My cousin in Nevada blessed me again with some copies of old family photographs, which she inherited from her grandparents. (Thanks Debbie!) Pictured above are my great grandfather Joseph Orshoski and his second wife Julia Szomolya Orshoski. Before this picture arrived, I had never seen a picture of them at this stage of their lives. I am guessing that they are in their forties. I have written about them before in this blog, but seeing this picture reminded me of just how special they really were! Grandpa Joe could not see well in his later years, and his glasses were very thick. He always drank his Stroh's beer from a chilled glass, and if someone gave him a beer in a glass at room temperature, he let them know that was not his preference! Grandpa outlived his first wife, and two sons. After working in coal mines in Pennsylvania and Virginia, he worked at the Medusa Cement Factory in Bay Bridge for forty years. Then he started another career as a gardener at Cedar Point for eleven years. My dear neighbor Mary said that Grandpa Joe could outwork any of the young people employed at Cedar Point. So, Grandpa was a hard worker, and certainly provided well for his family. At times, Grandpa Joe could be stubborn. When I was a little girl, Grandpa thought that if he could put a hole in the water line to his house, that he could create an automatic sprinkling system for his lawn and garden! Well, my dad, who was a plumber, and knew about water pressure, had to go up to his house to prevent a disaster from happening. Luckily Grandma knew she better call someone! I honestly didn't get to know my great grandfather very well, and I so wish that I would have asked him questions about leaving his homeland of Hungary to make a new life in the United States.
Grandma Julia was really my step great grandmother, but she was the only Orshoski great grandmother that I ever knew. She was very tiny, but she could could cook and bake very well, and she opened her home to our family quite often. Her specialties were chicken paprikash and nut rolls. Even though my mother had no Hungarian roots, she loved Grandma's nut rolls, especially at Christmas time.
Grandma and Grandpa Orshoski left many descendants, several of them still living in northern Ohio. They left us with a wonderful example of hard work and love of family, and many terrific memories! Joseph and Julia Orshoski, as well as Grandpa Joe's first wife, also named Julia, are buried at the Castalia Cemetery.
2 comments:
I remember Grandma had cataract surgery and she sat on her front porch and said "I can see for miles" I didn't know Grandpa well at all, except he was grumpy. Never knew he worked at Cedar Point! Interesting!! Thanks Dorene!
Great Grandma was such a sweetheart!
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