Zofia Wyszomirski, photography by Tomek Zerek
Zofia Wyszomirski née Saniewska was born on 17 October 1922 in Zambrów in Podlasie, Poland. In the 1980s, she arrived to the United States at the invitation of her brother, who was working as a barber in Hamtramck, Michigan. Zofia has five children: four daughters and a son. Her first husband, Jan Jaśkiewicz died in Poland. In Hamtramck, Zofia met her second husband, Stanisław Wyszomirski.
One of her daughters, Wanda Jagłowska, first came to the US in 2003 with her own daughter at her mother’s invitation. Wanda has worked at the “Polish Village” restaurant for 10 years
Interview conducted by Anna Muller on 2014 and 2015 in Hamtramck, Michigan.
interview excerpts
Odtwórz film na temat default
Kilka wizyt w Hamtramck
Odtwórz film na temat default
Historia emigracji Wandy
Odtwórz film na temat default
Różnice polsko-amerykańskie
Odtwórz film na temat default
Egzamin na obywatela
Odtwórz film na temat default
„Jesteś Polką, nie mów tak brzydko!”
gallery
From left to right: Zofia’s cousin with her daughter, Zofia’s daugher Wanda, son Tadeusz, daughter Krystyna, Zofia (then Jaśkiewicz, today, Wyszomirska), daughter Halina, husband Jan Jaśkiewicz, Podlasie, Poland, from the private archives
Stanisław Wyszomirski, October 1964, from the private archives
Zofia and Stanisław Wyszomirski wedding, from the private archives
From left to right: Stanisław Wyszomirski, Zofia Wyszomirski, Zofia’s son Tadeusz Jaśkiewicz, and husband to her daughter Wanda - Aleksander Jagłowski, from the private archives
In front of their house in Hamtramck. From left to right: daughter Bożena, son Tadeusz, Stanisław Wyszomirski, Zofia Wyszomirski, from the private archives
Baptism of the great grandson - the son of Zofia Wyszomirski’s granddaughter Anna Kalinowski. Zofia Wyszomirski is the second from the left, St. Ladislaus’s Church, 1990s, from the private archives
Prayer circle at the St. Ladislaus’s Church. First from the left - Zofia Wyszomirski, first from the right - Zofia Zyga, Hamtramck, from the private archives
Association of the Living Rosary during the Labour Day parade, Hamtramck, from the private archives
Association of the Living Rosary during the Labour Day parade, Hamtramck, from the private archives
Association of the Living Rosary during the Labour Day parade, Hamtramck, from the private archives
Association of the Living Rosary during the Labour Day parade, Hamtramck, from the private archives
Picture with the neighbours and friends in Hamtramck. Zofia Wyszomirski is fourth from the left, Stanisław Wyszomirski is sitting next to her, from the private archives
Family photo in Poland, early 2000s. In the middle, Zofia with her husband Stanisław Wyszomirski, on the left to Stanisław, Wanda with her husband, on the right of Zofia, her granddaughter (Wanda’s daughter) and Zofia’s second daughter Bożena, from the private archives
Zofia Wyszomirski, from the private archives
Zofia Wyszomirski taking the oath during the citizenship awarding ceremony, 1996, from the private archives
Zofia Wyszomirski 90th birthday party, from the private archives
Zofia Wyszomirski 90th birthday party, from the private archives