putting together such a wonderful website,

My connection to Old Delray began long before I was born. My grandfather, Wladyslav (Walter) Piwowarski came to the area in the early 1900s. Once he saved some money and got settled here, he sent for his wife, Rosalia (Rose), and their four children. They lived on Thaddeus street. In 1910, my father, John, was born. He was the first child in the family to be born in America.

As with many Polish immigrant families, my grandparents put family and their Catholic faith first in their lives. These pictures show that: Photo Essay

My father's family never had much money, but they saw fit to use some of their hard-earned money to have photographs made commemorating the First Communion of their children, and in this photo, also commemorating their growing family. Standing are, from left to right: Louis, Sophie, Stanley, and Ignatius (the First Communicant). Seated are Rose holding Frances (b. 1911) and Walter holding John, my father. This photo was taken around 1912. Not shown are two other children that were born later: Helen (b. 1915?) and Stanislava (Stella) born in 1922. Photo Essay

My grandfather was active in St. John Cantius church and belonged to many clubs.

My father went to St. John Cantius school where they taught subjects in both Polish and English. My grandmother never learned to speak English, so everyone had to talk Polish at home. Their neighbor was Hungarian. Somehow my grandmother and the woman who lived next door became good friends, even though my grandmother couldn't understand Hungarian and the Hungarian woman couldn't understand Polish. My aunt Stella said that they talked in their own sign language and somehow they ended up understanding each other.

My father also went to Morley school and then to Southwestern High School. Although my father didn't mind Catholic school, and always thought that a Catholic school education was superior, he enjoyed going to public school because they had gym class. My father was athletic and it was only in public school could he exercise his athletic talents.

My aunt Stella went to St. John Cantius school until the 8th grade, then went to Southwestern. She had a much different experience in high school. For the year that she went to Southwestern, she always longed to go back to Catholic school. Stella was also very active in church and in school. As a young girl, maybe 6 years old, she played Priscilla in a Thanksgiving play. The nuns at the school would always ask my aunt Frances to make costumes for the plays because they knew of her wonderful talent for sewing (which I'm sure she inherited from her father, who was a tailor by trade). Stella was also picked for a few other plays over the years. She sang in the church choir and was a member of the Ladies Sodality (sp?).

My father had to drop out of high school after the 9th grade to go to work. My grandfather got him a job at Marzec's store. He learned to cut meat there, which led to a satisfying career at many stores throughout the years. This picture shows him in Borgorz's store. I don't know if Borgorz was the name of the store, but it was the name of the owner. This picture was taken sometime in either the late 1920s or early 1930s: Photo Essay Besides the picture of the family above, this is my favorite picture. I love seeing how the old stores looked. And, my father always liked to work in a store as a meat cutter. He never dreamed of doing any other kind of work.

Years later, in the early 1960s, while working as a meat cutter in a store (in Detroit, but not in Delray) he would meet the woman he would marry (a woman 25 years his junior), my mother.

For fun, the kids would go to the Grande or Delray Theaters. The Grande showed cowboy pictures, my father remembered. To get in, the kids would each bring a potato. The Delray theater would show Polish films. At the Grande Theater, my aunt Stella once won a bag of flour at a raffle. She said she didn't think it was such as good prize, but her mother reminded her of all the good food she could make with the flour and then she was proud that she won it.

I'm including this picture because it shows somewhat what the neighborhood looked like and how guys dressed in those days. This is my father again, looking stylish. He wore that style of hat always. He had two like it when he died in 1993.My father was drafted into World War II in 1942. After the war, he came back to Delray. However, in the early 1950s, the neighborhood was changing for the worst. My aunt Stella (then married with a small child) and my father moved to Northwest Detroit to get away from the dangerous people who were moving in.
Although my father stopped going to church as an adult, he never forgot his Catholic faith and impressed on me that I was Catholic whether I set foot in a church or not. God was always a part of his life, and it was always a part of mine, and still is. Family was a priority for my grandparents, and that has been passed down to me too. The third thing that has been passed on is the value of hard work. An honest day's work for an honest day's pay. I was always taught that all honest work has value, whether you're a  janitor or whether you have an office job. No one is better than the other. All are useful. And, finally, education. My father had to drop out of school to go to work. He always wanted more for me. Getting a college education was not easy for me, but luckily I inherited stubborness from my father (who probably inherited it from his father. After all, immigrants had to be stubborn and determined to make the trip to America, and make a living here). Unfortunately my father died before I got my college degree, but I know he was proud nonetheless.

The only personal memory I have from Delray is of Masses at St. John Cantius church. After my father died, I moved in with my aunt Stella in Allen Park. Some years we would go to Christmas or Easter Mass at St. John Cantius. The church was so beautiful. I love old churches. Older churches, but especially that one, made me feel closer to God. I also felt close to my grandparents there. We went to the 100th anniversary Mass of the church and the reception afterward. We went to the memorial Mass for Father Szcykiel (sp?). It was so sad to see him go, and not knowing what would happen to the Church after that. It was nice that they kept the Church going for a few years after that. We were there for the final Mass too. A beautiful send off as those who attended church or school there reminisced about all the good memories, but it was such a sad day too...

And, that's my story of Old Delray,
Sincerely,
Joyce P. Simkin