Matynka Ancestors and Relatives: Suddenly the Family is Bigger

My maternal grandfather, Adam Matynka, was one of 8 children, and I never knew it.

Undoubtedly, my parents took me with them to weddings and funerals where these great-aunts and great-uncles would have been met.  But I was to small to remember more than impressions, while the particulars were never written down.

But now we have particulars in abundance, thanks to long-lost - indeed, never-known - cousin, Timothy Warchocki.  His pages at MyHeritage.com make clear the various branches of the family lineage, indicate dates, and are illustrated with photos, including some old ones from this blog.

I am grateful to Tim for making it possible for me to update part of the Matynka family page here.

"Auntie Stella," "Auntie Veronica," and "Uncle Tony" were for me names heard in childhood.  Now they are persons with places on the family tree.  Thank you, Tim.

Dziadzi Matynka had 7 brothers and sisters.

Clara and Adam Matynka,
at 554 Walden Avenue, Buffalo.
It looks like the 1950s.

Adam Matynka in his uniform
of municipal bus driver
in Buffalo.

Who Is This Beautiful Girl, This Veritable Queen?

The heavy cardboard frame with folding cover is in mint condition.  The frame is glued down solidly over the photographic print;  we cannot take a squint at the back.  There are no labels.

Indications that she is a First Holy Communicant include the white gown, hose, and shoes; white veil; Missal and Rosary.  Absence of a candle, such as we have seen in FHC portraits of EJZ and JFZ and MPZ, is not a contraindication in my mind, as candle and veil are an unwise combination, so it is best to let the boys tote those big candles.

Suggestions that this might instead be a Confirmation portrait include her mature appearance:  typical age at FHC is 8 years, while typical age at Confirmation is 13 to 14 years.  Additionally, her shoes have enough of a heel for a teenager, too much for an 8-year-old.  And look at that gold wristwatch over her elbow-length gloves!  Again, it seems unlikely for an 8-year-old.

I've never heard of veils for Confirmation.  Has anyone else?

Is she my Matynka grandmother, Clara Haremska?  Our CHM was born in 1903 or 1909, depending on to which document we give our trust.  Eight years of age would then be 1911 or 1917.  Fourteen years of age would then be 1917 or 1923.  Those all seem plausible to me from the look of the portrait details.  Also, CHM and all the Haremska women have high brows like this mystery girl.

Clara Haremska married Adam Matynka in 1925.  My Mom, our CAMZ, labeled the back of this 16" by 20" photographic print with the names and the date.  Thanks, Mom!

The print is curled and tattered with age, but remains impressive.

Adam Matynka and Clara Haremska Matynka, 1925

So, again, the woman above and below is CHM, my Grandma Matynka.  Is she our Mystery Queen Girl?  What do you think?

Clara Haremska Matynka, 1925

Now let us consider the Mostkowska -Zdrojewska options.  Here is the wedding photo of our JPZ and Julia Mostkowska.  The date approximately 1920; Dad, our EJZ, was born in 1923.

John Peter Zdrojewski and Julia Mostkowska Zdrojewska, circa 1920

Julia Mostkowska Zdrojewska, circa 1920

Mayhap Mystery Queen Girl is my paternal grandmother, Julia Mostkowska Zdrojewska.  What do you think? Her face seems more square, though.  And here, alas, we have another covered forehead.

Julia Mostkowska Zdrojewska

Is Mystery Queen Girl my paternal aunt Melania Zdrojewska?  Melania was born in 1933 and died about 8 years later according to the story from Dad/EJZ.  I suppose the portrait could be from 1941, but it seems less likely.  If Melania actually lived to age 13 and this was her Confirmation photo, then the year would be 1946.  Again, just from the look of things 1946 seems too recent a date for the photo portrait.  Finally, we know that Melania died in the 1930s while Dad/EJZ was a high school student at Orchard Lake.  So, scratch the Melania/Confirmation possibility with confidence.  Melania/FHC remains a possibility, if we allow Dad/EJZ to have misremembered, and that Melania died in 1941 when he was a college student at Orchard Lake, not a high-school student.

I hope somebody actually recognizes this photo.  If so, please let me know!  If not, then I invite the spirits of my ancestors to visit me and set me straight on this.  Let's talk, OK?

Marilla Tape - Matynka 40th Wedding Anniversary Party

The young man saw a guy get fresh with a pretty girl and distress her. So he clocked him.

This being early 1920s Buffalo, the young man spent the night in jail. But it was worth it because he soon married the pretty girl.

Adam Matynka and Clara Haremska Matynka celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at a family gathering recorded in part by Martin Zdrojewski, the Impresario grandson with the cutting edge, state-of-the-art, reel-to-reel audiotape recorder.  The party ran past midnight.

0:00 - 3:00.  Adam Matynka leads the crew in multiple verses of a Polish song well known to everybody except the grandchildren.  Now I have no idea what it is and am having a hard time figuring out any clues.

Marty announces midnight at the 40th Wedding Anniversary Party.

