ZARJA - THE DAWN URADNO GLASILO OFFICIAL PUBLICATION ___________SLOVENSKE ŽENSKE ZVEZE V AMERIKI____________________SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION OF AMERICA NUMBER 1-2 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1997 VOLUME 69 (Direct Billing reference: SWU By-laws Article IX) s.w.u. membership LIST - i r» ml mi mi mj ^ w) * mi * ml i/ W? V 9 w'<*' S M T W T F s 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ( 3 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Jimury <997 S M T W T F S 1 2 } 4 March 1997 S M T W 1 F S I 1? 1J 14 IS 16 17 IB 19 20 21 22 21 24 23 26 27 28 29 SO SI 9 10 11 12 1J 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "'»'% 25 26 27 28 29 mrare ^ MAKE THXm, "" soon WORK! ■e» Direct Bfm_. The new j*. MMU^CATI0N! that yo,jrta WhUe to geu? or 1997 dues y" maU-you do not sendlTi° you ~ howeZJ°m rjr. YOU Wilt in We asjf “•“-»»asa** ** We beffin fK Our part is to get the bill to you by mail! Your part is to wait for it -do nothing until you receive it - then write a check for the amount shown and send it back by return mail. Do not send your little assessment receipt book! Do not send cash! ZARJA - THE DAWN (ISSN 0044-1848) Postmaster: Send all changes of address to: ZARJA - THE DAWN, 4851 S. Drexel Blvd., Chicago, IL 60615-1703 NO. 1-2 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1997 VOL. 69 Member, Illinois Fraternal Congress Official Publication of the Slovenian Women's Union of America — Uradno glasilo Slovenske Ženske Zveze. Published eight times per year - osemkrat na leto. Annual Subscription for non-members, $15.00 — naročnina $15.00 letno za ne-članice. Publisher: SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION OF AMERICA 431 No. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432 Telephone (815) 727-1926 Second Class Postage paid at Chicago, !L All communications for the next issue of publication must be in the hands of the Editor by the first week of the month — vsi dopisi za naslednjo izdajo mesečnika morajo biti v rokah urednice do 1. v mesecu. Editor, CORINNE LESKOVAR Editorial Office: 4851 S. Drexel Blvd., Chicago, IL 60615-1703 Telephone: (773) 548-8878 ORDERS FOR HERITAGE ITEMS MAY BE SENT TO THE SWU HOME OFFICE, 431 No. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432; DONATIONS TO THE ZARJA FUND, SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND HERITAGE FUND MAY BE SENT TO THE NATIONAL SECRETARY, EVELYN MAJERCIK, P.O. Box 46539, Bedford, OH 44146. ^-Biaqoslovj|®r>a Y&liikQri>očirta praznik^ SLOVENIAN EASTER CARD AVAILABLE AT MUSEUM Artist, Lucille Dragovan, has presented Heritage with a exquisite design for a Slovenian Easter Card. A limited supply of cards were printed on fine white paper using a lovely shade of orchid ink. The design features a young Slovenian woman displaying her Easter table with baked pastries. This card can be purchased at the Museum for the price of $1.00 per card. Purchase them while they are still available and you will delight your friends and relatives with an Easter greeting sure to please in the Slovenian tradition. Write to the Heritage Museum, 431 N. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432. Make the check payable to the Heritage Fund. HAPPY BIRTHDAY y IN FEBRUARY T Presidents: Feb. 4 - Ruth Sheck, Br. 1, Sheboygan, WI Feb. 8 - Josephine Artac, Br. 102, Willard, WI Feb. 16 - Mary Zales, Br. 8, Steelton, PA Feb. 22 - Anne Marie Wangler, Br. 24, LaSalle, IL Secretaries: Feb. 1- Agatha Donges, Br. 40, Lorain, OH Feb. 18- Theresa Dagg, Br. 10, Cleveland, OH Feb. 15 - Anna Kerkovich, Br. 93, Brooklyn, NY Feb. 27 - Diane Varney, Br. 14, Euclid, OH MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY! DATES TO REMEMBER Feb. 6 VALENTINE PARTY, Br. 13, San Francisco, CA Feb. 9 DIME SOCIAL, Br. 35, Aurora, MN at the Community Center Feb. 12 ANNUAL MASS, Br. 14, Euclid, OH at St. Christine’s Church. Apr. 6 ANNIVERSARY MASS, Br. 73, War- rensville, OH, 10:30 a.m. at St. Jude’s Church Sep. 28 OHIO-MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION, hosted by Br. 101, Bedford Hts., OH; 11 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Church Oct. 5 ILLINOIS-INDIANA STATE CONVEN- TION, hosted by Br. 24, La Salle, IL Las Vegas in your plans? Members interested in meeting in Las Vegas in late spring, please contact Kathleen Emerson, 41 Sparrow Hill, Orion, MI 48359 (Tel. [810] 370-0015) or Irene Odorizzi, 2362 Paddock Lane, Reston, VA 20191 (Tel. 1703) 860-0556). The 1995 National Convention in San Francisco, California, adopted the following schedule for annual membership assessments, effective January, 1996: If you are an “A” member, under 75 years of age, your dues are $12.00 If you are an “A” member, over 75 years of age, your dues are $8.00. If you are a “B” member, under 75 years of age, your dues are $15.00. If you are a “B” member, over 75 years of age, your dues are $10.00. If you are a Social member, your dues are $15.00. Junior members pay $4.00. If you will reach the age of 75 this year, 1997, you will be billed for the reduced rate. If a Junior turns 18 during the year, the increased rate will be considered. II £>*78 JEAN KORSMAN, NATIONAL PRESIDENT ANTICIPATING A GREAT NEW YEAR! I hope your Christmas and New Year celebrations were filled with the warmth and love of family and friends. Being so busy on the farm we seldom entertain even our closest neighbors, but all the decorating and baking seems worthwhile when friends share an evening of conversation over a cup of coffee (and our special baked goods.) I can picture all the similar gatherings and familiar traditions of a “Slovenian” Christmas being observed in all 16 states where SWU is active. We are united in heart and spirit in that traditional observance. My mother at 94, still enjoys her little tree and the manger set that was a part of our family since