We went up the mountains to Zakopane. We were to take the tram to the top but it was wet and foggy so we settled for beer and a meat medley dish which included lamb sausage, which must be the food of the gods. I was hesitant, but found it to be one of the most delicious foods on my trip. Zenon and I alsodid Polish Vodka shots and to quote that Dutch salesman from North Dakota, ‘It was smood!’ I was sorry I could not sneak this vodka back to VT.

I spent one day in Warsaw by myself, visiting the old town. I got lost three times but everyone is eager to help you.  (Beware, don’t drive in Poland.)

I visited to the Warsaw Uprising Museum with Zenon and his son, David. We even walked the sewers which the uprisers used to pass information to one another. While we were standing there, Zenon said, ‘That man over there was here; he is an upriser.’ (So, having a driver/translator is a good idea! Without Zenon I never would have had this opportunity to meet and praise the courage of this old man.) Zenon had overheard a conversation between the man and probably his great grandchild, who was steadying him as he was explaining his experiences. I asked to be introduced and he accepted. I told him how honored I was to meet a real hero. He agreed to have his picture taken, BUT I forgot to ask him his name.

A survivor of the Warsaw Uprising

So that’s a short summary of my trip to Poland.  None of it would have been possible without the services of Zenon. He is a gem!

If you decide to go to Poland, I suggest that you try to learn the language. It is difficult. (Zenon said that after knowing Polish, English is easy!)  I only got to Unit 2 Lesson 3 on my Rosetta Stone Polish language CD, but I am committed to finishing all 8 units, each having 10 -11 lessons. Even the little Polish I learned, helped.

I recommend that you at least read Poland by James Michener. But, if you really want to get a glimpse into the ‘Polish soul’, read the Sienkiewicz trilogy: With Fire and Sword, which covers the Polish Commonwealth’s fight against the Cossack and Tartar troops in 1648 – 1649; The Deluge, covering the Swedish Army from 1655 to 1657 and the Russian and Cossack Army between 1655 and 1658; and Fire in the Steppe against the Turkish Army from 1668 – 1673. I finished the last book in Krakow on September 20th! This trilogy is the national epic of Poland and is required reading for all Polish students. To read these books is a serious commitment, as the novels are 1135, 842 and 717 pages respectively.  Get the W.S. Kuniczak translation as it captures the Polish language much better than previous translations. (Zenon agreed with my research on this.) There is also The Trilogy Companion which is a reader’s guide to the trilogy which I found helpful. You will laugh and cry through these books, but I am convinced they will reveal that there is something special about the Polish soul which is complex, joyful, humorous, unyielding, heroic and most of all, beautiful.

Add to this, Genghis Khan’s invasion in the 1200′s, killing all the males and small children, raping the women and selling them into slavery, how Poland was partitioned three times by Russia, Prussia and Austria between 1772 and 1794, again still another partition in the 1860′s.  Add to that, all the death and destruction during WWI after which Poland was finally restored, then raped again in WWII, the Russian occupation until the 1980′s and all what our ancestors had to suffer and endure even if we no longer know their names—all this will tell you of the Polish soul which suffered for so long, yet survived. I found reading these three books ‘Sursum corda’ (‘lifted my heart’).

Today Poland is growing and developing, working on their infrastructure and they are laughing. I found much of their humor to be sarcastic (Zenon thought that was a ‘leftover’ from the Communist era) and often satirical. I found out that they delight in puns which of course, I could not enjoy.  Yet,  that which I thought might be funny, they also laughed at and vice versa.

You will fall in love with Poland and Zenon can make that happen!
p.s. (Don’t ever drive in Poland.)
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Louis D. Welna

We drove to Krakow and had a wonderful time just roaming the streets. There was a political rally commemorating the Russian invasion of Poland Sept 17, 1939. Zenon reminded me that Stalin had a deal with Hitler and when the war started to go bad for the Germans, Stalin changed sides. The city is beautifying itself and it is gorgeous. The streets are full of festive banners. Next to Paris, it is the most visited city in Europe because of its festive atmosphere. There is a McDonald’s somewhere on this street! (Driving can be dangerous in Poland, so don’t drive!)
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Street scene from Krakow

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From Krakow we went to Oswiecim (Polish Spelling) to see the death camps for the Jews and others!
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The gate at Auschwitz, the sign above the gate says,

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I went primarily to say Kaddish for the family of Judy’s dad’s good friend who, while he survived this death camp, saw his wife and 4 children shot in the head at the train station. He married a woman he met in Auschwitz (German spelling) and settled in Rutland, Vermont. He always would ask Judy’s dad, Lorny (nickname for Laurence), ‘How am I doing?’ and her dad would say, ‘You are doing just fine’.

