Schools
Most Strauss families who settled in New Hyde Park and surrounding areas tended to use the same schools, such as St Hedwigs because it was Polish Catholic, and it's where they went to church.
St Hedwigs Church and School
St. Hedwig’s has a place in family history because family members were founding fathers, generations received elementary education there, and “my Mom and Dad met at their teen social club,” said BJ O'Leary, granddaughter of Kinga Strauss.
St. Hedwig Roman Catholic Church in Floral Park was built in 1902 to serve a large Polish congregation. In 1908, the St. Hedwig School was built with four classrooms attached to the convent. It was replaced with a new building in 1926 that had twelve classrooms.
In the above photo, the rectory is behind the church, and the school is behind the rectory. The convent for the Felician Sisters, who taught at the school, cannot be seen in this view, but is to the left of the school.
These are the Strauss family members who attended St Hedwigs School.
| Edward Hoffman | |
| Susan Hoffman | |
| Thomas Hoffman | |
| Kinga Strauss Lubowiecki | |
| Virginia Lubowiecki | |
| Stanley Lubowiecki | |
| * | Matt O'Leary |
| * | Justin O'Leary |
| Dorothy Pogozelski | |
| Linda Pogozelski Colgan O'Rear | |
| Ruth M Pogozelski Horr | |
| Mary Jane Rudzinski | |
| * | Chris Sawicki |
| * | Danielle Sawicki Austin |
| Edward J Sawicki Jr | |
| Betty Jane Sawicki | |
| Diana J Sawicki | |
| James M Sawicki | |
| Kenneth Sawicki | |
| Jane Strauss | |
| Adelaide Tworkowski | |
| Eleanore H. Tworkowski | |
* religious instruction only
St Hedwigs School is no longer a school. The building is now Saint Hedwig's Gardens—affordable Senior Housing. The convent was torn down and now serves as parking.
History of the St. Hedwig's Church and Parish
Mineola High School
A few relatives lived in the Mineola and Williston Park area. Some attended Mineola High School, which was originally located at 121 Jackson Avenue, Mineola, NY. Built in 1927, it was south of Jericho Turnpike, on the corner of Willis Avenue and Jackson Avenue. The new Mineola High School was built in 1962 and is located on Armstrong Avenue in Garden City Park - a few hundred feet away from the Mineola line.
Ed Sawicki Jr says he used to play on the huge empty lot that the new high school was built on, and remembers when that lot was on fire.
Sewanhaka High School
Many of the Strauss descendants went to Sewanhaka High School, which was built in 1929.
Sewanhaka was the first high school in the country to have its own radio station. It began broadcasting on February 18, 1947 under the call letters WSHS, and broadcasting on 90.3 MHz. It stopped broadcasting sometime before Ed Sawicki attended the school in 1964. Ed would have certainly taken part.
Here's the story on page 54: Sewanhaka
Here's some people who went to Sewanhaka:
New Hyde Park Memorial High School opened in 1956, but Sewanhaka had vocational programs that attracted students who would otherwise go to New Hyde Park Memorial.
Alfred University
Many children of the Strauss family who lived in western upstate New York went to Alfred University. It's located in Alfred, New York, about 6 miles southwest (as the crow flies) from Hornell, where Jane and William Gozelski first lived when they moved from Long Island.
