Title: Polish Legion of American Veterans. Wisconsin State Dept. Ladies' Auxiliary: Records
Inclusive Dates: 1937-1979

Creator:

• Polish Legion of American Veterans. Wisconsin State Dept. Ladies' Auxiliary

Call Number: Milwaukee Mss 55

Quantity: 2.4 c.f. (6 archives boxes)

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 the ladies' auxiliary of the Wisconsin unit of the Polish Legion of American Veterans, the largest organization of American veterans of Polish ancestry in the U.S. Included are records of both the Wisconsin State Dept. headquartered in Milwaukee and individual posts throughout the state, consisting of correspondence and memoranda, financial records, minutes of meetings, rosters and monthly reports of local posts and of the State Dept., and correspondence and other records concerning veterans' hospital aid and volunteer projects.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00055

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

In 1923 the first Wisconsin post of the Polish Legion of American Veterans, Woodrow Wilson Post #11, was founded on Milwaukee's South Side. The purposes of the PLAV were patriotic and anti-communist in nature, as well as fraternal, civic, and social. Two years later, in 1925, Post #11 formed a ladies' auxiliary, which eventually became the nucleus for the Wisconsin State Department Ladies' Auxiliary. The first national officer, Laura Gorski, with Anna Kucharczyk Heleniak and others, organized additional posts in conjunction with PLAV chapters. On October 27, 1937 the first meeting of the State Department was held, to guide the work of the individual posts.

In 1979 there was eleven PLAV Ladies' auxiliary posts, and a Gold Star Mothers Chapter in Wisconsin, dedicated “to work for the disabled veteran.” Among the projects undertaken by the posts were volunteer work at veterans' hospitals, fund-raising for gifts and small purchases for patients at hospitals both in and out of state, sponsorship of annual essay contests for eighth-graders and queen competitions, and promotion of the welfare of children. Social events also form a portion of the activities of each post.

The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the activities of this organization primarily from the mid-1960s through the 1970s.

The records consist of several folders of correspondence and memoranda, with printed form letters and memos from the national PLAV organization; financial records, including cash books for the general and hospital funds, and notes for the annual audit; minutes of State Dept. monthly meetings, 1946-1969, and of national meetings and conventions; and minutes, notes, delegates lists, and mandates from the biennial state conventions. There are some records of individual committees, such as the Americanism Committee, which sponsors the annual essay contest, Child Welfare Committee, VAVS (Veterans Administration Voluntary Service) Committee, and others. Pertaining to the veterans' hospital aid projects are correspondence, receipts for funds and gifts donated, cards, minutes of meetings, and reports of volunteer work accomplished for each of the eight hospitals assisted by the PLAV. Records of the individual posts within the state consist of rosters of members and reports of monthly meetings, which were submitted to state headquarters in Milwaukee. There is also a small file of programs and brochures commemorating both State Department and post anniversaries.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Polish Legion of American Veterans, Wisconsin State Dept. Ladies' Auxiliary, via Rosemarie Broskowski, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1981. Accession Number: M81-361

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, April 1982.

Milwaukee Mss 55 Box   1 Folder   1	Address Lists
Box   1 Folder   2	Americanism Committee, 1963-1979
Box   1 Folder   3	Child Welfare Committee, 1967-1979, undated
Box   1 Folder   4-6	Correspondence and Memos, 1966-1979, undated
	Financial Records
Box   1 Folder   7	General Records and Audits, 1967-1979, undated
Box   1 Folder   8	Cash Book, 1937-1962 (Volume 1)
Box   1 Folder   9	Cash Book, 1955-1963 (Volume 2)
Box   2 Folder   1	Cash Book, 1961-1970 (Volume 3)
Box   5 Folder   3	Cash Book, 1969-1976 (Volume 4)
Box   2 Folder   2	Hospital Fund - Cash Book, 1963-1970 (Volume 5)
Box   2 Folder   3	Hospital Fund - Cash Book, 1963-1975 (Volume 6)
Box   2 Folder   4	Hospital Fund - Cash Book, 1969-1976
Box   2 Folder   5	Gold Star Mothers - Reports, 1965-1975, undated
	Minutes of Meetings
Box   5 Folder   4	Minute Book, 1946-1957 (Volume 7)
Box   6 Folder   4	Minute Book, 1957-1966 (Volume 8)
Box   6 Folder   5	Minute Book, 1966-1969 (Volume 9)
Box   6 Folder   1	Minutes, 1969-1977
Box   6 Folder   2	Minutes of National Meetings and Conventions, 1954-1979
Box   2 Folder   6	Miscellany
	Records of Individual Posts
	Rosters of Members
Box   2 Folder   7	Post #11 (Woodrow Wilson Post), 1971-1978
Box   2 Folder   8	Post #26 (Walter J. Muszynski Post), 1971-1978
Box   2 Folder   9	Post #33 (Thaddeus Kosciuszko Post), 1971-1977
Box   2 Folder   10	Post #34 (George Washington Post), 1971-1978
Box   2 Folder   11	Post #49 (Kobus-Molenda Post), 1971-1978
Box   2 Folder   12	Post #67 (Richard Jakubiak Post), 1976-1978
Box   2 Folder   13	Post #172 (St. Francis Post), 1971-1977
Box   2 Folder   14	Post #177 (Green Bay Post), 1975-1978
Box   2 Folder   15	Post #178 (Krakow Post), 1972-1978
Box   2 Folder   16	Post #181 (Du Bay Post), 1974-1977
Box   2 Folder   17	Post #182 (Sgt. Elmer Podlasinski Post), 1973-1975
	Reports of Monthly Meetings
Box   2 Folder   18	Post #11, 1966-1979
Box   2 Folder   19	Post #26, 1966-1979
Box   2 Folder   20	Post #33, 1966-1979
Box   2 Folder   21	Post #34, 1966-1979
Box   3 Folder   1	Post #49, 1966-1978
Box   3 Folder   2	Post #67, 1976-1979
Box   3 Folder   3	Post #172, 1969-1979
Box   3 Folder   4	Post #177, 1975-1979
Box   3 Folder   5	Post #178, 1964-1979
Box   3 Folder   6	Post #181, 1974-1979
Box   3 Folder   7	Post #182, 1974-1976
Box   3 Folder   8	Programs and Anniversary Brochures, 1958-1978
Box   3 Folder   9	Rosters of Members and Officers (State Dept.), 1967-1969, 1975-1977, undated (Volume 10)
	State Conventions - Records
Box   6 Folder   3	1959-1979
Box   3 Folder   10	1971
Box   3 Folder   11	1973
Box   3 Folder   12	1975
Box   3 Folder   13	1977
Box   3 Folder   14	State Department and Committee Reports, 1968-1978
Box   3 Folder   15	VAVS Committee, 1968-1979
	Veterans' Hospital Aid Projects
Box   3 Folder   16	Birmingham, Alabama, 1970-1979
Box   4 Folder   1	Fort Meade, South Dakota, 1966-1970
Box   4 Folder   2	Madison, Wisconsin, 1965-1979
Box   4 Folder   3	Muskogee, Oklahoma, 1967-1978
Box   4 Folder   4	St. Cloud, Minnesota, 1967-1971
Box   4 Folder   5	Tomah, Wisconsin, 1966-1979
Box   4 Folder   6	Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1970-1979
Box   4 Folder   7	Wood, Wisconsin, 1967-1971
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Wood, Wisconsin, 1972-1979, undated