Czeslawa Alencewicz

December 12, 1929 ~ July 11, 2022

Czeslawa Alencewicz (nickname SALLY) was 92 years old upon passing recently.  Mom was a Survivor.  Mom was born in Zacheczki Poland in 1929.  Her Parents Stefania and Bronislaw Cieciuch moved to Poland from Ohio during the Depression in her little sister, Bronislawa.  Mom's DAD worked for the coal mines in Pennsylvania. His health was affected and they moved back to Poland and bought farmland in Poland.  Mom and Dad survived World War II  in Poland when it was invaded by Germans from the left and Russians from the right.  Mom was 10 during World War II.  She told us stories of how she was forced to learn and speak Russian in school.  She would often sing the Russian hymns she remembered learning.  Our Father Tadeusz Alencewicz (nickname Teddy)  was a young boy during World War II in Poland and he was captured by the Germans to help the German women on the farm while their Husbands were at War with Poland.   He eventually escaped.

After the War, while Mom was a teenager, our Grandparents left Poland and went back to America and settled in Westchester County, New York.  She was very sad when they moved to America and Mom stayed in Poland and married Dad.  She would often send letters to her Mom and Dad in America to please help us get to America so that her 4 Daughters, Irene, Anna, Alicia and Mila would have better lives

When our parents married, they lived with his parents for a while and Irene was born.  My Father was a very industrious and hard working and also a smart money manager.    He became a Mayor of his Town.  He purchased a 50 acre farm which had a beautiful Brick house with a kielbasy smokehouse up in the attic.  The farm had stables and barns, beautiful inteligent horses, a huge herd of milking cows, pigs, sheep, Geese, and chickens.  They had a beautiful courtyard with apple, pear and cherry orchards.  Dad had to work the farm from sun up to sun down while Mother took care of 4 daughters baking homemade bread and cooking for my Father, the field workers and the animals that had to be fed.  She told us how in zero degree weather she would have to start her day at 4 a.m. while we were still sleeping to milk the herd of milk cows who were waiting for her every morning to milk the cows.  She would skim the milk for cream and churn it for butter,  for our homemade bread and put the rest of the milk in metal containers by the road for the milk man to pick up the milk for sale.  I remember at 4 years old (Alicia) was in the barn with Mom for a while while was milking a cow and she told me to stand there while she milked the cows. I became bored and started making faces at the cow who was staring at me with her  big eyes.   I started to put my fingers in my dimples, laughing and making faces and sticking my tongue out at the cow.  The cow got mad at me, pushed my mother out of the way, put her hoof in my mothers milk bucket and charged at me with her horns knocking me over nearly poking my eye out.

Farming was very rewarding. We had plenty of  homemade fresh food for the family.   My parents also sold the food  and meat to the local people and in exchange for farm help to pick the crop in the fall.

Father would plow the fields all day from sun up to sun down with a horse plow.  I remember me and my sisters would ride on the horse after school to help him to keep the horse straight for the potatoes and wheat seeds he planted.  He grew lots and lots of potatoes and wheat.  The village people would come and help him pick the potatoes.  I remember our whole Family would go out to the fields to pick the potatoes and then ride home  at sun down on the horse drawn wagon filled with fresh potatoes to the house.  The potatoes filled the entire basement full for the winter for us to eat and for Mom to feed the animals.  I remember the fresh smell of potatoes filled to the top of the windows and we would crawl around on top of the potatoes.   Dad grew huge fields of Wheat he cut down for Hay for the Horses and the animals and the wheat seeds he milled in our courtyard, with the help of a horse who went around and around turning the grinder into flour for Mom to bake our bread and paczki donuts.  Mom was a very good homemaker and a very good cook.   She would make delicious homemade recipes for the animals to eat. She would cook the fresh potatoes, cabbage wheat and carrots apples and other vegetables with water in a huge black kettle fire place outside and pour it out for the animals for their dinner.  We had the healthiest animals because of her cooking.

My sisters and I would take a blanket out into the field after school to watch the herd of milking cows in the fields while we sang songs outloud to entertain ourselves and the cows.  We would braid the beautiful blue wildflowers into wreaths for our head necklaces and bracelets.   Till the sun went down then we would walk the cow herd back to the barns for our mother to milk them for the night and again at 4 a.m.   Seven days a week from sun up to sun down animals needed care.   We sisters babysat each other and the baby chicks in the spring time so the hawks would not eat them.

Mom late at night by Kerosene lamp would knit our hats, gloves, jackets and winter tights from the wool yarn she would make from the wool shearing the sheep and send it out for spinning into wool yarn for  knitting .  Even though she had to wake up in the cold at 4 a.m. to milk the cows.  She would make beautiful clothes with yarn and blankets and she would sew beautiful dresses and large bows for our hair to go to church and to school in.

On Saturday Dad would take one of the animals for food and make delicious kielbasy that he would smoke in the upstairs smokehouse and the rest Mom would store in mason jars for storage in the basement for the winter.  We would have fresh milk and bread, eggs and butter, fresh potato pancakes and stuffed cabbage.

Mom and Dad worked very hard but Mom often missed her Mom and Dad and longed to go to America and take her Daughters to America so they would not have to work as hard as she did on the farm.

