The Passing of the Great "Sazz"--Gary Czyzynski

I found out yesterday, from Jane Ely Williams, that Gary Czyzynski died a couple years ago (July 23, 2014) on his ranch near Sheridan, Wyoming. As I understand it, Gary went out to do some chores on his ranch and never came back. At some point his wife went out looking for him, and found Gary dehydrated and close to death. Gary died soon after that, either at home or in the hospital. [Jane Williams has recently told me that I have the story of Gary's death wrong. I'll try to get the facts right and then I'll correct this blog post.]

I located an obituary for Gary. Click this link: Gary Czyzynski obituary. The obit has a photo of him. The only photo I would have of Gary is from our 1966 St. Joe's yearbook, when he was about 17-18 years old. Like most things of my childhood and growing up years, there are absolutely no photos. Back then we just lived our lives; we didn't live them at a distance via social media or photography.

Gary went to St. William's grade school with me and St. Joseph's High School. He was from a very Polish family and lived in my neighborhood. Gary lived on Drakefield Avenue, maybe 1/4 mile from me. I remember he had a sister, Gayle. And I remember his mother and father. I was once told that his Dad worked on a crane at a junkyard and was from a gigantic family--maybe 20 children. Now Gary was an exaggerator and a mythologizer, a lot like me. So whether this "20 children" number is exactly true, I don't know. Let's say Gary's Dad was from a large family. Also, I remember Gary's Mom very well, very fondly.

Gary was energetic and fun. And he was a pretty good athlete, especially at football. He and I were ferocious competitors, almost always on opposing teams. This was a kind of informal sandlot football, played at Upson School or Mudville (Willow Playground). Occasionally we would play at other places--I remember a particularly bloody game at Memorial Park in Euclid. Gary and I would both play running back and he would end up tackling me and I would end up tackling him. It was a tough, bruising game--and we loved it. For a couple years Gary and I played Muny Football for the Northeast Warriors. We'd practice at Humphrey Field, across from Euclid Beach, and play our games throughout Cleveland.

There was a kind of loose gang around Gary that involved Jay Neidermeyer, Jim Allsip, and about 10 other guys off and on (Jim Turner,  Pat Quinn, Wayne Starkey, Tim Homan, Dale Kovatch, many others). For a while we would hang out in front of Upson Delicatessen or "Uncle Willy's" little grocery store, next to Upson Drugs. Nobody remembers the real name of that store or the proprietor, but Gary, who was a fun mythologizer and storyteller, called him "Uncle Willy." I have a vague memory of Gary or another one of the guys stealing a bottle of Boone's Farm Wine from Uncle Willy's store--and drinking it in Jim Turner's garage on Shoreview Avenue. A little time in Purgatory for that I guess.

I remember driving to St. Joe's with Gary between 1964-66 in his old bomb of a car. One time, in bitter cold weather, Gary's car lost a wheel (or the axle broke in half) on the way to school. I remember another time Gary was driving like a maniac on the Freeway, Route 2 in Euclid. He was going about a hundred miles an hour. I was in the back seat--and terrified. I started choking Gary, demanding that he slow down. Not a great idea, but it worked. I also remember Gary eating a hamburger on a Friday at the McDonald's on Lake Shore Boulevard, across from Villa Angela Academy. I was absolutely shocked that he as a Catholic was eating meat on a Friday! I thought Gary had committed a mortal sin--ha ha.

Gary Czyzynski was full of life and fun. He was a great competitor, a great football player. I didn't see him much after high school, but I thought of him often. The world will miss the Great "Sazz."

An Unfinished Poem from Years Ago: Lent in Euclid, 1958

Today I found an unfinished poem, abandoned by me many years ago. But there are some things in it that I like and I plan to work on it some more. The poem briefly gets into what Lent was like in Euclid (and Eastlake) in the 1950s. Brief trips here to the Harbor Bar in Eastlake and to St. Patrick's Day in Cleveland, as well as St. William's Church in Euclid. By the way, the fish fries around here featured "Blue Pike." That fish is now extinct!

Lent in Euclid, 1958  draft 1(work in progress)

I believed every word the nuns and priests said,

Probably more than old Father Fleming,

Who probably smiled at the theatrics of the rituals.

For me every word pointed straight to Heaven or Hell

And I wouldn't have been surprised if Jesus just appeared

And took me direct to my eternal award—

Or punishment.

In our family, Sunday was not Lent—

Whether that was official doctrine I don’t know—

There were no dietary rules that day,

Except for the Communion Fast.

