 |
magazine / nd02
 |
November/December 2002 issue |
|
|
|
Mosaic
Kaszub heartland
Photography and text by Susan Fisher
Every May, Kaszubs from Renfrew County, Ont., gather in the hamlet of Wilno to kick up
their heels and celebrate their roots (BELOW). Most are descended from 76 pioneering souls
who, in 1858, fled religious and political oppression in the Kaszuby region of northern Poland
to settle in this rural area west of Ottawa. They were the first immigrants from Poland to
Canada, and they brought with them a language and a culture quite distinct within their homeland.
Today, there are about 3,000 to 5,000 Kaszubs in Canada, and most reside in Renfrew County.
David Shulist, president of the Wilno Kaszub Heritage Society, says many fourth- and fifth-generation
residents here speak fluent English and Kaszub. Shulist, 50, was born and raised in Wilno;
Kaszub was his first language. "When I started school, I couldn’t speak English," he
says, "and I wasn’t the only one either."
Melissa Blank and flower girl Madison Kuiack rush to get to the church on time (TOP) while
Joe Etmanskie (TOP RIGHT) passes on to granddaughter Erica traditional tunes and his fiddling
finesse. Martin Shulist (ABOVE) rescued this cross from the 1936 fire that razed the St.
Stanislaus Kosta Church in Wilno. Shulist spearheaded the official designation of Wilno as
Canada’s first Polish settlement. St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (ABOVE RIGHT),
which feeds about 2,000 guests at its annual chicken supper, holds a weekly mass in Polish.
top
|
|
|
