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NP6 farm 164M4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic- Places Continuation Sheet, Section number R Page Q St. Casimir Parish Historic District OW AXWVW NA 160 -Me * St. Joseph County IN By then calm prevailed. The commitment of the Polish community to aiding the homeland in World War I. through military service and massive fundraising efforts, had strengthened and unified the neighborhoods comprising Polonia. With Poland now an independent nation, South Bend's Polish -Americans could return as many had once hoped to do. But their loyalty had for the most part shifted to the Polonia they had created for themselves here. although there was some rivalry among the four Polish parishes. Life in the neighborhood centered on church, work, and the family. When the parish was first created at the turn of the century, St. Casimir's School was established in the same building as the original church, on the northwest corner of Fisher and Webster. The rectory, still standing at 1308 Dunham, was built to the northwest of the church two years later. An addition to the west of the church/school building in 1916 housed an auditorium. Within a few years a house for the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. who taught at the school, was erected immediately to the east of the rectory, south of the school. It has since been demolished. From the beginnings of the parish the church became the center for social activities in the neighborhood. Women formed the Rosary Society immediately. and no doubt helped found the Immaculate Conception Society for single girls a year later. Other similar organizations followed, St. Anne's in 1911, Adoration in 1919. Men formed the Civic Club in 1914, which opened to women in 1928. The 1920s also saw the founding of the Young People's Progress Club. These groups performed good works and services within the community, raised funds for church needs, and held social events such as festivals and dances. With the main employers in the area shortening hours or laying off workers. the Depression of the 1930s had a tremendous impact on the community, yet its basic unity remained intact, perhaps even strengthened by adversity. But the seeds were sown that would lead to major upheavals in the following decades. Oliver was already failing; Studebaker would rally but ultimately close in the early 1960s. followed by Singer. Second, third, and even fourth generation descendants of the original St. Casimir parishioners would leave the neighborhood (although a surprising number remain), to be replaced by other ethnic groups. most recently. Hispanic. The parish school closed long ago, following a pattern typical of parochial schools in the 1970s. Many of the Mom -and -Pop stores that served the neighborhood for decades could not survive the proliferation of supermarkets and discount stores in recent decades, although a number of the restaurants and taverns survive. Still, the district retains much of its original flavor, its fabric. if somewhat altered, largely intact. 0 0