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

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- -. I .xi A' in i i ! ,,v' The Reverend John Pitass THE PULISH UNIUN UF AMERICA BUFFALO, New YORK x ,,, 'fu Founder The history of the Polish Union of Amer- ica fUnia Polska w Amerycej is a stormy but fascinating one. It begins with the year 1889, when at the Sth Convention of the Pol- ish National Alliance in Buffalo, New York, a defeated motion to ammend the constitu- tion and thus exclude all non-Roman Catho- lics from the Polish National Alliance, created the moment for the Roman Catholics present at the Convention to organize a new Polish American Roman Catholic Fraternal Organization. After leaving the convention hall, the displeased delegates gathered in the Rectory of St. Stanislaus Parish, where the pastor, Rev. Dean John Pitass, together with Rev. Dominic Majer of St. Paul, Minnesota, inspired them to organize the Polish Union of America. Under the leadership of Fathers Pitass and Mujer, the Union grew and prospered. The First Convention was held in 1893 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Delegates from Buffalo were Due to the large set- tlement of Polish im- migrants in the State - Q' of Pennsylvania the Union's next Conven- tion was held in the city of Wilkes-Barre. The following Conven- 11011 WHS in Btlf- Mr. Walter J. Lohr falo in 1906 fprob- P'e5i'1e ' ably one of the most important conventions to date as the tables of assessments were es- tablished and voted into existencej. After this Convention, the Offices of the Polish Union of America were transferred to Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylania. At the following Convention in Chicago, the unexpected happened. Since the election of officers was not in agreement with the Constitution, i.e., all were not elected from one city, either Buffalo or Wilkes-Barre, misunderstanding arose and thus cleavage oc- curred in the Organization. The Wilkes-Barre delegation refused to turn the Union's funds and records over to Buffalo. The end result was that two separate organizations were formed, thus sapping greatly the strength of the Union. In the year 1910, two conventions were held simultaneously. O'ne in Niagara Falls, the other in Wilkes-Ba1'1'e. Efforts of the Committee of the Niagara Falls Convention Rev. John Pitass, Rev. Thomas Flaczek, Rev. tconnnued on page 2151 Jacob Wojcick, Mr. Jacob Rozan, Barnard Pitass, John Mach, J. Chlehowy, and John Johnson. The Union's first national officers were elected from this group of Buffalo dele- gates, and the Administrative work of the Polish Union of America was transferred to Buffalo, New York. The Second Convention was also held in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the Convention a Mortuary Fund was established, regular monthly assessments were defined, the giving of aid to sick and aged was voted for., and death benefits were raised to 3750.00 The Most Reverend John F. 0'Hara was one of the recipients of the Polish Union's Medal of Honor in 1954.

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Headquarters of the Polish Union is in Wilkes- Barre Pennsylvania. PIILISH U Ill UE THE UNITED STATES WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA The date of the e s t a b l i s h - ment of the Polish Union of the United States of North America fUnia Polska w Stanach Zjednoczonych Polnocnej Amerykij was September 22, 1890, the place: St. Paul, Minnesota, the founder: Fa- i l Rt. Rev. Mr. Sidney Grabowski Msgr. Dominic Mujer pmsident Founder ther Dominic Majer, a shepherd whose con- cern for the immigrant Poles' social and reli- gious welfare was boundless. The ensuing background material will help to throw some light on the Union's formation. It all started in 1889 when the clergy mem- bers of the Polish National Alliance frowned on the idea of permitting non-Roman Catho- lics to qualify for administrative positions in the Alliance. Seeing that their efforts to pre- vent this were fruitless, they began consid- is l ing the possibility of establishing a new or- ganization, an organization which would not only unite all Polish societies in America, but which would also, as the clergy pointed out, embody the Catholicism of the Polish Ro- man Catholic Union and the Nationalism of the Polish National Alliance. The idea be- came a reality when Father Majer organized Society No. One of the Polish Union in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Colden .luhilee of the P.U. of the U.S. of N.A. was honored with the presence of Most Reverend Stephen Woznicki, then Auxiliary of Detroit and now Bishop of Saginaw. In 1896 the Union transferred headquar- ters from St. Paul to Buffalo. It was trans- ferred again in 1906, this time to Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania. The purposes of the Polish Union as out- lined in Article II of its Constitution are: fll to offer its members such insurance poli- cies as ordinary life, 20 year payment life, 20 year endowment, endowment at 65, 10 year endowment and 15 year endowment, f2j to maintain a fund for the promotion of patriotic and educational projects, Q31 to strive for the moral, religious, and material betterment of Poles living in America, Q4-J to commemorate national anniversaries, to instill a deeper love for and loyalty to the United Statesg f6j to develop in the Polish youth a love and respect for its Forefathersg f7j to strengthen in all Union members a love for and filial obe- dience to the Roman Catholic Church, and lcontinued on page 2141 The Most Reverend, William Hafey presided at the Blessing ,of the Headquarters.

