At the ead of the year 1913, the most radical and military group of the „Falcon” members formed a new organisation under the name 4th Polish Rifle Squad. Officer cadet Julian Lubertowicz became its commander. After Austria announced mobilization, as a result of an order by the command-in-chief of the Riflemen's Association and after an official farewell on the main square in Nowy Targ on 5 August 1914, the Rifle Squad marched to Cracow where it was incorporated to the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions. (Photo from A. Nowak's collection)

The picture taken during these celebrations is very moving, young people in a military formation, not yet armed, accompanied by the sounds played by the town orchestra and patriotic exclamations, set off to take part in great war and possibly never come back to their home town. We see the crowds of the town inhabitants gathered, some broke off from their daily routine, yet this was August, harvest time, under the linden trees there stand in a cluster some Jews of Nowy Targ, still distanced to the war and politics. Old photographs beautifully show the authentic patriotism, Podhale's way to independence and finally joy of the year 1918  (Photos No. 286, 528) when on 2 November during a mass meeting on the main square almost all inhabitants gathered.

In these archival pictures one can find the enthusiasm and pathos of the 20-year-long interwar period. Anniversary celebrations are continued, a new legend is created: independence, together with its main author Józef Piłsudski.

Local traditions are fostered as well. The anniversary of Władysław Orkan's (1875-1930) creative work in 1927 was celebrated with a gusto. (Photo No.163) The poet of the Podhale region was anxious about the organisation of this anniversary in Nowy Targ - Orkan's opinion about the town, even though he was an experienced traveller, was not necessarily positive. In a letter to F. Gwiżdż he wrote: "Mr Guziak (a reconer and a composer as he calls himself) from the town visited me at home, he was sent by Lubertowicz; he is apparently to train brass bands. (…) Please do not give up on conducting even for a second and do not leave things to chance” In another letter to A. Zachemski he writes: „Or it can all turn out to be routine or even worse ( This does not refer to the person whose anniversary was celebrated but to spectators from Poland who were to arrive).”(ref. E. Jachimiak-Miodunka, „Książka i literatura w życiu nowotarżan, „Almanach Nowotarski” 2003, nr 7). These fears turned out to be unnecessary because the celebrations were impressive and echoed in whole country's press, a report on the celebrations was published in the 5th issue of "Wierchy" in 1927: "The celebrations began with the greeting of Orkan by the town mayor Rajski on the main square in Nowy Targ, then there was a service in the parish church after which a march to Słowacki Square took place. There sat Orkan together with his family and authority representatives on a platform under a linden. On the steps of the platform there were highlander buskers from Biały Dunajec, next to them two choirs - from Nowy Targ and from Zakopane. After each speech, either singing or music could be heard coming from the platform. Old-fashioned music was played just like in the past, old songs resounded loudly... Around there were a highlander troupe, "Sokół" and "Strzelec" and a fire brigade with a brass band lined up; and deep in the broad background, as if a decorated frame of a colourful picture there were a highlander cavalry and people of Szaflary on green cart; and in a quadrilateral there was a crowd of people from the "town" and neighbouring villages.