Do you remember childhood days when the family kitchen was glorified with the heavenly aroma of pa~czki ["PAWNCH-kee"], those delicious, spherical Polish doughnuts bobbing about that cauldron of bubbling cooking oil? Or chrus~ciki ("Khroosh-CHEE-kee"), those fragile "bow- ties" dusted with powdered sugar that made them look like miniature angel wings? And czernina or czarnina ["Char-NEE-ah"], "that" soup made with duck's blood? And when Sophie-from-across-the-street got married, what was all that stuff about her hair and a garland, and the women singing oczepiny ["Aw- cheh-PEE-nih] songs as they placed a matron's cap on her head? When was the last time you were at a funeral and heard them sing the plaintive Witaj, Kro~lowo Nieba i Matko Litos~ci [Hail, Queen of Heaven Above and Mother of Mercy]? Or sang of Christ's lamentations during the Lenten Gorzkie Z*ale [GAWZH-keh ZHAH-leh"], or the joyous Christmas Kolenda Dzisiaj w Betlejem [JEE-"shy" v'Bet-LEH-yem - Today in Bethlehem.. ]? Did you come across an old letter in Polish, Russian, German, Slovak, Yiddish. Lithuanian or some other language that might hold a clue to your family research, and you could use some help? If you're interested in sharing similar memories and questions about Polish and Polish-American customs, traditions and family practices, we invite you to join the newly-organized "POLfrina", the Polish Family Research Institute of North America. It's an enlargement of the very successful POLISH CLUB that has encompassed more than 650 members on the PRODIGY computer network over the last six years. We've assembled a talented array of educators, folklorists, genealogists, translators, sociologists and historians throughout the USA, Canada and Europe that want to learn from your recollections, and want to help answer questions you might have about ancestral villages, superstitions, surname research, proverbs, recipes, travel, songs, etc. It's a study of the past as a guideline to your children's and grandchildren's heritage! As a start, send us a question or observation. Then, give us two Polish surnames in your family, and we'll E-mail you some informtion that might be interesting! DAN KIJ (pron. "Key"), Buffalo-Lackawanna NY USA President, PRODIGY POLISH CLUB POLfrina - Polish Family Research Institute of North America POLfrina 1200 Electric Avenue Lackawanna NY 14218-1417 Phone: (716) 822-5258 Internet: TGHD67A@prodigy.com