2005

 was another event filled year for
the Wilno Heritage Society. 

In celebration of Heritage Week, the Wilno Heritage Society held a Polish Kashub Film Festival on February 27, 2005, from noon to 9 p.m. at St. Hedwig's Church Hall. This heritage event was very well attended and featured a number of interesting documentary movies and short pieces on the subject of the Kashubs in Canada.

In 2005, volunteers from the Wilno Heritage Society under the guidance of Theresa Chapeskie, introduced the art of Kashubian Embroidery to 6th Generation Kashub Canadians at the senior elementary level at St. Mary's School in Wilno and St. John Bosco in Barry's Bay.[this tradition has continued at other local schools].

The Polish Kashub Festival was held on May 7, 2005 with beautiful weather and as many as a couple of thousand people in attendance.

On July 20 and 21, 2005, the Wilno Heritage Society hosted the visit of Mr. Piotr Konowrocki, Consul General of the Republic of Poland and his family, along with Consul, Mr. Andrzej Krezel.

The busy summer of 2005 also included the official opening of the Log Shed Display. In the Autumn, Wilno Heritage Park was once again a popular Rural Ramble site.  

The Wilno Heritage Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the one of the oldest historical roadside crosses on September 5, 2005. 

Built by Joseph Dudinski in September 2005, the cross is now maintained by David and Dianne Shulist. David's father, Martin Shulist, one of the earliest promoters of the Kashub culture locally, started a campaign in the late 1990s to investigate what had happened to all the roadside crosses and do something about replacing the "lost" crosses and restoring the old tradition. At the time, there were only six crosses left in the area out of an original number of at least 14. By 2005, the number had increased to about 20 crosses.

In the photo, Martin Shulist is shown seated in the centre beside his son, David, wearing the yellow [Kashub coloured] shirt. They are surrounded by the others who have taken up the Kashub Cross tradition by erecting replacement crosses or by maintaining the existing crosses.  Msgr. Ambrose Pick officiated at the blessing of the century old cross.