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POLONIA |
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| (POL. E.G.L.) NEWSBITES December 2004 by Michael Pietruszka |
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POLISH CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS - As always, the Christmas season brings out the
best in our local Polonia. The community puts on its holiday best and lets
its cultural pride shine. Many Polonia organizations bring their extended
"families" together for a "Wigilia" or "Oplatek"
celebration which they share with the entire community. HOLOCAUST OBSERVANCES - The 24th Annual Holocaust Education Week program
in Toronto included a discussion with Alvin Abram, author of "An Eye
For An Eye", at the Lawrence Park Community Church on November 2.
"It Started and Ended There: March of the Living Trip on Film"
was presented at the Pride of Israel Synagogue on the 3rd. "The
Pianist: How It Happened", a lecture by Andrzej Szpilman whose father
Wladyslaw Szpilman was the subject of the film, took place at the Shaar
Shalom Synagogue on November 7th. "Remembering Oswiecim: A Legacy for
Today", a lecture by Tomasz Kuncewicz, the director of the Auschwitz
Jewish Centre in Oswiecim, was held at the Beth Jacob Congregation on the
7th , the Beth Israel Congregation on the 10th and the Congregation B'nai
Israel on the 11th. Tomasz Kuncewicz's lecture, "Preserving Jewish
Memory in Poland" was delivered at the Holy Blossom Temple on
November 9. The Toronto observance also included an exhibit at the Holy
Blossom Temple entitled "Janusz Korczak and the Children of the
Warsaw Ghetto".\ POLITICAL POLONIA - The Solidarity Task Force Political Action
Committee awarded its 2004 Distinguished Leadership Awards to NYS Supreme
Court Justice Joseph Glownia, City of Buffalo Common Council President
David Franczyk, NYS Senator William Stachowski, Niagara County Republican
Chairman Henry Wojtaszek, West Seneca Town Supervisor Paul Clark, Buffalo
Common Council Member Joseph Golombek, former NYS Assembly Member Francis
Pordum, and former Erie County Family Court Judge Margaret Olszewski
Szczur at the Creekside Banquet Facility in Cheektowaga on October 29.\ POLONIA TIDBITS - The WNY Division of the Polish American Congress awarded its first "Joseph Macielag Friend of Polonia" Award to retiring US Congressman Jack Quinn at the group's 60th anniversary dinner held at the Creekside Banquet Facility on October 29. Polish Consul General Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska was the keynote speaker and member organizations were recognized for their contributions to Polonia and the Congress.... Professor Andrzej Rabczenko, Minister Counselor for Scientific and Technology Affairs for the Polish Embassy, visited with representatives of the University of Rochester's Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the Country Club of Rochester on the 4th of November.... The Kosciuszko Foundation announced that the following area students have been awarded scholarships for the current academic year: William Banas (SUNYaB), Jacek Kura (NY Chiropractic College, Seneca Falls), Joanna Rogalski (SUNYaB), Marguerite Rivard (Canisius College) and Seth Amman (SUNYaB). The foundation also granted fellowships to allow Mariola Szydlowska of the Jagiellonian University and Tomasz Herzog of the Adam Mickiewicz University to work at State University of New York at Buffalo this year.... The Hallwalls Gallery presented a number of short films by Paul Sharits and Jozef Robakowski, including ""Attention! Light!", at the SUNYaB Center for the Arts on November 4. Lukasz Rondunda, the new media curator of the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw who is in residence at Hallwalls this Fall, hosted the event.... The "Slask" Dance Ensemble from Poland delighted audiences at Hamilton Place and in Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto the first weekend of November.... The Pauline Fathers and Brothers of Corpus Christi Parish in Buffalo provided a weekend of spiritual awakening and renewal for area Boy Scouts and Scouters in November.... Buffalo-Rzeszow Sister Cities, Inc. and Villa Maria College recently hosted a delegation from the University of Information, Technology and Management in Rzeszow.... On November 5, the Kosciuszko Club of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk Dom Polski both held their annual "Turkey Parties".... Rev. David Bialkowski was named pastor of St. John Gualbert Parish in Cheektowaga.... The SUNYaB Polish Student Association of the hosted its first "Wodka Tasting" seminar at the Center for Tomorrow of the SUNYaB North Campus in Amherst on November 6 and a screening of Andrzej Wajda's film, "Zemsta", at the Student Union on the 10th.... John Gora and "Gorale" marked their 25th anniversary with a dinner dance featuring music by "Dynabrass" at the Burlington, Ontario Polish Hall on the 6th.... St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Rochester was the site of Rochester Polonia's annual Polish Independence Day Mass and Celebration on the 7th.... Cheektowaga attorney David Jaworski accepted the position of volunteer chair of the business division of St. Joseph's Hospital's annual fund drive.... The USAF Academy Catholic Cadet Choir performed a concert at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in North Tonawanda on the 7th.... On November 10th, Bishop Edward Kmiec, the new Polish American leader of the Buffalo Roman Catholic diocese, addressed the American Jewish Committee's 2004 Human Relations