Newsgroups: alt.obituaries Subject: Expert on polka and pest control loved the music and his bug business
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/9495147-418/expert-on-polka-and-pest-control-loved-the-music-and-his-bug-business.html Expert on polka and pest control loved the music and his bug business BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter [email protected] Last Modified: Dec 17, 2011 04:42PM Jim Mieszala was probably one of the few people in the world who was an expert on both polka and pest control. He was a popular polka drummer with the Chicago Magic and Music Explosion bands. He recorded LPs and CDs and jammed with members of the International Polka Music Hall of Fame, located on Chicago's Archer Avenue. In his polka heyday, he had a loyal following of scores of people who'd show up at his gigs. He could also tell the difference between a German and a Japanese cockroach at 20 yards. Mr. Mieszala owned "Hitman" Pest Control in Hartford, Wis. He became president of the Wisconsin Pest Control Association, and his clients included the Bradley Center, home of the Milwaukee Bucks, said his brother, Joe. Mr. Mieszala, 59, a native of the Bucktown neighborhood, died of cancer last month at St. Joseph's Hospital in West Bend, Wis. It was typically thoughtful of him that in his 23rd month of fighting cancer - after enduring chemo, radiation and hospitalizations - he drafted a heartfelt letter to his clients, telling them he would never walk away from the business, and that he'd never sell his customer list to another pest control firm. "No matter what trials and challenges arise in my personal life, I could never deal with myself if I couldn't take care of your pest control services, to the standards I have established and the quality you deserve," he said. "You folks are not only my invaluable customers, but my friends." He was born near Fullerton and Western and attended St. Hedwig grade school and Gordon Tech High School. He loved watching the Cubs at Wrigley Field, eating ice cream at Margie's Candies at Armitage and Western, and hanging out at Holstein Park. His father was also a drummer. On weekends, they listened to all the polka music on Chicago's ethnic radio shows. That helped ignite Jim's love affair with polka, the thumpingly life-affirming music that binds Slavic people from Poland to Pulaski Road. Jim was definitely marching to his own drum. At a time when 1970s teens were into Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd or James Taylor and Carole King, he and concertina player Ted Kiewicz were starting the five-piece Music Explosion band, said his brother. In some ways, polka was at its peak. The Depression-era generation was still out dancing, and some Baby Boomers were getting into polka as well. Crowds filled the Polonia Grove on Archer Avenue for Moonlight Dances several nights a week, said Polka Hall of Famer Chet Kowalkowski, a trumpeter who played with Mr. Mieszala. Mr. Mieszala and his band performed from Pennsylvania to Omaha. He and Kowalkowski were driving to Wisconsin for a gig when his tire blew out. They stopped at a Firestone dealer near Kenosha. "Jimmie pulled out his snare drum, and I pulled out my trumpet and we were playing at the gas station, right outside the door," he said. "Ted Kiewicz pulled out his concertina. It was summertime, so we kind of serenaded the gas station owner - so of course, he gave us a deal on the tire." The first song he ever wrote, "I Remember Mama," was about his mother, who died when he was about 13. It went: "Now I have a band of my own, we play both near and far, but I'm still missing something, no matter where we are. The angels came from heaven and took my mom away; she never had the chance to dance to songs her son would play." He met his wife, Cindy, when he played polka in Milwaukee. He asked her to dance and they were married within two months. During his cancer battle, "he wouldn't allow me to cry. He'd always crack a funny," she said. For every month of their 11-year marriage, he sent her two anniversary cards - one for the day on which they met, and one for the day on which they married. "He wanted to make people happy," said his sister, Pat. "His music, his business and his wonderful soulmate, Cindy - that was his whole life." He loved Christmas. "He had a tree in every room of the house, including the restrooms," his brother said. Mr. Mieszala was buried with his drumsticks and a gardenia, his mother's favorite flower. He is survived by his children, Jaime and Jessica Mieszala, as well as Brenda and Brian Birno and Beth Marthaler; his sister, Debbie; his brother, Tom, and three grandchildren. Services have been held. Copyright © 2011 - Sun-Times Media, LLC -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en.
