Polanie Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota records
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of materials dating between 1876 and 2014 and includes: administrative materials such as board meeting minutes, by-laws and articles of incorporation, committee meeting minutes, reports, financial records, and correspondence; publications documents such as drafts, invoices, recipe cards, and copies of original publications; song books and sheet music in both English and Polish; memorabilia and ephemera including publicity, maps, travel brochures, photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, and clippings; publications from other organizations such as newsletters, brochures, and annual reports; and media including audio reel tape, CDs, video reels, disks, cassette tapes, and a record. Artifacts include a gavel, an unidentified key, and three Polanie Club stamps.
A component of the collection includes the digital files of the organization. These records reflect administrative working of the organization, project files, and both digital and digitized photographs and films.
Dates
- 1876-2014
Creator
- Polanie Club (Minneapolis, Minn.) (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection materials in English and Polish.
Use of Materials
The majority of the materials are open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room. Some materials are restricted from access until 2020. All restricted materials are noted as such in the Collection Contents.
Copyright
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be arranged with the Immigration History Research Center Archives; please contact the archives for more detailed copyright information.
Historical Note
In 1927, the Polanie Club began as twelve women living in the Twin Cities convened to enjoy sharing their Polish background with each other and to enrich their knowledge of the language, music, literature, food, history, art, and folklore. Their first constitution, published in 1933, states the purpose of the invitation-only women's club was to perpetuate Polish culture, spread the knowledge of it, and encourage higher education among people of Polish descent. Each year a program of study was printed, with events aimed at teaching themselves more about Polish traditions. A library of books on Polish subjects began to grow, and the members soon found themselves acting as a resource for others on Polish subjects.
The club was also interested in publishing their own materials, culminating in their 1942 publication, Piesni Lodowe, a booklet of 110 Polish love songs. Their 1948 publication, Treasured Polish Recipes for Americas, was released to honor their twentieth anniversary and quickly became their most successful publication ever. More publications followed, including 1950's If the Branch Blossoms, short stories from Monica Krawczyk, and 1952's Treasured Polish Songs with English Translations. The income generated from these publications went to merit awards such as the Marcella Kochansky Sembrich Vocal Competition, scholarships for Minnesota students of Polish descent attending higher education, and for a fellowship in graduate work at the University of Minnesota on a Polish subject. The club sponsored annual conventions of the American Council of Polish Culture in 1960, 1996, and 2003, providing Polanie Club with the opportunity to have a wider audience. The year 2000 heralded a fresh energy to a longstanding Polanie tradition: a Wigilia celebration, open to the entire metropolitan community, was held with traiditional Polish food, decorations, singing and dancing. The Club closed down its operations in 2014.
Extent
20 Linear Feet (20.2 cubic feet (48 boxes))
5.9 Gigabytes
Abstract
This collection consists of organizational administrative records documenting over 80 years of existence of the Minneapolis-based Polish American women's club.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into series:
Series 1: Polanie Club records
Sub-series 1: Administartive and business records
Sub-series 2: Publications and newsletters
Sub-series 3: Cookbook research and production
Sub-series 4: Monica Krawczyk Short Story Contest
Sub-series 5: Polish Language Instruction course
Series 2: American Council of Polish Clubs (ACPC) records
Series 3: Sheet music and song books
Series 4: Memorabilia
Series 5: General Publications and Books
Series 6: Film and media
Source of acquisition
Collection acquired from the Polanie Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Marta Swica) in 1998 and 2015.
- American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs
- Community life Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cooking, Polish Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Folk dance music -- Poland Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Polanie Club (Minneapolis, Minn.)
- Polish Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Polish American families Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Social life and customs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Songbooks, Polish Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Inventory of the Polanie Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota records, 1876-2014.
- Author
- Finding aid created by Kate Dietrick
- Date
- May 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Immigration History Research Center Archives Collecting Area