Like a flower in the sand, a peach-colored house blooms from a bleak and battered street in the inner city of Schenectady, N.Y.
On a block of outdated and sometimes boarded-up double deckers, the slender home wears vacation clothes. Its siding gleams in cool Caribbean colors. A decorative black fence necklaces a front garden bursting with colors.
Strangers might suspect they had stumbled upon an artist’s enclave or a bed and breakfast in the urban blight, but anyone from around this upstate New York factory town knows better. They will assume another Guyanese immigrant family has moved in and that, chances are, the street is on the rise. For where one Guyanese buys and restores, others follow.
Facing the kinds of job losses and abandonment known to Cleveland, Schenectady pursued a creative solution. It introduced itself to an immigrant group in New York City, lured curious couples north to view its impossibly cheap homes, and let capitalism and immigrant dreams run their course.
In less than a decade, people who hail from the South American nation of Guyana have become about 10 percent of the city of 62,000, and streets once considered worthless now stir with fussy homeowners.
“They breathed new life into this town,” said Albert P. Jurczynski, the former mayor who marketed his city with bus tours and his mother-in-law’s homemade cookies. “They changed Schenectady. And they never asked for a dime from anyone.”
With the real-estate catastrophe having devalued, crippled and partially emptied whole neighborhoods of Northeast Ohio, it’s time to ask, “What next?”
I love what Schenectady did. I have commented on it before, in other forums, and have recommended this model to civic leaders in other cities. This effort, along with other examples provided in the article, show that rust-belt cities needn’t weep over abandoned factories and boarded-up homes. Energy, leadership, vision, and a quelling of unfounded fears can rebuild what was thought of as lost.
On a recent weekday, Desmond Ramsammy and his wife of one year, Panchawattie, stepped out of an immaculate, two-family house near downtown Schenectady and surveyed a world they were surprised to find.
Crack dealers and layabouts once dominated Hawk Street at the edge of the Hamilton Hill neighborhood. Today, the narrow block reflects fresh paint and new energy. About 80 percent of the houses are occupied by Guyanese. They mind each other’s children, walk to West Indian groceries on busy State Street, and cheer the cricket matches over at Central Park.
Desmond Ramsammy, a heating and cooling mechanic, discovered the scene when he drove up from Queens to visit his brother. He came back with his wife.
“It’s much more relaxed here,” he said. “The cost of living is much less. Even gas prices are lower.”
The couple paid $127,000 for a house that had sat vacant for six years before Mohabir Satram, a Guyanese home restorer, bought and rebuilt it from top to bottom. Now it holds new dreams.
The Ramsammys expect to sell their small house in Queens for about $650,000 and use the money to start a business in Schenectady.
Annunciating words that are music to the ears of civic leaders, Desmond Ramsammy said, “We plan to raise a family here.”
The opportunities are there: urban farming, economic changes that will reinvigorate cities (see this from the Telegraph), industrious immigrants… Simply a change in the paradigm which will mesh with a return to core values (if we’re lucky).
Kosciuszko Foundation Marching In 71st Annual Pulaski Day Parade
The Kosciuszko Foundation will be joining the New York Polish-American community in the 71st Annual Pułaski Day Parade, and we invite members, their families, and friends, to join us. It gives us a chance to join thousands of Poles and Polish Americans in celebrating our heritage. Since this year is also the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Poles in America, in Jamestown, it is especially significant.
The Parade is Sunday, October 5, beginning at 12:30 PM.
New York’s Pułaski parade is a huge event for Poles and Polish-Americans. Check it out if you are in the New York Metropolitan area.
Rafał Olbinski Art Show opening Thursday, October 9th
Rafal Olbinski, the renowned Polish artist, will have a show of his works at the Rotunda Gallery of the Kosciuszko Foundation in October. The exhibition will open with a presentation by Olbinski on Thursday, October 9, at 7 PM, and continue through Sunday, October 26. The Foundation is located at 15 East 65th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues. Visitors can see the show during office hours Monday-Friday, 9-5 PM, and on Saturdays, October 11, 18, and 25, from 3 —“ 7 PM. Since other events take place at the Foundation, it is best to call ahead of time. Office phone is (212) 734-2130.
