The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/author/sara-zak/page/7/)
The Polish Heritage Society (PHS) will not meet in July or August but there are several things going on behind the scenes that may be of interest. Monthly meetings of the Polish Heritage Society will resume on Wednesday, September 5 at 10 a.m.
This past spring several members of the PHS created a small Polish Heritage exhibit at the library.
Irish immigrants were the first non-British to come to Suffield. They came in the early 1800s to make money working on the canal system.
The June meeting of the Polish Heritage Society will be held on June 6, at 10 a.m. at the Suffield Ambulance Center. Sara Zak will discuss “The Polish Declaration of Admiration and Friendship for the United States of America.” This 111-volume “Birthday Card” was sent from Poland to the United States in 1926 to recognize our 150th anniversary of independence.
Last month’s Polish Heritage article referred to a time that the country of Poland did not exist on the map. For almost 150 years (1772 – 1918) the territory was seized by, and partitioned between, Russia, Prussia and Austria in a series of negotiations in 1772, 1793 and 1795.
It was standing room only at the April meeting of the Polish Heritage Society (PHS)! Pat Cosma arranged to have Susan Urban, a Polish folk artist from West Springfield, talk about and demonstrate “wyncinaki”—Polish paper cutting.
The April meeting of the Polish Heritage Society will be held on Wednesday, the 4th, at 10 a.m. in the Suffield Ambulance Center at 205 Bridge St. The guest for that meeting will be Susan Urban of West Springfield.
The history of Poland is so long and complicated it is impossible to create an understanding of the hardships that our ancestors endured over centuries in this short column. The nation’s history is full of religious, political and territorial conflicts that resulted in many wars and changes of ruling powers.
Our Polish ancestors started coming to Suffield almost 125 years ago. Upon arrival, most were farm laborers and domestic servants.
The Polish Heritage Society closed out 2017 with some very joyful Christmas carol (Kol?dy) singing at its December meeting.
According to the Passenger List for the S.S. Kensington, Jan was 22 years old and single when he debarked at Ellis Island on June 25, 1902.