He had a son and daughter that attended Rutland High school.  Judy drew a portrait of his son which hung in his home.  While I stood there, I recited an English translation of this Jewish prayer for the dead (Incidentally, death is not mentioned.) for David’s first family. It began to rain gently and the ink from my script began to run both from the mist and my tears. I signed Judy’s father’s name ‘from Laurence Duane Ward’ folded it up and stuck it in the space between the post and the sign.

I also found in the Polish records that a ‘Pyka’ and a ‘Welna’ were interred at Auschwitz.  Zenon said he will to find out where they were from and perhaps how we might be related. Over 150,000 Poles perished in Auschwitz.

Louis

We were off to Opole to check the archives on the Philipsek side of the family. We were going through the Mechnica church records when Zenon noticed that town sponsors for the Philipsek baptisms came from Twardawa.  (By the way, ‘Philipsek’ is usually spelled ‘Phillipczyk’ and is pronounced ‘Feel LEAP chick’).  I had been unable in my research in the USA to verify the marriage of August Phillipczyk and Clara Bannert and the birth of their first two children, John and Anastasia, in Mechnica.

Zenon got the microfilm for Twardawa and found August and Clara’s wedding date and the birth of some children, all of which may not be known at this time. Also listed were the names of August and Clara’s parents. (This is what happens when you have a driver/translator who is also genealogist!) I have ordered the microfilm and hope I can finish this story. In the Litchy family history, it has been passed down that August and Clara had as many as seven children—all who died, before they brought the family, as we know it, to Minnesota. The Litchy story may have some basis in fact!
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The possible Philipsek house.

In Mechnica, Basia, who ran the bed and breakfast, asked her father-in-law about the Philipsek name and he said they used to live just down the road, but they moved to Germany some years ago. So Zenon, Basia, and I went looking for the house. A neighbor noticed us, came across the cobbled street, took a look at me and said, ‘You are a Philipsek. I can see it in your face!’ He had a key so he opened the gate which allowed us to take even better pictures.  (See what happens when you have a driver/translator! Again, do try to avoid driving in Poland!).

Later we had a spirited discussion with Basia’s uncle, who was forced to leave Poland when martial law was imposed. He had been a patriot and his fate was death or Siberia, so he fled to Germany and had been living there for 20 years. We discussed the merits and flaws of socialism and democracy for at least two hours over beer and sausage.  Poor Zenon: not only did he have to deal with the uncle who tried to speak Polish and often would lapse into German; at the same time he had to deal with Basia and her father-in-law as they would re-translate the German into Silesian Polish! What a yeoman’s job he did!

What a great evening it was!  After, we laughed, shook hand and admitted that talking politics was everybody’s favorite pastime.

Louis

Then the best thing happened! I found out that the home of Valentine Welna had chosen to be an 18th century representative home in an open air museum in 1957. So the next day, we all went to the museum. When the guide at the museum found out that we were direct descendants, she took down the barriers and gave us free access to the whole house.

To put things in perspective and help your understanding, the ancestry order is: Louis D. Welna -> son of Louis J. Welna -> son of John C. Welna -> son of John Welna -> son of Valentine Welna, son of Martin Welna born about 1754.

Site map of the open air museum also called "Skansen" - Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej - whose goal is: to collect, preserve and study the monuments of the folk culture of Opole Silesia. The house located at '8' is the peasant cottage from Dabrowka Dolna built in 1827. This is the house of Valentine Welna.

(See also interactive map of museum: http://www.muzeumwsiopolskiej.pl/imapa.do?mid=mid222.)