We had a flock of Geese for food that roamed the courtyard. They were mean and would chase after us as we left the house.  One geese grabbed my sister Ann and beat her with the wings. She was injured and bruised badly by the geese.  We would look out the window to see where the geese were before going outside.  Mom made delicious Geese stew and the down she plucked from the geese she would make into very warm down pillows and comforters and blankets for our beds for sleeping.  Mom cooked and heated the water for our bath with wood in a long white tile island that was hollow on the inside and it would heat up so we could sit on the island and warm ourselves while she was cooking.

As hard as my parents worked all week to provide food for our family every Sunday Mom would dress herself and her 4 daughters with beautiful homemade white dresses and huge white bows for our hair and take us all to church in a horse drawn wagon my father drove and a horse drawn sled in the winter snow.

We really and truly had to walk 5 miles to school in the snow.  Irene would ride Anna to school on the bicycle handlebars they said down a large scary hill.

My Mom and Dad lived in Poland working hard growing her family till she was 34 longing for and missing her Mom and Dad who were in America.  Writing many letters to her Mom and Dad in America to please take me to America so that my Daughters do not have to work as hard as I am working on the farm.

Dad had a lot of farm work and wanted a Son to help him on the farm but birth after birth had another Daughter. My Mom would be sad to keep having a girl when they needed a Son and she would laugh and say maybe we can switch one of them in the hospital for a Son.  But my Dad would make her happy and say no they are beautiful every one of them and always loved and kissed us all 4 Daughters.

Mom's younger sister Helen also lived in Poland also close by and had 4 handsome boys .  Mom kept trying to get us all to America to her Mom writing many letters and finally in 1963 when the Iron Curtain opened in Poland after the Cuban missile crisis we were all allowed to go to America Mom and her Sister Helen and her Husband and Sons all going to America to be near Grandma.

In 1963 my Mom and Dad sold the farm and all the livestock for money to pay for expenses to move to America.   My sisters and I were told we are moving to America and were told to pack only 1 suitcase. I remember wanting to only pack apples from our orchard.  I asked if there were apples in America.

Mom was joyful smiling while Dad was crying as he bid goodby to his Mom and Dad and Brothers to move to America.  We sailed away in August of 1963 on a beautiful Cruise Ship, the famous Stefan Batory from Gdansk stopping at all the Ports along the way for 3 weeks to Montreal Canada First class white glove service and fine dining.  All 11 of us arrived in Montreal.  Mom, Dad, Me, my 3 sisters and Aunt Helen and her husband Bolek and their 3 Tadeusz, Kasimir and John.  Mom and Aunt Helen had a wonderful time dancing on the cruise and Dad and Uncle Bolek for the first time had no fields to plow anymore enjoyed having drinks at the bar and seeing and visiting all the Ports along their journey.  We Arrived in Canada and then took a train to Grand Central station in New York City where Mom's brother Bronislaw and her sister Bronislawa picked us up to take us to our new home in Yonkers, New York.

Grandpa Bronislaw had passed away so Mom did not get to see her Dad since he left Poland.  Grandma Stefania bought and furnished us furniture and rented us a lovely apartment on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers, New York fully furnished with food, for our two families.  We lived near a Polish Church and Polish Community where we had Polish friends at St. Casimir's School.  They immediately got jobs to paid grandma back at the local factories and the button factory and served on the weekends 7 days a week taking the bus or they would walk to work while we all went to St. Casimir school where the Nuns spoke Polish and helped us in school to learn the English language.  All four of us sisters went to work as soon as we could me at 13 working Sunday after Church at the local bakery selling donuts.  My sisters went to work as soon as they could get their working papers at the local factories.

To this day we 4 Sisters are very grateful to our Mom and Dad for being the hard working Parents role models they were to provide for us 4 daughters to send us to catholic school,  College and  for 4 weddings Dad proudly walking all 4 of us down the aisle at St. Casimir Church on our wedding day.  After we all married Mom and Dad, retired and moved to Ponce Inlet on  Candlewood Land in Ponce Inlet.  They Settled in Ponce Inlet enjoying Dancing and lunch every Sunday after Church at Korona Polish Church and the Polish American Club where they were members.  Our DAD passed away in 1996 when Victoria was one year old.    Mom sold the house on Candlewood Ln and moved to Oceanside Condo .   Mom continued to enjoy Dancing at the Polish American Club every Sunday after Dad passed away.  Loved the exercise at the YMCA is the reason she lived to 92.   I hear the people at the YMCA have been asking about her missing her friendly face every week where she made many friends.  They say she was the nicest and friendliest person there, "A Friend Magnet".  Mom is still wearing her dancing shoes now to go dancing with Dad in heaven.

Mom and Dad taught us all to work hard Dad always said never never be in a hurry and spend half of your income and save the other half and you will be ok.  So whenever things get hectic I tell myself never be in a hurry go slow and you will still get things done.  Like the tortis and the hare.  We all now have families of our own but learned how to be a good homemaker from Mom Cooking Sewing Knitting and Gardening and farming from Dad our role models now together in heaven.  God Bless You and may Mom and Dad both rest in Peace. We love and miss you and we will never forget you.

A Visitation will be held from 5:00pm until 7:00pm on Monday July 18, 2022 in the Chapel at Lohman Funeral Home Daytona.  A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 8:30am on Tuesday July 19, 2022 at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church, 4675 South Clyde Morris Boulevard, Port Orange, Florida 32129.  Entombment will follow in Daytona Memorial Park, 1425 Bellevue Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114.

Condolences may be shared with the family at www.lohmanfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements are under the careful direction of Lohman Funeral Home Daytona, 1423 Bellevue Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114.