The third generation of Rusak family on Kaziuki trade fair

Last Sunday, during the gala feast in Lidzbark’s Home of Culture, when the spectators and the guests in the room watched the full of vigour show of Perła Warmi group, and then, a litle bit later, they admired the guests from Vilnius, namely the show of Kapela Wileńska and also Świtezianka gropu from the shool of Sz. Konarski, in the lounge, as every year, something amazing just like a Kaziuki trade fair was taking place.

Old Polish proverb says:

 “Buy cheaply, sell expensively – it is a base for trade”. However, during the lidzbark trade fair every seller, for years, proposes articles of his own production. For example, continuous visitor Zofia Dobosz from Lidzbark, whose fresh dumplings with mushrooms, cabbage or jam and other tasty bakings constantly enjoy a good reputation, said that she baked them at night, and now she is selling them.

It is worth to say, that organizers of the Kaziuki trade fair prepared traiding posts very diligently: market stalls and market booths were made of real wood and had their roofs decorated, sellers made nice advertising inscriptions and diligently put theirs products.

On one of the market stalls I read: “Come and try hot kishkas and fresh kvass!”. I remember that during many years it was Mrs Jadwiga Rusak permanent plcace, senior from Vilnius region, who lives in Lidzbark Warmiński since 1947 is and involved in all of the previous Kaziuki-Wilniuki trade fair. She always treated us with traditional Lithuanian meat dumpling, with kishka and even tasty cheesecake. And she always had kvass in a big jug. She was one of those people, who decisively contributed to resupture of kaziuk’s tradition in Warmia, and further, in Poland. She was a voluntary worker and she was sayingat varoius times: “Until we, the old ones, live, our old customs live. Young people would not want to know them”. Mrs Jadwiga was awarded a Golden Cross of Merit by the president of Poland in 1999. We all have congratulated this noble and hard-working woman.

Every year we have also seen her husband Józef Rusak (ps. Bylina). He was a heroic soldier of V Vilnius Brigade of Home Army. He fought under orders of legendary Łupaszka (major Zygmunt Szendzielarz) near Oszmiana and other cities of current Belarus. Mr Józef was interested in Vilnius press, life of Poles in Vilnius region and neighbouring Belarus. He was born near Narocz Lake in Falewicze, civil parish Kobylnik, district Postawski. This year, during the Kaziuki trade fair, behind Mrs Jadwiga counter stood a nice, tall young man. He introduced himself as Przemysław Sienkiewicz, grandson of Mrs Jadwiga. I asked him how his grandmother and grandtaher are. He answered: “Nowadays grandma is lying in her bed more often, she does not leave the house, after all she is already 90. However, my grandpa, who is 4 years older, born in 1920, is healthy. He feels good and he will be here in a moment”.

“I see, that you gladly replaced grandma Jadwiga at the market stall”, I said to the young man. “Indeed, I am here on Kaziuki with pleasure, after all I grew up with this celebration. When my mother Małgorzata Rusakówna got married with boy named Henryk Sienkiewicz, they both lived in Lidzbark and they constantly helped grandma to prepare all the dishes, which she carried to Home of Culture. And parents go out on a concert. In our home, before and after Kaziuki festival, we still talked about it, we were preparing, just like it was a family celebration”, said Przemysław.

“Nevertheless, I like very much what I have seen and heard in our community center since a long time. I wish this fair Kaziuki–Wilniuki took place here permanently” – empasised young man.

 “And maybe your occupation is connected with a trade?” – I asked Przemysław.

He smiled in response and informed me, that he studied at naval architecture in Gdańsk University of Technology. After some time, he added: “My grandfather Józef says, that I chose this major needlessly because there is no shipyard in Poland. However, I am convinced that this shipyard will be here and my faculty will be very usefull” – he assured.

I am very glad that I met Przemysław, who represents the third generation of Rusak family, who are very strongly connected with Vilnius region. Those people, who value and cheerish our traditions, are a guarantee that those traditions will survive centuries.

There was still bustling on the fair, because except for the products of regional cooks and folk masters, Easter palms made by our master, Leokadia Szałkowska, Danuta Wiszniewska and her daughter Agata Granicka, were being admired and bought, it was crowded near booths with ginger hearts made by Gryszkiewicz family, carved saints in a roadside shrine carved by Michał Jankowski and beautiful flaxen tableclothes embroidered by Wanda Sinkiewicz, a veteran of Wilia group, were admired. The paintings painted by Władysław Ławrynowicz and Stanisław Kaplewski were watched with a great interest.

Oh, what was not there during this year’s fair, without which, as our irreplacable Wincuk says: “Cloying that saint would be…”.

Jadwiga Podmostko

Lidzbark Warmiński – Vilnius

Przemysław Sienkiewicz, a grandson of Jadwigi Rusak next to the Kaziuki booth

Józef Rusak, veteranof V Vilnius Brigade of Home Army

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2014/03/14/trzecie-pokolenie-rusakow-na-kiermaszu-kaziukowym/

Tłumaczenie by Beata Kanadys w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Beata Kanadys within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.