Award Luncheon honoring Dr. Jeffrey Meilman at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.... Also on the 10th, the Professional and Business Women of Polonia marked 10 years of existence with its "Celebration of Our Members Past and Present" dinner at Salvatore's Italian Gardens in Depew.... The WNY Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation and the Polish Arts Club of Buffalo co-sponsored Kosciuszko Foundation Visiting Professor Tomasz Herzog's lecture, "Poland: European Union's Most Catholic Country?" on the 10th and Kathryn Rosypal's lecture on America's first permanent Polish settlement, "The First Polish Americans Find Hope in Panna Maria Texas" on November 20.... Msgr. Matthew Kopacz, pastor of St. Casimir Parish in Buffalo, recently met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.... On November 11, WNED-TV, WNY's PBS affiliate, aired "Independent Lens: Polka Time".... November 12th through the 14th brought the 15th International Festival of Religious Song, which featured Rev. Stan Fortuna and Magda Aniol, to the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga, Ont.... Polish scrabble games continued at the Adam Mickiewicz Library in Buffalo during November.... The Polka Family Band were featured performers at the Annual Fall Dance held at St. Barbara'a Parish in Lackawanna on the 13th of November.... St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Rochester marked the end of its restoration drive on November 14 with a special Mass of Thanksgiving.... Hamburg Town Clerk Cathy Rybczynski was named Woman-of-the-Year by the Hamburg/Orchard Park Business and Professional Women.... St. Adalbert's Basilica in Buffalo hosted the annual Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko Mass of Remembrance on November 14. This year, Father Popieluszko's mother, Maryanna Popieluszko, participated in the event.... Polish Art Connections presented a concert by "Blue Cafe" at Club 107/8 in Mississauga on the 14th.... The University of Rochester's Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies held its "Polish Film Festival 2004" at the Little Theatre in downtown Rochester from November 14 to 18. This year's films included Gavin Hood's "In Desert and Wilderness", Piotr Szulkin's "Ubu the King", Lech Majewski's "The Garden of Earthly Delights", Tomek Baginski's "Fallen Art", Konrad Niewolski's "Symmetry" and Maciej Zak's "The Bench".... George Miecyjak recently resigned as a National Director of the Polish Union of America. James Serafin has replaced Mr. Miecyjak on that board.... On November 20, the Echo Society of Niagara Falls presented a concert by Dale Campbell.... Buffalo's new Bishop, the Most Reverend Edward Kmiec, was officially welcomed by WNY Polonia at a Mass and reception sponsored by the Association of Priests for Polish Affairs at St. Stanislaus Church on Buffalo's East Side on November 21. The event also commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Panna Maria settlement in Texas.... Lenny Gomulka and the "Chicago Push" were the featured performers at a Pre-Thanksgiving Polka Dance at the Leonard Post in Cheektowaga on the 21st.... The Dunkirk Dom Polski held its Thanksgiving Eve Party on November 24 at its Lake Shore Drive clubrooms.... The Pulaski Police Association of WNY elected the following officers for the coming year: Al Ziemecki (president), Marty Bochinski (1st vice president), David Gorski (2nd vice president), Walter Kantorski (3rd vice president), Dick Zolnowski (secretary), Ron Skotnicki (treasurer), Paul Manno (financial secretary) and Mike Stack (sergeant-at-arms).... Buffalo's Corpus Christi parish and school held a general reunion to bring people back to the "old neighborhood" on November 27.... The Polish Falcons Hall in Depew was the site of an "After Thanksgiving Polka Dance" featuring the music of the "Bedrock Boys" and Eddie Biegaj and "Crusade" on the 27th.... Marylou Borowiak, the chief banking officer of the Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, has been named board chair of the Food Bank of WNY.... Holy Mother of the Rosary PNCC Cathedral in Lancaster presented its annual Advent/Christmas Evensong Service on November 28.... Two new Polish/Polish American radio programs have taken to the air this month. The Polish Union of America introduced "Music Played in Poland Today" which will play contemporary Polish music on Sundays from 1:00 to 2:00PM on WJJL-AM1440, and Bob Krawczyk is bringing his new "Polka Menu" show to WHLD-AM1270 Saturdays from 3:30 to 4:30PM.... A video on the life of Rev. Justin Figas entitled "Father Justin Figas: Beyond the Airways" is available from the Father Justin Rosary Hour in Athol Springs. UPCOMING EVENTS - All telephone
numbers are in area code (716) unless otherwise noted. WESOLYCH SWIAT BOZEGO
NARODZENIA I SZCZESLIWEGO NOWEGO ROKU!!! If you have any item that
you would like to have included in future installments of this column,
please send the information to me by the 6th day of the month preceding
the month in which you would like the item to appear (ie. December 6 for
the January edition) at: Michael Pietruszka, P.O. Box 223, Niagara Square
Station, Buffalo, NY 14201-0223. My e-mail address is: <pietruszka@aol.com>. For more
information on what\'d5s going on in the Polonia of the Eastern Great
Lakes, including a calendar of upcoming events, an organizational
directory and interesting links, visit my website at: <http://members.aol.com/pietruszka/index.html>
or <http://polegl.com>.\ |
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