Trip to Poland: July 15, 1937 - Goworowo, Szczawin

Palac Szczawinie, Home of the Glinka [Szlachta] Family

[Travel Diary Entry]

July 15 - 1937 /
Thursday. Govorovo [Goworowo] /

Up @ 10. A.M. breakfast and chatted / with Uncle. later visited the / beautifull (sic) gardens of Mr. Glinka / Maj. [Majatek = Landed property?] Szczawin. Dinner @ 1.30 P.M. / After dinner again went to the / garden. Beautifull (sic) flowers and / trees, Chatted  with Uncle and / his young son Charles. Kazio. / also met an older son Henio / Found them in very poor / circumstances really pitifull (sic). / at 4.30 P.M. Kazio took with / horse and buggy 12. K.M. to / Pasieki Station. @ 5.37 train / left for Warsaw. arrived at / Dworzec Wilenski [Wilenski Station] @ 7.30 arrived / in Konstancin @ 9. P.M. supper  / and evening rest @ 11. P.M.

(Photo by Marek and Ewa Wojciechowski (Tours in Poland), GNU, Courtesy of Wikipedia; Text Copyright (c) 2017 Cynthia Shenette)

St. Mary's School (Worcester, MA) Fundraiser - Treasure Chest Thursday

PROGRAM

PRZEDSTAWIENIE URZADZA

Na

Dochod Szkoly

11 Kwientnia 1926 roku

Prosimy o poparcice wszystkie firmy oglaszajace sie w programie.

PROGRAM

PRESENTATION ARRANGED

For

Benefit of the School

11 April 1926

Please support all businesses advertising in this program.

(Copyright (c) 2015 Cynthia Shenette) I know my grandparents, Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko and Adolf Szerejko, were involved with amateur theatricals at their church.  Here is a program from one that appears to have been a fundraiser for the St. Mary's School, the parish school for St. Mary's Church (now Our Lady of Czestochowa), in Worcester.  The fundraiser was held 11 April 1926.  I recognize some of the names of the performers on the program, obviously those of my grandparents Adolf and Antonina Szerejko, my grandmother's cousin Sophie (Kowalewski) Konopka, and my grandfather's best friend Chester W. Janowski.  I also recognize some of the other last names on the program from the old Vernon Hill neighborhood.  

According to a newspaper clipping from a 1923 performance, my grandfather use to perform as a magician, and his magic act was first in the program on this particular April night in 1926.  My grandmother, who had a lovely singing voice, sang and is listed as performing in a couple of the skits, no doubt playing the comic roles she so enjoyed.  The 1923 newspaper article mentions Chester Janowski was a musician and played the accordion.  On this program he plays the harmonica after my grandfather's magic act.

One of the things I love about researching my family history is it's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together.  I like finding something like this program and consider it as one small piece in a bigger puzzle.  How does this piece relate to the other pieces in my collection?

The ads in this program are interesting in and of themselves.  If you look closely you can see handwritten notes on the program with what appear to be dollar amounts.  My guess is someone was recording the dollar amounts for the ads in the program.  There is an ad for my aunt Helen Bulak's dry goods business, Bulak and Pomianowska on Millbury Street, in the program.  The pencil notation looks as if she paid $2.00 to place her ad in the program.

I like looking at the individual ads and am in the process of trying to translate the text which will be the focus of another blog post.  I also like what the ads say as a whole.  The program kind of gives me a little peek into the Millbury St. business community. In a related project I am working on mapping the Millbury St. business community as it existed in 1926. While that might initially seem a bit unrelated to my specific family, it does provide some insight on what daily life was like in their little world at the time.

Please be kind regarding my translations.  I used a combination of Google Translate and Polish / English dictionaries, plus I tried to figure out what seemed to make the most sense.  If you recognize any of the names in the program I'd love to hear from you.  My plan is to do another post at some point about the ads and the 1926 Millbury St. mapping project I've been working on.  I also hope to post a translation of the script I have for the "Ostatnie dwa Ruble" or "The Last Two Rubles."

