Know anyone whose Eastern European family settled in St. Albert? If so, then the Musée Héritage Museum wants to hear from you.
As part of a new historical research project, the museum is looking to build up its knowledge base of people from Poland, Russia and the Ukraine.
Families from these countries settled in St. Albert and area throughout the early 1900s and helped to develop the still young community.
These settlers included Polish Oblate fathers brought in by Bishop Vital Grandin and others: Marie Wolniewicz taught at the Brick School for 40 years; the Hauptmans ran the Bruin Inn and Sweetheart Jewellers; and Mary Sernowski, an ardent agrarian, worked at the St. Albert and Edmonton markets for four decades. They all helped to enrich the social, cultural and economic soil of the city.
Michal Mlynarz is the researcher from the University of Alberta who is heading up the project. He hopes the public will be interested to get directly involved in the preservation of history.
“I’ve done a lot of my own research,” he began. “We’re looking for anything we can get.”
To that end, he is hoping to gather as many photos, stories and artifacts as possible about the following pioneering families: Banack (Banach), Bondarevich, Douziech, Hauptman, Klak, Luszczewski, Martyna, Meleshko, Muszczynski, Poloway, Popow, Pudlowski, Romanko, Sernowski, Skrobot, Soloduk, Wachowicz, Wolniewicz and Zyha.
If someone even just wants to call to give details, there is value in that, too.
“Oral histories are the most interesting.”
Mlynarz ensures that all information is valuable and it will be preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. The objective is to produce a written history, along with a new educational program and online exhibit. It will also likely improve the museum’s genealogical database.
If you would like to get in touch with the researchers, please contact Ann Ramsden or Rene Georgopalis at the museum by phone at 780-459-1528, or email at [email protected].
You can also contact Mlynarz directly at 780-907-6126 or [email protected].
