During a session of the Bolesławiec Municipality Council held on February 1, Medals of the President of the Republic of Poland for Long Marital Life were presented. The distinguished Jubilarians – Mr. and Mrs. Dorota and Henryk Maczkowiak – received commemorative medals, a diploma and flowers from the head of Bolesławiec Municipality and the chairperson of the Municipality Council. There was also a loud rendition of “Sto lat” sung by representatives of the Municipality Office, councilors and village heads.
About the Jubilarians
Bolesławiec Municipality:
The married couple honored during the session got married on June 24, 1972, and in 2022 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, known as the Golden Anniversary.Mrs. Dorota’s parents came from the eastern borderlands and moved to the so-called Recovered Territories, to Wałbrzych, where Mrs. Dorota was born. In search of work and a better life, they moved with their entire family to Bolesławiec. Mrs. Dorota’s father found employment at the Konrad Mining Works. After postwar wandering in Western Europe, Mr. Henryk’s parents set out for Szczecin in 1948, where Mr. Henryk’s father had been ordered to work at a ship-repair yard. However, on the way, the train stopped in Bolesławiec, and local authorities forcibly assigned Mr. Henryk’s father to work at the Wizów Steelworks.
Dorota and Henryk Maczkowiak met at work. They worked together at the Bolesławiec Sawmill – she as a trainee in accounting and he as a trainee in the production department (this was in 1968). On February 19, 1969, Ash Wednesday, they went on their first date after Mass, which they remember to this day. It is connected with a very interesting story – as Mr. Henryk recalls, he lost a bet to Mrs. Dorota at work and owed her a chocolate bar, but since he had no money, he asked a colleague to buy a Wedel “Jedyna” chocolate bar for PLN 19.00. It was that chocolate bar, given to her after Holy Mass, that united them for the rest of their lives.
Mr. Henryk was called up for military service in the spring of 1970. Two years later, also in spring, he returned to civilian life, and on June 24, 1972, their marriage was first registered before a civil registrar in Bolesławiec and then blessed at what is now the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas in Bolesławiec. The couple are the parents of Agnieszka, who moved to England after getting married. Dorota and Henryk have wonderful granddaughters, Julia and Józia, who are now the apple of Grandma Dorota and Grandpa Henryk’s eyes.
Through their joint efforts, Dorota and Henryk managed to secure a small apartment in the new so-called high-rise blocks of Bolesławiec on Bielska Street. Although the apartment was small, consisting of just (...) two rooms and a kitchen, approximately thirty-something m2, it brought them happiness and joy. Dorota and Heniu took on a new challenge in life, bought a building plot, built their dream house and in 1997 moved to Łaziska village in Bolesławiec Municipality. Mrs. Dorota most recently worked at the Bolesławiec Refractory Materials Works, while Mr. Henryk worked at the PKN Orlen storage depot in Bolesławiec; both remained employed until retirement.
They now often travel to England to visit their daughter and grandchildren. Dorota and Henryk are kind-hearted people, very sensitive to the suffering of others, and often help other people selflessly.
They tend their home garden with enthusiasm.
The local government adds:
We once again warmly congratulate our Jubilarians on so many years spent together, filled with good as well as difficult moments, and wish them continued affection that binds the spouses together. We wish them many more happy years filled with respect, love and mutual support. We hope that we will have many more opportunities to witness the small, tender gestures they show one another.