WINTER 2010 1

Published Quarterly by the American Council for Polish Culture

The American Council for Polish Cul-ture (ACPC) held its Fall 2010 Board

meeting in Elmira, NY. ACPC Pres.Debbie Majka and Dr. Maria Winnicka,President of the ACPC Affiliate PolishArts Club of Elmira, NY cooperated tomake this meeting one of accomplish-ments and enjoyment of our Polish cul-ture.

Pres. Majka presided over the businesssessions wherein various committeechairs and coordinators presented theirreports. A report was made by Cecilia &Raymond Glembocki who were recentlyappointed as co-chairs for the NationalConference for the Social Studies (NCSS)program regarding their planning for the2010 Conference, titled “Visions, Vistasand Voices”, scheduled for Nov. 12-13 inDenver, Colorado. This annual confer-ence is the largest of its kind where over4,000 social studies professionals from allover the world attend. The theme of ourexhibit, Polish Perspectives was designatedas the core of the exhibit to be supportedby comprehensive teaching aids includ-ing a CD, which includes lesson plansabout Poland’s history and contributionsof many Poles to American history. Mr.& Mrs. Glembocki indicated that theywere building on plans and formats de-veloped by ACPC’s previous exhibitchairpersons, Barbara Lemecha andHenrietta Nowakowski. They will be of-

Polish Arts Club of Elmira HostsACPC Board Meeting By Jo Louise Winters,

ACPC PR Chair

fering the acclaimed new DVDentitled “Nine Days thatChanged the World” with an ac-companying lesson plan devel-oped by Meg Heubeck of theUniversity of Virginia and VinceHaley from the Gingrich Fdn. Afull accounting of the ACPC’shighly successful participationin the 2010 Social Studies Con-ference can be found on page 6.

During the course of the busi-ness sessions, Pres. Majka pre-sented a plaque and a framedCertificate of Appreciation toMr. Raymond J. Winieski, MA,Ed. The plaque was a CareerAchievement Award in appre-ciation of his support for thegoals of ACPC in spreadingknowledge of Polish Achieve-ments. The Certificate referredto Mr. Winieski’s exemplary per-sonal services throughout thepast five decades, which haveincluded co-founding in 1973 St.Casimir ’s Polish Arts Club,known today as Polish Arts Club ofElmira; 30 years of service as Director, Pol-ish Choir, St. Casimir’s Church; Master ofCeremony for performances by the “TatraDancers”; published book in 1986 “ElmiraPoles – St. Casimir’s Century of Service”;1989-1999, Guest Lecturer at Elmira Col-

lege on Polish topics;2008, published book ofhis poetry and apho-risms, “Pieces – Kawalki:poetry and thoughts forquiet hours.” The beau-tiful Awards Plaque andthe Certificate of Appre-

ciation expressed the ACPC membersheartfelt gratitude for Raymond’s lifededicated to promoting Polish culture andheritage in the U.S.

Board members were treated to a dis-tinguished luncheon speaker, Dr. FrankKozlowski, who disclosed fascinating as-pects of the life and accomplishments ofIgnacy Jan Paderewski.

Born in Pennsylvania’s coal miningdistricts, Dr. Frank Kozlowski attendedCatholic grade and high schools. He quithis college studies to join the Marine re-serves, 1969-72 and remained in militaryservices for four years. Returning to theuniversity, he earned Bachelor‘s andMaster’s degrees in History. After teach-ing for several years, he returned to theuniversity and obtained a PhD in History.Dr. Kozlowski has a strong fondness andadmiration for Ignacy Paderewski. Hispresentation at the Board meeting ofPaderewski’s career as a pianist and in-

Have a Holy and HappyChristmas Season

and a Joyous New Year

ACPC PresidentDebarah Majkapresenting award toRaymond Winieskiseen with Elmiraclub PresidentMaria Winnieska (continued next page)

Winter 2010 Vol. 61 No. 4

2 POLISH HERITAGE

fluential political personality was fasci-nating. When Paderewski gave a concertin London in 1891, critics named him “oneof the greatest pianists ever” and he be-came the wealthiest pianist in the worldat that time. Paderewski toured the U.S.,Europe, as well as the Orient. While per-forming in the U.S. he became acquaintedwith Pres. Woodrow Wilson and influ-enced the president to support Poland’sindependence, as a result Poland won itsfree nation status. Paderewski became thefirst Prime Minister of Poland. He ran intoproblems as Poles criticized him for thelimited Eastern Border of Poland as wellas his residence in Switzerland and calledhim an expatriot. Paderewski resigned asPrime Minister ten months after takingoffice. He died in 1941. Dr. Kozlowskiportrayed Paderewski’s genius as a pia-nist as well as his genius in using his in-fluence with Pres. Wilson to establish theFree Polish territory. Thus, the audiencewas influenced to appreciate and honoronce again Ignacy Paderewski’s geniusand remarkable achievements.

To celebrate Chopin’s 200th Anniver-sary of his birth, Pres. Winnicka and hercommittee planned a concert honoringChopin’s creative genius. We are grate-ful to Marilyn Kozacko for making ar-rangements to hold the concert at thebeautiful high ceilinged auditorium inElmira College. The youthful performersat the concert obviously enjoyed this sin-gular opportunity to display their talentson the day honoring Chopin. Sara,Rebecca and Kate spent many hours pre-paring for this piano performance. SarahBurn’s Prelude opus 28, no. 4; RebeccaBurn’s Waltz and Kate Nicole Hoffman’sNocturnal were played with precision andzest. The smiling faces of their parentsreflected their pride in the performancesof their children, which made all the hoursof practice worthwhile.

