Sabaudia youtube

Anthony Raczkiewicz (my grandfather) and his siblings were born in Sabaudia, near the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. This video will give you a glimpse of the village: “The very name of the village of Sabaudia reminds us exceptionally European. No wonder, because apart from Poles, it was also founded by foreigners, five Germans and a Dane. Until today, some residents have retained foreign-sounding surnames and remember their ancestors who came to this area in 1840 looking for their place. Today's inhabitants praise their town very much. They have good access to the city, beautiful views and a school. The Tomaszów Lubelski commune has made many investments for them: a new road or lighting are just two of many examples of investments, which often use European Union funds. It is also thanks to them that the Polish countryside develops, becomes more friendly to its inhabitants and more attractive to tourists and new settlers. While traveling through the Tomaszów Lubelski Commune, we will visit every town in this commune. We will show people who create it, the traditions that are cultivated there, monuments worth visiting and the quiet, idyllic life of the inhabitants of this wonderful region.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgJ50bNX5rw

Laszczow Used to Have Many Jewish Inhabitants

My Mother’s DNA included 4% Jewish which means it could be anywhere between 1 and 6%. If there is a relative or more that was Jewish, I have not yet found that out. Because Laszczow had such a large population of people who were Jewish, I wondered if there was any connection. There is a list of over a hundred Jewish households from this time period that lived in Laszczow and I do not recognize any of the names as surnames in our family. . http://chelm.freeyellow.com/laszczow.html ----------------------------- Laszczow had a large Jewish community, They made a living in trade of grain and craft and lived in the Market Square. There was a Jewish printing house. The Jewish population increased over the 19th century from 826 people in 1827 to 1,621 ipeople n 1897. At that point, Jews were over 90% of the population. In the 20th century, Laszcow was mainly Jewish. The area suffered many times from attacks from various sources. A Jewish surgeon, Alfrons Brawstedt opened a 30 bed hospital that treated men wounded in the November Uprising (1830-1831.) In 1920, the Russians attacked the town, harming and killing many people. Many fled and those that remained lived in poverty. In 1939 the Nazis occupied the town and over the next several years sent the inhabitants to slave labor and death camps. Few survived. On Christmas Eve, 1942, 75 Poles were murdered in retaliation for an earlier confrontation between several villagers and four armed German police officers. In 1944 the Ukranian Insurgent Army burnt down the village. -------------------------------------------- http://iajgscemetery.org/eastern-europe/poland/laszczow https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/l/713-laszczow/99-history/137619-history-of-community Image: Tomasz Zugaj, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons https://www.historiaregionu.org/posty-autorstwa-slawomira-litkowca?lang=pl article about 1942 75 Poles killed

US Time Change is March 14; Poland is 28 March

March 14 is the day of the time change in the United States. Poland’s date is March 28. We lose an hour of sleep because we set the clocks ahead one hour. While that sounds like no big deal, some of us struggle for almost a week to adjust to the change in sleep schedule. Apparently the first Monday after the time change there are more car accidents than is typical. There are proposals to leave us on Daylight Savings Time. Image: By United Cigar Stores Company (sponsor); artist unknown - Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, WWI Posters, LC-USZC4-10663 (color film copy transparency),uncompressed archival TIFF version (60 MB), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1783933

Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski

This video shows the beginning of the conflict that resulted in Franciszek Raczkiewicz’s (my great uncle) death four years later. It is about the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski which occurred 18 September to 20 September 1939. According to the Youtube post, it was the second largest battle of the Invasion of Poland and also the largest tank battle of the campaign. It resulted in the surrender of Army Krawko on 20 September 1939. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCejwWM2N1E (link is active on the Facebook page)

