tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post5149490300056312497..comments2024-03-20T01:04:25.596-07:00Comments on Harbor History Museum Blog: Fire in Gig HarborHarbor History Museumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05352321858738657105noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post-43639769004736478652019-02-18T02:01:55.425-08:002019-02-18T02:01:55.425-08:00Matthew Smircich, who was one of Mary's pall b...Matthew Smircich, who was one of Mary's pall bearers, was my great uncle Matty. He was my great aunt Dorothy's second husband. When I was little I loved to sit on Uncle Matty's lap while he told stories in the house in Ballard. He was such a kind and gentle man. My Aunt Dorothy and all her girls were just too much female energy under one roof for Matty though, and he moved back to Gig Harbor to live near his bachelor brothers. During my high school years, I was in a Skipper's Fish and Chips restaurant in Ballard one time with my grandmother, and I pointed to a photo mural of fishermen hauling nets that took up one entire wall there and said, "Grandma - that one guy looks just like Uncle Matty!" She said to me, "That's because it is him." That made me so happy. The last time I saw Uncle Matty was at Aunt Dorothy's funeral. They'd been apart for decades, but he still came to pay his respects. I'm 56 now, but I will never forget him, or his gentle but booming voice that resonated in his chest. That was always comforting and lulling to me when I was little while he was telling his tales.Mouton Noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12377926081697636919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post-27888466365813949112017-02-09T22:11:45.391-08:002017-02-09T22:11:45.391-08:00I don't know where you get your gossip from, b...I don't know where you get your gossip from, but my grandparents didn't favor any of their children. They loved them equally until the days they respectively passed away. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16744193391963346998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post-76503802614063470942017-02-09T22:08:33.025-08:002017-02-09T22:08:33.025-08:00George and Mary were my great Grandparents. I nev...George and Mary were my great Grandparents. I never had the privilege of meeting them. Tony Smircich was my uncle and he is the one who used to walk around Gig Harbor. Rudolph Nikolac was my grandfather and he lived in Gig Harbor his entire life. He passed away in 2013. I am the only one who is still around and I was quite surprised to see this article. It is amazing to see a bit of history before my eyes that I had only heard about in family stories before.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16744193391963346998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post-1017169418555285662016-03-09T11:19:14.873-08:002016-03-09T11:19:14.873-08:00I just came across this entry while catching up on...I just came across this entry while catching up on old news. It was actually Rudolph Smircich who walked the streets talking to himself. He had a mental illness. The Nikolac family was fairly well known. Rudy was a nice man. I think the family left the area years ago. It was known that they favored the one daughter and I think it caused divide later on. I do believe that you are right that Jeff is the only one still in the area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755593200920587152.post-8462646647787631552015-05-25T09:15:09.066-07:002015-05-25T09:15:09.066-07:00I knew the Rudolph Nikolac family quite well, thou... I knew the Rudolph Nikolac family quite well, though I never met Rudy's parents and don't remember the fire. Rudy's family lived behind the old post office (which was also kind of behind the current post office) where American Family Insurance is now, at the end of Stanich Place. Rudy worked at the Bremerton navy yard until retirement and died at age 89 two years ago. His wife, Pat, died ten or fifteen years before he did. As far as I know, only one of his four children still live in the area, Jeff, and he is one of the department managers at the Port Orchard Fred Meyer store. Rudy was a good guy. Very personable; good sense of humor.<br /><br /> As for the mention of John, Julius, Matt, Rudolph, and Tony Smirch, I believe the correct spelling of the name is Smircich. I think it was Tony Smircich who for years used to walk the sidewalks of Gig Harbor in a hat and long overcoat, having constant conversations with himself, including hand gestures. I never heard what the topics could've been.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com