Hank deserves a page of his own. Just one look 
at the Spirit of Christmas Present in 1999 and you will understand that he is a very special person.
Henryak or Hank, better known as "Uncle Big Deal," was born on February 20, 1913, the youngest of Ignatius' and Julianna's seven children. Hank shared his birthday with his older brother, Ted.
My father writes, "My Uncle Hank has always been more nearly an older brother than an uncle to me. One of my earliest memories is of his taking me to the May Company to see Santa Claus. He would take me for rides in the side car of his motorcycle or Model A Ford, and even on a fishing trip to Michigan.Hank was always the life of the party, with his jokes and stories. He also plays a mean harmonica. At 87 he is too active for most people to keep up with him. In July 1999 Tom Amacher in Oregon sent the following e-mail:
"For many years, Hank would visit us on the West Side once a month or so to cut our hair. When Hank got married, we gained an Aunt, but lost a barber. Hank quit giving free haircuts because his wife had too many relatives, or so he said."
HI GANG! DROP EVERYTHING BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY A BIG DEAL !!!--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
We just received a phone call from the one and only real live BIG DEAL and he asked , "have you checked your E mail today" I said I hadn't, then he said that I better because I just mailed you a letter, and I want to know if you got it. Well I got it and I am still trying to forward it to you all. He says he is learning a whole new language with a lot of bits and bites. He says he is also learning about "iacoms " and lots of other stuff at the Senior Center where he mailed his first EM letter from. I want you to get a load of this, his handle is [email protected] that is bigdeal backwards! How about them apples??? Write him soon.
Hi Tom this is the first letter that I ever wrote to you on a computerHank was reflecting on the changes he has seen in his lifetime. As he learns to find his way around the Internet he can recall the day that he sat beside his father in a horse-drawn wagon full of family furniture headed toward their new home.
This should let you know that i'm still able to write a few lines. They might not make any sence to you people out in the west coast but anyhow this is about all for now.
ass always t hank s
This picture shows my mother, Genevieve, on the left talking to Hank's son-in-law, Leonard Chormanski. Next is Hank. Take a moment to compare Hank's wonderful moustache with the picture of his father on the Sznarbach page. Next are Hank and Kay's granddaughters, then Kay and leading the line is Leonard, Junior.
Hi to all again. My birthday is next week but I'm sending this out ahead of time. This is something that happens only once in a lifetime, if your lucky, so I'm using Abe's address as my model. Fourscore and 7 years ago my Father @ Mother brought forth on this continent a new son. Conceived 9 months earlier in Cleveland Ohio and dedicated to the proposition that he be called Hank. Now they were engaged in great struggle, testing whether they should keep this brat or watch him grow up with the rest of his siblings. It was altogether fitting and proper that they do this, but in a larger sense they could not dictate what they should really do. My brave parents then struggled to raise me. You folks will little note nor even remember what they did for me then. It is for me the living to do the things they couldn't finish. The work which they fought for is a great task before me. From their honored and brave life I highly resolve that their death shall not have been in vain, that this person I under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that I and my friends shall not perish from this earth, in pain, sickness, or poverty.In February, 2002, Hank dusted off his writing skills:
Hows them apples??
