If you want to put some "Polish" in your Christmas traditions, there's no better place to start than at PACT's annual Wigilia Celebration.  This year, Stan Machosky, PACT Board member and resident MC, did an excellent job explaining some of the Christmas Eve traditions observed in Poland.  Some of this year's Wigilia participants also shared their Polish Christmas Eve traditions with everyone.  The first tradition of lighting a candle in the window to signify the start of Wigilia was performed by Nick. Other traditions observed at the Wigilia were an 11 course meatless meal, sharing of oplatec and singing koledy.  The koledy was led by our "singing nuns" otherwise known as the sisters of St. Francis.  They included Sister Maurice Wodarski, Sister Geraldine Paluszak, Sister Aloise Paluszak, Sister Bernice Pasiowitz, Sister Rozalma Kmiec, and Sister Cabrini Warpeha.  This year there was also a surprise visit by a mailman (Ken Stein) which will bring good fortune to all who were in attendance.  There was also an opportunity to write a name of a loved one who would not be able to share Christmas with the family this year on a Christmas bulb and hang it on the memory tree.   Thank you to all who attended this years Wigilia and a special thank you to those that volunteered to participate in the Wigilia traditions.

 Once again, PACT will be awarding two students in high school or college a $500.00 scholarship.  Application can be downloaded from our website and sent in no later than May 18th.

 The third annual Toledo Sister Cities International Festival will be held Saturday, March 24, 2012 in the Civic Center Promenade at the Erie Street Market. A full range of cultures and performances is planned from 12 noon until 8:00 pm. A Parade of Nations will open the event at noon.

The afternoon and early evening event will feature food, dancing, music and other performances by participants celebrating cultures from around the world. Toledo is privileged to have sister cities in Spain, China, Hungary, Poland, Japan, Tanzania, Germany, Lebanon, Pakistan, India and Egypt, and additional sister cities are in the works. The festival will also feature local community groups. Last year, some 24 groups performed. An expanded list of local ethnic restaurants will serve international fare. World beers will be available at a pavilion, and vendors will be on hand to offer crafts and other goods. Activities are planned for children to enjoy; children under 10 will be free. Come see, hear, or eat samplings from different cultures and join together with some 2,000 participants in this celebration of international diversity!

More details, including ticket prices and performance information will be forthcoming as members of Toledo Sister Cities partners work to bring this 3rd International Festival to life.

 Jackie Konwinski, President of the Toledo Genealogical Society, has graciously agreed to give a presentation on how to go about finding your family history.  It will be held on Thursday, February 16th at 6 p.m.  More information regarding this presentation will be available soon.

 Peggy Grant's 35th Annual Exhibit will open with a public reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on January 27th in the 20 North Gallery, at 18 N. St. Clair St.  The exhibit features the work of about a dozen artists.  Started by Grant, a curator and artist, the yearly event has been at various venues over the years and for the last 17 years, at 20 North Gallery.  Mrs. Grant's husband, the late Adam Grant was a renowned Polish artist and Mrs. Grant has given a presentation of his life and works of art for PACT in the past.  His painting are shown in many museums throughout Poland.  The exhibit runs through March 10, 2012.

Born in Warsaw Poland in 1924, Adam Grant was a member of a rather well to do family.  His father was a physician, who when WWII began, joined the army.  Unfortunately, his father was one of the more than 12.000 Polish officers that were murdured in the Katyn forest in 1940.  (see Katyn movie, under Past Events for more information on this event).  During his younger days, Warsaw was a vibrant center for the arts and social events.  Of course, Mrs. Grant said, that all changed for Adam at the beginning of the war.  He was captured and sent to Auchwitz and later to Mauthhausen, a labor camp in Austria.  His art was his salvation.  His captors kept him alive to take advantage of his talent.

After he was liberated and spent several years in a refugee camp, he came to America. There he changed his name from Grachowski to Grant.

 Ed Zawadzki is passionate about his Polish heritage and he's not afraid to tell everyone he meets.  Ed spoke of the many historical accomplishments of the Polish people in his recent visit to Toledo from the Hussars, the best cavalry unit in Europe, even the entire world to middleweight boxing champion, Tony Zale.  He spoke at the Toledo Polish Genealogy Society, and the Kielbasa Dinner and Heritage Presentation sponsored by the Polish American Community of Toledo. He also made a visit to Zavotski's Meats and Deli for a book signing. His love of his Polish ancestry was evident as he talked about his parents struggles in nazi work camps during World War II.  Everyone loved his presentation but were really enamored with Wanda Zawadzki, his 92 year old mother who accompanied him and was his inspiration for writing his book, "Poles in the New World". Ed's book highlights 50 famous, and some infamous, Polish immigrants who made their homes in North America.  If you didn't get to see Ed's presentation, do not despair; Ed is planning another visit to Toledo next summer.  To order his book, go to http://www.polesworld.com.

