Józef PiBsudski (1867 - 1935)

A brief history of the Marshall J. PILSUDSKI Polish War Veterans Association

The first Polish immigrants came to Montreal from the United States in 1894. It was a group of specialists hired to build factories for Singer sowing machines. They mainly lived near Center Street, where apartment rental was inexpensive.

The second group of Poles also arrived from the United States, which they had left due to a passing crisis. Most of them went west, where there were possibilities of obtaining free farms. The next two waves of immigrants came from the United States as well as Europe. Soon there appeared in Montreal two Polish communities: those living in the eastern part of Montreal, in the area of Hochelaga, and the wealthier ones living in the south-west part of Pointe-Saint-Charles.

At the beginning of 1907, the “Matka Boska Czestochowska Association of Polish Sons” organized a parish in the Frontenac district. The Holy Trinity Mission in Pointe-Saint-Charles (on Centre Street) was founded with the approval of the Montreal Archbishop Bruchesi in 1916.

After the First World War, in the 1920’s and 30’s, the Polish colony in Montreal counted about 10 000 people. There were many former Polish soldiers who came to Canada looking for a better life. They often met in the newly acquired Polish Home of the White Eagle Association. It emerged from the Polish Sons’ Association established in 1902, which joined in 1925 the Henryk Sienkiewicz Association and took on the name of the White Eagle Association.

Among the Polish natives assembling in the White Eagle locale was a certain captain of the sappers, Ludwik Wiktor. He came to Montreal in 1926 and worked as an engineer for Dominion Engineering. From this group of natives surfaced the first nucleus of the organization of former military. They were: Capt. Ludwik Wiktor, Piotr Budzik, Kazimierz Czapski, Tadeusz Kociszyn, Jozef Morganty, Antoni Pitkowski, Stefan Sekowski and Florian Szuszkowski. Twenty other Poles, also from the White Eagle Polish Home, joined together with them.

Seventy five years ago, on Sunday September 21^st 1930 after the holy mass, a group of former soldiers gathered at the Polish Home near Frontenac Street, and decided on the coming to existence of the Association of Polish Veterans. Those entering into the first leadership committee were: Capt. Ludwik Wiktor – president, Eugeniusz Michaelis de Henning i Antoni Piatkowski – vice-presidents; Stanislaw Batowski – secretary.

In the meantime, in Montreal, were laid down the first foundations of the United Polish Organizations in Canada. In 1913 the first congress took place in Toronto, during which 24 organizations called to existence the United Polish organizations in Canada. The Association of Polish Veterans’ leadership committee, as requested by the majority, refused to join the UPO and received a vote of no confidence. The leadership committee wanting to clearly express the ideology of the organization proposed to change their name to the “Marshall Jozef Pilsudski Association of Polish Veterans”. During his stay in Montreal in 1932, General Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer agreed to confer unto the hands of the Marshall the address of the Veterans. The Marshall accepted with delight the demand to take on the role of a spiritual caretaker over the brothers in arms overseas.

 In 1936, the Veterans’ Association came to an agreement with the White Eagle Association and moved into their home. There were nonetheless financial and other more serious organizational misunderstandings. The White Eagle Association was open to all Polish natives. The Veterans’ Association only accepted former military, and inevitably became a more elite organization. After 1933, when the new name “Marshall Jozef Pilsudski Polish Veterans’ Association” was accepted, it became regarded as a “Pilsudczyks Organization”. In 1938 the Association became independent once again.

 Already during the war, there were talks among Veterans about acquiring their own house. At the February 1942 meeting it was formally decided that the house would be bought. A year later, the Home Purchase Committee emerged with Marcin Furman, Kazimierz Czapski, Ignacy Grzybala, Jakub Piela, Wladyslaw Huszlak, Jozef Kolano and Florian Szuszkowski.

 On the day of February 11^th 1945, the leader of the Home Purchase Committee, Marcin Furman, announced the acquisition of a building at 57 Prince Arthur Street. The cost: $42 000. To be paid by cash: $16 500, the balance owing paid by yearly payments. There always seemed to be missing about $1 000 for the first payment. The Association called on its members to participate in a fundraiser for the Veterans’ Home. They collected     $7 925. Shortly after the members lent their Association another $23 000, which allowed for a faster payment of the mortgage debt.

 Four years later, in 1949, a fire destroyed part of the Veterans’ Home. It also destroyed the first banner of the Association and part of the library. Because of a high insurance it was possible to rebuild the Home almost right away.

 Now the Association started playing its most important role as a Polish Center. It accommodates polish organizations, the Canadian Polish Congress (Que), the SPK number 7 circle, the circle of Former Soldiers of the Home Army, the Polish Pilots’ Association Wilno Wing, and the W. Lachman choir. At the beginning of the 1950’s (1953) there was even a Polish school in the Veterans’ Home, which gave French lessons after being granted permission by the Catholic School Board.