Looking Back at World War II

Rotunda's gate. The temporary camp for the prisoners of Security Police. ***** I asked Andrzej Dubiel (my 2nd cousin) about family history during WWII. “My father didn't talk about it. My mother sometimes mentioned that her aunt's house was burnt by Germans and they had to run off and had to hide. It was in Sumin, a village near Sabaudia, located about 10 kom north of Sabaudia on the way to Zamość.” ***** Between November 1942 and March 1943, the Germans forcibly removed Jewish people from the area around Tomaszow Lubelski. They were taken to a camp in Zamosc and from there it was determined if their next step was slave labor or a concentration camp. Children were separated from their families. ***** I asked Andrzej what he knew about the Jewish community within the area. He told me, . “When I was younger I didn't realize that there lived so many Jewish here. The Germans destroyed almost all evidence of their lives. The synagogue was torn down, the cemetery was devastated and people forgot about them.” ***** The link about this part of polish history is active on the Facebook Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Zamojszczyzna_by_Nazi_Germany ***** Here is an interesting website about Jews in Tomaszów.(issues even before 1943) https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/t/51-tomaszow-lubelski/99-history/138161-history-of-community ***** Image: By Aung - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1998069

Where are you from?

I am learning how to ask and answer this question in Polish. POLSKA, GŁÓWNE MIASTA Skąd Pan / Pani jest? (where are you from? - formal) Skąd jesteś? (where are you from? - informal) Jestem z Krakowa. Jestem z Rzeszowa. Jestem z Opola. Jestem z Warszawy. Jestem z Nowego Jorku. Jestem z Ameryki. Jestem z Francji. Jestem z Japonii. Jestem z Hiszpanii. Jestem z Polski. Image: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2964084

March

Check out the Facebook page Kids in the City to find out about Poland in March. https://www.facebook.com/kidsinthecity.poland

Tomaszów Lubelski Youtube Video

This is the last video in the series highlighting areas within the gmina of Tomaszów Lubelski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomasz%C3%B3w_Lubelski) I previously shared videos from this same series about places relatives lived such as Sabaudia, Górno, Majdan Górny, Rogóźno and Łaszczówka. Even though most of us can not understand the language, you will see glimpses of the area: the White Mountains near Goŕno, a roadside shrine in Sabaudia, cultural activities happening in Majdan Goŕny, and a soccer field in Łaszczówka The video link is on the Polish Family History Facebook page.

House Numbers: Wisniowski (Tomaszow Lubelski)

Blazej Wisniowski and Jagnieska nee Szczesnicka (my 4x great grandparents) may have moved around a bit. Blazej is referred to as “famous” in the middle of the time period captured -- 1813 to 1818 -- I am not sure if that is due to his work in pottery or to differentiate him from a Blazej who was in the “poor house.” Blazej Wisniowski and single mother Anna Paszkoska had a child Francis in 1814 when he lived in the poor house and she worked there. This was located at #27. This is a different Blazej My 4x great grandparents had various house numbers in the records for the time period of 1813 to 1817. (349, 360, 36, 36, 339, 339, 276) The Blazej that is my 4x great grand parent and his wife Jagnieska had their son Wojcieh in 1813, #349. In 1815, Blazej Wisniowski and Jagnieska nee Szczesnicka had Jozef in their house #360. A year later Jozef dies and the house is recorded as #36. Anna is born the the “famous” Blazaz in 1817 in his house #339. Anna died the following year (1817) in their house #339. In 1818, they had another child named Anna and she was born in #276. The Wisniowski family was potters. The other family of potters--the Wiciejewski family-- lived in the area of 206 and 207.

Fat Tuesday and Paczki

A difference between Polish tradition and Polish American tradition is that today is our "Fat Tuesday" or "Paczki Day" instead of last Thursday. Honestly, the bakeries are trying to sell them for a few weeks around here. I commend people who bake and try to recreate favorite recipes. Check out the picture of Connie Liszewski's first attempt! They look pretty good. Connie's husband Mike is my 3rd cousin 1x removed. Even though we were both born in Grand Rapids, we never crossed paths to my knowledge. It is fun to make connections doing family history.

Today is Fat Thursday.

