After reconnecting with former Massachusetts cousins now scattered around the country and globe, I requested more family stories and photos since, once we moved to Colorado, we did not often visit with all the cousins and hear their stories. You will see a few photos of Uncle Joe with his brothers John, Hank, Al, and Stan and sister Vicky along with grandchildren. We will remember all the sacrifices made during WWII and stand proudly with our military and their loved ones.
Henry “Hank” Niemczura was the first to move West to California where he flew helicopters and worked in aviation. John, my father, moved his family to Colorado when I was 10. The other brothers and sister Joe, Al, Vicky and Stan remained in Massachusetts. All are now deceased except for Stan who lives with his wife in Florida. Some of my cousins have escaped the harsh New England winters and now live in Florida as well.
The family photo today shows my relatives when they were much younger and includes the family matriarch, Anna Niemczura, affectionately called Babci or Babciu. I have retained a few Polish words and hear some spoken when I travel to my relatives still in Massachusetts. My last name means “the German girl” and I find it very meaningful that I became a German teacher. And before my grandmother came to the U.S. in her 20s, she told stories of going over the border and working in Germany.
I saw a photo of Uncle Joe dressed in a kilt and at first, accused my cousin Joe of photo-shopping the picture. Not so, Joe said that our Uncle Joe was recovering from wounds during WWII for which he received a purple heart and was in England and Scotland. My cousin Betsy says that the store where the photo was taken provided the kilt and the background. Imagine that I never heard the story until now! So I am passing it on as we celebrate our July 4th weekend.
Perhaps families can turn off the technology and take to one another again and remember family stories. Honor the oral tradition of telling stories again.
Dr. Mary Ann Niemczura 
Liebe Mary Ann,
erstaunlich beeindruckend wie Du schriftstellerisch die Ausweitung Deiner Erzählungen über Deine Familie und Verwandten darstellst.Bewundernswert ist auch Deine verbale Darstellung.
Es bereitet große Leserfreude die Geschichte Deiner Familie kennen zu lernen.Du schaffst es Deine Leser in die Spannung zu versetzen ,daß man schon auf die nächste Fortsetzung Deiner Erzählung wartet.
Liebe Grüße und weiterhin alle Guten Wünsche
Dein Arno
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Lieber Arno,
und so ist mein Zweck, wenn ich schreibe. Ich hoffe, meine Leser erfahren genau, was ich erfahren habe. I am a story teller at heart. In teaching I often used this technique. It is with passion and feeling that I tell me stories. I am so glad you understand my intent when I write and look forward to my next post.. May you have a wonderful week ahead. Many greetings to you and yours.
Deine Mary Ann 🙂
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I read your posts in reverse order, so I’d just learned about your family’s ancestry by the time I got to this post. When I first glanced at the picture of your Uncle Joe, I had a hard time imagining which part of Poland or Germany he was from. 🙂
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Top photo, bottom right is Uncle Joe. We still are trying to learn the identity of the girl next to my grandmother and believe it is someone in my grandmother’s sister’s family. I did not know that my grandmother’s sister had come to the US until I posted the blog! Imagine finding that out! My Uncle Joe is in the kilt and in all three black and white photos which I had never seen. I regret that we don’t have more photos of my father’s and mother’s family when they were growing up. Thanks for your comment. When I looked on the map for the town my father had in Poland, I note that is in present-day Southern Poland. The next post speaks more of that. 🙂
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Your Uncle Joe suits his kilt. I’m sure he would have made a fine Scotsman had he not been born in the Germany/Poland region. 🙂
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Only my paternal grandparents were born in Poland/Austria/Germany region. My Uncle Joe and all his siblings were born in the US. I too enjoy the kilt. It makes for interesting conversation. I am second generation on my father’s side and third generation on my mother’s. I have some native dresses from several countries and from time to time have occasion to wear them.
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It’s nice to have a chance to wear national costumes from time to time. They’re often very lovely. 🙂
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I agree. They’re fun and a start of an historical and cultural story of time and place.
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Hello, Mary Anne! I was interested in learning more about my family’s history and came across your blog. I’m Alanna and I happen to be Al’s grand daughter 🙂 The blog posts about the family have been super neat so I just wanted to say thank you for sharing!
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Alanna, thank you for reading and commenting. Al’s granddaughter! Let me guess: do you live in MA or in FL? Who is your Dad? Al had four children. My father, John, had four daughters and did a genealogy of the family. For posterity, I wrote my poetic memoir in 2014. A Past Worth Telling. Put your name and email on my subscriber list and follow my weekly posts. I retired from teaching in 2015 after about 50 years in the classroom. We live in Upstate NY. If you give me your email address, we can write more privately. Tell others about my blog so we may have new stories to tell. How kind and sweet of you to write. I just looked you up and realize we met when you were younger. My Dad received an athletic award in 2009 from Palmer High School where he played four sports. Your family was also there. Are you still in college or graduated? As you discovered, families are wonderful. Do keep in touch. Blessings! oxox
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Such a wonderful surprise, Alanna! Another in the Niemczura family. You are most welcome. My book speaks more about our family. I blog weekly and hope you get on the mailing list. Stay in touch! Blessings. oxox
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