Bernard V. Napolski was born on Valentine's Day, 1892 (hence, his middle initial "V"). He began a more than 50-year career at the Hawthorne Works in 1906, gaining employment there when he was only 13 years old.
When he was 23, Bernard survived the Eastland Disaster and aided in the rescue of others that morning.
[Newspaper article courtesy Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1956.]
