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Polish History Day at The Foundry

Polish History Day
Polish History, Sports and Entertainment
The Foundry
1813 Columbus Rd., Cleveland
September 29, 2024

The Polish American Cultural Center, JPII hosted Polish History Day at an historic location in Cleveland on Sunday September 29, 2024.

Polish banners at the Foundry


The event was held at The Foundry which is located on the historic site of St. Mary's on the Flats Church, the first Catholic Church in the City of Cleveland. From 1873 to 1879, Polish masses were held under the patronage of St. Stanislaus.

The Foundry in Cleveland


The Foundry outside


The Foundry outside mural


St Mary Catholic Church painting on wall


St Mary Catholic Church painting on wall


Watch a quick video of the site of St Mary's on the Flats.



See more from St Mary's on the Flats

The event began with a performance by the PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble. MC Gary Kotlarsic introduced the young people in traditional Polish costumes who performed several songs and dances including the Hejnal Mariaki on trumpet. Watch a video of the PIAST performance.




Gary Kotlarsic

Gary Kotlarsic


PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble

PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble


Hejnal Mariacki by PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble


PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble


PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble


PIAST Polish Folk and Dance Ensemble


There was an informative presentation from Doug Kuzak, an Historical Interpreter at the Cleveland Metroparks.

Doug Kuzak

Doug Kuzak


Doug spoke about the history of the land and how St Mary's on the Flats became the first Catholic Church in the city of Cleveland. It's an interesting story. Doug referenced the book A history of Catholicity in northern Ohio and the diocese of Cleveland from 1749 to December 31, 1900 which is available as a free download here.

The next presentation was from Krystal Sierra from Slavic Village Development who spoke about some of the proposed options to connect Slavic Village with downtown, the lake, the Towpath and other areas.

Krystal Sierra from Slavic Village Development

Krystal Sierra from Slavic Village Development

Ian Marks, Business Manager of The Foundry then gave some information about the organization.

Ian Marks, Business Manager of The Foundry

Ian Marks, Business Manager of The Foundry


The Foundry is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to transform the lives of Cleveland’s youth through access to the sports of rowing and sailing. Through the Row. Sail. Dream. program, the Foundry provides introductory rowing and sailing programming to all 6th-12th grade students from public school districts across the County, at no cost to financially qualifying households.

Training room in The Foundry


The Foundry is right on the banks of the Cuyahoga River and we were able to watch the 635' Sam Laud Ship maneuver the crooked Cuyahoga River.

Sam Laud ship size compared to Terminal Tower

Sam Laud ship size
compared to Terminal Tower

See more photos and a video of the Foundry, Sam Laud ship and Cuyahoga River


The final speaker was Polish Olympian Wieslaw Kudja. Wieslaw competed for Poland in two rowing events at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Because of the 1980 boycott and the subsequent boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he did not get to compete in the Olympics again. In 1985 he moved to the US and became a rowing coach. He was involved with the US Olympic Rowing Team in 1988 but as a coach/teacher. He did not compete at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 but went on to become a renowned rowing coach for Stanford and other schools and organizations.

Watch a video of his speech.




Wieslaw Kudja speaking

Wieslaw Kudja


Wieslaw Kudja with PIAST


Dan Hanson and Wieslaw Kudja

Dan Hanson and Wieslaw Kudja


Then, attendees could participate in a free introductory rowing lesson conducted by certified coaches and volunteers of The Foundry. Participants learned the basics of rowing using the Erg exercise machine and received instruction on fundamental rowing skills in their state-of-the-art indoor rowing tank.

Rowing lesson a the Foundry

Throughout the day there were historic displays of Polish history in Cleveland from Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Slavic Village Historical Society, the Polish American Cultural Center JPII and more.

Displays of Polish history in Cleveland

Displays of Polish history in Cleveland


Displays of Polish history in Cleveland - Wade Park and Kosciuszko


Displays of Polish history in Cleveland - Polis Cultural garden in 1934

It was a fun and informative day in a somewhat unfamiliar area of the city of Cleveland.

Cleveland sign looking downtown


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