Olbinski is an architect by professional training, as well as painter, poster artist, graphic designer, and illustrator, and has lived in New York since 1981. His illustrations regularly appear in the press, including Time, Newsweek, Der Spiegel, Business Week, and other newspapers and magazines. For many years he has been creating opera posters, including commissions for the New York Metropolitan Opera and City Opera. In 2002 Olbinski designed stage settings for the Philadelphia Opera Company’s production of ”Don Giovanni” He also created a famous poster after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Since 1995, he has taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Rafal Olbinski’s posters are a synthesis of surrealistic mood and, from the other side, symbolism, characteristic of the Polish school of poster design. He has received more than 100 awards for his work, including Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators and Art Directors Club of New York. In 1994 he was awarded the International Oscar for the World’s Most Memorable Poster, “Prix Savignac 1994” in Paris. In 1995 his poster was chosen as the official New York City “Capital of the World” Poster in an invitational competition, by a jury led by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. In the following year he won the award for the best painting in the annual exhibition of the Society of Illustrators.
Olbinski was born in city of Kielce, Poland, and graduated from the Architectural Department of Warsaw Polytechnic School. In 1981 he emigrated to the US, where he soon established himself as a prominent painter, illustrator and designer.
The Mariacki Altarpiece, Its theft by Nazi Germany, and its complicated post-war return
Mariacki Altarpiece
Agata Wolska, archivist of the Mariacki Cathedral, the oldest and richest archive in Poland, will give an illustrated talk on the Cathedral’s magnificent altarpiece, stolen during World War Two and only returned more than a decade after the war ended. The talk is on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, at 7 PM. The talk is open to the public and no ticket is required; donations are welcome.
Krakow, Poland’s ancient capital is blessed with world-class art and architecture. Wit Stwosz (German Viet Stoss, ca. 1440-1533) one of the greatest Gothic sculptors lived and worked there for 19 years. For twelve years he worked on his masterpiece; the 3-story-high altarpiece in the Mariacki (Basilica of the Virgin Mary) on the city’s central Rynek Glowny (Grand Square). The altarpiece is the largest Gothic sculpture in the world, 42 feet high and 36 foot-wide. It consists of some 200 fine limewood sculptures treated with color and gold foil.
It is a Flugelaltar (German style “wing altar”) with two wings framing the center. The central part, with huge lifelike statues of the saints, depicts dramatically the Virgin Mary’s Dormition, surrounded by the Apostles. Looking upwards one sees the Ascension of Our Lady and Lord. At the top there is the Madonna’s Heavenly Coronation by the Trinity. The wings are covered with relief scenes from the life of the Holy Family. The huge structure is ceremonially opened at noon each day, and closed at night.
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, the altar was dismantled and taken to Germany. Its rescue and return by the Americans is a thrilling story.
Agata Wolska studied art history at Krakow’s ancient Jagiellonian University, and received further training in archival maintenance and computerization. She has received a grant from the Kosciuszko Foundation to do research in the Library of Congress and U.S. National Archives in connection with the altar’s return. Ms. Wolska is in charge of the Mariacki archives, and is preparing a book on the altar’s troubled wartime history.
Dorian Wind Quintet featurning Grazyna Bacewicz will open Chamber Music Season
The Dorian Wind Quintet, recognized worldwide for its uniquely polished and passionate performances, returns to inaugurate the 2008-2009 Chamber Music Series on Sunday, October 26, at 3 PM, at the Kosciuszko Foundation. The program includes works of Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz (1909 – 1969) as well as Darius Milhaud, Anton Reicha, and Lalo Schifrin. Tickets are $40 ($30 KF members), including a reception with the musicians, and can be reserved by calling the Foundation Office at (212) 734-2130.
Since its formation at Tanglewood in 1961, the Dorian Wind Quintet has performed repertoire ranging from the Baroque to Pulitzer Prize winning commissions, in the world’s most renowned concert halls. The Quintet has literally been around the world, concertizing in 49 of the 50 states and Canada, touring Europe eighteen times, and playing throughout the Middle East, India, Africa and Asia. The Dorian made history as the first wind quintet to appear at Carnegie Hall in1981.