Concert pianist Frances Orr McLarenbegan piano studies at an early age, re-ceived Masters of Fine Arts degree fromCarnegie Mellon Univ. She taught PrepSchool at the University, was accompanistfor Elmira Symphony Orchestra for fouryears and currently serves as accompanistfor Elmira’s Common-Time Choral group.Ms. McLaren presented six Chopin com-positions. She conveyed the emotionalcontent of Chopin’s music by reflecting itin her technical proficiency, her fingersplaying various moods from exaltedPolonaise rhythms to intense reveries.The explosive pace of her performancethat ranged from quiet lyrical movementsto ecstatic eruptions was applauded with

Board Meeting continued

From the PresidentDebbie Majka

The American Council forPolish Culture invites

Polish Americans to join itsorganization and enjoy thecompanionship and fellow-ship of individuals interestedin Polish and Polish-Ameri-can accomplishments andheritage. Annual dues areonly $10 and include thequarterly Polish Heritage pub-lication. Please join us! Con-tact:

Mrs. Anna-Mae MaglatyMembership Chair35 Fernridge Road

West Hartford, CT 06107Tel. 860-521-7621

E/M annamae11@comcast

Calendar ofComing Events

January 20, 2011 -Official Installation ofDeborah M. Majkaas Honorary Polish Consul,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

April 8,9, 2011 -ACPC Board Meeting,Chicago, IllinoisAll club Presidents or theirrepresentatives are expectedto attend.

July 13-17, 2011 -ACPC Annual Convention,Cleveland,Ohio

As we go to press, Debbie Majka is still inPoland. In her absence, Bernadette Wiermanskisends a Letter from the First Vice-President.

“Faith, Hope and Love, the greatest ofthese is Love”. (ICor 13:13) referring to thetheological virtue of charity, which is thefoundation and goal of the American Coun-cil for Polish Culture.

2010 proved to be a successful year for the Council. The membersworked very hard to make all our programs worthwhile and excit-ing. There have been some changes this past year, however changepromotes new ideas and growth, without discarding tradition.

I hope you had the opportunity to participate in our programs.If you did, I’m sure you came away exhilarated and amazed at allACPC does in building a positive image of Polonia and Poland bypromoting Polish Culture and preserving Polish Heritage.

The ACPC shares with you the blessings of Christmas and looksforward to 2011.

Bernadette Wiermanski

BernadetteWiermanski

WINTER 2010 3

enthusiasm by the admiring audience.Soloist Scott Frye, a graduate of Ohio

State University, has participated in 35operas and has given recitals in Elmira.This evening, he sang Chopin composi-tions, “My Darling” (Moja Piesczotka)and “Reverie” (Marzenie). The audienceappreciated the romantic Polish versionsof these beautiful Chopin melodies. Mr.Frye received warm applause as he smil-ingly and graciously acknowledged theaudience.

During the reception, which followedthe concert, ACPC members felt honoredby the presence of Elmira College Presi-dent Thomas Meier and his wife Mila. Welearned from Richard Kozacko, a personalfriend of the Meier’s that Dr. Meier is the12th President of the college and has heldthat honor since 1987. He holds a PhD inEnglish literature from Columbia Univer-sity. Dr. Meier received a Medal of Meritfrom the Elmira College Alumni Associa-tion and was named Administrator of theYear by the Elmira student body. In addi-tion to writing over six dozen scholarlyarticles on literature, he is the author of abook on Daniel Defoe, author of RobinsonCrusoe. Incidentally, Elmira College holdsan important place in history being thefirst college in the world to offer collegeeducation and degrees to women.

Members and officers of the ACPCwere somewhat overwhelmed by theirfeelings of comradeship and joy after at-tending the Fall Board Meeting hosted byPresident Dr. Maria B. Winnicka and thePolish Arts Club of Elmira. The very de-

tailed summary of Ignacy Paderewski’slife presented by Dr. Frank Kozlowski wasan inspiration, strengthening our admi-ration of the genius of Paderewski, hissuperb musical talents and his involve-ment in Poland’s political development,restoring Poland’s independence by influ-encing President Woodrow Wilson’s sup-port. The piano concert and vocal pre-sentation of Chopin’s music was a classiccultural event, which mesmerized theaudience by the efficiency and most of allthe harmonious beauty. They will lingerin everyone’s hearts as superior perfor-mances that measured to high culturalstandards. The membership expresses itsgratitude for the outstanding planning byDr. Winnicka and her committees, includ-ing vital help from Jackie Droleski,Marilyn & Richard Kozacko, and JaneStalica.

Mr. Richard Wiermanski announcedthat the next ACPC Board Meeting willbe held in April 2011 in Chicago, IL,hosted by the Polish Arts Club of Chicago,Dr. Vivian Walkosz, Pres.

Elmira board meeting

Dr. FrankKozlowski,guestspeaker

Concert participantsScott Frye,

Frances Orr McLaren’Kate Nicole Hoffman,

Sarah & Rebecca Burns

4 POLISH HERITAGE

ACPC Affiliate & Supporting Member News

The Polish Cultural Club of GreaterHartford rejoiced as three out-

standing members were honored in theHall of Flags of the State Capitol by theoffice of Secretary of the State, SusanBysiewicz, on Polish Constitution Day,May 3, 2010. This annual event recog-nized Maria Brodowicz, KrystynaSlowikowska Farley and CliffordArchie for their never ending workwithin the Polish/Polish Americancommunity.

