My Relation:
He was my Great Grandfather on my paternal side.
Description:
John was tall man of medium weight. At the age of 19 he was 58 inches tall and 176 pounds5. He had blue eyes, light skin, and light brown hair.He was also bilingual in Polish and English.1
Biography:
John A. Kruszynski was born on April 21st 1897 1 to Leon Kruszynski and Rosie Kruszynski. Of their 7 children he was one of the only 3 to survive to adulthood. 2At the age of three he lived with his family in his home at 720 Minnehaha Avenue. On a typical day his father would go to work as a machine operator at a box factory while his mother stayed home to look after him and his little sisters Helen and Katherine.3
Sometime within the next year (when John was 4 years old) the family moved to what would be his home for (aprox) the next 30 years. 558 N Western avenue. In that same year (1901) his little sister Halie was born.4Sadly, Halie would die sometime before the year 1910, the last known record (and only known record) she was a part of was in the year 1905.
John started his first job at the age of 14 on August 9th of 1911. He was a clerk in the Office of the Auditor of Freight Receipts. They were pleased with his services and on October 13 of 1915 they gave him a position as Clerk in the Stationary Department.By the time he became a repair clerk on March 5, 1916 his rate of pay was $40.5
Luckily the Great depression hadn't hit the Kruszynski family as hard as it did many, however it did prevent John from being able to leave his childhood home and from searching for a wife. The financial burden of independence would have been too much. At the age of 32, in 1930, he was still living with his parents.6 In the early 1930s more and more people began to purchase radios.7The Kruszynski family was no different, by 1930 they had purchased a radio for their household.6 Like so many other families at the time, they probably spent evenings sitting in front of the radio, listening intently to FDR's fireside chats for news of an end to the economic turmoil. Or perhaps they tuned in to their favorite programs as a way of cheap entertainment and escape from the outside world. Several years later (the exact date is not known) John married Lillian R. Penas. Together they had 2 daughters: Joan Rose and my grandmother, whose name I won't mention as she is still alive. He died when my grandma was just 15 years old on September 10th of 1957. When I was younger, and she was of sound mind, my grandmother told me some stories about him and what he was like. She said he was a firm, but kind man. He was also a perfectionist and capable of making things and toys for her and Joan. One year he made her a kite. He painstakingly measured each mark to the millimeter over and over until he was sure that it was exactly right, and carefully chiseled each hole making sure it was perfectly sanded and free of splinters. At Christmas time he would put an orange in their stocking, and my grandma and her sister would switch off who would get the privilege to eat the orange and who would get to eat the peel every year. Regardless of which they got they were both happy, as an orange was a rare treat. He was also very strict with food. After living through the great depression, he knew its value and if My grandma or her sister put food on their plates they were expected to eat all of it.
He did, however, have a soft spot for certain things. In his adult life he ran a business. He generated most of his revenue from a slot machine, not because he didn't make any sales, but because people would come with no money but hungry for food and he would let them buy with a promise to pay him back. He never made anyone hold onto that promise, and he didn't expect them to. He just saw other people going through the same hardships and wanted to help them.
Sometime within the next year (when John was 4 years old) the family moved to what would be his home for (aprox) the next 30 years. 558 N Western avenue. In that same year (1901) his little sister Halie was born.4Sadly, Halie would die sometime before the year 1910, the last known record (and only known record) she was a part of was in the year 1905.
John started his first job at the age of 14 on August 9th of 1911. He was a clerk in the Office of the Auditor of Freight Receipts. They were pleased with his services and on October 13 of 1915 they gave him a position as Clerk in the Stationary Department.By the time he became a repair clerk on March 5, 1916 his rate of pay was $40.5
Luckily the Great depression hadn't hit the Kruszynski family as hard as it did many, however it did prevent John from being able to leave his childhood home and from searching for a wife. The financial burden of independence would have been too much. At the age of 32, in 1930, he was still living with his parents.6 In the early 1930s more and more people began to purchase radios.7The Kruszynski family was no different, by 1930 they had purchased a radio for their household.6 Like so many other families at the time, they probably spent evenings sitting in front of the radio, listening intently to FDR's fireside chats for news of an end to the economic turmoil. Or perhaps they tuned in to their favorite programs as a way of cheap entertainment and escape from the outside world. Several years later (the exact date is not known) John married Lillian R. Penas. Together they had 2 daughters: Joan Rose and my grandmother, whose name I won't mention as she is still alive. He died when my grandma was just 15 years old on September 10th of 1957. When I was younger, and she was of sound mind, my grandmother told me some stories about him and what he was like. She said he was a firm, but kind man. He was also a perfectionist and capable of making things and toys for her and Joan. One year he made her a kite. He painstakingly measured each mark to the millimeter over and over until he was sure that it was exactly right, and carefully chiseled each hole making sure it was perfectly sanded and free of splinters. At Christmas time he would put an orange in their stocking, and my grandma and her sister would switch off who would get the privilege to eat the orange and who would get to eat the peel every year. Regardless of which they got they were both happy, as an orange was a rare treat. He was also very strict with food. After living through the great depression, he knew its value and if My grandma or her sister put food on their plates they were expected to eat all of it.
He did, however, have a soft spot for certain things. In his adult life he ran a business. He generated most of his revenue from a slot machine, not because he didn't make any sales, but because people would come with no money but hungry for food and he would let them buy with a promise to pay him back. He never made anyone hold onto that promise, and he didn't expect them to. He just saw other people going through the same hardships and wanted to help them.
1 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918;Registration State: Minnesota; Registration County: Ramsey; Roll: 1682637; Draft Board: 07;Draft Card: K↩
2 Year: 1910; Census Place: St Paul Ward 8, Ramsey, Minnesota; Roll: T624_719; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0115; FHL microfilm: 1374732↩
3 Year: 1900; Census Place: St Paul Ward 8, Ramsey, Minnesota; Roll: 785; Page: 25A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1240785↩
4 Year: 1905; Census Place: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota; Schedule Sheet number: 15; Enumeration District: 35 1/2 ↩
5 Personnel Files, circa 1909–1960s. Personnel Dept. records. Northern Pacific Railway Company records. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota.;Box File Number Range : File Numbers 085691-085840 ↩
6 Year: 1930; Census Place: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota; Roll: 1119; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0112; Image: 860.0; FHL microfilm: 2340854 ↩
7 "Radio 1929-1941." Historic Events for Students: The Great Depression. . Encyclopedia.com. 25 Mar. 2017
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