Remembering Dad

Like those of many residents who have lived in Morris their entire lives, Debbie (Wawczak) Olsen’s memories go back to a time when the Lees owned Straightway Dairy.

Memories of the pizza, homemade ice cream and french onion dip come readily to mind.

For Olsen, the memories aren’t just of eating the first carryout pizza in the area, but also of watching it be born.

Olsen’s father, Ed, was the creator of Straightway Dairy Pizza.

“Dad made the first pizza for the Lees,” she said. “We ate a lot more pizza than most people because he made it, but people today still talk about it.”

She said she’s not sure how her father, the son of Polish immigrants, learned to make pizza other than by trial and error.

She and her husband, Dana, who has been in her life since the age of 13, describe Ed as a perfectionist, who had to have the crust just so, the sauce the right thickness, and just the right amount of toppings.

Olsen said she can remember going with her father into the back room at the dairy, where the milk was delivered, and seeing the machines where the homemade ice cream was made.

“When you got peach ice cream there, it was fresh peaches; when you had strawberry ice cream, it was fresh strawberries,” she said.

Her love of the ice cream ran into adulthood, when she was pregnant and would send her husband over to pick up some of the fresh ice cream for her, even in the middle of a blizzard.

Another special treat that she loved from the dairy was a bag of Fritos corn chips with the freshly made french onion dip.

“It wasn’t like today when kids get Fritos all the time,” she said.

Her face lights up as she talks about her father and the many hats he wore that impacted Morris while he worked three jobs.

Wawczak was responsible for paving many of the Morris streets for O’Brien Construction, winning them awards from the state for their work. He paved a road by eye and hand, unlike today’s paving machines that are operated by computer.

He was also an instructor and manager at Paramount Skating Rink, where he taught two national champions.

“I pretty much learned to skate right after I learned to walk,” Olsen said. “He taught me to skate backwards and do the shuffle step."

She recalls how the outside walls to the rink had doors that rolled up to let the outside air in and give those in cars a vantage point to watch the skating that went on inside on the wooden floors.

"My memories are more vivid today of what my dad did," she said. "More so than when he was alive."
Perhaps Wawczak's most important job wasn't one he was paid for. His being a father and grandfather has impacted the Olsens to this day.

Olsen said her father was her best buddy and, while her memories include him, they are basically the same memories many in Morris share.

“My dad loved Redskins football,” she said. “I always went to the games with my dad.”

She said they always walked the fence watching the game and traveled as the team went to playoffs downstate.

Her father had cancer in an eye and had it removed. The disease later spread and he became ill.

“Mr. Ciota, the principal at the high school, knew how much my dad loved football and let us drive the car near the field so he could watch the game when he became ill,” she said.

As a grandfather, Wawczak loved to make goulash and often took his young grandsons into the kitchen with him as he cooked so they could help.

His grandson, Eric, is now a chef, which may have stemmed from the chef and pizza maker with whom he grew up.

Wawczak’s formal education ended in fifth grade. Like many first-generation Americans who came from large families, he had to stop school to help out with his 13 brothers and sisters.

He died in 1988 at the age of 67, but for olsen the memories of him go hand in hand with the memories of Morris.