Volume 78 Issue 5 September-October, 2006 2nd Place Maria Selak Our Slovenian Garden “Pa po vrtu španciram, pa go, go, go, go, gobce nabiram; Pa še jaz naj grem z vam, Da se na ju, ju, ju, ju, jurčke spoznam." Having a flower and vegetable garden has been part of our family’s Slovenian heritage. Stara Mama and Stari Ata Selak had a gorgeous garden, especially blessed with potatoes (krompir), and Stara Mama and Očka Kregar grew the best beans (fižol) and turnips (repa) in the Avon Oaks- Girard area. We grew up with fresh vegetables on our table every day-what a treat-from garden to plate! As my husband, Gus, and I planned our landscaping, the garden was a MUST. Throughout the years, our garden has provided not only nourishment for our bodies but also many treasured memories of our three children and their friends helping “farm.” We have planted a variety of vegetables; however, lettuce (solata), beans (fižol), garlic (česen), peppers (paprika), and tomatoes (paradajz) have always been staples, with an occasional weed. Expansion has earned our herbs (začimbe) a spot, too. We believe that our garden is THE BEST because it is filled with tradition, love, warmth, and it is- Special Lovely Orderly Vibrant Edible Neat Impressive Aromatic Nourishing. 3rd Place Frances Yenko Chilcoat I am very happy to send you a photo of the “kozolec” hay rack in our back yard. We were very impressed with the hay racks throughout the beautiful green country of Slovenia. When we returned home my husband couldn’t wait to build a kozolec in our back yard. As you may know Slovenia is famous for their kozolec. The only nation in the world with this claim; and we believe our kozolec is the only one within this U.S.A. We are very proud to have a traditional icon of Slovenia in our back yard; and we are excited to share this with you. Zarja - The Dawn EDITOR: Debbie Pohar DIRECTOR OF DESIGN: Bonnie Pohar Prokup CONSULTING EDITOR: Corinne Leskovar EDITORIAL OFFICE: 1696 Illinois St., LaSalle, IL 61301 TELEPHONE: 815.223.9596 FAX: 815.224.1074 WEB SITE: www.swua.org PUBLISHER: Slovenian Women’s Union of America TELEPHONE: 815.727.1926 Vol. 78. No.5, September 'October 2006 Published bimonthly Periodicals Postage paid at Joliet, IL and additional mailing offices. (ISSN 0044-1848) Postmaster: Send all changes of address to: SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION OF AMERIC A 431 N. Chicago St., Joliet. IL 60432 Communications for the next issue of publication: Do you have something SWUA-related you would like to share with readers, like an event you want to let people know about or an idea for an article? We would love to hear from you! Please e-mail the editor at poliar4Kraol.com. We reserve the right to edit any article submitted. It is preferable that you submit your idea for discussion prior to writing an article. Articles must be related to SWUA events or members. The deadline for articles is the first day of the month preceding the issue. For example, articles lor the November/December issue must be received by October l'1. Thank you. CONTENTS From the Editor IN EACH ISSUE 1 From the Editor 2 National President’s Message 3 National Secretary News 4 National Convention News 6 News from SWUA.org 7 SWUA Scholarship Program FEATURE STORY 10 The Magical Garden - By Lea Flis IT’S IN EVERY SLOVENIAN 12 Men in a SWUA World 13 Kid Talk 14 Living Your Legacy 15 Discovering your Slovenian Roots HERITAGE NEWS 20 SWUA Archival Records and the Future 21 Archival Records Scanned 22 The Path Taken - Dopoljena pot 24 Slovenian Heritage Museum 26 Slovenian Gardening - A Family Tradition 28 Branch Reports 39 Calendar of Events CULINARY 40 Entertaining ...With a touch of Slovenia Grand Prize Mary Mecum My love for gardening started in the very yard 1 have now. 1 was raised by my Slovenian grandparents, Joseph and Josephine Ursic Rady. My grandmother enjoyed the same full old fashion flower beds I do today. We would weed and water together from the old well, which is gone now; except for the pump I've kept to remember those days. 1 think from heaven she shares the joy I have from my European style flower beds that take me back to a warm special time. I am so glad we purchased her home after she passed away in 1969 to carry on this tradition of Slovenian gardening we both loved. I hope you are enjoying the bounties of your garden as much as I am. I was lucky enough to sample Jenka’s soup and I have to tell you it is fantastic. It is very similar to the barley soup that my grandmother used to make. Take pleasure in this harvest season. - Debbie Pohar, Editor % Letters to the Editor The Zarja is a national publication and I support limiting the length of articles in the branch news section (much of the material in this section is not relevant to the entire membership). Can branches