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Posts by Turbowicz  

Joined: 17 Jun 2012 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 12 Jun 2020
Threads: 4
Posts: 13 		From: The OC, SoCal, USA
Speaks Polish?: Tak
Interests: Architectural history and archeology of Polska

Displayed posts: 17
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Turbowicz   
12 Jun 2020
Work / Hands-on agricultural jobs in Poland? [20]

Do what you love; the money will follow. Ag is marvelous and important as it feeds humanity though not without risk. I remember babcia and dziadzia's worries when rain didn't fall. As long as you're open-minded and flexible, even if you start at the business end of a shovel, you'll soon see higher-valued opportunities. ‎Löb Strauß (Levi Strauss) in San Francisco was shrewd enough to avoid risky gold mining in the 1850s and saw the demand for denim clothing. If you're handy with tools, you can grow into farm-equipment maintenance that is more high-tech than ever, what with electronic diagnostic systems. Consider the whole food supply chain: Starts with the farmer and ends at our meal table. Governments support ag in almost every nation. Maybe there's a job for you helping farmers, from crop or livestock management, to insurance, to land sales, to farm construction, to shipping of crops and livestock, to produce brokerage-the list is long. The keys are passion and persistence. Szczęśliwej podróży!
Turbowicz   
12 Jun 2020
Genealogy / Seeking a copy of Na Rubieży, issue 11, 1995 [3]

I'm looking for an article by W. Marmucki about the slaughter of Polacy in the village of Medwedówka, gmina Ludwipol, powiat Kostopolski, Our babcia, Janina Bagińska-Polewska, daughter of Stanisława Sokołowska and Hilary Bagiński, was born there in 1906 (died 1996 in Windsor, Ontario).

I found this text in an article about Medwedówka (now Vedmedivka, Ведмедівка): We wrześniu 1943 r. upowcy zamordowali blisko 60 polskich mieszkańców. Jedną z nielicznych uratowanych osób była kilkunastoletnia Polka, mówiąca biegle po ukraińsku. Napastnicy prowadzili ją ze sobą, ponieważ nie byli pewni, czy jest to dziecko ukraińskie, czy polskie. Miejscowa Ukrainka, która znała dziecko, podbiegła do nich z krzykiem i wyrwała dziewczynkę: "»To mało wam krwi Lachów i jeszcze chcecie zabić ukraińskie dziecko!«. Ten jej gwałtowny gest uratował życie dziewczynki. Po wojnie dziewczynka wyjechała na zachód do Polski i zamieszkała na Dolnym Śląsku w Bielawie.

There were many Bagińscy in other villages in that area west of Ludwipol, so many that, despite the common surname, they probably didn't all know all each other. But that's for another post. Babcia's sister, Wiktoria, also emigrated to the Windsor area, and her brother Witalis was a member of Armia Polska and we believe that he was killed in action. But we don't know what happened to the remaining Bagińscy.

If you wish to know more, there's a Wikipedia article about the murders of Polacy in powiat Kostopolski, and, based on the research of Ewa Siemaszko and her father, the number killed in Medwedówka is higher than noted in the Marmucki article. Translate with Google (if necessary) and scroll down:

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbrodnie_nacjonalist%C3%B3w_ukrai%C5%84skich_w_powiecie_kostopolskim

Dzięki. If you want to know more, please ask.
Turbowicz   
2 Sep 2017
History / National Service (Conscription) in Poland during 1938-1968 period [3]

Merged:

Conscription in Russian Poland before Druga Rzeczpospolita (Second Polish Republic)



Cześć Wszyscy. Our dziadzia emigrated from Wiślica to the US in 1913 when he was 17. He returned only once, after WWI as a member of Haller's Army with which he remained after Cud Nad Wisłą and the end of the Polish-Bolshevik War. Wiślica is still small; prior to WWII with the local Jewish population I believe that maybe 2000 people lived in the area and unemployment was high. I read recently that at the end of the 19th century, many young men, as young as 17, emigrated from Galicia because of conscription into the Austro-Hungarian military. This Wikipedia page suggests that Russia conscripted men who were older, beginning at age 21: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_Russian_Empire

Never thought to ask our dziadek but might he have decided to emigrate to the US to avoid conscription as well as a lack of career opportunities?

