BREEZY and DODO - John Bartkowski

“Hi, I’m Breezy, and this is my wife, Dodo.” With hand extended, that was how I usually introduced us to new acquaintances. They would react with a smile, a look of disbelief, and a series of questions – “How and when did you get those names?” – “How did you two meet and marry?” – etc. 
Our response was quite simple. We were born a week apart in December 1928 to couples who were friends in Dickson City, Pennsylvania. I was given my nickname by a nun in elementary school, at about the same time that Dodo was given hers by her brother Ted. We grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. My dad working in the coal mines and Dodo’s dad owning a local tavern. We first met and became friends in 9th grade, and our friendship grew during our high school years. We began dating while I was attending the University of Scranton, and, a few years later, in October 1950, at the age of 21, were married in the same church in which we had been baptized. I served in the military from 1952 to 1954, which led to my career working at the Department of the Army. We settled in southeastern Pennsylvania, where we lived, worked, and raised their family. 
This response would lead to more questions. Over the years, our three daughters, Donna, Diane, and Janet, asked similar and many more questions. We answered them with the full extent of our recollections. Yet, it seemed that there was always another question. 
Now, in my golden years, my daughters have persuaded me to tell them, and their children, the full story of “Breezy” and “Dodo,” including the histories of our families, their immigration from Poland to Pennsylvania, my paternal grandmother’s 21 children, and maternal grandmother’s 13 children. Life growing up and living in a small coal mining town during the 1930s and 40s. getting married and working to achieve the American dream of middle class.