create their own snail-mail newsletters or e-mail newsletters to supplement their branch reports? Ideas anyone? Lynn Zalokar, Branch 93 I hope all SWUA members read Lynn Zalokar’s thought -provoking article in the last issue of Zarja entitled “Personal Reflection”. Read it again. This should give us reason to pause and reflect on where we have been and where we are going. St#0ttifiifr^Q,lutnik, Branch 40 It is also a very exciting time for SWUA with all the activities going on at the Slovenian Heritage Museum. I am anxiously waiting for my relatives to be scanned into the archival database. What a magnificent approach to preserve history and we, SWUA, are making it materialize thanks to our amazing staff and volunteers. Debbie Pohar in her Slovenian garden I still cannot believe the great entries that were received for the garden contest. Our judges had such a challenging time deciding on the winners. I am told the winners were chosen not only for the pictures of their garden but, also on the 300 words or less that was written describing how their Slovenian garden is the best. To all of our winners, congratulation. National President’s Message “The Autumn Months Are Faithful Reminders” This issue of our beloved Zarja is dedicated to the “Harvest.” Since harvesting time is indicative of the autumn months, I think of this time of year as a faithful reminder of our much-loved heritage. Enjoy this issue as it may bring back some childhood memories. Kathleen Ferrante National President Speaking of memories - I was talking to a member recently and she shared a concern about her family with me. It reminded me that I have heard this from many members before. It is the same old story that they wish they could get their children and grandchildren involved with their Slovenian heritage. I was thinking and came up with a couple of suggestions that may work: • Even though your family members do not realize it now, someday they will wish they knew more about their parents and grandparents. By then it may be too late to ask some very important questions. I suggest you write down all of your favorite stories and memories you want to share with them. This book will then become a treasured item passed down through many generations. You will always be fondly remembered. • When family comes to visit - fill your house with Slovenian music and offer them some traditional Slovenian foods. Our Zarja food editors have given us many recipes that are easy and simple to make. Why not try them? • Don’t give up! Continue to mention stories from the Zarja with them. They may find the stories on travel or food of interest and want to get the magazine for themselves. Then offer to give them a gift of membership so they can realize the benefits. jilik First Midwest Bank Joliet, IL (815) 727-5222 FMC I hope everyone is planning to attend their Regional State Convention this fall. It is one of times that we enjoy food, friendship and learn what is happening in the SWUA. These are the last regional conventions before the National Convention in 2007. For those members near or in northeastern Ohio, I encourage you to attend the second Heritage Festival at SNPJ Farm on October Is'. This is another exciting event and promises to have much to offer in the way of entertainment, food, and displays. I hope to see many of our members there. Inspire the Slovenian attitude -love, laugh and enjoy. Kathleen Ferrante 178 Gaylord Dr. Munroe Falls, OH 44262 330.466.4949 kdorchak@neo.rr.com SWUA Seeks New Webmaster We are seeking a new Webmaster for our growing Web site, www.SWUA.org. If you or someone you know is tech savvy and has the time to volunteer to help us design new Web pages and upload content, please contact Kathy at kdorchak@neo.rr.com. This volunteer position requires several hours of Web work a month and is a great opportunity to give back to the SWUA or to help a college student looking to gain Web design experience for his/her resume. National Secretary News Changes on Mailing Labels Means... $$$$ Savings! You may have noticed the label on the back cover of your Zarja looks a little different from the old days of a metal plate that was hand stamped on every Zaija mailed out. This is the start of a new and improved method that already is showing cost savings. The savings are coming because everything is updated instantly on the computer. Every time a death, cancellation, new member or address change is reported it is handled on the spot from my computer. This is then sent via email to the printing company for processing approximately one week before it arrives on your doorstep. In two past issues, the amount of returns from the post office has dropped considerably. Whenever this happens we have to pay the Post Office 70 cents. I realize that may not seem like much but, when you are