Ladies’ Circles

The Ladies' Circles of the Polish Alliance of Canada have a long history, dating back to the Sons of Poland Brotherhood, where an independent Women's Association was established due to the organization's initial male-only constitution. The Women's Association was later renamed the Polish Women's Committee reflecting the growing importance of female participation within the Polish-Canadian community.

1960 - Congress of Presidents of Polish women's groups (Original Photo)

1960 - Congress of Presidents of Polish women's groups (Enhanced Photo)

The work of the Ladies’ Circles began during the existence of the Sons of Poland Brotherhood. Since the constitution of that organization did not anticipate female members, an independent Women’s Association was established. In 1919, the Women’s Association was renamed the Polish Women’s Committee. When the Union merged with The Polish Alliance of Canada, the situation for women was unknown and quite strange, since members of the Union could be men or women, while those of the Sons of Poland Brotherhood and The St. Stanislaus Society could only be men.

Women were still uncertain about their position and established the Women’s Alliance in Canada in February 1923. However, an amendment to the constitution of The Polish Alliance of Canada, which allowed women to join this organization, was enacted and approved by the Ontario Department of Insurance. This caused women to disband their organization and join the PAC at a meeting on December 21, 1924.

For more than ten years, they worked alongside the men, organizing evening classes for Polish children, establishing community centres for adolescents, and playing an active part in theatre productions, meetings, recitations and other social undertakings. PAC Branch 2 in Hamilton initiated the idea to create an independent women’s organization. At a monthly meeting on February 10, 1935, Anastazja Kozlowska gave this proposition to Franciszek Sumak, PAC Branch 2’s President at that time; one month later, the Women’s Club was established, and its members organized a weekly tea on Wednesdays to collect funds to begin their work in the community.

In November 1935, Anastazja Kozlowska made up a statute that was accepted by PAC Branch 2’s board and sent to the PAC Head Executive Board for approval. The organization was named The Polish Alliance of Canada Ladies’ Circle. At the VII PAC General Assembly in 1937, Anastazja Kozlowska appealed to the delegates of other branches to form their own Ladies’ Circles. After a short discussion, the delegates decided to create the position of the Ladies’ Circles’ General Organizer within the Head Executive Board, whose responsibilities included the formation of a Circle within each Alliance Branch.

Anastazja Kozlowska, an exceptional person and a great director of this organization, was elected to fill this position, establishing a strong foundation for the Ladies’ Circles within the structure of The Polish Alliance of Canada. From then on, circles were formed within most Alliance branches. It was, therefore, necessary for the circles working within individual branches to cooperate, so the first Ladies’ Circles Assembly was held in Toronto on May 28 and 29, 1938. At that Assembly, the statute of Branch 2’s Ladies’ Circle was adopted by all newly-formed Ladies’ Circles.

One of the points of the Assembly’s resolution stated:

“We, Polish-Canadian women, gathered at the I General Assembly of Polish Women of The Polish Alliance of Canada in Toronto […] have decided to work in our branches, wherever they exist and wherever they will exist to disseminate education and to propagate tolerance and brotherhood. We vow to dedicate all of our organizational work towards education and formation, by supporting and helping our Polish-language schools, by propagating Polish literature and penmanship and our own press The Alliancer, and by organizing seminars, readings, concerts, amateur theatre productions, etc.”

Ladies’ Circles Structure

Until 1957, the highest position of the Ladies’ Circles remained the General Organizer, who was elected by a majority vote. The position was filled for the first time by Anastazja Kozlowska from 1937 until 1943, when she was forced to resign due to poor health. In 1951, she again filled the position of General Organizer, until its elimination. In 1957, at the IX Ladies’ Circles’ Delegates’ General Assembly in Brantford, the Central Board was established as the highest board to execute the General Assemblies’ resolutions. Its members were the following women: Anastazja Kozlowska – President; Wanda Staniszewska – Recording Secretary; and Kazimiera Syta – Financial Secretary.

