Adam Glinka Collection
Inclusive Dates
1979 – 1985
Abstract
The Adam Glinka Collection consists of four Super 8 home movies taken by Adam Glinka between 1979 and 1985. Some of the films capture Adam’s everyday life shortly after he arrives in Chicago in 1979 — his first job, shopping at Central Camera in Chicago's Loop, and Pope John Paul II’s visit to the city. Other films document the birth of Adam and his wife Elizabeth’s first child, trips to visit family in Elizabeth, Illinois, vacations in Colorado, Christmas, and Easter spent with friends.
Collection Items
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
Collection Identifier
C.2025-05
Extent of Collection
Four Super 8mm films totaling approximately 1,450 feet.
Subject
Custodial History
These films were stored in a closet of the Glinka family home in Des Plaines, Illinois, for many years. They were donated by Adam Glinka to Chicago Film Archives in 2025 as part of the Not-So-Ordinary project, an initiative to preserve home movies from Polish Chicago.
Creators
Adam Glinka
(was created by)
Adam Glinka was born in 1947 in Warsaw, Poland, to Józefa and Jan Glinka. In Poland, he earned a living as a musician, playing in various Warsaw restaurants with dancing. From 1973, he began working abroad, including on Finnish-Swedish liners, where he played in a band. He first came to the United States in 1978 for a concert tour. He returned to Chicago for the same purpose in 1979, met his wife, and decided to settle in America. He married Elżbieta, nee Maciak, in 1980, and they raised their children, Ewa [Eva] and Marek [Mark], in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Elizabeth, and Des Plaines. In the US, Adam took on various jobs. He worked as a truck driver, cleaner, and later a supervisor at a cleaning service company, then at a renovation company. All this time, he was earning extra money as a musician at various Polish clubs and events.