It’s not every day you turn 102 years old, and Stanley Potrzeba, a veteran and resident of New York Mills, celebrated his birthday Tuesday afternoon with a smile on his face.
Local and state officials at the New York Mills Senior Center joined Potrzeba’s birthday celebration, recognizing his long, storied life and service in the United States Navy.
New York Mills Mayor Ernie Talerico offered Potrzeba the microphone and asked him what his secret to such a long life was, to which the 102-year-old said, “Chivas Regal” — to the laughter of those in the audience.
Potrzeba is still active for his age. He still has his driver’s license and drives, and according to him, he doesn’t take any medication.
“As many of you know, we do our Hometown Hero banners here in the village of New York Mills,” Talerico said. “We put them throughout the village last year to recognize our village veterans. And we wanted to recognize Stanley with a banner in our village, which will be ongoing.”
About the birthday boy
Born in Massachusetts in 1922, Potrzeba’s family moved to New York Mills and officially put down roots in 1925. There, Potrzeba grew and “...got to know everyone in town — young and old.” He was known as a Jack-of-all-trades, working as a glazer, tool maker, corduroy cutter, steam fitter, and more.
And in 1944, Potrzeba was one of many Americans who answered the call and joined the military. Potrzeba joined the United States Navy until 1946, working at an Army Air Corp base as a fire and crash rescue member. He was one of the founding members and Commander of the Polish Legion of American Veterans, Edward Bator Post No. 21, and an active member of the New Hartford American Legion and Whitestown Overseas Veterans Association.
Potrzeba said a lot has changed over the years, noting there weren’t as many cars as there are now and that most everyone walked to work in the morning. But he remembered a New York Mills from a simpler time fondly and felt a little heartache at the loss of those people.
“I knew everybody,” he said. “Unfortunately, most of them ain’t around… But what are you going to do? I must be bad, the Lord doesn’t want me.” Potrzeba cracked a smile at his own joke, especially as the others around him tried to say otherwise.
“The Lord keeps the good ones around,” Talerico said.
With candles blown out and a cake cut, things settled down, and Potrzeba got another good look at his banner, which features a picture of him during his time in the Navy.
“Back then, when the war started… We didn’t need a draft,” Potrzeba said. “Everybody went out to do their job, God bless them all. I had friends who didn’t come back. My friend, Edward, he was serving… and he’s still there. I lost a lot of friends. But they were the most wonderful guys in the world.”
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