 On Sunday April 24^th, 1951 the blessing of the second banner took place. The new one was an exact replica of the first and was blessed by father Frederic Baldyge C.F.M.C.; the handing it over to the Veterans was done by General of Defense Kazimierz Sosnkowski.

 After many years, when it was time to replace the old banner which had served its time, a new one was ordered in Poland. The blessing of the new standard took place on May 12^th 1996 during the 70^th commemoration of the May coup d’état and the 61^st death anniversary of the Veterans’ Association’s patron. During a festive mass, the parson of the Saint Michael’s parish blessed the standard. The godparents were the Polish Consul General Malgorzata Dzieduszycka and Professor Jozef Litynski, a former representative of Polish Government abroad. After the blessing, the standard was handed over to the Polish Veterans’ Association protectors Edward Baranski, Wladyslaw Rolicz and Walenty Worosz.

 In the 1960’s and 70’s Prince Arthur street underwent major changes and innovations. The street closed for motorized transport and became a long promenade. Also, within the context of this gentrification (a term used for the upgrade of a district or street), they started transforming the first floors of the buildings into restaurants, bars, nightclubs and specialty stores. Summer afternoons and evenings were filled with the noisy clientele of Greek and Italian restaurants with exotic flavors, as well as the Polish Mazurka restaurant. Because of this change, the value of the home as well as the municipal tax increased.

 In the 1980’s the leadership committee of the Veterans’ Association realized that they would unavoidably cease to exist. The activity in the Association was declining, and so were its members. Monthly meetings were decreasing in size. In May 1980 the leadership committee (M. Kubacki, J. Rawicz, F. Kawasiborski, F. Szuszkowski, A. Nachaj, M. Studenny i W. Jankowski) decided to find a solution to the problem of dying activity. The Statutory Committee, under the leadership of Maksymilian Kubacki presented at the general assembly a bold resolution which stated that the only hope for the survival of the Polish Veterans’ Association was a change in article III of the Charter. This would allow the acceptance of wives and children of the Veterans into the Association with full membership rights. Simultaneously, the Committee decided to remove from the Charter age discrimination, opening the possibility for the acceptance of members over the age of 65 years.

 This brave resolution undertaken by the Statutory Committee was unanimously confirmed at the general assembly on October 11^th 1981. On this occasion a change was also made to section 12 of article XII, which now sounds as follow: “The Association cannot be dissolved as long as there are at least 13 members. In the case of dissolution, all the assets of the Association will become the Marshall Jozef Pilsudski Foundation in Montreal. The objectives and Charter statute of such a foundation will be figured out by a Commission chosen by members of the Association”.

 The life style of the Association is changing. The snack after the monthly meeting is no longer coffee or tea and cake; instead it has become a buffet (bread and cold meats), vine, and then coffee, tea and cake. Because of such changes, member attendance at meetings has increased. Holyday traditions were also introduced: Christmas, Easter, Mother and Father’s day, New Year’s Eve, and all day outings on the town. The old building on St. Dominique street was demolished and at a cost of close to half a million dollars, a new home adjacent to the main building on Prince Arthur, was built. The old archaic elevator was replaced by a new one installed in 1994, costing $130 000. During the year of jubilee, an air condition was installed which allowed for a more comfortable environment during the hot summer months.

 For almost ten years now, the Association acquired a new tenant at 57 Prince Arthur Street, the corporation Café Campus, which is renting the entire building including the second floor above the Association room. As a result our gains as well as our spending have increased. Carefully invested money covers the costs of necessary repairs and improvements. This also allows for larger donations to needing organization and individuals. In the first years of 1990’s, over $25 000 were spent on various Polish objectives. In the last five years of  2000-2005 this amount has increased to over $100 000.

 A few donations were sent to Poland, and were received by special schools, former-military organizations, for the maintenance of the cemetery on Rossie in Wilno or for the renovations of the Marshall Dworek in Sulejowek, for the building of the John Paul II Catholic College at the Catholic University of Lublin, and for the Monte Cassino monument in Warsaw.

 In Montreal, the donations are given to parishes for repairs or part of the heating costs, to the Polish School Board, the Polish Library and the Polish Aid Committee. Two years ago the Association sponsored two university scholarships in the name of the Polish Veterans’ Association and added three donations in the year of jubilee; because of this, there will be five university scholarships in the name of the Polish Veteran’s Association.

 From 1995 the Association hosted Polish Army officers learning French and English in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The officers took part in the celebrations of both jubilees in 1965 and 1970 and were also invited for Christmas festivities. They also participated in the meeting on the occasion of Poland’s admission into NATO.

 Due to the initiative of Colonel Maksymilian Kubacki, Knight of the Order of Virtuti Militari, the Association was honored as an ‘Honorary Member’ in the Club of the Virtuti Militari Knights in Warsaw.

 Ten years ago the Association counted 147 members, today they are 103. Because of the many changes in the Charter of the Association, the Veterans’ closest blood relatives, husbands, wives and children, were able to become members. Before long, the Veterans’ children and grand children will take over the controls by leading the Association into new situations, and facing new challenges in new times.