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The Polish Roman Catholic
Union of America, established in 1873, was the FIRST Polish American
organization to grant equal rights to women. At that time, it was considered
both a bold and extremely progressive move on the part of this fraternal
benefit society. The issue of granting equal rights to women was introduced
at the 24th PRCUA Convention of 1897, held in Chicago, Illinois. One hundred
years ago, on July 30, 1897, the Convention accorded women the right to
become members of the PRCUA. Previously, women could only join under their
husband’s name. After 1897, they became independent members with insurance
policies up to $250.
This was a significant
triumph for immigrant Polish American women in their new homeland. It
brought home the real meaning of the American philosophy that “all people
are created equal” and brought the promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness” within the grasp of the “fairer” sex. The idea of equal rights
for women was strongly supported by the local Roman Catholic clergy.
Two years later, on October
18, 1899, the PRCUA became the first organization in Polonia to grant women
the right to vote, over two decades before women were granted equal rights
by the U. S. Constitution’s 19th Amendment!
The right was accorded to
Polish American women at the 26th PRCUA National Convention when the
Convention Committee proposed an amendment stating that women should have
right to establish Societies with their own administration and the right to
send voting delegates to the Conventions. Since this is the date when the
first Women’s Societies began to form, 1899 is recognized as the birth date
of the PRCUA Women’s Division. Women joined PRCUA quickly. By 1948, there
were 62,721 female members.
The issue of equal rights
for women had been a controversial subject in Chicago for decades, since
1869 when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton came to Chicago to
discuss women’s rights. At that time, Frances Willard, who later became the
first Dean of Woman at Northwestern University in Chicago, declared: “The
idea that boys of 21 are fit to make laws for their mothers, is an insult to
everyone.” Insult was added to injury when, in 1870, a new Illinois State
Constitution was adopted that provided voting rights for African American
males, but not for women. Through the decades that followed, many
suffragists continued to rage against the injustice caused by the fact that
former slaves and newly-arrived immigrant men could vote, while women
remained deprived of this right.
Because of the suffragists’
close ties to the temperance movement, the liquor lobby was steadfastly
opposed to granting women the right to vote. When a ballot asking whether or
not women should be given the vote was included in the 1912 Chicago primary
election, the proposition was overwhelmingly defeated 135,410 to 71,354.
Yet, in Polonia, by 1909, a woman already held the position of Vice
President in our fraternal organization!
In 1899 the first four Women’s Societies were established in Chicago: Maria
Osuch founded the Polish Women’s Society of Mary #38 at St. Hedwig Parish;
St. Barbara Society #33 was founded by Barbara Kirschenstein in St.
Adalbert’s Parish; Society of the Mother of God of Czestochowa #53 was
founded by Katarzyna Rostenkowski at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, and the
Polish Women’s Society of St. Ann #66 was founded by Anna Korzeniewski at
St. John Cantius Parish. Soon new Societies sprang up in other cities.
The 1901 PRCUA Convention
was historic because the first four women delegates participated in the
sessions: Maria Osuch, Barbara Kirschenstein, Katarzyna Rostenkowski and
Anna Korzeniewski.
In 1905, at the 29th
Convention, the editor of the Narod Polski proposed the election of a
permanent representative for the women members. Maria Osuch from Chicago was
chosen as Women’s Representative and held the position until the next
Convention in 1907. Maria Osuch initiated the idea of having the women of
PRCUA collect enough money to finance the first official PRCUA banner, which
was presented by her to the PRCUA during the 30th Convention in 1907 in
Erie, PA. There were 15 women delegates representing 383 members from 10
Societies present at the 1907 Convention, where Anna Jozwiakowska was
elected Representative.
During the next election in
Cleveland, in 1909, two women were chosen to the PRCUA administration:
Magdalena Dumanowska from Chicago became the first Lady Director and
Konstancja Chamska was elected Women’s Representative. In 1911, Konstancja
Chamska was re-elected Representative, and the Directors were Magdalene
Dumanowski and Franciszka Nowakowski from Buffalo, NY.