Pictured:  Dylan Mowat, Stan Machosky and Kate Howell

On Tuesday, June 7, PACT (Polish-American Community of Toledo) awarded two Scholarships to local students who had competed in an essay contest addressing “What Having a Polish-American Heritage Means to Me.”  The winners were Katherine Howell, daughter of Tony and Kelly Howell of Perrysburg and Dylan Mowat, son of Dr. Rex and Linda Mowat of Sylvania .  Kate will be entering Notre Dame Academy as a freshman and Dylan Mowat will be a senior at St. John’s Jesuit High School in September. PACT congratulates both Kate and Dylan for winning their scholarships.  Dylan's and Kate's essays appear below.

WHAT HAVING A POLISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MEANS TO ME

by Kate Howell

It was 3 years ago that my father handed out Christmas presents to everyone.  In the present was a family tree with its origins in the 1700's in Wales.  My father had traced his family name back six generations.  That is when I became interested in my heritage and lineage.  As I am only 1/16 Welsh, the ancestral research was fascinating; however, I am half Polish as my mother was born to Polish parents.

Since that Christmas, I have become enthralled with Polish culture.  My mother, an avid dancer in her youth, has regaled me with many stories of how her dance troop would go city to city dancing at Polish-American festivals.  I, too, am an avid dancer, trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and modern.  My passion for dance is certainly rooted in my mother's Polish dancing passion.  My mother has also described how her grandfather (her mother's father) left Poland with virtually nothing to come to America for a better life for his wife, children and all of his future descendants.  Well, I am one of those descendants, and I could not be more proud of the courage he showed, so that I might have the opportunity to flourish.  Looking at the things around me, I cannot imagine what it must have been like to start over in a new land.  No friends, No land.  No job.  Just the hope of a better future.  He did this for me.  So what does a Polish-American heritage mean to me?  Proud to acknowledge that someone a long time ago planted the seeds from which I now sow.

My mother's step-father also emigrated from Poland in his 20's, but first he served in the Polish army in World War II fighting the Axis powers.  He provided my mother with a different perspective of what it meant to be in America and have the freedoms we often times take for granted.

It is also interesting that my mother and father were married at a Polish Catholic church, St. Adalbert's, and officiated by a Polish priest, Father Grudzinski.  My mother insisted on enjoying her Polish heritage during one of the biggest days of her life.  I intend to follow in her footsteps and celebrate my Polish heritage at my wedding as well.  Our family has also attended the Polish-American festival on Lagrange Street and bore witness to the births of dozens of pierogies.  It is a part of where I come from and will certainly play a role in where my life will go.

I will always treasure the family tree Dad gave me 3 years ago, but it is not nearly complete.  It only represents 1/16 of who I am, and I am diligently working my Polish half to attain a better understanding of that history of which I now enjoy.

MY POLISH ROOTS

by Dylan Mowat

What is important about being of Polish heritage?  It is my identity, and I'm proud of it?

I'm the 2nd generation on my mother's side of the family to be born in America.  My grandfather was born in Krakow, Poland on August 14th, 1934.  At the age of 5 he was sent to a concentration camp by the Germans.  Once he was released in 1945, Poland was already occupied by the Russian Communists, invading Germany from the East.  He sailed to America at age 15.  While in the Korean War, he became an American citizen. When he returned from the war, he worked as a janitor and worked his way up at General Motors (GM) to be a General Forman.  My grandma (I call her Babcia) was born in Hamtramck, Michigan where she met my grandfather and married him.  She is 2nd generation.  My mom was born January 10th, 1963.  I was born on February 19th, 1994.

I have many reasons to be proud to be Polish.  My grandparents are very hardworking and industrious and represent all that is great to be Polish.  Like my grandparents, I don't rely on others to do my work and show up every day to make the world a better place.  I am very proud of my community work with the Alzheimer patients at Flower Hospital and feel I am carrying out a tradition set for me by my grandparents.  My grandparents are very family oriented and religious as many Polish immigrants are.  My Uncle Kevin is a priest in Midland, Michigan.  Like them, I too am very religious and devoutly Catholic carrying on the practices of my family and all that is good to be Polish. 

I am also a lot like my great-grandmother who I can barely remember.  My dad recalls when he first met her she was on her knees outside her house in Detroit cleaning her sidewalk.  My dad thought it was something out of a movie.  Like her, I am very tidy and always cleaning my room and house to keep things perfect for everyone else. These traits though important are not the most important trait passed down to me from my relatives.  I most prize the love of family my Polish relatives have.  From a very early age I longed to go to Detroit to visit, as my relatives had such great joy and fun just being together as a family.  Opening Christmas presents, eating dinners, talking about what we did at school; all these things were very important to my family and me.

To be Polish has been a great joy.  We're hardworking, neat, family oriented, happy in life, and rich in history.  It's these features that bind all Polish people together as one.