Enjoy the show!

*****

PROGRAM [Left page]

Sztuki magiczne - A. Szerejko

Harmonija Solo - C.W. Janowski

PROGRAM [Left page]

Magical Arts - A[dolf]. Szerejko

Harmonica Solo - C[hester]. W. Janowski

PROGRAM [Right page]

3) "PRZYGODY PANA EDWARDA"

Edward Nowozenski - A. Popko

Mary, jego zona - A. Kulesza

Rateklusia, panna sluzaca - Z. Kowalewska

4) Spiew Solo - L. Slotwinski

PROGRAM [Right page]

3) "THE ADVENTURES MR. EDWARD"

Edward Nowozenski - A. Popko

Mary, his wife - A. Kulesza

Rateklusia, maid - Z[ofia]. Kowalewska

4) Singing Solo - L. Slotwinski

PROGRAM [Right page]

8) dwa spiewy i muzyka ?

Akompanjament do spiewu A. Kiernozek

PROGRAM [Right page]

8) two songs and music ?

Accompanist to singing A. Kiernozek

PROGRAM [Left page]

5) "Goscie z Ogloszenia"

Lewicki, kupiec - H. Butkiewicz

Anna, jego zona - A. Kiernozek

Irena, icn corka - Z. Kowalewska

Piotr Bomba, wiesniak - C.W. Janowski

Barbara, jego zona - A. Szerejko

Waclaw Molski, buchalter - L. Slotwinski

Jan, sluzacy Lewickiego - A. Popko

PROGRAM [Left page]

5) " Guest of the Announcement"

Lewicki, merchant - H. Butkiewicz

Anna, his wife - A. Kiernozek

Irena, daughter - Z[ofia]. Kowalewska

Piotr Bomba, a villager - C[hester]. W. Janowski

Barbara, his wife - A[ntonina]. Szerejko

Waclaw Molski, bookeeper - L. Slotwinski

Jan, the servant of Lewicki - A. Popko

PROGRAM [Right page]

6) Spiew, Solo - Z. Kowalewska

7) "OSTANTNIE DWA RUBLE"

Golnicki, student - A. Szerejko

Zdziebko, jego sluzacy - C. W. Janowski

Mama sluzaca wl. domu - A. Szerejko

PROGRAM [Right page]

6) Singing, Solo - Z[ofia]. Kowalewska

7) "THE LAST TWO RUBLES"

Golnicki, student - A[dolf]. Szerejko

Zdziebko, his servant - C[hester].W. Janowski

Mama maidservant at home - A[ntonina]. Szerejko

PROGRAM [Left page]

Udzial w spiewie

Z. Kowalewska         C. Janowski

  A. Kulesza                L. Slotwinski

    A. Szerejko               H. Budkiewicz

                              A. Popko 

                                A. Szerejko

PROGRAM [Left page]

Group singing

Z[ofia]. Kowalewska           C[hester]. Janowski

A. Kulesza                   L. Slotwinski 

A[ntonina]. Szerejko     H. Budkiewicz

                              A. Popko

                                           A[dolf]. Szerejko

Other Posts You Might Like:

A Matter of Habit: Solving a Mystery
Celebrating Spring - Wordless Wednesday
A Window in Time, April 11, 1940
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

Photo Story: Joy and Sadness

(Original Image and Text, Copyright (c) 2011 Cynthia Shenette) Who's the little baldy? My mom, Christine (Szerejko) Shenette (1921-2008).  Apparently people often mistook Mom for a boy when she was a baby.   Mom told me that my grandmother would dress her in ruffles and ribbons to try to make her look more girly.  My grandmother would get so mad when people would say, "Oh what a cute little boy!"  Mom was born at home, not at a hospital, in the heat of July.  I can only imagine how difficult that was for my grandmother.  Mom was my grandparents oldest child.  Two more children soon followed.