On May 20, 2010, members andguests were introduced to LT. JaninaLewandowska, the sole female survi-vor of the Katyn Massacre. In the ab-sence of Kendall Merriam, a writer andresearcher from Rockland, Maine, theClub received permission to use hismaterials. Therefore, Maria Bruks,Frances Pudlo, Anna-Mae Maglaty,Clifford Archie and Janusz Bruks pre-sented a program reviewing the back-ground of Kendall Merriam, an inter-view shedding light on the mystery ofLT. Lewandowska, reciting Merriam’spoetry, both in English and in Polish,and lastly, noting the celebration heldwhen Janina Lewandowska’s remainswere brought home to Lusowo, Polandand she was finally laid to rest.

At the Annual Awards and Straw-berry Social held on June 19, 2010, fourdeserving young people receivedscholarships for graduate and under-graduate study. They are: SabinaChlus, who will study nursing duringher first year at the University of Con-necticut, Stephanie Kryzak, a sopho-more studying international studies/anthropology at the University of Mi-ami in Coral Gables, Lisa Kociubinski,a graduate student in neuroscience atthe University of Hartford and Ken-neth Waszynski, a first year student inmarketing at Central CT State Univer-sity. Janice, Louise and Robert Marconi,the children of Jennie Marconi-Javorski, for whom the scholarship isnamed, were present to assist in award-ing the scholarships. Virginia Pudloand Florence Langridge are the schol-arship co-chairwomen.

The Polish AmericanCultural Society of St.Louis Missouri

The St. Louis affiliate held its annualPolonez Ball on Saturday, November 20,

2010. Proceeds from this event benefit thePolish American Cultural Society’s Arts andEducation and Stan Musial ScholarshipFunds.

Polish Heritage Club ofSyracuse

The September meeting of the PolishHeritage Club featured a presentation by

Tom Marzynski about the Battle ofGrunwald in which Polish and Lithuaniansdefeated the Teutonic Knights and influencedthe history of Europe for the next 200 years.

In Syracuse, our activity for the celebra-tion of October, Polish Heritage Month wascentered at the Hazard Branch Library.Connie Wierz, co-president, organized theLibrary Display which included hand-crafted wooden and crystal items, a varietyof amber jewelry, as well as “Boleslawiec”Polish pottery.

Many of the books, CDs and videos in theEnglish and Polish language on display weredonated by the Syracuse Polish CommunityHome.

A program titled “An Aternoon WithChopin” was held on Saturday, October 30thin celebration of the 200th anniversary of thebirth of this beloved composer and pianist.Marian Poczobut presented a biography ofthis musical genius and Sharon ZakrzewskiMarkwardt played a selection of his com-positions on the piano. A reception followed.

On December 12, our annual TraditionalWigilia Dinner.

Polish Arts League ofPittsburgh

It hardly seems possible that a year is almost over and we have com-

pleted another showing of our slidesat one of our local libraries.

This year marks our 10th Anniver-sary of showing slides of Poland to thepublic. Once again the Shaler Libraryinvited us to put on our program inthe month of October, Polish HeritageMonth. Each year we show a differ-ent subject. This time our topic wasthe Tatra Mountains located in thesouthern part of Poland. Some of theplaces that were included in this pre-sentation were: Nowy Sacz, NowyTarg, Zakopane, Tatra National Park,Debno, Giewont, Kasprowy Wierch,Chocholow, the Dunajec Gorge andNiedzica Castle. Folders were pre-sented to each guest with informationon all of the places covered. We evenhad a copy of the song “Goralu CzyCi Nie Zal” (highlander aren’t you sad)included in the folders. At the end ofthe program the audience joined in thesinging of this very popular song.

As Usual we had Polish cookiesand tea for the audience to enjoy whileseeing the lovely slides of the TatraMountain Region of Poland. Peoplein the viewing audience that had al-ready visited this part of Poland men-tioned that the slides brought backmemories of their trip.

Along with our presentation wedecorate several library showcaseswith items that pertain to the slideshow.

left: Marie Jackson, Shaler Librarian,Jane Pelczarski, Program Hostess

Polish Cultural Club ofGreater Hartford

WINTER 2010 5

To celebrate the anniversary of the birthof John Paul II, the Friends of the John

Paul II Foundation held a screening of thefilm “Nine Days That changed the World”followed by a reception. The well at-tended celebration was co-hosted by thelocal division of the Polish American Con-gress, Metro Division and the Pope JohnPaul II Cultural Center where the eventwas held on May22, 2010.

The documentary film depicts JohnPaul II’s first visit to Poland after becom-ing Pope. It was produced by Callista andNewt Gingrich who appear in the film ashosts joined by three dozen Polish Ameri-can and Italian friends, witnesses andscholars who explore the happenings andtheir meaning to history. In keeping withour goal of preserving the legacy of JohnPaul II, the Friends group has undertakenthe task of having a study plan producedto accompany the film which will be dis-tributed to Catholic and Private HighSchools in the Washington, DC; Balti-more,MD and Arlington, VA dioceses.