Today is Fat Thursday. Have you had a paczki today? What is your favorite flavor?******************* CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz, releases all rights but a photo credit would be appreciated if this image is used anywhere other than Wikipedia. Please leave a note at Wikipedia here. Thank you!, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Polish & American Hero Born on February 4

Thaddeus Kosciuszko is a Polish hero that many Americans have heard of at least those of us who grew up in cities with a large amount of Polish immigrants. Grand Rapids has a Kosciuszko Hall -- near Sacred Heart Church where my grandfather married his first wife. It is one of the many halls started in Grand Rapids to support the immigrants in different ways. Detroit has a statue of him and also of Casmir Pulaski. Right now in the United States many questions are coming up about statues and if the people commemorated are really heros. I suspect there will be no question about the Polish ones in Detroit. Koscisuzko was born in 1746. He came to America in 1776 and used his engineering skills to help the colonies in their desire for independence. He went back to Poland and was a national hero of the 1794 insurrection.

Laszczow Used to Have Many Jewish Inhabitants

My Mother’s DNA included 4% Jewish which means it could be anywhere between 1 and 6%. If there is a relative or more that was Jewish, I have not yet found that out. There is a list of over a hundred Jewish households from this time period that lived in Laszczow and I do not recognize any of the names as surnames in our family. http://chelm.freeyellow.com/laszczow.html ***** Laszczow had a large Jewish community, They made a living in trade of grain and craft and lived in the Market Square. There was a Jewish printing house. The Jewish population increased over the 19th century from 826 people in 1827 to 1,621 ipeople n 1897. At that point, Jews were over 90% of the population. In the 20th century, Laszcow was mainly Jewish. The area suffered many times from attacks from various sources. A Jewish surgeon, Alfrons Brawstedt opened a 30 bed hospital that treated men wounded in the November Uprising (1830-1831.) In 1920, the Russians attacked the town, harming and killing many people. Many fled and those that remained lived in poverty. In 1939 the Nazis occupied the town and over the next several years sent the inhabitants to slave labor and death camps. Few survived. On Christmas Eve, 1942, 75 Poles were murdered in retaliation for an earlier confrontation between several villagers and four armed German police officers. In 1944 the Ukranian Insurgent Army burnt down the village. ***** Added clarification from Andrzej Dubiel: Laszczow and Laszczowka are two different places. The first one is bigger and is it 20 km. east of Tomaszow. The second one is a village near Tomaszow --about 3km away. http://iajgscemetery.org/eastern-europe/poland/laszczow https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/l/713-laszczow/99-history/137619-history-of-community https://www.historiaregionu.org/posty-autorstwa-slawomira-litkowca?lang=pl article about 1942 75 Poles killed photo: Bible_scroll_template.svg: BáthoryPéter (talk)Star_of_David.svg: Zscout370P_blank.svg: Booyabazookaderivative work: Beao, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Location: Laszczow

The Krawczyk family is from Łaszczówka. I can trace three generations of Krawczyks in Laszczow up until Katarzyna married Lukasz Grabek in 1823 and moved to Majdan Gorny. Her parents (Antoni Krawczyk and Dorota Kozyra) and grandparents (Kazmierez Krawczyk and Rozalia nee Kobak) were from Łaszczów. Kazmierez and Rozalia were born in the mid 1700’s. They all worked as peasant farmers. There is a Łaszczówka and a Łaszczówka-Kolonia and I think they lived in the one that is not the colony,but I am not sure. They are not that far apart. Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship (area administered by a governor.) It has about 1,000 residents. It was a town from the mid 1500s until 1870 and it regained its status as a town in 2010. It is the seat of the gmina (community) called Gmina Łaszczów. From a record on the Kaszucki side, I believe there was an estate there that produced tobacco. Here are images of a mansion there that is in ruins. Map and pictures https://www.mapofpoland.net/Laszczow,map.html Here are images of a mansion there that is in ruins. . https://www.3deling.com/portfolio-item/laszczow/ https://www.historiaregionu.org/posty-autorstwa-slawomira-litkowca?lang=pl horses in front of the manor house in Laszczow Photo: By Qqerim - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2212011

