Editorial Note

Abstract

This issue of Polish American Studies opens volume 80 of the Polish American Historical Association's journal. Volume 1, edited by Constantin Symonelewicz, appeared in 1944 under the imprint of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, PAHA's parent organization. A lot has of course changed since 1944, but Polish American Studies remain a premier scholarly journal with a mission to present and promote the history of Polish diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. Polish American Studies is now broadly indexed and available online through JSTOR (past issues) and Scholarly Publishing Collective (current issues). Subscribers to Polish American Studies, both individuals and institutions, come from countries on all continents, and our editorial board as well as contributing authors represent a variety of disciplines, methodologies, and research interests. Volume 80 is certainly a milestone worth celebrating.As tradition dictates, we open the issue with an address by the outgoing PAHA President, Neal Pease, who reflects on his term in office during the challenging pandemic and post-pandemic times. In the first article in this issue, James S. Pula revisits foundational questions of why immigrants from the Polish lands came to America, how many came and when, and where they settled. Taking a long view of the problem, Pula examines both Polish and American circumstances, and uses the most recent research on the topic.In the second article, Thomas Hollowak presents a more focused view of American Polonia's history in a particular place and particular time. Hollowak explores the press chronicles of crime and murder in Baltimore that involved Polish immigrants as both perpetrators and victims, highlighting an understudied aspect of Polish American experience at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. An announcement of note follows: John J. Bukowczyk shares news about PAHA Books, a new publishing initiative of our organization.In “Varia,” we present another research institution that focuses on the history of Poland and the history of Poles in America. The Polish Heritage Library and Archives in Panna Maria, Texas, although a relatively new institution, grows out of the tradition of Polish immigrant settlement in Texas, which continues since 1854.Last but not least, the book review section includes reviews of books authored or edited by Magdalena Kubow, Imogene Salva, Joanna Kulpińska, Dominik A. Stecula, Beata Dorosz, and Karen Walczyk Prescott.