This month's editorial

EDITORIAL

Polish Heritage Month: A Time to Pay it Forward

by Mark Kohan

Have you ever walked by a war memorial inscribed with the names of those who gave their lives in combat? In searching the plaque and finding Polish names, do you wonder what it was like when their parents or spouses received the horrible news of their passing? I think about the family celebrations they missed, or how they may never have had a chance to start a family of their own. Were they scared when they left home? Were they determined to beat the enemy at any cost?

I also wonder about names on church windows, or on plaques in VFW or American Legion halls. Who were these people? What sacrifice did they make significant enough to have their name painted below the stained-glass image of a saint or engraved on a brass tag on an oak panel? The tags on the walls of veteran posts or fire halls are no doubt receipts for hours volunteered in service to the organization, in addition to the life-threatening situations they faced in uniform.

Similarly, my thoughts often take me to the thousands of monuments, plaques, or signs long forgotten; to the empty lots once the sites of taverns, restaurants, or bowling alleys; to railroad platforms where loved ones welcomed home family members. I ponder the joy a church committee must have shared when its bells arrived; the scene when the nearby Dom Polski dedicated it cornerstone. I can envision the pride in an ancestor’s face when they greeted their first customer in their grocery store, restaurant, or bakery.

While formal recognition by peers is a rightful milestone, it is important to consider how many work for the benefit of others in silence. If you grew up with someone whose day started before sunrise, you know this. They practiced the hallmarks of our ethnicity: responsibility and hard work. Directly or indirectly, they took care of us. Polish Heritage Month is a time to think about acknowledging this debt by paying it forward.

How do we do this?

Polonia, as a geographic locale, is all but assimilated. Its days of political clout have almost faded, only recently resurfacing as Trump and Harris vie for votes in Pennsylvania. Although issues still face us as an ethnic group, our last international cause celebre was the Solidarity movement and free elections in Poland. Except for a handful of charities, economic and humanitarian aid to Poland like we witnessed under communist control has ebbed. The church, once the rock on which our culture was built, is facing problems at all levels.

So, what is left? More than you might imagine!

In addition to our major academic exchange programs administered by the Kosciuszko Foundation, there are others in need of support, such as the Fulbright, Arts Envoy, English Language Fellow, and American Music Abroad programs. For decades, Al Koproski of Stamford, Conn., has been teaching young Poles teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanship with his Polish National Youth Foundation baseball program. You can donate time to Polonia’s museums. You don’t need a degree in Museum Studies to stuff envelopes. Polonia is blessed with archives at the Polish Museum of America in Chicago, Polish Home Army Museum at Orchard Lake, and the Polish American Museum in Port Washington, N.Y. We have a Polish Center in Franklin, Wisc., the Polish Center of Discover and Learning in Chicopee, Mass., and the Polish Heritage Center in Panna Maria, Texas. There are museums and archives in Cleveland, Toledo, New York City, New Britain, and many other places, all of which would welcome your time and talent.

Is genealogy your thing? Perhaps you can help someone trace down family members by becoming a member of Polish Genealogical Society of America, or any one of the Polish genealogy groups found where Poles settled. Any verified Polish genealogy group would welcome a donation to offset costs of people using its services.

Is your church in danger of closing? Where are its archives going? What can you do the preserve the heritage of your ancestors who helped to build it. If you are a veteran, there are countless organizations in need of help. These institutions would not exist if not for our ancestors, named and unnamed alike. We should make it one of our priorities to pay forward the good they did.

We owe them that — in the least.