In 2003, Hank wrote again:
NOW THAT I HAVE REACHED YEAR EIGHTY NINE
AND CELEBRATED WITH FOOD AND WINE
MY DAYS ON EARTH WERE REALLY SUBLIME
FOR I HAVE LIVED THRU A VERY HISTORIC TIME
I REMEMBER RIGHT AFTER WORLD WAR ONE
WE SAW AN AIRPLANE FLY OVER AND EVERYONE
WAS OUT ON THE STREET POINTING UP IN THE SKY
AS THIS STRANGE THING WAS FLYING BY
WE SAW THE HORSE DRAW WAGONS GO
BY THE GASOLINE DRIVEN AUTO
THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS SO NEW
THAT MANY FOLKS DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
ANOTHER THING THAT CAME WAS THE RADIO
FROM CRYSTAL SET TO THE LATE NITE TV SHOW
THEN STEAM ENGINES TOO TOOK A DEAP DIVE
REPLACED BY THE DESIEL WITH ELECTRIC DRIVE
THE STREET CAR VANISHED ALONG WITH THE TRAIN
REPLACED BY THE BUS THAT WOULD BLOCK UP YOUR LANE
YOU COULD BUY A LOT FOR A NICKEL OR A DIME
NOW THATS WHAT YOU CALL LIVING IN A HISTORIC TIME
YOU COULD BUY A GOOD SUIT FOR TWENTY TWO FIFTY
AND YOU FELT REAL GOOD CAUSE YOU LOOKED SO NIFTY
THATS WHAT I KNOW AS I REACH EIGHTY NINE
THIS IS ALL TRUE I'M NOT GIVING YOU A LINE
SO ENJOY YOURSELFS AS THE YEARS GO BY
AND THANK THE GOOD LORD BEFORE YOU DIE
NOW SHOULD I BE LUCKY AND LIVE ANOTHER YEAR
I'LL COME BACK AGAIN AND BEND YOUR EAR
AMEN AMEN I SAY UNTO YOU
THATS ALL FOLKS AIN'T YOU GLAD THAT I'M THRU??
I always enjoyed visiting Mary Ann - [email protected] who entertained us with her accordion. Mary Ann married Leonard Chormanski. They had three children, Leonard Jr., born May 16, 1971, Theresa (Terrie) Chormanski-Poelking - [email protected], born October 7, 1972, and Mary Cay, born November 16, 1976. Leonard Jr. married Karen M. Baker, born May 21, 1974 in an imaginative ceremony with a medieval theme at Squire's Castle in which he vowed to always be her "knight in shining armor."
Now that I have reached four score and ten
I'm here with a poem that I wrote again
Praise the Lord and pass the tasty nutrition
To live this long was never my ambition
Who would believe that in the year 2003
That I'm ninety years old in the land of the brave and the home of the free
Theres a lot that I'm really thankful for
The good Lord was with me who could ask for anything more
I helped bury my friends and realatives too
Some were nice to me but there were a few
Who would try thier best to make my life hard
Those were the ones I had to discard
One thing for certain you don't live this long
You got to keep up your spirits and life can be a song
You got to thank a lot of folks along the way
Who helped you arrive to this wonderful day
So live it up keep moving keep busy don't worry or moan
Cause were on the earth on sort of a loan
So I wish you all a real pleasant life
Not one thats loaded with a lot of pain and strife
So once more I wish you all Good Luck and Good Health
Thats all that you will have if you don't have wealth
So Kay said ahh said ahh what ever will be will be
The futures not ours to see Kay Said ahh said ahh.
Lenny and Karen became parents and Hank became a great-grandfather on August 6, 2000 with the birth of twin boys. The twins weren't to be born until October. Joshua weighed 2 lb 5 oz and little Nichalas weighed only 1 lb 8 oz. The first days of life were a struggle were the tiny twins.
Lenny's uncle, Frankie, sang in the choir with Hank. Hank recalls that Frankie had a wonderful voice. "I would stand next to him. If I listened to him, I would never make a mistake." Frankie played piano and later guitar. He had a band with some of his friends called "Rainy Days," and I always considered him to be incredibly cool.
Hank took Frank to his shop, where Frank learned to operate all of the machinery. It was Hank's plan that his business would be Frank's inheritance, but Frank Snarbach died on May 23, 1971 in an automobile accident, a shock to the whole family. I know that Hank still misses "the kid" as he calls him.
When Frank died he left Hank to carry the Snarbach name. The only other son of Ignatius and Julianna was Ted, and he and Mary never any children.
Thus ends the name Snarbach, but not the descendants and the fond memories of those we love and hold so dear.
Copyright � 2000-3 Nancy McAdams
April 22, 2000
Last update December 6, 2006
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