And Friday was no Day of Atonement.

After the grim ritual of the Stations of the Cross,

My family would head to the Harbor Bar in Eastlake

For a delicious meal of Blue Pike filets, French fries,

And Leisy Light for the adults.

St. Patrick’s Day was not Lent either.

It was a Holy Day of Opportunity,

And we took advantage!

Yes indeed, Lent was a big deal for Catholics back in the 1950s and 1960s (and remains so for many today). There was a regime for fasting and abstinence throughout Lent. On Fridays you could not eat meat. Period. Nobody did! and I vividly remember when Gary Czyzynski broke this rule around 1964 at the McDonald's across from Villa Angela Academy and Euclid Beach. Gary ate a hamburger (15 cents was the price back then) and for that 15 cent hamburger, I thought that Gary was going to burn in hell. Also, adults had to eat small meals and abstain from eating between meals. Children normally gave up something for Lent, like candy. Another thing that we did was attending lots of church services, from the Stations of the Cross, to Benediction services, to the incredible Holy Thursday and Good Friday services. Good Friday was flat-out scary! My recollection is that there was no music, and all statues were covered with purple cloth. I even remember that instead of ringing bells at certain times in the mass, they used wooden clappers (called a crotalus). That's how I remember it; I wish I knew if these memories were accurate. Lent was a big frickin' deal back then!

Clapper ("crotalus") used on Holy Thursday

Baseball in Euclid in the 1950s and 1960s

Though I was born in Willoughby, I grew up in Euclid, Ohio--from age 3 until I left home and moved to Cincinnati at age 22. Euclid was a sports-crazed town--at least that was my perspective on it. And I was baseball crazy. Beginning around 1957 I spent my summer days playing baseball at the local playground, which everyone called "Mudville"--later to be officially called "Willow Playground." Mudville was down Farringdon Avenue at E.272nd Street, about a quarter mile away. I always ran to and from my house to Mudville, passing the homes of many playmates and fellow ballplayers. Moving down Farringdon, there were the homes of Buster and Kenny Zylowski, Chuckie Lintern, Bernard and Paul Dembek, Clay Lutsch, Frankie Andrulis, Mike Sikora, and Pat Mueller.

Mike Sikora became a well-known realtor in Mentor. Buster moved out to the state of Washington, Kenny to Florida, and I don't know about the rest. Mike Sikora was older than us, maybe 4 years I would guess. I have one hilarious memory of him getting bopped on the head by a high fly ball. The ball hit him square on the top of his head and bounced straight up, higher than the telephone wires. I also remember Mike playing in the local softball league--a ferociously competitive league usually dominated by the guys from Gary Avenue.

While watching the baseball playoffs these past few weeks I thought of Bernard Dembek. Bernard was also a few years older than us, but I did play ball with him. He had a straight overhand pitch and he could throw very hard. Bernard did not give up many hits. His arm motion was unique and scared hitters half to death. His brother Paul didn't pitch as often, as I remember, and didn't have that straight overhand motion (but, if I remember correctly, Big Paul could hit the ball a mile).

One of the greatest players on Farringdon was Clay Lutsch. He usually played shortstop and was a tremendous fielder and hitter. He had a buddy who lived on Shirley Avenue, David Kaprosy, who also was a terrific baseball player--good hands, strong arm, good hitter. Dave Kaprosy had hands twice as big as my own. I believe he is now a lawyer somewhere around Moreland Hills. So many successful people came out of this humble Euclid neighborhood!

Frankie Andrulis lived across the street from Clay. He was a couple years younger than us, but also a good ballplayer. He was tall and thin, and had an older brother even taller. Even his sister was tall; they were all good athletes.

At the very end of Farringdon lived Patrick Mueller. Talk about tall--I think Pat ended up being the drum major for Ohio State's band. I played baseball with Pat for many years and went to high school with him. I believe his father was a Cleveland detective. No idea where Pat is today.

These were some of the ballplayers that lived on Farringdon. Each street had a gang of ballplayers--Zeman Ave., Shirley Ave., Drakefield, Gary, Biardale. Many names come to mind: Jay Niedermeyer, Jim Allsip, Gary Czyzynski, Dale Kovatch, my brother Denny, Frank Calabro, John George and his brothers, the Lynch boys, Tony Severino (maybe the greatest athlete of all of them), Gary King. Wish all the names would come to me!

