Henry Francis Lyszczasz
Henry Lyszczasz was born at home on Florida Street on August 4, 1922, the third child of Magdalena & Franciszek. The baptismal records at St Adalbert Parish indicate a middle name that begins with the letter C...perhaps Carol (like our beloved Polish Pope!) or Cornell although the Latin handwriting of the baptizing priest is barely legible! It was common that the baptismal name was not emphasized. As such for most of his life, Henry used his confirmation name of Francis as his middle name! Like the rest of his siblings, he was a parishioner of St Adalberts and attended its grammar school.
At the tender age of 12, Henry began working at Polonia Bakery in the building that would later become the area famous Leonard's Dance Hall. This was a critical time in our country's history as the Great Depression had just occurred and jobs were scare. At such a young age, Henry was already earning wages to help support the Lyszczasz family.
In 1933, President Franklin D Roosevelt and the US Congress approved the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, commonly known as the Civilian Conservation Corps. The program recruited thousands of unemployed young men, enrolled them in a peacetime army, and sent them into battle against destruction and erosion of our natural resources. Before it was over, over three million young men engaged in a massive salvage operation, the most popular experiment of the New Deal. Henry was part of the CCC participating in the program in the late 1930’s.
After the outbreak of World War II, Henry enlisted in the United States Navy and attained the rank of BKR2. Henry served most of his time in the service stationed in Alabama. At the time, Naval discharges were awarded based on a point system. Certain types of military service accrued points and a designated number of points were needed for an honorable discharge. Henry’s final discharge points were earned when he traveled on ship 12 miles off the coast of Alabama and into international waters!
Before he entered the Navy, Henry went to work a Laczinski’s Bakery on Bayway Ave. It was at the bakery that he met his future wife, Sophie Szuba. Henry and Sophie married on May 21, 1944 at St Hedwig’s Parish in Elizabeth, NJ.
Henry and Sophie had three children, Robert, Gregory and Cindy.
Henry retired from the Village Bakery in 1984 after many years as a talented cake baker. He had made the wedding cakes for several of his brothers & sisters!
Henry passed away on May 5, 1994 and is interred next to his parents at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Linden NJ.
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