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

1946-1962

1963-1971

1972-1978

, 1979-1981; , undated and miscellaneous correspondence and related papers

Series: Administrative Records

Attendance lists, 1973-1977

Bulletins

1956-1979, undated

1980-1998

By-laws, circa 1955, 1960, 1966, undated

Mailing lists, 1953-1955, undated

Memberships, 1966-1979

Meeting minutes, 1953-1972, undated

Minute book, 1960-1963 (Volume 1)

Minute book, 1963-1972 (Volume 2)

Newsletters, Polanki, Inc., 2003-2011

Newsletters, Polanki, Inc., 2012-2013

Photographs and awards from International Institute

Series: Financial Records

Budgets, 1961-1978

General records

1950, 1954-1969

1971-1977

Cancelled checks and statements

1953-1961

1962-1973

1974-1976

Check stubs, 1953-1964, 1970-1976

Deposit tickets

1953-1966

1969, 1973-1976

Receipts, 1956-1959, 1962-1976

Savings accounts, 1959, 1972-1975

Series: Records of Special Projects and Events

Achievement awards

Applications

1970-1975

1976-1977

Correspondence, 1962, 1965-1977, undated

Kobelinski reception, October 5, 1976

National Perspectives Panel, August 17, 1979

Polonaise Ball 1963, 1978, 1981-1985, and Polanki Awards Tea, , 1984, 2008

Polish National Alliance Merit Awards, 1975-1976

St. John's Eve (Swietojanki), 1953-1956

American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs Conventions, papers and correspondence

1954-1963

1963-1979

1963, 1979

We, the Milwaukee Poles, 1946

60th anniversary, 2013

Series: Miscellaneous Files

Contemporary Polish graphics, 1963

The Panorama of Contemporary Polish Culture

Polish folk art designs

Royal Castle, Warsaw - fundraising project, 1971

Miscellaneous Polish pamphlets, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1987, 2001

Miscellany

Series: Newspaper Clippings, 1946-1979

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).