When I was little, an upcoming visit of my Grampa was announced only the day or two before. Suddenly, our family room would be “out of bounds” and get transformed into his bedroom. The black-and-white television would be moved into the kitchen, a couple chairs relocated into the living room, and a rollaway bed unfolded and set up in front of the family room fireplace. A day or two later, Grampa would arrive, dressed as he always was in black pants, black socks and shoes, a white shirt, and a black button-down vest. To me at that young age, his visits seemed to bring a sense of quiet, peaceful joy.
I was too young to really know Grampa. In fact, it wasn’t until after his death in 1981 that I did. This came through a short biography researched and written by his only son, my uncle Dick. Michael Potocki was born on March 30, 1891, in a small farming village called Glembokie, located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in southern Poland. Michael was the youngest of five sons (along with two daughters) born to Thomas Potocki and Catherine Waclawska. He spent his early years helping with farm chores like taking the cows out to pasture, and going to school, at least until sixth grade.
It was during those early years that some of Michael’s older brothers immigrated to the United States, settling in Utica, New York. They sent back money to the family, asking Michael to join them, and so, in 1906 at age 15, he did. Utica was at the time a busy cloth milling town, and Michael’s brothers got him a job at Globe Woolen Mills, earning $4 a week. Because he was under the legal working age, his brothers would hide him under a large cardboard box whenever the labor inspectors came to check the mill works. During this time, Michael began to teach himself English using a dictionary and a newspaper.
After a few months at the mill, Michael left to join the U.S. Coast Artillery Corps, serving at various posts in Boston for two years, reaching the rank of corporal. His discharge papers listed his “character of service” as “honest and faithful.” Michael became a U.S. citizen shortly thereafter, on December 15, 1913.