In the Fall, on September 25, 2010, theannual fundraiser “Wadowice on thePotomac” was held. This year due toscheduling problems, it was a luncheonwhich turned out to be very successful.The Honoree was H.E. ArchbishopDonald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Wash-ington (recently made Cardinal by PopeBenedict XVI in Rome) and guest speakerthe Hon. Newt Gingrich spoke on the“Legacy of John Paul II”.

In October, Polish Heritage month, theFriends group participated in “PolishHeritage Day, Celebrating His Heritage inHis House” an all day celebration held inthe Pope John Paul II Cultural Centerwhich included traditional and culturaldisplays, food and boutiques as well asDivine Mercy Devotions and Mass.

The Mass ending the day was espec-ially touching as it also marked the clos-ing of the Center. Father Canon PhilipMajka, the celebrant, gave a beautifulhomily on what the Center has meant tous and asked the assembled crowd to endthe celebration with the singing of“Goralu Czy Ci Nie Zal” (MountaineerAren’t You Sad) and “Jak Szybko MijajaChwile” (How Quickly the MomentsPass) - both well known and beloved Pol-ish songs, the first a favorite of Pope JohnPaul II; the other, a sentimental song ofparting which usually brings tears to theeyes of Poles and most at the Mass weredewy eyed. in

The Polish Arts Clubof Trenton

On October 24, 2010, the Polish ArtsClub of Trenton along with the Em-

bassy of the Republic of Poland presentedselected portions of the film “World WarII - Behind Closed Doors - Stalin, the Na-zis and the West”. The event was held atthe Conference Center at Mercer CountyCommunity College, West Windsor, NewJersey.

The film provides a shocking and un-familiar view of World War II based onarchival material available after the fallof the Soviet Union. They reveal secretdeals made between British PrimeMinster, Winston Churchill, AmericanPresident Franklin Roosevelt and Sovietleader, Josef Stalin.

The informative program was madepossible in part by a grant from the Ameri-can Council for Polish Culture (ACPC) ofwhich the Trenton Club is anaffiliate.

Polish Arts Club -Youngstown

In honor of Polish American HeritageMonth, the Polish Arts Club of Young-

stown hosted an afternoon of examiningthe historic event, “The 1944 WarsawUprising” described as the single largestatrocity of the war and was the greatestand bloodiest military operation under-taken by any civilian resistance movementduring WWII. The battle lasted for twomonths, and Nazi officials said they hadseen nothing like it since Stalingrad.

However, in Stalingrad, they had faceda professional army with air supportwhereas in Warsaw, they were confrontedby some forty-thousand irregular volun-teers led by a handful of professional sol-diers, supported by children and civilians.

After the screening Halina Junak, a Re-sistance survivor, spoke to the assembledgroup andincluded aQ and As e s s i o nwhich wasf o l l o w e dby a recep-tion.

Friends of John Paul II Foundation

Halina Junak

Pho

tos

by C

arlo

s M

olin

a

Mass ending Polish Heritage Day

6 POLISH HERITAGE

We would like to thank everyone fortheir generous donations for this

extremely worthwhile project. The activ-ity and responses that we received wasoverwhelming and we are thankful tohave had the opportunity to show off ourheritage. Such an honor indeed.

New ideas, new approaches and a newdisplay created a perfect atmosphere topresent our cultural traditions and historyin an interesting light.

We were proud to share our traditions,culture, folklore and accurate historical in-formation with curriculum specialists,teachers, principals, teachers, tour guides,librarians and individuals who traveledand studied in Poland or were planningon going to Poland soon.

It was far beyond our expectations asfirst time exhibit chairs for this conference.We arrived in Denver in the midst of alight snowfall. The location was abso-lutely perfect- thanks to Barbara Lemechafor previously selecting that spot.

We were able to set up and were soproud of all the materials sent by BarbaraLemecha;Aqaila Polonica Publishing;Malgorzata Cup, Consul for Culture,Press, Education and Polish Community,Consulate General of the Republic of Po-land-Los Angeles; Consul GeneralZygmunt Matynia, of Chicago; PolishAmerican Congress, DC, Dr. BarbaraAndersen and Beata Paszyc-HonoraryVice Consul of the Republic of Poland,Executive Director, The American Insti-tute of Polish Culture, Inc. in MiamiFlorida; and the Gingrich Foundation.

Jason Franzen, who was in the PolishPerspectives booth was sponsored by thePolanie Club of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Heis also a member of The Polish AmericanCultural Institute of Minnesota. The presi-dent of Polanie, Deborah McPherson, wasresponsible for sending such an outstand-ing young man to represent theMinneapolis group and present histori-cal facts about Poland.

What a historian he was. He engagedeveryone in meaningful conversationabout Solidarity, WWII and accurate in-formation about the Holocaust. Not onlydid he inform everyone who visited ourbooth but also engaged other exhibitorsjust to be sure everyone had our story.

Ray was so excited to share historicalinformation about Poland and PolishAmericans.. He also used the printedmaterial that explained ACPC’s promo-tional CD. We gave out more than 450copies. People were so engaged with the

materials presented and especially theSolidarity poster reprinted by BarbaraLemecha. We could have given out hun-dreds of copies.

I briefed teachers on using our latestlesson plan about “Linking Cultures andEnriching lives”. Everyone thought theycould incorporate that into their cultur-ally diverse classrooms. So many teach-

ful and pleased to have connected thefilm’s episode with the actual candy ondisplay.