before I was bom. The New Year always brings new expectations and 1997 finds SWU completing the cycle of reorganization following the directives of our 1995 National Convention. Our secretary, Evelyn Majercik, has completed the tremendous task of computerizing our billing system, getting all records up to date, satisfying our obligation to the Illinois Insurance Board; made payments to beneficiaries and contracted out the furnace installation and major over-due repairs to our Home Office building. We are maintaining and in- creasing our Heritage, Scholarship and ZARJA funds, thanks to you, our generous and caring members! I anticipate great strides in arriving at solutions to any remaining problems when the National Board meets in Joliet in March. By now Branch secretaries will have shared the Christmas packet with their respective members. Perhaps they could make copies so that every member could keep and refer to it during the coming year. It is directed to you all from our hearts! ***** I had not yet completed and sent this message to ZARJA, and how must end with this sad message. My mother, Annie Purkat, died peacefully at her home in the early morning hours of December 31st. She leaves a legacy of love and a lifetime of caring for others to her two sons, two remaining daughters, twenty-eight grandchildren, thirty-eight great grandchildren, and all who knew her. May she rest in the loving arms of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sincerely, Jean Korsman Our deepest sympathy, Jean and family, on the passing of your mother. Our hearts and prayers are with you. May God grant her blessed peace and eternal life. National President, Jean Korsman stopped to chat with three beautifully dressed members at the Illinois-In-diana State Convention and 70th Anniversary of Br. 2, held in Chicago last fall: Delores Hennelly, Sec. of Br. 95, Edna Winters, Pres, of Br. 16 and Vida Kumse, who has participated in many Br. 16 p^ents NATIONAL SECRETARY - - KEEPING UP-TO-DATE Do you remember when you were raising your family, and you tried to impress on your children the right way to do things? How many times did you say, “Listen to me,” Didn’t I tell you how to do that?”; “Please, don’t do that.” My mother always said my ears needed cleaning when I did not heed her messages. We have been literally swamped with payments for 1997. We are receiving the outdated, useless payment booklets. During 1996 we pleaded with members to please wait for their statements, do not send in any money, do not send cash, do not send the payment books. Do you know what arrives in the mail each day? Checks, cash, payment books. It is mind boggling to try to devise a way to get our message across. It is the 15th of January as I write this article. We have not yet closed 1996 financially. The phone rings several times a day, “When will I get my bill”; “Should I send my money in.” On the other hand, we have members who still have not paid for 1996. This is where we/you stand. Billing will not begin until February 1st. Any unpaid members at that time will be cancelled. This means that your certificate will be considered null and void and ZARJA will be discontinued. So, if you have not paid your 1996 dues, this is probably the last issue of ZARJA you will receive. No one was cancelled thus far because of non-payment. Many of you who sent in payment before you received a bill have now received a past-due notice. This is because the system was not ready to accept your payment, and your instructions were to wait until you were billed. Add to this dilemma responses to our past-due notices, with notes that memberships were cancelled years ago. Records that were not updated kept ZARJA coming to these members, a costly venture. Members were included on lists submitted by secretaries who have been deceased years, with ZARJA going to the address; this means they enjoyed ZARJA free of cost by other family members. Cuss it out as you may, the computer and the information we have programmed into it may be the salvation of Zenske Zveza. Please, sit back, relax, have a cup of tea, take two aspirins if you care to, and wait. Your invoice will arrive. Then you can leisurely make out your check, put it in the return envelope and send it off to us. We do not need the payment book. Your cancelled check is your receipt. Payment books will not be returned. Thank you for your cooperation. Remember that patience is a virtue, this is a good time to practice it. And, in your notes remember something from a children’s story, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Evelyn A. Majercik Start With Us - and make the New Year the time for you to sign a new member into your branch! Next time you attend a meeting, pick up an application for someone you will invite to join. No. 50 Celebrates a great 65! The holidays are finally over! I hope you all had happy times with your family, friends, at all parties, etc. Our Dec. 8th 65th Anniversary and Christmas Dinner with 180 happy people was a huge success. We were honored and happy to have two Nationals with us: Evelyn Majercik, Secy, and Corinne Leskovar, Editor of the ZARJA-The Dawn magazine. They were called upon and asked to share their views and comments with us, on memories of our organizers, charter members, our ancestors and the great lady, Marie Prisland who was the founder of our SWU. They reminded us of the goal, a bigger and better organization! And to do this, the “Number 1” goal is getting new members! “When old friends get together” - the motto for Br. 50’s 65th Anniversary party in December was appropriate for this group: Mitzi Bencin, Charter Member, Evelyn Majercik, Nat’l Secretary, Corinne Leskovar, Editor and Ann Tercek, Pres, of Br. 50. The meal was simply scrumptious, with the capable cook Mrs. Stefie Smolic and her staff who graciously prepared and served it. 1 am still hearing