Dr. Thaddeus “Dr. Ted” Radzilowski is the Co-Founder and President of the Piast Institute here in Hamtramck.

By Alan R. Madeleine

Who he is: Dr. Thaddeus “Dr. Ted” Radzilowski is the Co-Founder and President of the Piast Institute here in Hamtramck. His C.V. is long and distinguished. He holds a Doctorate degree in History from the University of Michigan, and his specialization is Poland and other central and eastern European nations, prominently including Russia.
He has lectured in both Europe and North America, and has published over 100 times, including journal articles, scholarly papers and monographs. He is involved with a number of other organizations, including the University of Michigan (as a Visiting Research Professor) and the Polish National Congress (as the Michigan Director). He is a past president of the Polish American Historical Association, and is on the Editorial Board of the Polish Review.

Radzilowski has served as the acting director of the Immigration Research Center at the University of Minnesota, and, in 1999, was presented with the Cavaliers Cross of the Polish Order of Merit by then Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski for his “distinguished contributions to the dissemination of Polish culture in the world.”
We sent him some questions, and he was kind enough to provide quick and timely responses.

Give us, please, just the briefest background on the Institute, its mission and purpose, and how you, yourself came to be involved with it, for the uninitiated. Is this the only Piast Institute to be found anywhere, or are there others in other cities, states, and/or countries? I see that Piast was the surname of the first Polish dynasty – is there any other significance to the name of the Institute, beyond honoring that heritage?

Dr. Radzilowski: Yes, this is the only Piast Institute in the U.S. We chose the name Piast because we felt that, if we are to tell the Polish story, we should start at the beginning. Piast is the name of the legendary founder of Poland, who gave his name to the first dynasty (ca. 966 ABE to 1385 ABE).

The Piast Institute is a national research, data analysis and policy institute for Polonia — the Polish Community in the U.S. Its key aim is to provide Polonia organizations and institutions with the tools and information they need to accomplish their goals and missions.

We are not in competition with any other Polish organizations. Our mission is unique. In the process, we seek to propagate the Polish Story in Europe and America. We also address, in a distinct way, the issues of the public perception of Poland and Polonia, and anti-defamation. In 2011, we spent three months in negotiation with Yahoo to eliminate words such as “Polish death camps” and “Polish concentration camps” from its stylebook, and to explain the importance of avoiding those words in their training protocols.

Last fall Yahoo, which reaches 345 million people per month, agreed to those requests. During the controversy of Jan Gross’ book “Fear,” we developed a highly acclaimed international symposium on the issue (see http://analysisoffear.com).

Does the Institute keep a regular schedule of events? I didn’t notice any listed under your Facebook page (and congratulations on keeping up a Facebook page, by the way). Do you get many calls or visitors, and if so, what are they usually inquiring of you? Do you maintain any kind of a library, or records library? Do you sponsor, or co-sponsor, other events outside the Institute proper? If so, what sorts of events are they?

Dr. Radzilowski: We sponsor occasional lectures, exhibits, symposia and discussion groups. We have co-sponsored events with the Koscuiszko Foundation, The Polish Consulates General in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles; The Taube Foundation, The Hamtramck Public Library and Michigan State University.

Many of our events take place in New York, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
We have an excellent research and reference library of several thousand books and files on all sorts of issues on which we are doing, or have done, research (about 20 linear feet worth).

We get questions by phone, letter or email several times a day about data, or historical or current information on Poland and Polish American topics.

What’s new with the Institute these days, or what’s being planned, or “in the works,” if anything? Your Facebook page, in addition to stating that you’re a “research service,” also (and primarily) indicates that you are a “market research consultant.” What does that normally entail? That is, what “markets” are people having you research for them, if I may, and what are they then doing with the research results after you provide them back to these clients? I assume that you charge for this service, but perhaps I’m mistaken?

Dr. Radzilowski: In addition to our historical research, we are a national Census Information Center. Also, we do research in a variety of other public and non-proprietary databases.

The CIC, or Census Information Center, is one of our most important and active departments. Among our capabilities and activities, I believe the CIC affords one of the most salient ways we are valuable to the Polish Community. No one knows Polonia as we do, nor has the tools to analyze it that we can deploy.

In 2005, we organized a demographic research center on the Polish-American population within the Piast Institute. In 2006, the center was named an official Census Information Center by the United States Census Bureau, with a special charge to study the Polish American Population. It is one of the 56 CICs in the country, and rated one of the best and most active in the U.S.

The Piast CIC has done a number of major studies, including a demographic profile of Polish Americans in the U.S., state by state, in 2007, which won recognition as one of the best studies of the year done by a CIC. Among our more recent studies is an analysis of the Polish-American vote in the 2008 presidential election, based on a survey of 900 voters and a study of over 60 precincts in six states. The study was commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a follow up to the election study, we did an opinion survey of 1,400 Polonia leaders and activists in 44 states on civic and community involvement, ethnic values and current public issues. It was published as Polish Americans Today in 2010. It has since gone through three printings. Copies were obtained by the Polish Government and distributed to the Presidential Chancery, the heads of all Ministries and the leadership of the Sejm (Poland’s equivalent of our House) and Senate.