In 1913, about 20,000 of
the 63,000 PRCUA members were women and female delegates representing 77
Women’s Societies were at the 33rd Convention, held in Milwaukee, WI. Marie
Osuch was elected as Representative at that Convention and the Directors
were Marta Zolinski of Chicago, Franciszka Czaja of Chicago and Franciszka
Nowakowski of Buffalo. At the 34th Convention in 1915 there were 13 women
serving either as part of the administration or on Committees. The number of
Lady Directors from Chicago increased from 2 to 3 and 2 women Directors from
outside of Chicago were elected. It was also agreed at this Convention that
each committee working with the PRCUA administration should include at least
one female member. Also, the women representative was to be called the PRCUA
Vice President from then on, but she was only an advisor. Thus history was
made at the 35th Convention in Pittsburgh, PA, when Marie Osuch was
re-elected under the title of Vice President; she served until 1917 but
thereafter remained active in PRCUA until her death in 1949 at the age of
84.
Mrs. Osuch was a very
prominent member of the PRCUA. She organized three PRCUA Societies: Polish
Women’s Society of Mary #38 at St. Hedwig Parish in Chicago, Illinois; St.
Lucy Society at St. Hedwig Parish, and St. Sylvia Society at St. Constance
Parish.
She was a Delegate to many
Conventions and took a very active part in PRCUA affairs, even though she
was the wife of the Michael Osuch, one of the original supporters of the
Polish National Alliance (PNA) who became National President of the PNA in
1887. Mrs. Osuch also raised a family.
She was an active member of
various committees acting in the best interest of the PRCUA and Polish
nation. She urged Society #38 to financially assist St. Joseph Home for the
Aged in Chicago, IL. She went to numerous parishes encouraging their members
to became active in our fraternal organization and to assist Poland. She was
always ready for work, whenever she was called by the PRCUA administration,
believing that this was her duty and honor. In the book commemorating the
Silver Anniversary of the PRCUA in 1923, it is written of Mrs. Osuch: “PRCUA
was her life - any misfortune in the organization was due her own failure,
any success was due to her own success. For her work and commitment, she
deserves the highest respect.”
In April of 1915, Polish
American women representing the PRCUA addressed a Memorial to the Women’s
Peace Congress in Hague, Denmark, in which - on behalf of the 35,000 women
members of PRCUA - they demanded a free and independent Poland.
In 1917, Agnieszka
Klawiter-Osowska was elected Vice President, a position she held until 1922,
when Anna Jozwiakowska was elected Vice President for a three-year term. The
official name ‘Women’s Department’ was established during the 1925
Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, by Marta Zolinska, which also introduced
extensive reforms which gave the Department more independence. It was at
this Convention that the first full administration of the Women’s Department
was elected and it was decided that the PRCUA Vice-President would also be
the President of Women’s Department and the Directors would be among its
officers. Thus newly-elected Vice President Marta Zolinska became the first
President of Women’s Department. She remained in office until 1931. The
first Women’s Department meeting took place on June 21, 1926 at PRCUA
Headquarters. At the meeting, rules were made and officers were elected:
Marta Zolinska, President; Maria Osuch, V.P.; Waleria Gorska, Financial and
Corr. Secretary; and Anna Ostrowska, Treasurer.
On October 20, 1927, Vice
President Martha Zolinski with the Women’s Department organized a ball.
Proceeds were devoted to charity and from that fund the Women’s Department
prepared “food baskets” for poor Polish families for the Christmas of 1927.
Since then the Women’s Department has organized similar activities annually
to raise money for various charities, such as the Laski Institute.
At the 39th Convention in
1928 a new position of State Woman Vice-President was established for the
states of: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Ohio, and Michigan. Also, this
Convention established a Youth Department and a Sports Department. Since
then the Women’s Department devoted increased efforts to organizing youth
activities. In 1931, under the leadership of Vice President Klara
Palczynska-Donahue, the Women’s Department began to celebrate Mother’s Day
and Swiecone.
Because the PRCUA
headquarters is located in Chicago, up to this time all the National PRCUA
Lady Vice Presidents had been from Chicago. However, at the 41st Convention
in 1934 - held in Springfield, Massachusetts - Aleksandra
Bednarko-Politowska from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became the first
out-of-state Vice-President to be elected to the PRCUA’s administration.
