June 16, 2006
A Polish Catholic Girl Like Me – Part One
93. I’m Polish and Catholic and proud of it. I’m a Polish Princess. No, seriously.
92. I do love Polka music and Polka dancing. I don’t care who knows it.
Ma wy wysłuchaliście co JA jestem Polskie?
So, in case I’ve never mentioned this before (the other 89 times do not count), I’m a Polish-Catholic girl from a town called Stevens Point, Wisconsin. My maiden name is Jurgella and that is spelled just like it sounds: JUR – JELLA. My great grandfather changed the spelling because no one in America could pronounce our last name. In true Polish form it should be spelled Dziurdziela. I know it’s a tough one.
My grandparents were first generation American-born and their parents came directly from Poland as children. They grew up speaking Polish until they were forced to learn English in order to be considered citizens. When I was younger I knew many phrases in their native language, but no one really passed on the skills of writing and grammar so I can’t really tell you how to write in Polish. I’ve tried to learn, but it’s very difficult. First one must know whether they are speaking high Polish or low Polish (slang) and then it gets worse from there.
Grandma Helen (Lewandowski) Jurgella was proud of her heritage. She loved Polka dancing and taking trips to Chicago to see the old Polish neighborhoods. She also traveled often to Milwaukee for dances with my grandfather, Florian Jurgella. They taught all nine of their children to be proud of their nationality and ancestors. My father Frank instilled the importance in me and my siblings. Not only that, but it was very important to be true to your Catholic faith. I remember my Baszia (Grandma) telling stories about the fancy churches in Chicago like St. Stanislaus-Kostkas. How proud she was to tell us about the beatiful structure, the stained glass windows and tiffany lighting. Her eyes would light up as she described the scene to us.
My Grandma Alice (Ostrowski) Landowski was also proud to be Polish. We’d take her shopping and she’d insist on listening to her polka tapes in the car. She told us stories about driving with her sisters in the old Model-T and almost getting hit by a train because the car got stuck on the tracks. They were on their way to a polka dance at church. Grandma Alice swore that an angel pushed the car over the tracks just in time and saved their lives. I would get goosebumps listening to her talk about it.
She’d tell me how she met Grandpa Adolph Landowski at the dance and they were both surprised to find out they were born on the same day, April 25th, just 10 years apart. Grandpa Adolph died two months before my parents wedding in 1978 so I never met him, but I often had dreams when I was young that he would visit me at night and tell me stories about World War II. My grandmother told me I must be clairvoyant because when I told her the stories from my dreams she remarked how accurate they were. She thought my mother had told them to me, but my mother had not because she couldn’t remember them in so much detail.
Family weddings were always Polish style. This is a 3 day event. On the Friday before the wedding we all meet at the wedding hall to prep the food for the cooks who make the meal for the next day. Saturday is the ceremony and reception that must have a polka band and the Tatuszu Waltz (father-daughter dance) and Sunday is the Popriwinia (where you eat the left-overs from the wedding the night before and do the gift opening.)
My family goes to many Polka dances in the area. Bands like Lenny Gomulka & The Chicago Push and Eddy Blazonczyk are favorites. People travel from miles around to follow these bands and I love them! It’s true.
My father likes to joke about being a member of the Polish Mafia. Don’t worry, no crimes or murders take place other than drinking too much beer and talking too loud. He calls me his Polish Princess and for a long time I thought I was royalty. Okay, until age 13, then I reallized he was joking. Did you know he wanted to name me Stella Isabella Jurgella? Thank you, MOM for stepping in.
So there you have it, some Polish Power! Stay tuned for Rozdzielają Dwa (Part Two)!
Posted by Dana @ 7:58 AM • Dana 101,Polish Princess
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May 9th, 2007 at 1:23 PM, Michael Drapes Says:
Dana,
I think we are cousins in a round about way. My grand parents were Vincent and Mary (Clarkowski) Jurgella of Stevens Point, WI. My parents were Stanley and Lucille (Jurgella) Drapes. They were both born in Stevens Point and grew up speaking Polish. They used to speak Polish when they did not want us kid knowing what they were talking about. My dad was in the Army, so they move around alot, but I grew up in El Paso, TX. We never got to learn much about our Polish heritage. My dad loved polka music and listened to it everyday of his retiement.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:41 PM, Jessica Jurgella Says:
My boyfriend randomly found this and found it very interesting. He sent it to me to ask if this was my relation and to express his shock at the crazy spelling. He also wanted to confirm what he is getting into since we’ve been together for four years. We both found it funny because my dad to this day still picks on me by calling me Stella. We were blessed to have such amazing grandparents and to have been old enough to know them and hear their stories.
November 9th, 2010 at 11:34 AM, David L Jurgella Says:
Do you happen to know where in Prussian-Poland the Dziurdziela family is from?