29 Aug 1943, Parris Island, South Carolina

RESEARCH NOTES:

• SWAK was often written on letters, it meant "Sealed with a kiss."
• Edith FOLEY’s 48th birthday was August 22. 
• "Under the seven-week schedule, recruits spent three weeks in the recruit depot, two weeks at the range, and the rest of boot camp back at the depot. Through more efficient time management, the seven-week schedule was improved in 1942 and 1943 to add 25% more instruction in core subjects.” (Ref: http://www.ww2gyrene.org/boot_camp.htm) On this date, Bill had not done the rifle range yet.

22 Aug 1943, Parris Island, South Carolina

RESEARCH NOTES

William SIM was the eldest son of George SIM and Edna OTWELL of Buffalo, NY.  He was drafted into the Army in 1943 at age 18 and was soon assigned to the Marines.

Bill SIM, 1945

From the Collection of Delores S.

In August 1943, 19 year old cousin Dorothy was single and living with her parents on Potomac Avenue in Buffalo. She was the only child of George's sister Edith SIM-FOLEY and her husband Gene FOLEY. Dorothy was attending Buffalo State Teachers College and soon began “practice teaching”. By the end of the war, she obtained her teaching degree and taught Social Studies in Buffalo public schools. After the war, she continued with her career and married Ted KUMROW and they had 2 children.

Dorothy FOLEY

Photo curtesy of cousin Mary Ellen F.

Parris Island is a Marine recruit training depot that is still active today. “Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island” is an 8,095 acres military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately 5 miles south of Beaufort. From 1941 through 1945, the Marines trained 204,509 recruits there.

“Uncle Gene” was Edith SIM’s husband and Dorothy’s father Eli Eugene FOLEY.

Edith and Eli FOLEY

09 Dec 1937_part 2, Poland

Dear Uncle!

Few month from now will be two years when you were here and I didn’t write a one letter. I’m very sorry about that.

Here all is the same. Thanks to God everybody is in good health. Sometimes Mommy has some health problem but thankfully this happens rarely. I’m studying a lot now for my final high school exam in May. So when you come in June as I assume, I will be done and will be qualified as adult.

I’m curious if you are listening a radio station that is directed to polish emigrants in different countries.

I would be very happy if your sons would write to me about their life in school, about sports that they play. I may not be familiar with all the types of sports, because America is different than Europe.

This is all I have, sending you, aunt, Jasia and your sons much kisses and hugs and I will be awaiting your visit in the summer.

Wladek

NOTES:

• Wladek STOBIECKI was the nephew of John BINIEWSKI, son of John's sister Wtadestawa.
• Sadly, this is the last letter we have prior to the Nazi invasion of 1939.  We will have more letters from Poland after the war.  The next blog entry will begin our "Letters From Our Fathers" collection that was shared by email several years ago.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter and to my friend Ela N. for translating it.

09 Dec 1937_part 1, Poland

Hanka STOBIECKI-HUBER

9 December, 1937

My dear Uncle!

Finally I got to write this letter. I procrastinated for days in hope that I will have more new information that would be good to pass to our dear family in America.

I will start from the news that was bothering me the most. You remember when my parents complained that I’m lazy, I don’t do much and don’t do well in school. This year I really shown them what I can do. From the beginning of this year (this is my 8th grade and last) I had only good grades (no grade “2” which here is the worst grade). I will graduate in May. This is great!

Now I will talk about another thing, but I don’t know you uncle will be happy about. I’m getting married! I will marry somebody who you know. We know each other for 5 years and now is time to tie the knot. I would like if you uncle could come to Poland this year. I would be happy to have all family together in this day. We don’t have here anybody else. Yes, there is Grandma and Basia but they typically don’t come to anything. Maybe you could bring auntie and Janeczka.

Janeczka, how you doing in school, do you plan to come to Warszawa to study here in college?

When I finish high school I need to start working, because my Henio don’t make too much money and we would be poor. However we will do what is right for us.

Uncle, what about the seeds? I hope that polish flowers will grow in America.

