|
St. Casimir's Parish Credit Union With one hundred
dollars and a desire to assist financially needy Polish immigrants
in Toronto, a determined priest and a small group of followers founded
what today is an affluent financial institution with assets of nearly
seventy million dollars. With seventeen thousand members, St. Stanislaus
- St. Casimir's Credit Union Ltd. also prides itself on being the
largest parish credit union in the world.
When
the Credit Union was founded in 1945, unemployment was high among
the Polish immigrants, and the personal finances of many parishioners
of St. Stanislaus had not yet recovered from the depression of the
1930s. Reverend Stanley Puchniak, then parish priest at St. Stanislaus,
sought to relieve the burdensome financial situation through the
formation of a credit union.
In
1944, the Oblate Fathers had made an exhaustive study of mutual
aid organizations in the United States and Canada and had concluded
that requests for assistance could be answered only through a parish
credit union. Father Puchniak responded by undertaking a fact-finding
mission.
He
visited a number of communities in Quebec where parishes had been
operating credit unions, and was most impressed with the ideals
and success of these organizations. In an interview recorded for
the Multicultural History Society, Father Puchniak recalls that
his parishioners "were burdened with debts. I had to do something.
Starting the credit union was the most wonderful thing I was ever
inspired to do."
Initial
reaction to Father Puchniak's idea was one of scepticism and many
refused to attend the organizational meetings. Most parish leaders
thought that the venture would never succeed, or, at least would
fail within a year. Undaunted, the priest persisted in calling upon
those who borrowed often and those whose situation might be improved
by an organization offering brotherly aid.
The
Credit Union League assisted in sponsoring a series of lectures
in which its representative explained credit union principles. While
the lectures were being given in English, Puchniak stood by translating
everything into Polish.
On
August 7, 1945, the Memorandum of Association and application for
a charter was signed. Twenty signatures were needed in order that
the application qualify, but only eighteen potential members arrived
at the meeting place - a classroom on the third floor above the parish
hall. This obstacle was overcome when Puchniak himself and the rectory
housekeeper signed the memorandum. A copy of this important document
has been deposited in the Society's archives collection.
A
telling aspect of the memorandum is the list of charter members
and their respective occupations. A number of observations can be
drawn from this source, most notably the absence of individuals
engaged in the liberal professions.
In
order to illustrate this, it may be worth listing these individuals:
Mary
Bugala - Office clerk
Frank
Kapuscinski - Mechanic
Eugene Stamarski - Factory worker
Victor Buklis - Leather cutter
Walter Malinowski - Operator
Cecylia Golik - Power operator
Jean Michna - Operator
Frances Todorowski - Laundry worker
Irene Lubinski - Stenographer
M. Stroz - Woodcarver
Jennie Oczko - Automatic operator
D. Martynowicz - Presser
P. Hajdasz - Freight handler
J. Suron - Labourer
C. Morbeck - Housekeeper
S. Juras - Painter
J. Klich - Barber
Walter Lesniak - Warehouse worker
Stanley Puchniak - Priest
F. Michniewicz - Carpenter
After
a somewhat uncertain first year, it became evident that the institution
would survive and more sceptics became believers. The first years,
however, were difficult.
top
|
As
Tadeusz Gonsik relates in a tape-recorded interview, it took a tragic
incident to attract members and give the organization momentum.
Gonsik, the current president of the credit union, tells how one
of the early members died in an industrial accident.
The
member's family received double the amount of money in his savings
account, and his loans from the credit union were nullified. This
tragedy and the subsequent announcement of the benefits to the deceased
man's survivors brought a change in the attitude of the parishioners
toward the credit union.
Fueled
by the formidable numbers of postwar Polish immigrants who settled
in Toronto, the credit union grew and flourished in the 1950s. St.
Stanislaus' parish became a centre of activity within Toronto's
Polish community.
The
parish offered not only spiritual guidance to its devout members
but also financial counselling and cash loans to make fife easier
for the newcomers."They came by the thousands," relates Puchniak.
"They needed money for housing, business and other needs." In addition
to the oral history sources provided by Puchniak and Gonsik, a number
of written records pertaining to the development of the credit union
have been collected by the Multicultural History Society.
Among
these is an unpublished historical outline of the organization,
written by one of the original charter members, Victor Buklis. The
outline, written in 1970 in commemoration of its twenty-fifth anniversary,
traces the expansion of the credit union's services and its increasing
involvement in the life of the Polish community in Toronto.
Buklis
holds the distinction of being the first member to take out a personal
loan so that he could "send parcels to needy relatives in Poland."
He has remained a tireless promoter of the credit union and its
ideals, and has served continuously on the Board of Directors for
thirty-five years. St. Stanislaus - St. Casimir's Credit Union has
published an extensive historical record in its numerous notices,
pamphlets, commemorative books and annual reports.
A good
selection of these can be found in the Society's archives collection.
The most important written source, however, is the Credit Union's
bulletin, presently known as Nasza Credit Union (Our Credit Union),
which first appeared in 1958. Four bulletins were published in 1959
and, as Buklis explains in his outline, "So successful did these
become that it became necessary to increase the number to ten."
Today,
Nasza Credit Union appears each month and its circulation is as
large as the organization's membership. A bilingual publication,
the bulletin does not concern itself exclusively with matters pertaining
to the business of the credit union. Religious news and reports
(and jokes) from Poland, as well as general interest stories and
announcements are included.
Furthermore,
the bulletin provides an essential community service by informing
Polish-language readers of the latest government announcements regarding
pensions, family allowance payments, income tax and other related
concerns.
With
its monthly pot-pourri of information, Nasza Credit Union has emerged
as an important Polish Canadian periodical, providing yet another
insight into Toronto's Polonia. Unfortunately, a complete run of
the bulletin is unavailable even in the Credit Union's own archives.
So
that this valuable source may be preserved, the Multicultural History
Society is attempting to retrieve back issues scattered among various
individuals and institutions. A number of the bulletins have found
their way already into the Society's collection, and it is hoped
that a complete set will be available in the near future.
The
preponderant role played by parish credit unions within Canada's
postwar Polish immigrant community cannot be exaggerated or overlooked
by scholars. Among these organizations, St. Stanislaus - St. Casimir's
Parish Credit Union, with its impressive assets and 17,000 members,
is of primary influence and importance.
|