Laszczow: 3D Scan of a Mansion and Youtube Video

This one is 3D scans of a 16th century mansion house in Laszczow: https://www.3deling.com/portfolio-item/laszczow/ This short video is fun to watch to see what Łaszczówka looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFJE-2E10fY Without knowing Polish though, we will miss a lot that this beautiful reporter highlights. I did learn that the village has a volunteer fire department, a school, library and a football (soccer) club. The "Piekiełko" Geological Reserve is highlighted. The boulders are thought to be a place of pre-Slavic worship but it is unknown how it was made or who did it. The area is called “wilderness.” The Reserve dates from 1962 in an attempt to protect the boulders (which are made of sandstone) and are unique in the area and ramparts. Also seen is a shrine of the visitation of the Mother of God. Check out the Facebook page for active links for these resources. https://www.facebook.com/Polish-Family-History-102520648303884

February in Poland

luty = February The month is generally very cold, like, it is in Michigan. Sunset on Feb. 1 in Poland: 4:21 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 1 in Michigan, U.S.: 5:55 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 28 in Poland: 5:14 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 28 in Michigan, U.S: 6:31 p.m. There are no legal holidays in Poland in February. February 11 is Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent starts. We definitely like our pączki in Grand Rapids on this day! February 14 is Valentine’s Day which wasn’t observed before 1989 but is becoming more popular February 17 is Ash Wednesday. Due to the coronavirus, the distribution is different this year. The priest will not make a cross on a person’s forehead but instead will sprinkle ashes on them.