During the mid-1930s, the
Women’s Department was quite involved in organizing Polish girl scouts (Cory
Zjednoczenia). At that time, the PRCUA sponsored large groups of Polish Boy
Scouts called Harcerstwa, as well as the Cory. The Women’s Department also
helped financially disabled Polish Army veterans, and prepared “food
baskets” for the poor at Christmas.
Between the years of
1934-1937 there were about 60,000 female members in PRCUA. At that time it
was suggested that branches of the Women’s Department should be established
in other states. In January of 1938 the first 3 branches were established in
Milwaukee, WI, Detroit, MI, and Buffalo, NY, by the State Women Directors.
At that time the Women’s Department started to celebrate the Oplatek on
regular basis and in 1935 Union Day (Dzien Zjednoczenia) was established.
Because the first PRCUA
banner was almost worn out, in 1936 the Women’s Department decided to fund
the new one, which was blessed at the Convention in 1937, held in
Wilkes-Barre, PA.
In 1938 the Women’s
Department, under the leadership of Vice President Antonina
Wlodarska-Czerniak, was very helpful in opening and later enlarging the
Polish Museum of America at PRCUA headquarters in Chicago and the Archives.
The Department also founded St. Bobola Chapel at Fr. Gieryk Youth Camp.
In 1939, the officers of
the PRCUA warmly welcomed the great Polish pianist and statesman, Ignacy
Paderewski, to the PRCUA, where he gave a fund-raising concert on March 19th
in Chicago.
Due to the German invasion
of Poland in 1939, on September 21, 1939, the Women’s Department adopted a
Resolution to help Poland’s citizens, especially women and children. On
November 28 the Women’s Department organized a dinner-dance which was
attended by 500 people. All proceeds went to a special fund to help Poles.
Also in 1939, the Connecticut and Massachusetts Women’s Departments were
opened.
Thanks to the PRCUA Women’s
Department, on March 3, 1940, in Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1,000 female members of
Kolo Polek Wzajemnej Pomocy merged with the PRCUA and a Central Pennsylvania
branch of the Women’s Department was opened.
In 1940, the Presidents of
the State Women’s Departments were: District I - State of Connecticut -
Zofia Zysk-Kline; District II - State of New York - Stefania Babula;
District III - State of Pennsylvania - Maria Jedynak; District IV - State of
New Jersey - Anna Maria Swistak; District V - State of Michigan - Szeslawa
Matkowska; and District VI - State of Wisconsin - Jadwiga Nowaczyk.
At the Women’s Division
Swieconka on March 27, 1940, the special guest speaker was General Joseph
Haller from Poland.
On July 23, 1942 Women’s
Division appealed to the women of the world to help women and children who
were being murdered in Poland by the Nazis. The women met and rolled
bandages and sent packages to Poland containing food, clothing, medical
supplies and first aid supplies. They worked side-by-side with the American
Red Cross. By 1943 the Women’s Department in Chicago had shipped about
15,000 parcels all over the world to help Polish war prisoners and refugees.
They also collected food, clothing, soap, and cash for the Polish refugees
and children around the world. Other branches of Women’s Department also
participated in the fund raisers to help Poland. In immitation of the Red
Cross, the Michigan Women’s Department introduced to its members uniforms:
white dresses, golden lined navy-blue capes with the PRCUA emblem and a navy
blue cap, also with the emblem, which were very popular during the war
years.
On December 17, 1942 PRCUA
Vice-President Antonina Czerniak together with Cory Zjednoczenia welcomed
Polish General Wladyslaw Sikorski, who visited Chicago to appraise Americans
of the situation in Poland.
The Women’s Department
helped actively with many other worthy causes. They donated money toward the
Paderewski Hospital erected in Great Britain, and in 1943, they gave $3,000
to Rev. Bonifacy Slawik to aid Polish orphans in India. Also, in 1943
Director Aniela Gorna became a Director of the Chicago Department of
American Red Cross and Director Stanislawa Wisniewska became President of
Ladies Auxiliary of Polish Welfare Association. In July of 1943,
Vice-President Antonina Wlodarska-Czerniak welcomed to Chicago the first
group of 706 Polish refuge orphans who came via Russia, through other
countries and Leon, Mexico.