About the family photo - you all look “first class”. Auntie looks so good. My mother is fit like Janeczka. The boy looks like movie star. Beautiful! I think that he has black eyes, what is very rare in our family. I was dreaming about a husband with black eyes, but this didn’t happen.

In the meantime I’m done and I’m sending warm hugs and kisses to you and your family for Christmas and New Year.

Your dear niece, Hanka

NOTES:

• Hanka was John BINIEWSKI's niece.  Her mother was Wtadastawa BIENIECKA-STOBIECKA.
• According to her gravestone, Hanka was born in 1916.  She was 21 years old when writing this letter.
• Hanka married Dr. Henry HUBER.  They had 2 children and ended up immigrating to the US.  Hanka was later known as Cecelia HUBER.
• Basia mentioned in this letter is her first cousin Barbara, daughter of John's sister Stacia.  Barbara lived with her grandparents after Stacia passed away.
• Janeczka is a version of Janina, the name of John's eldest daughter, Jean BINIEWSKI-WOODS.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter, cousin Andy H. for sharing the photo and to my friend Ela N. for translating the letter.

05 Dec 1937, Poland



BIENIECKI Family about 1911. 
Wtadestawa is one of the young girls.



5 December 1937

Dear brother!

I’m very sad that I didn’t have any letter from you for very long time. Why are you forgetting about your sister, when we promised to write to each other. Don’t think that I don’t answer to your letters, as I always responded to each of them. Our mother told me that you said that I don’t answer your letters. But the truth is that I did respond to each of your letters. Maybe we just don’t write often enough to each other, so forgive me.

I would like to get at letter from you every day, and I’m waiting always, but the letter is not coming. So my dear brother, what do you think about that. You probably think that I’m not good person, that I don’t care to write. I would write every day, but when I’m ready to start, Hanka says “mom, just wait and I will write letter too”. However she puts this away for some time, and time is passing by. The letter was not sent and that is the fact. So today I decided to write and not put it away anymore.

I must tell you that next time when you come the train is coming all the way to Rypin. This happened in fall of this year. So now you can get directly by train to Rypin and you don’t have to change to take a bus from Brodnica or Sierpiec.

Because of that Rypin is growing and is not a little hole on the earth anymore. I plan to travel to visit Mom during the holidays. She does not feel good anymore, she does not sit on the chair anymore, only is staying in bed. This makes me sad to see her this way, and it breaks my heart to see how hard this is for her. I have very bad headaches, I’m stressed out because my responsibilities at home don’t allow me to be with Mom and help her. So this makes me think “It is worth to have kids?” The same will happen to us probably. Believe me, I love our mommy so much and I feel for her situation. My life is hard too and I feel the weight of work and responsibilities. Life is like that. The responsibility for taking care of the parents is passed from generation to generation. In this situation the most hurt are the parents. I hope that we will be in a better situation.

John, I wonder if you will come to us this year. Please write to me about that. We all are waiting for you. Write a long letter to me. Now I’m sending hugs and kisses to you all and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas Holidays.

P.S.

Dear Pela!

Please write few words together with John, because when I sent few words to you, I didn’t get any word back. I would like to know you better and hope we could be close. You have a beautiful kids, especially one of your sons.

Please write right away and hope to see you soon my sister.

Wtadestawa

NOTES:

• Wtadastawa BIENIECKI-STOBIECKI was John BINIEWSKI's sister, born in 1884.  She married Leon STOBIECKI and had 2 children: daughter, Hanka, and a son, Wladek.  She died after 1980.
• Daughter Hanka married Dr. Henry HUBER and immigrated to the US much later.
• Pela is short for Pelagia, John's wife.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter and to my friend Ela N. for translating the letter.

23 Jun 1937, Poland

Wincenty BIENIECKI

23 June 1937

Dear John,

Why you don’t write?  Did you forget about us?

Here all is as always.  Finally we have vacation and we will relax.  Last time we had very hot weather.  Do you also have drought?  Here all wheat fields are burned.  Look like wheat and hay will be very expensive.  We had a light rain, so maybe we will have some potatoes to eat.