Jozef Kaszucki and the 1863 January Revolution

(image credit https://s.inyourpocket.com/gallery/228463.jpg) **********Major events have been happening in the United States the past year. It would be interesting to see how those events are viewed in the future -- 10, 50, 100 years from now. In the same way, many major events happened in Poland during the lives of many of my ancestors. It leads me to wonder about their involvement in those events or any impact the events may have had on them. One time period I am curious about is the Fall of 1862 and the winter of 1863. My explanations are from what I have read and I am sure could be better explained by a student of history or by someone from Poland. I would love it if a relative from Poland could add any information about this event and if we had any relatives involved in it. That time period involved rising civil unrest in Poland, including in the immediate area around Tomaszow Lubelski. Add to what was happening, normal personal family events and it makes for some possibly challenging times. This time period was personally eventful for Jozef Kaszucki. (my 2nd great grandfather.)************ Jozef Kaszucki (my 2nd great grandfather) was an adult during this period, living in the city. Of Tomaszów Lubelski. His father Andrzej had moved from Ulnow, Galicia, Austria (now Ukraine) for a better life. Andrezej had met Salomea there In Tomaszow. Her family were potters and his family were furriers for generations. Andrzej and Salomea had their son Jozef and his siblings in Tomaszow. Jozef and his first wife Katarzyna (nee Szokalowicz) had been married for 11 years. Witnesses to their Greek Catholic marriage included Wojceich Janusz, a weaver (I think related to Patrice (Szymanski) Shay)) and Szczepan Czarnopys, a shoemaker (Mike’s second great grandfather.) Their wedding included a prenuptial agreement, prepared by a notary in the Circuit of Tomaszow. Prenups were rare at this time but used to protect a family’s property, as they are now. Jozef and Katarzyna had two children (maybe more but that is what I have so far found). Sadly, the first one Jan, passed away in 1859 at six months old. *********** Within a short time period during the Fall of 1862, family tragedy struck several times. On October 25, four year old daughter Joanna, who had been baptised and confirmed through the rites of the Greek Catholic church, passed away. Reporting the death with him was Grzegorz Niedzwiedz (Curt’ Wolf’s relative.) A month later on November 24, Jozef’s wife Katarzyna died at age 30. This time, Marcin Halkieiwicz, a shoemaker (and Mike’s third great uncle) went with him to report the death. Then on December 14, 1882, Jozef’s Uncle Theodore passed away. Jozef was a declarant for this death indicating that they were probably close knit. ********** Unfortunately, during Jozef’s whole life , Poland was in turmoil and under the control of outside forces. An internal revolution was brewing, especially centered around the larger cities, but it made its way to the small city in which he lived. On January 24 1863, Henryk Gramowski with his small ten person band of insurgents, broke into the Russian cossack station in Jozefow, about 17 miles west of Tomaszow Lubelski. With the horses and guns they obtained and volunteers from nearby towns, they formed a poorly equipped 60 person troop. This was part of a bigger battle https://www.facebook.com/216532571884064/photos/a.225763764294278/790735797797069/ ********** On the next day, January 25, 1863, after being widowed for two months, Jozef married Paulina Kurkieiwcz (my second great grandmother.) Often parents remarried quickly because of the care of young children but Jozef’s children were deceased and Paulina had never been married. While Jozef was of the Greek Uniate faith, his bride-to-be was from the Latin church and they married in the Latin church. Paulina’s parents were shoemakers in Tomaszow. Likely the furriers provided leather for the shoemakers so the families would have known each other. Unlike his first marriage, there was not a prenuptial agreement for this marriage. Marcin Halkiewicz who had been a declarant for the sad occasion of Katarzyna’s death, was there to help him celebrate the new marriage. Marcin was no longer a shoemaker but had become a farmer. Szymon Zolkiewski, another shoemaker, was a witness at both events also. (I haven’t figured out yet how he is related.) ********** Five days later on January 30, the Russians in Tomaszow Lubelski expected trouble so they sent their customs chamber money to Zamosc and locked up their 150 cossacks in their barracks with a few guards. Gramowski’s group attacked on January 31 at night and both sides suffered casualties. The Russians seemed to accept defeat and left for Żdanowie, 24 miles North near Zamosc, the next day on February 1. The small opposition group went into Tomaszow Lubelski and declared a Polish national government. The victory was short lived because on February 5, the Russians returned and the Bloody Day in Tomaszów Lubelski happened. Two loud cannon balls were the only warning. Doors and windows were broken and fires were started. The people living there left their houses attempting to save their belongings and were killed. Around 80 people died. https://www.historiaregionu.org/powstanie-styczniowe-w-regionie?lang=pl **********What was this unsuccessful January Insurrection (Uprising) that occurred from 1863 to 1864 that resulted in more control by Russia of Poland? During 123 years of partition, there were many attempts to restore Poland’s independence. Around 1860, Russia had been recently defeated in the Crimean War which had hurt them financially and politically. Resistance groups and demonstrations began to occur. There were two prevailing camps -- the “reds” and the “whites” though nothing was highly organized. The “reds” were made up of common people -- peasants and merchants -- who wanted more rights. The “whites” were led by Andrzej Zamoyjski, an intellectual who owned property and who favored a return to the pre-1830’s period before the constitution was created for the Kingdom of Poland. While this version of Poland was the smallest ever, with Russia dominating other areas, the constitution of this era promised freedom of speech and religious tolerance. It still favored the nobility and reduced some rights of peasants and Jews. Russians disregarded it and that contributed to unrest, leading in 1830 to a “November Uprising.” After that a more conservative statute was put into place but wasn’t implemented. ********** In February, 1861, demonstrators gathered in Warsaw to commemorate a 1831 battle. The Russians killed some of the protestors and implemented more repressive policies. Over the next year there were more demonstrations resulting in deaths and deportations to Siberia. By 1863, there were plans for a massive uprising. Trying to prevent this, forced conscriptions into the Russian Army happened January 14 and 15. Rather than reducing the coming opposition, they were inspired to begin earlier than planned on January 22. For the next year and a half, there were 2500 battles. The insurgents were small in number and poorly equipped, compared to the Russians. By April, 1864, 80,000 Polish people had been deported to Siberia which caused great fear. Hundreds of people were killed. Poland was to no longer exist -- institutions were abolished, the Polish language was not to be taught in the schools, and official positions were taken over by Russians. Many gentry lost their lands which also negatively affected the peasantry who already struggled. The rebellion was unsuccessful and resulted in more control of Poland by Russia. ********** While it is impossible to truly comprehend what this experience was like for Jozef and his family, it is true that they had five children from 1864 to 1871 who all lived less than a year until Katarzyna (my great grandmother) was born. She is the only one I have found from this family that survived to adulthood. While it is true that infant mortality was high in general, for comparison only a few of the eight children in Jozef’s family died before adulthood. So for some reason this family experienced a higher than normal infant mortality rate. These experiences probably had a deep impact on Jozef and his family that would continue for generations.********** https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw/the-january-uprising-1863-64_75398f (this one has some amazing pictures) https://lublin.tvp.pl/41150235/rocznica-krwawego-dnia-w-tomaszowie-lubelskim Historia Regionu Tomaszów Lubelski Bełz Rawa Ruska Uprising in zamosc area https://www.historiaregionu.org/powstanie-styczniowe-w-regionie?lang=pl https://www.historiaregionu.org/historie-z-regionu?lang=pl add about 2nd story about Lt. Grunseid https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski?lang=pl image and story

