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Mrs Szymion agreed to tell us about her hobby:
         „I live in Stanisławki and I've been running an open-air ethnographic museum for 20 years. My passion began in the moment of my birth- I was born in monumentally hut, my father was a historic and I followed him. The serious beginning of that took place in 1983 and „roots” of my family went back to 1920, when my great grandfather went back from the USA and decided to buy some property.
         He bought this property from the Germans, who have been leaving Poland. The main reason, why my great grandfather decided to buy this property was water, which lied near this house and which was very hard to acquire in those times and this beautiful hut, of course. From that moment my family lived in this property, through 85 years very many things have been accumulated. My father had a passion to accumulate monuments, I have already said, that he was historic, he taught in school, he didn't want to join the party, so he has been degraded from the teacher's position. He has been writing beautiful, which are mine now. After father's death I inherited everything and I decided to open the first room and immediately many people, who wanted to see the exhibit appear and that was the beginning of this museum. Next exhibites were given by some of the people, who have been visting it in those twenty years.





















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         It's hard to maintain the hut like that- it has to be restaured to avoid destruction. It's endargened on bad weather conditions, which destroy roof, windows, but beams' condition wasn't good in 1920 already, besides those beams were making without any nails. People from my village were so good, that they helped me in roof repair, but unfortunately the carpentery can't be repaired- there are specialists, they could make new carpentery, but the old can't be repaired. I try to stop the destruction of this hut, for example in winter I bold the door with cartoons and plates to stop the snow before it go to the hut.
         All of the monuments inside have to be repaired too- in winter I take all of the books and paintings to my house and this is my role. I have to say big "thank you" to youth, which give money- they're very useful. The open-air ethnographic museum is a big complex of monuments. In this village are 3 huts just like that. People, who were building this village, made public buildings, chaple and school too, there are three cemeteries too- this is whole complex of the open-air ethnographic museum. As I said before, this hut is mine, but two others belong to people, who can change the roof and carpentery. The chaple after the second world war was lay. When school has been destroyed, I tried to give to the chaple its previous meaning. Now this is a catolical chaple, about which the commune take care.












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         The scope of my action reach the cemeteries, which were neglected and which weren't used. At the moment, they're cleaned, superfluous trees have been cut and tombstones have been cleaned. Taking care of the scansen require much time- I'm in good situation, because I'm retired and I have much time. In the summer there are many trips, which are visiting scansen.
         Every room has to be cleaned, I spend most of my time on cleaning, because rooms are old and different kinds of insects destroys many things, besides every exhibit must be hoovered. The biggest problem of my undertaking is, that hut isn't heated- I've been warning to not burn in a heater and I don't have enough money to install central heating. In summer I open all the windows to make walls dry.














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         The most valuable exhibit is a jug, which Napoleon left, when he was going on Moscow. Its shape and decoratory are beautiful, on its underside there is year 1815 written. I was one of the members of jury in Ryńsk and then I was boasting of my exhibits and teacher came to me and she asked, could she give me something very personal. I expected some jewellery... It went out, that it was this jug.
         The next exhibit, which is worth an attention is jewellery- one gablote show us things from the nationality insurrections- there is a bracelet, which all rich women wore. Jewellery like that is very valuable, because it's made of silver with black element- the only one simbol of mourning after insurrections was that black element. It meant the tragedy of insurrections, the January insurrection the most, which, as the rest of them, brought failure and the end to Polish insurrections.

























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         One more exhibit, which is worth an attention is an alarm-clock, which has some elements connected with history of Wąbrzeźno. It's been given to me by Waldemar Kobielski, he was the leader of Urban National Council, he was interested in history. Pre-war watchmaster made this alarm-clock on his own- all mechanism, casing and hands were arts of the watchmaster. That appliance has the name of the realisator, Mr. Gajkowski, on its dial, unfortunately there isn't a date of production, but probably this exhibit is 70-80 years old.
         There were many more huts than we can see today on this areas. Their destruction was reasoned by the fact, that they were built by a clay. They didn't arise here, in the middle of the village, but on the east from it on 3 hills. The east part of village was lived by the Dutch tribes, which were brought here by the king. They were the first ten founders of the village- they made their first huts on those 3 hills. They made their obligation very good, so king let them make the second village- on that way became to exist Katarzynki village.
         In my hut gaps under the loft are completed by lay bricks, because the bal isn't elastic and I had to bold those gaps on some way. I wrote monography of Stanisławki, I visited old people, I was in archives, I accumulated much important information and I wrote this monogrpahy. It hasn't been published, because there's deficite of money and I'm not so rich to make my own publishing house, besides this is so small village, that there won't be too many acquires of this book. Accumulating that information took much time and was very hard, but I've never had any problems with writing. Priest Połomski built us that beautiful church, two towers and two sides during the captivity. Everything started, when I saw his gravestone on cemetery- there wasn't any street named his name in Wąbrzeźno in spite of that he made so much. I decided to know more about him - I got known, that he built the church, towers, I found something about his family too. I wrote his biography', it went to the magazine and that''s why we have a street named his name in Wąbrzeźno.”
         After getting those information we thanked Mrs. Szymion for spending her worth time for us and said goodbye.



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        To obtaining of this precious information we Mrs. thanked Szymion for lighting the way of our own precious time and we bid good-bye.