We hope that you will receive this letter in July.  Tomorrow is your name day, so we wish you all the best in your life, may all your dreams come true, enjoy your kids.  Your God-child is a good boy, he has already 5 teeth, but I’m still waiting for him to start walking.  Please send letter to us and tell us how are you doing, how is your business going, if the strikes and other protests area impacting your business?

John, I have to tell you that you gave a lot of headaches to Ms. BRZOZOWSKA – you know, that short and fat lady that was visiting me in the hospital?  You recommended her some stuff for birth-control – sponge.  She totally believed you and used it a month after you left, her husband came back from military, she was using this, but it didn’t help and she had to do abortion.  This cost 60 zlotych.  She said that you were lucky that you left already, because she would pull all your hair for this.

We had a good laugh about her reaction, and her husband as well.

We are sending your few pictures of our little one and please don’t forget about us.

We are sending hugs and kisses to you, your wife and your children.

Dusia is kissing your hand and is asking when you will visit again.

Janka and Witek

NOTES:

• The protests mentioned in paragraph three were likely labor strikes of 1937.  In Buffalo, both the steel workers and trucking workers went on strike.
• After WWI, Poland enacted compulsory education for children between 7 and 14.  By 1939, over 90% of Poland's children attended school due mostly because of the reforms enacted on the education system.  As a career educator, Wincenty BIENIECKI was a school teacher, inspector, director and superintendent.  He won a prestigious award for his life long work in education.  This is documented on his gravestone.
• Wincenty died at age 92 in 1995.

Gravstone photo from cousin Krystof S.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter, cousin Krystof S. for sharing the photo and to my friend Ela N. for translating the letter.

09 Nov 1936_part 2, Poland

Barbara and her husband
From cousin Krystof S.

My dear uncle!

It is very quiet and sad time after you left. Still we can’t accept that our visit is over. You always made us laugh and now there is nobody to tease me and put the ashes into matches. Oh my uncle. You really teased us with that, and then you were gone back to America. Uncle, did you see Miss Lipska at the sea. She sent a card and described herself in details so you could know more about her. The card came late and you were already gone, so I kept the card.

Uncle, I write about what Grandma said about Aunt Helena, that she is dead. Gramma does not believe that she would not write to her mother when she was that caring daughter.

Uncle, I’m inviting you to my wedding, as I have a boyfriend now. His first visit was on November 8^th, I don’t know how all will be later with him. He is a woodworker. He is handsome and very nice. I will wait with my wedding when you can come, because I’m still young and not in hurry.

I will be ending all my “stuff” so you don’t get bored. 

Kissing your hands.

Good bye. Basia

NOTES:

• This letter was written by Barbara NIEDBALSKA, John BINIEWSKI's niece.  She was the daughter of his sister Stacia.  Stacia died in 1931 and had only one child.  Barbara lived with her grandmother after her mother's death.
• The translator felt that they did not believe Helen was dead, only that they felt she could be because of the lack of letters.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter, cousin Krystof S. for sharing the photo and to my friend Ela N. for translating the letter.

09 Nov 1936_part 1, Poland

Emelia Julia WITKOWSKA-BIENIECKA

 Rypin, 9 - November - 1936.

My dear son and daughter in law!

I received the letter, and it gives me a real joy knowing that God helped you to get safely back home to your family.

Dear son, how empty our home feels without you. I had you all together and was this time was a great joy for me. But now all is over. What joy is for a Mother to welcome kids in the morning with “good morning” and at the evening to say “good night” especially, that I didn’t see you for long time and didn’t expect your visit.

About Helena, if her mother don’t deserve to be remembered, I can’t feel bad about that.  I’m not going to beg for her respect. I wonder what was the reason that she changed her mind about her mother, that she loved so much as per her letters. Wladzia and Wicus asked if you were at my good bye celebration. Wicus sent a photo from the baptism and you all look so beautiful. Jaska is glad that your godchild is so good and easy going and we think that he has it after his godfather. My health is not improving, but is getting worst.

How is everything going with you my son, how is your health, how is your wife and children?

I will be waiting for information from you.

