Today we are moving over to the Polish Tribe.
The son of Polish immigrants, Mr. Charles Edward Skalski was born May 13, 1919 and grew up in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania helping out at a tavern operated by his mother, Michalina, near 10th Street and Montgomery Avenue. In the evenings, his father, Stanley, played clarinet in a Polish band that filled the pub with the sounds of polkas.
It was here that Mr. Skalski met the former Stephanie Marek, whom he courted and married on November 17, 1946. His late brother Julian did the same with Stephanie’s sister, Bernice.
As a young man, Mr. Charles Skalski opened a bar called the Little Spot in Port Richmond. Later, he decided to join friends in a Frankford tavern business, running a place called the Old Spot. After his friend died, he operated his own bar in Center City for a while.
In the early 1960s, the friendly looking, bespectacled Mr. Skalski opened Ski’s, a pub he ran with his late brother Theodore at Sixth and Luzerne Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a neighborhood bar popular with the neighborhood community. It was a social outlet for him. He developed longtime relationships with customers who became his friends over the years. The business fared well and he was successful, and to be successful, he had to be well liked. He was a congenial guy and soft-spoken, a determined fellow. If he thought something was this way or that way, he wasn’t leery about saying it.
Throughout his life, Mr. Charles Skalski also was known for his love of sports. Baseball was his game of choice. He was a stalwart for the Phillies.
Twenty-four hours a day, he’d listen to games on the radio or TV. He loved trivia. If you asked him who hit the first homerun in the World Series game of 1953, he’d know.”
Always proud of his Polish heritage, Mr. Skalski delighted in a 1976 trip to Poland with his mother. He thought it was great trip and they traveled all around the town where his mother grew up.
After retiring, Mr. Skalski passed much of his time with his family. He enjoyed traveling to California to see his daughter Charlotte. He also spent a lot of time with his son and infant grandson in New Jersey.
Mr. Charles Skalski also made a daily trip to the home of his invalid older brother Miecyslaw “Edward” Skalski. He cooked for him, did his shopping and tended to his needs, occasionally taking him to the casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Charles looked after him like it was his mother. He had many, many good characteristics. He loved his children and he loved his family,
An Army veteran of World War II, Mr. Charles Skalski served in Guam and the Philippines as a sergeant, and he was assigned to the 41st Infantry Division. He was a graduate of Northeast Public High School, Philadelphia, PA.
Charles Edward Skalski died Wednesday, October 4, 1989 at his home of 36 years in the city’s Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was a viewing at Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church, Castor Avenue and Vista Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated October 8, 1989 at the church. Interment is at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
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