KRAKOW, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A northern Wisconsin post office has a new name.
A ceremony was held at the Krakow post office Tuesday, changing its name to honor Krakow’s longtime postmaster, Romuald “Bud” Brzezinski.
Last year, Rep. Mike Gallagher introduced a bill to rename the post office after the lifelong resident of Krakow.
Not only was Brzezinski the longest serving postmaster at the Post Office in Krakow, but was also recognized as Wisconsin’s longest actively serving postmaster during the state’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1998.
“What I love more than anything else is just hearing the stories, right? Hearing the stories about Bud’s life and the way in which he touched so many people here in Northeast Wisconsin and I think it kind of just reminds me and hopefully it will remind other people that we can all serve our country and our community in different ways. You don’t need to be in Congress, you don’t need to be in the military, just by being a good member of the community, being a good neighbor, you can have a profound effect on people going forward,” Rep. Gallagher said.
Brzezinski retired in 1999 after 46 years with the U.S. Postal Service.
Outside of work, Brzezinski was secretary of the Krakow Sportsmen Club for 15 years, a member of St. Casimir Parish for over 20 years and served as as an election official for the Town of Angelica.
Bud’s nephew, Michael Poradek, the director of administration for St. Norbert Abbey, helped lead the effort to rename the post office. He says his uncle had a great legacy of commitment to Krakow.
“I think it was just a natural tribute to Bud having a post office named after him. This place where he worked for so many years, for over four decades, where his father worked for over four decades as well before him and passed on that legacy to him, only seemed right that this place he loved so much, in the community he loved, would be named after his honor,” Poradek said.
Bud passed away on June 26, 2020, at the age of 90.
