Polish club's Last Polka

[Tony Rozycki]

I've been meaning to attend a Friday fish fry at the P-A Club and never got around to it. My grandfather, same name as I, was born on Lawson a few blocks from the Club. He went to school at St Casimir's. His father, also same name as I, & mother operated a sweet little confectionary (candy) shop on Arcade across the street from the Club. Hmmm

[Kevin MN]

All the people complaining about the Hmong and the Latinos coming to the Eastside are funny. They're probably the same people that complained when the Poles came fourty years ago.

[Sandi]

It's a sad day when the Polish American Club has to close its doors. I grew up on Arcade in the 40's and 50's went to St. Casimir Church and spent many happy times at the club either for weddings, receptions or just tagging along with the folks. Its a shame the area has gone down hill the way it has. I hope the club finds a new place to hold the many meetings everyone enjoyed going to.

[Pat-in-St-Paul]

Shame on St. Paul City for taxing important landmarks out of business. I have lived near the Arcade Polish American Club for 52 of my 60 years. What is the matter with city hall. Vacant houses, bull dozers in night, we need to bring St. Paul back to the vibrant city is was back in the 1950's where jobs were plenty and beer flowed freely

[Tony Soika US Army]

I think it was more than 40 years. My family has been in St Paul since about 1880 or so when they came from Poland. You're right though, it is a shame. I just got home from a 6-week and 13-week officer leadership course with the army and at one point I was pointing out a tactical lesson learned from Custer and the Little Bighorn.
Blank faces. None of the 18-year old privates ever heard of either one.
History and tradition, whether American or ethnic, don't seem to mean anything anymore. I'm not sure what the right answer is to fix it, but it's a sad prescription for our nation's future.

[WTF]

Kevin MN wrote:

All the people complaining about the Hmong and the Latinos coming to the Eastside are funny. They're probably the same people that complained when the Poles came fourty years ago.

Who is complaining? People are just saying that the area has changed to different ethnic backgrounds..

[Joseph Filipczak]

Sad to hear the Polish-American Club is closing. We had our wedding reception there back in 1958. Have pictures of our reception showing the plaster missing on some of the walls. Glad to see that it was remodeled and looked pretty good last time I was there. While growing up, our family went to many dances and events through the years. Always tried to stop by whenever we got back to St. Paul and always enjoyed it. Went to numerous dances there when my brother, John, played there with his "John Filipczak and The Classics". We have lived in Indiana since 1966.

[TO SAD]

Sad wrote:

TO SAD, No I DON'T THINK IT'S RUDE I THINK IT A FACT ABOUT THE EAST SIDE. THERE ARE MORE MEXICANS AND HMONGS THEN THERE ARE POLLS. DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE EAST SIDE JERK. GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE.

BACK TO U SO SAD-I DO KNOW THE EAST SIDE WE CALL IT THE DIRTY EAST AND IT IS NOT CALLED THE DIRTY EAST SIDE FOR NOTHING, IT IS CALLED THAT BECAUSE OF WHITE TRASH LIKE YOURSELF WHO BLAME EVERYTHING ON HARD WORKING MINORITYS SO KEEP THE PAC HALL AND THE DIRTY EAST SIDE WE LOVE OUR SIDE THAT WOULD BE THE BEST WEST SIDE OF ST PAUL WITH MORE MEXICANS THEN U WOULD LIKE

[TO SAD]

Former Eastsider wrote:

To the person who said that the Mexicans or Hmong would stick together to keep it going. Yea any group could do it if they got the tax breaks those people get.

U DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ONLY HMONG PEOPLE GET TAX BREAKS MEXICANS GET NO BREAKS THEY WORK HARD FOR THERE MONEY AND MANY DO NOT HAVE PAPERS TO EVEN GET THERE TAXS THAT ARE PAID IN BACK SO I WOULD DO MY HOMEWORK IF I WHERE U I GUESS THE ONLY SMART THING ABOUT U WOULD BE U ARE A FORMER EASTSIDER ***

[G Whiz]

Poland? Didn't they lose World War II or something like that?

[pesky]

but it helps to tell a few polish jokes, doesn´t it ?

[HooHa]

Another one bites the dust thanks to the smoking ban.

[annonomouse]

As long as they keep importing crime from other places people will move out. be carefull who you let in. I moved after being broken into several times. one can not live in the city anymore.

[Dumbrowski]

G Whiz wrote:

Poland? Didn't they lose World War II or something like that?

This is true.
The German army marched in backwards and the Poles thought they were leaving! The rest is history.

say it aint so !

[Mnnative]

My parents had their wedding reception there right after the war. I was not there of course for that event, but have been to many receptions of my cousins there. Overall the eastside has changed so much, my family too has been in the area for over 100 years. Both parents grew up on the eastside and I moved back here as a young adult. In the last 30 years I have seen alot of change.

The danish pastery shop closing was a huge blow. I remember stopping in there as a child with my grandmother for a bearclaws and frequented the place as an adult, it was there one week and gone the next. I remember going into Morelli's with her to get some dark rum for her pinnapple upsidedown cake and her having a huge "discusion" with Mr Morelli on how she only needed a 1/4 cup and had buy a whole 5th. This must have been in about 1964.

Also sad is all of the Family owned resaurants closing, as the old guard start to pass. Napoli to name just one, Mangini's. We still have Yarussos and Romolos, but for how long. It is just not the same anymore.

[Cindy Stainker]

Pretty soon there will be nothing left of this city if the powers that be don't get a clue.

[major]

Paul wrote:

It is more important to the politicians to spend money on the new cultures that have come in and demanded things than the old cultures that have made us what we are.

One day, the "new" cultures will be the old cultures. That's how it works in America.

[major]

HooHa wrote:

Another one bites the dust thanks to the smoking ban.

Uh, no.

[Consistent]

major wrote:

<quoted text>
One day, the "new" cultures will be the old cultures. That's how it works in America.

Thank you for you insights.
Are you familiar with the writings of Sarah D, Kacy, Mellers, City Woman, or Fed up ?

I think you could join the group if you ask real nice. As a benefit, you get the Mascot services of Madman!

[City woman]

major wrote:

<quoted text>
One day, the "new" cultures will be the old cultures. That's how it works in America.

Especially on the east side, which has always been a neighborhood of immigrants (more so than others). The Swedes, the Poles, the Italians...now the Hmong and the Latino, starting to see a few Somalis here too. Soon they'll be the ones everyone remembers from their childhoods on the east side...when the next new group comes in.

Sad to see it go - I live just a few blocks away. The last thing Arcade needs is another vacant business.