Prominent Poles
Edward John Piszek (also called The Fishcake King, The Big Fishcake) Polish-American businessman, philanthropist, co-founder of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens.
Born: October 24, 1916, Chicago, Illinois
Died: March 24, 2004, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
An interview. Robert Strybel wrote in "The Story of a True Pol-Am Philanthropist" that appearead in the Polish American Journal.: During my many meetings with Piszek, whom I first met in Warsaw in 1970, he told me how he had grown up in Philadelphia thinking Poles and things Polish were somehow inferior. "The first time I visited Poland, before my plane landed in Warsaw, I wondered who handled the country's utilities," Piszek said. "Did the Swedes pipe in the electricity and did the Germans run the phone system? I couldn't imagine Poles being up to installing such things themselves. Not the Polish people I knew in America."
Early days. He was born Edward John Piszczek. In his 20's, he legally shortened his name a bit in a measured response to what he considered American sensibilities. His family moved from Chicago to a farm near Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and then to Philadelphia, where his father opened a grocery store. Little Eddie had fist-fights with neighborhood kids who called him "you dumb Polack," but really had little to do with his heritage during the first 50 years of his life. He later earned a degree in business administration by attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the evenings.
Career. One of his early jobs was as a salesman for Campbell Soup. He hit upon the idea of selling frozen fish in 1946 when he was on strike from his job at the General Electric plant in Philadelphia. Before long, Piszek and a friend, John Paul, a bread salesman, each came up with $350 and went into the frozen seafood business. Piszek bought out Paul in the 1950's. The company suffered after Piszek bought Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips in 1979. He sold the business to the Campbell Soup Company in 1982 for close to $70 million. His personal investments were large and varied. In the late 1970's, he was Chrysler's largest private shareholder, according to Forbes.
He wrote a book, "Some Good in the World: A Life of Purpose".
Philanthropy. He gave millions to battle tuberculosis in Poland. He provided Poland�s health service with a fleet of mobile X-ray units, ambulances and medical equipment that enabled even the residents of remote mountain hamlets to battle tuberculosis. He also started the Copernicus Society to honor Polish achievements. He bought and donated to the National Park Service the Philadelphia house where Tadeusz Kosciuszko once lived,. His donations to Little League Baseball in Poland made Kutno, Poland, the league's European training center. In the 1970's, he spent $500,000 on a national newspaper advertising campaign to promote awareness of Polish culture. He befriended Cardinal Karol Wojtyla before he became Pope John Paul II. He befriended Lech Walesa during Poland�s 1980-81 labor crisis and donated ten million pounds of food to his ancestral homeland during its severe shortages of that period. After Poland dumped communism in 1989, he was instrumental in bringing Peace Corps volunteers to teach English in Poland and set up The World of English magazine to promote interest in English which he called �the world�s universal language. in the 1980s he successfully persuaded his writer friend James Michener to write the novel Poland.
Family. Piszek's wife, the former Olga Pauline McFadden, died in 1993, and his daughter Ann Louise Reitenbaugh died last year. He is survived by a daughter, Helen Nelson,; his sons, Edward Jr., George, and William, 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Awards. J.E. Bi-Centennial Caldwell Award; In 1992, Piszek received the Rotary International Award for World Understanding and Peace. He held an honorary doctorate from the Jagiellonian University and the Commodore�s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, Poland�s highest decoration bestowed upon non-Polish citizens. In appreciation for his efforts, the Kutno Little League facility is officially known as Edward J. Piszek Stadium.
Source:
This article uses, among others, material from the Wikipedia article "Edward Piszek" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. :
Wikipedia (Edward Piszek)
Several fragments were copied from R. Strybel's article:
Strybel
Other sources:
Goggle Books (Life)
Return to home page:
Prominent Poles
