The couple treated residents with paczki — a traditional Polish pastry that is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into spheres and containing a sweet filling.

Wes’ mother, Stasha, who recently passed away, had been a Maryhill resident for the past eight years. The couple thought it was important to share their Polish heritage in honor of Stasha.

Ewa talked with residents and staff about how the tradition came about in Poland. She explained that in Poland, paczki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

“Over there, paczki are much smaller — about the size of your palm. But in America, everything is so much bigger,” she said with a laugh.

Wes and Ewa Papciak greet Margaret Burton with the traditional Polish pastry.

The first traditional paczki filling in the Polish pastry is a rose preserve, while the second would be prune preserved. All of the pastries are glazed, not the powdered or granulated sugar used here.

The traditional reason for making paczki in Poland was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because it was forbidden to consume those during Christian fasting periods as part of the Lenten season.

“This is known as ‘last call,'” Ewa said. “Anything that was left was thrown out at midnight to begin fasting for the 40 days of lent.”

Terri Castelaz can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 241, or tcastelaz@ironmountaindailynews.com.

Diane Freeman, center, tries a prune paczek.

Dorothy Richards enjoys her paczek from Ewa Papciak.