Jane wasn’t working. Receiving a meal card was fair though since they were already working as part of their internship. During the time she was at St. Mary’s, Shirley was dating Paul Plasman. Paul and Roy Longwell had a sailboat and met around Lake Michigan since Shirley visited her sister Lorraine and her husband John often at their boat slip on Lake Michigan. Paul was in a serious car accident and Shirley remembers Roy taking her up to see him at the hospital. Sometime after that (and we don’t hear any of the details!), Shirley and Roy were dating, with Paul’s blessing. Paul recovered and went on to marry someone else and started “Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus” with a friend in 1961. Shirley continued to work at St. Mary’s until after she was married and once she discovered she was pregnant. Because there was little in the way of protection from radiation, she often wondered if daughter Paulette’s left undeveloped optic nerve was a result. While gloves and gowns and meters were introduced when Dr. Shay joined the staff, she still remembers carrying a bucket of radium up to surgery when she was pregnant. While the eye nerves develop early in utero, possibly before Shirley knew she was pregnant and quit, first pregnancies and low maternal weight gain are other possibilities among many. A pregnancy related practice at that time according to Shirley was for the expectant mother to limit their weight gain. She would go with a friend for a malted milkshake AFTER her weigh in and complained she was starving during her pregnancy. Her return to work in the early 1970’s was a surprise to everyone. She had not been looking for a job or interviewing. A former co-worker who had remained a friend, recommended her for the x-ray technician job at Alpine Medical Center when he was moving on to another position. Her job necessitated a second car for the family. Daughter Paulette was in high school so the three girls were old enough to stay alone. She worked until eventually the medical practice contracted out their radiology. She remains friends with many of the co-workers from this job and attends their regular luncheon get-togethers. Shirley worked for a few years after that at Michigan Bulb until she retired.

Staying Busy as a Housewife in the Late 50's & 60's

Shirley was a full time mother until daughter Paulette was in high school. Shirley made many clothes for herself and all three of us girls--everything from prom dresses, coats and other things. She would buy or borrow a Simplicity or McCall Pattern and lay out the material on the dining room table. Her sister Lorriane and her often worked on projects together. For instance, they each made a felt Christmas tablecloth that had ornate ornaments festooned with rickrack, beads and other decorations. I think Lorriane helped with the smocking in the three red dresses pictured above. As the oldest, I wore these the least amount of time. Once outgrown by one of the sisters, the dress was passed down from Paulette to Linda to Lori. Lori must have worn this dress for many years. A gift of a better sewing machine from Roy was treasured.

Making meals was a time consuming process. Everything was pretty much homemade. Breakfast would include milk which was delivered to the back porch into a silver milk box for many years. School and work lunches were packed while everyone ate and got ready for school or work. There were very few conveniences for cooking meals. Burning feathers off raw chicken, using a gas burner on the stove was part of the process of making dinner. A full dinner was served every night after Roy got home from work with all of the family at a small table in the kitchen. A special meal would be served on Sunday in the dining room and often family visitors came over for dinner or visited on Sunday afternoon after church. The football game would usually be on in the living room and the women would sit at the dining room table. Our Uncle Tony and Aunt Ceil were frequent visitors. City chicken from Levandowski’s Meat Market, on Stocking Avenue, would be a special treat. Meat from the meat market and Polish rye bread from American Bakery, on Bridge St., were always a part of every holiday meal. Other special treats were the homemade hot fudge ice cream topping she often made for Sunday night. She still makes this sauce, using a candy thermometer to ensure it isn’t soupy or rock hard. On Sundays, because we had a big dinner after church, our supper in the evening would be something smaller. A favorite was hotdogs wrapped in crescent rolls with a melted slice of cheddar. We would watch our favorite Sunday night programs together like The Wonderful World of Disney. While all her baked goods were (and still are) good, she is really known for her pies and her pie crusts. She knows every trick to rolling out a perfect crust. She can tell you why egg whites didn’t rise when whipped and she scolds you when you keep nibbling on the cookie batter.

More Pictures of Shirley Marries Roy

Shirley Marries Roy

In 1957, Roy Longwell (my father) and his friend Paul Plasman (later owner with his friend Bill Pearson of Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus”) were living on their sailboat Kismet in at Bay Haven, in Holland, Michigan as they restored it. Shirley often visited the marina because her older sister Lorraine and her husband, John Dykstra had a boat. Later, the Dykstras enjoyed their boat and slip and membership at Singapore Yacht Club in Saugutuck, Michigan with an active social life. Paul was dating Shirley Raczkiewic, who worked at St. Mary’s Hospital. Paul was in a serious car accident so when Paul was in the hospital, Roy was happy to bring Shirley to the hospital to visit him. With Paul’s blessing, Roy and Shirley eventually began to date. Paul was his best man when they were soon married at St. Adalbert’s Church, October 26, 1957. Paul recovered and went on to marry and start Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus with his friend Bill Pearson in 1961. Since Roy wasn’t a Catholic, they needed to agree to raise their children as Catholics. Shirley didn’t know that Roy was taking classes to be a Catholic and would have waited to get married if she had known. Shirley signed an “Ante Nuptial Agreement, Non Catholic Party” on September 19, 1957 that if she were given permission to marry a non-Catholic, that they would raise their children as Catholic.

Shirley married Roy Howard Longwell October 26, 1957 in Michigan. when she was 21 years old at St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Parents of the bride were Anthony and Paulina Raczkiewicz from Grand Rapids, Michigan and parents of the groom were Leo and Naomi Longwell from Lake Odessa, Michigan. Maid of honor was Miss Dorothy Karas and best man was Mr. Paul Plasman. Bridesmaids were Miss Rosemary Host, Mrs. John Dykstra, Miss Saundra Dykstra, Miss Patricia Wysocki. Ushers were Ronald Raczkiewicz, Mr. John Dykstra, Jr., Mr. Anthony Raczkiewicz, Jr. Ring bearer was. Michael Lyon and miniature bride was Yvonne Denise Raczkiewicz. Sharon Karwowski was flower girl. A breakfast was held at St. Hyacinth’s Hall with a reception in the evening. The couple resided at 115 Madison Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan after their honeymoon i North Dakota. Like her sister Lorraine, she was part of the first generation of Polish immigrants to marry outside of Polish Catholicism, though her husband Roy did later convert to Catholicism and embraced many of the social customs of the westside Polish. Later Roy was confirmed when his daughter Paulette was confirmed.