I arrived to Sanok to the warm embrace of my dear mother who I have not seen since my departure so many months ago. There is nothing like the feeling of home. Bykowce lies in southern Poland, not far from the town Sanok where my mom was raised with her 6 siblings and where I spent much of my childhood. My aunts, uncles and several of my many cousins remain in close proximity, and there is much activity and laughter filling this ancestral air. Our ‘villa’ is tucked away beneath the woods, designed and built 13 years ago by my mom and her brother Grzesio who lives here with my aunt Gosia and their daughter Dagmara. It is a beautiful life filled with simple pleasures. When my uncle is not healing the sick at the hospital or at home, he escapes to the woods to hunt, sometimes joined by another uncle Eligiusz, a forester. My hunting consists of picking berries in the garden while the rooster crows…I find refuge in the solemnity of the woods, the same woods where the Jews were saved by the local peasants during times of war, so many stories lay upon these lands…in this time which is told by the rising and falling of the sun, I have found quietude.
Wow… Kasia, this is really amazing! Sending my love to E. Europe.
Em
I found your posts fascinating, as my mother, Wanda Michniowska, was born in NYC in 1911 to Piotr Michniowski and Maria Romanowicz, or Romaniszyn. Piotr came from Sanok and lived in Brooklyn for ten years before returning to Poland. He also had a brother, Marcel, who also came to Brooklyn to earn some money. He was a carpenter. Their father was Tomasz Michniowski, from Sanok. Besides having my mother, Piotr also had a son, Mieczyslaw. The whole family returned to Poland after World War I and settled in Przemysl. Mieczyslaw became a lawyer and had one son, Adam Michniowski. Mieczyslaw died in the 1970s. After World War II, my mother, came to NYC to help support her mother and brother, later married, and had me, her only child.
I’ve been working on the family tree for a few years now, and sadly, have no further knowledge of my Michniowski ancestors. Perhaps some of your older Michniowski relatives might remember some of these people. I would love to hear from them. I am bilingual, so communication would not be too much of a problem.
I am enclosing a link to a photograph of my Michniowski grandparents, Piotr and Maria, with little Mieczyslaw.
http://o.mfcreative.com/f1/file02/objects/a/f/9/2af908c2-8ec1-4a55-b7b8-a1b2ebc3478d-0.jpg.
My family tree is posted on http://www.ancestry.com.
Thank you for posting your Tweets and blog entries. I enjoyed reading them!
Kind regards from the USA,
Renata Stetina
Czesc Renata,
Very nice to hear from you. I just spoke with my mom and asked about your family and whether we are related. She doesn’t think so but you are welcome to contact her and speak in person. I will send you her contact information. Good luck on your continued search for the Michniowski clan!
All the best, Kasia