The CIC has also done marketing studies for Polish businesses, and area demographic analysis for Polish-American parishes in Detroit, Cleveland, Akron, and Albany. To support its activities, it has also done studies for outside groups.

These include demographic and cultural analyses of ethnic, racial, and religious groups, alcohol abuse, and culture in several Southeast Michigan Counties for agencies which deal with drug and alcohol prevention, and also a study of the characteristics of young women aged 16-21 in three Detroit zip codes who have not completed high school.
We are currently doing an analysis of variable crime rates for Wayne County. We also do surveys on request at the local, as well as the national, level.

We do not usually charge for casual requests for information that take only a short time to answer. For longer and more complex requests, we do charge hourly for our work, but at rates far below normal for profit groups. And, we give a discount to non-profit organizations.

Since the market research we do is proprietary, we are under obligation not to reveal the specific nature of the surveys or the target groups.

The world is changing as we speak, and Europe, or the EU — of which Poland has been a member since 2004 – is already having grave financial problems with some of its member states. Does any of this influence any future plans for you, or the Institute, in terms of any direction you may want the Institute to go in the future, or any further services you may want to start offering to your usership moving forward?

Dr. Radzilowski: Our mission is of serving the Polish-American community. We do not expect, therefore, that the changes in Europe will significantly change what we do. It will mainly require us to keep abreast of the nature and meaning of the changes, so that we can accurately respond to the questions and concerns of the news media, students, Polish community and others we serve.

When that plane went down in Russia on April 10, 2010, that was carrying so many members of Poland’s government and other dignitaries, it must’ve been a shock. Did you have any extra duties or provide any out-of-the-ordinary services, related to that terrible incident?

Dr. Radzilowski: We assumed the task of organizing a memorial for those who had died so tragically. This work was done by Executive Vice President Virginia Skrzyniarz, and Father Bogdan Milosz of Queen of Apostles. Over 300 people attended the memorial service and procession at the City Hall and Father Milosz’s Church. We brought a representative of the Polish Consul General from Chicago to speak.

On a lighter note, do you travel much, to Poland or elsewhere? When was the last time you went to Poland? What in particular do you love about the country itself? What part(s) of the country were your own relatives from? Anywhere in Poland, or elsewhere in the world, that you still hope to get to see?

Dr. Radzilowski: My paternal relatives came from Raciaz, near Plock in central Poland and Poznan in western Poland. My maternal relatives both came from the Jaslo area in southeastern Poland.

I have visited Poland over 20 times. My favorite place (and my favorite city in the whole world) is Krakow. It is a magic place. I was last in Poland three years ago, to give a paper in Lublin at the annual meeting of the World Society for the Study of Religion and Society.

I would love to re-visit Vietnam, where I served as a soldier. My service was with Vietnamese troops and I still mourn, daily, the fate of a Vietnamese soldier, Vu van Cam, who became a dear friend.

Please take time here to add anything you like that I didn’t think to address.

Dr. Radzilowski: I have not spoken much of the work that we do locally with the Hamtramck community through coalitions, such as the Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition and the Hamtramck –Highland Park Lead Abatement Coalition. These coalitions, which we either created and/or led, have contributed immeasurably to the welfare of our community. They are the work of my colleague, Executive Vice President Virginia Skrzyniarz.

In addition to managing the Institute and organizing its activities, she also acts as a consultant on both capacity building and management skills development to Polonia groups, and other local organizations and other ethnic groups.
She has worked with groups in three states. Her experience includes prior service as the executive director of two major non-profit groups in the Detroit area — one of which she founded.
Thanks so much for your time, Dr. Radzilowski.

The Piast Institute is located at 11633 Jos. Campau at Casmere. Their phone number is (313) 733-4535, and they can be emailed at info@piastinstitute.org. They are also to be found on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

Pastor Chilly Chilton knows how to pour a soulful cup of coffee at “Courage Coffee.”

By Alan R. Madeleine

Reverend Chilly Chilton and his “Real Church” are probably well-known to you, if you walk the downtown stretch of Caniff Street east of Jos. Campau.
They’ve been there for over six years, and their boldly lettered sign is a beacon for the many Hamtramck-area teens, and others, who frequent the building. There’s often plenty of activity going on, and everyone is plenty friendly without being too proselytizing.

