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

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UNITED PULISH WUME UP AMERICA CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ounded in 1932, the United Polish Women of America lUnia Polek w Amerycei is the youngest of all Polish fraternal or- ganizations. As of 1955, it boasted 54 lodges and a membership of 3,953. Fully cognizant of the fact that the works of Inercy must occupy a focal and not mar- ginal place in the life of every true Chris- tian, the United Polish Women of America has outlined a model program of charity. One outstanding facet of its program is a Wel- fare Fund which is replenished not by as- sessing its members, but rather by a volun- tary periodic donation. Financial assistance is extended to any needy member whenever misfortune or disaster strikes. It was on December 1, 1932, that the Unit- ed Polish Women of America commenced its insurance activities. Issued at present are the following certificates from 55300 to 32,000: whole life, 20 year payment life, and 20 year endowment. In 1955 adult ben- efit certificates numbered 3,666 and Junior 287. As of January 1, 1955, assets of the United Polish Women of America amounted to 3B582,906.23g liabilities 311,562.84g reserves 35511,268, and unassigned funds 360,075.39 The amount of insurance in force in 1954 totaled 32,008,815 and 32,078,815 in the fiscal year of 1955. Benefits paid out in 1953 totaled 3B49,903.10g in 1954 they amounted to 345,190.46 The Officers of the United Polish Women of America as of 1955 were: Mis. Anna Kosieracki, President, lVI's. Antoinette Wilk- owski, Secretary, and lVl's. Helen Mathis, Treasurer. The Home Office 'mis located at 1200 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago 22, Illinois. Dramatic talents of the members receive opportuni- ties for expression in the many productions pre- sented by these organizations. . :hair 1.4 .

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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

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PIJLISH HUMAN IIATHULIII UNIUN cn-ncAGo, n.uNo:s IP 'f W It was in the early 1870's W A that Poles began to im- migrate en masse to the United States. Most of the 100,000 newly arrived Polish immigrants settled in the industrial, centers such as Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Pittsburg. Almost immediately after their arrival, these immigrants began to build Catholic churches and organize social and charitable societies. As the Polish parishes were the centrum of these societies, activities, it was not long be- fore a Polish pastor advanced the idea of uniting all various Polish American social and charitable societies into one organiza- tion: such a priest was the Reverend Theo- dore Gieryk of Saint Albertus Parish, Detroit, Michigan. In June of 1873, Father Gieryk made known his idea in an open letter pub- lished in various then-existent Polish week- lies. Seeing the wisdom in Father Gieryk's idea, Mr. John Barzynski, editor of the Polish weekly newspaper The Pilgrim, his brother Father Vincent Barzynski, and Messrs. Peter Kiolbassa and Joseph Closkowski arranged for a convention to be held in Detroit on Oc- tober 3, 1873, for the purpose of discussing how Father Gieryk's idea could be best ma- terialized. The home of the P.R.C.U. as well as its Archives and Museums is at 984 Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Kftsimm I. Kozmciizwxcz President Although the project was unanimously ap- proved, it was decided to postpone actual organization as respresentation at the Con- vention was incomplete. lt was proposed, in consequence, that a National Congress of Pol- ish Americans be held in Chicago on October 14, 15, and 16, 1874. Messrs. Barzynski, Kiolbassa, Closkowski, and Father Gieryk were appointed to act as the Pre-Congress Committee. lt was at the Congress that the foundations of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of Amer- ica fZjednoczenie Polskie R. K. w AJ were laid. Father Gieryk became its first Presi- dent, Mr. Kiolbassa became Vice-President, and Messrs. John Barzynski and August Rud- zinski became Secretary and Treasurer re- spectively. One of the Union's six Directors to be elected was the Reverend Joseph Da- browski, Founder of the Orchard Lake Sem- inary. Twelve years later, it was decided at the 1886 Convention to issue insurance pol- icies. However, it took a full year to es- tablish a definite insurance program. In April, 1887, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America was granted a Charter of Incorporation in the state of Illinois. This marked the formal beginning of the Union as we know it today.