Julia's Prayer: Recollections of Hamtramck, Michigan, a Polish-American Community Collection

Thomas Lewandowski grew up in Hamtramck, MI and lived there for 30 years before moving to Macomb County, MI. He attended Henry Ford Community College and Wayne State University for a Bachelor of Science in Education and returned to Wayne State in the 1960s for a Master of Science in Library Science. On July 1st, 1965 he was hired as a Chartered Faculty Librarian at the newly established Oakland Community College Auburn Hills Campus. Following the amendment of the Hutchinson Act in 1965 which allowed public employees to bargain collectively, Lewandowski became the Chair of the newly formed independent "campus labor organization" at the Auburn Hills Campus of OCC. Soon thereafter, it became the Oakland Community College Faculty Association (OCCFA).

In 1967 Lewandowski moved to the Highland Lakes Campus where he became a Library Division Chair and in 1974 he moved to the Royal Oak Campus. In the 1970s he began an oral history project to document the life and history of Hamtramck, MI. This project would turn into what would be called: "Julia's Prayer: Recollections of Hamtramck, Michigan, a Polish-American Community". The project culminated in a DVD produced by Oakland Community College. His work was also featured in an episode of a Michigan State University production, "The Making of Modern Michigan". Thomas Lewandowski continued to work as a Librarian at OCC until his retirement in the mid 2000s.