NORTHAMPTON — Sitting in the back of a pickup truck along Main Street on Monday, Matt Marchand and his 2-year-old daughter, Ellianna, of Hatfield, waited for the Pulaski Day parade to begin.
Marchand said the pair came out because Ellianna loves fire trucks and police cars, as well as being a way for them to show their Polish pride.
They were among the hundreds who gathered Monday for the 30th annual Pulaski Day celebration sponsored by the Polish Heritage Committee. The day celebrates Polish culture and honors Revolutionary War Gen. Casimir Pulaski.
As the parade featuring marching bands, a Gen. Pulaski re-enactor on horseback and Miss Polonia and Jr. Miss Polonia made its way down Main Street, those gathered on the side of the road cheered and waved, some with Polish flags. Some parade-goers even danced to the oompah of polka music.
The parade culminated at Pulaski Park where crowds gathered and grand marshal and Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz read a proclamation honoring the general.
“Today, the City of Northampton pays tribute to General Casimir Pulaski, a proud Polish patriot who embraced our country’s highest ideals and joined in our struggle for freedom, equity, and justice,” Narkewicz read.
Pulaski is credited as a founder of the American cavalry and the Northampton celebration is one of the largest in the state, according to organizers. Easthampton held Pulaski Day ceremonies in that city’s downtown on Sunday.
In the proclamation, Narkewicz wrote that the day is a celebration of the “ideals and rights for which Pulaski fought and gave his life” as well as all Polish-Americans who preserve their culture, enrich society and contribute to the shared success.
This year the event also served as a public commemoration of the redesigned Pulaski Park. The park reopened in July after being closed for nearly nine months. A second phase of the construction to create an overlook was slated to begin this month.
Frederick Bliss, of Agawam, said Monday’s parade was the the first he attended and an early celebration of his 90th birthday.
“I’ve never seen it before,” he said from his chair near the corner of King and Main streets.
Bliss, his daughter and his son-in-law arrived before 10:30 a.m. to stake out their spot. He described himself as “Polish through and through” and was decked out in Polish attire.
Holding a red and white Polish flag, Bliss wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with the Polish word for grandfather, dziadziu, and underneath was a shirt that read, “Made in America with Polish Parts.”
Bliss’ daughter, April Mosher, joked that she will inherit the shirt.
Other local officials who spoke included Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos, who recalled a trip to Poland during the early 1980s.
“It’s no coincidence so many of us have Polish roots and Polish ancestors,” Kos said. “So many of our ancestors had the courage and the bravery to make that journey and leave their world, their family and friends at times and come to start a new life.”
The area’s legislative delegation was also on hand to deliver a proclamation from the state honoring the Polish Heritage Committee which has existed for more than three decades.
Robert Gibowicz, chairman of the committee, has been involved with the organization since its inception.
“Some may ask, why bother about Polonia and our heritage in the first place,” Gibowicz said. “Why not forget all that old country stuff and just get on with our lives. The simple answer is that, if we don’t promote our heritage, who will?”
Gibowicz acknowledged that much could be learned from others but it would be useless without something to which it can be compared.
“We must first understand who we are and where we came from,” Gibowicz said. “This makes us better people and that is how American Polonia can survive.”
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.