Orchard Lake, Michigan—The MotorCities National Heritage Area (MCNHA) awards the Polish Mission at Orchard Lake Schools the maximum grant of $10,000 to facilitate the creation of a lineage project documenting Polish-American autoworkers.
http://www.polishmission.com/polonica-americana-research-institute
http://www.polishmission.com/polonica-americana-research-institute
Quoting from the article, "Transistor radios filled the airwaves with odes to pink Cadillacs, little deuce coupes, and red Corvettes. We sang along; but did we know who built these auto icons? Many were built by Polish-Americans, the unsung line workers employed by the Big Three. Men with names like Franek, Jan, and Stan fabricated the hot rods; and the more mundane Chevys, Fords, and Dodges. Over time, the prosperity enjoyed by these laborers allowed them to send their children to skilled trade schools and colleges becoming the engineers and designers of the industry. Today, many metro Detroit Polish-American families can document four generations of their family who found work and the “American Dream” via employment in the industry." —From the Michigan Polonia lecture Working the Line
