The Friends of Polish Art held their Eighth Annual Szopka Competition. During open days of the Polish Art Center the winners of its szopka contest were announced. For the past eight years the Friends of Polish Art have been the sponsors and the Polish Art Center displays all of the Szopkas entered into the competition. The FPA President Carol Surma and “Polish Art Center” owner Joan Bittner were on hand to present this year’s winners. In the adult category the winners are:
1. Amielia Albanna
2. Alfred Prizlo
All entries are displayed at the Polish Art Center until Fri., Dec. 12, 2014. There is also a special “viewer’s choice” vote for the szopka contest which will go until December 12. The winner will be announced on Saturday, December 13 at noon.
November 23 was a good day also for Ceil Jensen Wendt, director of the Polonica Americana Research Institute (PARI) at The Polish Mission at the Orchard Lake Schools and for the visitors to the Polish Art Center looking for Polish family roots. Ceil had great fun at the Polish Art Center helping families find their ancestral villages. The best find was for Phyllis, who was with her niece, and grand-niece. She knew her great grandparents names, and that they came from “Germany”. They were in Michigan by the early 1880s – pointing to either Poznan or Kashubia. Ceil Jensen found the marriage records in Geneteka – and she had the pleasure of explaining the Kashubian culture and regional clothing to the family. The grand-nice was the reason they came in – she wanted to know her roots! Afterward, Ceil recalled that snuff was a Kashubian habit brought to Detroit. My grandfather’s favorite was Goike’s Kashub Snuff, added Jensen.
I think all of the visitors at the Polish Art Center were very satisfied. I saw many people come to the store to buy something they wanted, or to find the answer to where their roots are from. Congratulations to the owners of the Polish Art Center for having so great a store with Polish goods.
Alicja Karlic
