The Polonia Pearl Story

Polonia Pearl here,

My "inner self" has been insisting that we must give our visitors (if any) some back - ground regarding the name polonia pearl and why it was chosen for this blog. Here it is.

We hang out in rural Central Wisconsin in the rocky hills surrounding the village of Polonia. Beginning in 1857 the first Polish family settled in this area, Central Wisconsin had the first Polish rural settlement in the state, and the second in the United States. Coming along with these immigrants were their love of their Catholic faith, the land, family and a work ethic of hard work. I can attest to the hard work having been raised in the country, working on my grandfather's farm, picking potatos, beans and cucumbers, and all the other chores assigned to us kids.

The land on which these Polish immigrants would settle presented a varied set of challenges. The greatest challenge were the rocks and boulders left behind by the glaciers. Although the soil was fertile, it was littered with "Polonia Pearls" in all shapes and sizes. Poles (slang for Pollacks) seeking inexpensive land, settled in these Polonia hills and turned it into productive farmland. The boulder fences lining these farms and the Sacred Heart Church in Polonia, are a testimony to the backbreaking labor this involved. (tell me about it)

The early Polish people were as Catholic as the Pope! By 1914, Polish communities built eleven new Catholic churchs in Portage county and Sacred Heart church in Polonia, built in the middle 1800's, became the oldest rural Catholic church in America.

The Catholic faith was not the only part of their culture that Poles brought to the Polonia area. Traditional food, dance and music also found its way into Polish country. Polish foods and drinks; rye bread, kielbasa, borsch, czernina (duck blood soup), bigos (sauerkraut), pierogi, golonka (pork knuckles), kolduny (meat dumplings), beef tongue, brains, liver, chlodnik (beet soup), and other "great" tasting delicacies. (is my nose getting longer?) Favorite brews were hootch, moonshine, vodka, brandy and barrels of beer which are all still enjoyed and heavily consumned in the Polonia area at Ernie's and Sylvia's bars. Almost forgot that those foot stomping Poles loved their polish dances -- Polkas, waltzes, obereks and once in a while, the chicken dance.

We came back to this area (got homesick) twenty eight years ago and built our home among the "polonia pearls." And now you know the rest of the story.

The Polonia Pearl aka eddie