UK, Ireland / Polish people in the UK using the English version of their name? [56]

I had the pleasure of meeting my Lemko cousin Irena earlier this year. I have no problem pronouncing her name properly, but some people do (including my wife who just can't trill her "r"s). I was a bit miffed when she introduced herself to some of my siblings as Irene. I quickly squashed that and taught them how to pronounce her name the way her parents do. On the other hand I knew it was fruitless to try to teach them how to say her father's name (Wladyslaw), so I just let them call him Walter. You gotta pick your battles.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


Wow. Where do you get all this information? Thanks a lot for answering my questions so thoroughly.
I think most people who were named Hryckanycz changed it to some other spelling - especially those who emigrated. Just about all hits I get when I google that name are postings I've put on the Internet looking for people with that name. So I'm not totally surprised to be informed that it's not used in Poland any longer.

Fortunately for me my efforts bore fruit earlier this year when first cousins to my father (named Dancz and Truchan) found me through a genealogist friend of mine. As luck would have it, they live only 15 minutes away from me. Incredible. Now we are a close family and enjoying one another's company on a regular basis. They are teaching me our native Lemko language and I am helping them to learn English. It's great to have those stary kraju connections.

Thanks again, and happy new year!

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


So would the name mean "buckwheat-night"? Or something else? Or is it just somewhat connected to the word "buckwheat"?


Do you mean that there is nobody named Hryckanycz in Poland?

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

OK, here are a few last name questions that I'd like to know about. My grandmother was raised in Wysowa / Blechnarka, near the border with Slovakia. Going up the genealocical line in the family, the oldest records we have of anyone with her last name (Hryckanycz) is a woman who is married to a man with the last name "Kocur" (but their children are named Hryckanycz). So - is there any kind of a relation between the names Kocur and Hryckanycz? Should we assume that the woman's children were from a previous marriage to a (probably deceased) man named Hryckanycz (a common practice)? Would there be any other reason for the children to have the mother's last name instead of the father's? And, lastly, is there a meaning for the name Hryckanycz? (I know that Kocur means "tomcat"). How about the names Truchan and Dancz (these are both in my family)? Diakuju.

Food / Fermented Oatmeal Soup from Poland - Recipe? [67]


That's just so great... I love these recipes. Thanks for contributing to this thread. Szczeslyoho nowoho roku!

Love / Can't get over "the Polish experience" [21]



Thank you.

Love / Can't get over "the Polish experience" [21]


What's this? I'm an American, so this is news to me.

Food / What is your favorite Polish Vodka? [653]

OK, since we're on the subject of Polish vodka.
I just saw my first ad for an imported Polish vodka called Ultimat. The ad claims that it's the best because it's brewed from potatoes and grain, as opposed to from one or the other. Have you heard of or tried this vodka? Is there really a difference between vodka made from potatoes, from grain, or from a combination? Which do you prefer? Why?

Thanks.

Food / Fermented Oatmeal Soup from Poland - Recipe? [67]


Are you sure you're Ukrainian? Is it possible that you are descended from Carpatho-Rusyns who identify themselves as "Ukrainian" because it's simpler than explaining what Rusyns are? I thought I was Ukrainian until I discovered the truth 6 years ago.

Thanks for the recipe and the sharing of your memories around this soup. Sorry about your baba.

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [222]


You are not alone. It was odd for me because I thought that my connection to my homeland came through my grandfather, who grew up in Wola Cieklinska. We visited there on the third day of our trip and I was disappointed that I did not have a more visceral reaction to the place. I could tell that it was the same for my father. Several days later we drove through the Beskidy's, seeing Lemko villages on our way to Wysowa, where I felt something serious happening. The next day friends brought us into the neighboring village of Blechnarka, where my grandmother's house had truly stood. Boom. I was home. I mentioned this to my friend - the whole story. An hour later we met an elderly woman who told me I looked just like my mother's nephew. Not an hour after I'd had this epiphany - it was confirmed. So be careful of pre-conceived notions. My connection to Lemkovyna ran directly from my baba through my tato to me. By the way - we soon discovered that the woman was a distant relative of my father's. A few months later I also discovered that her son is married to my father's first cousin and her daughter lives very nearby to me. So as a result of this trip I am connected to close Lemko relatives. It's like a friend of mine said when I first discovered where we were from - "you gotta go there."

Genealogy / Where are the Lemkos now? Do they still exist in Poland? [32]

Great post, USLemko - diakuju.


That is true for the Lemkos who still live in Poland. However, there are much larger Lemko populations in Ukraine, Slovakia, US and Canada these days. So if you're looking for descendants of Lemkos, be prepared to cast a wide net.


There is another skansen where one can view traditional Lemko homes and out-buildings in Nowy Sacz.


I attended that vatra last summer - it was much more Ukrainian than Lemko, but it was a great event nonetheless. True Lemkos just need to be tolerant of the political bs.


C'mon - tell the story! Tell the story!

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [222]


Ditto. I was there in July 2008 for the same reason - visiting my father's parents' home villages of Wola Cieklinkska (20 minutes east of Gorlice) and Wysowa/Blechnarka (on the border with Slovakia). We had nothing but clouds flying in to Warsaw, but as we approached Krakow I started seeing the land as depicted in works by Lemko artists and it was unlike anything else I'd experienced in my entire life. When I finally arrived in my baba's home village I felt like I was finally at home. I can't explain it and don't care if anyone else understands it - I know what I felt.

