HADLEY — After World War II and into the 1950s, families from Poland who were part of the displaced persons program, some arriving in the United States from camps in Germany, continued to require assistance to recover from the devastation.

While growing up as one of 10 children in Hadley, Bernadette Wyman remembers that her parents, Adolph C. and Mary Pipczynski, played an instrumental role in supporting and sponsoring families from war-torn Poland, including the 10 members of Joseph Glaszcz’s family who made it to the area from Bremerhaven, Germany.

“They always made sure these were families with children, and at one point they sponsored a family with eight children,” Wyman said. “I am in touch with these people to this day.”

The Glaszcz family had seen their farm destroyed by German forces in 1943 and were held in concentration camps until the war ended, when they were put in the displaced persons, or “D.P.” program.

To recognize her parents, and their love for children, Wyman recently made a donation to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.

Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $50 to qualifying families for each child from age 1 to 14.

To be eligible for the Toy Fund, families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.

“I honor them by donating to this fund, because of their love of children,” Wyman said of her late parents. “While none of us had an overabundance growing up, my folks were very mindful of people who had less and children who were in need.”

Though her father, who died in 1982, was born in Hadley, he went back to Poland with his family, and upon returning to the United States in the midst of the Depression found work on Long Island, New York. Her mother, who died in 1992, was born on Long Island, married her father in 1931, and they arrived permanently in Hadley in 1942 to operate a farm. In the early 1950s, Wyman said, her parents helped the Glaszcz family settle in the area, providing them help in ways that was also offered to others in the community.

“I remember making trips to houses of people with children, dropping off our hand-me-down clothing, bunches of asparagus in season, vegetables in summer and gallons of our milk,” Wyman said.

Leeds woman gives in mom’s memory

Making donations to the Toy Fund in memory of loved ones is common.

Marilyn Clapp is remembering her mother, Kathleen Ursia of Leeds, who died in October, with her donation. Clapp said recognizing her mother in this way makes sense, since Ursia made similar donations every year. Her mother’s passing came just seven months after the death of her father, George E. Ursia Jr., who she was also close with, speaking daily to check in on them, listen to their stories or ask for advice.

Kathleen Ursia was a nurse for more than 30 years at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, helping to establish the hospital’s support for bronchoscopy/endoscopy procedures.

“She was known for her quick wit and humor, amazing patient care, providing them and their families with comfort, compassion, dignity and respect,” Clapp said.

After Ursia retired, she volunteered at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, Florida. Clapp observes that volunteering and donating were something her mother and her mother’s siblings were known for.

The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Comics N More, 64 Cottage St., Easthampton; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Plato’s Closet, 1472 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; World Eye Bookshop, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.