Edward J. PiszekPulaski Parade Grand Marshal 1993
Edward J. Piszek, U.S. business leader, philanthropist, founder of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens and a proud Polish American, will lead the 1993 Pulaski Day Parade as the Grand Marshal. The Polish American Congress selected Mr. Piszek, in recognition for his many years of outstanding support for Polonia and to thank him for his more than 40 years of generosity to the people in Poland. It was because of Mr. Piszek's assistance that needy people in Poland received needed godsend services unavailable to them during the dark days of Communist rule.
Mr. Piszek is a first generation Polish American. His parents owned a small farm near Tarnow in southern Poland before immigrating to the United States in the early 1900's. They settled in Chicago where they lived until 1916, the year of Mr. Piszek's birth. Later that year, the Piszek family moved from Chicago to a farm in Quakertown, PA. A business opportunity subsequently brought the family to Philadelphia where the Piszeks operated a small grocery store in a Polish neighborhood in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia.
While working at the Campbell Soup Company and General Electric, Mr. Piszek enrolled for evening courses at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in Business Administration.
In 1946, with $350 and the help of a close friend, Mr. Piszek founded Mrs. Paul's Kitchens, Inc. He developed Mrs. Paul's into one of America's leading producers of prepared frozen seafood and vegetables. In 1982, with sales in excess $100 million, Mr. Piszek sold Mrs. Paul's to Campbell Soup.
In 1972, to help America's Polonia, Mr. Piszek founded the Copernicus Society of America. This national non-profit organization promotes Polish culture and Polish heritage in addition to its involvement in the fields of literature, poetry, education, religion, history, mass communications and health which continues to benefit people of all races, religions and ethnic groups across America and around the world. It is also through the Copemicus Foundation that Mr. Piszek distributed tens of thousand of books about Poland and the Polish heritage to schools and libraries across America. These books have enabled millions of individuals to have a better understanding of Polish history, culture and the heritage of the Polish people.
Mr. Piszek was responsible for the purchase and restoration of the historic General Thaddeus Kosciuszko House in Philadelphia and donated the house to the National Park Service in 1972. Now, in the 75th years of his life, Edward Piszek has launched what he terms his "greatest project" -- Peace Corps Partners In Teaching English, a program of Peace Corps volunteers teaching the host country teachers, who in turn will bring to their fellow citizens a command of the English language. Mr. Piszek has once again set off on a pilgrimage for international understanding, goodwill and peace.
Mr. Piszek and his wife Olga, their five children, eleven grandchildren and family members reside in the Philadelphia area.
From: Polish American Congress, Eastern Pennsylvania District, 1993