BARRY’S BAY – Marcin Bosacki, ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Canada, visited Madawaska Valley Township council on July 7.
Bosacki was appointed to the position in 2013. He met Madawaska Valley Mayor David Shulist at a recent Polish Freedom Gala in Ottawa.
The two connected and Bosacki was invited to the township along with his wife and children. The family toured the area a few weekends ago. Now that his family is back in Poland for the summer, Bosacki wanted to come back to Barry’s Bay and formally introduce himself.
“I came to Canada as an ambassador over a year ago and I visited probably all bigger Polish communities from Vancouver to Montreal,” he said. “This is something special.”
A part of his responsibility is keeping in touch with the Polish Canadian communities around the country. He said through his travels, he has not seen a community with as much Polish/Kashubian history as Wilno.
“It’s really moving to come to a place where the first Polish/Kashub pilgrims at that time came over 150 years ago,” he said. “This is something that you don’t see often in this country.”
The ambassador said he was moved by the museum in Wilno.
“It touches your heart when you see luggage of somebody of a family who came here in 1859…or when you see all those letters back to Poland,” he said.
He made light of the fact that locals pronounce Wilno with a ‘W’ instead of a ‘V’
“Doesn’t make any sense,” he laughed.
Bosacki kept reiterating that the Madawaska Valley is a special place.
Get your July 9, 2014 edition of The Valley Gazette to read more of this story.