Political and economic transformation creates demand for a new lifestyle, new actions and a new way of thinking. Initiative, entrepreneurship, courage, risk-taking and breaking with established stereotypes are highly valued. From one day to the next, people must free themselves from the corset of comfortable habits and the illusion of security, and jump into the deep end. This is how the middle class is born: people who drive progress, but are also the object of provincial, disinterested envy. Around the world, they inspire admiration and respect, serving as exemplary models to follow; they are honoured with the offices and dignities of senators, sponsors and councillors, and presented with awards and honorary titles. Here, they simply exist, often remaining anonymous and living among us. Yet it is worth learning about their achievements, biographies and the mechanisms behind success linked to conscientious work. These people have chosen the future in accordance with the fashionable slogan promoted today.
A resident of Bolesławiec, Mr Stanisław Kostka—today a businessman and owner of the company “Bolko I” Ltd.—decided to make a business out of water. Literally, not metaphorically. Nature has generously endowed Lower Silesia with genuine treasures, some of which have simply been wasted until now. But what are ingenuity, imagination and organisational talent for—qualities worth their weight in gold, or perhaps rather in actual money? Fortunately, Mr Stanisław does not lack these qualities. When he saw a ruined former state farm in the Bolków municipality, he already knew how to use and develop the neglected workers’ quarters and the watering place of the piebald cows fed at the state’s expense... Yes, here the former state-farm cows drank the highest-quality spring water, which, according to surveyors, is some three million years old—older than the Oligocene epoch. He therefore bought the buildings of the ruined agricultural holding together with a tract of useless land and became the owner of a unique mineral-water spring in the Kaczawskie Mountains, at an altitude of 600 metres above sea level. From a lowland resident, he was promoted to mountaineer and lover of the limestone rocks concealing a true treasure within.
He was astonished by entries in German chronicles, which confirmed the extraordinary luck involved in the discovery—or rather, rediscovery—of the spring water. It turned out to be a phenomenon on a European scale, because on the old continent, apart from Jastrowiec, there are only two similar intakes—one in France and one in the Czech Republic, on the other side of the Carpathians. Doctors and geologists described and documented it in detail, while contemporary medical professionals did not challenge the opinions about the beneficial healing effects of the mineral water, which has effectively treated people since 1908 as so-called Glauber’s water. This is confirmed by a modest commemorative plaque installed at the spring, bearing the date of its discovery—1908. In two years, Mr Stanisław Kostka’s company will prepare to celebrate the round anniversary in a fitting manner, because this fact deserves recognition. All the more so because the fame of the unique spring and the reputation of the plant are growing almost geometrically, while the number of recipients of the valued and sought-after product throughout the country is difficult to count even with a computer. Business is governed by hard, objective laws: either a company develops or it simply collapses in the face of competition. This company is developing exceptionally dynamically, and bankruptcy does not threaten it. Its outstanding advantages include an ecologically clean zone and pristine, beautiful countryside, with no industry nearby—in short, a land seemingly taken straight from a fairy tale... Let us, however, move on to specifics viewed through “the sage’s glass and eye”, that is, in terms of scientific findings. Natural mineral water from the “Marie Quelle” spring in Jastrowiec was examined at the Scientific and Research Institute of the State Hygiene Institute in Poznań and also holds positive certificates from specialists in sanitary and epidemiological matters. Extensive legal documents unequivocally emphasise its practical and medicinal value, as well as its exceptional and unique character. Experts are usually sparing with words and praise, but this time they depart from that rule and explicitly highlight the water’s laboratory-grade colourlessness and transparency, the absence of foreign taste and odour, and the absence of any traces of toxic admixtures or organic contamination. Contrary to appearances, these are exceptionally important indications that allow the appropriate designation “medicinal water” to be used not as advertising, but as an undisputed fact. In other words, this is water of a quality matching the world’s finest mineral waters. The most concise description of Glauber’s water can be presented as follows: each mg/dm3 contains calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K) and iron (Fe) cations in proportions beneficial to the body, as well as the anions bicarbonate (HCO), chloride (Cl) and sulphate (SO2) in optimal concentrations. Drawn from the unique “Marie Quelle” spring, it has been known and popular in Europe since 1908. The deposits of this water are three million years older than Oligocene waters, and its medicinal properties are enhanced by its high magnesium content—the element of life (42.16). The Kaczawskie Mountains discovered and offered people a true treasure hidden deep within the earth. And since it was rationally developed and put to use by a resident of Bolesławiec, Mr Stanisław Kostka deserves all the more glory and recognition.
And a few more comments on practical and commercial matters. A Legnica doctor became something of a pioneer in recommending the use of “Marie Quelle” water to his patients for preventive and therapeutic purposes. But today it is already known, without medical knowledge or the opinions of authorities, that ecologically pure water cannot be replaced by anything; it is simply an elementary condition for maintaining health, physical fitness and the body’s biological balance. Indeed, modern civilisation treats it as a strategic resource; it is enough to mention Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights, without which the country could lose its water self-sufficiency if Syria cut off its sources. Let us leave these digressions aside, however, and rejoice in the fact that an enterprising businessman from Bolesławiec developed a genuine natural treasure, and that a rich selection of world-class mineral waters and drinks in various flavours has found its way onto our tables.
For the P.P.H. “BOLKO I” company in Jastrowiec did not stop at modestly enjoying its economic success. Today it produces carbonated and still waters in standard 1.5-litre and 5-litre containers, as well as drinks in many flavours and varieties: Orange, Lemon, Tonic, Grapefruit, Exotic and Cola. It is already a genuine production combine: the life-giving liquid from the intake reaches the production facility through a new pipeline, and from there, in an improved form, travels across Poland bearing the company’s attractive, aesthetically designed label. A sign of the times, a symbol of a new era. A symbol of Mr Stanisław Kostka’s success.