Staff Writer
Have you ever talked to someone with the gift of wisdom? A wise person seems to have a certain assuredness that no matter what happens, the business of living continues moving forward, day after day...year after year...from one century to the next.
Take Stephen Bielawa, 95, a spry man who has lived all of his life in the Albany area. He is a now widower who fills his days with travel, friends and community activities.
The father of three, he was married "to the same woman for 72 years," longer than the span of many people's lives. He is the grandfather of seven and the great grandfather of two. He still drives a car and returned recently from a trip to California.
Man of century
Although Mr. Bielawa says his life is not remarkable, many that know him disagree. For one thing, he lived through most of the 20th century, but this nonagenarian takes it all in stride, adapting, adjusting, learning and then carrying on with life.
As a child, he and his nine siblings lived on a farm in Latham with his parents who had emigrated to the U.S. from Poland in 1898.
"Now, people seem to be much more concerned with themselves than they were in those days," he said. "People trusted each other a lot more. I remember a time when people would visit our farm looking for extra vegetables to feed their families. My father would give them whatever he had left over, sometimes by the bushelful.
"They were good times for young children and families. When things got tough for people, all the neighboring farmers would stand together and help each other out. There was no one else to turn to but our neighbors. Latham in those days was just farmland."
Teen time
As a young man, Stephen attended public grammar school, played baseball and football, and "completed a machine operating program" at Troy High School. His parents saw to it that he, along with his brothers and sisters, received instruction in their Catholic faith.
"I went part-time to religious studies," he said. "Our parents made sure we knew about our faith. We always went to church."
When the U.S. entered World War I in 1918, the teenaged Stephen was working for Bendix, in Troy, operating large machinery. "Too young to go to the war," he became a volunteer fireman for the rural fire battalion in Latham when he turned 18.
Fire!
"In those days, being a fireman was a little different than it is today," Mr. Bielawa recalled. "When there was a fire, everyone responded because every available body was needed to put out the fire."
He recalled "the big fire" at the Shaker farm that was owned by Ann Lee and a large, religious community of Shakers, which is still located near the present-day Albany International Airport.
"That was the biggest fire I ever worked. They lost several big buildings there," he said. He remained a volunteer fireman until shortly after he married at 22.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Mr. Bielawa's employer closed its doors. In order to support his wife and growing family, he obtained a job in the steam turbine generator room at General Electric and remained there until his retirement 29 years later.
Staying active
After he retired, he and his wife Clara drove to Florida every year for 25 years. She passed away three years ago. He continues to attend weekly Mass at Immaculate Conception parish in Watervliet, where he has been a parishioner for most of his life.
"I love to drive, and as long as I can get into the car and keep my hands on the steering wheel and my foot on the gas pedal, I'll be driving," he said with a chuckle. "I go out nearly everyday."
He also loves to travel and does so whenever he can. When he recently went to California, he flew in a jet for the first time. "I was glued to the window seat and couldn't figure out why we were flying so high above the clouds instead of below them," he said. "I had to ask someone why we were doing this!"
Fit as a fiddle
Mr. Bielawa credits his long life to many things, including exercise and good nutrition; but the fact that he "never gets too excited about anything" is probably the biggest factor.
His attitude is that no matter what happens, life will go on, so you might as well adjust to it. And he has adjusted over and over during the past 95 years, surviving two world wars, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and the Great Depression.
During his lifetime, he has seen breakthrough inventions like the automobile, television, transistor, satellite communication and computers. He has seen the emerging household use of the telephone, indoor plumbing and electricity. He has also been witness to air travel as a popular means of transportation, man landing on the moon and the space program.
Witness to history
Mr. Bielawa has seen governments rise and fall, and presidents assassinated and impeached. He has also been witness to medical breakthroughs that include heart, liver and other transplants, and the cure for diseases like polio and smallpox. On the other hand, he has been witness to the horrors of chemical weaponry, the Holocaust and terrorism on American soil.
When asked what, over the course of his long life, has impressed him the most, Mr. Bielawa smiled and quickly answered: "The development of the space program is the most fascinating achievement."
The most important accomplishment of mankind in the 20th century, he said, is "that we have managed to avoid nuclear war. We came very close to ending it all when we went through the Cuban missile crisis with Russia back in the Sixties. To me, we came very near to a world disaster. I will always remember the courage of President Kennedy through that crisis. He never backed down an inch."