3:30 - 4:15.  Sonny Boy.  Mom, our CAMZ, told us that when she was little, her father would sit her on his knee and sing to her: Climb upon my knee, Sonny Girl.  (Joke!)  Well, I was very impressed with this sweet story, and remained so until discovering decades later that the maudlin 1928 song, as well as the maudlin Al Jolson movie, ends with little Sonny dying.  The angels took you because they were lonely . . . for crying out loud!

4:15 - 5:04.  I Will Always Call You Sweetheart.  Better: people get old and grey but you don't suddenly find out that they are dead.

5:17.  Roll Out the Barrel.  Good idea.

5:47.  Sto lat!

6:17.  The old grey mare, she ain't what she used to be . . . okay.

7:20.  Uncle Walter reminds everyone of the lyric in this different version of Sto lat.  This is the first clear recording of his voice, as far as I can tell.  He never did say much. But when he did, what he said was often just what was necessary.

8:50.  Gertrude asks her father to speak to [his] children. Somebody says Cicho!!  "Quiet!!"  Adam proceeds with T'anks for coming here and showing us all a good time . . .    The recording concludes with individual spoken testimonials, which are pretty nice and fairly formal, considering the hour and circumstances.

Marty and I have happy memories of times like this. But our elders did not teach us the songs, so we do not know them. Our elders did not sing with us, so we don't sing the songs ourselves or teach our own children.

Often we were told that Children should be seen and not heard. Our elders achieved success. We cannot be heard.

Clara and Adam Matynka at 554 Walden Avenue, a Buffalo long gone

The climactic scene from Jeeves and Wooster, Season 1, Episode 2:

Postwar Buffalo

For a couple of years after their June 1948 wedding, Gene and Clara toughed it out, with Gene staying in a cheap dorm (they had those then) in NYC, and Clara living at home with her parents, sister, and Tom. She worked the books at a nearby hardware store.

This looks like coming home from church some morning.  Who is stumping up the driveway behind her?

Why, it's Tom in short pants.  Love it.  Who is the older boy coming along next?

Apparently this was a favorite family picnic spot.  What is Adam Matynka holding in his hand?

A camera body?

Clara as Sylvan Nymph, complete with Sylvan Nymph tablecloth.

That's quite the rootin' tooter on Tom's shirt.

Is this Genevieve?

Is this Genevieve and is she holding a movie camera?

Clara Matynka, CHM, as Goddess on a Stump.  Note the goddess's chariot yon in the dappled glade.  What manner of chariot is that?

Julie

Matynka, Zdrojewski, Columbia

Adam and Clara Matynka are out in the spring sunshine with their little firecracker, Tom.

Gene and Clara are there as well.

The corsage and boutonnier could be for Easter and their engagement, which occurred at the same time one year.  Or they could be for Easter a year later.  Or they could be for a wedding anniversary.  There are no dates on these photos; can we date them by Tom's age?  Help! 

Clara's and Gertrude's shoes are back in style now; you can order ones just like either of those online right now!  Don't do that yet, though; please read Gene and Clara's.

Mom, CAMZ, graduated Kensington in June 1947.  Gene and Clara married in June, 1948.  Gene graduated Columbia in June, 1949.  So when were these photos taken?

Cute little squirt.

So here's Columbia.  Is Clara down for a visit?  Or is this graduation weekend?

Julie

Clara's "Snapfolio" - Part 2

The pictorial offerings in the c.1946 CAMZ "Snapfolio" continue to raise intriguing questions. Like here: why are Gertrude and Clara dressed in almost-identical dresses, and why does Clara have more bows on her collar than does Gertrude?  If she's the star of the party (such as an engagement party, but I do not know) then all those bows would mean she could not feast with proper abandon, which would be unfair.

Who is this couple?  They look like nice folks.  See how the third girl from the left is holding a hat over the man's head?  Maybe she is stealing his fedora so his pretty face will be showing in the picture.

Why is this lovely lady triumphantly holding aloft three Tootsie Roll Pops?  Or are they candied apples?

 

Is this the same lady, and is that one of the same girls?  Check out the dress with the dramatic black-and-white motif, or whatever it is called. "Appliqué"? Perhaps mother and daughter just got done with the final fitting or hemming, and this is the dress-tailoring victory photo op.

Fourteen years earlier, in 1932, Joan Crawford appeared in a film entitled "Letty Linton."  If you can get past her truly scary face you can see the dramatic black-and-white motif of her dress.  So apparently this whole idea was up on the silver screen. You could say it was in the air.

Ah, well, good to know there is someone to run to when the stars and the couture get to be a little too much.  Here's Adam Matynka in his bus-driver uniform, topcoat, and hat.

These mystery people are king of their mountain.

I think this is church camp.  The spectators are surely engrossed.

Wow, Clara's really into it.

These buildings I believe are Camp Merrie Mount, operated by the Parish of St. Luke's.  Perhaps they had a family picnic day.

CHM, CAMZ, Gertrude.

This print keeps popping up.  Well, it's a good one.  Thus endeth the 1946 Snapfolio. See you next time, next decade, next photographer.    Z