On the recordApril 15, 2010
In New Britain, Connecticut, on Sunday, over 1,000 people came together at Sacred Heart Catholic Church to mourn the 96 public servants, diplomats and military leaders who died in the tragic plane crash in Poland. This tragedy has shocked the entire world, but it's hit my district particularly hard. The Polish American community in Connecticut has deep roots and remains strongly connected to their homeland. Our Polish inheritance is visible throughout the community of New Britain, Connecticut, and the surrounding suburbs. Broad Street in that town has been named 'Little Poland' by the city council. There are people grieving today at Casimir Pulaski School in Meriden, at Pulaski Middle School in New Britain, and certainly this summer during the annual Dozynki harvest festival, a tradition which Polish immigrants brought to New Britain, Connecticut, during their immigration to the United States. As Americans, and as a people with deep and lasting Polish roots, we together mourn this terrible tragedy and send our sincere condolences to the people of Poland.