A Description of Tomaszow Lubelski A Year After My Grandfather Left

A courier from Lviv (Ukraine) described Tomaszów Lubelski in October 1913, which was only a year later than my grandfather Anthony and his brother Joseph arrived in the U.S. I have summarized his description and the link goes to the full version. The picture shows the market but many of the buildings later burned in a fire on 28 May, 1918, which broke out in the building next to the synagogue. Two thousand people lost their homes when 200 houses burned down. From the month of May until the end of September, an automobile went twice a day on a route through Tomaszow and to Lublin. The route passed a Russion customs stop where the people in charge spoke Polish. Cossacks had a building there, serving as border guards. There were white stones along both sides of the road for driving at night. The author reflected sadly that it wasn’t long before when there were no border guards. The author saw what he described as the “hideous, green painted towers” of the Orthodox church as he approached the city. The city was full of shops, stalls and mud. A horse pulling a cart struggled in the black mud. There was an obelisk in the square in memory of the reign of Nicholas II. Tobacco products were sold freely which amazed the author since as a Galicians, he said he was used to a government monopoly on cigarettes. The people in the streets spoke Polish and were dressed from an earlier time. The Cossacks attire was described as “disgustingly colored” and they “make an unpleasant impression” with “wild expressions on their faces.” Seeing them reminded the author of bloody descriptions of post-partition martyrdom. The Catholic church, there for 500 years and made of larch (a type of conifer) was blackened with age and neglect. After this negative description, he ended with “Some young people go to America for bread.” https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski Photo and story credits: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5df8e1_d23a378c698c4920bc9789b4b16c7738~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_999,h_388,al_c,q_85/5df8e1_d23a378c698c4920bc9789b4b16c7738~mv2.webp

Church Pictures from Tomaszow Lubelskie

Check out the Catholic church pictures from Andrzej Dubiel! Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tomaszow Lubelski is where all the births, marriages and deaths either happened or were recorded. Andrzej Dubiel sent these pictures. The first church in 1627 was paid for by Tomasz Zamoyski. It was later replaced by this church in 1727, paid for by Michal Zdzislaw Zamoyski. Throughout the years additions were made and things damaged parts were replaced. One of the signs in this picture asks for donations since keeping it maintained is expensive. https://zabytek.pl/en/obiekty/tomaszow-lubelski-zespol-kosciola-par-pw-zwiastowania-nmp The picture of the Virgin Mary is one of the most valuable treasures in the church and is the source of legends. For instance, after the Swedes destroyed the town in 1656, the paintin was ripped and thrown in a manure pile. It was miraculously found and restored. It has been moved to several churches over its lifespan. This link describes the treasures in the church in more detail if you scroll down a little: https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski

Sabaudia in the Winter

It is very exciting to get this picture from Andrzej Dubiel! He is my second cousin--his grandmother Pauline and my grandfather Anthony were siblings. He lives in Sabaudia, near Tomaszow Lubelskie, where my grandfather Anthony and his siblings were born. The 4x great grand parents (Jan and Apolonia Raczkiewicz) moved there in the early 1800s and the next generations were born there, including Andrzej. Sabaudia is a village about two miles northeast of the city. Wikipedia says there are currently about 600 people living there. I sent Andrzej this Facebook link to see what Grand Rapids looked like where and when the Raczkiewicz were first here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/weRwestsiders/permalink/10159588634539528