comments on how good the meal was especially the swiss steak and of course the large breaded pork chops and everything else, too. A big “thank you” to Ann Tomsic for the large, beautifully decorated cake. The hall and tables were so colorfully decorated with red and green balloons and matching party favors, it was a pleasure just to look at the hall as you entered! Recognition was given to our Marie Prisland Cadets: Josephine Arko; Stella Kostick; Rosemary Mam; Anne Orlikowski; Ella Skoda; Ann Tercek; Ann Winter; Dorothyann Winter and Sophie Zagorc. Thank you very much, ladies, for your dedication! We have 4 charter members, but only two were with us. Sophie Posch was the 1st President of Br. 50 and Mitzi Bencin attended but we missed Carole Traven and Antoinette “Celesnik” Gaeta. A million thanks to Carole Traven for making 23 corsages and all party favors for our anniversary party. God Sophie bless you always! The officers were Pres. Ann Tercek; V. Pres. Mary Miller; Treas. Jean Miller; Sec’y. Evelyn Pipoly; Rec. Sec’y. Mary Maxin; Auditors Frances Kajfez and Anne Skebe; Sentinel Josephine Smith and Dawn Reporter Vi Moravchak. Good music was furnished by the Cleveland Lake Erie Button Box group consisting of 6 men; this group was a nominee for the 1996 Slovenian Polka Hall of Fame Annual Awards show. Congratulations gentlemen! Our “thanks” go to all the ladies that came early to set up and decorate the hall; the bartenders Frank Sadar and Jim Zgonc and all other members who helped in any way. Mother of the Year for 1997 was announced and she is Julie Sadar, who is a member for 64 years. God bless her! Last, but not least, 1 must mention the shock and surprise of the day for me. I was presented with a large monetary gift along with an inscribed pen with my name on it. Your standing ovation, members, in recognition of my being presidcent for 25 years was so touching. “Thank you” each and everyone from the bottom of my heart! I love all of you. Ann For twenty five years, every night as I laid down to sleep, you have been in my prayers for good health, also for our dearly departed members-may they rest in peace. My best wishes to all of you for a healthy, happy 1997. My thanks again and it was a pleasure to serve you as Pres, for 25 years. God bless all of you! Ann J. Tercek Louise Recher Troglia and Ann Tomsick made the beautiful Br. 50 anniversary party sparkle with a cake (Louise) and sign (Ann) that took everyone’s eye. These ladies are certainly artists! OHIO-MICHIGAN REGIONAL CONVENTION IL-IN STATE PRESIDENT Olga A. Dorchak, Ohio-Michigan Regional President The Ohio-Michigan Convention of the Slovenian Women’s Union was held Sunday, October 13, 1996. Our day began with a Mass at 12:00 p.m. at St. Christine’s Catholic Church in Euclid, Ohio. SWU members were preceded into the church by Branch 50 Marie Prisland Cadets. Before the Mass began a bouquet of flowers was presented to the Blessed Mother in memory of our deceased members. Members participating were Marge Church from Branch 42, Cirila Kermavner from Branch 25, and Martha Koren from Branch 14. Rev. Francis Sterk, Mass celebrant, and the church choir provided a very emotional Mass with Slovenian songs included. The gifts at the Offertory were presented by Kathleen Dorchak from Branch 47, Evelyn Majercik from Branch 73, and Diane Varney from Branch 14. Father Sterk gave his blessings and thanks to our SWU members. At the conclusion of the Mass everyone went to the Slovenian Society Home on Recher Avenue. Branch 14 catered a delicious family style Slovenian dinner. We started with chicken dumpling soup and ending with two kinds ot strudel. The meeting included reading of congratulatory message from National President Jean Korsman and letters from Agnes Tomazin, President of Branch 40 from Lorain, Ohio and Maria Selak, President, Branch 55 from Girard, Ohio. Both sent their regards and regrets for being unable to attend the convention. Diane Varney reported the regrets from the members of Branch 105 not being able to attend the convention. The previous evening they held their 60th Anniversary celebration. The SWU delgates of the branches attending reported on their branch meetings and activities. Members from 10 of the 17 branches were present. Total attendance at the convention was 121 members and guests. Evelyn Majercik, National Secretary gave a commentary on the results and continuing problems on our first year of direct billing. Many problems have been resolved. Cooperation from the membership is most imperative. We applaud Evelyn on what an impressive job she has done on a very intricate endeavor. President Olga Dorchak discussed that work is being done by Irene Odorizzi, Heritage Director and Kathleen Emerson, Women’s Activities Director to plan a reunion of SWU members in Las Vegas in early 1997. This would be a national gathering of members to try to meet before our National Convention in 1999. Fifteen members present expressed an interest in attending. With thanks and gratitude it was announced that the next Ohio-Michigan State Convention will be hosted by Branch 101 of Bedford Heights, Ohio. The members will look forward to coming or staying in the Cleveland area again. There were many wonderful door prizes donated by Branch 14 and other members. The meeting concluded with the reading of the prayer “Slow Me Down, Lord.” Bonnie Pohar Prokup, lllinois-lndiana State President Dear SWU Members, Since the convention in October I have been very busy. Two weeks later I left for England with my husband, sister, aunt, uncle and two friends to visit my friend, Gerri Lynn Bima. As most of you remember Gerri Lynn was the'Reg-ional SWU President but had to step down when she transferred to London. We spent 10 days touring the south of England in a 12 passenger manual minibus. Our highlights included Devon, Bath, Stonehenge, Canterbury