…Holland and Springfield Township Recollections
Editor’s Note: This story was submitted by the Holland-Springfield-Spencer Historical Society president Karla Miller.
Spencer Township and Pizza
This is a story of the Spencer Township family who brought all of us something we find hard to live without today, pizza.
It all began when Stanley and Josephine Zielinski came to the United States in 1906, from Germany. They had a young daughter named Elizabeth born in Germany in 1886. Elizabeth married in Toledo in 1907, and had two children. She became a widow in 1910.
Elizabeth soon met another young man named Martin Sparagowski, 32, who was born in Poland in 1879. They married in 1911 in Toledo. By 1917, Elizabeth and Martin were living in Spencer Township. Their farm was located on Milke Road, Holland, two miles north of Crissey Road. They went on to have eight children of their own, five boys and three girls.
Martin died May 10, 1935 in Holland, of a heart attack. Elizabeth remained on the farm into the 1940s with four sons and a daughter. She died June 4, 1961 in Toledo.
The children were Frances P. born in April 1913, in Toledo; Raymond born September 1915, in Toledo; Dorothy J. born February 1916, in Holland; William F. born May 1917, Holland; Edward J. born September 1919, Holland; Stephen born December 1920, Holland; Helen R. born April 1922, Holland, and Leon H. born February 1924, Holland. All eight siblings were raised on the farm and attended Huckleberry School.
Raymond worked for Gerity-Schultz Company for 35 years. William worked for Dohler-Jarvis Company for 33 years. Edward worked for Gerity-Schultz 23 years and served in World War ll U.S. Army. Stephen was a World War ll Veteran in U.S. Merchant Marines serving as head cook and traveling all over the world during his enlistment. He then worked seven years as head cook for British Petroleum Oil Company during the building of the Alaska Pipline. Leon worked for Jeep Corporation 30 years and served in World War II in the U.S. Coast Guard.
In 1955 the four brothers William, Edward, Steven and Leo Sparagowski and their wives bought a sandwich and burger joint on Monroe Street and Central Avenue. They developed what became “The Original Gino’s Pizza.” The special sauce recipe belonged only to the family.
At that time there were only three pizza restaurants in the entire city. Because they all had good jobs besides the pizza place they were able to keep the prices low and also give to the needy. This became the most popular restaurant in Toledo. They would remain in the business until 1988 when Gino’s was sold to Charles Kreutz.
