Exhibit shines light on Polish settlers

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This article was published 23/11/2024 (369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An exhibit documenting the migration of Polish families from the village of Kazcyce in southeastern Poland to Brandon and Melville, Sask., in the late 1800s is currently on display at the The Daly House Museum.

Entitled, “Who’s in That Photo? Discovering Brandon’s Polish Roots in Photographs,” the display is an homage to the many Polish immigrants who have helped shape the local community’s history.

Created by Ottawa-based genealogist Frank Cedar, the exhibit features 58 reproduced photographs documenting their migration and helping uncover the storied past of some of the families in the pictures. Cedar, 79, who is also of Polish ancestry and traces his roots to the Kaszyce village, undertook the project to delve deeper into his own family history and to appeal to local residents to share any additional information that they might have.

“My family’s connection to Brandon dates back to my first visit in 1955,” Cedar said in an interview. “I have family here, including my great-great-grandmother, who I didn’t even know existed until I started my research. The discovery of family ties and other Polish connections in Brandon has been a fascinating journey.”

Cedar told the Sun he has spent more than three decades uncovering the history of Polish settlers in Western Canada, and hopes that Brandon residents will help fill in some missing details in his research. He started out by trying to find out more about his grandfather’s origins, which led him to Poland after years of hitting dead ends in Canada. During a trip to Kaszyce, he discovered a monument commemorating the tragic massacre of nearly 200 people in 1943, some of whom shared the same names as the families who had settled in Brandon.

Exhibition curator Eileen Trott told the Sun that surnames, such as Broda, Konieczny, Bojarski, Sowa, Dolny, Walchuk, Wielgosz, Lorenowics, and Koldziejczyk are central to the exhibit, though the identities of some individuals remain unknown. Cedar also plans to return to Brandon to deliver a presentation at the Daly House in early 2025, sharing insights about the exhibit and offering guidance on researching Polish ancestry, she added.

“Frank, in a sense, has rescued these photographs and is bringing back the stories of the individuals depicted in them,” Trott said. “It is Daly House’s honour to share that story on Frank’s behalf with the community. We hope the public will help us help him identify the unknown and reconnect us to their forgotten history and our province’s shared history with Poland.”

The exhibit aims to not only showcase the lives of Brandon’s early Polish settlers, but also foster a deeper understanding of Canada’s immigrant past, Trott added. It will be on display at the museum’s second-floor gallery until April 30, 2025.

Located at 122 18th St. in Brandon, the Daly House Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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