While the 1920s was a decade of great joy for my grandparents, it was also a time of sadness.  My great-grandmother Ewa died at the relatively young age of 51 from cancer.  My grandmother took care of Ewa throughout her illness.  I remember how she use to talk about the difficulties of tending to her dying mother at home while taking care of two babies under the age of three.

Back in Poland my grandfather's mother Jozefa also died.  She too was a relatively young woman, only 53.  Jozefa never saw my grandfather Adolf or his brother Aleksander again after sending them to America in 1913.


Other Posts You Might Like:

Ewa (Kowalewska) Bulak - Wordless Wednesday
Meditation: The Strength of Ordinary Women
The Stories My Grandmother Told Me
Meditation: Family History

Photo Story: Helping the Red Cross During World War I

(Original Image and Text, Copyright (c) 2011 Cynthia Shenette) While the men were off to the war in Europe the women helped out at home.  This is a photo of my grandmother's cousin Sophie (Kowalewski) Konopka (1898-1987). For another photo of Red Cross volunteers check out my post (Almost) Wordless Wednesday: WWI Red Cross Volunteers.  According to the Red Cross website there were 107 local chapters of the Red Cross in 1914 but that number grew to 3,864 by 1918.


Other Posts You Might Like:

Flu 1918 (Part 1 of 3) - Amanuensis Monday
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...
My Family Tree: A Literal Interpretation
(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: The Kowalewski Family

Grandma in a Tree - Wordless Wednesday

(Original Image and Text, Copyright (c) 2011 Cynthia Shenette) I have no idea what the heck is going on here.  Do any of you have photos of your grandmother in a tree?  My grandmother, Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko, is the young woman in the middle sitting in the crook of the tree.  Her sister, Helen Bulak, is the young woman standing on the ground.  I'm not sure exactly, but I think my grandmother's cousin, Sophie (Kowalewski) Konopka, is the girl standing in the tree at the top of the picture.  I'd love to know the back-story on this picture...


Other Posts You Might Like:

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...
First Communion - Mystery Monday
A Comedy of Errors: My Family in the Census (Part 1 of 3)
Mom, At the Ballet - Wordless Wednesday

Ewa (Kowalewska) Bulak - Wordless Wednesday

(Original Image and Text, Copyright (c) 2011 Cynthia Shenette) My great-grandmother, Ewa (Kowalewska) Bulak (1873-1924).


Other Posts You Might Like:

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: The Kowalewski Family
Meditation: The Strength of Ordinary Women
The Stories My Grandmother Told Me
What's In A Name? (An Ongoing Series): Kowalewski

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: The Kowalewski Family

(Original Image and Text, Copyright (c) 2010 Cynthia Shenette) Genetics are an interesting thing. I have a number of photos in my collection with no information on them, but I can tell they are ancestors just by who they look like in my family. I know nothing for sure about the people in this photo, but I know we are related. Several people in the photo clearly resemble the Kowalewski side of the family.

I've always wondered how I ended up with a very blond little boy. I have dark brown hair. My parents had dark brown hair, my grand-parents had dark brown hair, and my great-grandparents had dark brown hair. The first time I saw this photograph I thought, wow. Look at the little boy in the center and the girl to the left. Unfortunately there is no information written on the photograph itself.

Given the resemblance I figured out they are part of the Kowalewski family. I know the Kowalewski family came from the former Lomza province in the Goworowo, Szczawin area near Ostrolenka (also spelled Ostroleka). My guess is the photo dates from some time in the early nineteen hundreds given the clothing style. The photo was taken in the old country. I know because the young man in the back row is wearing a Polish/Russian military uniform.

Have you been able to identify old photographs just by looking at the family resemblance?