I presented the DVD on “The NineDays that Changed the World” and a les-son plan developed by Gingrich’s VinceHaley. He prepared this lesson plan andwe had a sample copy printed that con-tained 80 pages. What a historical account

National Conference for the Social Studies, Denver, COReport from Raymond & Cecilia Glembocki, NCSS co-chairs

ers were impressed with our straw deco-rated miniature Christmas tree. The orna-ments were borrowed from Friends ofPope John Paul II Foundation. They hadpreviously used these ornaments everyyear to decorate a Christmas tree at theJohn Paul II Cultural Center. Many hadnever seen such lovely straw decorations.

Candies were placed under the treeand they were so popular that many cameback for more and more. What a hugesuccess that was. REAL POLISH CAN-DIES. They were purchased by DorotaBodiere, our ACPC contact in Denver.We went through 20 pounds of candy intwo days.

Quite interestingly, a teacher saw thecandy and told the story that he devel-oped a lesson about the prisoners in theconcentration camps and on one occasionthe prisoners had no food except for thisone piece of candy that they split 8 ways.He was amazed that the candy we had ondisplay was the EXACT piece of candy inthe film that he played for his students.We gave him enough for his next class (25pieces) He was thrilled. He was so thank-

of John Paul’s Life, the time line for Chris-tianity, a time line for the fall of commu-nism. It so accurately portrayed a personwho lived his life with a purpose, ahumble man who changed world history.

Many purchased the DVD, othersmade a donation but those who saw theDVD were so pleased with their PolishPope. Posters that were donated from theJohn Paul II Cultural Center were distrib-uted not only to Catholic schools but tofolks who were Polish or Catholic andcherished the fact of having such beauti-ful posters available free of charge. Thedownload for the study guide will beplaced on the ACPC web site shortly.

There were three lesson plans thatwere printed out for history teachers.They enjoyed the Jamestown lesson planand the Pulaski and Kosciuszko’s materi-als. The early childhood education book-lets went very quickly as the teachers inthe elementary grades couldn’t findenough historical information for theirstudents. We reassured them that therewould be more available next year on the CD.

The Pulaski and Paderewski’s booklets

Cecilia & Raymond Glembocki, Perspectives Exhibit Co-chairs

WINTER 2010 7

were a huge success. They couldn’t getenough of them to share with their stu-dents. Many states have Pulaski day offand they all wanted more information.

The booth background display con-sisted of three story board panels, (36 x78 inches) designed by Carla Tomas-zewski of Maryland. She has her owngraphic design business trading underwww.poppyfieldpress@md.metrocast.net.She had many wonderful cards, postersetc. which we distributed to our attend-ees. The three panels were on the historyof Poland, Days to fly the Polish Flag andPolish Folklore. I had small table-topboards mounted on foam core that dealtwith The Katyn memorial, a poem aboutHatred by a Polish Nobel prize winnerand three others on Pisanki, Culture andCuisine. People asked for recipes as tohow to make traditional Polish foods.There were others who wanted to recre-ate their Polish holidays of Wigilia andSwieconka. They were proud of their Pol-ish heritage and wanted to pass on theirheritage to their families.

With Debbie Majka at the helm, lead-ing our discussions on history, we all fol-lowed her lead from the lovely PolishAmber to the books on Chopin andPaderewski. As a door prize, we gaveaway a CD donated by JaroslawGolebiowski. The lady who received theCD was thrilled and thankful for this gift.

The experience left us with an exhila-rated feeling that it was so rewarding to

share our heritage, our customs, ourknowledgeable facts about the war andPolish Americans. Everyone was thirstyfor the truth. They wanted accurate infor-mation. They loved the books and pam-phlets about Solidarity. A librarianwanted all the book marks sent by thepublisher because her library gave themout with every library book. She waited‘till the end of the day and was gratefulfor the opportunity to take the leftovers.

Tour guides or attendees who were go-ing to travel to Poland loved the CD. Wehad hard copies of the CD printed out sothey could glance at the extensive researchdone by Barbara and Henrietta. There aremany links to other sites and other orga-nizations that made it a complete refer-ence guide to Polish Culture. It truly wasa document on Polish Perspectives andworld events. So many Polish notablescontributed to the American Revolutionthat history teachers asked for more in-formation especially about Jamestown,the lesson plan from the presentationmade by Meg Huebeck on “ Perspectivesof Fear-The Polish Experience DuringWorld War II” They commented on lastyear’s presentation and they were look-ing for that particular lesson plan. It isnow on theACPC’s website under LessonPlans.

We got to meet the knowledgeableMeg Huebeck from the Center for Poli-tics at the University of Virginia. An ex-tremely talented faculty member wholoved the work involved with Pope JohnPaul. She told everyone about the DVDand how it moved her to tears. She so gra-ciously made a lesson plan and will soonmake Mr. Haley’s study plan documentsuitable for 7-12 grade teachers. We wereexhausted after the first day of non stoptalking and meeting guests. We were allthrilled at the response, the location, the

materials provided by generous support-ers. It was indeed an experience that willnot soon be forgotten. The camaraderie ofthe group generated enthusiasm beyondmy expectations.

While Jason, Debbie and Raymondconcentrated on historical facts, I on theother hand made culture, traditions andfolklore come alive. It was a spark of en-thusiasm that teachers themselves couldmake posters like this and have studentstalk about their own roots. What an eyeopener,” aaha” moment that as a teacheryou know you’ve reached a special placein their minds that say YES I could do thattoo.

