Polish Hill (Kansas City, Kansas)

Polish Hill is a neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, located southwest of Strawberry Hill, that was historically occupied by mixed Slavic and Eastern European immigrants.

History

Polish Hill was mainly founded by immigrants from Poland in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were mainly from Podkarpackie Voivodeship and migrants from the small township of Pulaskifield, Missouri who were also of Polish ancestry. The hill also had a small influx of Slovak immigrants, being so close to Podkarpackie. Together the Poles founded St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Parish at Vermont Avenue and Mill Street, on what became known as "Polish Hill".[1] The community of people there was very large so the founding's of churches such as St. Benedict's[2] and St. Casimir were founded by other Polish people to attend Mass. Sts. Cyril and Methodius was founded by the Slovak people and was also attended by more Poles. Many Eastern European immigrants in the area worked in local meatpacking plants.[3]

The Slavic community slowly started drifting apart. St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Sts. Cyril and Methodius and St. Casimir all co-joined to create All Saints Catholic Parish in the former church of St. Joseph.

For over thirty years, the residents of Polish Hill have celebrated Polski Day with a parade and food festival during the first week of May each year to commemorate the signing of the Polish Constitution on May 3, 1791.[4][5] Today, the community is mainly Hispanic, but continues the Polski Day tradition, resulting in Cinco de Mayo celebrations featuring kielbasa and sauerkraut.[6]

Notable residents include World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ray Sadecki, who attended St. Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic School,[7] and whose grandparents ran a grocery store in Polish Hill.[8] Sadecki once served as Grand Marshall for the neighborhood's Polski Day celebration.[8]

Location

Polish Hill is located north of Interstate 70 and west of 7th Street,[4][6] centered at Vermont Avenue and Mill Street.[1]

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References
  1. Preservation Solutions LLC (2012-08-29). Cultural Resource Survey: Strawberry Hill Neighborhood (PDF). Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas via Kansas Historical Society.
  2. "St. Benedict's Church - Atchison, Kansas". www.kansastravel.org.
  3. Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Directory. Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce. 2013-07-10. p. 9. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  4. Hanis, Kathy (2016-05-03). "Preparations underway for 32nd annual Polski Day May 7 in KCK". Wyandotte Daily. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  5. Smarsh, Sarah; Miller, Joanna; Humphrey, Andrew (2003-05-01). "Organic Lunch". Kansas City Pitch. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  6. Hellman, Rick (2012-05-05). "It's Polski Day in KCK neighborhood". KSHB Kansas City. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  7. Blair Kerkhoff (2014-11-18). "KCK native Ray Sadecki, standout major-league left-hander, dies at 73". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  8. Yardley, William (2017-12-21). "Ray Sadecki, Who Helped Cardinals Win World Series, Dies at 73". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-13.


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