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Where Ya From?

At 83, Blaszczyk's heart is still soaring in the clouds.

Field Marshall Jerry Blaszczyk prepares to fly his plane on November 2, 2013 at Benjamin Rush State Park with the Northeast Philadelphia Radio Control Club. (Sara Nachman / Staff Photographer)
Field Marshall Jerry Blaszczyk prepares to fly his plane on November 2, 2013 at Benjamin Rush State Park with the Northeast Philadelphia Radio Control Club. (Sara Nachman / Staff Photographer)Read more
    by DAN GERINGER, Daily News
    Published 
Jerry Blaszczyk
Age: 83
Where he's from: Bensalem
Why he loves Bensalem: "When I came out of the service in 1956, they were offering GIs a single-family home for $9,999 with no down payment. I grew up around 3rd and Erie, and would've moved to Mayfair, but you couldn't beat that deal."
What he did: Worked for 60 years in his family's Atlas Casket Co. in Port Richmond. What he does: As field marshal of the Northeast Philadelphia Radio Control Club, Blaszczyk flies his handmade model airplanes in Benjamin Rush State Park every weekday morning, after caffeinating and shooting the breeze with his core group of fellow die-hard aviators.
Why he does it: "I flew model planes as a kid until 1947, when I found out there was such a thing as girls. I served in the Air Force during the Korean War as a [ground] crew chief for B-29 bombers, then got back into model planes after my discharge. I've always loved airplanes."
- Dan Geringer

Jerry Blaszczyk


Age: 83

Where he's from: Bensalem

Why he loves Bensalem: "When I came out of the service in 1956, they were offering GIs a single-family home for $9,999 with no down payment. I grew up around 3rd and Erie, and would've moved to Mayfair, but you couldn't beat that deal."

What he did: Worked for 60 years in his family's Atlas Casket Co. in Port Richmond. What he does: As field marshal of the Northeast Philadelphia Radio Control Club, Blaszczyk flies his handmade model airplanes in Benjamin Rush State Park every weekday morning, after caffeinating and shooting the breeze with his core group of fellow die-hard aviators.

Why he does it: "I flew model planes as a kid until 1947, when I found out there was such a thing as girls. I served in the Air Force during the Korean War as a [ground] crew chief for B-29 bombers, then got back into model planes after my discharge. I've always loved airplanes."
- Dan Geringer