A Steady Grind

A STEADY GRIND (digital video, 60:00) is a portrait of Eloyse Kereszi, a fiery grandmother with a mouth like a sailor, who runs Joe's Junkyard in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Eloyse inherited her husband's 54-year-old business in 1991 when he died of a heart attack on the junkyard soil. He was preparing to have heart surgery, but walked out of the hospital with his IV still attached and went to the junkyard for his final day of work. At this time Eloyse was 60 years old, but retirement was not an option due to thousands of dollars of tax debt, her failing health, and her living son's financial dependence on the business. For over a decade, she maintained faith in the family's ability to overcome these hardships, but as she slipped further into tax debt and ill health, Eloyse began to come to terms with the traumatic loss of her husband and sons, and was faced with the decision to sell the junkyard.

Eloyse is my grandmother.

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Edited by Victoria Kereszi & Penny Lane
Still Photography by Lisa Kereszi
Sound mix by Jesse Stiles
Music by Chuck Stern, C. Ryder Cooley, & The Darklings

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UPCOMING Screenings:
A Steady Grind airs in Philadelphia
March 26th at 9 pm as part of MIND TV's Women’s History Month special programming. Visit www.mindtv.org for channel info.
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Junkyard Timeline:
1922 -Joe Kereszi born to Hungarian, immigrant parents who owned a coal mine in Penna.

1945 -JK honorably discharged from Army, where he boxed in Italy

1945-1949 -JK continues to box as “Joe Kersey” in NYC, NJ and Penna.

1949 -JK and brothers opened auto-related businesses (3 junkyards and 1 auto sales) in the thriving town of Chester, Penna., off I-95 between Phila. And Wilmington, DE

1950 -divorces 1st wife

1951 -marries 2nd wife, Eloyse, and dissolved partnership in junkyard with brother George, who he bought out -also the year brother Lou is injured for life by JK in car accident - mother held deed to junkyard and gave Lou a parcel of JK’s land to have to open his own junkyard next door as a settlement – a fateful decision

1952 -Joe, Jr. born

1953 -Rocky born

1955 –family moves into trailer with sprawling additions at junkyard

1957 -daughter born

1959 -Mark born

1962 -bought beautiful, furnished home from another scrap dealer – was later featured in local newspaper as “The Home that Scrap Built”

1966 -Joe, Jr. forced to leave high school by his father to come work at yard

1971 -home burns down, possibly fault of son, Rock
-Eloyse begins to work at yard in office (until 1978)

1973 -son Rocky is killed by police in standoff, granddaughter Lisa born day of funeral

1976 –JK Sr. moves into home next door to son, Joe Jr.

1977 -2nd granddaughter, Victoria, born

1978 -brother Lou’s son Jim gets out of business college, runs Lou’s Auto Parts next door -Eloyse decides to quit to go make porcelain dolls and let son Joe Jr. take more responsibility, but he brought in a lot of biker friends, along with drugs and partying on premises

1981 -son Mark works at yard, but fights with brother about how he was ruining the business by mixing it with pleasure, quits and enlists in Navy

1987 -Mark returns to work at yard, doing bodywork and paint, was an honest, hardworking man and devout Christian who supported a family of 6, which also drained the profits

1989 -Joe, Jr. divorces, business in bad slump because of his cocaine habit and failure to pay debts

1991 -US government discovers that the employees withholding taxes were unpaid, so they padlocked gate, and closed the business until a large loan had to be taken out to repay debt

1992 -a month after walking out of hospital, with IV’s still attached, against doctor’s orders, Joe Sr. suffers a heart attack at yard after getting excited over a large engine sale -Eloyse goes back to work at yard -Large pile of tires which should have been disposed of) arsoned, most likely by disgruntled employee – leads to charges, fines and strict clean-up rules by the EPA, DEP and DER – a huge stress for Eloyse, who was living on cigarettes and beer
-Eloyse secretly sells business for $300, 000, but when son Joe finds out, he threatens the buyer, who demanded his deposit back, and the yard was still ours

1994 -hires cousin Ricky, an alcoholic frequently in jail fro DUI charges, and also Eloyse’s brother Al, each for a short time,-also allow disgruntled employee (from arson) to live in trailer at yard, so they can keep him happy and out of trouble -Eloyse having trouble paying increasing land taxes of $25, 000/year, and was working at yard, but often going home early to babysit Mark’s children

1995 -business very up and down

1998 -Mark commits suicide in the office, with Eloyse on one phone line and estranged wife on other phone line, his customers dwindle away while Joe Jr. sits back and runs business badly, firing all their good mechanics, and holding back on selling valuable cars

1999 -Eloyse quits smoking after severe bout with emphysema,

2001 -Joe Jr. has to sell Cadillac to repay loans from friends to pay taxes

2002 -Eloyse begins to try to convince Joe to sell yard, but he threatens her, even though there are no customers – they all go to his competition next door, uncle Lou’s shop

2003 -Eloyse and granddaughter secretly place ads to sell business and find a willing real estate agent,-cousin Jimmy (Lou’s son) hears about it and stops Eloyse on the street and offers her $400, 000 plus interest, not including inventory,-sale completed in Summer, she is still forced to reverse mortgage her home to support both her and Joe, Jr., who is in bad health and unwilling/unable to get a good-paying job

2004 - Joe Jr. lives in a trailer in Florida and sells parts and memorabilia at swap meets and flea markets, also moonlights as a security guard -Eloyse makes watercolor paintings and drawings at home.

2007 - Eloyse in and out of the hospital with blood clots and complications with emphysema. Joe Jr. moves home and has health problems such as arthritis, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

*All images & timeline copyright Lisa Kereszi