Growing up in Old Delray,as remembered by Rebecca Ponak Emilson

Since you seem to welcome information about Hungarians living in Delray, I will share my family with you.

Katherine (Meszaros) and Joseph Ponak came to Delray via NJ/PA with a couple years in OH. They were both originally from Hungary and were my great grandparents.

Katherine Ponak (divorced) is on the 1930 census with her 3 children, Joseph (Jr), Alice, and Irene. She owned her house at 806 S Green Ave. She ran a boarding house in Delray until the 1960s when she went to live with her daugher Alice.

Katherine and her children often went up north to Prescott MI with their friends the Nagys to vacation. She bought and owned a farm in Prescott which she gave to her son Joseph Ponak Jr and he lived there until he died in 1990. There were/are quite a few Hungarians that moved from Delray to Prescott. Nagys, Sabo, Papp, are just a couple that I can think of off hand.

Katherine also worked at Detroit Edison and worked at a waitress. Her son Joseph worked at the Brass Works company.

Joseph, Alice, and Irene attended Cary school and Southwestern H.S.

I do have a couple of questions that I was wondering if you or someone else could answer.

I have a document stating that Alice was treated at Delray Industrial Hospital at 7125 Jefferson. What hospital is this? I cannot find any information listed online about it.

Also, the 1930 census states that Katherine was working as a waitress at what looks like "Electric restaurant" or "Electricus restaurant" Do you have any idea what that could be?

One more, I read on your website that there was an orphanage ran by nuns across from Holy Cross school. Joseph, Alice and Irene were temporarily put in an orphanage while Katherine went to NY to work. Do you or does anyone else have any information on this orphange?

Please feel free to include my email: meandeej@yahoo.com on anything so people could contact me.

Thank you for the website and keep up the good work!!

Rebecca Ponak Emilson