Anastazja Kozlowska remained President until 1969. During her presidency, in 1957, the PAC Ladies’ Circles were inducted into the Council of Women of Canada, an internationally-reaching women’s organization in Canada. The Ladies’ Circles also directed six Polish schools and began bi-annual Presidents’ Conferences. During the XV Ladies’ Circles’ Delegates’ Assembly in April 1969, a banner funded by the delegates was given to the PAC Head Executive Board to commemorate the PAC’s 60^th anniversary. It was presented to Head Executive Board President Tadeusz Glista and accompanied by the following wishes:

“We congratulate the PAC, our parent organization, on its 60^th anniversary, we wish for further development, and we express our gratitude for the unrestricted freedom of our work.”

At this Assembly, Irena Jaworka became President until 1970. At the XVI Ladies’ Circles’ Delegates’ Assembly in April 1971 in Guelph, a new Board was chosen, and Maria Kiczma was elected its President until the XXII Ladies’ Circles’ Delegates’ Assembly held between April 30 and May 1, 1983.

Growing importance of female participation

For the 75^th anniversary of The Polish Alliance of Canada, the Central Board and the Ladies’ Circles funded a memory plaque, which President Maria Kiczma gave to Julian Dobranowski, President of the PAC Head Executive Board. Twelve years of uninterrupted presidency later, the delegates of the XII Assembly said goodbye to Maria Kiczma as President, wishing her further successes in volunteer work.

Maria Kiczma remained an active member of PAC Branch 2 in Hamilton and was the curator and recording secretary of The W. Reymont Foundation for many years.

Maria Turczyniak became the new President of the Ladies’ Circles’ Central Board and remained in that position until 1989. Between 1989 and 1999, the President of the Central Board was Maria Trojan. Since 1999, the position has been filled by Elzbieta Gazda.

In the year of the 75^th anniversary of The Polish Alliance of Canada, Maria Kiczma described the character of the Ladies’ Circles’ work most accurately:

“Since their establishment in 1935, Ladies’ Circles have worked in a specific direction and have created a program for women of Polish origin to work together towards national, citizenly and culturally-educational goals, by maintaining the language and by promoting the thousand-year-old Polish culture and traditions outside of Poland. The achievement of these goals began … and this may cause laughter … in the kitchen.Women often tore themselves away from household and professional work and ‘stole’ the time set aside for personal and family life, in order to meet and to come up with ways to collect funds for, among other things, the establishment of Polish schools, the construction and, later, the maintenance of Alliance halls, help for Poland, and help for new immigrants in Canada. They collected these funds through unappreciated and labourious kitchen work or through organization of fundraising balls, picnics, raffles and other cultural events.Although the Ladies’ Circles’ main objectives were the maintenance of Polish language outside of Poland, the popularization of culture and the cultivation of Polish traditions, important issues to ethnic minorities were not ignored: cultural integration into the country which became their second Homeland. For this reason, the Ladies’ Circles are members participating in the work of the Provincial Council of Women of Ontario.”

Polish-Canadian Community Involvement

The priceless work of the Ladies’ Circles is closely related to their respective Alliance branches. This women’s organization’s work for the Alliance, the Polish community, Canada and Poland includes, among many other things, working towards the diffusion of Polish culture, participating in Canadian society, and promoting political and charitable activities that help those in need.

The Ladies’ Circles’ Central Board had organized a Harvest Festival celebration, the most beautiful and most colourful Polish tradition of the Harvest Holiday. The celebration took place annually in August at Place Polonaise in Grimsby and always brought crowds of Polish folksong, folkdance and cuisine lovers. A joyful party atmosphere of comfortable celebration always accompanied the participants and guests of the harvest festival celebrations.

Harvest wreaths where ceremoniously placed on the alter during the Holy Mass at the beginning of the celebration. Song and dance ensembles from various cities in the province created a part of Poland on the shores of Lake Ontario. Interestingly, the first Central Board was elected in 1957, so 2007 was the centennial of The Polish Alliance of Canada, as well as the 50^th anniversary of the Ladies’ Circles’ highest governing body.