My roots
When I'm all alone, usually at night, right before I go to bed...sometimes even in the shower...I think. Sometimes about how much I miss the summertime, how crazy my dog is, what school work I have to do. It is on certain occasions that dawns on me about where I came from, How did I become the person I am? What are my roots?
Family is important to me. And as much as I would like to say, my family is so wonderful... We have not always been that close. I was born into a family where my parents were separated when I was 2 1/2...and my whole life have been back and forth between houses. As much as I love my mom, my dad, Matt Olenowski has been a huge inspiration on my life...the attitude he holds inspires me and his selflessness and work ethic to have supported us over the years drives me.
Someone who has inspired him has been his father (my Grandfather) Matt Olenowski Sr...who passed away when he was just 54 on the line of duty as a police officer by a drunk driver. It is 10 years later that I was born.
His life story is inspirational.
Now its my turn to tell his story....
A Unique “Giving man” in a Bygone Era
Matthew was born in 1926 in Newark, NJ to Polish immigrant parents that only arrived in the US two years before. It was the beginning of terrible times in the US as the Great Depression was gripping the nation with massive poverty in every region of the country.
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Matthew’s family worked a small farm in northern, NJ and his childhood was dominated by hard farm chores all of his early years until he finished high school. Virtually every day since he was six years old, his day began at 5AM with his chore of feeding and milking the family’s five cows. He never was able to play sports, spend time with friends or never enjoyed being a kid as his family needed him to work the farm every day tostay out of poverty.
He walked to and from school everyday which was a 40 minute walk to school. I was told he laughed years later when he said he never once took a bus or got a ride to or from school even on the rainiest or coldest of days.
Three days after Matthew turned 18, at the start of World War II, Matthew volunteered to enlist in the Navy. He went immediately from helping his family to helping his country. Matthew was quickly trained and assigned to a Navy Destroyer - the USS Henley- where he experienced many naval battles in the South Pacific fighting the Japanese . He lost several close friends killed in some of those terrible battles.
Shortly before, he had fallen in love with my Grandma Jenny back at home.....
He as well as my Grandma raised their family with strong religious values. All of their Children were named after the Bible....The oldest was my dad, Matt Jr:
Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy,
do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full
Mark 8:36
What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Luke 2:8-14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
Joseph
Mary
Michael
Linda
Something I have always wanted in my was a stable family, a family grounded with both parents. I never had an example of a good marriage so in a way their stories were one of my only examples.
After the war Matthew started as a Police officer, which was the beginning of a long career. During his time as a police officer, Matthew had another terrible brush with death. He was critically injured by a drunk driver who plowed into him on a rainy dark night as he directed traffic on a busy NJ highway. His body was hurled over 50 yards into a swampy ravine and was not found for over an hour. He was found unconscious on his back with life threatening injuries. If he had landed on his stomach he would have drowned in the murky water. He was in the hospital for two months and confined to a wheel chair for over a year. He made a recovery and resumed his duties as a police officer but never walked the same again. He experienced sporadic pain all the rest of his life but never once complained to anyone.
1950's, 60's, and 70's is when my Grandfather was an officer.
Even though this song is about a boy meeting a girl at a bar.....It relates to how I feel about him, because even though I never got to meet him, I am glad he is still apart of my life and has come to achieve everything he has, it truly has inspired me.
After serving as an officer for 30 years and raising 8 children, "Matt Olenowski Day" was declared as a day in the town on Denville, NJ, (a town 20 miles outside NYC) where he served.
Matthew retired as a Police Officer and happily created his dream. He started a highway line painting company by himself with occasional help from his oldest son.(MY DAD!) It was called appropriately ”the Denville Line Painting Company”.
Shortly after successfully starting the line painting company...
After borrowing $2,000 to buy a paint machine, he painted a Funeral Home’s parking lot, located a few blocks from the Olenowski’s home, in Denville, NJ. He purchased the paint from a local hardware store. The paint machine was delivered to the job site and later walked back to their home and kept in the back yard. The office was located in their house for many years, as well. A few years later, Mr. Olenowski re-mortgaged the family home in order to buy Denville Line’s first striper. Over the years, Matt’s six sons took turns working many, many long hard hours learning the pavement marking business and have grown Denville Line Painting, Inc., into one of the most successful pavement marking companies in the United States today.
His company is managed by his surviving sons and the company is now 41 years old and provides a livelihood for 65 employees and is worth over 50 million dollars
Shortly after successfully starting the line painting company...
After borrowing $2,000 to buy a paint machine, he painted a Funeral Home’s parking lot, located a few blocks from the Olenowski’s home, in Denville, NJ. He purchased the paint from a local hardware store. The paint machine was delivered to the job site and later walked back to their home and kept in the back yard. The office was located in their house for many years, as well. A few years later, Mr. Olenowski re-mortgaged the family home in order to buy Denville Line’s first striper. Over the years, Matt’s six sons took turns working many, many long hard hours learning the pavement marking business and have grown Denville Line Painting, Inc., into one of the most successful pavement marking companies in the United States today.
His company is managed by his surviving sons and the company is now 41 years old and provides a livelihood for 65 employees and is worth over 50 million dollars
In 1980, Matthew served his fellow citizens one last time. There was a terrible accident on Rt. 80 only one mile from where Matthew was severely injured many years before. Although a retired Police Officer, he stopped anyway at the accident and helped the first responders by directing oncoming traffic. It was also ironically a rainy, dark night. Matthew was hit again by another drunk driver and severely injured his legs once again. Six months later he died of complications of his injury at the age of 54.
Lead Me (Sanctus Real) Prayer
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I’m called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
Amen
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I’m called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
Amen