Polish Halls In Grand Rapids

On September 27, 2021, my Mom, two sisters and I attended a Grand Rapids Public Museum panel presentation of the Polish Halls in our city. The panel discussed the history and purpose of the halls as well as their present status. Grand Rapids had forty or fifty “halls” owned by private societies of different immigrant groups. There were more Polish ones than any other nationality and there were eight Polish ones on the West side. ***** The event was held at The Guest House which is a frequently used place for funeral lunches and other events. The Guest House is within walking distance of where my mother grew up. The event was catered by The Polish Girl and included kielbasa, kapusta, and a few other dishes. ***** The ethnic halls in Grand Rapids served many positive purposes such as a place to meet and socialize including wedding receptions, parties and other celebrations. Card parties, concerts, and beer drinking were common activities and were popular ways for people from Poland to socialize together. They all had a bar and were allowed to serve liquor to members after paying a federal liquor tax. ***** The halls provided the fundraising to open parishes such as St. Adalbert and Sacred Heart. Some paid sick and death benefits, some were patriotic or religious, cooperating with the local parish. Some offered citizenship and language classes. ***** The history of Polish Halls in Grand Rapids stretches back to 1886 when Jackson Hall was established and was the first Polish hall in the U.S.. Up through the 1960s and 1970s, the halls were still very active and there were dances every weekend. As the population moved to the suburbs and the “melting pot” effect continued to happen, the importance of the halls to the daily life of the immigrant waned. Liquor control laws also changed and there were more options such as brewing companies for people to frequent. (Did you know that Grand Rapids, Michigan was voted “Beer City” by readers of the publication USA Today?) Originally, membership was limited to Polish people (or people who married Polish people like my father.) Now, in order to survive, that membership qualification has been lifted. ***** The need for English classes, support, death and sick benefits, aid to each other in a new country, and working to build churches may be gone but the halls strive to keep the Polish traditions alive. ***** Anthony (my grandfather) was a member of St. Hyacinth, Polish Falcon Society and Polish National Alliance Society: St. Hyacinth, corner of Ninth and Muskegon, 1886, McReynolds & Fourth St., 1908, war bonds, clothing drives, Polish Falcon Society 957 Fulton St. Polish National Alliance Society (Jackson St., west of Lane Ave., 1878, active in Poland liberation, war bonds, political causes ***** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAYui7MK4SU