Thinking about the Melonheads of Kirtland/Chardon

Lately, as the winds of autumn howl and the bitter rain falls, as the maple leaves turn red and orange, my mind turns toward thoughts of the Melonheads that roam the deep woods along the Kirtland-Chardon border, where Lake County meets Geauga County, Ohio. I know, friend, that you've been thinking about this too. About these perverse, terrible, and unfortunate monsters, created by Dr. Crowe's despicable experiments, condemned to roam forever the forested hills and ravines of this part of Northeast Ohio.

Yes, friend, I know that you've gone looking for them too (as I first did as a teenager in 1964, with Gary Czyzynski, Jay Neidermeyer, Buster Zylowski, and other Euclid friends from the St. William's-Upson School neighborhood). What we saw was too terrible to reveal back then; in fact, I can barely write about it now.

I can't bring myself to tell you exactly where to look; it would disturb the peace of those unhappy, melon-headed souls and the few normal residents of the area. I wish I could dissuade you from looking. If you don't find them, you will be disappointed; if you do find them, you will have to carry this terror in your heart until you too feel the cold clay of the grave. The Melonheads are nothing to fool with. Not everyone comes back from searching for them. Others come back, but irreparably damaged by their new and terrible knowledge.

Take care, my friend.

p.s. I have 2 other posts on the Melonheads: one from October 30, 2010; and one from October 27, 2009 (that one with photos)

Joy in Mudville/Willow Playground

My old neighborhood in Euclid, Ohio was developed in 1951 by a builder named Marvin Helf. I would guess that the neighborhood was about 1/2 mile north to south and 1/2 mile east to west. On the north side it began at East 266 Street and Zeman Avenue and ran south to Elinore. East to west, at the widest point, it extended from E. 260th to E.272nd Street. The streets were in straight line grids and the lots were very small (my guess is 1/10th of an acre). The homes were built as 2-story bungalows, but the top floor was originally unfinished. Colored asbestos shingles covered the homes. There was no garage, no basement, one bathroom, 2 bedrooms, a utility room, a very small kitchen, and a dinette. The finished living space might have been 800 square feet. The homes were priced at $11,900 when they first went on the market in 1951. Down the road about 1/2 mile was another neighborhood of brick ranch homes, the "F & S Homes." These were originally priced even less than the Marvin Helf homes. Between these two neighborhoods about 10 acres were left for a playground. When I first started playing there around 1956 or '57, it was a muddy mess, our muddy mess, and everyone called it "Mudville," Since that time, the City of Euclid gave it an official name--"Willow Playground. It was there, at Mudville, that I spent almost every minute of my life as a kid.


Some People I Played Ball With at Mudville/Willow Playground.

I remember playing baseball with Clay Lutch from Farringdon Avenue and Dave Kaprosy from Shirley Avenue. Clay was a terrific shortstop and Dave had tremendous athletic skills. I remember the size of his hands--gigantic compared with my small hands. There was Gary Czyzynski, Jay Neidermeyer, and Jim Allsip (I think these guys were from Drakefield Avenue). Wayne Starkey (full name might have been Starkweather) came to Mudville from E. 266 and Shoreview. Pat Mueller sometimes played (he lived on Farringdon at E. 272). There are others I'll mention in another posting.

What Happened to the Catholics who Ate Meat on Fridays?

Some time around 1964, Gary Czyzynski and I drove over from St. Joe's High School to the new McDonald's across from Villa Angela Academy--right on Lakeshore Boulevard near Euclid Beach in Cleveland. I ordered a fish fillet sandwich, and Gary ordered a cheeseburger. I was astonished. I couldn't believe that my Catholic friend ate a hamburger on a Friday. It was the first time that I ever saw a Catholic eat meat on Friday. I wondered about this sin, about how Gary would pay for it.

Of course the prohibition on eating meat on Friday simply faded away in the mid to late 1960s. And we who had been brought up with an intense sense of sin wondered what God would do with the fallen Catholics roasting in hell because they violated the Friday meat ban.

I had a friend years ago, Chuck Matthei, who fasted totally on Fridays. Chuck was not a Catholic and I never quite understood the roots of his fasting. He did tell me once that he fasted to be in solidarity with the poor and hungry of the world.

Chuck was such an amazing guy that I have no doubt he was telling me the truth. Chuck lived his rather short life in solidarity with the poor, with the oppressed, and those suffering from violence and war. His motivations for fasting were certainly better than mine back in 1964.

As for Gary Czyzynski, I don't know what happened to him. I don't think he will roast in hell for his "sin" of eating meat on a Friday.