HAMPDEN COUNTY – The Polish Center of Learning and Discovery on 33 South St. in Chicopee offers visitors a slice of history through the lens of the Polish community.

The center opened in 1995 under the guidance of Executive Director Stanislaw Radosz. The space remained previously abandoned for 25 years, with Radosz and company helping to revive the site as an extension of Elms College’ Polish-American education efforts. The Polish Center also received support from the Diocese of Springfield.

The center’s current 33 South St. home represents significant meaning to the Polish community, as five of the first Polish Western Mass. inhabitants stayed at the building in 1880, according to the Polish Center’s President of the Board of Directors Ronald Lech. At that time, the space operated as a church called Holy Name of Jesus.

“This building is very important to the history of the Polish community here,” said Lech in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

Lech detailed the legacy of the first Polish immigrants in Western Mass. The group came to the Chicopee area to work in the Dwight Mills without a home or significant belongings. Upon their arrival, a priest from Holy Name welcomed the immigrants to stay at the location.

The Polish Center itself continues to grow, with Lech sharing that people from Poland and New England donate unique slices of Polish history. One person even donated their entire collection of Polish artifacts from World War I to the museum, according to Lech.

“We’ve got an enormous collection of Polish art … people contact us regularly and see our interest,” said Lech.

Lech shared the museum also spent $1.5 million for extensive renovations. The renovations received additional aid from local members of the Polish community, which helped cut the cost of additional repairs. Lech stressed that the local community plays an essential role in the museum’s success, with the center relying upon donations and memberships for some of its financing.

Among the exhibits, the center features an accurate recreation of an 1880s Polish farm cottage and other remnants from Polish-American history. The artifacts and collectibles standing inside the center paint a vivid historical picture. Lech said the center’s staff add to the exhibits by detailing each items’ distinct story.

“The main function of this museum is to tell the story of Polish contributions throughout the years. … Many museums have artifacts, we tell stories,”said Lech.

During an extensive tour, Lech described the background behind each of the exhibits. Items from war survivors, like Father Lucjan Krolikowski and Wieslaw Olszak, articulate the struggles of the Polish population during Poland’s invasion during World War II. Lech said the center tells the story of Polish perseverance as several items detail the hardships of international wars and domestic discrimination inflicted upon the Polish population.

“We couldn’t exist without these people,” said Lech.

Other relics showcase the Polish community’s impacts on Western Massachusetts’s evolution. Exhibits dedicated to Anthony J. Stonia, a former Chicopee mayor who advocated for Westover to be placed in Chicopee, and Jan Robak, a polka pioneer enshrined in the Polka Music Hall of Fame, highlight contributions made by the local Polish community.

Lech shared that the Polish Center hosts students, members of the Polish population across the globe and multi-generational families who bask in the space’s history. He described the moving impacts the center has upon its visitors, including a student who emotionally connected with the exhibits due to his grandfather’s survival of a Siberian war camp.

“We have all of these incredible stories to tell,” said Lech.
Readers interested in learning more about The Polish Center of Learning and Discovery can visit https://polishcenter.net/.