Benefit is Nov. 2 at Lysander FD
By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
This weekend, the Baker High School Class of 1969 will pick up where they left off for their 50-year reunion, but Millie Bednarski is busy picking up the pieces.
Millie, who grew up in Lysander, lost her Cato home to a fire Sept. 4. The fire was the latest in a series of blows the Bednarski family has suffered in the last year. Millie’s oldest son, John “Ski” Bednarski, passed away in November 2018, and her partner, Randy Green, spent 77 days in the hospital earlier this year after open heart surgery. Her daughter-in-law, Jessica — Ski’s widow — lost her father, Gene Soule, earlier this month as well.
“They always say you’re only given how much you can stand, but there are limits,” Millie said.
Fortunately, Millie’s family, community and classmates have rallied around her. She has been staying with her brother-in-law, Al Markham, in Baldwinsville, and her niece Bianca Markham set up a GoFundMe site and organized a benefit Nov. 2 at Lysander Fire Station 1. Jess Bednarski is staying with friends, who have also set up fundraising efforts for her.
“The neighborhood has stepped up to help us,” Millie said.
Donations of clothing, money and gift cards have been pouring in since the fire. The Class of 1969 sent Millie tickets to the reunion events to make sure she wouldn’t miss out on reconnecting with her former classmates.
“They specifically made sure I wasn’t going to miss it,” she said.
Millie said she is touched by the number of people who have come out of the woodwork to help her and Jess.
“I’ve got all kinds of gift cards and cash from some of the ones you thought didn’t know your name, but I guess it was a time of need and people stepped up,” she said. “A lot of people have mailed [donations] to the reunion committee asking, ‘Will you make sure Millie gets this?’”
Millie and her family had lived on Carter Road in Cato for about 50 years, growing melons and pumpkins to sell at the CNY Regional Market. The Bednarski farm was just two miles from where Millie grew up in Lysander. Millie and her husband, John, had three children: John (known as Ski), Jacque Jo and Jade. In 1975, their daughter Jacque died at the age of 2. Just a decade later, the elder John passed away at age 44.
Last month’s fire destroyed not only the house, but most of its contents, including Millie’s handmade wedding gown, a Swiss watch John received during his military service in Germany and family photos.
“No graduation pictures, no prom pictures, no newborn baby pictures — so many irreplaceable things,” Millie said. “Great-Grandpa Bednarski had a wicker store in Liverpool. We had the last handmade wicker bassinet. I think I almost miss that the most.”
Between looking for a new place to live, sorting through donations and visiting Randy, who is continuing his recovery at Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Syracuse, Millie has plenty to do to keep her mind off the losses she has suffered.
“How do you turn around and survive? Well, I don’t dwell on it,” she said. “Keeping yourself busy is the important thing.”
Editor’s note: Millie Bednarski is Ashley Casey’s aunt.
How to help
What: Bednarski family benefit
When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2
Where: Lysander Fire Station 1, 664 Lamson Road, Baldwinsville
Info: Pig roast and barbecue buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers and sides; entertainment by Keith Ford. Admission: $5 per person, free for children under the age of 10. To donate to Millie Bednarksi’s GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/f/ddxvx5-house-fire-complete-loss. To donate to Jessica Bednarski’s GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/f/jess-soule-bednarski-house-fire-fund.
