Polish Community Center still center of culture

There are so many institutions in our region that opened to provide a place for service and comradery to particular groups. I have written about churches, and libraries, and even gas stations that seem to be focal points for our community. Rarely, though, have I written about social clubs – especially those that have reached the century mark in service. In particular, ethnic clubs that made their mark on our area.

This year, the Polish Community Center marks its century mark. That is a benchmark that few can claim. In the 1920s, many groups representing one ethnic group or another began to form. The numbers of immigrants to our area had begun to level off after the end of World War I, and thousands of new arrivals were now working in the cigar factories, shoe factories, and one of the many other hundreds of businesses in Broome County.

Since the late 1800s, the number of Polish immigrants continued to increase through the first two decades of the 20th century. Many of those immigrants settled in an area in and around Prospect Street. Some have referred to that area as Polish Heaven – that section between Prospect Street and Downs Avenue that is in the Town of Dickinson between the boundaries of Binghamton and Johnson City.

By 1923, there were 15 different Polish societies that existed – each representing different segments of Polish society and culture. Many of those members attended St. Stanislaus Koska Church on Prospect Street. While each was important to its members, some of the leaders began to have discussions that there needed to be one center where all could come for meetings, functions, weddings, plays, and many other events. They felt the need for one focal point for all of the groups.

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By 1922, serious…