.NEW ROOTS IN RIVER BANKS
Contributions of Polish & Other Eastern European Immigrants to the Connecticut River Valley
Free Exhibit & Events 2024 – 2025
Eastern European Exhibit Moves To Holyoke
December 7, 2024 to January 26, 2025
Holyoke Heritage State Park
221 Appleton St., Holyoke
Open Tues—Sun, 12 —4:00 pm
- Saturday, December 7, 1 to 4 pm; Reception with free refreshments; Polish cultural & craft demonstrations & displays by Susan Urban
- 2 pm—Presentation by Sara Campbell “A Polish Odyssey –Reuniting the Rzewski Family of Holyoke”
A Polish Odyssey-Reuniting the Rzewski Family
A wide variety of documents help us to recreate our ancestors’ immigrant experience. This case study of a Polish family who came to Holyoke in the early 20th century, illustrates how to combine family artifacts, documents found online and in local archives, and the hive-mind of social media to develop a timeline. By organizing a series of facts, we can begin to relate to the actions this family took over 15 years to bring their family back together in the US. The family’s samovar, which was buried on their farm when war broke out, was retrieved, and brought to Holyoke.
Sara Campbell has been researching her own roots for over 30 years. She is an author, editor and lecturer. She has taught non-credit classes in genealogy at Greenfield and Holyoke Community Colleges, and Fitchburg State. She is a frequent lecturer at many regional libraries and conferences. Sara worked with Betty Hallett, whose sister married into the Rzewski family, to organize Betty’s research for presentation.
Awarded to the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, expand Massachusetts Stories projects collect, interpret and/or share narratives about the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on the voices and experiences that have gone unrecognized, or have been excluded from public conversation. This exhibit and accompanying events convey the experiences of three Eastern European immigrant families – the Skibicki/Skibiski family on farming in Sunderland; the Sojka family in Turners Falls and the Grzesik/other families in Holyoke in factories. Through photos and artifacts, the exhibit chronicles their journey from Poland and Ukraine to America and their lives here in America. Despite the many challenges they and other Eastern European immigrants faced, they thrived here—while making vital contributions to the growth and development of the Connecticut River Valley’s farms, factories, and civic life.
Special thanks to the Galenski, Kulig, Skalski, Skibiski & Sojka families.