Dzięki.

APB.
P.S. Wislica.org is a new site with marvelous photos taken in 1915: wislica.org/archiwum-austryjackie/
Turbowicz   
24 Jul 2014
Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [154]

Merged: Zamki kresowe Rzeczypospolitej programs on YouTube

This video series, presented by art historian prof. Stanisław Nicieja, were produced by TVP3 Rzeszów. Very interesting, though sadly, content is low-def at 240p.

I visited Olesko in 2005 when travelling from Lwów to Równe on my way to osada Hallerowo, where our maternal grandparents lived until 10 February 1940.

Here's the program about Olesko and Podhorce, At the time, I wasn't aware that Podhorce was only 10 km away. Woulda gone there as well. Only a small part of the interior of Olesko was open when we stopped there, but the church across the highway was open. There was a small apple orchard near the church and several Ukrainian women were selling bruised and rotting apples that they had collected under the trees. We just gave them money and didn't take the apples.

youtu.be/5OTb03QXi18

About prof. Nicieja: wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Nicieja

Slawomir Stanislaw Nicieja (b. October 4, 1948 in Strzegom) - Polish historian and art historian of XIX and XX century, a professor of humanities, rector of the University of Opole, Senator the Fifth Term.

Cześć od Andrzej.
Turbowicz   
28 Apr 2014
Travel / Excellent series of free ebooks about several cities in Polska [4]

From the In Your Pocket ("Is that a guidebook in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" [Apologies to the late Mae West, from She Done Him Wrong, 1933]) city-guide series, along with interesting short articles about people and places: inyourpocket.com/static/downloads.html

Cześć.
Turbowicz   
28 Apr 2014
News / Polish Pope, John Paul II has been canonized today [with John 23rd] [85]

JPII was undoubtedly a very charismatic guy. I stood on the stage as a singer at the Mass that JPII said in Ottawa, during his tour of Canada back in 1984. As we were singing the recessional piece at the end of the Mass, he removed the vestments, turned toward us with a big grin and while walking toward us, waved his arms like a conductor. Soon many of the 400,000 attendees were shouting, "Vive le pape!" See attached photo of the venue at Lebreton Flats, just west of downtown.

Found another photo of JPII visiting Wiślica in 1966, the village in which our dziadek was born in 1896.

Cześć.





Turbowicz   
15 Apr 2014
Language / Grammar of traditional birthday song "Sto Lat" [13]

I agree that "For (S)He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is similar in that respect, but to me that's merely a coincidence, whereas "Happy birthday to you" is obviously directed at the celebrant. I suspect that there's a grammatical rule that I don't understand about Sto Lat and "niech żyje nam." Can anyone explain? Dzięki.
Turbowicz   
15 Apr 2014
Genealogy / Anyone know the name Neugewirtz? [15]

Yes, it's possible that they changed their surname upon entry to the USA, or at some point in the years after. Some of my father's Neugewirtz ancestors in the London area before WWII changed their surname to Newman, and converted to Church of England. Here's an interesting article from the USCIS that shows how good many immigration inspectors were at writing names. I was impressed to read that many inspectors spoke three languages:

uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/genealogy-notebook/immigrant-name-changes

I can ask my father if he knows of Karol. There were several Neugewirtz families living in Czulice near Krakow before WWI, and Karol might have moved with his family to Kraków proper. Do you know how they were able to survive the Holocaust? Where did you get your information?
Turbowicz   
15 Apr 2014
Language / Grammar of traditional birthday song "Sto Lat" [13]

Hej--jak leci?

Tomorrow is Mamusia's 86th birthday, and was thinking about the traditional Sto Lat. Just noticed after all these years that "niech żyje nam" is actually third-person singular, according to prof. Oscar Swan's terrific online dictionary: polish.slavic.pitt.edu/polish/

So it seems that the person being recognized with a rousing Sto Lat isn't receiving the good wishes directly. It's as if they're in the room, but the singers are addressing each other instead. I feel like I'm missing a cultural subtlety here. So why "niech żyje nam" instead of "niech żyjesz nam"?

Serdeczne pozdrawiam.