getting a lot of returns it adds up quickly. Another cost savings is discontinuing sending Zarjas to those who quit years ago and somehow were still in the filing system and to those who have not paid their dues after six months. On the positive side, this will alert the member who did not realize they failed to pay their annual dues and will hopefully contact us. Zarja continues to be our largest expense and we are doing everything possible to look out for ways to save money. Since postage is so high these days, this truly is one of the first steps. Bonnie Pohar Prokup National Secretary If you do not receive your Zarja by the 15th day of the month it comes out or if you have any other problems don’t hesitate to contact me. Bonnie Pohar Prokup 3119 Carrie Street Peru, IL 61354 Wprokup@aol.com Join SWUA today...Do not pay again until January of 2008, see page 39 for an application. Welcome to our new members! Zarja The Dawn Donations 1, Castellan, Ann 2, Kozlik, Laura 3, Mikatich, Kathleen 3, Snider, Florence 5, Brodnik, Genita 5, Brodnik, Jaymie 5, Brodnik, Richard 5, Cuson, Angie 5, Leslie, Stephanie 5, McDougal, Victoria 5, Stanich, Frances 12, Luebke, Patricia 12, Overman, Rosemary 12, Trobec, Cecilia 13, Morrissey, Janet 16, Sebahar, Kenneth George 20, Cabay, Lindsay 20, Galle, Dennis 20, Makovic, Dorothy 20, Oldani, Marilyn 20, Rodeghero, Sandra 23, Nemanich, Anna Kristine 39,Johnson,Jane 42, Kastelic, Louis 50, Huefner, Maureen 79, Langdon, Theresa 93, Hrubenak, Diane 93, Recor, Irene 93, Scanlon, Jeni 99, Rus, Alenka 100, Stojnsek, Vesna 108, Tramposch, Albert 109, Schwanke, Mary Alice 152 new members so far this year! XI0 Donation 38 Bartol, Sabina - 103 Klemenčič, Frances - 10 Langdon, Theresa *memory of Theresa Komac - 79 Muren, Julia - 6 ____________________________ Pahula, Frederick L - 34 McComber, Yvonne - 109 Papesh, Antoinette Ann - 14 Sanders, Joanne - 5 Spehar, Suntina - 33 $100 Donation Cameron, Mary Ruth $60 Donation Moorfoot, Laura - 93 $50 Donation $30 Donation Urbančič, Mary - 25 Zuga, Karen - 54 $25 Donation Lauritzen, Mary - 24 $20 Donation Carroll, Beth Agnes - 42 Edwards, Vera - 24 Podlesnik, Ann - 2 Huefner, Maureen Orel - 50 $5 Donation Baraga, Sophie - 25 Batic-Sciarrabba, Beverly * memory of Mary Batic - 32 Carroll, Elizabeth - 42 Kelley, Marcia - 26 Kokal, Lisa - 108 Oven, Amalia - 108 Bylaws Amendments/Revisions Bylaws Committee - Convention Delegate’s Votes -Bylaw Items to Consider Are you familiar with SWUA’s bylaws? Please note the following section from the bylaws: Article IV t National Convention - Section 4.06 Resolutions and motions of branches requesting amendments to the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws must be presented no later than three months in advance of the National Convention. If so inclined to do so, that means that branches have until March 20-21, 2007 to submit branch requests. That is the same date of the Zarja deadline for the May/ June ’07 issue - the last issue prior to the June ’07 National convention. The bylaws committee, the SWUA Board of Directors and the Zaija editors all strongly urge submissions well ahead of the deadline. Every four years at our national convention we have the opportunity, after considerable review, to amend/revise the bylaws to reflect the intentions of the organized membership. It is time once again to hear from the membership regarding bylaws which may be problematic, outdated, vague or restrictive as we provide the authority to our national officers and board of directors to, among other duties, oversee the original burial insurance policies, continue to keep the membership connected through our official organ, Zarja - The Dawn, and also to provide guidelines and formats to branch officers in the governing of our branch meetings and state conventions. A four-person bylaws committee has been formed: • Denise Bartlett-Chairperson: SWUA National 2nd Auditor, Treasurer Milwaukee, WI -Branch 43 • Yvonne Johnstone Khaldy: Vice-President Branch 43 and Acting Vice-President of the Wisconsin Region. • Jan King: Branch 30, SWUA’s branch for members who do not live within a reasonable distance to a branch. Jan lives in Wasilla, Alaska and serves as SWUA’s On-Line Newsletter editor. • Norm Setnicker: Organizer and reporter of Branch 109-Twin Cities, MN. All four have very extensive, impressive qualifications to offer in service on this important committee. They will be thoroughly reviewing suggestions to improve SWUA’s guidelines. In addition Denise Bartlett has parliamentary experience in that she served in 2004-2005 on a Bylaws committee that totally revised the Bylaws of the Slovenian Arts Council of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. It is suggested that all members become familiar with the SWUA bylaws. Your branch President and