Tarnawa Gorna in May 2000

[ Arriving in America via Ellis Island ] [ Research Adds Another Generation Back ] [ Tarnawa Gorna in May 2000 ] [ Return to Tarnawa Gorna ] [ Kundas of Jicin ] [ Outstanding Poles ] [ Paleczny List of Poles ]

Tarnawa Gorna
in May 2000

David and Peter Paleczny report on their visit

"Our first walk down the same road used by our Grandfather, Jan, when he set out 95 years ago on his journey to Canada, was quite moving," reported David and Peter Paleczny.

Looking back up the hill into the village.

In May 2000, David and his wife, Mary Reynolds of Conestoga, Ontario, and Peter Paleczny and daughters Catherine and Pamela of Waterloo, Ontario, were escorted by Piotr and Barbara Paleczny of Warsaw, on a visit to Tarnawa Gorna, Poland.

"We were the first of the Kitchener-Waterloo Palecznys to visit Tarnawa Gorna in two generations," they said.

"...a pastoral scene with houses
strung out along the floor of a valley."

Located in south central Poland just north of the Tatra Mountains, Tarnawa Gorna, is a pleasant rural village of a few hundred people, which is about the same as it was in 1905.

Today, a number of Palecznys live in Tarnawa Gorna and the neighbouring villages of Tarnawa Dolna, Sleszowice and Krzeszow, as well as in Sucha Beskidzka, the nearest town.

No English is spoken around Tarnawa. We were extremely fortunate to be accompanied by Piotr and Barbara Paleczny, our translators. We witnessed Piotr's powers of concentration and eye for detail -- gleaned from his years as Poland's top concert pianist -- and the friendly goodwill which he projects. And with her sense of humour, Barbara enthusiastically joined in conversations with the local people.

This is the church that was attended by Palecznys in our grandfather's time and continues today. Numerous Palecznys are buried in the cemetery. The church has records on Palecznys dating back to the late 18th century. The first entry, recording a Paleczny baptism, was in 1768.

We met the mayor of the region, Jacek Zajac, and his assistant. More importantly, Pastor Antoni Kania of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Krzeszow (www.krzeszow.prv.pl). The people of Tarnawa attend this church, which was built in its current form during 1902-06, meaning that our grandfather likely worked on the construction.

Peter, Father Antoni, Piotr and David

Piotr recorded some additional information which will be added to our family tree. In our three hours with Father Antoni, Piotr recorded additional data on early Palecznys, but we were frustrated in making direct linkages to the 1905 time period.

It will take someone with genealogy experience and knowledge of Polish to unlock more new information from these records.

Our exposure to present-day Palecznys was limited, despite the efforts of a most friendly Polish-speaking shopkeeper from Tarnawa. Before Piotr arrived, she dropped everything to take the English-only Palecznys to a barbecue with the mayor's Polish-only extended family, a most amusing scene, at which we were well-fed but not well-informed.

This link led us to meet an old couple by the name of Plonka. Our grandfather's sister Aniela, who remained in Poland, married a Plonka who is reputed to still be alive. We also met a very elderly and enthusiastic lady, alleged to be the missing Aniela, who turned out to be a Paleczny by marriage. And we met a few young Palecznys at the village school. The very elderly lady indicated, we believe, that she remembered stories of the Palecznys who had left for Canada.

It was obvious that the K-W Palecznys are related to the Tarnawa Gorna Palecznys. However, establishing the direct linkages will require days of genealogical analysis of the records at the church, fluency in Polish, and a detective's zeal.

The people of Tarnawa today lead simple, healthy and happy lives in beautiful surroundings. Direct evidence of damage from World War II and over 40 years of communist rule is less apparent here than it was in Warsaw.

"The people ot Tarnawa today lead simple, healthy
and happy lives in beautiful surroundings."

Beyond Tarnawa, our visit to Poland was most interesting. Ray Paleczny joined us for several days in Warsaw where Piotr and Barbara entertained us royally. We had several Polish dinners at their beautiful new house, and attended a performance of the National Opera of Poland at Warsaw's historic Opera Hall.

Another real highlight was a visit to Frederik Chopin's birthplace where Piotr had arranged a superb recital for us in the house in which Chopin was born. It was performed by one of his students, Daniel Wnukowski of Windsor, Ontario.

After Warsaw, Piotr and Barbara guided us on visits to Krakow and Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains. We are all very grateful to Piotr and Barbara for the eight days they spent with us, which is a large chunk of time out of his busy schedule. In the weeks following our departure, Piotr was scheduled to perform in Berlin, China and Mexico.

Their friendship made our trip very rewarding and memorable.

David and Peter Paleczny
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Top