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Lawrence (Waverzcniec) Rzasa (1884-1950).
This photo was provided by Tom Manser, who identifies it as “a photo of my grandfather, Lawrence (Wawrzneic) Rzasa on the farm
near Hudson. Probably around 1920.” He writes,
“I came across [this web site]
recently while doing web research on my mother's family who lived in Pasco in the late teens/1920's. Her
father was a Polish immigrant who moved to the Hudson area after initially settling in Johnstown, Pa. They
had a farm and were one of those few early Catholic families in the county. I have a tape of my Aunt Helen
where she talks about ‘Father Felix,’ and my mother was baptized in Our Lady Queen of Peace Church.
Years ago, when I was in Florida on my honeymoon, we made a brief visit to Hudson and were able to talk to Mr. Frank Lysek.
His family owned a farm in the area near my mother's and they were one of the other early Polish Catholic families.
Unfortunately, my grandmother died early and the family eventually broke up and left the area.”
The 1917-18 draft registration list for Pasco County has the spelling Waverzcniec Rzasa. His birth date is given as Sept. 15, 1884, and he is identified as a citizen of Austria. According to Jeff Cannon, while living in a small Polish town in the area of Mt. Pleasant, Pa., six families, including the Rzasa and Lysek families, were convinced by a land salesman to purchase property in a Polish town being planned at Fivay. They moved here in 1914. Upon learning that it was not a Polish town, they left, except for the Lyseks, who remained permanently, and the Rzasas, who stayed a few years. Thus these three photos are likely before 1920. |