Secretary have copies. Members may also go to www.swua.org to print a 16 page copy. Each issue of the Zarja since the July/August ‘06 issue through the March/April 2007 issue will highlight sections of the current bylaws, and will include concerns and suggestions received thus far. The committee is asking for feedback regarding suggested revisions, information from members regarding the reasons/history of certain sections and lessons learned from past SWUA history regarding the bylaws; in short, members are urged to SPEAK UP. The committee will consider every submission of information before presenting suggested formal (final) bylaw changes for all members to read in the May/June ’07 Zarja, review/consider/discuss at their branch meetings and entrust the delegates at the June 2007 Convention to determine with their vote. An interesting thought from The Complete Idiot s Guide to Robert s Rules by Nancy Sylvester, PRP, CPP-T, 2004 Edition, page 230 “Unfortunately, delegates are often sent to a convention instructed on how to vote on a particular controversial issue. However, doing so is contrary to the basic concept of parliamentary law. Conventions are held to bring everyone together so everyone can hear the same information, discuss the issue together, and then make a group decision. When a delegate is instructed on how to vote ahead of time, all the discussion is wasted. A delegate is a human being with a brain and that person should be allowed to use his or her brain.” Items to consider from CONSTITUTION. BYLAWS AND REGULATIONS of the SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION of AMERICA: From pages 12 thru 25 of the blue SWUA Bylaws booklet (page 4 Article III thru Article VI, page 8 of website copy) Article IV National Convention 4.12 Should there be a provision allowing, in case of unforeseen emergencies, electing substitute delegates outside of the three-month election period now mandated? Article V Directors 5.02 Several members of the current and past boards feel there is an injustice in naming the three Auditor positions as official board members with a vote, while those serving as Scholarship Director, Heritage Director, Special Projects Director, Zarja Editor and other positions serve without a vote. Reorganization proposal #1: Consists of nine board members with a vote and the three Auditors would .serve with a voice but no vote. The board would consist of: • President • Vice-President of Home Office (including Webmaster) • Vice-President of Membership (Records, Policies, Membership Drives) • Vice-President of Heritage Museum (including Library) • Vice-President of Outreach (including On-Line Newsletter, Zarja-The Dawn, Slovenia contacts) • Vice-President of Special Proj ects (including Fund Raising, State Conventions, etc.) • Vice-President of Youth Programs (including Scholarships, Travel Awards, etc.) • Secretary (Recording and Corresponding) • Treasurer Reorganization proposal #2: Reduce the number on the National Board, which a smaller board may be easier to work with. Other suggestions include: the recording secretary and treasurer should be one position; the Secretary and Home Office position be joined; have a man or men as voting members of the National Board; and paid employees of SWUA should not be National Officers. Article VI Committees 6.01 If a reorganization of the Board of Directors is made, which members should constitute the Executive Committee? Article VI Committees 6.05 Should the SWUA Bylaws dictate what constitutes qualified candidates to be eligible for a scholarship? Should Slovenian service or activities be the only qualifier? These bylaw revision suggestions are of great importance and demand serious consideration. If you would like your opinion or ideas to be heard please contact Denise Bartlett. Thank you. Please send all correspondence to: Denise P. Bartlett 7902 W. Howard Ave. Milwaukee, WI, 53220-1612 Tel: 414-327-4990 e-mail denisepbartlett@wi.rr.com SWUA NATIONAL CONVENTION JUNE 21-24, 2007 Starved Rock Lodge And Convention Center Utica, Illinois Everyone be sure to mark your calendar for the SWUA National Convention in June. Many exciting events are in the works right now for all ages to enjoy. This gathering will be for all Slovenians, no matter your gender or age. SWUA member or not, so bring all your family members and your Slovenian friends with you. Although there will be two morning meetings for delegates from each branch, this is a reunion or gathering of all Slovenians. Let’s gather and unite. Ambiance will tlare with the warmth of the Slovenian musical entertainment, at the Wine Tasting Party, the Heritage Room to view many old wedding dresses, children’s camp and the Slovenian Expo with its cultural venues. You will want to kick up your heels at the Gala 80th Anniversary Party of