Title: Polanki, the Polish Women's Cultural Club of Milwaukee Records
Inclusive Dates: 1946-2013

Creator:

• Polanki, the Polish Women's Cultural Club of Milwaukee (Wis.)

Call Number: Milwaukee Mss 74; Milwaukee Micro 39; Micro 934; M98-009

Quantity: 5.4 c.f. (14 archives boxes) and 1 reel of microfilm (35 mm); plus additions of 8 photographs

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

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

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

Abstract:

Records of Polanki, a club organized in 1953 to create interest in Polish culture and traditions, inspire American Poles with pride in their heritage, and sponsor the Polish exhibit and booth at Milwaukee's annual folk fair. Among the activities of Polanki which are represented by correspondence, administrative and financial records, news clippings, and other files are annual Easter teas, Polonaise balls, Chopin piano contests, scholarship and achievement awards, and St. John's Eve (“Swietojanki”) celebrations. Also well-documented is the work of two long-time Polanki leaders, Harriet Gostomski and Janet H. Branden.

Language: English, Polish

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00074

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Polanki, the Polish Women's Cultural Club, was organized in Milwaukee in 1953 by 24 women of Polish ancestry, to provide for the staffing of the Polish cultural exhibit and booth at the city's annual International Folk Fair. The group also established as goals creating interest in Polish culture and traditions among non-Poles, and inspiring American Poles with pride in their cultural heritage.

Among the cultural and fund-raising projects of Polanki have been annual Easter teas, the Polonaise Ball for debutantes of Polish background, Chopin piano contests (beginning in 1960), scholarship and achievement award programs, and the St. John's Eve or “Swietojanki” celebration (1953-1956). Every year, the women of Polanki participate in the Folk Fair (sometimes called the Holiday Folk Fair), held by the International Institute of Milwaukee County; they also sponsor visiting Polish dance and music groups, Polish language classes, museum displays, Polish dinners, and lectures on a variety of subjects. In 1963 and 1979, the Milwaukee organization hosted the annual convention of its parent group, the American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs.

The work of Polanki has been directed primarily by two long-active leaders, the first president, Harriet Gostomski (Mrs. John Jakusz-Gostomski) and current (1982) president, Janet H. Branden.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Milwaukee Mss 74, Milwaukee Micro 39, Micro 934): Original Collection, 1946-1998
• Part 2 (M98-009): Additions, 1960s-1980s

Acquisition Information

Presented by Janet H. Branden, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1981; Susan Mikos, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1998; and Ewa Barczyk, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1999. Accession Number: M81-120, M98-009, M99-083

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, Mark Thiel, and Sheila Ryan, September 1982; additions processed by Heather Aho, April 2002.

