On the morning of Friday, March 8, 2024, the Polish Consul General in Chicago visited the home of local resident Zofia Biernadska. The 102-year-old veteran […]
Giving a living history presentation to Polish school students in Des Plaines
On a Saturday morning, students at General Wladyslaw Anders Polish School in Des Plaines received a special treat. Visiting them was a group of Polish […]
Adam Wolanin: Chicago’s Polish immigrant at the 1950 FIFA World Cup
At the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States national team carried out one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history- defeating […]
Celebrating Polish Armed Forces Day 2022 in Niles
On 14 August 2022, in celebration of Poland’s Armed Forces Day, the Polish Consulate General in Chicago headed a series of ceremonies all across the […]
Throwback Thursday: war reenactment in Yorkville, IL., 2004
Pictured here is myself, aged nine-years-old, at a Second World War reenactment held on 11 September 2004. The event commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of the […]
An English war bride teaches music at the Latin School of Chicago
In 1941, Mary Younghusband was a newly certified school teacher. She did not imagine that her career would take her beyond the limits of her […]
Dance crazy: swinging to the music in wartime Chicago
During World War II, Chicago’s ballrooms, hotels, and other dance venues, buzzed with activity. In those uncertain times Americans celebrated life with dance. Providing a […]
A Polish refugee learns the ‘GI Salute’ in 1950
Stanley Kozak, born Stanisław, was my great-uncle. As a teenager he was abducted by the Nazis during the Second World War, and he ultimately settled in Chicago as a war refugee. He was then called upon to serve his adopted country in 1950.
Graves of Polish Veterans in an ‘All-American City’
Entering Maryhill Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Niles, Illinois, visitors are immediately greeted by a large information panel. A map shows the location of the […]