Albert George Waurzyniak Dec. 30, 1892 - Oct. 7, 1974		Some of the best times I remember was going aboard the boat with my dad. Duch and I would take a vacation aboard the boat. We'd bring the kids. A sailor was assigned to watch each child..Duch would watch both the kids and the sailors...They themselves were still kids and enjoyed playing with our youngsters. I'd wheel and made extra money, and have a great time being in the pilot house with my dad. - George Joseph Waurzyniak
The world was a wonderful place, when Dad was a boy. That's the way Dad told it. There were things to do, places to go, and fun to be had. One of his most favorite things to do, was visit the logging camps. It was great to be with the men. Imagine a youngster watching the huge virgin timbers being cut down, with a two man cross-cut saw. Some used a power saw that could weigh as much as forty pounds and have a small gasoline engine. The logs were sometimes sent down the river, to the mill, some times by railroad cars, sometimes the men used big sleds to carry the logs over icy roads in winter, or hauled by horse and wagon. Men, mud, and the smell of food being cooked in the open, the smoke that hung heavy- in the air,what more could a boy ask for? All this activity in the forest did create a problem..not for Dad, but for the animals. They were losing their home. The deer,rabbits,and birds moved on, but not the squirrel. He was as inquisitive as the boys. They ran all over the camp, in and out of the bunkhouses and tents, making pests of themselves. The logging men hired young boys to get rid of them. Dad of course was amoung them. He would watch, and when a little critter tried to make off with some tobacco, their favorite, Dad would make short work if it. Maybe he was eager to show off his prowess as a hunter, or maybe it was the money he got paid! It was a great way to spend a day.		Coming home was another story. He was greeted at the door, by Mary. Mary was his sister and just seventeen when their mother died. Mary was in charge!!And believe me, no body, and she did mean NO BODY was going to get into the house after being at the camps! There was more than men, mud, and fun at the camps. There were LICE. They would get in everyones hair and clothing. Dad was made to strip to the skin and wash with kerosene, then a tub scrub with plenty of soap and hot water. I guess it was worth it, because first chance. Dad was back at the camps. He got there any way he could, walked. hitched a ride on a wagon, then in winter he had another mode of transportation. He and his brothers owned a huge St. Bernard. They would hitch him to a sled and flew across the deep snow. Over the years, and the repeated telling of the tales, the dog got bigger and bigger. The land that was cleared by the logging companies, was owned by the rail roads. After the virgin timber was cut, and only the slashings were left on the ground, the land was sold for fifty cents an acre.
		That's A. George on the left and possibly two of his brothers to the right of the sled dogs.
As Dad looked back, he said it was a good price, too bad he didn't have fifty cents........ Dad sailed as a deck hand prior to 1915. He was in his early 20's. He was issued his A.B. (Able-Bodied) certificate in November 1915. Then in 1916 he was issued a Certificate of Efficiency to Lifeboat Man. He sailed in varied positions, this may have been with the Pittsburg Steamship Co., we are not sure. He stayed with the company until he retired off the A.H. Ferbert in 1957. Dad hired his own crew all hand picked nephews.... In those days Philip and Felix Gajewski, Raymond Kubacki, Elmer Glenecick and many more too numerous to mention helped make up his crew. Mom told me I went aboard the boat with her to visit dad when I was eightteen months old. They put me in the mail bag and hoisted me up. His cook, according to Hilary and me, Fred Bishaw from Grayling or Gaylord Mi. was the best in the world!		All kinds of pies and cakes on Sundays. He would let us turn the ice-cream maker, 3 gallon size. We got all the ice-cream we could eat since we worked so hard!!! Needless to say, we ate very little else the day we made ice-cream. When my father was coming up for his captain position in the mid 30's The managment in the Pittburg Steamship Company wanted Dad to change his last name to Norwegian, English, Swedish, or any other last name. As he was the first Captain in the fleet with a Polish last name. Talk about discrimination. Dad refused to change his last name, he still got his promotion when his time came up! He was 'Relief Captain from 1935 then had his own ship the Robert W. E. Bunsen in 1939.
		A. George and Martha ( Kubacki ) Waurzyniak married January 7, 1920.
I was a junior in Philip Neri High school and my brother Hilary was in grade school in 1939. As soon as we got out of school for summer vacation, Mom would let the both of us go on board for a few trips. A trip took about a week, after two or three trips in a row. Dad would send us home so Mom and my sister Patty could have a couple of weeks with him. Hilary and I learned how to be wheelsmen, Hilary was so short, he had to stand on a box in order to be tall enough to see the compass over the top of the ships steering wheel. We learned to tie ropes, to paint,and to splice ropes. We got our 22 rifle in Cleveland that year. My son Tom now has this rifle. As I recall, I was with dad in Cleveland. We went to the ships supply store and dad bought a 22 rifle. We would shot at sea-gulls. When there were no birds, dad would unscrew light bulbs and toss them in the air. It kept the deckwatch busy replacing those bulbs. Some times we'd tie two pieces of bread together with a length of string, toss it into the air, and watch two gulls swoop for them. The birds would break the string almost immediately, but that did not prevent us from doing it again, and again. When Patty and Joanna were aboard any of Dads ships. Dad would assign a deckhand to watch them so they wouldn't fall overboard. I remember the large bowl of navel oranges. It never went empty. It was		on Dads deck in the Captains cabin. They were so sweet!!! During World War II, dad served on active duty as a temporary member of the United States Coast Guard Reserve, in the capacity of Commander. Before the war the officers aboard the lake ships did not wear uniforms. After the war the company preferred the look of the uniformed men and saw the respect the uniforms commanded. From then on, all the officers remained in uniform....There's some thing inspiring about a man in a crisp sharp uniform! Albert George Waurzyniak is recorded as being born December 30, 1892, in Cheboygan Michigan. His parents were Michael and Barbara Wawrzyniak, note the difference in spelling! This is a short tale about that event. The day his mother Barbara, was about to welcome her new baby into the world, the doctor was
		A. George and Martha ( Kubacki ) Waurzyniak married January 7, 1920.
celebrating the holidays and arrived tipsy...This blurred his memory a day or two. When he finally got around to registering the birth, he was unsure of the date of delivery. It was some where between the end of the year, and the beginning of the new year! He recorded the birth as December 30. 1892....but in the census, the date was given bv his mother as January 1, 1893. I believe this, after all, she was there! Then there was the problem of language and translation. The parish preist was French, and the parents were Polish and spoke some English. On the day the baby was baptised, the priest called out the name loud and clear, "Albert George"...much to the surprise of his parents! George, as his parents intended, and this is what he was called at home, and Albert George in school as per his baptismal record...oh!...did I forget to		mention, his last name was also misspelled! Finally he went to court to have it all made legal...Albert George Waurzyniak, date of birth December 30, 1892.
		George J., A. George, Hilary Joanna, Patty