and London. We spent 5 nights at Gerri Lynn’s apartment and took the tube everywhere in London. We all had a great time. Gerri Lynn is doing well and enjoying her new lifestyle. She spent Christmas in Slovenia visiting her relatives. A week after I got back I spent another week of vacation decorating the house for Christmas. I put up my 4 trees, my Dickens Village, two manger sets and many other items. I had to start early so I could spend the weekends after Thanksgiving entertaining. Already the first weekend I had 6 parties to attend. One of them was the children’s Christmas party sponsored by Branch 2. The party was a success and my daughters enjoyed making crafts, lunch, singing and most of all, the visit from Santa. The second week of December I spent in Cancun at the Melia Spa Resort, escorting 16 travel agents. I had my own ocean front suite and was wined and dined the entire time. That was the life! While I was enjoying the sun in Cancun, my husband, Bill took the girls to Phoenix to visit my sister, Debbie. Christmas Eve this year was a very special one. We started the weekend prior preparing food for nearly 80 family members. The Pohars started off many years ago with my grandma, grandpa and their 6 children spending Christmas Eve together. Over the years we have grown in number considerably and have also invited a few other relatives. Everyone arrives at 5:00 p.m. Mass, eats the wonderful food prepared by my mother including potica and homemade sausage. We sing songs, open presents and wait for Santa Claus to arrive. It is a very special time of the year for the Pohars. My greatest accomplishment this year was rolling the dough for the poticas. Originally, my mom and sister refused my help knowing all about my baking skills but were they surprised when I was the only one who did not roll a hole in the dough! Besides making the food I also was preparing for our family production of a play, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” We had all the children dress up in their various roles. Both of my girls were angels and my new nephew, John Pohar IV played baby Jesus. It really reminded us what Christmas is all about. Christmas day I ended up sick, no wonder after all the running around I did. I missed out on two more get togethers and playing with the girls’ new toys. Bekki was happy because she was able to use her new “medical cart” on me, my sister, Cathy’s gift. Since I started writing this letter I have heard from Gerri Lynn on her trip to Slovenia. She asked that I wish Continued on page 15 Hi Irene M. Odorizzi, Heritage Director HISTORY OF S.W.U. BRANCHES Looking Back to the Future BRANCH #2, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DIAMOND JUBILEE 1926-1996 Part II The 40's and 50’s were historically interesting primarily because of the turmoil being experienced in America, Asia and throughout Europe with the onset of World War II. Many American-Slovenian boys served in the military and the women and girls on the homefront helped with patriotic duties. Slovenia had suffered much during the war and following the victorious culmination of the war, members began relief efforts to assist with aid to their relatives and friends in Slovenia. Their efforts are clearly defined in the minutes. It is interesting to see how the minutes of Branch 2 reflected the war and the restoration years. Once again, commendations to Jean Železnikar for the outstanding work she did in researching the history of Branch 2. We are indebted to Jean for the many hours of research. “The Difficult Years” 1940 - Installation of officers was held at the January meeting and the February meeting was devoted to a Valentine celebration. The bowling teams were invited to the meeting and were treated to a beautiful feast. Lil Kozek was in charge of the event. It was announced that the Bowling Tournament would be held in Chicago on April 27 & 28. Eight teams entered the tournament. A demonstration was held at the March meeting showing the proper method of decorating “PIRHI,” (Easter Eggs.) Members were allowed to bring a guest along with their eggs at which time they received help from the experts. A small donation was requested and was given to St. Stephen’s. Mary Polden was in charge of the kitchen and the group was treated to coffee and cakes. The Midwest Bowling Tournament was a success. Teams came from Cleveland, Indianapolis, Sheboygan, Joliet, LaSalle, South Chicago and Chicago. Ann Papesh’s team from Joliet won the coveted trophy. Since Branch 2 hosted the event, they were indebted to Anton Wencel and Lou Zefran for taking charge of the entertainment and to Vic Mladic and Vic Kremesec for securing the score keepers. Members attended Mass in May for Mother’s Day with breakfast served following the Mass and in June a concert was held at St. Stephen’s with the majority of Br. 2 members in the choir. Lou Zefran was the host and chairperson was Mary Tomazin. Money was given to the Fathers of Lemont for their building fund. July was designated for a picnic to be held at St. Mary’s in Lemont in conjunction with Branch 20. The exciting day began at 10:30 with a procession, led by the Franciscan Fathers, Mass Servers, Joliet Cadets, Junior members in Naroda Noša and Supreme Officers. Hundreds of members and visitors from surrounding areas followed in the rear. Slovenian songs dedicated to Our Lady of Brezje (Mary Help of Christians) were sung during the procession which led to the beautiful Lourdes Grotto along the miniature replica of Lake Bled. After Mass, the remainder of the day was devoted to H-------------- S.W.U. HISTORY ^ J' socializing along with dancing to the continuous bands who came from Cleveland, Michigan, Chicago and Joliet. In September, the members attended the Zveza Field Day in Cleveland, Ohio. Train fare was $6.45 for the three-day visit hosted by the SWU Cleveland members. The