In the interest of full disclosure, we should mention that we have had a relationship with Real Church over the years, running ads for them, having their kids deliver our city directories, and even letting them park their bus in our yard.
That sign out front has just recently changed – from “Real Church” to “Courage Coffee,” featuring a lion motif, a la “The Chronicles of Narnia” – but their essential mission has not, which we verified when we conversed, by “e-pistle,” if you will, with their head dude, the Reverend “Chilly” Chilton.

So, Reverend – tell us first, if you would, about the changes to this building, both inside and out. I was, of course, in there recently, and it looks like you guys have done a really nice job of turning the place into a legitimate coffee house.

You kind of always had that thing going on, more or less from the beginning, didn’t you? What made you decide to go sort of “whole hog” with the coffeehouse concept?

Chilton: Real Church opened its doors to Hamtramck on Oct.10, 2004. And, when we first opened, we designed a coffee café which we simply referred to as Real Cup. It has always been our desire to have a café that was opened to the community on a more regular basis. At the beginning, we knew the timing was not right to open every day, so we just ran the coffee shop before and after our services.

Then, as we approached 2012, we sensed the time was right to really do something bigger and better. So, we took the step of faith and rebranded Real Cup to Courage Coffee. In taking this step, we determined to try to offer the freshest and most unique coffee in the greater Detroit area. We changed our sign out front from Real Church to Courage Coffee, repainted the entire interior of our building, added new floor paint and epoxy, and purchased unique coffee brewing equipment.

We have heard nothing but great comments about our coffee, café area and customer service. We are designed to offer coffee that is freshly roasted, and from three to four regions of the world. Currently, we have coffee from Rwanda, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Peru and Costa Rica. Our primary brewing method is the V60 Pourover method – which gives the customer a clean, vibrant and tasteful mug of super-fresh coffee. You can also purchase regularly brewed coffee and French-pressed coffee.

We also provide free wifi service, and lots of electric outlets for computers. And our larger space, the Courage Center, is not only the meeting place for Real Church but can also provide space for concerts, large group meetings and other unique gatherings.

You have another location as well for Real Church, do you not? Where is that, and what is the difference now between what goes on at the two buildings? Is Courage Coffee now more of a youth hangout, while the other is more of a standard church-type set up, or else how are the two buildings seen as different in their purposes?

Chilton: Yes, Real Church in One church with Two campuses. Our Detroit campus meets in the Magic Stick (adults) and Garden Bowl (kids) in the Majestic Theater complex right on Woodward Avenue. Our services there are every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Then, we meet in Hamtramck in what we’re now calling the Courage Center (Real Church) on Sundays at 3 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. – kids’ programs and nursery care are provided free at each of these gatherings. Our youth ministry, REPO, has 80+ teens that meet each Friday night in the Courage Center at 7 p.m.

Let me say clearly that yes, we are a church that has many young adults attending, but our focus at both campuses is for people of all ages, and we have ministries geared to every stage of life.

The desire is for Courage Coffee to serve the best coffee, and put courage into every person who walks through our door! We would love to become a unique attraction and coffee experience for metro Detroit. Our style, approach and menu are distinctive — our coffees are amazing – and we believe that we could become a catalyst for bringing more people to Hamtown!

What, if any, sorts of events do you have planned for Courage Coffee, either regularly scheduled ones or special one-off type things? Do you have a person who actively tries to court people to come in and do their things, whatever those may be?

Do you have any restrictions with respect to noise concerns, or can you, for example, book some hard rock act that’s loud? Do these performances always have to talk about religion, or incorporate some of that into their bit?

Chilton: Our initial plans are to simply grow our current customer base during our scheduled hours: Tues-Fri, 8-5; Sat. 10-6. But, our longer range plans are to expand into evening hours, and also do unique concerts and events on Saturday and Sunday nights. The Courage Center (adjacent to Courage Coffee) has a state-of-the-art sound system, video projectors, a full stage and seating for 150-200.

We’re not just another nightclub or bar – and with that said, we’re not just looking to host any band or event. We will purposely look to those (acts) with positive messages, while also aligning with the heart and mission of Real Church and Courage Coffee.

What do you hope do gain from the venture? Do you anticipate opening anything else in the near future, either here or in a different city? If so, what might that be?

Chilton: Three things come to mind: (1) We want you to enjoy one of the freshest, most delicious cups of coffee every time you come to Courage Coffee; (2) We want you to feel encouraged by our staff and atmosphere with each visit. “To encourage” is to “put courage into” – that’s our goal! That you leave feeling appreciated and valued! (3) We want to honor God. Christ gave His very best so that we could experience life. We live by the motto: Excellence honors God and reflects His purpose.

Regarding your question about future endeavors. … Well, we definitely sense a call to encourage, and bring hope to, greater Detroit. We could see Courage Coffee expand to various locations at some point as our church also grows its influence. Simply, we want to know God, and make Him known to others.

Tell us a little about yourself, and your association, and involvement, with Real Church. Did you found it, or help found it? How long have you been a part of things here? What things do you directly run from week-to-week here at Courage Coffee and Real Church?

