Old Spice Reconnects New Bedford Man With Vintage Photo of Uncle

Nothing makes me happier than witnessing a good deed from an international corporation.

A good friend of mine, Matt Siwik, received some pretty great news on Tuesday. He recently found an old photo of his great uncle Franciszek Siwik, who was not only an elite Naval captain but also a New Bedford native. The family all referred to him as "Uncle Frank."

Born on January 13, 1909, Siwik grew up to become a top-tier captain in the Navy back in the 1960s.

"He was the youngest captain with an unlimited tonnage license in the New York Harbor," Matt said. "He could man the supertankers and this got him a bit of publicity."

These days, Matt is a metal fabrication and welding instructor at Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School. When he's not playing teacher, he reminisces on his days in the military and digging up old family photos of those who served for this country. Among those photos, Matt noticed that he was missing an old ad clipping from Life magazine that his great uncle was featured in. It was an ad for Old Spice and it's as vintage as it gets.

Knowing he had to somehow find a way to retrieve that ad, he took a chance and emailed the current owners of the Old Spice brand:

"Hello,

My name is Matthew Siwik and I am inquiring if there is an archive of old "OLD SPICE" ads that you may have maintained over the years. My Uncle- Captain Frank Siwik was pictured in one of your ads in the late 1950's or 60's and I am trying to find a copy of the ad...our family historian has the picture (ATTACHED) that was used but the ad itself has gone missing.  I am a Navy Veteran of 8 years and I'm trying to put something together for my son.  Please let me know if there is anything that you can do to help or point me in the right direction...the ad was in black and white.

-Matthew Siwik"

Growing up, Frank was known as the "Old Spice Guy" so this meant a lot to the family if there ever was a chance of seeing it again.

Well, it was a quick six hours until Matt heard back from the company with a photo attached. It was his great uncle Frank posing handsomely in the Old Spice ad, just as Matt had remembered.

"I was just happy to get the photo back," Matt said. "Someone was kind enough to stop what they were doing to give me the time and to look up the photo and then email me back. I'm forever grateful."

These are the stories that resonate within our community and fills our hearts. I'd like to thank Matt for sharing his story; I'm sure his Uncle Frank would be proud of the man you've become today and the sacrifices you've made along the way to protect this country and the nation's freedom. Your service, as well as Frank's, shall never be forgotten.

Thank you for all that you do, sailor.