Everywhere Kathryn Waters looks inside both the Polish American Citizens Club and the Polish Triangle of Dorchester signals to her a family memory from when her grandparents and mother came to the United States as refugees from Poland after World War II and carved out a new life in America, settling in at 2 Boston St.
As to what so many Polish families in the Triangle can attest, those memories are dear – and keeping them going has become a paramount task of the club as it proceeds with reinvigorating the membership and investing in its 86-year-old building that sits on Boston Street abutting the Expressway.
For Kathryn Waters, who was installed as a new director of the Polish American Citizens Club last Thursday (Jan. 8). Seth Daniel photo
All of that was apparent on last Thursday night (Jan. 8), when the club installed its board of directors, including new member Waters, of South Boston, along with its longtime president, Stasia Kacprzak.
“My family has a long history here and in the Polish Triangle,” said an emotional Waters, who works for the state’s Executive Office of Veterans Affairs. “My grandparents actually met in a work camp in Germany,” she said. “My mother was born in that work camp. At the end of the war, they were given a choice to relocate to Australia or the United States. They chose the United States.”
After they landed in New York City, Waters said, they moved to Dorchester because of the Polish community here.
“My grandparents didn’t speak enough English and thought other Polish people here would be able to help them, and they did,” she said.
The club started official meetings in 1925, but in 1934 a group of Polish veterans from World War I veterans banded together and bought an old shoe factory on Boston Street (present location) and transform it into a community clubhouse with contributors buying individual bricks to help pay costs. At its height, there were more than 700 regular club members.
Of international note, the club was central to the defection of several Polish sailors in January and December of 1988 – at the height of massive worker strikes in communist Poland. Nearly 30 sailors sought refuge at the club and began the process of seeking freedom in America. Some of the sailors, club members recalled, slept in the basement, and lived inside the Club for quite some time.
Directors Steven Poftak, Joanna Curry, Eric Basile, Kathryn Waters, Keith Stocks, Erica Manczuk Stocks, and Dawn Morris were sworn into office on Jan. 8. Seth Daniel photo
On Thursday night, Councillor Ed Flynn recalled when he and his father, then Mayor Ray Flynn, traveled to communist Poland in the 1980s. He said they brought with them donations from the club that were to be delivered to striking workers facing hardships.
“The money from a fundraiser here at this club was given to us and we smuggled it into the Lenin (Gdańsk) Shipyard to support the electricians there that were on strike and suffering greatly,” he said. “Communism fell there in part because of great work and support by folks like you in Boston and Chicago and other great cities across America with strong Polish communities.”
State Sen. Nick Collins said he was encouraged to see so much investment and new life and energy.in the club over the past 15 years. And state Reps. John Moran and David Biele, noting that last year they revived the Polish American Caucus in the Legislature, presented the club with new American and Polish flags from the caucus.
Long-time president, Stasia Kacprzak, took the oath of office. Seth Daniel photo
Other elected city officials in attendance were Councillor Erin Murphy and South Boston Mayoral Liaison Lydia Polaski.
Club Secretary Erica Manczuk Stocks, of Dorchester, said they revived the installation ceremony in 2016 to help celebrate the club’s leadership. She said they intend to continue the event in years to come. The group’s signature event, Polish Fest, is scheduled for May 30 this year.
Officers installed were Kacprzak, president; Eric Basile, vice president; Manczuk Stocks, secretary; and Waters, Joanna Curry, Dawn Morris, Keith Stocks, and Steven Poftak as directors.
State Rep. David Biele presented an American and Polish flag to Erica Manczuk Stocks and the club on behalf of the Polish American Caucus in the Legislature. Seth Daniel photo