SWUA. We hope to see you here! As we say around here, see you at “The Rock”. News From SWUA.org Your SWUA Web Site Branches: Take Advantage of Free Publicity part of our lives - and important resources for bank’s Web site to keep your finances in order, the newspaper’s Web site to find out what’s happening in your city, or a dating Web site to keep your love life in order! Well, the SWUA Web site is no different - it’s a real resource, especially for branches. Branches are often looking for new ways to publicize their events - meetings, picnics, parties or conventions - and they’re on a limited budget. But many branches aren’t taking advantage of the free opportunities right at their fingertips - on our Web site. If your branch has an upcoming event, ask your reporter or a Web-savvy branch member to post details about the event on the site. How do you do that? Well, there are a couple of ways. First, you could take advantage of the SWUA Forum. This is the SWUA’s chat site - where people go to talk about everything from Slovenian food and music to genealogy and yes, upcoming events. The SWUA Forum is in the upper left hand comer of the home page of our Web site. Just click on the Forum and it’ll take you to a page with a list of chat areas on different subjects. SWUA Live is where you can post information about upcoming events. Just click on SWUA Live, click on New Topic, create a fun name for yourself and drop in your subject line and details about the event. So, say you post and item on SWUA Live - a visitor who is interested in attending events may click on the SWUA Live link and see your event. If they are a branch member, it serves as a reminder of the event, if they’re not, it may not only encourage them to attend the event, but it may also lead them to join your branch because they see that it’s active! Holding a state or regional convention? You can promote it by submitting a “Latest News” item to our webmaster at Leslie Cummings webmaster@swua.org. The SWUA.org Editor “Latest News” section is on the front page of our Web site - a great place to put a major event of interest to numerous members. Because we have so many active branches, we can’t place local branch events under our “Latest News” section - that spot’s for items of regional or national interest. We also have a conventions page just for information about conventions - upcoming or past. If you go to SWUA.org, the link to our conventions page is on the upper left side of the home page. To submit information about your convention for that page, just e-mail it to the webmaster and let him know you’d like it posted on the conventions page. In addition, SWUA.org has a page just for branches. If you’ve got an upcoming event you’d like to post on the branches page, just e-mail the details, including event name, branch number, date, time, location, cost, contact information and no more than three short sentences about the event, to the webmaster, asking him to post it on the branches page. And don’t forget - after the event be sure to submit some photos of your exciting event for our Web site Members’ Photos page. Free publicity is just a click away! - Leslie Cummings About the Editor: Cummings has been an SWUA member for four years. She has a degree in journalism and has been a writer/editor for more than 12 years. She has been writing for Zarja and SWUA.org for the past three years. You can reach her at lcc0920@ameritech.net with comments or questions. Leslie Cummings in her garden SWUA Scholarship Program 2006-2007 SWUA Scholarship Recipients Share How Their Slovenian Culture Has Influenced Each of Them The essays are entitled “My Heritage and My Culture” Ifeel I am most fortunate to have relatives now living in Slovenia. My grandma has told me this many times and my dream is to be able to take a trip to Slovenia and to meet them. Having an extended family of Slovenian heritage is great because as the years go by I can learn more abut them. My Slovenian heritage has had an impact on my family, not forgetting to mention the good food that comes from our heritage. A favorite thing of mine is over Christmas when my grandma or great aunt cook up special dishes. My Slovenian background is important to me. I am interested in looking further back into my family tree and discovering where my first ancestors came from. I hope in the future I will make that one of my goals in life. Until then I will continue to learn more about my Slovenian background as much as I can to enlighten not only myself but the rest of my family. Kelsey Ivancich, Branch 23 It is an interesting thing being a mid-twenty something living away from home but consistently searching for ways to connect back to home. I try to find pieces of home in many different places. One of those places is my Slovenian heritage. I recently