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September 15, 16, & 17th |
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Sep 14, 2006
“Getting on the road to naturalization was the greatest gift my grandparents ever got,” Victor Stevens, 72, said over a beer in the basement lounge of what is widely known by its acronym, the PNI Club, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this weekend with a dance, a banquet and a family day. Begun in the fall of 1906 in the parish hall of the then 2-year-old Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, the club’s early mission to guide Poles to citizenship soon included a social aspect and the PNI has been at the center of the city’s Polish community ever since. For decades, Worcester’s Polish-Americans have gone to the PNI for a beer after work; were introduced to ward politics in its backrooms; celebrated their weddings, anniversaries and birthdays in the large hall; gathered there on Polish holidays; and sent their daughters there for piano lessons. “We even had a beer bought for us by George Romney,” Mr. Stevens said, recalling the day Mitt Romney came to the club to promote his Senate campaign against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and his father bought a round. “I’m sure that was the first beer bought in the PNI by a Mormon.” The club has survived eminent domain seizure, a long decline in membership and an attempt four years ago to sell the building. It now boasts that it is the oldest independent Polish social club in the country still serving them up. Mr. Stevens, who grew up on Vernon Hill and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1956, said it did not appear the club would survive long into the 21st century. “I remember when we went under 100 members,” he said. “I didn’t think we could keep going much longer. It was sad because the PNI had been such a part of the Polish experience in Worcester.” After a long day of pulling wire at the American Steel & Wire, Wyman-Gordon or tending the power looms at Crompton & Knowles or toiling in the other factories that crowded the area known as The Island, Poles went to the club in the evenings for tutoring in the English language and the finer points of the Constitution. “Even how to salute the flag,” Mr. Stevens said. The club paid the fees and provided the witnesses needed then to take the citizenship oath. The club quickly outgrew the parish hall and for decades rented halls in the Millbury Street area, including the one above the Rialto Theater. In 1955, with a membership list of nearly 500, the club built a quarters on Foyle Street, with plans for expansion. Those plans became moot when Foyle Street disappeared amid highway construction. The club opened at its present location, 290 Millbury St. in 1963. Renovations in recent years include new heating and air conditioning systems and a major overhaul of the function hall, with its gleaming parquet dance floor. “The hall is rented just about every weekend,” said Dorothy Kalinowski, the club’s manager. But just four years ago, when membership dipped below 100, club officers considered closing and selling the business to the Worcester Irish Club, which was beginning a search for a location because it was about to lose its building to eminent domain for the Route 146 expansion. The PNI had not been able to attract the young Polish emigrants who arrived in droves in the early 1990s. “They thought we were run by a clique,” said Mr. Stevens, who owned and operated the 400 Club in Harwich Port until he recently sold it. “Maybe we were.” Despite serious financial problems — the club was $40,000 in the red — the board voted not to sell. An enthusiastic new president, Jay Sawicki, was elected, the bookkeeper was fired and Mrs. Kalinowski, who had a master’s degree in history from Poland but no experience in the hospitality industry, was hired as manager. “I didn’t know what I was doing at first,” Mrs. Kalinowski said, laughing. “The first time I was alone in the bar and the old guys were coming in to drink, I locked myself in the office, I was so scared. But I learned from my mistakes.” Under her leadership, the club’s membership has climbed back over 300. “She does a great job,” Mr. Stevens said. “She’s a whirling dervish.” The anniversary celebration begins tomorrow night at the club with a disco dance featuring disc jockey Darek Kucala and a free buffet. U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern is expected to attend the sold-out Saturday night banquet, along with other local politicians and elected officials. One Man Band will play and the folk dance troupe Piast will perform. Sunday’s Family Day begins with a Mass at 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church. From there, the Holy Cross color guard will lead a parade two blocks to the PNI for a free buffet and an afternoon of children’s activities. |
Last updated on
April 6, 2007
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