A festive tribute to our community’s namesake will be the third planned event during our 2011 ‘Year Of Celebration’ commemorating Mt. Pulaski’s 175th birthday. This will be Count Pulaski’s birthday party held on Saturday, March 5th at the American Legion Hall in Mt. Pulaski beginning at 6:00 pm.
Casimir Pulaski belongs to that select group of heroes, including the Marquis de Lafayefte, Thomas Paine, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Pulaski's fellow countryman, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who opposed tyranny not only in their homelands, but wherever they found it. We especially honor Pulaski because he paid the ultimate price, having sustained a mortal wound while fighting for American independence at the battle of Savannah in 1779. Today he remains a symbol of the ideal of valiant resistance to oppression everywhere in the world.
His first military engagement in America was in September 1777, when he fought at the Battle of Brandywine. Pulaski and his cavalry troops kept the Americans from defeat and General Washington from probable death. At the request of General Washington, the American 2nd continental congress bestowed on Pulaski the rank of Brigadier General of the American cavalry. Although the Continental Congress also voted in 1779 to erect a monument in Washington, D.C. in Pulaski’s honor, it was not created until 1910. This sculpture, at Freedom Plaza, shows General Pulaski on horseback. In March 2007 the U.S. Congress passed a resolution that made General Casimir Pulaski an honorary U.S. citizen. Only six other individuals have been granted honorary citizenship by the United States, including Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, and the French General La Fayette.
All activities will take place our Mt. Pulaski American Legion Post 447 facility:
6:00 - 8:00 pm: Dinner, Polish & American food & desserts - provided by Hilltop Catering - Mike & Jenny Richner
8:00 – 11:00 pm: Dance to the live music of Kung Fu Dynamite band - blend of music from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s
Tickets are $10.00 and are available in advance from committee members and may also be purchased at Salt Creek Attic and Saddies Secret Place. Tickets will be sold at the door as well.
We hope you will be able to join us on March 5th as we lift our glasses to toast our namesake and recently bestowed American Citizen, General Casimir Pulaski.