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' v npr ' si 1 5' f l Y 'w'i, 'E' m, , F 'Q' JI at F-aero -4' -' -' j. 192 ' A -4112 ,,, PULISH WIIME 'S ALLIA IIE , f CHICAGO, n.uNols , 5 139 ,, fx! KN Miss Adela Lagodzinska President The Polish Women's Alliance of America QZwiazek Polek w Ameryce1 was born in 1898 when a group of women met to found a club which would unite the Polish women of Chicago for the effective pursuance of pa- triotic and cultural ideals and for the pro- vision of mutual aid in times of need. The Alliance's foundress and first president was Stefania Chmielinska, and on August 5, 1898, thirty women formed the first member- ship roster. As membership in the Club grew, it was decided to make national its scope by found- ing chapters in various cities and states, with headquarters remaining in Chicago. Follow- ing the recommendations of its First Conven- tion, the Club was reorganized, and its offi- cial title became the Polish Women's Al- liance of America. The ever-increasing membership of the Pol- ish Women,s Alliance has made this organ- ization the largest in its field. As of last l f L .-- -. 1 'C ,K 13311. g a 5, a- ag, Q f 5 E 3 5 5 is 1 Efehftin fril l , r,t ,t . Headquarters of the Polish Women's Alliance is at 1309 North Ashland Ave- nue, Chicago. year, the Alliance boasted a total membership of 85,532 Of these, 85,41-07 were benefit members and 125 were social members. Al- though members are scattered throughout seventeen states, the largest percentage is found in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New York respectively. In 1954, 1,187 lodges were counted, in 1955 they increased to 1,196. The aims and objectives of the alliance as discussed in the Polish text of its Constitution are: Q11 Utrzymanie ducha narodowego wsrod Polakow w Ameryce wraz zu usilna praca nad utrwaleniem polskosfci w m'l'odszej generacji i ksztalceniu jej w jezyku ojczystym, historji i literaturze, przez zakladanie szko- l'ek i bibliotekg Q21 Utrzymanie stalfego kon- taktu z Ojczyzna, by naszym wspoludzialem starac sie uwydatnic sily naukowe i artysty- czneg Q31 Stac na strazy honoru i bronic opi- nji narodowej W swietle faktow historyczynch, jak rdwniez starac sie o utrzymanie dobrego imienia, i 0 ile bedzie mozliwem bronid przy- sladowanych rodaczek, i honorowym sposo- bem podtrzymae ich prawa w uzyskaniu spra- wiedliwoscig Q41 Dazyd do zalozenia stalego emigracyjnego komitetu i opieki nad opus- zczonemi dziedmig Usposabiad kobiety do zycia samodzielnego, zachecacf i dopomagari zdobywanie wyzszego wyksztalcenia, a wobec roQvnouprawienia, do czynnego udzialu W po- lityce krajowejg Q61 Dazyc do zalozenia biura informacyjnego i domu dla samotnych pracu- jacych kobietg Q71 Laczyc sie we wszystkich pracach i manifestacjach narodowych dla po- dtrzymania wspolnej idei solidarnosci. The English gist of the above-mentioned ends is this: to keep the Polish women of America ever-mindful of their cultural and patriotic heritage, to offer opportunities for higher education to Polish youthg to pro- vide financial assistance for the aged and those hospitalized, and lastly, to work for the liberation of foreign-dominated Poland. The special insurance features provided by the ,Polish Women's Alliance are very nu-