November meeting featured a Bingo party with proceeds given to the Sisters of Lemont and it was decided that greeting cards be sent to all sick members. The busy year was ended with a Christmas dinner at Tomazin’s Tavern on Dec. 5th with Caroline Pichman and Mary Korenchan as hostesses to the 100 members and guests in attendance. Music was by the Pete Snyder Band. 1941 - The January meeting began with Installation of Officers: President, Josephine Železnikar; Vice President, Pauline Ozbolt; Secretary, Lil Kozek; Treasurer, Mary Tomazin; Recording Sec., Theresa Chemich; Auditors, Caroline Pichman, Alva Jerin, Liz Zefran; Sgt. at arms, Mary Mladic. It was decided that meetings would remain on the first Thursday of each month and that a Masquerade Dance would be held on Feb. 23, benefitting the Sisters in Lemont. A surprise party was held in March honoring Treasurer, Mary Tomazin for all the work she performed for Zveza. It was truly a surprise since Mary prepared 50 chicken dinners not knowing it would be for her party, until everyone arrived all at once and shouted, “Surprise!” Then Mrs. Kovacic and her crew brought in the pastry. Following the dinner the young bowlers and the men arrived to help celebrate and enjoy the dancing. The Midwest Bowling Tournament was held May 3-4. Chicago sent 8 teams to compete with those from Joliet, Sheboygan, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Milwaukee and South Chicago. Joliet’s Ann Papesh team won the trophy. The month of June was momentous as the Slovenians in America recognized the catastrophe that was happening to their homeland with the German and Italian powers invading Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. An appeal was made to help the unfortunate Slovenians. Money would be collected and sent throug the Red Cross to aid the Slovenian people. Lemont Day, co-sponsored by Branches 2 and 20, was held in July. Newly ordained, Rev. Louis Ulle of Cleveland, celebrated the Mass and St. Joseph’s Choir in Joliet sang accompanied by Bill Todorovich on the organ. St. Stephen’s Choir and Branch 2 Choral Club also sang. Nurse, Mary Rose Gregorich was on hand for any first aid that needed to be administered should anyone be overcome by the summer heat. Along with the usual food and festivities, the Joliet Branch 20 Cadets appeared in their new green and gold uniforms and performed their drill routines. The September meeting featured an apple strudel demonstration by Mary Kovacic for the younger members. The strudels were then baked and enjoyed by all. Lou Zefran took movies of the demonstration for later meetings. Slovenian relief contributions were collected, amounting to $10.00 and sent to the SWU Home Office. 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DECEMBER 7, 1941 Many months were spent planning the big celebration. Invitations were sent to sister branches and guests were invited from the area. However, the shocking news that was heard over the radio that morning, when President Roosevelt announced that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor causing many deaths, changcd the mood and the plans of the day. This horrible event especially frightened members who had sons serving in Hawaii. The scheduled solemn High Mass was celebrated at St. Stephen’s by pastor, Rev. Edward Gabrenya who also lead the members in special prayers for the country, its leaders, service men and for the people throughout the world who were involved in the war. The special meeting which had convened in the church hall, decided that the convention luncheon, a chicken dinner, would be served at Tomazin’s Tavern, however all festivities would be cancelled that day and at the regular monthly meeting the Branch would decide what measures could be taken to assist the war effort. After the luncheon the members went back to church where Father Leonard Bogolin led the Litany and the Rosary. Completing the service were beautiful Slovenian songs and no one left the church with a dry eye as the thoughts were focused on the safety of the servicemen and the United States. A lasting mental impression of the day was etched in the memory of all Americans for a lifetime and it was an anniversary celebration never to be forgotten. 1942 - Last year’s officers were re-elected and the installation of officers was held in January. Since America was not at war, the members were working with the Red Cross and there were many farewell parties scheduled in February for the departing sons. Branch 2 and St. Stephen’s Choir had a combined concert in April and in May the Sixth Midwest Bowling Tournament was scheduled for LaSalle, Illinois on May 1-3. Branch 2 sent eight teams. On June 7, the newly formed Cadets of Branch 2, celebrated the blessing of their banner with a procession around the church. The Joliet Cadets sponsored the Chicago Cadets. Zveza Day (SWU Day) was held in Lemont the third Sunday of July to pray for the victory of the United States and for a happy future of relatives and friends in Slovenia. On July 19, the Chicago and Joliet Cadets, attended in full uniform, the “All Slav Rally,” at Soldiers Field. On October 1, the National Membership Campaign began. The individual securing the most new members would be crowned “SWU Queen,” at the National Convention held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May, 16-19, 1943. The winner would receive all traveling expenses and be given special recognition during the convention. A Card /r \ S.W.U. HISTORY \ ------------------ Officers in 1941 Seated, from left, Treasurer Mary Tomazin, Vice President Pauline Ozbolt, President, Josephine Železnikar, Secretary Lillian Kozek; standing, Auditor Alva Jerin, Sentinel Mary Mladic, Auditors Elizabeth Zefran and Caroline Pichman and Rec. Secretary Theresa Chernich. Party was scheduled for November and a “Domača Zabava” scheduled for December, when the members would be given an opportunity to forget their worries and troubles for one evening. 