Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish - Golden Jubilee Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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u M Q60 DEN JUBILEE i ist.sQf1iQ1QusK0stiaPalish thousand. On October 4, l903, the cornerstone was laid, and already on November 4th, in the following year, the church was dedicated by Bishop McDon- nell. Considering the immense scope of the under- taking, all the Catholic people in the neighborhood rejoiced at its successful culmination, Father Wysiecki, thereafter, devoted all his time and energy to the spiritual needs of his people as well as to the financial management of the affairs of his parish, to the end of successfully amortizing the heavy debt of the church. Fortunately, his flock was growing larger every year as can be seen from the number of weddings and baptisms in the parish records and accordingly, his yearly income must have increased. Besides, he aided his parishioners in their various problems, organized new societies and served as a prudent counsellor in the commuf- nity life. For many years he performed his pastoral duties alone. Then, we are told, a number of visiting priests assisted him temporarily until about l905, when the Revs. G. Kubec and S. Ftysiakiewicz be- came his regular curates. ln the ensuing years many others were assigned as assistants to this parish as will be indicated later in this book. ln 1921 a devastating fire caused great damage to the interior of the church and to its main altar. The present altar, a beautiful scagliola structure, was installed and other repairs made, again total- ing an expenditure of fifteen thousand dollars. ln 1922 Father Wysiecki resigned from his pasto- rate and the management of the parish was trans- ferred and entrusted by the bishop to the Mission- ary Fathers of St. Vincent de Paul. To Father Leo Wysiecki, the erstwhile founder and for so many years successful administrator of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, the people of Greenpoint owe an everlasting debt for the priceless service he ren- dered in their behalf. V As representing the Vincentians , the Rev. An- thony Mazurkiewicz, C.M., was appointed pastor of the parish. His assistants were the Revs. Wen- ceslaus Ieczmionka and Iohn Pieniazek. Thanks to excellent teamwork exhibited by all three men, under the prudent leadership of the pastor, initial difficulties were quickly Qvefcome and further prog- ress of the parish assured. Within a year a new organ was in-stalled in the church, all buildings were repaired and the religious and social life of the parish invigorated. At the time of the transfer a considerable part of the parish debt was still ex- tant and its amortization together with interest pay- ments had to be shouldered by-the new adminis- tration. After a year, Father Mazurkiewicz left his post to become head of the mission band in Whitestone, N. Y., and the Rev. Paul Waszko, C.M. took his place. It remained for that elderly man to make a final settlement of all accounts and to secure new funds, as a new and by far more expensive project was looming on the horizon. The parish school by now, had become too small to accommodate the more than 1400 children of the parish, and a new school had to be erected. Father Waszko, a very cautious man where parish expenditures were con- cerned, proceeded without haste. On the corner of Driggs Ave. and Newell St. he purchased for fifty thousand dollars a number of lots on which a school and much later a sisters' convent could be built. Then he studied plans and collected money for their realization. ln l927 a lingering heart ailment caused him, by permission of the bishop, to turn over his pastoral duties to the Rev. lohn Pieniqzek, C.M. Father Pieniqzek, who prior to his appointment for five years had been curate in the parish, trans- lated the plans into reality and today the school which he constructed stands as a testimonial to his unusual ability and unremitting energy. But he also stayed only two years with us as pastor, to be replaced because of failing health by Father Ma- zurkiewicz, who returned in 1929 for his second term. The following decade was indeed one of the most critical periods in the entire history of the parish. Father Mazurkiewicz had inherited financial obli- gations which amounted to over two hundred thousand dollars, and this at a time when the coun- try was in the grip of the worst depression in years. Only with the utmost exertion on the part of both the pastor and hisparishioners, the annual pay- ments on the debt and the huge interest could be met. Financial stability however, was restored with- out detriment to the regular parish activities which progressed at the usual pace. In addition to the existing societies, new organizations especially of ....25.-.

