Illinois celebration

Today is the Casimir Pulaski Day, which is supposed to celebrate the life of a Polish-born American independence war hero.

Thirty-nine years after Illinois had given a formal explanation of the day in 1986, many residents especially in the Downstate owner have no idea who he is.

“I know that he is Polish,” said Mikayla Rodgers, 20, a student at the University of Illinois-Springfield, “and that's it. I don't know anything else.”

“Isn't he the Polish type who helped in the training of some of our troops in the revolution?” Consider Alex Scherer, 33, from Carlinville. “I really know nothing else than that.”

Rodgers and Scherer are hardly alone. From all public holidays in the calendar, the Casimir Pulaski day seems to get the slightest respect, especially because most people know so little about it.

“I think he is Polish and sometimes we get the day free,” said 46 -year -old Nadia Kahl, who originally comes from Sycamore. “Otherwise I have no idea”

Illinois has almost 1 million inhabitants of Polish descent, second only in New York. Most are located in the Chicago area, in which numerous Polish-American organizations and churches are located. There is also a considerable number of Polish Americans in Michigan and Wisconsin.

“Holidays like the Casimir Pulaski Day are opportunities for communities to celebrate their heroes,” said Jan Lorys, director of the Polish Museum of America in Chicago. “It is an important day for polish.”

Pulaski was born on March 4, 1747 and was a member of the Polish nobility, who fled from his homeland in the middle of a failed uprising against Russian authority. He was introduced to the American diplomat Benjamin Franklin in France, who sent him to the revolutionary cause.

“He was one of the first major foreigners who voluntarily report his services to the Americans,” said Lorys. “He came at a time when the United States did not win the war and he wanted to help.”

In America, Pulaski quickly distinguished himself in the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, which led to a promotion to Brigadier General by commanding General George Washington. Later he fought well in Philadelphia and formed American horse soldiers into an effective fighting power.

Some refer to Pulaski as “the father of the American cavalry”.

Then ordered south, Pulaski's success was continued in Charleston. On October 9, 1779, he was fatally wounded around Savannah, Georgia.

Pulaski's bravery and willingness to fight for American independence made him a revered personality among Polish Americans, and today his name has landmarks nationwide.

At least six cities and seven counties across America have its name, including Mount Pulaski, a municipality of 1,600 inhabitants in Logan County, and Pulaski County in the extreme southern Illinois.

Pulaski statues can be found in numerous American cities, and there are many parks that celebrate Pulaski, including a State Park in Rhode Island. A number of schools bear its name. Pulaski is also honored with bridges, including spans in Brooklyn and Jersey City, streets and streets.

A route of the Interstate 65 in northwest of Indiana is called Casimir Pulaski Memorial Highway. The governor of Indiana spends an annual proclamation in his honor, and several communities in the north of Indiana have Polish names, including Koszcuisko County and the city of Warsaw.

In order to honor the sequicent thousands of his death in 1929, the congress was approved every October 11th as General Pulaski Memorial Day. This is the date selected by some communities to honor Pulaski. In 2009, Pulaski posthumously became the seventh person who received an honorary American citizen from the congress.

In 1977 Illinois described the first Monday in March as Casimir Pulaski Day. The formal explanation was submitted in 1986 and the schools were given the opportunity to watch the vacation. Most public schools in Illinois are closed on Pulaski Day, although less the day than in previous years.

For many Illinoisans, vacation is everything they recognize from Pulaski.

“I know we have the day off,” said the 73 -year -old Karen Beach, who moved from Virginia to Illinois. “It's the only thing I can tell you about.”

The holiday and the Columbus Day have been taken from the calendar in the Chicago Public School System in recent years.

Wisconsin, which has the highest percentage of Polish-American residents, is referred to as a Pulaski day on March 4, although most places are open to business. Kentucky also legally recognizes General Pulaski's day.

Annual parades in Milwaukee, Buffalo and New York City are held, and Pulaski Days are celebrated every October in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Nevertheless, the Casimir Pulaski day gets little respect among the masses. Some giggles on vacation and only a few non-tunnels pay attention to Pulaski or its legacy.

“Some of it is our fault,” said Lorys about Polish Americans. “We really didn't do enough to sell ourselves and make people aware of. But it's a two-way street. We need people who want to learn something about Pulaski to be ready to be informed about him. ”

While the representatives of other holidays are familiar to the American school children, Pulaski is hardly covered with many curricula.

“I wish more schools do something to remind Pulaski,” said Lorys, whose museum delivered learning tools to the schools via Pulaski. “Here, too, it goes back how much material you may have available. But I think if teachers have no individual lessons, schools could have a meeting in which videos or lectures on Pulaski are offered. “