Author: Jeff (Page 3 of 3)

Katrina – The Early Years

March 16, 2023 / Jeff

Katrina’s love for art started at a very young age. One day at the age of three Katrina got her hands on a pencil and proceeded to cover her bedroom walls with the most amazing drawings and doodles. Her parents, who were a bit angry because they were renting the apartment and realized they would not get their security deposit back, were amazed at the amount of detail and imagination Katrina showed in the drawings and doodles.

Katrina’s father searched high and low for paper, wood boards, anything Katrina could draw on that would not anger the landlord. He wound up making a deal with the local newspaper. Katrina’s father would perform janitorial services at the local newspaper and be paid in blank sheets of paper of various shapes, sizes and color. He would work at the newspaper until the family immigrated to the United States.

Below is a small sample of Katrina’s drawing. They were found in a box in a back storage room of an abandoned gas station mini mart. Only a small number of drawings were able to be saved and restored.

Katrina Wasski

March 16, 2023 / Jeff

Katrina Wasski was born in Eastern Europe in 1911. She immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1917. They lived in Milwaukee. Katina’s father worked as the night janitor at the Voom Voom Room strip club in downtown Milwaukee and Katrina’s mother darned socks for the orphans at Our Lady of Perpetual Chastity on the southside of Milwaukee.

Katrina was a very curious girl. She enjoyed the outdoors and loved to explore new and different places. Katrina was a master of the Milwaukee Bus system. She knew all the tricks for transferring from one bus route to another. She always had a complete set of bus schedules in her purse. Everyday was a new experience and new discovery.

Katrina had an eye for beauty even in the most dirty and disgusting settings. Katrina could find beauty in a junkyard or garbage dump. It was the way she looked at her subjects. The angles, the lighting and the backgrounds. Katrina’s father suggested photography. As he put it, “Art is fleeting and constantly changing. Photography can capture a subject at the perfect moment or the only moment before the mood is lost.” Katrina darned socks with her mother in order to earn money so she could buy a Kodak Brownie camera.

Katina was in heaven. She took her camera everywhere. After several months she had enough photos to put on display for the public to view. She taped the photos in the hallway of the apartment building where she and her parents lived. It was there where Katrina was discovered.

Fremuth Schoenfield was a blind art critic. Fremuth could determine if the art on display was good by the aura it would cast. He was visiting a business woman that lived in the same apartment complex where Katrina lived. As Fremuth walked the halls, he was struck by the beauty of the auras he felt. He shouted from the hallways until Katrina came out and told Mr. Fremuth that those were her photos on the hallway walls. He called her a genius and wanted to sponsor her. Katrina was overwhelmed. Her parents were not too sure of this.

Katrina’s life was about to change …

Pastor Dzef

March 16, 2023 / Jeff

Pastor Dzeff was the associate pastor at Saint Helga’s Church, a non denominational church and the only church in Royal

Pastor Dzef grew up in southern Wisconsin. As a boy he was always the odd kid out. Dzef did not love sports or fishing or camping. Dzef was a bookworm and if you were looking for him, the first place to check was the public library.

Dzef had a love for animals and any stray animal he found he brought home to the family farm. After doing his chores he would care for his animals. He would set them free or find homes for them.

After high school, Dzef volunteered for the Peace Corp. He was sent to Central America where he worked with missionaries helping the poor, homeless and hungry. This is where and when Dzef discovered God. He knew what his calling and purpose of life was to be.

He entered the seminary and several years later was ordained a priest. His first assignment was as chaplain for the only active MASH unit in the VietNam war. He served there for about a year before returning home.

His next assignment was as associate pastor at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee. The parish was very conservative and the parishioners came from well to do families. Father Dzef saw how the parish and school was trying to conform all the children into “Little Soldiers of Christ”. There was no chance of being an individual. Father Dzef was always at odds with the Pastor.

At a family reunion held in Royal one summer, Father Dzef attended service at Saint Helga’s. He felt so at peace listening to the Word of God. He enjoyed how all the families at the church participated in the service. God was calling Father Dzef. Royal was to be his new home.

Father Dzef talked with the Pastor and was offered the Associate Pastor position. Father Dzef accepted the position and was ordained Pastor Dzef. With church finances as they were, the position was unpaid and the new Associate Pastor Dzef needed to find a place to live. Pastor Dzef was able to find a job at a local restaurant called “The Lunch Stop”. He worked at the counter and in the kitchen. It was there where he was able to meet and talk with the families from Royal and from other small towns nearby. Pastor Dzef was able to rent a small apartment above the restaurant. It was there he wrote his Epistle to the People of Royal.

Pastor Dzef remained at Saint Helga’s until the church closed and is currently on a walkabout across the United States

The Voice Of The Great Up North

March 16, 2023 / Jeff

WRYL was the local radio station for the town of Royal. WRYL provided news, sports, weather and local entertainment for Royal and the neighboring communities. WRYL was known as “The Voice of the Great Up North”.

WRYL was a community owned station. Every family in Royal had a share in the day to day operations of the station. The station operated with a small staff including several broadcasters, an engineer and a business administrator. The Royal community volunteered their time, talent and financial contributions to keep the station a beacon of information for Royal and the greater community.

WRYL was an independent station. The station was not affiliated with the major networks like CBS, NBC and Mutual Broadcasting. It did use the Associated Press and United Press International for national and international news. WRYL would cherry pick radio programs from the various major networks. On some evenings you could hear Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Fibber Mcgee & Molly as well as Suspense, Gunsmoke, Gangbusters and others.

But what WRYL was most proud of was their local programming. Every Saturday you could hear Jerome Melk and the Five Melk Duds perform song and dance music live from the local armory. The Morning Report was a must hear for every Royal citizen. Pastor Dzef from Saint Helgas would deliver inspirational messages from the counter at The Lunch Stop Restaurant every weekday afternoon at 2 pm. There was Telephone Time every weekday morning where people could call in with items for sale or services offered or to promote community events.

The most popular show was on Sunday evenings. Royal Theater Presents would perform stage plays adapted for radio. Most of the plays were written or transcribed by members of the cast. Royal Theater Presents was heard by hundreds of people in Royal and the surrounding communities.

On Sunday night October 18, 1953 Royal Theater Presents performed an original play written by Katrina Wasski entitled “Close Your Eyes And Say Goodbye”. It was a story about how miscommunication and misinformation could lead to a nuclear war and the end of the world. This story included fake news broadcasts and bulletins as well as fake interviews from fake high ranking officials in government. The realism of the show and a grain elevator explosion caused mass panic in Royal and the surrounding area.

The FCC suspended WRYL’s broadcast license pending an investigation. On Tuesday October 20, 1953 WRYL went off the air. Three weeks later WRYL’s license was revoked permanently.

Members of the community were outraged by the decision of the FCC. WRYL will not be silent. Within a few weeks after the revocation WRYL went back on the air alternating on various frequencies and reduced the strength of its signal. WRYL stayed one step ahead of the FCC. It wasn’t until the town of Royal became silent and abandoned that WRYL signed off forever.