1943 - Installation of officers was held in January and all the officers remained the same with the exception of the following: Vice President, Mary Šinigoj; Recording Secretary, Mary Kovacic; Kitchen Hostesses, Frances Zibert, Anna Zorko. The entertainment consisted of a talk with pictures about the Ward Baking Co. presented by Mary Garbais. Following the talk each member received a loaf of bre^d. The February meeting discussion centered ?I>out increasing dues to cover expenses for members who pass away. Now, the group must order limousines for the pall bearers and due to the rationing, prices have gone up on gas. The Midwest Bowling Tournament was held April 10-11. Because of the war it was harder to travel. In May, an election was held to select delegates to the National Convention. Josephine Železnikar and Lil Kozek were chosen. Alternates were Liz Zefran and Mary Kovacic. The Choral Club also presented their concert/minstrel show and meetings were changed to the second Thursday of the month. On Sunday, October 24, the flag was blessed at the 11:30 Solemn High Mass dedicated to the living and deceased. Dinner followed in the Church Hall. In November the proceeds from the Dinner-Card Party were sent to aid the Slovenians in need and in December Mary Kovacic planned the Christmas party but no gifts were exchanged. 1944 - The newly elected officers were installed along with those who were reinstated: Vice President, Clare Vra-sich; Auditors, Mary Kovacic, Anna Kosmach, Anna Frank. It was noted that Cadets were performing their drill routines and selling war bonds and war stamps. The Midwest Bowling Tournament was held at Rivals Bowling Lanes in Joliet. Ten teams competed and dinner was served at Anna Mahkovec’s Tavern, a few blocks from Rivals Bowling Alleys. “Dry Bones, Dry Bones” - these actresses were well camouflaged for their dance number at one of the famed Minstral Shoes put on by Br. 2 Choral Club in the 1940’s. S.W.U. HISTORY MEMBERS IN THE WAR-EFFORT! Angeline Mlakar (Blatnik), right, joined the Women’s Army Corps (WACS) in 1942. Her sister, Theresa (Ford) joined the Coast Guard, Helen Luzar (Mladic), the Army and Elizabeth Mehlin was an Army nurse. They were the only women of the parish in the service. Many members began working in defense plants - Chicago being an industrial hub city. And, many got married to their soldier-boys! One beautiful wedding at St. Stephen’s joined Elsie Reich and Julius Ciszek, a soldier she met at Ft. Sheridan. Her sister, Mary was her brides-maid. Photo on the left was taken on March 20, 1943. The war years truly changed the course of many lives. WELCOME HOME! Some of the servicemen and women returned after being gone so long. Prayers were said at the August meeting for those still in service and those killed or missing in action. A special appeal was made in October for miscellaneous articles and clothing to be sent to Slovenia. Needed were: thread, needles, pins, soap, clothing, coffee and canned food. A Mass of Thanksgiving was offered in December with a dinner at Tomazin’s Tavern. In lieu of gifts a collection would be taken up and give to the Franciscan Fathers for Slovenian relief. “Scholarship and Friendship Funds,” was the national project devised by Supreme President, Marie Prisland, which was also undertaken by Branch 2. Greetings cards were sold at the meeting to mail to service men and women. The proceeds would be used to establish a National Scholarship Fund and the cards would be sent in friendship. Zveza Dan was held in Lemont in July with the Choral Club singing the Mass celebrated by Rev. Aloysius. Special prayers were dedicated to the boys overseas and to the friends and relatives in worn-torn Slovenia. The Chicago and Joliet Cadets along with the Joliet Baton Twirlers were in attendance in their colorful uniforms. In September a Red Cross worker was guest speaker and in October clothing was collected for the Jugoslav Relief Fund along with $237.70. December marked the 18th anniversary of Br. 2 with a Mass and election of officers and a sad Christmas. 1945 - The same officers were installed at the January meeting with only a few members in attendance because of the bad weather. A few members attended the Servicemen Ball sponsored by Br. 20 on January 28th. The Midwest Bowling Tournament was organized by Branch 1 in Sheboygan on March 17-18 with Joliet winning the trophy. It was noted that President Roosevelt died in Georgia on April 13th and a special Mass was said at St. Stephen’s Church for the nation’s great leader and his successor, Harry Truman. In May, the branch honored all mothers, living and deceased with a Mass and the Choral Club participating with beautiful songs. The annual Zveza Day was co-sponsored by Branches 2 and 20 and held in Lemont in the customary manner. 1946 - It was noted that all meetings were held in the Slovenian language. The Sports Club was officially formed by Liz Zefran and Lil Kozek as Secretary and most members were bowlers. Monthly meetings were scheduled. Many new SWU members were enrolled through this Sports Club. The officers installed in January were: President, Josephine Železnikar; Vice President, Gizela Haklin; Secretary, Ann Kosmach; Treasurer, Mary Tomazin; Recording Sec., Mary Kovacic; Sgt. at arms, Mary Mladic; Auditors: Sophie Petrovič, Lena Pieman, Liz Zefran. The National Convention was scheduled for May 26 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The delegates elected were: Josephine Železnikar and Mary Tomazin with alternates, Mary Garbais and Verona Kolenko. The Tenth Annual Midwest Bowling Tournament was held in Chicago on April 6 & 7. Branch 2 entered 12 teams. The “Zvezin Dan” Pilgrimage was a great celebration of PEACE with buses of pilgrims coming from various midwestem cities, along with the SWU National Officers and KSKJ Officers. The weather was wonderful and the performers were great: Joliet Cadets, Father & Daughter accordion and violin due from Canada; Mary Ann Kostelez, soprano from Joliet. /f ........