Returning the second day, attendeeslooked for more candy. Word was outabout the CD, DVD, lesson plans and, ofcourse, the famous CANDY.

What an experience, and we look backat the opportunity to share our roots withothers. We truly need to thank each andeveryone of you who supported us finan-cially, and emotionally for followingthrough a rigorous project that we hadnever done before.

We were proud to be Polish, to engagein meaningful conversation and make adifference in the lives of thought leadersin the community and schools. We didmake an impact upon those who can andwill influence generations to come.Serdeczne pozdrowienia.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For those who contrib-uted to the success of this program, youcan trully feel rewarded for this great ac-complishment. It is not only a wonderfulprogram that acquaints teachers and otherprofessionals with our culture but earnsrespect and admiration for those accom-plishments.

Ray Glembocki with a visitor and DebbieMajka with Jason Franzen at the exhibit

Cecilia Glembocki & Debbie Majkaat the Perspectives Exhibit

8 POLISH HERITAGE

Give a LegacyA wonderful way to per-petuate Polish Heritageand insure that our pro-grams will continue is tomake a gift through a will.

Direct bequests or chari-table remainder trusts maybe made simply by desig-nating American Councilfor Polish Culture, Inc. asa beneficiary.

American Council for Polish Culture The Youth Leadership Conferences

(YLC) have been sponsored by the ACPCsince 1994 in Washington, D.C. The Con-ference assists youths of Polish back-ground who are interested in civic andpolitical activism to realize their full po-tential and to assume leadership roles invarious fields at all levels of society. Theweek-long Conference is scheduled forthe third week of June, 2011.

It is an up close and intensive oppor-tunity for 20 to 25 young Polish Ameri-cans, chosen from all over the U.S., to ex-plore the political processes and interactwith national and international leaders inthe realms of foreign policy, business, sci-ence, education, journalism, culture, Pol-ish American and east-central Europeanaffairs. It is open to high school gradu-ates or college students, ages 17 to 26 ofPolish descent. A deposit of $50 (refund-able) will guarantee a place as attendanceis limited.

Youth Leadership Conferences havealways been fully subscribed as youngPolish Americans from across the USA ea-gerly seek to participate in this uniqueoccasion to meet face-to-face and hold in-depth discussions with U.S. Senators andRepresentatives; government officials inthe Departments of State, Commerce,Treasury, and Defense and the IntelligenceAgency; nationally known journalists andauthors; political scientists in “thinktanks”; officials of the Embassy of theRepublic of Poland; as well as prominent

figures of Polonia, business and the pro-fessions. The list of distinguished per-sonages who have participated in pastConferences includes Dr. ZbigniewBrzezinski, Counselor, Center for Strate-gic & Intl. Studies and former Natl. Se-curity Advisor to U.S. President; JimMiklaszewski, NBC White House Cor-respondent; Dr. Andrzej Raczko - Intl.Monetary Fund; Mark Brzezinski, Esq.(appointed recently by Pres. Obama asMember, Fulbright Foreign ScholarshipBoard); and Senator Barbara Mikulski, toname just a few of the invited guests.Conferees also enjoyed tours of the U.S.Capitol; visits to the Polish Embassy andthe Kosciuszko Foundation’s AmericanCenter of Polish Culture. Voluntaryevaluations by YLC alumni havestrongly encouraged other students toapply for the Conference, seeing it as“...truly a life-altering experience.” Oneenthusiastic student called home to tellher parents, “Guess whom I chatted withtoday!.” A college freshman wrote thathe was very grateful because he foundthe programs so highly motivating andinspiring that he found himself directedto a career selection and thus early in hisstudies he was able to select classes fit-ting precisely into his major.

The ACPC Youth Leadership Confer-ence registration fee is $500. This pro-vides for housing at George WashingtonUniversity and one meal per day, alongwith most other conference expensessuch as local travel and tours. Transpor-

ACPC Youth LeadershipConference 2011

tation to and from Washington, DC, as wellas each student’s optional expenses are upto the individual and/or local supportingACPC Affiliate, Polish club or student or-ganization, etc., through their support forstudent programs.

Anyone visiting a mall recently waslikely pleased with the glittering lightsblinking atop Christmas trees, wreathes,holiday decor and jolly Christmas musicigniting the Christmas spirit in everyone’sheart and mind. So thoughts turn to giftsfor those we love, particularly our chil-dren, grandchildren and other relatives.Perhaps you would consider as a gift theYouth Leadership Conference registrationfee for an ambitious young man or womanin your family! The experience of havingyour child or grandchild attend the Con-ference in Washington, DC would providefor happy conversations in the family formany years - an experience to fondly re-member with thanksgiving to the gener-ous donor of the $500 fee. The applicationform is available at the ACPC website,www.polishcultureacpc.org or by contact-ing the YLC Director: Mrs. Irena Mirecki,Conference Chair, 404141st Street, McLean,VA 22101, irena@mirecki.us.

Jo Louise Winters, PR Chair

A YLS group from a previous year atthe Polish Embassy

WINTER 2010 9

Former President of the ACPC andlong-time activist in all Polish/Ameri-

can activities, was honored during severalevents held in Warsaw and Pultusk, Po-land in October. Beginning on October16, 2010 the organization “StowarzyszenieWspolnota Polska”, attended Mass cel-

ebrated by H.E.Cardinal JozefGlemp at theArchcathedralof Warsaw inmemory of theirdeceased presi-dents and allmembers. SirWalter was afounding mem-ber of the orga-nization whichhas as its mainpurpose the sup-port for ties be-

tween Poland and Polonia throughout theworld.

