Map of Calumet and Vicinity scale: 1in=600ft (part 1)

Map of Calumet and Vicinity scale: 1in=600ft (part 2)

Swedetown, Laurium, Calumet, Tamarack

From the MTU Archives, undated

OLD HECLA CEMETERY HERE IS UNDERGOING MANY IMPROVEMENTS

Daily Mining Gazette 18 October 1929, p. 13

OLD HECLA CEMETERY HERE IS UNDERGOING MANY IMPROVEMENTS

School Children Aid Priest in Beautifying Work.

Sacred Heart church, through the enterprise of the Rev. Fr. Humbert, has taken steps toward beautifying the old Hecla Cemetery, which in the early days was the Catholic burying ground for this section. Old fences are being removed, mounds leveled, and as far as possible the place is being put in a presentable condition.

School children are aiding Father Humbert in this work, but as there is no fund available, the improvements will be necessarily limited.

If the weather permits a Libera service will be held on Oct. 27, with a procession from the church to the cemetery, following a sermon and prayer in observation of the Feast of Poor Souls, November 2.

The cemetery came into existence about the time of the opening of the Calumet and Hecla mine here, although no records are available because of the destruction of the church. Research has shown that the parish now known as Scared Heart was organized here in 1868 by the Rev. Fr. Hacker.

In 1869 a church 40 by 90 feet was built at a cost of $14,000 for the parish, which numbered about 1,200 souls. A parsonage was built the following year at a cost of $1,800.

Father Jacker was succeeded by Fathers Ela, Brown, Burns, Mazina, Menard, Kenny, and Shebul; Father Shebul leaving in 1876.

From this the date of the establishment of the cemetery can be fixed with some accuracy, although no exact information as to the identification of unmarked graves is available. There was no cemetery organization at that time, burial permits being granted by the sexton, who kept no record aside from his own memory.

Although the title to the land rests with the Calumet and Hecla Mining company, the cemetery is part of the Sacred Heart parish.

Where possible it is planned to mark the graves, although only records entered since 1892 are available for this purpose, and death has carried away nearly all of the pioneers who might have remembered anything about the earlier graves.

The Hecla cemetery and the Calumet Protestant cemetery were the first burial ground in this vicinity, the latter lying about one quarter mile east of the Schoolcraft cemetery north of Albion. May bodies are buried there, but as in the case in the Hecla cemetery , there are no records.

Subsequently the Schoolcraft cemetery was used, until the Lake View association came into existence in 1894. Since then few burials have been made in these older cemeteries.

Sacred Heart parish has improved the old cemetery at Eagle Harbor, and in the future will probably undertake the improvement of the old Catholic cemetery at the Cliff mine.

Josephine Kruszka and Children

Cousins Virginia Hartselle and Tony Bausano both have this Kruszka family portrait in their collections. Tony's photo is identified as: John, Catherine Staniszewska, Anna, and Valeria Kruska
Virginia writes:
Josephine Kruszka with children (she would be my great grandmother)
One of the girls is my grandmother Walerja Kruszka who later married Joseph Rasimowicz and then Andrew Madajewski. One of the other girls is Annie Kruzska who later married John Szatkowski (Tony Bausano's grandparents).
The young man is John Kruszka. I believe the baby is another son whose name I do not know.

Is the unknown woman John's mother Catherine Staniszewska?
The marriage record of Annie Kruszka and John Szatkowski reads:
Groom name: John Szatkowski
Groom age: 34 year:
Groom birth year: 1877
Groom birth place: Germany
Bride name: Annie Kruszka
Bride age: 28 years
Bride birth year: 1883
Bride birth place: Germany
Marriage date: 04 Oct 1911
Marriage place: Calumet, Houghton, Michigan
Father of groom name: Tom Szatkowski
Mother of groom name: Catherine Staniszewska
Father of bride name: Math Kruszka
Mother of bride name: Josephine Maczynska

Additional relatives: Film number: 2342693Frame number: Digital GS number: 4209154
Image number: 130Reference number: v 2 p 779 rn 566Collection: Michigan Marriages 1868-1925 accesses via http://labs.familysearch.org/

Kowalski Burials at Lake View

KOWALSKI

Anton, age 52, death 21 June 1911; burial 25 June 1911
Sec E, Lot S1/2-85 Director: Ryan