Genealogy / Polish Gypsy Roots & Roma ancestors in their families [206]


So true. I was speaking with a friend the other day who had just picked up and started reading James Michener's novel "Poland." He said he had to put it down after a few chapters because each one described another era, another invasion, another round of raping, pillaging and murdering his Polish ancestors. It was just too depressing for him. It really make you think, though. I'm a 2nd-generation American who is of Carpatho-Rusyn, German and French-Canadian ancestry. But peak behind the curtains and who knows what kind of blood truly flows through my veins? Mongol? Nordic? African? Peel away a few layers of skin and we're all exactly the same underneath. We are all brothers and sisters. I hope we someday learn to act like it.

Genealogy / Zelem family - Southeast poland [73]


Not necessarily Jewish. Possibly Rusyn (Lemko or Boyko) - hundreds of these families were relocated to these territories during Akcja Wisla in 1947.

Food / Bigos Recipe [151]


I've NEVER heard of anyone doing this before. Amazing. How the heck do I get to be this age and not know something like this? It's so simple - and such a great idea. Diakuju.

Food / Bigos Recipe [151]


That DOES sound good!
Another idea - instead of rinsing away all the vitamins, why not let the water evaporate with some pre-cooking of the sauerkraut? If you need to you can then add more water and let THAT evaporate as well? Just a thought.

Genealogy / The surname Celinski and resources for Galician roots [17]


Welcome to the Rusyn community!
If you'd like recommendations for the 3 genealogists I know who may be able to help you with your research, let me know. One is Polish, one is Rusyn, and one is American.

Celinski is not a far cry from the name of my grandfather's home village, Wola Cieklinska.

USA, Canada / American Polonia. Wisconsin - the most Polish state? [112]


Beer, mushrooms, and ???? What's that last one?

Genealogy / Zelem family - Southeast poland [73]

wozzy - we never heard about your trip. How about telling us about it?

Genealogy / Polish Gypsy Roots & Roma ancestors in their families [206]


Would you share those websites with us?

Genealogy / Zelem family - Southeast poland [73]


Me, too. And I was there last year! Let me know what villages you'll be visiting - we can compare notes.

Genealogy / Zelem family - Southeast poland [73]

wozzy

I highly recommend you contact these people before you travel to the Gorlice district: lemkotour.com

Tell them their American Lemko friend Shtefan sent you. If you do not receive a prompt response, give it a few days - they are not on their computer each day.

They live in Gorlice and are thoroughly immersed in the Rusyn culture in southeast Poland. Through them you will learn more than you can imagine right now. Enjoy the adventure. I sure did. And it continues to this day.

Rakky

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


Here's another option - you are of Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry. The above reference is at best an over-simplification and at worst an outright attempt to deceive. Many (if not most) "Ruthenians"were actually Carpatho-Rusyns. For much more on the topic, see lemko.org

Life / Some People in Poland Drink Ether? [11]


and highly entertaining!

Life / Some People in Poland Drink Ether? [11]


That might shed some light on it, as the people with whom I've been discussing this are Rusyn Lemkos - many of whom were shipped to Silesia in 1947 as a result of Akcja Wisla. These folks are descended from Lemkos who were able to return to their ancestral homeland in 1957 and live there still (well, some of them, anyway).

I found a couple interesting tidbits on the Web:

"The attraction with ether was that it allowed drinkers to get drunk much quicker than with whiskey and its effects wore off fairly rapidly, thereby allowing them to get drunk several times within the one day. It was also much cheaper than whiskey."

"The effects of ether were like those of alcohol, but the drinker passed through the stages of intoxication to insensibility much more quickly. He also sobered up after only a few minutes with no hangover. One problem with drinking ether was that it turns into a gas at body temperature. To get around this, the usual technique was to drink a glass of cold water followed by a shot of ether. The water cooled the mouth and throat sufficiently to get the ether into the stomach in liquid form. A frequent side effect was violent belching of flammable gas. Since houses were lit by naked flames, ether drinkers sometimes set themselves and others alight."

Food / Fermented Oatmeal Soup from Poland - Recipe? [67]

Wow - this is interesting.


What happens to the oatmeal, and whatever else is left in the sieve?


Sorry to be so dense, but I'm American - what can I say? What's a "dag?' What might that translate to in our outdated system here?

Thanks!

Food / Fermented Oatmeal Soup from Poland - Recipe? [67]

Thanks, Piorun,
I have a few questions on this:


What is this? Is it the equivalent of yeast?


When you strain it, do you save the water you've strained? Do you save the solids? Is this the "starter" you later refer to?

I seem to recall my father's description of this soup containing potatoes - does anyone have anything to say about that?
Thanks again!
Rakky

Food / Fermented Oatmeal Soup from Poland - Recipe? [67]


It sure sounds like it. Do you have a recipe that you can share?

Love / Do Polish Women age well? [153]


Let's not forget that these are also HER kids, clothes, food and household, so it's not just the man who benefits from the labor of the woman.

I get your point, but it's a bit harsh on males. We're not all pûrn-watching youth-chasing leches. We can't help that we're genetically programmed to be compelled to impregnate as many women as we can, and therefore attracted to young and fertile ones. However, we've also evolved to be respectful and honoring of our partners, so many of us mate for life and love our wives through thick and thin. I'm honest enough to admit when I appreciate and am even excited by a younger woman, but I'd never for a minute considering leaving or even cheating on my wife for one of them. She knows this, which makes everything much more relaxed and fun for us as we grow older.