Chilton: Yes, I am the founder and lead pastor of Real Church (both here in Hamtramck, as well as in Detroit). My family and I moved to this area in June of 2004 with eight young adults assisting us. By October of that year, we had opened Real Church in Hamtramck. We then expanded our church to two campuses, by opening our Detroit campus in January 2010.

A hallmark of our church is that we are more REAL outside the church walls than we are on the inside. So, we are very involved in EVERY event we can find in our community. We’ve been allies to the parks programs, housing projects, and needs brought to our attention through our mayor, police or fellow citizens.

My personal involvement each week is: (1) To be lead pastor at both campuses. I speak on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. The message is also podcasted via iTunes, and downloaded by 500+ people each weekend; (2) I am manager of Courage Coffee, and oversee all aspects of its operations. I work the counter 20+ hours each week; (3) I am youth pastor for REPO (the student outreach in Hamtramck) on Friday nights. I oversee this ministry and speak most weeks; (4) I run a post-high school internship program for students interested in ministry. We currently have 14 students from five different states.

Note: I could not do any of these things without the amazing volunteers that serve our church and community. I do not have any paid staff or assistance. We are a missions-supported, non-profit, outreach to metro Detroit. We have people who have specifically moved to Detroit, Hamtramck and other communities and then found employment, all so that they can be involved in our outreach ministries. How cool is that?

Lastly, would you say this (the coffeehouse) has helped attract more young people to your church? Guessing that the answer will be yes, what sorts of activities do they get involved in?

Chilton: I think what makes us so appealing to youth and young adults is that we value them, and give them areas to lead and serve. We revel in the laughter of children, and see beyond rough exteriors to the amazing hearts of teens. And, our church in many areas is led by young adults. We respect them, and give them an environment to grow socially, spiritually and mentally.

Yes, we have a lot of young people, but we also have a lot of “young-at-heart” people. Listen, if you have a pulse, then you have a purpose. We want to help you discover what that is, and watch you experience the joy of serving others and experiencing God.

Feel free to talk about anything else briefly that I didn’t cover.

Chilton: God’s love can be experienced in all kinds of forms: outreaches, church services, community clean-up projects, ministering to the homeless, mentoring kids, concerts and, yes, even in a cup of coffee!

The Bible says, “Be strong & courageous” – we’re doing this in church, community and coffee.

Courage Coffee is located at 2950 Caniff, on the south side of the street, more or less across from the Hamtramck Post Office. Their phone number is (313) 875-7325. Visit their website: http://CourageCoffee.com, and follow them on twitter: @CourageBrewBar.

Hamtramck's ethnic makeup continues to change.

By Alan R. Madeleine

Is Hamtramck still Michigan’s “Little Poland”?

Or does it seem like it’s becoming “Asia West”? Or some combination of both?

The raw data is a bit sketchy, particularly with regard to Hamtramck’s burgeoning Bangladeshi population, according to Piast Institute Director Dr. Thaddeus “Ted” Radzilowski, the noted local ethnologist.

“They (the Bangladeshis) prefer to classify themselves as ‘Asian-Indian,’ typically, on the census” said Radzilowski. As such, the Asian population comes in at 21.5 percent overall, or approximately 4,500 persons out of Hamtramck’s total population of 22,423.

The trick is, the way the census is constructed, people of Arabic descent fall under the “white” designation, even though their countries are in Asia. Hamtramck has a substantial Chaldean population (referring today, essentially, to those Catholic former Iraqis), and a growing Yemeni population.

The Polish population, meanwhile, currently stands at between 15 and 16 percent. At the time of the 1990 census, Radzilowski said, people who claimed Polish heritage comprised 45 percent of Hamtramck’s population.

By the 2000 census, however – despite Hamtramck having an overall population resurgence of about 4,600 people, for a whopping gain of 25 percent – the Polish population had nearly halved, to 23 percent.

“It’s not that they’ve been leaving,” Radzilowski explained. “Those who were going to leave, for the most part, got out 25 years ago. It’s that the population is aging. They’re dying off.”

In fact, he said, there has been a slight uptick in the number of younger Polish-heritage families moving back into town, Radzilowski noted.

Asked whether he felt the population of Poles would eventually dwindle down to next-to nothing, he made an interesting observation.

“There’s no reason (Hamtramck) wouldn’t remain a center of Polonia,” he said, “for 10, maybe 15 more years, at least. That’s because they have a presence here – houses of worship, fraternal halls, grocery and specialty stores.”

He drew an analogy to the Little Italy neighborhood in south Manhattan, which, while now absorbed geographically into Chinatown, still retains its separate, well-known identity.

By contrast the Albanians, for example, moved through Hamtramck relatively quickly, and migrated up into Macomb and Oakland counties where they built their churches and halls.

