From the mid-19th century, the oil industry developed in the Subcarpathian region. As a result, in the unusual Lemko village of Łosie, almost all the men were involved in smear-making, i.e. the manufacture and itinerant trade of smear and grease obtained by dry distillation of pine waste used to lubricate the axles of wooden carts. In the spring, carts of grease, lubricants and oils would leave the Moose and the trade area covered the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. The makers and traders in lubricants and grease (maziarze) travelled deep into Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, and as far as Transylvania.  Trade, which was the primary source of income for the inhabitants until the Second World War, practically died out after the Second World War and the displacement of Lemkos during Operation Vistula in 1947.  In the post-war years, more than a dozen makers and traders in lubricants and grease were from Łosie, with the last one still working in the 1970s.

This is a traditional wooden Lemko homestead still standing on the site, a fragment of the former village buildings. It consists of a cottage from 1899, known by the Lemkos as chyża, an outbuilding housing a stable with a coach house and a granary. The cottage, dating from 1899, and the stable and coach house, from the late 19th century, are of log construction with hewn fir logs. Their ridge roofs are covered with spruce shingles. The one-bay cottage is divided by a hallway. The basement granary, dating from the first half of the 20th century and of timber-frame construction, is boarded and has a ridge roof covered with shingles. In 2018, a 1928 cottage (chyża) was moved to the homestead from Bartne.

After the renovation of the buildings, an exposition on the history of the making and trade in lubricants and grease against an ethnographic background, also showing Lemko culture, was set up. In the cottage and stable, an exhibition on Western Lemko culture and the making and trade in lubricants and grease was set up with exhibits, maps, photographs, and information boards. In an outbuilding stand the smear carts, including the cart of Dymitr Karel, one of the last of the Łosie lubricant and grease makers and traders. The ethnographic exhibition takes a closer look at the non-agricultural activities of the Lemkos, such as spoon-making and wood tar-making. The granary showcases preserved elements from Lemko churches that no longer exist, mainly crowning crosses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The homestead hosts museum workshops and lessons, exhibitions, meetings and outdoor events, the most popular of which is the ‘Maziarz Festival’ in August.

In the village of Łosie itself, picturesquely situated on the Łosianka Creek, many old buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been preserved. This development differs from other Lemko villages; there are no long homesteads with buildings containing living quarters and outbuildings under one roof, but there are residential houses and detached outbuildings.  The Maziarska Farm is bordered by the 1810 Greek Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary through a historic church wall.

Wood tar is a pungent liquid with a tarry smell. It has applications in folk medicine, veterinary medicine, and crafts. It was also used in magical practices. It is created by so-called dry distillation from wood. The Lemko village of Bielanka near Łosie is still famous for its production. The  wood tar-making were considered to be people with wizardry skills.

‘Maziarze from Łosie, rural wealth in a global oil industry’