F 395 .P7 P3 1990 TGuide The Heart of Polish Texans ] ] A Teacher's Guide J by Barbara Evans Stanush ,~~ :~#.. :!~ .. .,- '.' :~~"- .,' ] J ] ] ] ] ] ] The Heart of Polish Texans ] ] ] A Teacher's Guide ] by Barbara Evans Stanush ] ] J ] """1 ] ] j J J ©1991, The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio 801 S. Bowie St., P.O. Box 1226 San Antonio, Texas 78294 John R. McGiffert, Executive Director International Standard Book Number 0-86701-0SS-X ] ] ] ] J ] ] ] ] ] ] ] J ] ] ] j Altar of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Panna Maria r .l- .. iI •II -----Table of Contents----- Purpose ............................................................................. 1 A Summary .................................................................... .... 2 Instructions for Use ... .......................................................... 4 Pre-Viewing Activities ...................... .............. ...................... 5 Suggestions for Viewing ................. ..... ...... '" ......................... 8 Post-Viewing Activities ....................... .................................. 9 Extension Activities ..................................... ... ..... ............... 15 Vocabulary .......... .. ...... ... ... ..... .. .......... .... .. ........................ 16 Family History Interview Form .................................... ......... 18 Index of Activities/Social Studies Content .............................. 19 Suggested Reading and References ..... .. .................................. 22 Organizations ...................... ..................... .................... ..... 24 J -------------------Purpose------------------- J Panna Maria: The Heart of Polish Texans is a 17-minute videotape featuring a small community in a predominantly rural county in South ] Texas. The tape explores the past, present, and future of this village: what it is like to live in this place, what holds the people together, and how they feel about their home place. ] This village has a special characteristic, that of having been settled by members of a particular ethnic group, some of whose descendants still constitute the population of the area. The community has remained small and cohesive and is a repository of traditional values brought by the first settlers. It functions as an extended family. ] Panna Maria thus can serve as a laboratory in which students can compare what they have learned from the videotape with their own experience as part of a community. What constitutes their community? ] How does it function? How do they relate to their community? What is their heritage, and how is it reflected in the community? What are they proud of in their own heritage, in their community? What responsi­ ] bility do they have to their community? What would they like to pre­ serve, to change, to improve in their community? ] ] ] ] ] The Panna Maria countryside, looking toward the San Antonio River valley ] 1 --------A Summary -------- Panna Maria is an unincorporated village in Karnes County that was settled by Polish immigrants in 1854. It is the oldest Polish settle­ ment in America. Current residents of this still-tiny village are descendants of the original settlers, and the older people still sp~ak the Silesian Polish dialect. Families have lived on the same land for several generations and maintain strong ties to the land and to their neighbors and the Church. The townspeople are members of the Catholic church in Panna Maria, the parish boundaries of which extend 40 miles from one side to the other. The village of Panna Maria consists of the church at the center, the old St. Joseph School, which was the first Polish school in America and which now houses the Panna Maria Historical Society Museum, a parish hall, Panna Maria School, the pastor's residence, a home for nuns, and a combined store and post office. There is also a large com­ munity hall, used for dinners, weddings, ahd dances, and several houses, some dating from the mid-1800's, on the streets adjacent to FM 81, which passes through the town. The cemetery is on a nearby hill. The immigration of Poles to Panna Maria in 1854 was arranged by Father Leopold Moczygemba, a Polish priest who had come to Texas two years earlier. Poland at that time was not an independent country but had been divided between Russia, Austria, and Prussia since the end of the 1700's. The Catholic Church, 800 years old in Poland, had helped unite the Polish people and keep their language and traditions alive when their homeland was ruled by others. Thus the Church was fulfilling many nontraditional functions in those times. Father Leopold saw an opportunity for his people from a farming community in Upper Silesia in Prussia, who were confronted with disease, floods, political unrest, and a bad economy, to find land and freedom in America. Some 100 families, including those of his four brothers, came to Texas bringing traditions of strong ties to the Church, to their families, and to the land. They arrived at the place Father Leopold had selected at the junction of Cibolo Creek and the San Antonio River on December 24, 1854, and celebrated their first Christmas Eve Mass under a large live oak tree. This became the site of the first Polish church in America, the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The Poles named their commu­ nity Panna Maria, which means Virgin Mary in Polish. The priest shown in the video, Father Frank Kurzaj, is also from the Upper Silesian region of Poland. Since the founding of Panna Maria, the Catholic Church has sent priests who are Polish or of Polish descent there to help keep the ties between Poland and Texas alive. Father Frank, as he is generally called, talks to the older people in Polish (some masses are also conducted in Polish, and the choir sings hymns in Polish as well as in English). As has been true of priests in Poland, he assumes many roles in this small community where there is no city government 2 or mayor, and the residents are members of the larger church parish. This nontraditional involvement is demonstrated by his leadership in . .J confronting a local environmental problem. In 1977 Chevron Corporation leased land for a uranium mining operation from local farmers and ranchers. Times were hard for the .J Panna Marians, and they hoped jobs would be created to keep their children in the area. Panna Marian families were tight-knit and wanted to stay on the land. Later, however, residents became concerned when J radioactive waste from the refinement of uranium ore was dumped in a 200-acre tailings pond nearby. They feared for their health, their cattle, ] the land, and the water. Father Frank organized the local people to ques­ tion this pollution of their environment. At a public hearing Chevron indicated that it would act to meet or exceed environmental protection ] requirements at the site. Over the years national attention has been directed to Panna Maria. In 1966, the year of the Polish Millennium of Christianity, then-President ] Lyndon Johnson presented Panna Maria with a mosaic of the patroness of Poland, Our Lady of Czestochowa, also called the Black Madonna. This picture is a replica of the famous icon in Czestochowa, Poland, the most revered icon in Polish culture. In 1987 the entire town of Panna Maria went by bus to San Antonio ] for a special audience with the head of the Catholic Church, Polish­ born Pope John Paul II, during his visit to the United States. The hand­ carved chairs and a gold chalice which he presented to them are dis­ ] played in the church, as is the mosaic of Our Lady of Czestochowa. .. In 1990 priests from all over the United States held a special mass at Panna Maria during the first convention of the Polish American Priests' association. Afterwards they were invited to a barbecue on a neighboring ranch by the townspeople. It was a very special occasion for Panna MarUms to have these priests as their guests. Panna Marians are proud of their history and heritage. The residents organized the Panna Maria Historical Society to establish a museum and foster further interest and research. Tourism is encouraged to pro­ ] mote the historical importance of Panna Maria as the first Polish colony in America. In the future Father Frank plans to take tour groups to Poland as l well as invite Poles to visit Texas and Panna Maria. In such exchanges Americans can learn more about their past and their traditions, and ] people from Poland can learn about life in America and about freedom. The people of Panna Maria welcome tourism to share their heritage, but they want their town to remain the way it is, retaining its values: ] the Catholic Church, the land, and their families. They are thankful to be part of small-town America and hope it doesn't disappear from today's society. They want their children to feel like 19-year-old Mark ] Mika, who says: "Being Polish and living in Panna Maria - that's about the best you can get." ] 3 --Instructions for Use of Teacher's Guide-- The Purpose (page 1) and Summary (page 2) of Panna Maria: The Heart of Polish Texans Study Guide provide important background information for teachers. The activities are designed to extend knowledge and appreciation of the multicultural heritage of Texas and can be used at many levels and in different educational contexts. They stress inquiry learning and are designed to develop critical and creative thinking skills as well as promote visual literacy. They are interdisciplinary in nature. Pre-Viewing Activities (page 5) encourage students to bring their