- ^ S.W.U. HISTORY ^ — ---------------------)) TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION In 1946, twenty years after “Zveza” was organized a celebration was held in recognition of the event. The members attended Mass and afterwards formed a procession to the School Hall for a general meeting and banquet served by the cooks and their assistants. The Choral Club entertained followed by a band for dancing. Letters of congratulations arrived from other branches and officers. 1947 - The officers of the previous year remained for another term of office and were installed by Father Ed. In the Jubilee Membership Campaign, Branch 27 won second place with 27 new members. The new Membership Campaign was called the “Mother-Daughter Campaign.” In February, a Valentine-Bingo Party was held despite snow and extreme cold weather. In March, the group attended the Card-Bunco Party held at St. George Hall in South Chicago and in May, the Choral Club held a spring concert. A bus loaded with bowlers traveled to LaSalle, Illinois for the eleventh Midwest Bowling Tournament. The Eighth Annual Zveza Day was held July 27, in Lemont, with many more branches in attendance, mass was offered at the Grotto at 11:00 and a picnic lunch followed. Performers on the program were the Choral Club Br. 2, Singers from Milwaukee, Deanne Buchar dancing a ballet and singing beautiful Croatian songs, Joliet Cadets and Baton Twirlers and the Chicago Cadets. The September meeting featured the new hair styles and fashions. Members who work with hats presented a fashion show with the hats being sold to the members. Many went home with more than one hat. Many of the young members were now married ladies and congratulations were extended to them as well as the bowlers who now had formed 12 teams. At the December meeting, the members enjoyed funny exchange gifts costing 50 cents. 1948 - Father Ed installed the officers at the January meeting. Most officers remained the same however the newly elected officers were: Vice President, Klare Vrasich; Secretary, Agnes Kovacic; Recording Sec., Mary Kovacic; Auditor, Sophie Petrovič. The members surprised Pauline Ozbolt with a birthday party at Kolenko Tavern. Mrs. Kolenko prepared a beautiful dinner with Anna Zorko and Mary Polden supplying the poticas. At the annual Valentine Party for bowlers a small gift was given to each. In March, for Velika noč (Easter), Branch 2 supplied the flowers for the altar in memory of the deceased SWU members. The twelfth annual Midwestern Bowling Tournament was held in South Chicago with Branch 2 sending 12 teams. Liz Putzell from Branch 2 was the all events winner! Zveza Day. It rained off and on all day. After mass, the participants hurried back to their cars or the pavillion to keep from getting wet. Many plans were not realized but everyone enjoyed visiting, eating the great food and dancing to super music. Liz Zefran chaired a card party in October to benefit the Junior Christmas party and the members enjoyed a con-cert-dinner-dance in November. A Christmas program was performed by the younger members in December and the children all received gifts and candy. The members also enjoyed a dinner prepared by the cooks. All the officers accepted their respective positions for another year. Nov. 12, 1950-Celebrating its tenth year of presenting quality entertainment in the form of numerous concerts and variety shows, Branch 2 presented an outstanding “Gay 90s Revue” which was first presented at St. Stephen’s Hall and later in La Salle, IL on April 29, 1950. Charlie’s Saloon was the locale and the characters, who were prominent in the world during that era, passed through those doors. Sophie Železnikar portrayed “Charlie,” and other outstanding members were Josephine Železnikar, Justine Cieblinsky, Lil Polden, Mary Polden. Under the leadership of President, Josephine Železnikar, Branch 2 celebrated a milestone in its existence and that of the entire Slovenian Union. It was the first branch to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. On hand for the festivities were National Honorary President, Marie Prisland; National President, Albina Novak, National Secretary, Josephine Erjavec; National Treasurer, Josephine Muster; Auditors, Mary Lenich; Josephine Železnikar, Ella Starin and Youth Committee Director, Zora Yurkus. Many visitors from neighboring branches were also in attendance as were the many members and their friends. Highlighting the event during the procession to St. Stephen’s Church was the uniformed drill team from Branch 16, South Chicago. The Mass was most impressive as the beautiful Slovenian songs inspired everyone. The founders were honored at a banquet in the St. Stephen’s Gym Hall which was attended by over three hundred guests. The charter members being honored were: Mary Tomazin, Julia Jelencic, Antonia Dosh, Mary Koren-chan, Barbara Wencel, Caroline Pichman, Antonia Vogrich, Alva Jerin, Jennie Stayer, Justina Cieblinsky, Mary Stare and Antonia Bencan. National President, Albina Novak acted as Mistress of Ceremonies in her customary excellent manner, introducing officers and speakers. Also mentioned was Zora Yurkus who presented a lovely 25th Anniversary decoration of silver flowers surrounded with 25 quarters wrapped in cellophane and made into flowers gracing the emblem of the SWU. Mrs. Novak also thanked the many volunteers who had assisted with the event: cooks, bartenders and the waitresses who were members of the Sports Club of Branch 2. The popular Branch 2 Choral Club under the direction of Mrs. Ann Cham entertained the very receptive audience and later in the evening members danced and socialized. /?