Radzilowski also mentioned the growing African-American populace, which, with 4,317 people tallied here in Hamtown, puts them at about 19.1 percent.

He also said that, while there are a few Serbs and Croats here, the primary ethnic group from the old Yugoslavian breakup is the Bosnian Muslim contingent, currently numbering about 2,000 persons and gaining.

“They’ve built a number of things here, now,” Radzilowski said of the Bosnian faction.

There may be fewer Polish folks living here today, and there might be some of you who feel like the city just wouldn’t be the same “without being so Polish.”

But remember, even the city’s name, which many assume to be Polish, is in fact not: rather, it comes from the surname of an old French general.

The point is, there’ll almost certainly be a Hamtramck.

Even if the face it presents to the world is always changing.

By Greg Kowalski

Christmas 75 years ago was surprisingly similar to Christmas today.

The world was in a simmering turmoil, with people looking at a growing enemy threat overseas. And, at home, the nation was slowly crawling out of the depths of an economic disaster.

The Great Depression was worse than anything we have experienced today, but so many of the problems of then still sound similar: Families losing their homes to foreclosure, people desperately seeking help through public assistance, and everyone being concerned about the high costs of just about everything.

But then, like now, there were signs of hope.

The New Deal newspaper on Dec. 23, 1936, captured the feeling well with a front page story under a banner headline: “Santa All Ready to Give City a Grand Christmas.”

The story related: “Greater Hamtramck had to play the true part of the good sport in a couple of lean years of the depression. Many of us cheerily wished everyone we met a ‘Merry Christmas’ when we ourselves looked forward to a depression Christmas. Now we have come to a time when our confidence has returned, when we are all reasonably sure of the future.”

Maybe it was a little too optimistic. In 1936 the Great Depression was easing, but far from over. It wouldn’t finally let go until World War II forcibly brought it to an end.

But you could hardly fault the paper and the people for putting on a happy face at Christmas.

The Great Depression had been brutal, especially in Hamtramck. Most city residents at the time worked at Dodge Main, Ford, or at the many factories that fed the auto plants. Those jobs evaporated when the auto industry withered in the Depression. Hamtramck’s unemployment rate in the early 1930s was somewhere near 60 percent.

By Christmas 1936, there were signs that the situation was improving.

Auto production was up. Stores were reporting increased sales and, in a backwards way, even the crime rate showed things were getting better. In mid-December, the police announced they were assigning a dozen extra officers to patrol Jos. Campau to protect against shoplifters and thieves who stole merchandise from inside parked cars.
The bottom line was that people were spending money again.

And giving.

Hamtramck had a long reputation for being a caring community. This was shown again that year with the annual Goodfellows newspaper drive. Then, as now, the Goodfellows sold newspapers to raise money to buy gifts for children at Christmas.

The 1936 Goodfellow drive saw 15,000 copies sold and raised $4,500. That was enough to provide 1,000 gifts for poor kids.
That total included $1,024 in sales generated by Mayor Rudolph Tenerowicz.

Tenerowicz, by the way, was in the midst of a personal scandal, and the New Deal issue that carried the report of his stellar Goodfellow performance also carried the lurid details of his messy and scandalous divorce.

But this was the season of giving, not gossip, and most attention was focused on the holidays.

The New Deal itself was bursting with Christmas ads. Brawer’s dime store advertised “Gifts for Women” (sheepskin slippers – $1.98); “Gifts for Men” (genuine leather belts – 50 cents); “Gifts for Home” (bathroom scales – $2.50); “Gifts for Boys” (cowboy suit with genuine leather chaps – $1.98); “Gifts for Girls (manicure sets – 25 cents); “Gifts for Girlfriend” (5-pound box of chocolates – 97 cents); “Gifts for Boyfriend (spats – 79 cents).

Incidentally, dill pickles were 13 cents a jar.

All over town, clubs and groups were holding parties. The Junior Study Club, the Metropolitan Ladies Auxiliary, Tau Beta and many other organizations were getting into the Christmas spirit with parties, usually held to raise money for the needy.

Most folks went to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, or to services on Christmas Day. After that they spent the day pretty much as we will this year.

Leona Pilaski’s “Across the Table” social column related that “Mr. and Mrs. William Beltz will spend the day at their own home on Hewitt Ave., playing Santa to their two sons, Freddie and Billy. Not that either of them believe in him. Later in the day they will visit Mrs. Beltz’s mother.”

Sound familiar?

Enjoy your Christmas today — just like they did then.

Greg Kowalski is chairman of the Hamtramck Historical Commission.

By Charles Sercombe

Is Hamtramck indeed “Rat City”?

Well, brace yourselves. According to a poll of 200 Detroit area residents, Hamtramck is the fourth “rattiest” neighborhood in the area.

The poll was conducted by a private company hired by the d-CON company, which sells rodent control products.