tried to find some Slovenian connections in the Denver area by looking on the Internet for lodges or organizations and my attempts were unsuccessful. During Lent I tried to find some kind of home-cooked fish fry, again unsuccessful. I tried to find some bakery and Slovenian sausage around Easter, nothing. (Although my mom did overnight Slovenian sausage, potica, and egg noodles; she saved the day!) I try to mention my Slovenian heritage in causal conversation with hopes of making a connection somewhere. Those attempts are somewhat successful if you count people who think I say “Slovakia ” when I say Slovenia. I recently attended a Slovenian National Benefit Society (SNPJ) Young Adult Conference in Pennsylvania in hopes of reconnecting with my heritage in the place where grandparents had been and current generations of Slovenian- Americans gather. This attempt was somewhat successful. Upon arrival there was a fish fry and polka music in the gostilna with members you could not drag off the dance floor with a hook. There was an abundance offraternalism. Young adults knew what polka (and could dance it) and potica were, but I still left wondering where I am going to make connections to my heritage in the future. I wonder about the leadership and the desire that needs to exist in order to carry on traditions. I am interested in carrying on those traditions and promoting them amongst other young adults and future generations. I am proud of where I have come from and want people to know that Slovenia is a county, where it is located, and how to pronounce it and that is not too much to ask! Anne Kemmerling, Branch 47 M'y name is Nicholas Kuhar and I will be a senior at John Carroll University (JCU) for school year 2006/2007. JCU is the Jesuit University in northeast Ohio, located in University Heights, Ohio. My field of study at JCU is religious studies with a number of courses under the Catholic Institute of Studies at JCU. I have two other brothers. The oldest is Mark who graduated from Seattle Pacific University (Seattle, WA) in June 2006 with a bachelor of arts in sociology and minor in fine arts while my younger brother, Andy will be a sophomore at Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. My parents are Stane and Marge Kuhar and we live in Wickliffe, Ohio, a suburb in Lake County. Our family has belonged to St. Vitus Parish, Cleveland, Ohio for over 50 years. St. Vitus is the first American Slovenian parish founded in the State of Ohio in 1893. Both my maternal and paternal grandparents came to the USA after World War II. In historical terms, they would be considered as political emigres since they had to flee the (now) Republic of Slovenia due to the imposition of Communism in Slovenia at the end of World War II. Support SWUA Scholarship Contact mturvey@aol.com My grandfather (Luka Kuhar) was a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp for over two years while my grandmother (Jožica Benedik, nee Kristanc) was a prisoner of over five years by the Slovenian communists. Both sides of my family had family members tortured or killed during or after World War II as well as loss of family, personal and real property. My paternal grandparents were in a displacement camp in lower Austria until 1950 and were allowed to emigrate to Minnesota. After approximately one year they moved to Cleveland, Ohio and we have remained in northeast Ohio since that time. My maternal grandmother arrived in the USA in the early 1960s to take care of her father who was at that time diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, both my paternal grandparents have passed away but my maternal grandmother is still alive and living at St. Vitus Village, an independent living facility built in 2001for independent living for seniors. I attended St. Vitus Slovenian School and was a Mass serverfor number of years. I attended and was graduated from St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio with honors in June 2003. I was a drummer in the marching, jazz and jazz combo bands while at St. Ignatius and have continued to play drums in the jazz band atJCU and with a local group of musicians. I enjoy playing drums and creating music. In the summer 20061 have been fortunate to play and record a number of original compositions on a CD with my brother Andy and four other musicians. Our family house is quite lively: Mark plays stand-up and electric bass guitar while Andy plays guitar. I have remained involved at St. Vitus by volunteering at various activities such as the Baraga Days 2005, 15,h Anniversary Mass for the Independence of the Republic of Slovenia at St. Vitus Church and the just concluded annual summer parish picnic at Slovenska Pristava, a recreational facility in Harpersfield, Ohio. I have been on the Dean’s List each semester at