Newsletter of the Polish Cultural Council • Vol. 12 • Winter/Spring 2014 If you have never been to the PCC’s work of the PCC Ostatki Committee is Ostatki (Mardi Gras) party, you don’t know nothing short of remarkable. Most of the what you’re missing! There is great food, volunteers who are working on the food for great music, and plenty of chances to this party are from Poland. They dance. The members of prepare their families’ the PCC have been Message from the President recipes. holding this party Ostatki has also annually for almost ten years. become an important fundrais- It seems to get better with age. The setting ing event for the PCC, whose mission I has always been critical to the success of remind you, is to promote the best in Polish the party, but when you add in Polish vodka, Culture for audiences of western the amazing Polish culinary table, the music, Pennsylvania. So, if you want to do some- the dancing, paczki of course, well, it’s a thing for Polish Culture and celebrate Mardi party you really don’t want to miss. Gras/Ostatki, in the Polish style, I’ll see you This is our 5th year holding Ostatki at the 7 PM Saturday, March 1st, at the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Center for the Arts on Fifth Center for the Arts. I’ll be the one who Avenue in Pittsburgh. This year’s theme, hands you your welcoming drink of “Anything Goes”, has been in the planning Zubrowka (Bison Vodka) and stages for over six months. Ostatki promises sok jablkowy (apple juice) on ice. to be loads of fun, with many surprises. The — Rick Pierchalski Pictured at Polish Day 2013 from left Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Miss Polonia 2012 Emily Herold, and Miss Polonia 2013 Maura Saxon. Please see the article on page 3. 2014 Board of Directors OFFICERS: Rick Pierchalski, PRESIDENT Merle Addams, PRESIDENT EmERITuS Joseph Kaminski, VIcE PRESIDENT Evanne Addams, TREaSuRER Terri Barger (Kaminski), SEcRETaRy MEMBERS: On the last Saturday of the Carnival, immerse yourself in the ambiance of the art gallery, live John Adamczyk, Esq. entertainment and dancing. Join us for the specialties of the Polish Culinary Table, tempting John Bartus drinks and vodka tasting. Don’t miss the exciting and unique raffle items! James Clark Live music by the Continental Dukes! Dancing to the sizzling rhythms of Zumba; Anything Lorene Drake Vinski Goes “selfies” in the Costume Booth. Mary Louise Ellena Patrycja Jaworska-Garrett Timothy Kuzma Saturday, March 1, 2014 • 7:00 - 11:00 pm David J. Motak Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, The Marshall Building Galleries Eva Tumiel-Kozak 6300 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 • Parking on the premises Andrzej Wojcieszynski Marysia Zioncheck $75 PCC Members $85 Non-members • RSVP by Friday, February 21, 2014 For more information call 412.871.3347 or email: [email protected] Hon. Edward Borkowski Informal evening attire. Masks and costumes welcomed! Irene Jakubowski HONORaRy BOaRD mEmBERS Invitation available online at PolishCulturalCouncil.org Maria Staszkiewicz ExEcuTIVE DIREcTOR Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown For the first time in memory, a His family owned and operated a very Polish American threw his hat into the well-known Polish restaurant in the Polish ring for the democrat nomination for neighborhood near Fullerton and Pulaski. Governor of Pennsylvania. Ed The restaurant, “Jakes, Little Bit of Pawlowski, the mayor of Allentown, Poland” was a Chicago fixture for 25 quickly realized that the governor’s years. Ed and his family lived in an apart- race required monetary commitments ment above the restaurant. When Ed was beyond his current capabilities. He was a young boy, he started working in the the first candidate to withdraw. Other family restaurant. He continued to work candidates for nomination have put there until his parents sold the restaurant millions of their own dollars into the when he was in high school. Both parents race. Unfortunately, Ed, who has been were Polish. In his iPhone, Ed proudly an honest public servant his whole car- carries a picture of himself as a six year rier, simply could not match the old, wearing a Gorale vest. money. I had an opportunity to meet Ed has always been interested in poli- tics. After getting a Masters in Public Policy, he took the position of Executive Mayor Ed Pawlowski at his desk in Allentown. Director of the Lehigh Housing Development Corporation in Allentown has a $1 billion liability and is funded at PA, in 1996. Under his leadership, the only 61%. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, non-profit corporation expanded to six Sept., 2013) surrounding counties. It is now known as In addition, during Ed’s tenure as the Alliance for Building Communities. mayor, he created a “Neighborhood His success eventually led him to become Improvement Zone” that has forever the Director of Community Development changed Allentown’s downtown. His pro- in Allentown. In 2006, after repeated gram pumped more than $1billion dollars requests by the community to run for into private/public partnerships. Mayor, Ed became Mayor of Allentown, a Downtown Allentown now showcases a position he holds today. new stadium, as well as new office and When Ed took over the reins of apartment buildings. When he took office, Allentown’s government, the city was on the city was running an $8 million dollar Ed Pawlowski stands with his father. the brink of bankruptcy. Because of his annual deficit. Today, it enjoys balanced executive experience as the chief of budgets. Ed recently in Pittsburgh, as he was Alliance for Building Communities, Ed Ed is only 48 years old, but he has a looking for support from his fellow put together a team of professionals who strong list of accomplishments. As a politi- Polish Americans. I found him to be analyzed the problems that Allentown cal candidate, Ed is more of a traditional an ordinary man who has accom- faced and created a step-by-step process Democrat on social issues, and a fiscal plished extraordinary gains for his city. addressing each issue. conservative when it comes to our tax dol- Ed was born and bred in Chicago. As mayor, Ed has had two commend- lars. Whatever job or office Ed holds in able successes in Allentown: he rescued the future, his strong message of reliability the municipal pension fund; and he creat- and consistency will make him an attrac- Polish Journey is a publication of the Polish ed a booming economy. (Other communi- tive candidate to future voters. Cultural Council, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organiza- ties could learn a lot from his accomplish- As Polish Americans, our voting tion. Please address your correspondence to: ments.) When he took over the pension records are among the highest of any of Polish Cultural Council, P.O. Box 81054, fund in 2006, it was only 52% funded. the ethnic groups. According to statistics Pittsburgh, PA 15217-0554, tel: 412.871.3347 Six years later it was fully funded. I, as compiled by the Polish American Rick Pierchalski, President; someone in the financial world, can say Congress, there are over 850,000 Maria Staszkiewicz, Executive Director, that the rescue of the pension fund was a Pennsylvanians of Polish ancestry. [email protected]; Eva Tumiel-Kozak, Editor-in-Chief; remarkable achievement. Ed did this by A future governor needs only about Veronica Wojnarowski, Charlotte Murray, leasing the water authority to a private 2,000,000 votes to win. Maybe one day Maria Staszkiewicz, Editors; enterprise. (That actually lowered water we’ll have the opportunity to vote for Ed, Kasia Goszcz-Bruniany, Graphic Artist; rates.) This lease arrangement brought should he again consider running for a Mary Seamans, Graphic Design; more than enough income to fully fund state-wide political office. visit us @ www.PolishCulturalCouncil.org the pension plan. Contrast that with the City of Pittsburgh, whose pension plan — Rick Pierchalski 2 Polish Journey • Winter/Spring 2014 How to Combat Winter in Pittsburgh: Dream of Polish Day! by mary Louise Ellena Polish Falcons; and Joseph The program began at 2 Pm with a Kaminski, Vice-President of Pcc. performance by the Lajkoniki Polar vortex! a –27° F wind chill! Dancers, directed by Frank Pociask Snow! Ice! Freezing rain! It’s winter co-chaired by Evanne addams and and sponsored by the Holy Family in Pittsburgh! James clark, the event featured the Polish National catholic church of famous Polish Kitchen, chaired by mcKeesport. a concelebrated mass It would be so nice to escape, to hop Brother Tom Hartman and Victor followed with Rev. Joseph a plane to Florida, or to take a cruise Bastecki. The Kitchen served an Swierczynski and the Roman to Puerto Rico. For most of us, how- array of traditional Polish gastronom- catholic Polish-american Priests. ever, the best we can do is dream of ical delights: golabki, pierogi, cucum- Polish Hymns were lead by the Summer, of august, of Polish Day at bers and sour cream, haluski, and Karuzela chorus, directed by Dr. Kennywood Park! kielbasa with sauerkraut. Father miro Neil Stahurski, with Debbie Stelmaszczyk, with his famous pota- Frauenholz providing violin accom- The 82nd annual Polish american to pancakes and dill pickles, comple- paniment, as well as serving as the Day at Kennywood, on august 6, mented the kitchen fare. stage manager. 2013, was perfect in every sense of Spearheaded by Ernestine Jeroski, the word, including comfortable and assisted by Betty and Dorothy Following mass, The most Reverend weather. most of all, it featured our Kolano and mary Lou Ellena, the canon Joseph Sredzinski offered the special honorary Guest, the promi- annual bake sale was the best ever, Invocation followed by margaret nent allegheny county Executive, with home made nut rolls, Polish Gowaty, who sang the Polish and Rich Fitzgerald, introduced by Polish pastries, paczki, and chrusciki, american National anthems.