Central Archives of Polonia
Central Archives of Polonia
CENTRAL ARCHIVES OF POLONIA AT ORCHARD LAKE
With concern and disquiet we view the cultural-social changes that are occurring in Polonia. Under their influence many Polish parishes are closing, and the activities of many Polish organizations are disappearing. They are the results of natural integrating processes; therefore, it is difficult to oppose them. But we can and should care about preserving as many as possible of the materials and memorabilia of pollonian life and the important work of Polish priests and very many Polish parishes.
For many years there is at Orchard Lake the Central Archives of Polonia, Very many archival materials. Polish books, and Polonian periodicals arc preserved there. Up to now, all of these collections have been housed in three different buildings and in many other locations. They are now being organized and transferred to the Library (books and periodicals); the remainder of these materials will be housed in the Archives. Nothing is being discarded or destroyed. The archival materials were deposited in appropriate containers and placed on appropriate shelves specially constructed for the Archives. They have been secured and initially segregated. Now they await a special treatment that will be based on contemporary principles and methods universally applied in archival work. This will require preparing inventories and lists of individual items and archival collections, as well as adding them to existing computer networks of Polish and American archives. As a result, introductory information about our materials will be available on the internet.
For many years Msgr. Roman Nir was in charge of the Orchard Lake Archives. Thanks to him, we have these very rich collections. This is his personal contribution and merit. The Seminary and all of us are deeply grateful to him. He has been retired for a year and resides in Poland.
Rev. Dr. Stanislaw Flis was named the new Director of the Archives by Chancellor Rev. Timothy Whelan. Fr. Flis has been at Orchard Lake for the past 24 years. At first, he was in charge of recruiting students from Poland for the Seminary. Later he taught Pastoral Theology. For the past three years he has been the Director of the Polish American Liturgical Center. He completed his studies at the Catholic University of Lublin, where he earned a Master's degree in Church History, a Licentiate in Pastoral Theology, and a doctorate in the Sociology of Religion. For many years he has been interested in the history of Polonian pastoral work. In spite of the fact that he has many responsibilities in the Liturgical Center, he volunteered to assume the responsibilities of the Director of the Archives.
We invite and urge everyone to send historical materials that pertain to information about Polish parishes and Polonian organizations to the Orchard Lake Archives. We will preserve these materials for future generations so that information about the life and contributions of Polonia will not be lost.