JCU. My immediate goals are to successfully remain on the Dean s list and to graduate in June 2007 from JCU. My long term goals are to either teach or work in campus ministry and after a period of time complete post-graduate studies with a degree and then return to teach. I am grateful to Slovenian Women’s Union of America and its many benefactors to have been able to receive two scholarships from SWUA so that I may be able to attend a quality university such as JCU. In conclusion, thank you for providing me the opportunity to give SWUA members a brief background about myself. Nicholas Kuhar, Branch 25 I' grew up in Esko, Minnesota as the youngest ofa family of jive. It was through my parents and grandmother that I learned about my Slovenian background. My mother taught me how to make potica and polka. Myfather told stories about visiting Slovenia and shared his pictures with us. The most influential person in my life who I learned so much about my culture and heritage is my grandmother. At the age of twelve she emigrated to the United States, facing a foreign land and language, in addition to earning a living and paying for room and board. This stirring account has instilled in me a deep appreciation and admiration for all of my Slovenian ancestors who relied on courage, perseverance and faith amidst the many obstacles they faced when coming to the U.S.A. I am proud to say that I am one hundred percent Slovenian. Theresa Skalko, Branch 34 I am honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Rose Marie Princ $1000 Scholarship Award. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the Slovenian Women s Union of America, the SWUA Scholarship Committee, Branch 33, and Mrs. Rose Marie Princ for making this award possible. My Slovenian heritage and culture have been an important part of my life and exemplify the person that I am today. The strong work ethics, dedication and a perseverance of the Slovenian people have been rooted in me since I was a young child, and serve as the foundation in my life which I continue to build upon. In 1952, my maternal great Grandmother, Mrs. Christine Bradish, was crowned SWUA National Convention Queen, the highest honor received for obtaining the greatest number of SWUA members in Pueblo, Colorado, Branch 3. Although she passed away before I was born, the stories of her journeys to Slovenia continue to enrich my life and that of my family’s. She brought to our family a Slovenian culture rich in values, morals and traditions. Last, but most certainly not least, her recipes for delicious, mouth-watering potica, apple strudel, pohanje, krofee and my all-time favorite... Slovenian zleenkrofee(meat turnovers made with kielbasa) have been handed down to my Grandma Kathleen Starcevich and to my Mom, Bernadette (Starcevich) Spinuzzi. Following in the footsteps of my ancestors, I am proud to say that my Slovenian heritage and culture will live on in me forever. Someday, I hope to share these same traditions and customs with my own children. Alyssa Spinuzzi, Branch 3 Scholarship Donations June and July 2006 $5.00 donation: Dolores Kozar Maki (+Rose Kozar & +William Slogar) Branch 23, Ely, Mn (+Teresa Zaverl & +William Slogar) $25.00 donation: Mary Rita Stromback (+William Slogar) Branch 20, Joliet, IL. (+Angie Nico) $30.00 donation: Wally and Jo Lustik - Scholarship fund $500.00 donation: United Americans for Slovenia - Scholarship Fund (This organization, United Americans for Slovenia recently dissolved after achieving its goal of assisting with the move for Slovenia’s independence and the U.S. recognition of Slovenia.) Tribute to William Slogar On July 5, 2006, the community of Ely, Minnesota lost was of its finest promoters and volunteers. William “Bill” Slogar was bom in 1927 in Ely, the son of Marko and Magdalena Slogar, attended Ely schools and worked at the Erie Mining Company and various construction companies. He spent almost every minute of his free time promoting his Slovenian culture through Slovenian Women’s Union functions, KSKJ and the Knights of Columbus. For years, he was a monthly donor to the SWUA Scholarship Fund, giving out our scholarship memorial cards to bereaved families of his friends and sending small checks as gifts to the Scholarship fund. May Bill’s generosity to others be a continuing influence to all of those he touched, most importantly those who promote the SWUA Scholarship Program, of which he was so sincerely dedicated. For further information on the SWUA Scholarship Program and application forms see: http://www.swua.org Donations are gratefully appreciated and can be mailed to: Mary Turvey, Director SWUA Scholarship Program 52 Oakridge Drive Marquette, Michigan 49855 Kollander World Travel Recruit^Recruit^Recruit o www.kollander-travel.com 971 E 185 St. Cleveland, OH 44119 , r i *■'