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Reception reveals progress made at Polish Center

Date: 4/27/2010

April 28, 2010.

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- Some of the people and institutions who helped make the renovation of the new home for the Polish Center for Discovery and Learning a reality had an opprtunity to see the new center at a reception last week.

Major donors and representatives of area banks and foundations gathered at the former rectory next to Holy Name Church on Wednesday to tour the three floors of the building. The guests also included Bishop Timothy McDonnell, State Senator Michael Knapik, Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette and Holyoke Mayor Elaine Pluta.

The center tells the story through exhibits and artifacts of not only the Polish people, but also their experiences as immigrants in America. The center was founded in 2000 at Elms College.

Board Member Terry Sherman said it was "difficult to express" her feelings about most of the first phase of the center being completed.

"It's very exciting," she said.

Sherman explained the 18-room, 130 year-old building was in great disrepair when it was turned over to the center in 2005. The renovations have cost $800,000 so far, she added.

The support for the center has come from throughout the country, she said, not just Western Massachusetts.

The leaking roof caused many problems, she said, with interior walls damaged by the water. During the renovations, the building's plumbing and electrical services were replaced and an elevator was installed, she noted.

Standing in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen, fellow Board Member Henry Dziok said at one time a person standing in that room "could see the sky" through the holes in the roof and floors. Dziok pointed out, though, how the intricate original woodwork in the room, such as carving in a built-in hutch, had been preserved.

In the front entrance to the building, there was more hand-carved woodwork, a gateway, that was also rescued.

Sherman said the next phase for the center would be to raise additional funds to extend the building eight feet in order to build an auditorium and concert hall.

In the first floor library room, shelves lining part of the walls contain books on Polish history and culture. An intricate wooden floor -- a copy of one found in a Polish manor house -- was installed. The library also has a reproduction of the armor worn by the Polish hussars in the 1600s when they defended the country from Turkish invaders.

On the second floor there is a genealogy room as well as several devoted to Polish art and folk customs. Polish Center Director Stanislaw Radosz explained to McDonnell as they toured the building how the detailed and delicate art of "wycinanka" -- paper cutting -- was done with sheep shears.

One room is dedicated to depicting the immigrant experience and showed the various identity "papers" of Thaddeus Kurosz, a Polish citizen captured by the Nazis and forced to work as slave labor. After World War II, he worked for the U.S. Army and eventually immigrated to this country.

The third floor's exhibits are currently being finished. Board Member Helen Vaselacopoulos said one room will feature an exhibit on Polish music and a display case was already filled with memorabilia from polka superstar Happy Louie. The center has a collection of player piano rolls, she said, and is in the process of getting a vintage player piano for the room. She said the center plans to record the piano rolls and replay them as part of the exhibit.

Also on the third floor, Sherman said, an authentic Polish cottage will be re-assembled as part of an interactive children's learning area.

Sherman said the center plans to have a public grand opneing event in June.

Bissonnette said, "When the diocese turned over this building to the Elms, it was hard to envision this day. This is really amazing."

The center is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For additional information, call 592-0001.