Winona, Minnesota is the Kashubian Capital of America. The first Kashubians came to Winona in 1859 and eventually made it the Kashubian Capital of America. The Kashubian settlement in Renfrew County, Ontario took place one year earlier, as did the Kashubian settlement in Portage County, Wisconsin. Chicago, Illinois, undoubtedly attracted more Kashubian immigrants than Winona did. But nowhere in North America, or elsewhere (Kashubians emigrated to places as far away as Brazil, New Zealand and Australia) did the Kashubians play as important a part in their new home as they did, and still do, in Winona. Winona's Kashubian Polish community also includes the people of Dodge Township, in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. In 1862, Kashubian Polish families living in Winona began to purchase farmland near Pine Creek, Wisconsin, which eventually became part of Dodge Township. Families moved across the river and back, visited constantly with each other, and frequently intermarried - as did my grandparents, John C. Bambenek of Winona and Laura Pellowski of Trempealeau County.
- The Kashubian Capital of America
- First Settlement in Winona, 1859
- Foundation of Pine Creek
- Winona's Daughter Cities
- Congregational History of St. Stan's, by James Stolpa
- The Bambenek Sisters of Notre Dame, by Sister M. Marilyn and Sister M. Felicia
My public presentations on the Winona-Pine Creek Kashubian Polish community can be found on my YouTube channel. There are also some posts from my blog, Smiles in Boxes, which touch upon people and places in Winona and also feature vintage pictures.
- Boilermakers Lodge 201 (March 26, 2015)
- Monika Brom 1893-1896 (May 31, 2014)
- Hail to the (Winona) Chiefs! (September 22, 2013)
- Piotr Konopacki 1827-1880 (August 16, 2013)
- The Old Stone Road - Mankato Avenue (August 15, 2013)
- Marcin Sikorski 1794-1854 (July 24, 2013)
- The Stockton Quarry (June 22, 2013)
- The Riot at New City, Wisconsin (June 15, 2013)
- Franciszek Rumpca 1846-1901 (June 10, 2013)
- OUR BROTHER - MY HUSBAND (June 10, 2013)
- Milanowski Grocery Store - 557 East Second Street (June 6, 2013)
- M.J. Kowalewski Drug Store - 601 East Fifth Street (June 4, 2013)
- Franciszek Eichmann 1800-1891 (May 10, 2013)
- Wawrzyniec Eichmann 1807-1880 (May 8, 2013)
- Monica Kowalewska Krawczyk 1887-1954 (April 29, 2013)
- Jozef von Bronk 1810-1863 (April 28, 2013)
- Walenty von Radomski 1836-1919 (April 24, 2013)
- The Original Hot Fish Shop (April 15, 2013)
- Jozef Milanowski 1840-1885 (April 8, 2013)
- Jozef Bambenek 1827-1883 (April 7, 2013)
- Franciszka Joanna Milanowska 1883-1964 (January 17, 2013)
- Reverend Joseph F. Cieminski 1867-1959 (July 29, 2012)
- Reverend James W. Gara 1875-1937 (July 8, 2012)