The MotorCities National Heritage Area (MCNHA) awards the Polish Mission at Orchard Lake Schools the maximum grant of $10,000 to facilitate the creation of a lineage project documenting Polish-American autoworkers. The Polonica Americana Research Institute (PARI) will offer workshops that will guide researchers in completing three components of their history: employment in the auto industry; documentation of the immigration process; and a description of the economic status of the Polish village they left behind. Cecile Jensen, Director of PARI, is seeking participants who would like to enroll in the workshops and submit their family histories. Her latest publication – Sto Lat: A Modern Guide to Polish Genealogy – will be the manual for the project. The completed family histories will expand the international knowledge of the Polish experience in the auto industry.
Mike Smith, Director of the Walter Reuther Library, states: “The Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University, the official archives for the UAW, is extremely pleased to work with the Polish Mission on this most important endeavor. The founding and growth of the UAW is entwined with the history of Polish immigrants and Polish-Americans, who were significant contributors to the development of the automobile industry. The Reuther Library will support this great project with materials and images from our extensive UAW archives and I will personally work with the Polish Mission. Finally, congratulations to the Polish Mission and PARI on receiving this grant.”
–From the Press Release (click link to read entire press release)
Posted by DALNET Consortium 
Detroit Area Library Network 