Stanislaw "Charles" Szymon Kmiecik

Birth Date: Wednesday, March 23, 1904

Birth Place: Malopolskie, Poland

Bio: When Stanislaw Szymon Kmiecik was born on March 23, 1904, his father, Michal, was 41 and his mother, Katarzyna, was 39. He married Anna Helen Puscharka on October 10, 1932, in Russell, Massachusetts. They had two children during their marriage. Kazmir Kmiecik was born circa 1900's in Poland. From Poland he traveled to the United States in hopes of a better life. Large numbers of immigrants were coming to the United States at that time and being an immigrant was not something many were proud of. They were often criticized and ridiculed, so to protect himself from humiliation, he chose to go by the first name of "Charles" rather than Kazmir. He would only speak English when out in public, but he would speak Polish at home. After being in the States for a couple of years, Charles met and married Anna Pieczarka and they began their life together. He bought some land in Blandford, Massachusetts and turned it into a farm where he grew vegetables and had chickens, geese, pigs, cows, and a bull. Anna and Kazmir had three children, Helen, Theodore, and Rosy. Not long after Helen was born, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. Charles realized the importance of providing for his family. Being the driven man Charles was he wasn't going to let his family suffer. Luckily, he had his livestock and crops to provide his family with food. Besides working on his farm, Charles also worked full-time in a paper mill. He worked very hard at both and tried to give his family the best. He taught his children never to waste anything, and they did just as they were told. Together they made it through the Great Depression, but unfortunately Charles would from Colon Cancer. After Charles died, his son, Theodore, had an idea to help keep the farm going. He went to New Jersey and bought several hundred blueberry plants which he planted back on the farm. The farm went on to be known as "Hilltop Blueberry Farm" and was a successful business which provided jobs to many local high school kids who were hired as summer workers. Charles died on September 25, 1964, in Blandford, Massachusetts, at the age of 60.

Death Date: Friday, September 25, 1964

Death Place: Blanford, Massachusetts

Father: Michal Kmiecek

Wife: Anna Helen Kmiecek (Puscharka)

Daughter: Helen Anna Lloyd (Kmiecik) (1933)