FIRST NEWSLETTER REPORT OF THE WILNO HERITAGE SOCIETY 1998-1999

On March 15th 1998,  the Wilno Heritage Society met for the first time.  At this meeting, a committee was formed and Dave Shulist was voted President; Michael Coulas was voted Vice-President; Ed Chippior was voted Financial Director and the following committee members nominated : Andrew Yantha (Building Director) has since stepped down and his position has been filled by Phil Biernaskie, Teenie Shulist (Heritage Director), Christine Recoskie (Treasurer), Diane Etmanski (Secretary).

THIS YEAR'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. Log Cabin:  A beautiful log cabin was donated by the late Ambrose Chippior.  This building was put in place by Raymond Kutchoskie, Dave Shulist and Ed Chippior in September, 1998.

2. Media events:   The following promotions have been and are ongoing in the local media:
A Kashub Corner column in the Eganville Leader for stories pertaining to Polish Heritage.
Continuing coverage by the This Week and the Eganville Leader newspapers of activities, stories and events concerning Polish heritage.
Local Polish business promotion (Canadian Kashub/Polish Business Association) through ads in This Week and the Eganville Leader sponsored by the Wilno Heritage Society.
Interview of the President, David Shulist by Lynne Visutskie for the Killaloe Radio Station.

3. Opeongo Trail :  On October 2, a Heritage walk was organized along the forgotten section of the Opeongo Line.  Martin Shulist acted as leader and guide.

4. Fund Raisers : The following events and projects raised money for the Heritage Park:

• Heritage Night at St Mary's Church, Wilno- 150 people came to hear Shirley Mask Connolly speak on the first Polish families who came to this area. Claudia and Clifford Coulas catered the Polish confectionary.
• Quilt: Teenie (Mask) Shulist donated a quilt, which she and her friends and relatives (ages ranging from 45 to 90) quilted at a quilting bee at the Lorbetskie Homestead.
• Caps: Caps with the Heritage Society logo are being sold by businesses and society members in the area for $15. All profits are donated to the society.
• The movie "Kaszuby-Canada" by Henryk Bartul:  Henryk Bartul is donating $5 from the sale of each movie to the society.
• Kashubian Chickens painted by Lynne Visutskie and Teenie (Mask) Shulist - $10 from the sale of each chicken goes to the Heritage Society.

5. Web Site:  Diana Shulist has set up a web site at www.wilno.org for the Wilno Heritage Society. The site has information about the society and upcoming events and other articles of Polish heritage.

6. May Polish Festival:  A Polish/Kashub Festival was held in the new Wilno Heritage Park over the May 1st weekend.  Polish food donated by local families was served. Polish music was played by local musicians and the children of St. Mary's School Polish class sang and danced.  Approximately 1500 people attended.

7. The Machine Shed donated by Ed Chippior: Members of the Polish/Kashub Community (in an old fashioned Polish work bee) moved and reconstructed a machine shed from the Chippior farm at the Wilno Heritage Park.

FUTURE PROJECT AND EVENTS

1. Landscaping continues to be the focal point for 2000.  On May 6th, during the Polish Festival, the first stone will be laid by Mrs. Helen Klimuk (Flis) as part of a "Heritage Walk" which will be a path bordered with stones from the homesteads of each of the Polish/Kashub families who settled in the area.

2. Polish Kashub Festival - May 6th, 2000
May 7th, 2000 - proposed walk on the Opeongo Line

3. Work on map of hiking and biking trails continues: see  Heritage Walks on the Wilno Heritage Society website.  The objective is to start all trails from Wilno Heritage Park.

When the Wilno Heritage Society formed in 1998, we originally wanted to give receipts for donations. Unfortunately, due to government red tape, we have not yet been able to obtain a license. We are working on resolving the situation, until then we cannot give tax deductible receipts.  However - we still accept donations! [Note: Tax Receipts are now available to donors]

For more information on the Wilno Heritage Society e-mail:
heritage@wilno.org