Milwaukee Mss 74	Part 1 (Milwaukee Mss 74, Milwaukee Micro 39, Micro 934): Original Collection, 1946-2001 Physical Description: 4.8 c.f. (12 archives boxes) and 1 reel of microfilm (35 mm)  Scope and Content Note The activities of Polanki are illustrated through the files of General Correspondence and Related Materials, Administrative Records, Financial Records, Records of Special Projects and Events, and Miscellaneous Files. A file of Clippings has been microfilmed. Within the sizable files of GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED MATERIALS are letters, most of which pertain to preparations for the Holiday Folk Fair, or to other events sponsored annually by Polanki, together with associated programs, news clippings, flyers and announcements, and printed material. Much of the correspondence was written by the president of the organization. Some letters written by Harriet Gostomski concerning Polish participation in the Folk Fair pre-date the organization of Polanki. ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS include lists of attendance at monthly meetings, monthly informational bulletins of Polanki, by-laws, mailing lists, membership applications and correspondence, and minutes of meetings (in Polish). Two folders of photographs of Polanki-organized events, exhibits, and Folk Fair booths complete the series. FINANCIAL RECORDS of Polanki comprise another major series of the collection, and include annual budgets; general financial records, consisting mainly of receipts and documentation of purchases and expenses involved with the Folk Fair; cancelled checks, statements, and stubs; bank deposit tickets and savings accounts records; and general receipts. The RECORDS OF SPECIAL PROJECTS AND EVENTS concern activities other than the Folk Fair. Among the records are correspondence; applications for Polanki's achievement awards for high school seniors and college students of Polish descent, and for similar awards sponsored by the Polish National Alliance; and files of letters, financial records, programs, and news clippings from the 1976 reception for Small Business Administration head Mitchell Kobelinski and from the 1979 panel on “National Perspectives,” both sponsored in part by Polanki. Conventions of the American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs are well-represented by files of programs, correspondence, and documents generated during the course of the conventions. There are also a few files of MISCELLANEOUS materials, consisting of items of interest to Americans of Polish background. On microfilm are NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS regarding Polanki's activities and other items of interest to Milwaukee Polish-Americans.
	Series: General Correspondence and Related Materials
Box   1 Folder   1-6	1946-1962
Box   2 Folder   1-9	1963-1971
Box   3 Folder   1-7	1972-1978
Box   4 Folder   1-2	, 1979-1981; , undated and miscellaneous correspondence and related papers
	Series: Administrative Records	⇧
Box   4 Folder   3	Attendance lists, 1973-1977
	Bulletins
Box   4 Folder   4	1956-1979, undated
Box   12 Folder   6-10	1980-1998
Box   4 Folder   5	By-laws, circa 1955, 1960, 1966, undated
Box   4 Folder   6	Mailing lists, 1953-1955, undated
Box   4 Folder   7	Memberships, 1966-1979
Box   4 Folder   8	Meeting minutes, 1953-1972, undated
Box   4 Folder   9	Minute book, 1960-1963 (Volume 1)
Box   4 Folder   10	Minute book, 1963-1972 (Volume 2)
Box   13 Folder   2-18	Newsletters, Polanki, Inc., 2003-2011
Box   14 Folder   1-4	Newsletters, Polanki, Inc., 2012-2013
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Photographs and awards from International Institute
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   5 Folder   3	Budgets, 1961-1978
	General records
Box   5 Folder   4-8	1950, 1954-1969
Box   6 Folder   1-2	1971-1977
	Cancelled checks and statements
Box   6 Folder   3-6	1953-1961
Box   7 Folder   1-7	1962-1973
Box   8 Folder   1-3	1974-1976
Box   8 Folder   4-5	Check stubs, 1953-1964, 1970-1976
	Deposit tickets
Box   8 Folder   6	1953-1966
Box   9 Folder   1	1969, 1973-1976
Box   9 Folder   2-4	Receipts, 1956-1959, 1962-1976
Box   9 Folder   5	Savings accounts, 1959, 1972-1975
	Series: Records of Special Projects and Events	⇧
	Achievement awards
	Applications
Box   9 Folder   6-8	1970-1975
Box   10 Folder   1-2	1976-1977
Box   10 Folder   3-4	Correspondence, 1962, 1965-1977, undated
Box   10 Folder   5	Kobelinski reception, October 5, 1976
Box   10 Folder   6	National Perspectives Panel, August 17, 1979
Box   12 Folder   1	Polonaise Ball 1963, 1978, 1981-1985, and Polanki Awards Tea, , 1984, 2008
Box   10 Folder   7	Polish National Alliance Merit Awards, 1975-1976
Box   10 Folder   8	St. John's Eve (Swietojanki), 1953-1956
	American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs Conventions, papers and correspondence
Box   10 Folder   9-10	1954-1963
Box   11 Folder   1-5	1963-1979
Box   12 Folder   2	1963, 1979
Box   12 Folder   4	We, the Milwaukee Poles, 1946
Box   13 Folder   1	60th anniversary, 2013
	Series: Miscellaneous Files	⇧
Box   12 Folder   3	Contemporary Polish graphics, 1963
Box   11 Folder   6	The Panorama of Contemporary Polish Culture
Box   11 Folder   7	Polish folk art designs
Box   11 Folder   8	Royal Castle, Warsaw - fundraising project, 1971
Box   12 Folder   5	Miscellaneous Polish pamphlets, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1987, 2001
Box   11 Folder   9	Miscellany
Milwaukee Micro 39/Micro 934	Series: Newspaper Clippings, 1946-1979	⇧
M98-009	Part 2 (M98-009): Additions, 1960s-1980s Physical Description: 8 photographs  Scope and Content Note: Photographs from the 1960s and 1980s depicting Polish costumes and crafts (probably the group's exhibits at the annual folk fair).	⇧