The appeal to the inhabitants of Łęki Dukielskie, the local authorities, the history lovers and people passionate about Łęki!
Łęki Dukielskie, the place where we were born and spent our childhood in, is a sacred place for most of us. The older we get, the more often we reminisce our beloved places, the hills, the fields, the forests and the river which divides our home village into This and The Other side. We also reminisce Baryłówka which connects the two sides of the village and which was the usual way to get to school for many of us.
But it’s not only the places that matter. People who still live there, their children and grandchildren are of equal importance. Most of them are our closer or more distant relatives. They create the history of the place which is the home town for ourselves, our parents and grandparents. They also add to the cultural heritage, as well as to the spiritual, historical, patriotic, moral, scientific, religious and artistic values which put the communities together. We would really wish for this heritage to be commemorated in a special way and to become the source of knowledge for the future generations. And there comes a great opportunity for it. On the 28th of August 1366, nearly 650 years ago, our village was mentioned officially for the first time in Wlodzimi(e)rz. Casimir the Great confirmed in a document the distribution and donation of goods by Chancellor Janusz Suchywilk (‘Dry Wolf’). The goods included Łęki, referred to at that time as Lanky.
650 years of history! That is a great opportunity to get to know it and rembember about it in the future. That is why we appeal to all those who treasure the history of our home town to take part in a commemoration of this historic day. The 28th of August 2016 is a Sunday. We would like to propose that a great Congress of the People of Łęki from around the world takes place on Saturday, August the 27th. Let’s not forget about them. The fact is that this precious place was home for many worldwide -known and respected people. These gather historians, artists, doctors, professors, journalists, computer scientists, people of the Polish aviation sector, the management and the innovators of the Polish and foreign institutions. Among others, also those signed below. We will remind you and tell you the story of the lives of our great-grandparents, also those who left Łęki years ago in the search of a better life.
It might be the case that the descendants of such families scattered arount the world as Białogłowicz, Chomentowski; Czajkowski, Fruga, Jaracz, Kołacz, Krężałek, Nawrocki, Reczkowski, Więcek or Zborowski will respond to our appeal. Even though they are far from Poland now, they might also be looking for the roots of their ancestors. Let’s go through our archives. We might find some old documents or photos of our predecessors which can be described. Let’s look at these old photos and put them to life!
A special appeal is directed to the family of Władysław Wierdak from Kobylany, especially to his son Zdzisław, to take care of the legacy of his father. Władysław’s huge passion was photography. We were lucky enough that he fell in love in an inhabitant of Łęki, misses Władysława Kołacz, who has become his wife. Władysław managed to perpetuate the inhabitants of the pre-war Łęki on photos and thanks to that we know how our grandmothers and grandfathers looked like when they were young. All of these photos should be posted on a special website with a description as they are now the treasure of us all. And mister Władysław Wierdak’s work should be commemorated on a special exhibition which would bring ‘the court photographer of Łęki, Kobylany and Wietrzno’ to the contemporary.
A special appeal is also directed to mister Henryk Kyc. We look forward to your monograph of Łęki. Please let it be issued by the time of the Congress to commemorate this historic date.
The scattered around the world people of Łęki and their descendants:
- Nadia Białogłowicz-Podojil, Certified Nurse Midwife, granddaughter of Henryka of Krężałek
- Bronisław Białogłowicz – Ohio, USA;
- Stanisław Białogłowicz – a professor and a painter, the University of Rzeszów;
- Małgorzata Bielawka (Węgrzynowska), a lawyer – Krosno;
- Halina Blicharczyk (Chomentowska) – Krosno; Joanna Conway (Węgrzyn), International Business Banking Manager, HSBC Bank – UK;
- Barbara Czajkowska-Gołąb, neurologist – Korczyna;
- Lucyna Gniewek (Kołacz), the economist – Rzeszów;
- Jolanta van Grieken-Barylanka, journalist – Haga/Kraków;
- Żaneta Kalita (Fruga), graduate of Polish philology at the Rzeszow University – Rzeszów;
- Paweł Kołacz, a historian and an archivist – Toruń;
- Szymon Kołacz, graphic designer, computer scientist – Toruń;
- Dr inż. Ireneusz Krężałek, Senior Lecturer at Central Queensland University – Australia (retired);
- Catherine Krezalek-Weber (Kasia Krężałek), Director of Marketing Company – Queensland, Australia;
- Krzysztof Leśniak, the tram driver, author of an interesting blog about his job (http://krzycholandianews.blogspot.com/) – Warszawa;
- Jerzy Nawrocki, the owner of a company FARTUS – Krosno;
- Stanisław Nawrocki – Senior Brigadier of the State Fire Service (retired) – Jasło;
- Ireneusz Soliński, professor of technical sciences, AGH (University of Science and Technology) – Kraków;
- Ryszard Soliński – Wietrzno;
- Leszek Pasterkiewicz, U.S.D.O.L. (United States Department of Labor), retired – Columbus, Ohio, USA;
- Mary Paster Ph.D., Chairman of the Linguistics Department at Pomona College – Claremont, California, USA; Elżbieta Węgrzyn – violinist, the founder of Suzuki School in Tychy, the daughter of Maria of Zborowska; Stanisław Węgrzyn – Słupsk, the son of the director of the school in Łęki, mister Bronisław Węgrzyn;
- Marek Węgrzyn, a historian, The Institute of National Remembrance in Kraków, the grandson of Bronisław Węgrzyn; Wojciech Więcek, Political scientist – Katowice;
- Lesław Wilk – the former director of Central School of Aeronautics and Technology, Polish Aero Club in Krosno, the co-founder of the Private Museum of the Subcarpathian Battlefields in Krosno;
- Roma Zborowska, daughter in law of Władysław Zborowski – Zakopane;
- Maciej Zborowski, a lawyer, a member of the Association of the Lovers of the Land of Krosno, son of Helena Zborowska, the author of the book „Gdzie ja, tam Polska” about Janina Zborowska-Sikorska – Krosno;
- Martin (Marcin Krezalek) – Lawyer in New York City, son of Marek Krezalek;
- Tomasz Soliński – Doctor of economics sciences, Deputy Mayor of Krosno, researcher and
university lectures;