Bio: Staszak, Joseph Family (Circa 1960’s)

Contact: Dolores

Surnames: Staszak, Plonka, Grynciewicz, Kling, Schanen, Jelinek, Bloczynski, Quast, Nighbor

----Source: Memoirs of Agnes Staszak Schanen

Staszak, Joseph Family (Circa 1960’s)

The following was written by one of the daughters of the Joseph Staszak’s –

Joseph Staszak was born March 12, 1886 in the village of Borzykowo, Poland, near Poznan.  (He served in the 166^th Infantry Regiment of Hamburg, Germany from October 13, 1909 to November 24, 1911.  In Germany, two years of military service was required of every able bodied young man, as that part of Poland was under Germany.)

He came to the United States on November 28, 1912 and lived in Cicero, Illinois with an older brother, Vincent and his wife.  He met Pauline Plonka at a wedding and they were married October 24, 1914.  Pauline Plonka was born November 12, 1893 in Witowa, Poland.  She was one of 12 children of Valentine and Margaret Plonka and came to the United States in 1913, settling in Cicero, Illinois. 

In July 1918, they moved to a farm near Hatfield, Jackson County, where they lived all their married lives.  The house on this farm was constructed of logs and had been an Inn over one hundred years ago called “Smith’s Inn”; many people that traveled from Black River Falls to Neillsville stayed there overnight.  In addition to farming, Mr. Staszak rented boats on the backwaters.  He served as a school director at the Hatfield School for a number of years before it was consolidated with the Black River Falls school system.  He was active in Town of Adams politics and was responsible for taking care of its dirt roads in Hatfield and vicinity.  He collected a sum of money from friends, neighbors, organizations and businessmen in Jackson County with which a new fence, gate and sign were secured for the Hatfield Cemetery of which he was treasurer.

Mrs. Staszak was a homemaker, deeply devoted to her family; she was quiet, keeping her troubles to herself and wherever possible sharing those of others.  She died suddenly of a heart attack on December 31, 1964 in the waiting room of the Krohn Hospital.  She had never been sick until the day of her death, when not feeling well had gone to the hospital to see a doctor.

Seven children were born to this marriage; Stanley, the oldest and Joseph, Jr. the youngest, both passed away in infancy.

Mr. Staszak passed away on May 11, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois following a slight heart attack on May 6^th, only four months after he was married to Katherine Grynciewicz on January 4, 1958.

Agnes was born in Cicero, Illinois on January 17, 1917 and moved with her parents to Hatfield in 1918.  She graduated from Black River Falls High School in 1935; she was employed at the Resettlement Administration Office in Black River Falls, District WPA Office in Menomonie, Wis. and the Dept. of Defense Office in Camp McCoy, Eau Claire and Milwaukee until her retirement in 1972.  She married Lawrence Schanen on June 27, 1959 of Port Washington, Wis. where she presently resides.  They have no children.

Stella was born February 16, 1919 at Hatfield, Wis. and during her teens worked for several years in Chicago, Illinois.  She married Charles Jelinek on September 30, 1939 and they have five children: Douglas, Donald, Dennis, Betty (Mrs. John Quast) and Bonnie (Mrs. David Nighbor).  Presently she and her husband live about four miles north of Black River Falls and she is employed at the Pizza Plant.

Albert was born April 15, 1920 in Hatfield where he lived all his life except for his service in the Merchant Marine during World War II.  He came to his death on November 17, 1951 during deer hunting when he took a short cut across the ice on the backwater, broke through and drowned.  At the time of his death he was employed by the Nelson Muffler Plant in Black River Falls.  He was never married.

Mary was born April 26, 1922, at Hatfield, Wis. and during her teens worked for several years in Chicago, Illinois.  During World War II, she worked at the B-17 Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Chrysler Defense Plant in Chicago, Illinois.  She married Leo Bloczynski on June 15, 1946 and they have three children: Leo, Jr., Linda and Robert.  She and her husband presently reside in Black River Falls.

John was born in Hatfield August 25, 1924 and lived all his life on the home place.  He married Patricia Kling on August 23, 1958 and they had three sons: Michael, William, and Randy.  John was in partnership with his brother-in-law, Leo Bloczynski, operating a cutting and hauling of pulp and timber business known as Jackson Pulp, Inc.  John came to his death accidently on February 7, 1979 at a mill near Cataract when a log fell off his truck, killing him instantly.

Submitted by Mary Bloczynski