The Dorian Wind Quintet collaborates often with well-known artists, and has appeared at numerous festivals including the American and international festivals. It has served as the resident ensemble for many institutions including the Mannes College of Music, Brooklyn College and the State University of New York System,and for over 10 years, at the Festival Institute at Round Top, Texas. Dorian currently serves as Ensemble-in- Residence at Hunter College in New York City. It has recorded on the Vox, CRI, Serenus, New World, and Summit Records labels.
Every member of the Dorian is a virtuoso in his or her own right, as well as a dedicated chamber player. Each has been associated with the most prominent performing ensembles, venues and musical institutions in the world and has joined the Dorian Wind Quintet out of passion for the repertoire and the joy of its performance.
The current members of Dorian are Gretchen Pusch, flute; Gerard Reuter, oboe; Jerry Kirkbride, clarinet; John Hunt, bassoon; and Karl Kramer-Johansen, horn.
The article attempts to give a history of Roman Catholic parishes in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania:
More than a century ago, a congregation of people of German heritage decided to start St. Boniface Parish in Wilkes-Barre. Parishioners previously had to travel down to the German parish, St. Nicholas on Washington Street, or go to one of the territorial parishes for Mass and school.
—Children had to cross railroad tracks to get to school; it was dangerous,— Brother DePorres Stilp said. —So they tried to make a new church here in the neighborhood.—
Stilp’s grandfather was one of the founding members, and for years the parish, which celebrated Mass in German and EnglishMore likely in Latin only – but he wouldn’t know that., was a center for the German Catholic community in the area.
Many of the national parishes in Luzerne County that are historically attended by people and practice traditions from one ethnic background grew up in this manner, according to the Rev. Hugh McGroarty, senior priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pittston.
Fair enough. Then the article goes on to say:
The first immigrants to the area were mostly Irish, and they built Catholic parishes. However, when immigrants from other areas of Europe came, many lived in the same communities and wanted to worship with people who spoke their languages and shared their culture…
Are they saying that Irish = Catholic? That sets the tone for this:
So the Catholic Church gave many of these groups of immigrants national parishes, and made the parishes built by the Irish territorial so anyone in the area could attend.
—There’s no Irish church,— McGroarty said. —There was one church in the area, and so the Polish made their own. And the Slovaks came in, and so on. The other church, which they called Irish, was for everyone.—
The problem of course was that the area church was Irish – right Fr. McGroarty. You had to fit in or get out. They didn’t want the Poles, or Slovaks, or Ukrainians, or Italians. You wore green, spoke English, and worshiped St. Patrick like a good “Catholic” or you got out.
I like the way he implies that these other nationalities were “given” parishes while the Irish parish was the Catholic one. Does that mean that the Poles, etc. had a slightly less than Catholic parish, and the the only truly Catholic parish was the Irish one? Is that because Irish = universal?
What a bad retelling of history. These industrial and mining towns didn’t have homogeneous R.C. parishes. You either fit with the crowd in the Irish parish or you did not. The Poles wouldn’t give in, and wouldn’t turn their assets over the the local [Irish] R.C. bishop as demanded of them (no one was “given” a church) thus in part the genesis for the PNCC.
Later in the article Fr. McGroarty says:
Many parishes held on to their roots, but, McGroarty said, there aren’t nearly as many traditions and ethnic bonds as in the past.
—There isn’t that much,— he said. —The tradition is with the old people.—
I guess you ought to cancel the St. Patrick’s Day parade Father, and dump the corn beef and cabbage down the Susquehanna — it’s only for the old folks anyway. Tradition is only for the old? Kind of like the all that funny old Catholic stuff like devotions, the Traditional form of the Holy Mass, etc.? Sorry Father but those are all things the PNCC hasn’t had to rediscover (í la Benedict XVI) because we retained them – because we listened to the people. The Church’s Tradition is universal, consistent, and is for all people.
During last year’s Polkas at the Pavilion, the floor of the Pavilion was hopping almost as much as the dancers. This year, organizers hope to have an even bigger crowd for the daylong event Saturday, Sept. 20.