Andrzej in The OC.
Turbowicz   
16 Oct 2012
History / The memory about the Invasion of Poland 1939 - today's events [20]

[Moved from]: BBC Radio archives: Hear the news of 1 September 1939

BBC reports about Hitler's 16-point proposal to "resolve" the Polish "Question," the commencement of the invasion, and the memories of William Forrest, a British newspaper reporter based in Warszawa. Nothing like hearing the radio broadcasts of the day:

bbc.co.uk/archive/keywords/53/2.shtml
Turbowicz   
1 Oct 2012
Language / Need help spelling a Polish word (Mosiek?) [5]

I recommend Prof. Swan's online PL<->EN dictionary at the University of Pittsburgh. It's outstanding:

Several powerful search features are available even if you don't know how to spell a word correctly.

Seems that Mosiek is to Jewish men as "Paddy" is to Irish. Paddy, derived from Patrick, became a rather derisive label for male Irish immigrants in the era before equal-opportunity labor laws came into existence. For example, my dziadzia told a story of looking for a job in Chicago before WWI, and hearing that a restaurant was hiring dishwashers, went to the restaurant to apply in person. The manager, hearing Franek's accented English, chased him away, shouting, "Didn't ya see the sign in the window, polack?" The sign read, "Dishwasher wanted. No Negroes, Irish, or Polish need apply."

"Mosiek" is derived from Moshe, from Hebrew as written in English, or mojżesz. It wasn't uncommon for Jewish men to call themselves Mosiek. My mother said that more sophisticated Polish speakers referred to wyznania mojżeszowego, rather than "żydzi."

HTH.
Turbowicz   
7 Jul 2012
USA, Canada / What's Kowalski (Hamtramck, MI) kielbasa like? [18]

I remember Kowalski's when we used to visit ciocia and wujek in Hamtramck, but don't recall that we ever purchased anything there. However, I see that Kowalski's is still in business, and they sell via their website. They also provide a few recipes that look appealing: kowality.com

Anybody familiar with Kowalski's products?

And everything that you'd wanna know about wędliny is here; a terrific website: wedlinydomowe.com
Turbowicz   
22 Jun 2012
Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]

On a global scale, Polska is relatively wealthy, compared to, say, Eritrea, where the per-worker annual income is $640, and inflation is 14%. When I traveled to Polska and Ukraina in 2005, annual per-capita GDP in U$ was just over $8K, according to the Dept. of State. Now it's $13.6K, and inflation is 4.2%, and the GNP is expanding at about the same rate.

My friends in Warszawa observe that there are now twice as many cars as there were when Polska joined the EU in 2004. But housing is expensive, especially compared to N. America, though not surprising, given N. America's relatively low population density. I looked at a new housing tract near Lublin in 2005, and the homes were >400K pln, equivalent to about U$100K at the time. So if a couple with an annual joint income of 100K pln wanted to buy in that tract, it'd be a bit of a squeeze to cover the mortgage, especially if they had coupla kids.

When our dziadek was a farmer in the Kresy wschodnie east of Równe after WWI, they had no electricity or running water, and used oil lamps at nite. Many people who I know wouldn't camp the way that my mother's family lived. But my mother says that they never lacked for anything, and she remembers that everybody was happy until, of course, WWII started.

So, Polska isn't a poor country, and it's economy is growing even while it's population isn't.

HTH.

Andrzej in The OC.
Turbowicz   
18 Jun 2012
Genealogy / Anyone know the name Neugewirtz? [15]

Hi, LadyVerney,

I wonder if we're related. My paternal grandmother was Rosina Neugewirtz, born in Czulice, which is about 18 km northeast of Kraków (or Krakau in German when Kraków was in Galicja, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire prior to 1918), sometime in the late 1890s. She died of an aneurism in London in 1930 when my father was just a toddler.

I can ask my father because, thankfully, he's enthusiastic about genealogical information, and he has many names in his ancestral database. And the name Immerglück also sounds familiar from my discussions with my father.

If you're still looking, lemme know.

Best regards.

Andrzej in The OC.

Hi again, LadyVerney; I'll send you a private message as you're probably not following this thread any longer. I'm eager know if we're related, and my father (almost 85 years-old) would also be interested.

Andrzej in The OC, SoCal.