Other Posts You Might Like:

Reflecting on My American Experience This Thanksgiving
Tuesday's Tip: A Tale of Two Indexers
Books of Interest - Landowners in Poland, 1913-1939
Books of Interest - St. Denis: A French Canadian Parish

Tombstone Tuesday: Wladyslaw Kowalewski, The Mystery Continues

(Copyright (c) 2010 Cynthia Shenette) A while back, in my post What's In A Name? (An Ongoing Series): Kowalewski, I mentioned the frustration I was having tracking an ancestor, Wladyslaw Kowalewski. I was at Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester, MA planting flowers for my grand-parents and great-grand-parents for Memorial Day when I decided to look up Wladyslaw, who is also buried at Notre Dame. When I stopped at the cemetery office to ask for the location of Wladyslaw's grave, the people in the office kindly provided the information requested. I was somewhat surprised to notice that they listed his age as 53 at the time of his death. The funeral notice in the Worcester Telegram mistakenly, or so I thought, listed his age as 53. All along I'd suspected the Telegram funeral notice was incorrect, but now I was starting to wonder. I thought he was 63 when he died. Hmm...

After planting flowers at my grandparents grave, I drove around a bit and found Wladyslaw's grave without too much trouble. An interesting side note, even though Wladyslaw's wife Antonina (buried 14 Feb 1933 at age 63) is also buried in the same plot, her name is not listed on the stone. A John Kowalewski, a son I believe (buried on 19 Sep 1932 at age 39) is buried in the plot as well and is also not listed. As you can see from the photo above the stone reads the following, "Wladyslaw Kowalewski, 1865-1928, Prosi o Zorowas Marya." Hmm again... 1865-1928. Wouldn't that make him 63? My guess is the family, who actually knew how old he was, put the correct end date on the stone. Clearly my next stop is to Worcester City Hall to get a copy of the death certificate.

Poor Wladyslaw. Spelling issues followed him throughout his life and apparently into eternity as well. Look at the inscription on the gravestone, "Prosi o Zorowas Marya." I had trouble translating Zorowas, so I asked my cousin Marek for assistance figuring it was another misspelling of some sort. Marek told me the word should be spelled Zdrowas. Aah. The inscription should read, "Prosi o Zdrowas Maryjo" translated, "Please say Hail Mary." That's about right...

Meditation: Family History

I am my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother. Who they were is part of me. And for better or worse who they were will be part of my son as well. As a parent of a young child I hear my mother's words (or worse yet, my grandmother's words) come out of my mouth on a regular basis. Even though all of my immediate family--mother, father, grandparents--have passed, I feel like I still live with them on a daily basis.

Wikipedia defines genealogy as, "...the study of families and the tracing of their lineages through history. " and family history as, "...the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family or specific families." While I am interested in names and dates like most genealogists, I am particularly interested in who people were, how they lived, and what were their lives like. In short, I want to know why my ancestors did what they did and how they became the people they became.

My research will never answer all of my questions. I know I'll never know how my great-grandmother felt about getting on a ship with a two-year-old and a four-year-old and five dollars in her pocket to join her husband in America, only to leave everyone and everything she knew behind in Poland. As the mother of a small child, the thought of doing what she did seems daunting to me. Through my research I have learned a little about her experience--where she came from, what ship she traveled on, who her family was, and a little about her life in America. My great-grandmother is just one interesting person among the dozens of interesting people I have researched. I truly believe all people are interesting. Their lives and life circumstances are interesting. The pieces of their lives are like pieces of a puzzle put together over time. Sometimes you find a piece, sometimes you lose a piece, and after a while things finally come together.

Unfortunately, I started genealogy too late to ask my grandmother and other relatives the questions I wish I had asked while they were alive. I've used my skills as a genealogist and a librarian to put together the pieces of my puzzle. My goal is to use this blog to share what I have learned and contribute in some small way to others' research, to share tips and techniques that have worked for me, and as a place to organize information. Comment as you see fit, but please be kind.

***

Photograph:

Left to right Helen Bulak, Eva (Kowalewski) Bulak, Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko, Worcester, MA, 1902. Author's private collection.