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Although Kaszubians are considered by the Poles to be Polish, and many of these Kaszubians also consider themselves to be Polish, there is also reason to consider them to be a separate slavic ethnic group in their own right. One of these is that the language of the Kaszubians, although considered a Polish dialect, is different enough from the Polish language that very few Poles can actually understand it easily. Before I can say more, I have more research to do in this area. If you are interested in learning more about the Kaszubians, see the Kashubian Association of North America's home page. At the present time, it seems that there is some work being done on this site, so I will try to provide another link in the future.
I was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1969. My father is of Kaszubian descent, and my mother is of Austrian descent. Dad was born in New Richmond, Wisconsin, but grew up in Berlin, Wisconsin. Mom grew up in Cleveland, Wisconsin, but was born in Sheboygan. My father's dad was the manager of a (in comparison with more modern department stores) small department store in Berlin, and as I recall, managed some of its branches as well. The name of this store is Schultz's. He also did some gardening. My mom's dad worked at a large plumbing fixture's factory in Kohler, Wisconsin, by the name of Kohler. He also did some farming when he wasn't working, and the family all helped out. After he retired, he did a lot more work on his small farm than before. Both of my grandmothers were homemakers. This is a largely unrecognized profession, but homemaking is possibly the most difficult line of work for anyone who might dare to try it. It is also a profession which demands 100% commitment. I have a great deal of respect for my grandmothers, because they actually did commit to this, and often enjoyed it. They had the satisfaction of seeing their families enjoy the fruits of their labors in the Kitchen, and had an authority which is seldom seen today in the Highest offices of the world. You don't argue with Grandma, because she is a lot smarter than you are. If she wants help with the Laundry, you help her. If she wants help with the dishes, you help her. If she wants you to do either of these, or to help int the garden or any other housework, you do it, because you love her, and because you free her to do other things in which she is unbeatable, although others could do them.
Both of my parents attended Catholic schools for both grade school and High school. As far as continuing education, my mom attended nursing school with one of my dad's younger sisters, and my dad attended Janesville Technical Institute to become an airplane mechanic. After he graduated, he moved out to Las Vegas, Nevada, and worked in a restaurant for a while before entering the United States Marine Corps.
My mom went to nursing school to become an LPN. I am not sure where she went, but I will update that when I have a chance. As it happened, she went to nursing school with my dad's sister Kathleen Kasuboski. Aunt Kathy couldn't resist, so she played a little bit of cupid for the two of them. Her cupid work was successful, and the two of them have now been married for 36 years in a society in which marriage is cheap, divorce is easy, and commitment is unheard of. There were not always easy times. In fact, I now realize as a married man how difficult married life can be, almost all of the time. It is a full time job in which there are very few breaks. Well done, mom and dad!
Mom and Dad had four children, of which I am the oldest. They worked hard to support us. When I was born, Dad worked for a company called Chaplin Aviation. Mom was a nurse, but wanted to stay home with me, and later, with my siblings, and so was very active as a homemaker. Seeing how much work she was constantly doing to help make the home leads me to suspect that people who honestly believe that homemakers are bored and have nothing to do do not have the first idea of what they are talking about. Believe me, more will be said on this subject later.
Dad's job at Chaplin Aviation kept him away from us for long hours, and as long as he was getting paid hourly wages, that wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, his boss decided to put him on salary. This effectively did away with any overtime which he had coming, and began to affect the ability that he had to provide for us. He then decided to find another job, and in very short order, he was picked up as a maintenance mechanic at Plastics Engineering Company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he continued to work until he was laid off as a result of the economy of Wisconsin beginning a downturn.
During this time, my brother, sisters, and I were all attending grade school at St. Dominic Catholic School in Sheboygan during the day. For some, this may conjure up memories of getting swatted with a ruler across the knuckles, or of a number of very serious religious sisters in habits frowning on everything that they did. In reality, this can only happen sometimes. My experience of Catholic Schools was, for the most part, a good one. I even looked back on my difficult times with difficult teachers as good experiences, since they helped me to become the man that I am today. My wife's experience of Catholic school is different, but that is because, whatever else may be said for it, Catholic Schooling involves people. Everyone who knows people knows how unstable they can be. The Holy Bible even admits that we are all sinners. Since this is true, one can hardly expect any group of people, even the best of people, to be on their best behavior at all times. In this schooling, I began as a mediocre student, but through the encouragement of my parents and teachers, I later became an A student.
In the evening, my sisters, my brother, and I would attend dance classes at the Diane Remy School of Dance and Baton. Over the years that we were involved in this great school, my sisters and I were all involved in the Acrobatics classes, and the ballet and tap dancing classes offered by Diane Remy. My brother was involved in the ballet classes also, but didn't stay in for long. His enjoyment was found in other things. He was more of a tinkerer, and could not be happy unless he was taking something apart. He was always quite good at it as well. In addition to these classes, when my proximate sister and I were a bit more experienced, we both took up Spanish Dance, and my two sisters took up baton.
Rather than waiting around the house until Plenco called their employees back to work, Dad took off and actively began searching for jobs by stopping in at places in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and between there and Sheboygan. He found nothing in Albuquerque, but when he stopped in at Midland, Texas, he visited Texas Instruments and Chaparral Aviation. Both of these places spent at least an hour with him, and in the end, Chaparral Aviation hired him on the spot, whereas Texas Instruments called several days later and offered him a job. This was taken as a sign from God that He wanted us to be in Midland, at least temporarily. So that is where we moved.
When in Midland, I continued to take Dance classes for about four years. I also attended Greenwood High School, after attending eighth grade at Greenwood Jr. High School. I always got along really well with the upper grades, and when I was a freshman, the initiation was not as difficult for me as it was for some. The Seniors always seemed to like me. We had some good times.
I never really entered into the party scene, since I was always too busy doing the things I really enjoyed to actually want to attend a party and spend the next day with a hangover, or something like that.
I also spent a few years working at McDonald's in Midland on Loop 250 near the Midland Park Mall. McDonald's was sort of fun, but it was also a lot of work, for only a little money. Still, it was better than being broke, and I met very interesting people there.
My entire family also was involved in Church Choir, at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Midland. That was a whole lot of fun, and it was through that Choir that I learned to play guitar, began writing music, fell in love, and had my heart broken for the first time.
While we were in Texas, my family began to participate in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. I was a lot uncomfortable with that idea at first, and would stay at home. But gradually, I warmed up to the idea. My Parents never forced me to join, and never put any pressure on me, but would invite me once in a while, and finally, I said yes.
There is more to come in this page, but for now, return to my homepage.
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