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The Ripkowski Brothers – True American Patriotism

Culture / By /

Stash and Mattie Ripkowski FamilyWhile going through my grandmother Agnes Polka Smock’s old photographs, I found a newspaper clipping from the Houston Chronicle. It was a photo of one of her neighbor’s large family from New Waverly, Texas. The photo was titled "Twelve Brothers Served Uncle Sam" and the caption reads "These 12 sons in a family of 16 children, of Mrs. Stash Ripkowski of Dayton, have served with the United States armed forces. Husbands of three of the daughters were in service also, and a fourth husband worked in a defense plant. Members of the family are, left to right, front; Mrs. Ripkowski, Bernie, Felix, Alex, August, Leon, Bill, Raymond; second row: Herman, Catherine, Virginia, Franklin, John J., Pearline, Mike, Anna Lee and Stanley."

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2009 Polski Dzien In Bremond, Texas

Current Events, Festivals and Bazaars / By /

2009 Bremond Polski DzienTexas has been in the middle of a severe heat wave for the last week or so, but the hot weather didn’t stop a large crowd from enjoying the 22nd annual Polski Dzien Polish Days celebration which was held on Saturday, June 27, 2009 in downtown Bremond, Texas. As always, the day began with the Polish Pickle 5 K Run at 8 AM followed by the Kids K Run. It always fascinates me that so many people, young and old, show up in the middle of summer to run. As the race ended, the runners were fed a feast of fruit, kolaches and good kielbasa sausage with water, soft drinks and cold beer to wash it down. Cold piwo at 8:30 AM may sound strange to some, but I’d have been right there drinking with them if I had just pounded out 3 miles on the hot asphalt. After all of the runners made it to the finish line, a raffle drawing was held and awards were handed out.
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Final Plans For Polski Dzien XXII

News / By /

2008 Bremond Polski Dzien

The Bremond Chamber of Commerce recently finalized their plans for the Polski Dzien XXII or the Polish Days celebration. The Polish Pickle Run is expected to draw another good crowd. Over 165 runners have pre registered by Wednesday (June 17). The 5K run begins at 8:00 am. The 2009 Pickle Run T-shirts will be available starting on Saturday (June 20) at the Bremond Press office. More colors of shirts will be available to the early shirt buyers. This year there will be a limited number of Tye Dye Polish Pickle Run shirts.

The horseshoe and washer competition will take place under the water tower as it has in recent years. The new city building has taken up some of the area but there is still enough room for the two popular Polish Day games. Sign-up will be in Wasik’s store on Polish Day morning. The deadline for washers is 11:00 and horseshoes at 11:30. Play begins thirty minutes after sign-up ends. The entry fee is $20 per team. For information call Janel Swick at 254-746-7552.

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Final Plans For Polski Dzien XXII Read More »

Polski Wesele – Polish Wedding

Culture / By /

Polski Wesele - Traditional Polish Wedding

The wedding is one of the most important family celebrations in Polish culture. For centuries most marriages in Poland took place starting at the beginning of September and continued through fall and winter except for the holy weeks of advent and lent. This was at a time when the all-important harvest and field work was completed and food was at abundance to hold and host a major celebration as a wedding. The Polish word for wedding “wesele” comes from the word “wiselic’ sie” meaning to rejoice, and that is indeed an appropriate for an occasion traditionally associated with joy and celebration.

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St. Joseph in Stoneham 100th Annual Bazaar

Current Events, Festivals and Bazaars / By /

St. Joseph Catholic Church 100th Annual Bazaar

St. Joseph’s Church in Stoneham, Texas held their 100th annual homecoming bazaar on Sunday, May 24, 2009. It rained off and on during the day, but that didn’t stop the large crowd from having a good time.

In addition to the regular early Sunday Mass, a special bazaar Mass was celebrated at 10:30 am in the beautiful remodeled church by St. Joseph’s pastor Fr Ed Kucera. St. Joseph’s church was built in 1909 by a predominantly Polish immigrant congregation. In the early years, St. Joseph’s was a mission parish under the guidance of St. Stanislaus parish in Anderson, but it is now a mission parish of St. Mary parish in Plantersville.

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Virginia Hill Speaks At Washington County Genealogical Society

Current Events, Meetings / By /

Washington County Genealogical Society

Virginia Felchack Hill, Polish Genealogical Society of Texas past president and long time editor of the award-winning Polish Footprints publication was a guest speaker at the Washington County Genealogical Society meeting. The meeting was held on May 4, 2009 at Blinn College Student Center in Brenham, Texas.

Her presentation on Polish Heritage In Washington County, Texas centered on the family origins of the early Polish settlers. She spoke about the early Poles that Meyer Levy brought to Waverly and presented a detailed list of the surnames of the 1867 Polish immigrants. A large map of Poland was on display with pins to identify the Poznan area towns and villages where these early Poles came from. Virginia also gave the distances between many of the small villages. An extraction of Polish marriage records of many of the early Washington County immigrants was taken from a search of the Poznan Marriage Indexing Project and presented as a handout.

Along with the regular Washington County Genealogical Society members, several PGST members attended the meeting including the current President Barbara Lee and several past presidents and board members.

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Virginia Hill Speaks At Washington County Genealogical Society Read More »

Houston’s 3rd Annual Polish Festival

Current Events, Festivals and Bazaars / By /

Houston Texas Polish Festival - Our Lady Of Czestochowa Church

The 3rd annual Polish Festival at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Houston was held on Saturday, May 2, 2009 on the church grounds in Spring Branch. A large crowd enjoyed the beautiful weather, good food, cold piwo and a wide variety of entertainment. The festival began at 10:00 am and was still going strong when I left at about 9:30 pm. I met up with a lot of old friends and made some new ones. It was pretty obvious that everybody in the large crowd was having a good time.

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