A Friend of Kazio's in New York City

Henry continues his story.

Now, what to do. The Polish committee, where is it?  First we find the post office. We find the post office. And we look in the book, Polish international committee.  Downtown, 3rd Street. And we are on 31ststreet. I would take metro, we still have a few dollars.  And we don’t see nobody from Caritas Catolica anymore. 

Now we find the Polish Committee, and meet the president of the Relief Committee. I see my old friend Trytko. “Ah boys, how are you, how are you! How good to see you again, Henry!  How is Kazio?” 

Wait.  You knew him? This guy that was in charge of the relief society – did you know him in Krakow or he knew Kazio? 

(Henry mimics shaking hands and such)  He was himself in Cracovia.  He was a friend playing water polo with Kazio and our team. Yeah, he knew Kazio. He was one of those guys with us, with our bunch.  He was Olympian in basketball and in water polo swimming. Maybe he was not Olympian, but he swim with us and was champion of Cracovia (sports club in Krakow.) I have the Cracovia book here which his name is mentioned few times as one of the Olympians.  Trytko.  (Henry can’t remember his first name, Trytko is the last name.)
He was already here in America.  Where? New Rochelle.  In New Rochelle he got the bar there.  So, that’s nice. 
So next day we call him and he come pick us up. He owns a bar and restaurant in New Rochelle.  We went there for steak dinner.  Very nice.  He was very good bartender himself. It was his own bar.  “Ah, boys you don’t worry, you gonna live.  Don’t worry You gonna live.’ 
 
Henry, tomorrow you go see Dr. Sofia Leszczewska, at St. Barnabus Hospital. 

Note – If you haven’t read earlier posts on Henry, Kazio is a nickname for Kasimierz Szeleste, the goalie of the water polo team Henry played with in Krakow, prior to WWII.  Kazio saved his life more than once. And now the first person Henry meets in New York City is an old friend of Henry’s and Kazio’s from Krakow.  

Just for fun, I tried searching the Internet to see if I could confirm this.  Sure enough, I found an old post for 1934 that lists I Liga (League 1) and team members for Cracovia including Trytko, Szelest and Kot. (Professor Kot was another good friend of Henry’s; he was executed after the war by Russians.)  Amazing.  

1.    EKS Katowice (1:8, 1:1)
2.    AZS Warszawa (3:2, 1:1)
3.    Makkabi Kraków (2:2, 1:2)
4.    Cracovia
5.    Legia Warszawa (3:0, 2:3)
Skład Cracovii: Łukasiewicz, Pawełek, Kot, Trytko, Rouppert, Szelest, Meglicz
(Source: www.wikipasy.pl/Sekcja_pilki_wodnej)




 

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