“Last year, we had around 900 people in attendance and raised almost $9,000 for the pavilion,” said organizer Ron Raczkowski. “We’re trying to build on that for this year.”
Raczkowski, along with his wife, Kathy, and brother, Dan, started the event after attending a rock music event at the pavilion and thought it would be fun to fill the 6,725 square foot building with polkas. They got eight polka bands together, organized refreshments and donated all the proceeds to pavilion restoration efforts.
“We had a blast,” Raczkowski said. “It was really fun seeing all the different musicians mingling with the crowd.”
…
The success of last year’s event allowed the Raczkowskis to increase the number of bands this year.
“All the bands said yes to donating their time last year, not knowing how the crowd would be,” Raczkowski said. “But when they saw how big the crowd was, they all said yes again for this year. We even got two more to come.”
The event also will feature a polka dancing competition.
…
Our Saviors National Catholic Church in Mosinee will be selling authentic Polish food including four types of pierogies, golobki and kielbasa, said the Rev. Marion Talaga.
“Last year was wonderful. People loved the golobki and the pierogi and the Polish sausage with the real Polish sauerkraut,” he said.
Details:
What: Polkas at the Pavilion
When: Noon to midnight Saturday, Sept. 20
Where: Rothschild Pavilion, 1104 Park St., Rothschild
Cost: $10 for ages 18 and older; $8 ages 12 to 17; children younger than 12 get in free.
Contact: 715-571-8236 or 715-359-3660
Yesterday, I went to Baltimore’s Ukrainian Festival. For you who do not know, it is the weekend every year where Baltimore’s Ukrainian population gathers together and celebrates the good parts of their heritage like quality beers, potato pancakes, and meat filled dumplings, but otherwise demonstrating a studied ignorance of the relevant parts.
What was particularly ironic was the decision to hold the Ukrainian festival in front of the Count Pulaski statue. What made this ironic was the large-scale massacre of Poles by Ukrainians during WWII…
Yet, despite this history, the Ukrainian festival featured Polish sausages and a booth for the Polish National Catholic Church. Like I said, Baltimore Ethnic Festivals bring genocidal foes together.
What I wonder is whether the author: Was making an observation as to the ironies of history; Believes that people are just ignorant of past wrongs and now, so informed, should regurgitate these wrongs so to bring about a state of frenzied dislike within the remainder of old ethnic communities; or Thinks that every ethnic festival should include a display covering the darkest chapters of that group’s history.
Certainly Poles and Ukrainians have had a long history, living side-by-side and together throughout history. There are things that unite and some things that divide, but on the whole the relationship with the westward facing portion of the Ukraine has been generally positive. The eastern Ukraine is another story, but that is because the east faces east – toward Russia. For more on this see this RFE/RL article: Analysis: Ukraine, Poland Seek Reconciliation Over Grisly History.
A relatively unknown fact was that there was a civil war in Poland following World War 2. The remnants of the Armia Krajowa (AK – Poland’s underground army in World War 2) fought against the communist takeover of Poland. Some of these battles were along the Polish-Ukrainian border with the remnants of Bandera’s Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Much of what the author writes about reflects the World War 2 and the post World War civil war period.
Going back to things that unite and divide, the author might wish to study the history of ethic communities in his city and in the United States. He might find that some animosities from the old county come into play among more recent immigrants, but even there it’s less likely nowadays. Most modern Poles don’t carry around these types of grudges because they see their reflection in the eyes of the Ukrainians, slightly east, slightly poorer. As some have told me, ‘What America was to us, is what we are to the East.’ On the other hand Polish-Americans and Ukrainian-Americans who are heirs of the older generations (the pre-World War 2 immigration) have shared a common struggle here in the United States, attempting to maintaining ethnic identity, cultural and religious ties, and joining a common fight against natavist racial stereotypes.
I say great for Baltimore and the Ukrainian festival with Polish flavor. What we share is more than what divides – including kiełbasa or ковбаÑа. Irony only exists if yesterdays battles retain their relevancy. I would prefer to enjoy my вареники and the highlights of Ukrainian culture without a serving of ethnic remorse.
