Title: Polish Falcons of America. Nest 786: Records
Inclusive Dates: 1931-1979

Creator:

• Polish Falcons of America. Nest 786 (Milwaukee, Wis.)

Call Number: Milwaukee Mss 59

Quantity: 0.4 c.f. (1 archives box and 1 volume)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries’ Archives Department / Milwaukee Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Records of Nest 786, a Milwaukee affiliate of an organization formed in 1910 to encourage physical training, gymnastics, and military training. Included is a volume of dues records listing names of members, 1932-1947; a cash book, 1932-1967; a volume of receipts and disbursements, 1931-1953; and miscellany regarding Nest 786. Also present are copies of minutes of District II of the Falcons and of national conventions.

Language: English, Polish

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00059

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Nest 786, Jozef Pilsudski Nest, of the Polish Falcons of America (Sokolstwo Polskie w Ameryce) was organized in June 1910 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Joseph Kruszka, president; Anthony Gutkowski, vice-president; Felix Skupski, secretary; Anthony Jazwiecki, treasurer; and John Krukar, physical director. The purpose of the organization, originally founded in Poland in 1863 and in the United States in 1887, was “to train the body, to spread brotherhood and cultural activities, and to discipline and to submerge the personal 'I' for the betterment of the community.” Members competed in local and district gymnastic and military drills and rallies, the latter in preparation for participation with the American and Polish armies in World War I. Nest 786 split in 1947, with the seceding group forming Nest 249, which met at the Polish Army Veteran Association Post 94 home. In 1978, the two Nests merged as Nest 786. The former Nest 786 home was a meeting hall at 1573-1575 West Becher Street; in 1981, the building was owned by Stanley Szymczak, president of the Nest since 1938. In 1976, the two Milwaukee Falcon Nests had a total of 650 members.

Nest 786 is included in the Falcons District II, headquartered in Chicago. Other Nests that belong to District II are located in Milwaukee, Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, and St. Louis. (The Stevens Point Wisconsin Falcons left the national Sokol in 1928 and is not a member of District II.)

The records include a volume of dues records listing names of members, 1932-1947; a cash book, 1932-1967; a volume recording receipts and disbursements, 1931-1953; and miscellany regarding Nest 786. Noteworthy among the miscellany is a copy of Zlot i Zjazd, a printed record of the 1933 national rally and congress. Also included are minutes and scattered programs from District II conventions, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979; and from national conventions, 1956, 1964, 1972, and 1976. These minutes may be useful in reconstructing the history and activities of Nest 786, as the minutes of Nest 786 apparently no longer exist.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Stanley Szymczak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1981. Accession Number: M81-367

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, December 1981.

Box   1 Volume   1	Dues Book, 1932-1947
Volume   2	Cash Book, 1932-1967
Box   1 Volume   3	Receipts and Disbursements, 1931-1953
	Convention Records
Box   1 Folder   1-2	District II Minutes, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979
Box   1 Folder   3	National Convention Minutes, 1964, 1972; Programs, , 1956, 1976
Box   1 Folder   4	Miscellany, 1933, 1965, 1976, undated