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' . Wyatt Juaiitusz Parafii Sw. Stanislawa Kostki A Short History of the Parish f 1396-1946 j The borough of Brooklyn, as has been stated in the foreword, was since the turn of the century, a haven for many settlers from Poland. Here again, the sections called Williamsburg and Greenpoint seemed to have offered the immigrants a better op- portunity for making a livelihood and consequently attracted them in greater numbers. ln due time three Polish parishes sprang into existence in this part of the city, St. Stanislaus Kostka's being the first and the largest of them. Rev. Leo Wysiecki, the founder of the parish, who was then pastor of St. Casimir's, was a skillful organizer and a man of action. In spite of the many difficulties confronting him, he approached his task without delay. Among the then not too many par- ishioners, he found a number of men and women who were of the same indomitable spirit. Among those who assisted him were the following: Mrs. Pelagia Balinska, Mr, and Mrs. Frank Dekarski, An- thony Rojewski, Alexander Schraiber, john Lukow- ski, Anthony Aleksandrowicz, Alexander' Olszewski, Nicholas Torka, Adam Gutowski, Francis Stacho- wiak, John Wajert, Michael Taranowski, Michael Piechocki and Mr. and Mrs. Perczynski. Of these we single out Mrs. Balinska and the late Mr. and Mrs. Dekarski, as they were the leading participants in the great enterprise. Mrs. Pelagia Balinska, a native of Poland, came to this country in 1889. Her parents were great patriots and faithful' members of their church. So was their young' daughter. Among the youthful immigrants of that, time, she was the first to under- stand that there is strength in unity and power in organization. lmmediately she set out to form social and religious clubs and when the call for a new parish was sounded, she most enthusiastically em- braced the idea. There is no doubt that Father Wysiecki found in her one of his most useful sup- porters. She is still with us, as active now as she was 'in her pioneer days. The late Frank Dekarski arrived in this country a 'year later in l890. Both he and his wife realized from the beginning that their countrymen would be lost in the new surroundings, unless some leader would lend them a helping hand. So they went about helping as much as they could. Meanwhile Father Wysiecki announced his plans for a parish. Much money had to be raised and the people made to understand that this project was to be the center, not merely of religious activities but of social and civic life as well, and that they should join it. Soon we see Frank.tDekarski with Father Wysiecki in- spectTng buflding lots or climbing stairs into attic rooms in search of members for the parish. Both Dekarskis have since passed on to their reward in Heaven, but their Work for the parish is an existing testimonial to their memory. As soon as permission for a parish had been granted by the bishop, Father Wysiecki proceeded to buy the land necessary for the parish buildings. He purchased the corner at Driggs Ave. and Hum- boldt Street for Sl5,000.00 and made the first pay- ment on account of the sale, but when he started to break the ground, he encountered unforseen dif- ficulties. Hostile propaganda from abroad had stirred up among the local' populace, violent feel- ings against the newcomers. People objected to the project on the false assumption that the immigrants Were unable to pay for the land. Could they afford the cost of a church and school? Nevertheless Fa- ther Wysiecki was undismayed. I-Ie secured a huge loan, paid up the debt and on December 6, 1896 laid the cornerstone of the first temporary church. What is now the old school and the old convent on Driggs Ave. were the first structures of the budding parish. Shortly afterwards, he built the rectory at the additional cost of twelve thousand dollars. The parish had now accumulated a debt of over sixty thousand, yet, thanks to the sacrifices of the people most of the indebtedness was wiped out in the next few years, so that in l903 he could already con- template the erection of the present church. There is no doubt that the old church was then already inadequate for the fast growing parish. At this point mention must be made of the fact that of the old debt some 510,000.00 remained un- paid. Some people used this as an argument against the plan of a new and costly edifice, but the pastor remained adamant. Having settled the debt out of his own funds he called the contractors. E. Brielmaier, an architect from Milwaukee, Wis., drew up the plans and Wakeham and Mueller from New York agreed to construct the building. The staggering sum of seventy thousand dollars was spent on the building alone, not to mention the equipment and initial decorations of the in- terior, which called for an additional thirty-nine -- 24-

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, W zioiv J BILEUSZ PafafiiSw.sianis1awaK0suu,i the youth were established, and the church was beautitied by the acquisition of a painting of St. Therese of the lnfant Iesus. This painting, a fine piece of art, by the world-renowned Tade Styka was a personal donation made by the artist. In 1935 Father Mazurkiewicz resigned and the present incumbent, the Rev. Ioseph Studzinski, CM., took office. The parish in his time experienced the greatest numerical progress in all its history. Eight masses on Sundays have become a necessity and at times both the upper and lower church cannot accom- modate all parishioners. Organization activities have reached their highest peaks. A cooking and sewing school for girls and young housewives has been introduced, the Alumni of St. Stanislaus Kostka School and a mandolin orchestra estab- lished, also a weekly parish publication - the Patron - started. The parish boasts of an auxi- liary chapter of the Red Cross which in time of war collected donations and prepared bandages for wounded servicemen. During the recent War, the parish supervised blood donations for military purposes, collected clothes and money for the needy in Europe and substantially helped with the sale of War Bonds. ln 1940 a new home for the sisters, adjacent to the school, was erected. During 1945 the church under- went a complete renovation. Its Walls were covered with highly artistic murals and decorations execut- ed by the famous Mondo Studios of New Haven, Conn. The altars were remodelled, the lighting and heating systems replaced and the pillars and lower walls covered with a scagliola surface, which gives the church the appearance of a marble structure of unexcelled beauty. All these improvements ne- cessitated the outlay of well over fifty thousand dollars, which amount was covered by donations of the parishioners even before the work was com- pleted. May We say in conclusion that, in view of the many and diverse activities engaged in by the parish, Father Studzinslci and his tour associates are very busy men and that their burden of respon- sibility is lightened only by the satisfaction derived from their work and by the conviction that, per- haps, they are not altogether fruitless workers in the cause of God. This being but a bief history of the parish, num- erous names and other subjects have been omitted here. A condensed article such as this, did not permit, or adapt itself to, the inclusion of all the names of the people, the clergy and the many or- ganizations that assisted in the development of the parish. However, they were not overlooked, for in subsequent pages we shall give due consideration to all who, in whatever capacity, were active or connected with the parish. Such is the brief history of our parish. Much has been accomplished. With the help of God, we hope, St. Stanislaus Kostka's will continue the splendid work for the good of the souls, for our country and for the greater glory of God for many more years to come. WM D SlllAilllll.S UBMSEBN wif ef if -if sk HY 'Br Yr tk ik' ik WWW,fW4Mfm Wwe Qt. Stanislaus kostka bzbnnl Zevfwm20?1'wy4'fzafrfawafJfaf'fzf -mag EE, 17 43 Zsicnrnnv or me rausum -26--