Zgoda – Fraternal Magazine Polish National Alliance (Chicago)

By Mary Kay Stuvland

Deputy Honorary Consul for Tad Taube Choreographer for Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble of San Francisco

The Polish Society of California (Polish National Alliance [PNA] Lodge 7) Remembering and Celebrating the San Francisco Polish Patriots of 1863:

150 Years of the Polish Society of California (“From Pioneers to Silicon Valley”) On Saturday, November 9, 2013 at the historic Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, over 300 elegantly-attired guests celebrated 150 Years of the Polish Society of California (founded in San Francisco in 1863), gathering in a glittering crowd for a reception, banquet and ball. The evening was organized by The Polish Society of California/PNA Lodge 7, headed by the “Committee of Arrangements,” the moniker of the organizers of the 1863 “Grand Mass Meeting” convened shortly after the founding of the Polish Society to support Poland’s independence movement. The 18-person committee included members and officers of PNA Lodge 7 as well as local Polonian leaders who were invited by Lodge 7 to participate in the demanding preparations for the historic evening. PNA committee members included co-chairs, Anthony Zukovsky (Lodge 7 president) and Krystyna Chciuk (past president of Lodge 7). They were supported by Lodge 7 officers Frances Strychaż (Financial Secretary), Barbara Suroż (first vice president), Phillip Kosiara (second vice president), and Christina Smoleń (secretary). Other lodge members headed and/or served on various event subcommittees: Maureen Mroczek Morris (history exhibit, program commemorative book and historic slide show), Anna Maria Słonina Oczoś (registration), Mary Kay Stuvland (entertainment and decorations, the latter with Caria Tomczykowska) and Joana Smoleń. Other hard-working committee members included individual and organization leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area: president of Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble of San Francisco, Piotr Kodzis, Polam Federal Credit Union board member, Zofia Zakrzewska, Polish American Congress -- Northern California Division president, Andrzej Prokopczuk, M.D., Polish Arts and Culture Foundation president, Caria Tomczykowska, and community activist, Barbara Szlachta (Polish School and Polish Church). The evening opened with a gala reception hosted in two meeting rooms of the famous Fairmont Hotel – one of the sites of the United Nations founding meetings in 1945 [note: Poland was not “seated” at those meetings]. The evening’s festivities kicked off with entertainment from an instrumental duo and a string trio who played a selection of Polish music of the 1830s through the 1920s, while guests enjoyed wines donated by local vineyards and premium Potocki Vodka from Poland. Guests were treated to an historic exhibit prepared by Maureen Mroczek Morris, highlighting the role of “Polanders” in early San Francisco. Posters, books and photos were on display. The formal program opened in the decorative Venetian Room of the Fairmont Hotel with a welcome address by Lodge 7 president Tony Zukovsky followed by the national anthems of Poland the USA lead by soprano Dalyte Kodzis. A stirring invocation was delivered by the Reverend T. Rusnak, pastor of San Francisco’s Church of the Nativity of Our Lord, after which the assembled party was treated to an exquisite rendition of Gaude Mater Polonia sung by a quartet from the Łowiczanie Choir featuring Kasia Chaberska, Dalyte Kodzis, Krzysztof Mokrzan and Marek Jaworski. The evening’s moderator, Zbigniew Stańczyk, gave the assembled guests a glimpse into history, introducing a slide show (“From Pioneers to Silicon Valley”) highlighting the formation in 1863 of the Polish Society of California and spanning the years to the present, prepared and presented by

Maureen Mroczek Morris. Images depicted the “Grand Mass Meeting in Favor of Polish Freedom and Nationality” convened soon after the birth of the Polish Society. Seventeen years later, in 1880, the Polish Society joined the newly-formed Polish National Alliance as Lodge 7. The visuals were brought to life for the assembled crowd by a dramatic reading of the 1863 speech of Society co-founder, Rudolf Korwin Piotrowski (prototype for Sienkiewicz’s literary character, Zagłoba), emphatically delivered by Polish-born film and television actor Marek Probosz. Master of Ceremonies Zbigniew Stańczyk introduced a selection of distinguished guests who offered congratulatory remarks on the vitality and longevity of San Francisco Bay Area Polonia. Speakers included the Honorable Mariusz Brymora, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, Teresa Abick, vice president of PNA’s national office, and Professor Piotr Moncarz, Chairman of the US-Polish Trade Council. The artistic program continued throughout the dinner with historic Polish music performed by Bogdan Komorniczak (guitar and vocals), Nikolai Prisikar (accordion), Paweł Walerowski (cello), and Susan Worland (violin). The PNA-sponsored dance and music ensemble, Łowiczanie, concluded the formal program with a stunning dance suite in national historic dress featuring the Polonez and the Mazur danced to music from the opera “Halka” by Stanisław Moniuszko and choreographed by Mary Kay Stuvland. For the Grand Polonez, the entire ballroom was filled with hundreds of willing dancers who could not be contained by the large dance floor! Guests enjoyed dinner wine donated by Epoch Winery (2010 blend from the Paderewski vineyards) and were invited to dance until midnight. Guests were pleased with hand-blown Krosno glass sculptures, courtesy of the Polish American Congress -- Northern California Division. Truly an evening of historic consequence and one to be remembered! Copies of the Commemorative Book (researched and prepared by Maureen Mroczek Morris) may be obtained by contacting: polishfolk@sbcglobal.net Author: Mary Kay Stuvland, Deputy Honorary Consul for Tad Taube, and Choreographer, Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble of San Francisco

* * * * * *

Read about the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Polish Society of California in Cosmopolitan Review, a transatlantic review of “things Polish, in English:

http://cosmopolitanreview.com/polish-california/

History Exhibit in the Cocktail Room (Maureen Mroczek Morris)

First “plat” of San Francisco, 1849 by Aleksander Zakrzewski

Pictures of Society co-founder, Rudolf Korwin Piotrowski, and other founding members of the Polish Society of California. Also depicted: Henryk Sienkiewicz’s “Trilogy” books.

Sienkiewicz drew his inspiration for his literary character “Zagłoba” from RK Piotrowski, Society co-founder and veteran of the 1830 November Uprising.

Posters: Selected passages from the speeches delivered at the 1863 “Grand Mass Meeting in Favor of Polish Freedom and Nationality” at Platt’s Music Hall in San Francisco, organized to raise funds for the 1863 January Uprising.

Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble of San Francisco

Grand Polonez

Actor Marek Probosz delivering the 1863 speech of Rudolf Korwin Piotrowski originally spoken at

Platt’s Music Hall for the “Grand Mass Meeting in Favor of Polish Freedom and Nationality” to support Poland’s 1863 struggle for independence

Commemorative Booklet

(researched and compiled by Maureen Mroczek Morris)

Resolution from California Assemblyman, Robert Wieckowski

From Pioneers to Silicon Valley