Mass was followd by the opening ofan exhibit in honor of the 20th Anniver-sary of the organization at the DomPolonii in Warsaw. Later, a celebratoryreception at the Presidential Palace wherethe President of Poland met withrepresentataives of Polonia. In theevening at the Royal Palace an award cer-emony and departure for Pultusk Palacewhere more jubilee activities followed onthe 17th and morning of the 18th.

On october 19, 2010, at 3:30 pm in theSenate Building of the Republic of Poland,a formal reception was held. It was hosted

Walter Zachariasiewicz, KCSG, Honored in Polandby Bogdan Borusewicz, Marshall of theSenate and Bogdan Zdrojewski, Ministerof Culture and National Heritage.

According to the invitation, the eventwas to transfer the private archives ofWalter Zachariasiewicz to the Archives ofNew Acts in Warsaw and to honor SirWalter as one of the leaders of the worldorganization of Poles beyond the borders“Swiatopol”; member of the PolonianConsulting Advisory Board to the SenateMarshall; outstanding expert on the fateof Polish Independence emigrees andnestor of American Polonia.

Present at the ceremonies was JanBorkowski, Deputy Minister of ForeignAffairs, members of the Senate, represen-tatives of govenment and distinguishedguests. The Primate of Poland, JozefKowalczyk, Archbishop Metropolitan ofGniezno was unable to attend because ofcelebrations connected to Bl. Fr. J.Popieluszko. He sent a beautiful letter ofpraise and admiration for Mr. Zacha-riasiewicz and all his accomplishments.The letter was read at the ceremony. Alsoattending was Mrs. Malgorzata Kupiecka,

wife of the Polish Ambassador to the U.S.;Mrs. Irena Kozminska, wife of the formerPolish Ambassador to the U.S.; LadyBlanka Rosenstiel, Honorary Consul ofPoland, former ACPC President andWlodzimierz Sulgostowski, Consul at the

Polish Embassy in the U.S.In November, Walter

celebrated his 99th birthdayand we all wish him anotherSto Lat and God’s Blessings.

The I.J. Paderewski Awardfor Distinguished Contri-butions to Society and Cul-ture was established in1998 by the InternationalFriends of Music Associa-tion (IFMA), in collabora-tion with UNESCO, andthe Ignacy Jan Paderewskiin Memorium Foundation(WARSAW).

On October 2, 2010 Tadeusz Mirecki,Past President of ACPC, was

awarded the I.J. Padereewski Award. Ourcongratulations . We are very proud ofyou Ted!

Thaddeus Mirecki Receives the I.J. Paderewski AwardThe Paderewski Award is conferred to se-lected individuals or organizations in rec-ognition of their extraordinary achieve-ments or outstanding contributions to so-

ciety and culture. The awardceremony was originallyscheduled for April 17, 2010 butwas cancelled due to the air-liner crash which took the livesof the President of Poland andmany other Polish dignitaries.It was re-scheduled after theperiod of mourning for Octo-ber 2, 2010.

Lady Blanka Rosenstielbehind her, ConsulWlodzimierz Sulgostowskiin back and behind him,Mrs. Irena Kozminskaat the ceremony

Walter signing his book for admirersWalter Zachariasiewiczaddressing the assembly

Irena & Ted Mirecki

The award

10 POLISH HERITAGE

$5000. ACPCPulaskiScholarships

An extremely generous grant fromthe Conrad R. Walas family , which

was inspired by the fervent appeal at anAnnual Convention of the AmericanCouncil of Polish Culture by Mark F.Brzezinski, Esq. to all Polonia for the fi-nancial support of young Polish Ameri-cans pursuing higher education, gavebirth to the ACPC’s Pulaski Scholarshipsfor Advanced Studies.

Since that time students in graduatestudies have besieged the Council for helpin meeting the financial challenges theyface today. Happily, the Council was ableto dole out five $5,000 scholarships fromthe Endowment Fund’s income to veryworthy students who have not only goneon to successful careers but in a goodmany cases are also actively participat-ing in Polonian activities at creative levels.

Unfortunately, the Pulaski Endow-ment Fund is still recovering from the re-cent economic troubles and the ACPC wasable to offer only one $5,000 grant last yearand is faced with being limited to onlyone grant for the Pulaski Scholarship in2011.

At the ACPC’s 2010 annual conven-tion, Treasurer Gregory Biestek offered adonation of $500 to the Pulaski Endow-ment Fund with a challenge that Poloniaadds sufficient funds so that a second$5,000 scholarship may be offered in 2011.This generous offer motivated Mr. MarkBrzezinski to seek once again to inspirePolonia groups and individuals to con-tribute to the Fund so that we can offer atleast two $5,000 scholarships this comingyear.