The Women’s Department and
Youth Department were very active in the USO Club organized in 1942, which
helped American soldiers with food donations and entertainment and was
operating in Catholic Army Centers. Many young women members enlisted in the
Armed Services of the USA, including Director Jadwiga Nowarczyk of
Milwaukee, WI, who served our country in Europe as a WAC.
In 1947, Secretary General
Jan Niblibore passed away and, for the first time, a woman was elected to
the position of National Secretary General of the PRCUA to replace him: Miss
Maria Skoczylas. She was re-elected to that position again in 1950 and 1954.
The Women’s Department expressed their support of her nomination in a letter
to the Convention in 1950.
In 1947, thanks to
Vice-President Aniela Gorna, the Central School of Singing, Dance, Drama and
Culinary Arts for girls was established in Chicago. The PRCUA was very
involved in youth activities. Cory Zjednoczenia held scouting activities and
the PRCUA sponsored a summer camp for youths in Yorkville, Illinois.
In 1948, the number of
women Convention delegates almost equaled the number of men delegates. In
1949 the Women’s Department celebrated 50 years of voting rights for PRCUA
women. It began with a recruiting contest which brought 4,260 new members.
Cultural and educational program were developed, more dance, singing, art,
and literary groups were established in different parts of the country. Each
branch organized local festivities in honor of the 50th Anniversary. In
Chicago, a Holy Mass was celebrated at St. Hedwig Church. During the Golden
Jubilee year of the Women’s Department there were 6 women Supervisors and
68,734 female members of PRCUA.
The Women’s Department was
extremely active in the 1950s. Each year they continued to sponsor the
traditional Swiecone and Oplatek, as well as celebrations of Mother’s Day,
Union Day at the American Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, and numerous
trips to festivals and cultural events.
In 1954, Stanislawa
Wisniewski was elected PRCUA Vice President. She was very active in the
Polish Welfare Association, having served as both President and Vice
President and she was Secretary of the State Division of the Polish American
Congress. She had also served three terms on the Board of Directors of the
PRCUA before becoming one of its executive officers.
Stella M. Nowak was elected
to the position of Vice President in 1966 and served for three consecutive
terms of office, until 1978. Vice President Nowak was a staunch supporter of
PRCUA Sisters and Teachers Day, which honored the women involved in the
teaching profession, to whom students and society owed a debt of gratitude,
at a special annual luncheon sponsored by the PRCUA. When Mrs. Nowak
completed her last term as National Vice President, she was elected to the
office of National Treasurer from 1978 to 1982, thus becoming the first
woman Treasurer in the PRCUA.
Under the leadership of
Vice President Lorie Rose Gorny, the Women’s Department initiated ‘pinocle
tournaments’. Although they were reported as being very enjoyable, they were
short-lived. She also organized several dance and language schools and
arranged a Grand Recital at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater in which all PRCUA
dance school participated. V.P. Gorny also led an entourage to Kosciuszko,
Mississippi, for a national celebration held by the U.S. government honoring
General Thaddeus Kosciuszko. Her entire family were active PRCUA members.
Her father, Mr. Dudek, sponsored and managed a baseball team for PRCUA and
her grandmother, Mrs. Wilczynski, organized several PRCUA Societies.
Vice President Regina
Ocwieja was an enthusiastic organizer while serving the PRCUA, first as
Director of District #8 and later as Vice President for two terms from 1982
to 1990. She founded the PRCUA Cinderella - Prince Charming Ball in 1972,
sponsored by the Adult Culture Group. She is also the founder of the
Coalition of Polish American Women in Chicago, which meets monthly and
presents a forum where Polish American women can invite political candidates
running for office to express their point of view and their stand on various
issues at the local, state and national level.
She was succeeded by Vice
President Dolores Spejewski of Munster, Indiana, who has served as Resident
Vice President of the PRCUA since 1990 and is in the fourth year of her
second term of office. During the time Mrs. Spejewski has been in office,
she has taken upon herself the great responsibility of directing the entire
Fraternal Department, which means the Sports Department, as well as the
Dance and Language Schools.
