My name is Joseph “Joe” Hughes. I’m happy to announce that I now live in Winona, Minnesota. Please contact me at kaszubian @ gmail.com with any questions you have or any contributions you might want to offer. I am the son of a Welsh-Scots-Irish father named Raymond Frank Hughes and a Kashubian Polish mother named Laura Mae Bambenek, both of whom were born and raised in Winona. I am retired from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, where I was Professor of Classical Languages from 1987 to 2021. Sometime in 2012, I discovered that the Bambeneks were not just Polish, but Kashubian Polish. This website contains my original research and writing about the Kashubian Polish community of Winona. A simple prop to occupy my time.

Nothing you see on this website would have been possible without the cooperation of my betters, both in the United States and in Poland. They have my undying gratitude.

  • Malgorzata Mazur (Gdansk) Tour guide extraordinaire, cherished friend, and valued advisor. All of this started with you, Malgosia.
  • Edmund “Eddie” Mazur (Gdansk) My Kashubian brother, fellow raider of sklepy, and partner in what we Kashubians call NA.
  • Kamil Mazur (Sopot) My sometime bodyguard and dear Kashubian cousin.
  • Ks. Paul Joseph Breza (Winona, MN) Founder of the Polish Museum of Winona and Kashubian Knight.
  • Anna Rose Pellowski (Winona. MN). My late mother’s dear first cousin and author of the best books ever written about the Kashubian American experience.
  • Ks. Wladyslaw Szulist (Lipusz) Devoted parish priest and giant (stolem) of Kashubian culture. Most generous sharing his Kashubian rotgut, which he won’t touch himself.
  • Rebecca Ann Kaldunski (Dodge, WI) Thanks for your wonderful book on SH-SW and for your help in becoming Kashubian, Cousin Becky!
  • Blanche Krbechek (Kaszuba) Translator, artist, musician, and tireless advocate for the Kashubians of North America.
  • Ron Galewski (Winona, MN) His two books have captured an entire century of Kashubian Polish American life in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.
  • Stanislaus von Zmuda Trzebiatowski (Braunschweig) The god of Kashubian genealogy on geni.com – if he can’t find your Kashubian ancestors, nobody can.
  • Larry Reski (Moorhead, MN): Once I discovered I was a Kashubian American, I went out searching for Kashubian American blogs. I stumbled upon Larry’s blog Poland to Pine Creek, Wisconsin. Thank you for showing me the ropes, Larry.
  • Dale Nelson (?) Stalwart contributor to the Great Kashubian Migration project on geni.com – he digs deeper than I ever do and gets better results.
  • Kris Fenwick (Toronto, ON) Another mainstay of the Great Kashubian Migration project; it was my great privilege to tour Kashubia with her in 2016.
  • Nancy Hughes Hammer (Winona, MN) Cousin Nanc and her husband John are the reason why I feel at home every time I visit Winona.
  • Frances Bowler Edstrom (Winona, MN)  Editor of the Winona Post, and a pioneer at writing about Winona’s Kashubian Polish heritage in the late 1970s.
  • Mayor Ryszard Sylka (Bytow) A gracious civil servant, dedicated to forging and strengthening ties between Bytow and Winona. Throws a great 52nd birthday party.
  • Joanna Malek (Bytow) Translator and the indispensable link between the sister cities of Bytow and Winona.
  • Dr. Cezary Obracht-Prondzinski (Bytow) Professor, tireless advocate of all things Kashubian, and gracious host to drunken wanderers from the United States.
  • Dr. Magdalena Lemanczyk (Gdansk) Professor, historian, sociologist, skilled conversationalist, and the bright shining future of Kashubian studies around the world.
  • Adam Pingot (Winona, MN) Manager of the Polish Museum of Winona, Polish patriot from Szczecin. Moj Polski brot.
  • Louise Prondzinski (Winona, MN) Head genealogist at the Polish Museum of Winona, and wonderfully tolerant of my raids on the Museum’s archives over the years.
  • Charles Sieracki (Charleston, SC) Expatriate Winona Kashubian and staunch supporter of the Polish Museum of Winona.