Marie Magdalene Komasinski

Marie Magdalene Komasinski was the matriarch of our branch of the Bucklin family. What do we know about her?

She was born in 1926 in Omaha, NE. When she was 16, her brother Ed introduced her to Jimmy Bucklin, his friend from US Marine Corps training, but they did not immediately meet in person. They got to know each other by exchanging letters. He was deployed to Iceland in 1941 when, on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor leading the US into the war. From Iceland he returned (via NYC) to the marine base in San Diego, CA, to join the war operations. After he had fought his way across the Pacific, he was wounded and returned to his base to recover. Marie traveled by train from Omaha to San Diego to meet him in person for the first time, and they were married on July 14, 1945.

I was interested in finding out more about her. I wanted to look at her family history and culture. What was her home life growing up before she made that trip halfway across the country at 18 years old to meet and marry James I. Bucklin Jr.?

So I started a search on ancestry.com to trace Marie’s family before and beyond what I already knew.

I found out Marie’s Polish Catholic family, the Komasinskis lived in Omaha NE, since before 1900. A document found by ancestry.com shows the family, Michael (Mike) Komasinski and his wife Palagia (Pearl), arrived at Ellis Island (NY) on April 18, 1900. With them were their children Frank, Mary Anne, and Josef.

That little girl, Mary Anne Komasinski was our Marie Komasinski Bucklin’s mother. The ship’s registry documented their ultimate destination after they disembarked in New York. They had arranged train passage to Omaha where they had family waiting to welcome them. Why Omaha?

A remarkable thing I noted about their Polish American community was how close the extended family was even. then. Tracing the family’s tree back several generations to their arrival from Poland, they settled and stayed in and around Omaha! Our world is bigger now, and our family has become more diverse. but we’re fortunate to have experienced that same joy in our corner of the world, gathering with Marie for Christmas Eve, family birthdays, and all kinds of other celebrations.

By looking at birth certificates and other family records, I noticed that many births, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and other celebrations were held at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church- or in the adjacent Rec. Hall, gym, or the bowling alley. The Church was also where they gathered to mourn when they lost beloved family members, who were then often buried at the nearby St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery.

Now– have you ever wondered WHY? Why do our families have certain traditions? Usually, we just do things as we learned to, without question or really thinking about it. This summer of 2020 I read the book “Wandering in Strange Lands: A daughter of the great migration reclaims her roots” by Morgan Jerkins. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read about tracing previously unknown family heritage.

When learning about South Omaha and the Polish family traditions, I realized that the Bucklin family always celebrated Christmas with a fantastic dinner on Christmas Eve. There were presents for everyone, and then, for those who wished, going with Marie to Midnight Mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

I discovered this Christmas Eve ritual is a long-held tradition going back to Poland. where it is known as Wiglia! How exciting to learn that we’d been carrying on this tradition in Pasco, WA, across the country from Omaha, and around the world from Poland.

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