By Alicja Karlic
It is with great joy that I inform you about the newly founded Friends of the Polish Weekly endeavor, initiated by Antoni Mroczkowski. On behalf of all of us here on the editorial side, I want to say thanks for the best wishes for us expressed by Antoni Mroczkowski on waves of the Polish Varieties radio. I certainly hope that the Friends of the Polish Weekly, if they are not already, will join the ranks of regular readers of our newspaper and thus support its presence on the market. In one of the upcoming issues we will share our conversation with the initiator of the idea of the Friends of the Polish Weekly, to find out what motivated him, what the purpose is, and what kind of activities are planned for this new, vital and socially appealing organization.
In the past few days we celebrated a major milestone in the life of our White Eagle Soccer Club – its the 65th Anniversary. The Guest of Honor of the celebration was the legendary Andrzej Szarmach, a.k.a. “Diabolo” in the team of the “Gorski Eagles.” He was the bronze medalist of the World Cup ’74 and ’82 as well as the Top Scorer of the Montreal Olympics ’76. While on the Polish team, in 61 games Szarmach scored 32 times. He decided to emigrate at the age of 30 and began playing for the French club Auxerre. While there, in five years he played 144 games and scored 94 goals. He was pronounced the best foreign player of ’81 and ’82 by France Football.
More on the commemorative banquet and on history of the White Eagle Soccer Club on page XYZ. My attendance at the banquet of the White Eagle was made possible thanks to Mr. George Łukowski. I want to thank for that invitation.
The Polish American Central Citizens Committee awarded the Pułaski Medals on October 23. The recipients were Fr. Janusz Iwan, Barbara Nowakowski, Helen Warzybok, Caroline Wietrzykowski and Paul Wojno. Also the recognized organizations were: Our Lady Queen of Apostles celebrating its 100th anniversary, PRCUA Wieliczka Dancers celebrating its 60th anniversary, and the Polish American Credit Union which is celebrating its 40th anniversary of existence.
Last year a special day was added to the calendar of cultural events of Polonia – the Polish Bilingual Day. This year it was observed for the first time on the grounds of the Orchard Lake Schools. More about the celebrations of the Polish language in the article by Marzena Owiński.
Soon we will be observing Independence Day, November 11, and with it the Independence Banquet organized as always by the Polish Scouting Organization of Michigan. The banquet will take place on Sunday, November 13, at 2:30 p.m. in St. John Paul II Hall, at the Our Lady of Częstochowa parish in Sterling Heights. More information can be found on page XYZ. The Polish scouts – harcerze – cordially invite you all to partake in the holiday commemorating the regaining of independence by Poland. November 1918 was just a beginning of the long and often painful process of rebuilding independent Poland and defending its borders. On November 29, 1918 Józef Piłsudski, while speaking in Belweder to a circle of close friends, said: “This is the greatest, the most significant transformation a nation can undergo; a transformation of which consequence ought to be to forget the past; old bills need to be scratched with one great cross… The time we have is short and only together can we decide the space within which to fortify our freedom and how firmly to set our feet before the voices from East and West regain their strength and full capacity.”
The Polish Weekly was invited for the birthday celebration of Stanley Grot. While there we had a chance to meet with many politicians of the Republican orientation, including congressional candidate, Paul Mitchell. I thank Mr. Grot for his continuous friendly relationship with our newspaper and for his invitation. I can disclose that Mr. Grot will be running for an important position in the State of Michigan. More details to follow as they emerge.
November 8 is quickly approaching; an important day when the 45th U.S. President will be selected. Let us all go to the polls, vote, wait and see what the future holds.