I send kisses to you my dear son and to your family.

Always in my heart, Mama.

P.S. We think about you and love you every day my son and I kiss at least your photo.

 NOTES

• Emelia (or Amelia) was John BINIEWSKI's mother, born Emelia Julia WITKOWSKA in 1867 Rypin, Poland.  She was 69 years old when she wrote this letter.  The letter was written on personal stationary (see photo). Learn more about Emelia's life on my Wikitree.

Note Letterhead





 

• In following letters, we find out that Amelia becomes bed ridden soon after this letter.  She died in 1944 at age 88.
• Emilia's husband was Franciszek BIENIECKI.  He died before 1936.  Franciszek had owned a large tannery.   Pelts were purchased during slaughter season. The leather was made and cut for carriage/wagon seats and shoes.
• Daughter Helena mentioned in this letter is Helen RUSSAK.  She also lived in the US.  Helen had sliced her toe while breaking ice with a shovel.  An infection resulted in her loosing her leg.  Could this be why she was no longer writing to her mother?

Helen and Valerian RUSSAK
From cousin Dan B.

This letter is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter and photo and to my friend Ela N. for translating it.

18 Oct 1936, Poland

Wincenty BIENIECKI

18 October 1936

Dear John,

Why you forgot about us? I assume that you used all your energy on the cards that you sent from the ship, and now you will need to relax for about 20 years! But even that you plan to do it, it will not happen! Now that we know you and we fall in love with you, we will not let you to relax. You should know that our Ulisia is impressed with you and talks about you constantly. She always asks the mail man if there is a letter from you. But why I should talk about us. We believe that you had us time next to enjoy your family, but please you can share all this joy with us. You promised that you will send pictures of your wife and kids. If you don’t have it, just do it, and don’t wait too long; because we are waiting.

Please let us know how you feel, how did you resolve the problem that you were already nervous about when you were here? Did you find everybody at home in good health?

Our life goes as usually, we are very busy, lots of work. First, Duska always asked where you were and now when she sees you on the picture, she knows that it is you, her uncle. However, she talks about you less and less. Januszek (Jan) is growing and is well. He already smiles to us and stops to talk. He does not go outside too much, as the weather is not pleasant, it rains, is windy and cold. Nobody wants to go out.

This is all for now, we send hugs and kisses to all but especially to our favorite uncle John.

Janka and Witek

 P.S. We will be awaiting long and fast letter from you. We are sending some pictures.

NOTES

• The family surname is BIENIECKI and pronounced Bin-yes'-ki. My grandfather's birth name was Jan BIENIECKI, but when he came to the US, his name was changed to John BINIEWSKI.  The US surname is currently pronounced Bin-new'-ski.
• After WWI, Poland's government became a parliamentary democracy.  At the time of this letter, the era was known as the Second Republic of Poland.  WWI had a big impact on Poland's economy and they were slowing recovering.  Industrial cities had formed, but Rypin was considered a small town. The Nazis later invaded Poland in 1939.
• John BINIEWSKI immigrated to the US in 1911.  Visit my Wikitree to find out more about John's life.  Before leaving, his family had a photo taken (below).  The little boy in the photo is John's youngest brother Wincenty BIENIECKI. Wincenty's was also known as Witek.  His wife, Janina, was known as Janka, and she is likely the one writing this letter.

BIENIECKI Family, circa 1910

• In 1936, John returned to Poland to be Godfather to Wincenty's son Januszek (Jan).  Below is a photo from the christening.

1936 Christening of Jan BIENIECKI, Poland

This letter and family photo is from the collection of Uncle Peter J. BINIEWSKI. 
Special thanks to cousin Dan B. for sharing this letter and to my friend Ela N. for translating it.

About this Blog

Welcome!

I will be posting old letters here as I come across them.  These have come my way over the last few years and really tell a story about life before, during and after WWII.

The first batch of letters are from family in Poland to my grandfather prior to the war.

The next batch of letters are from my father and his brother during their service in the Pacific.

The final batch of letters will be from family in the aftermath of the war.

Enjoy!