The most rat-infested area is the Cass Corridor, according to the poll, which, let’s face it, is a way for the company to sell more of its products.

But, Hamtramck indeed has had its battles with Rattus norvegicus (the scientific name for the most common species of rat, the brown rat).

The worst infestation in recent memory was probably the late 1990s and early 2000s when city sanitation workers went on a work slowdown over a labor dispute with then mayor Gary Zych, and then later with Lou Schimmel, who was appointed the city’s emergency financial manager.

The infestation was also blamed on residents who threw open garbage into the alleys, or placed plastic bags out in the open for the rats to chew through. The problem was put under control when the city issued garbage cans with secure lids to every household.

Still, there are some alleys with garbage piled up outside of cans, or overflowing from the cans.

All of this reminds us of one of our favorite jokes about rats, authored by Detroit-born comedian and actress, Lily Tomlin:

“The problem with winning the rat race is, you’re still a rat.”

Frank and Camille Stock

Between the Lines is a column that looks at the story behind the stories and people we come across.

By Charles Sercombe

We zig, we zag.

Turn left, turn right.

What are the reasons we go this way instead of that way on the road of life? Ah, that’s one of the mysteries of the ages.

Especially when it comes to love and marriage.

You know how they say it’s a small world?

Well, as everyone knows here, Hamtramck is so, so much smaller. Plenty of folks have met here and married, and gone on to see their children repeat the cycle.

But things like this sometimes take a long and twisting path – even here in a small town.

Let’s look at the story of Frank and Camille Stock. I had the honor of interviewing Frank and Camille this week. Normally, when you interview folks you get a lot of information. Unfortunately, as interesting as that information is, it’s sometimes not relevant to the main story, and thus remains in my notebook.

I couldn’t pass up telling you about the bits and pieces I picked up on how this couple came to meet and marry. It’s not the complete story, but here it is nonetheless.

Frank, who just turned 90, survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago come this Dec. 7. The Day of Infamy, FDR famously called it.

We have a story about his experience in this issue. Frank was right there at the beginning of the attack.

It’s an amazing story.

But just as amazing, is how he met and later married his wife Camille – who just might be the sweetest woman in Hamtramck – or at the very least on Whalen St. where she and Frank live because there are so many sweet and endearing women in this town.

Let’s start at the beginning — as Frank and Camille recall it.

They actually grew up living next to each other for a period. Frank was eight years older than Camille. When they were kids, Camille said, Frank would tease her because she would only speak Polish.

“My mother would get so mad at him,” she said. “Tears would be running down from my eyes.”

Frank laughs about it.

“Frank, do you still tease her?” I asked.

“Oh no, I learned my lesson,” he said.

Well, years went on, and they went their separate ways. Frank enlisted in the Navy the day after graduating from Hamtramck High School in June of 1940. He was 19 years old, and he figured the country was going to war anyway, since France and England were under attack from Germany. He figured he might as well choose which branch of the military to go into before being drafted.

Frank saw photos of the dead and maimed soldiers who went through trench warfare in World War I, and he decided that being on the water was better than being on the ground.

Boy, was he in for a surprise when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.

Let’s face it, war is hell no matter where you are: on the land, on the sea or in the sky.

Flash forward to after the war. Frank amazingly — even statistically-speaking — survived from the very beginning to the very end of the war, with no injuries.

Go calculate the chances of that happening. It’s off the charts.

Since Frank enlisted before the country went to war, he had agreed to sign up for six years. The war “only” lasted for five years.

After the war, he was transferred to Washington D.C., and worked for the Navy in a machine shop. Then, after getting out of the Navy he went to work at a factory. He stayed out there for a year or more.

But then, he decided to come on home.

His dad had been a police officer in the Hamtramck Police Department. Frank decided to give it a try and applied for a job there as well as the Fire Department. He got the police job.

This moment is a key zig in the zig-zag of Frank and Camille’s life.

As a patrolman, Frank was paired up with Camille’s father. Whenever they came across an injured person, or suffered an injury themselves, they would go to Hamtramck’s St. Francis Hospital.

(The hospital is now Hamtramck City Hall.)

At the hospital, Camille was a nurse. The former neighbors met yet again.

And there you have it. A Hamtramck romance and marriage are born.

And Frank? He went all the way around the world, only to find the gal he would later marry and raise a family with had lived right next door all along.

By Charles Sercombe

The paper you are holding today is extra special.

Special in the sense that, if you purchased it from a Hamtramck Goodfellows standing on a street corner Friday, that money goes directly to thousands of needy folks living here.

Every year the Goodfellows hold a newspaper drive to raise money, which is then used to purchase food coupons. The coupons go into the hands of low-income families and individuals.

Those coupons are then redeemed at A & C Market, where they can purchase a nice holiday meal to prepare at home.
Some years, the Goodfellows have to dip into their savings to make sure everyone gets a food certificate.