Valentine's house

Maria Welna and Louis Welna at Valentine's House

I took many pictures of the inside which I will include in the family history started by Mitzi Welna. Valentine’s name (Valentine Welna), the date (1827) and the name of the builder is carved on one of the beams. I got to sit at the table of my great great grandfather Valetine Welna’s kitchen table and wept. (By the way, do not drive in Poland!)

My gggrandfather name on the beam!!!

1827 - the year of building the house.

Patryk, Louis, Maria, Valdemar, Ania, and Marcel Welna all sitting at Valentine Welna's kitchen table.

According to the Welnas, an old aunt named, Cecylia, saw the house at the museum and she said it was exactly as she remembered it. All the contents are original and came from the Welna house.

Louis Welna and Waldemar Welna sawing wood with Valentine's saw!

Waldemar Welna, his wife, Ania, and their two children, Marcel (with dad) and Patryk at the Valentine Welna's farmhouse, on the standard transportation of the day, the wooden wagon.

Louis

The main reason I went to Poland was to meet the descendants of my grandfather John’s brother, August, who stayed in Poland in the town of Dabrowka Dolna.  I had been corresponding with the family for about 15 years. But I also wanted to visit the towns of all my grandparents. Zenon picked me up at the airport and we drove to Kobyle, the ancestral home of my grandmother, Mary Deja.

We stayed two nights at a bed and breakfast and which served the best mushroom soup ever. We spent the next day searching in Pogodki, Kosmin, Zblewo and Kiszewa, looking for the Deja – Zynda and allied families. (By the way, I took over 650 pictures on this trip. I think Zenon also took just as many as a precautionary back-up.)  The gravestones gave little information, because it is the church policy in Poland that you must pay to rent the gravesite for 20 years and are responsible for maintaining it. When the time has expired, you must re-rent the space. If everyone moves or there is no relative who wishes to maintain the site, the stones are buried or thrown away and someone else is buried in that spot. Many old grave markers were made of wood and thus disintegrated over time.

Zenon has also downloaded historical summaries of all the Polish towns and has begun to translate then into English for me and I will include them in the family history. (In case I didn’t mention, you do not want to drive in Poland!)

We drove across Poland to Dabrowka Dolna (the ancestral home of my Grandfather John) to meet the Welnas.

View Larger Map

When we entered the yard, there was sweet Maria waiting at the gate! It seems that most property in Poland is gated.

While there might have been some apprehension on both sides, as soon as Maria hugged me, I knew I was home. We grabbed each other, kissed and hugged each other again and walked into her house. We sat at the table holding hands and just talked about our families and showed pictures of them.  Zenon was translating all the time. She married into the Welna family, and her husband Ryszard, my contemporary, died of a heart attack about five years ago at the age of 51. She insisted that we stay with her.  She cooked for us for three days on a wood stove in her summer kitchen. I guess that’s what happens to you in Poland when you are “family”.  I teased her about opening a restaurant.

Maria cooking on her stove. The chicken and pork and chicken soup were delicious!

Her son, Waldemar, and his beautiful wife, Ania, and their two cute children joined us the next day as we checked local history and graveyards. We visited the local pastor who allowed us to look at the birth, death, and marriage records.  This verified that there are missing books so it looks like the research on the Welna family has reached the end.  The same is true about the Pyka family who lived nearby in Dammratsch (now Domaradz) and also attended the same church.

On Sunday, Zenon and I attended the Polish mass in the church of my grandfather. There was one in German earlier in the morning. Hearing Polish hymns sung loudly and clearly (almost as good as Protestants!) was a joy.

It had been unusually cold and rainy for September so I asked the priest if he would pray to God and ask for warmer weather. He responded that he did not have that kind of relationship with God. (Polish humor!) But he did sell me a history of the church, St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, written in German, which will need to be translated.

Later, I got to meet Maria’s daughter Gabbi and her boyfriend. She is finishing her senior year at college. When I first discovered the Welnas, she was in the second grade about to make her First Communion.

I was taken to see August Welna’s house, which Maria’s daughter Dorota and her husband are restoring. (August was my grandpa’s John’s brother.)

August Welna's House. Valentine's house stood on the property perpendicular to the exiting house.

Louis