“Footprints of Polonia” encourages travel and Polish pride

While traveling around the US, many of us actively seek or at least look out for places connected in some way with the Polish heritage. On occasion we may even stumble upon such a place, be it the Black Madonna Shrine in the foothills of the Ozarks, a run-down motel called Warsaw somewhere in North Carolina or a street bearing the name “Kosciuszko”. These tangible “footprints of Polonia” are like testimonials to our Polish American presence in the US; they reenforce our sense of belonging and remind us of the important, numerous and varied contributions of the Poles to the building of the “American dream”. 

“Footprints of Polonia. Polish Historical Sites Across North America”, is the title of a 2022 book edited by Professor Ewa E. Barczyk and created under the auspices of the Polish American Historical Association (PAHA). The book is a follow-up to the1992 “Polish Heritage Travel Guide to U.S.A. and Canada” written by Jacek Galazka and Albert Juszczak.

Last Thursday evening Professor Barczyk, a guest of the Polish Institute of Culture and Research, gave an enlightening talk at the Orchard Lake Galeria, in which she discussed both the content of her book and the process that led to its creation.

“Footprints of Polonia” was a collaborative effort, undertaken mostly during the COVID pandemic, with over 200 volunteers from 47 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, eight Canadian provinces, as well as a few Central American and Caribbean countries, writing 200-word entries and supplying the photos. Three of the contributors, Professor John Bukowczyk, Sister Genowefa Potaczała and Alina Klin were present at the talk.

As the editor Prof. Barczyk often faced the very difficult task of deciding which entries should be included in the book, as it was supposed to be a practical “aid to travel” not an encyclopedia of all of the Polish sites.  

Therefore, when we check the chapter focusing on Michigan, we could easily think about other sites which could have been included, such as – for example – the Ambassador Bridge (Ralph Modjeski was a consultant, project verifier and construction supervisor of the bridge), or the Blue Water Bridge, connecting Port Huron and Sarnia, this one designed by Modjeski. But we can also see that despite limited space Michigan gets its due with sidebars describing Detroit cigar factories and Cross Village’s Legs Inn (included due to its uniqueness, even if restaurants in general are not a part of the book.) In addition, the Białowieża Scout Camp in Deckerville is the only entry in “Footprints of Polonia” representing Polish Scouts.  

It’s very good news that there are plans to develop the web-based, interactive and extended version of the “Footprints of Polonia”, which will have many more entries.

In her fascinating talk illustrated with photographs from the book, Professor Barczyk elaborated on how the subsequent waves of Polish immigrants made their mark in America in different ways.

At the beginning they built churches and schools which served their communities as religious, cultural and educational centers, then monuments to Kosciuszko and Pulaski, followed by statues and plaques showing Polish contributions to the WW I efforts, all of them usually in Polish ethnic neighborhoods.

Then the time came to build monuments to Nicolaus Copernicus and John Paul II, to commemorate Katyń, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, the Solidarity Movement, Cursed Soldiers, but also important cultural and sports figures such as Pola Negri (in California), Stan Musial (in St. Louis) or Stanley Ketchel (in Grand Rapids), among others.

Interestingly, when we get to the present times, such monuments are being built outside of the historical Polish communities.

Professor Barczyk’s talk most certainly inspired the audience to take a trip and explore many of the fascinating places presented in the book.

Among them, Polish workers memorials, sculptures by Magdalena Abakanowicz and Andrzej Pityński, and the artifacts exhibited at the Polish Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, which due to the outbreak of the war stayed in the USA. A great many of them are now in the Polish Museum of America in Chicago, but some – like the King Jagiełło statue which is in the in New York’s Central Park, or the statue of Count Pulaski in Wyandotte, found their way elsewhere.

The audience, among them Richard Walawender, Honorary Consul of Poland in Detroit, Joseph Majcher, the vice chairman of the Orchard Lake Schools Board of Regents, PICROL board members, and a group of art specialists from Poland (from the National Museum in Warsaw and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage), thoroughly enjoyed the lively and informative talk. During the reception that followed one could purchase the autographed copy of the book. All the proceeds from the book sales went to the PAHA.

 

“Footprints of Polonia” is a joyful even a triumphant book, and it inspires Polish pride when one marvels at so many significant Polish contributions to the US and the breadth of the Polish “footprint”.

But the book also contains a somber note.

We are very much aware that due to dwindling parish membership some Polish churches have been closed and sold, and even demolished. More historical sites, not only churches, but also for instance, veteran homes, soon might meet the same fate. Since the book was published, Detroit’s St. Hyacinth Church was put “on probation” and desperately needs to grow its parish base, otherwise it will be closed, while Hamtramck’s St. Ladislaus was permanently closed last June.    

In the Editor’s Preface to “Footprints of Polonia” we read, “We hope that local Polish organizations will be inspired to preserve the historic sites that are found in their midst.  Our communities need to have a conversation and then take action on how they will promote and preserve our history for future generations.”

Food for thought for all of us who care about our local Polish heritage sites.

Photos: Alina Klin