It’s no secret that the past few years have been a struggle to come up with the approximate $7,000 needed to fund the food drive each holiday season. Given the economic free-fall the Detroit area has been experiencing, this year won’t be easy either.

Despite the economic hardship, Hamtramck can always count on its residents to help each other out. We did it in the Great Depression of the 1930s, and we can do it now in what’s being called the Great Recession.
We are survivors. We care about our neighbors. We give. We help. We donate.

No questions asked, Hamtramck is there for you. The best buddy you can have.

If you didn’t buy this paper from a Goodfellows this week, you can still contribute to their effort. It’s as easy as making out a check or visiting the Treasurer’s Office in City Hall.

To donate by check, make it out to: “Hamtramck Goodfellows” and mail it to the City of Hamtramck, Treasury Office, 3401 Evaline, Hamtramck, MI 48212.”

Want to help out, need more information, or want to apply for a food coupon? If so, give the group’s Chairman, Mike Wilk, a call at (313) 365-9600 or Co-Chair Chris Cornwell at (313) 330-9700.

Applications for a food coupon are available at the fire station and Treasury Office in City Hall.

By Alan R. Madeleine

Nothing warms you during winter like a nice healthy glow.

And we know where you can get one.

No, not the bar on the corner. Or the party store on the opposite corner. Note that we said “healthy glow.”
This time we’re talking good, clean family fun. Fun that will be over, well, before most of you other unhealthy-glow types will even be out of bed.

It’s the Hamtramck Recreation Department’s 15th annual Winter Glow, that’s what, and it’s happening tomorrow, Sat., Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. only. So get your snow shoes on (we don’t know why), and head on over to Hamtramck High School’s Community Center (that’s the brown-brick building just south of the school itself, at 11350 Charest between Casmere and Caniff) for your glow.

The very best part? Everything is free!

The Winter Glow program actually immediately follows the popular Santa Breakfast in the same building. The Santa Breakfast is held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (or, as the Fall/Winter brochure warns, “until food is gone”), and is for residents 10 and younger who are accompanied by at least one parent or guardian.

You were supposed to have bought your tickets for the Santa Breakfast in advance by this past Wednesday, as they don’t sell them at the door (but keep reading).

The cost is $3 per kid, and $5 for each parent. You might still be able to get them today, Friday, Dec. 2, as they still had a few left over. Call (313) 892-2635.

Bring your own camera if you want a picture of your kid with Old St. Nick.

And just what does the Winter Glow itself have for you this year?

Well, since the outside temperature during last year’s Glow was so cold, the outdoor activities suffered a bit, and therefore there’s a bit less of those type of things. But, fret not — they’ve arranged a bit more to do indoors, to compensate.

There will still be horse-drawn carriage rides through town for the hardier among you to enjoy, as well as ice sculpting.

Indoors, you will find a couple of inflatable jumper moon walks, as well as the requisite hot cocoa and cookies. Santa will show up here too, so don’t feel like your child will miss out if you can’t make it to the Santa Breakfast. He’ll give kids 12 and under a goodie bag.

No, not that kind of goodie bag. Seriously, you people!

Kids can also get temporary glitter tattoos, or work on some other crafts alongside volunteers from the Library and the Recreation Department.

On a more serious note, kids can also make a Christmas card to send to an overseas soldier, or compose a letter to Santa, which will benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation (with the help of Macy’s). Also, if you bring two boxed or canned goods, you’ll be entered in a special prize raffle. Gently used winter coats, hats and gloves that you donate will go to the Children’s Center of Detroit.

In short, a good time — snow, rain or shine, indoors or out — should be had by all!

We like it!

Call Teresa Graves at the Rec Dept. during business hours for more info, at (313) 892-2638.

War was on the horizon in November, 1940, as the people of Hamtramck were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. Of course, the whole nation looked ahead with apprehension as the situation deteriorated in Europe.

But Hamtramckans had a special feeling for the events happening overseas.

Just little more than a year before, many had watched their relatives come under the heels of the Nazis, who had invaded Poland in 1939. And just weeks after that happened, the country was hit again by an invasion of Russians from the eastern side of the border.

At home, the nation was still struggling to shake off the effects of the Great Depression, which like a lingering disease only slowly gave in to a long series of treatments.

So with the nation poised on the brink of war, and worries persisting of what to put on the table, Hamtramckans faced Thanksgiving in 1940 cautiously.

That year, President Franklin Roosevelt moved up the holiday, which traditionally has been celebrated on the last Thursday of November, to the prior Thursday, Nov. 21. The intent was to give businesses a break by adding an extra week to the holiday shopping season which then, as now, began on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

But there were other things to concern the people. Another sign of the coming war was that the first national draft had just been held. Although notices were sent out, no one from Hamtramck was drafted, as 17 young men volunteered for service, filling the city’s quota. The holiday also marked the start of the annual Christmas Seal drive to raise money to fight tuberculosis.

