By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON - The sound of polka music echoed off buildings downtown Monday morning as hundreds of area residents lined the streets to view the city's 24th annual Pulaski Day Parade.
Following a memorial Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, marchers, some dressed in traditional Polish garb and others in Revolutionary War-era uniforms, walked a new route this year from King Street to Main Street and on to Pulaski Park.
"It is just a wonderful way to enjoy the beautiful weather on Columbus Day," said Chris Tofflin, of Hadley, who brought his son, Alex, 7, who cheered on a team of horses and gathered candy thrown from the Polish Heritage Committee's float.
The day's festivities honor Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman who, after being introduced to Benjamin Franklin in 1776, fought for the United States during the Revolutionary War. Pulaski, who had a storied military history during Poland's fight for freedom from Russia, died from wounds sustained in the Battle of Savannah 231 years ago Monday.
Hadley's Hopkins Academy Marching Band kept the beat as members of the Polish Heritage Committee, Hampshire County Sheriff's Department, Miss Polonia and others stepped their way toward a memorial ceremony at Pulaski Park on Main Street.
At the ceremony, state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, who has participated in the parade every year since it began, congratulated the committed group of community volunteers who made this year's parade possible despite last year's closing of St. John Cantius Church on Hawley Street, from which the past 23 parades began.
"Last year I saw a lot of worried faces and some of you thought that because of the closing of St. Cantius Church that we might not convene again this year," Rosenberg said.
"Happily, because there is always a way when there is a will, the people of Northampton made sure that this important tradition continued on," he said. "This truly is an important event, both for the Polish community and the community as a whole."
Along with state Rep. John W. Scibak, Rosenberg read an address prepared by Gov. Deval Patrick, proclaiming that Oct. 11, 2010, be officially named Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski Day.
Reminding all those in attendance to maintain their national heritage, state Rep. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton, pointed out that Sunday night brought the year's first widespread frost, which means his locally grown cabbage will soon be ready for the dinner table.
"The first frost means something very special to my family. It means that John Szawlowski, whose family has farmed in this Valley for over 100 years, will begin harvesting his cabbages this week," Kocot said. "And he will use a wooden mallet, brought here from Poland by his grandfather to smash that cabbage to make homemade sauerkraut for my family to make kapusta and pierogis."
Also speaking at the ceremony was Mayor Clare Higgins, who said she hoped she was on the invitation list for Kocot's pierogi party because "one thing that the Irish and the Polish share is their love for potatoes and cabbage."
"There has been a lot of panic among members of the community who have wondered if this park will stay a park if we build something in the back or if this or that changes. You should all know that this will never change, this is Pulaski Park and will always be Pulaski Park," Higgins said, drawing a loud round of applause from the crowd.
"As I think of our Valley and its rich history of immigrants, I think of the Polish, Irish and English folks who initially came here. They've all made this a richer and more wonderful place to live," Higgins said.
After laying a wreath at the base of the Pulaski Monument, Parade Marshal Walter Grygorcewicz was presented with a plaque and shared stories of his life in Poland.
In 1941, when Grygorcewicz was 17, he was removed from his village in Poland, placed in a cattle car and shipped to Germany to begin forced labor for the Nazi regime. At the end of the war, in 1945, Grygorcewicz was recruited into the U.S. Army and became a guard for the U.S. forces and commanding officers, stationed in an airport in Germany.
In 1950, he came to the United States and settled in Northampton becoming an American citizen.
Touching on the sacrifices that Grygorcewicz made during his lifetime in order to preserve the freedom that American citizens enjoy today, keynote speaker Kenneth Lemanski, Westfield State University's vice president of advancement and college relations, challenged people to take advantage of the liberties available to them.
"We may not have a war to fight in the United States right now, but we do have a responsibility as citizens to exercise the liberties and self-determination that was won for us by all of those veterans who served our country," Lemanski said.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
No comments:
Post a Comment