Here is how the process began for Jacek, in learning more about the unknown Polish manager of Black Manor.
Lithograph from about 1850 by: Eduardo Sachse
The unknown Firkowski/Wirkowski took over the management of not only the manor, but also, the entire agricultural property, which until recently was called the "Gut Schwarzbach". Exactly what circumstances brought him there is not known, but he filled the role of "Włodarz" (Steward) very well. Where is there information and what do we know about the first Polish host of Black Manor? Unfortunately little is known...Jacek became more interested in this person and how he came to this place after the war (WWII) while writing a history of Black Manor. Jacek decided to make use of the scarce unreliable information which was at his disposal after many years of dealing with the Manor. Even the name of the manager in different relationships was in question: Wirkowski, Firkowski, Jankowski.
With the desire to find more reliable evidence, Jacek started by talking with & listening to the stories from some women, the wife and daughters of the last German lessee of the property – Eng. Ludwig Rahm. He met Mrs. Gertrude the younger of the daughters, in 1986 when the Manor, a few years earlier was at risk of demolition and renovation had come to an end. Since then, he met with Mrs. Gertrude and sometimes even her mother.
Danuta Jakubiec, Mrs. Gertrude Rahm, her mother Mrs. Vera Ruth Rahm, Aldona Jakubiec and Jacek Jakubiec in Hannover, Germany in 1993, photo by: Martin Jakubiec
In 1994, he had met with Vera Ruth Rahm (no longer living) in Hanover, Germany. Both women said that Mr. Rahm had daily contact with the Polish manager for over a year: up until October of 1946, when he left the Manor and moved to Hanover, Germany. They had nothing but positive comments when they talked about the Polish host. He had to be an expert farmer for someone to take on the big challenge of managing 70 hectares of land that was part of the Manor and the complex of farm buildings and livestock. The Polish manager did not live at the Manor every day but he visited by horse and buggy. He immediately reviewed what needed to be done, and even before the first winter he had made repairs to the roof and lightning protection. He had to be a gentle man, probably gifted with a charming personality because the Rahm women's stories had not only a note of appreciation for what he did, but also admired him. Considering how Polish-German relations were at that time and how difficult, this was a brave Pole, because the others would not have been. He was something special. It turns out that here, in the area called the wild west, times were very uncertain: post-war chaos, widespread looting, deliberate destruction of what was formerly German, there were those who claimed recovered land, & others came with unknown intentions.
Searching for information about his hero, he came across my web page of the Firkowski family. Jacek thought "This has to be a large community, since as I read, a few years earlier they had organized a family reunion which brought together over 200 people" ... Jacek emailed me, asking about someone with the surname Firkowski/Wirkowski that might have been associated with Black Manor.- "is it someone you know?" "Immediately Mr. Tim Firkowski from the USA responded to my email, but was not able to help with only a surname."
To be continued...