Francis Bernard Mischewski

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 670, 21 January 1997, Page 4

Francis Bernard Mischewski

19 August 1899 - 29 December 1996 By Merilyn George (abridged) Frank Mischewski arrived in Ohakune with his parents as a boy of 10. He enrolled at Ohakune Primary School in May 1910, moving to the Side school at Gamman's Mill in 191 1. Mr Mischewski was of true pioneering stock and, being born at the end of last century, his life was full and never dull. He remained alert for the whole of his lifetime, and retained an interest in all that was going on around him and in the world. When he left school he worked at the newly opened Kings Court as a general hand and porter. In 1 926 he and Alma Petersen were married in Ohakune, although they had to wait until Alma was 2 1 , until Alma' s father thought she was old enough. He was working for Gammans Mill at the time. He moved with Gammans to Mamaku in the depression, but returned to Ohakune in the early '30s. They raised a family of four; Paddy, Val, Karl and Marie. He worked at various jobs during those early years, including driving for Ted Cawthrey's stables where he would take people to Pipiriki to meet the boat to go down the Whanganui River. He worked for a long time in

Bennett & Punch's bush as well as helping out on the Petersen' s farm. He broke his arm in 1944 during a mishap with falling logs in the bush and after a four-month stay in hospital he went to Napier to do an apprenticeship in saw doctoring. He recalled that the 19Ruapehu eruption was simila the recent one in that more ash Napier than here.

He returned to Ohakune and worked in the mill for Bennett & Punch and then for Carters until his retirement sometime well after his 70th birthday. He had a real zest for life and a great sense of humour. During the writing of my book, between 1978 and 1990, Frank and Alma were two of my most important and frequent oral sources. Frank could remember all sorts of • things about people, what they did and where they lived. He could relate all the funny little things that you wouldn' t normally be told. (some I was not able to use, because it was not what people would have liked to have read). He enjoyed people and brought events to life. There is no doubt that apart from his work he learnt a lot about people at the Sunbeam Club, where he was a faithful patron. He belonged to the Ruapehu Bowling club (when it was behind the railway station) and was green keeper and long-time committee member. He had his fair share of success at the game too. Later in his retirement he got a lot of pleasure from his garden, and he loved his grandchildren, and great-grand-children, always showing interest in what they were doing. Despite smoking until he was 90 and being known to like a drink, he was a model of health and long life. But there was a third part of the equation. He never owned or drove a car, he chose to walk everywhere. Only 12 months ago he was up on the ladder at their Arawa St house cleaning out the guttering. He walked to church every Sunday until just recently, and was a very proud man when his wife joined him in the Catholic church. He and Alma celebrated a very rare feat — 70 years of married life together. He was a man of principle and was both faithful and loyal - an example to us all. Frank has been a familiar face within the community, and he and Alma were often guests of honour at public functions, the most recent being the Ohakune School centenary.