Mount Saint Marys College - Eagle Yearbook (Orchard Lake, MI)

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The present headquarters of the P.N.A. in Chicago, Illi- nois, was dedicated on May 8, 1938. policy of Non-Denominationalism. This it did in order to be consistent with the Arti- cles of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1792 and the American Constitution, both of which respect their citizens, choice of reli- gion. lt was stipulated, however, in the Al- liance's Constitution that the religious part of all formal Polish National Alliance cele- brations are to take place in a Roman Catho- lic church. Ever since its formal establishment, the Polish National Alliance has sought to bett rf' the educational level of Poles livingxin-. . - r- ica. One important step magic? ' accomplishment of this was the founding of the Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. President Taft in his speech on the occasion of the College's dedication fOctober 26, 1912i said that the United States of America was proud to have a group of immigrants so interested in its newly adopted country as to establish a center of higher education for its own constituents. The President further commented on the neces- sity and utility of such an institution as the Alliance College which would instruct Poles, not only in the history, literature and culture of America, but also in that of Poland, there- by preparing better and more useful citizens of the United States. Noteworthy is the fact that long before the establishment of the Alliance College, the Polish National Alliance was already inter- ested in supporting centers of higher learn- ing. As early as 1886, the Alliance placed a special assessment on its members for the purpose of creating a fund which was des- ignated to aid in the construction and main- On the North East corner of Lafayette Square in the city of Washington stands the Kosciuszko tenance of the Polish Seminary in Detroit, now located at Orchard Lake. The social, charitable, and cultural are not overlooked by the Alliance in its log of activities. It gives financial assistance to its poor and destitute members, maintains a li- brary and archives, a museum, sports clubs, choral societies, amateur dramatic circles, folk dancing groups, and publishes Zgoda, a weekly, and Dziennik Zwiazkowy, a daily. It also sponsors summer camps for boys and girls as well as supplementary schools for the teaching of the Polish language. While still in its infancy, the Polish Na- tional Alliance recognized the necessity of a Mortuary Fund, but it was not until a decade later that an adequate insurance program was devised. lcontinued on page 2133 .QA i ' i I' ' , 3 I fl at , J lt L i . 1 .1, f. ' ,til . U F Fra -27 d X for NX HJ Wflmi Kosciusz KO Mcmw. M 'Will vwuq, www i 44' 'WV Wil gi ff 'Q u, X K fl I I . l l u X i im I I . Q 31 l ' ' WIA , I M, ff i ' 'WMM' 'CQ A P' it X Z 4! x 1 ' l s ,rl ' I ., gm N M 'tix i .if . J SARATUBA Monument which was erected by a d a ' expense of the Polish Na 'anal X , P KZJQLLJ , , A ,

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148 ATIU AI. ALLIA IIE still - 9 93m CHICAGO, ILLINOIS :ff slr?--, L ' to unite into an alliance or federation under tbl' N f 5' ti' ' Sn- W I .I 4 sf, gi Pig ZfR t Qi Ll- f Another man who point- ed out the need of unit- ing all Polish American societies then exist- ing in the United States into one organization was Agaton Giller, a Polish exile living in Switzerland. His article O organizacji Polakow w Amerycef' which appeared in CHARLES ROZMAREK Presldent Polish newspapers both in Poland and Amer ica, inspired the formation of the Polish Na tional Alliance Zwiazek Narodowy Polski Gilleris plea was not in vain, for on Feb ruary 15, 1880, Julius Andrzejkowicz invited prominent Polish Americans residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to attend a meet ing. Mr. Andrzejkowicz stressed the neces sity for all Polish organizations in America the name 'cZwiazek Narodowy Polski fPol- ish National Alliancej. It was understood that each society which joined would retain its individual character. Messrs. Julian Szajnert, Julian Lipinski, Vincent Doman- ski, John Bialynski, Anthony Wojczynski, John Popielinski, John Blachowski, Teofil Kucielski, aIId Peter Beczkiewicz, co-f0und- ers of the Alliance, supported their confrere's proposal. Immediately, thereupon, an open invita- tion was published in the Polish Press asking all Polish American societies to join the pro- posed association. Societies from Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin responded immediate- ly. After the first draft of the Constitution was completed, Mr Andrzejkowicz designated September 20 1880 as the d rte for the First National Convention of the Polish National Alliance The place chosen was Chicago It was at the Convention that the Alliance s ob jectrves were defined, namely, to strrve for the moral and material betterment of Poles lrvrng rn Amer rea to assist the Polish rmmr grant to establish himself upon hrs arrival rn the United States, to make use of all puhlrc relations media rn order to better the polrtr cal, and economic srtuatron of the Polish people rn America ind Poland, and to com memorate national anniversaries Further more, the Convention decided to adopt the 4141 ,ylfff-it!-If 'V' The most laudable of P.N.A. purposes is to provide necessary funds for operational and capi- tal expenditures of Alliance Col- lege in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, which is accredit- ed by the North Central Associa- tion. Sf .

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PULISH ATIIJ L ALLIA EE UF BHUUHLY BROOKLYN, NEW YORK Z- R N. 15 it ,c it, .A Mini 'Mats sin' S'4:, 21 gn thi' ,g o ffatemal benefit 50CiCtY Of Which 5 of these certificates are New York, New Jer- every Polish American may be justly proud is the Polish National Alliance of Brooklyn QZjednoczenie Polsko Narodowe1. It was founded on February 10, 1903, as a direct resu'lt of a meeting of a group of Polish im- migrants who had convened at 237 Kent Ave- nue, Brooklyn, New York. The specific aims of the Alliance are: Q11 to unite American Poles and others of Slavic descent for the purpose of affording them an opportunity to profit by the benefits that accrue from such a union, Q21 to instill in them a greater love for their adopted coun- try, Q31 to encourage its members to prac- tice the corporal works of mercy, Q41 to pre- serve the Faith of their Forefathers, Q51 to make a positive contribution to American cul- ture by keeping alive an interest in the cul- ture, history, and literature of Poland, Q61 to encourage its youth to study and use the Polish language. Withili the past fifty-two years, member- ship has steadily increased to a total of 20,- 652 and lodges to 152. The Polish National Alliance of Brooklyn issues certificates from S300 to !'1B10,000. In- rance policies offered are for whole life, - - a men ife and 20 year endow- W f s hich r eive the majority -'?T sey, and Michigan. Deaths per 1,000 benefit certificates were 15.562, in 1953 and 13.9611 in 1954. The financial standing of the Alliance is sound. As of January 1, 1955, total assets amounted to 3S4,216,878.10, liabilities for the same period were .iB75,119.30. The in- surance in force in 1955 totaled 312,422,- 196 as compared to 311,865,051 in 1954, benefits paid out in 1954 amounted to 35211,- 285.87 as compared to 3221,065.08 in 1953. The activities of the Polish National Al- liance of Brooklyn are varied and many. The Alliance purchased Polish Government Bonds during W'orld War 1 and United States De- fense Bonds during the past two World Wars, organized a special Committee to fight Communism, established a scholarship pro- gram for needy students, constructed a sum- mer camp for boys and girls at Oak Ridge, Qcontinued on page 2131 0 1 1 1 . E M Z Q .a To promote Polish art, music, drama and literature is among the chief cul- tural objectives of the Polish Ameri can Fraternal Organizations. Q Y- Q PX