Gwiazda (newspaper)

Gwiazda (Polish for “Star”) was a weekly newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in Polish from 1902 to 1985, with an English section gradually introduced, starting in 1958.^[1]

The founder and publisher was the Polish-born Stephan Nowaczyk, a printer who immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1870s and started the newspaper in 1902 in his home in Port Richmond with used equipment.^[2] When he died in 1923, his wife, Francis, became the publisher, until 1935, when their daughter, Gertrude, became the last publisher, until 1985 when the paper was dissolved.^[3]

References

1. "About Gwiazda. (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1902-1985". Chronicling American: Historic American Newspapers. National Endowment for the Humanities/Library of Congress. Retrieved 2011-06-21. Title: Gwiazda. : (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1902-1985 Alternative Titles: Polish star Polish weekly gwiazda Place of publication: Philadelphia, Pa.
2. "Memory Stream: Dipping into Philadelphia's illustrated past`". Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network; Publisher Gregory J. Osberg). 2011-06-19. pp. D2. In 1902, Polish immigrant StephanNowaczyk began publishing Gwiazda (meaning “Star” in Polish), which would become one of the longest-running Polish American newspapers in Philadelphia.
3. Blackburn, Marc K. (Spring 1989). "Register of the Records of the GWIAZDA AND POLISH STAR PUBLISHING COMPANY 1922-1986". THE RESEARCH LIBRARY OF THE BALCH INSTITUTE FOR ETHNIC STUDIES. Balach Institute/Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2011-06-22. Stephan Nowaczyk, the founder and first publisher of Gwiazda, was born in Poznan, Poland in 1869 and immigrated to the United States with his family in the 1870s. They settled in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, a predominantly Polish neighborhood located on the eastern side of the city. Like his father, Nowaczyk was trained as a printer. In 1902 he purchased some second-hand printing equipment from his employer and acquired a mailing list from Patryota, a Polish newspaper in Philadelphia, and began publishing Gwiazda (meaning "Star" in Polish). In 1898 Nowaczyk married Frances (Franciszka) Kapcia (b. 1879 in Poland, d. 1959 in Philadelphia), and they had three children, Gertrude (b. 1909), Irene (1910-1959), and Eleanora Nowaczyk Fairlamb (1913-1979). Upon Nowaczyk's death in 1923, his wife became publisher of the newspaper and remained in that position until 1935. While a family member had remained the publisher, during the newspaper's duration, an editor and advertising manager were hired to take care of the day-to-day business of running the paper. With the pressure of operating the business mounting, daughter Gertrude became the newspaper's publisher in 1935 and held this position until the newspaper was dissolved in 1985.