Written by Joe Hughes, PGS-MN Member
Wiarus was published in Winona from 1886 to 1919. It was a Polish-language newspaper written by Poles, for Poles, and about Poles. Under its iconic editor, Hieronim Derdowski, who served until his untimely death in 1902, Wiarus held its own against Polish-language papers from much larger cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, and Toledo. Wiarus featured news from both the Old Country and the New Country, and it published letters from Poles across America and Europe. It also offered plenty of Derdowski’s own highly opinionated commentary. He was never one to let facts or his previous positions stand in the way of a good argument with another editor, which often landed him in court. On the other hand, it sold a lot of newspapers.
Wiarus is an excellent resource for those interested in Polish American genealogy and/or history. One particularly interesting feature was “Drobne Echa,” (Echoes from Afar), which reported on events in Polish communities throughout America. For many years, PGS-MN member Greg Kishel translated these columns into English and published them in our newsletter. They make fascinating reading, and are well worth the effort of finding them in the online archives. But there remains plenty to be discovered in Wiarus, which may be of use to a wide range of enthusiasts – like you!
Thanks to the Library of Congress, the entire archive of Wiarus is now online and fully searchable. The Library’s own search engine is useful, but the Minnesota Historical Society’s search engine is better to use for ease of translation into English. The video included in this month’s Komunikat will give you tips on how to get started. The process is still not seamless, since many of the scans are from faded or fragmentary originals, causing Google Translate to produce gibberish. But even the gibberish can be fixed with a little effort. The reward is getting to read Wiarus without having to learn Polish. You will be pleased with your results!
Links and Resources
Minnesota Historical Society: Wiarus
Go to Titles at the top and then scroll down to find Wiarus and Katolik
From Poland to Minnesota: Winona Newspapers
You will need your members only password to access
PGS-MN: Komunikat and Drobne Echa
You will need your members only password to access