John, age 80; death 8 October 1921; burial 11 October 1921
Sec B, Lot NE 1/4-2

Stanley age 79,
Seneca Location, Section C-2
Lot N1-3-70, grave 1
Director: Crowley

Mrs. Frances , age 60, death 12 May 1967; burial 15 May 1967
Grave 2
Director: Crowley

William, age 49
Section V, Lot E 1/2 35, Grave 3
Director: E-C

Pioneer Taken By Death

Mining Gazette

October 11, 1921

John Kowalski Passes at Home of Daughter in Laurium

John Kowalski, aged 80, a pioneer Copper Country resident, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Walski of Ameek street, Saturday evening at 7 o'clock, of ailments due to old age.

The late Mr. Kowalski is survived by the widow, three sons and three daughters. They are: Joseph, Walter, Michael, and Mrs. Joseph Adamski of Detroit. Mrs. Stanley Mizerek of Muskegon, and Mrs. Walski of Laurium. Thirty one grandchildren and three great grandchildren survive.

Mr. Kowalski was born in Poland and had been a resident of this country for over half a century. He was an employee of the Tamarack Mining Co. for thirty-five years.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday morning from the Polish church Rev. Fr. Hudat will officiate and interment will be in Lake View (cemetery).

Mrs. Mizerek arrived here Sunday evening to attend her father's funeral, with the other children, with the exception of Joseph were expected to arrive last evening from Detroit. Joseph Kowalski is unable to come , having buried his sixteen -year old daughter yesterday.

Virginia (Rasinowich) Hartselle writes......

June 7, 2008 (in response to the article Polish families hightlighted in talk)
http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/500709.html

I read the Mining Gazette every day here at my home in Florida, thanks to computers.

I am also a child of a Polish father, born in Calumet. My Dad's father was killed in the Osceola Mine fire on September 1895, his name was Joseph Rasimowicz, because of the difficult name, he was listed as Joseph Rasec, as one of the 30 or so miners killed in the mine fire. They could not put the fire out so they sealed the mine shaft to stop the fire and the men were found on the ladders trying to walk our of the shaft. My Dad was born in January, 1896, after his father 's untimely death in the mine fire, this he never knew his father and I never knew my grandfather. There is a sign up by the old Osceola Mine, and a few poor rocks piles left, which I visit each and every summer when I return to Calumet to visit. My grandmother's maiden name was Polish also, Valeria Kruscka, she was 16yrs old when my Dad was born- she later married again and had 9 more children- she married Andrew Madajewski- they lived in Calumet, actually there were a lot of neighborhoods with different names.

Swedetown was one of them and a lot of Polish people lived in Swedetown, some Polish names I can think of right off hand are , Macynski, Baranowski, Szatkowski, besides the Madajewski's- there were many more Polish miners in Calumet. They had their own Polish Catholic Church and a Polish Catholic School- I don't know the exact name of the church and school but St. Paul's Church in Calumet has that information, just ask Jan in the office. The Polish Church and School burned down in the early 1900s- I do know that my Dad went there until he was thru the 5th grade and in those days you left school and my Dad worked underground from the time he was 13 yrs old into he was in his 60's except when he was in the National Guard (Home Guard) and fought Pancho Villa at 17 yrs of age at the Mexican boarder and then fought in Europe in World War I in France. Upon his return he went back into working in the mines- mainly Ahmeek mine. My maiden name changed a little in spelling from Rasimowicz to Rasinowich.

I have pictures if my grandmother and grandfather Rasimowicz wedding and then when my grandmother remarried to Madajewski (right) they are by the same folks that the picture in the newspaper was made by- if you want any more information please call me. I loved my heritage , love my hometown of Calumet, my brother and I have been delving into our genealogy an d it is hard to get it all when some if it is in Europe but I go up to Calumet every summer, this year it will be for the Air Force Base reunion in August, Calumet Air Force Base where my husband was based, and then I will be up there for my 60th Class Reunion from Calumet High at the Miscowabik Club the following weekend. I still have family up there and loads of friends- although I have lived in Florida for 46 years I am so proud of where I am from and another Yooper and I have a UP picnic each March in Florida.

Virginia (Rasinowich) Hartselle