The sports programs in
PRCUA began with a bowling tournament in 1937 and has branched out into
annual tournaments in bowling, golf, basketball, and softball. John Czech
served as Sports Director from 1934 to 1942 and Vincent Versen was Sports
Director from 1942 to 1959. In 1951, Stella Walsh, a member of PRCUA, was
named the Greatest Polish American athlete, for her stunning track victories
in Canada, where she won the 60 yard International Open Sprint in just 7.2
seconds, plus her triumph at the Polish Athletic Games staged by the Polish
Falcons and finally her National AAU Pentathlon victory in New York, which
established her supremacy in the feminine world of sports. She also played
in the PRCUA basketball tourney that year and her team won. Joseph C.
Osmanski took over that position from 1959 to 1988 and Russ Duszak was
Sports Director from 1988 to 1992. In 1992, Vice President Spejewski assumed
the duties and responsibilities which the previous Sports Directors had
performed.
Our members who are sports
enthusiasts are pleased with the way she is handling the job as is attested
to by the large number of participants in the annual sports tournaments. She
appoints the Director of each tournament and works closely with the hosting
Society(ies) to ensure every detail is just right. Today, the PRCUA sponsors
28 Polish dance and language schools in 4 states, which are coordinated V.P.
Spejewski, who is known for her excellent record-keeping. She has
demonstrated that the days of the Lady Vice President coordinating only the
schools and PRCUA social events are gone forever. She is a valuable asset at
the PRCUA, both as the key administrator of the Fraternal Department and as
an integral part of the team of executive officers who keep our fraternal
organization growing and advancing far into its second century of success.
During all these years, the
participation of women in the activities of the PRCUA has been reported in
PRCUA publications. When women became more active, a need for a separate
column in the newspaper, dedicated to their work, became necessary. First,
in 1903, Editor Karol Wachtel introduced such a section in Narod Polski. It
was printed on an irregular basis under different heading: “Dzial Naszych
Polek”, “Dzial Polek Zjednoczenek”, “Dzial dla Polek”. When PRCUA started
publishing Dziennik Zjednoczenia a Women’s section was printed in that
newspaper, as well as in regularly in Narod Polski. For years, the women’s
column was edited by a male editor. Since 1913, at several Conventions,
women proposed that the women’s column in the PRCUA publications should be
edited by a woman, however the proposal was not approved until 1935, when
Editor-in-Chief F. S. Barc employed Zofia Zebrowska as editor for women’s
column.
From time to time women
have written columns in Narod Polski. Of particular note was the Sabina’s
See-Saw column written by Sabina Logisz, who is still employed as a
librarian at the Polish Museum of America’s Library. The column covered
cultural events and offered commentaries about various situations and events
in the Polish American community. It also included a “Bag of Tales” section
where she reported on the personal events which occurred in various PRCUA
members’ lives. Miss Logisz’s biography was included in the 6th edition of
The World’s Who Who of Women in 1980.
In 1989, another historic
moment in the annals of PRCUA history was made when Kathryn G. Rosypal was
appointed as the first female Executive Editor of Narod Polski newspaper.
Today, this semi-monthly fraternal newspaper is completely written,
type-set, produced and edited by an all-women staff consisting of Executive
Editor Kathryn Rosypal, who writes the English Section and Managing Editor
Lidia Kowalewicz, who writes the Polish Section.
The PRCUA is the mother of
all other Polish American fraternals. Not only is our fraternal the oldest
Polish Roman Catholic fraternal in the US, but we have consistently been the
“pace-setting fraternal in Polonia” The PRCUA is proud to have had the
distinct privilege and pleasure of being the first Polish fraternal to grant
equal rights to women. Although granting equal rights to women was a
controversial issue in 1897, the leadership of the PRCUA had the courage and
foresight to see that only good could come from such a Christian-based,
American ideal - men and women equal in the sight of God and equal in the
mind of mankind.
Throughout PRCUA’s history,
women have assumed more and greater positions of responsibility and
authority. Our fraternal organization has grown and endured largely because
of the active roles taken by women through a century of progress.
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