Mr. Brzezinski sent his signed state-ment to ACPC President Mrs. Deborah M.Majka, addressed “To Whom It May Con-cern”. In his personal message, he urgesus all “to consider the future of this schol-arship, and the challenges young peopleface, especially in these days of high ex-penses and tight money. We need yourhelp and we need you to dig deep in yourpockets to fund at least a second Pulaskischolarship in 2011.” The Council is veryhopeful it will inspire many groups andindividuals to offer their support. Dona-tions should be made out to “PulaskiScholarship Endowment Fund” (ACPC is

a 501 (C) (3) tax exempt organization)and mailed to:

Mr. Gregory Biestek,TreasurerAmerican Council for Polish Culture817 BerkshireGrosse Pointe Park, MI 48230

For further information, please contactMr. Marion Winters, Chairman PulaskiScholarships for Advanced Studies, at508-919-0160 or mvwinters@charter.net

At the Fall Board Meeting, the Mem-bership Outreach Committee was

pleased to announce the first recipientsof an Affiliate Grants Program which hadbeen proposed by Marcia Lewandowski.The grant of $500. is designed to assistmember groups with their worthwhileprograms. The first grants were givento the Polish Arts Club of Trenton, NJ fortheir program on World War II, the sec-ond to the Polish Arts Club of Young

ACPC Affiliate Grants Program

L-R:Anna MaeMaglaty,Mary AnnMlynarski, Peter Obst,MarciaLewandowski,Debbie Majka,Paul Bosse,Mary EllenTyszka

by Marion Winters, Chairman

Several scholarships are available fromACPC . Others include the SkalnyScholarship and the ACPC Summer

Study in Poland Program. For detailedinformation on the grants andrequirements see our website:www.polishcultureacpc.org.

On a sad note, in November we saidFarewell to our long-time member

and active Polonian, Edwina ConradMooney. She died peacefully in her sleepon October 31 aged 102.

She was known to many as the formerDean of Women at Alliance College andmore recently as the founder of the“Wianki on the Mall”. The Wianki festi-val is the traditional Polish observanceof the Eve of St.John in June. It is believedthat St.John, baptizer of Jesus, blesses thewaters. Young women make wreathsand float them at the river (water) andyoung men retrieve the wreaths and winthe company of the young woman whosewreath they retrieved for the festivities.

Edwina tailored the event to fit the Wash-ington DC circumstances, the wreathswere floated on the Reflecting Pool nearthe Washington Monument. It has nowbecome an annual celebration attendedby club members and many other Wash-ington visitors and residents. A fittingtribute to Edwina.

On December 5, the PAAA observedanother annual tradition, Wigilia. ThisChristmas celebration featured all thePolish traditions, the breaking of the wa-fer and mutual good wishes (Oplatek),traditional Polish food and Christmascarols in Polish and English. This beau-tiful event was held in the Embassy ofthe Republic of Poland.

Polish American Arts Association of Wash. , DC

P.S. At our recent executive board meetingin Elmira, NY, we received pledges total-ling $1,100, bringing the current total to$1,600 - just need $3,400 more!

stown, OH for a Youth Art Contest to be heldin Januaary, 2011. The checks were pre-sented to the recipient clubs by AnnaMaeMaglaty and Marcia Lewandowski repre-senting the Membership Outreach Commit-tee; President Debbie Majka,Mary EllenTyszka and Peter Obst representing the Ex-ecutive Board and representing the recipi-ents, Mary Ann Mlynarski, President of theYoungstown affiliate and Paul Bosse for theTrenton Club.

WINTER 2010 11

Adam Styka Art Competition and Exhibit

The Adam Styka Art Competition andSale this past September was a great

success! During the ceremonial openingof the exhibit, we were pleased to greetguests and twenty-four very talentedartists who contributed their works tothe exhibit. All of their works were trulytremendous.

One of the special guests at the Open-ing Ceremony was Matthew Przybylek,a winner of the Skalny Scholarshipaward from the American Council forPolish Culture (ACPC). Debbie Majka,the President of ACPC, spoke aboutMatthew’s achievements and presentedthe award to him. Matthew and his par-ents came from Delaware to join us forthis event. We are very proud of him andwish him all the best in the future. MarieHejnosz and Jean Joka, Chairladies of theAdam Styka Exhibit and Sale, did a won-derful job in organizing this year’s com-petition, exhibit, and sale. At the open-ing ceremony, they introduced all of theartists and delivered very interestingspeeches about the art and winners ofthe 2010 Art Exhibit.

Marie Hejnosz also introduced Mrs.Maria Styka, daughter-in-law of AdamStyka. Mrs. Styka stated the she verymuch appreciated that the Polish Heri-tage Society of Philadelphia holds theAdam Styka Art Exhibit every year at theNational Shrine of Our Lady ofCzestochowa in Doylestown, PA duringthe Polish-American Festival. After theceremony, everyone was invited forwine, cheese, and fellowship.

This year’s Competition Winners were:1st prize -The Winter Tree by Nina Kiendzierska Hons

2nd prize -Peace Tree by Jan Gadomski

3rd prize -The Gang’s All Here by Donna Blichasz

4th prize -Three Men by John Litwinowicz

Emilia Piasecka Prize -Eugeniusz Maziarz - for the body of works

Maria and Andrew Styka Prize -John Schwab for Untitled

Honorable Mention -Joseph Tucholski - for the body of works

Honorable Mention -Hanneke de Neve for November Girl

by Teresa N. Wojcikphotos by Peter ObstNational Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, PA

The Gang’s All Here

The Winter Tree

Peace Tree

General exhibit view

12 POLISH HERITAGE

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Council for Polish Culture, aconfederation of affiliated Pol-ish-American organizations andindividuals in the continentalUnited states, propagating theknowledge and appreciation ofthe culture and civilization ofPoland, and the contributions ofAmericans of Polish descent tothe history and culture of theUnited States of America. TheCouncil conceived and helpedfund the establishment of theAmerican Center of Polish Cul-ture in Wash. D.C.

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