And there was some good news. Turkeys were plentiful that year, and at a slightly lower price than the previous year.

Didn’t want to buy a bird? Well, you could shoot your own at the Turkey Shoot and Feather Party being held by the Wayne Sportsmen at their rifle range near 15 mile Road and Van Dyke. Admission was only 10 cents, and guns were furnished.

That wasn’t the only good deal in town. If you bought a living room suite for $39.50 at Bell Furniture on Jos. Campau and Belmont, you’d get a free turkey. And a wide variety of businesses in town were taking part in the Christmas Money shoppers’ program. For every 10 cents of items you purchased at a participating store you’d get a stamp to paste in a book. A filled book was worth $2.50, and you could use the discount at stores ranging from Respondek’s Drugs to Kukawski’s Fashion Shop.

Even Bell Telephone had a Thanksgiving special From 7 p.m. Wednesday to 4 a.m. Friday. That’s when Sunday rates were in effect. That meant you could call Grand Rapids for only 50 cents for three minutes. Kalamazoo was a mere 45 cents for three minutes and even distant Marquette was only 90 cents.

But even so, a sense of unease pervaded everything.

Mayor Walter Kanar, who was not known as a stirring orator, still managed to capture the feeling of the time.

He said:

“I believe that this year especially we have good reason to be grateful and count our blessings, when we compare our peaceful lives and return to prosperity with the suffering, misery and hunger which exists abroad as the result of the greed and schemes of the dictators which rule the countries.

“I believe that we should realize that the many privileges and comforts which we enjoy are the direct result of the form of democratic government which we have and do our utmost to protect and safeguard the principles on which that government is founded by uniting solidly behind our flag, and not allow minor differences and petty ambitions to cause any rift in our united front.”

As we approach this Thanksgiving his words still seem perceptive some 71 years later.

By Alan R. Madeleine

Who she is … Roxann Lee-Fiorello Busch is a former Hamtramck native, now living in Duisburg, Germany, who has just self-published her first novel, entitled “The Christmas Angel.”

A 1989 grad of Hamtramck High, she attended Northern Michigan University and then Wayne State University as well. She also worked at Detroit Edison and Thyssen Steel here in the area before marrying and relocating.

(Full disclosure: Our publisher apparently knows her stepfather, and possibly her mother too. Walt Disney was right: It’s a small world, after all.)

Is this the first book you’ve written? How long ago did you start work on it? When did you finish it (or the first draft, if you had multiple drafts)?

Busch: “The Christmas Angel” is my second completed novel, but the first that I (have) published. I started writing at the point that I decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I finished the book already two years ago, but since I was actively involved at the school the kids attend, I wasn’t able to spend the necessary time on editing / publishing, etc.

Earlier this year, I asked a friend to help me pull the book together so that I could do something before Christmas. While she was busy doing the best editing job she could, I started looking (on) the Internet for possible publishing houses. That was a disaster, because almost every good fit for my book wasn’t accepting manuscripts.

My friend finished her edits in July and I finished mine in October (remember I am playing mom in between writing). It was then that I decided to self-publish to finally get this moving along. Then I found Createspace.com, and decided to give it a shot.

Is it based on anything true-to-life? Or, where did you get the idea for the book? Did you outline the story first, and then fill it in? Or, come up with the beginning, or the ending, or for that matter the middle first, and then work out from there?

Busch: The novel itself is fiction, but the events that happen (besides Angel becoming a permanent fixture in Kersten’s life) within the book are very true to life. Many times we sail through life, thinking only about ourselves and forgetting about the things that are truly important. “The Christmas Angel” is a strong reminder of where our focus should be.

It is also important to say that I am a Christian with strong beliefs. I live in a world full of turmoil and I want peace. The idea for the book is based on Christian morals, even when Kersten, the main character, doesn’t always behave as a Christian should.

With that said, I can say that, yes, I did outline the book from beginning to end and I pretty much stayed with the story line. I didn’t budge on the story content when we started to edit.

Other than your editor friend, who did you show it to first after it was completed? What were the first comments you got from people in general?

Busch: My mother was the first person to read the book. She happened to be in Germany at the time of completing the first edit, and had the honors. She loved it, but of course, like all mothers, she is probably my biggest fan – even before I wrote a book.

Until now, I know several people who have read the book, and the comments have been rather positive. Even my stepfather read it, and loved the story. That was a very big compliment.

So you self-published through something called Createspace.com – can you describe that process? What were their comments, or what was their advice?

Busch: Like I said already, getting a publishing house to look at it was nearly impossible because they weren’t accepting manuscripts. I did go to one publishing house in Germany which accepts English books. They asked for the manuscript, but then decided it wasn’t their genre. And then I continued to be a mom, and the time slipped away.