- ^ S.W.U. HISTORY v J THE CHORALETTES The newly formed Choralettes, an off-shoot of the adult choral group, were a group of young high school girls from St. Stephen’s Parish. They were formed in the late 1950s and appeared in concerts under the direction of Anna Cham. They were an immediate success. In one production they presented their version of the “Roaring Twenties.” A popular dance of the 20s, the Charleston, which the Choralettes performed received encore after encore. SPORTS CLUB In the early years, Branch 2 meetings were always held in Slovenian and the young people did not understand or speak the language so Liz Zefran was asked to form some sort of Sports Club which would attract new young members and include the bowling teams. Liz proved to be a good organizer and formed a club that would meet once a month at the Zefran Funeral Home. In order to belong to the Sports Club you had to be a Br. 2 member. The club started October 1945 and the first officers were: President, Liz Zefran; Vice President, Jennie Terselich; Secretary, Mitzi Jerin; Treasurer, Lil Kozek. Three girls were selected alphabetically, for each meeting and planned the activities and the refreshments. A “Secret Pal” was also chosen by each member for the year. She put her name in a basket and then drew a name out of the basket. Greeting cards were sent during the year without revealing any name until finally a Christmas card was sent with the name of the Secret Pal. It was great fun trying to Three presidents of Branch 2 posed for this photo taken in 1945. (left to right) Lil Kozek, Midwest Bowling League President; Josephine Železnikar, Branch 2 President; Liz Zefran, Sports Club President. find out who was sending the cards during the year. The club also planned outings to shows, dinner or they earned money for the bowling tournaments by selling items like vanilla flavoring, candy, nuts bakery etc. The Sport Club brought in many new members and it also bonded Br. 2 as a unit because the club members worked as waitresses for the concerts and some also participated in the Choral Club. There was much comaraderie among the “retired bowlers” who could not participate in the bowling due to health reasons or having babies but they still attended the outings and the tournaments with the group. Much credit for the success of this club must be attributed to Liz Zefran who worked tirelessly to promote the club and its activities through many, many years of devotion and dedication. (to be continued) Bowlers of the Br. 2 league had many parties, among them one in 1956 when a photographer caught the girls in their Halloween costumes: left photo: Geneva Francis, Alvie Leben, Ann Vucko, Aggie Marazzo and Elsie Statkus; left photo: Stella Gorka, Helen Fitzgerald, Millie Zalokar, Bernice Gorkis and Charlotte Tomazin. Besides being fun-loving, these girls were all good bowlers! *J2£yV£nUins, 'Z7cD COOD< Above design from Narodne vezenine na Slovenskem (National Needlework of Slovenia) Happy Valentine’s month! Here are some recipes to serve the “Valentines” who are close to your heart. Dolores Boštjančič Krzysciak, Branch 20, Joliet, sent this month’s Slovenian recipe for ajmpren cucumber sauce. She wrote, “I read in ZARJA that you want Slovenian recipes. I couldn’t help think about the recipes I saved when the K.S.K.J. had a recipe contest back in the late 1970’s. I hope you can make good use of some of them. ” She enclosed faded yellow copies of old K.S.K.J. newspapers from 1979. Old newspapers are so interesting! Thank you, Dolores! Dolores, her twin sister, Dorothy and I were always in the last squad of the eight squads of Branch 20 SWU Cadets in the 1940s because we were the shortest. Many fond memories! . Would love to hear from more branches for more Slovenian recipes. Please send your favorites, especially meat and vegetable recipes to the address below. MOCK CHICKEN LEGS 1# boneless veal, 1/2” thick, cut into 1 1/4” (veal steak is best) 1# lean, boneless pork steak, 1/2” thick, cut into 1 1/4” squares 8 wooden skewers, 6” long (obtain at a meat market) 1 1/2 tsp. salt Pepper to taste (seasoned pepper such as Mrs. Dash can be used) 2 eggs plus 1 tbsp. milk, beaten 1/4 cup flour 3/4 cup breadcrumbs Shortening or oil, 1/4” deep in a large frying pan Optional: lemon wedges and parsley as a garnish Evenly divide veal and pork cubes into 8 piles. Alternate veal and pork on skewers. Season with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour. Dip into eggs and then in bread crumbs. Fry in medium hot oil. Turn each of four sides as they brown. Drain on paper towels in a warm oven. Serve with lemon wedges and parsley. Serves 4. AJMPREN CUCUMBER SAUCE WITH MASHED POTATOES (Ajmpren is the Slovenian word for “roux”, which is flour cooked in fat) 4 to 6 potatoes (enough for 4 servings), peeled, cut Salt, butter and milk to taste for mashed potatoes 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, cut into 1/8” slices 1 tbsp. salt 2 tbsp. bacon fat, butter, lard or shortening 1 small onion, chopped Fine 2 tbsp. flour 1 tsp. vinegar plus pepper to taste Mix cucumbers with the 1 tbsp. salt. Set aside for an hour. Cook potatoes in 2 cups salted water. Reserve broth. Mash potatoes with butter and milk, keep warm. Thoroughly squeeze cucumbers in strainer or towel to remove liquid. Melt fat in skillet, add onion and saute until lightly browned. Add flour and stir slowly over medium low heat until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add 1 cups reserved potato broth, cucumbers, vinegar and pepper. Simmer about 5 minutes until thickened. Serve cucumbers over mashed potatoes. Note: If using bacon fat, the bacon from this can be crumbled as a garnish on the cucumbers. Serves 4. NOTE: Too fast or too long cooking destroys flour’s thickening power. Happy Valentine’s Day, God bless you From the heart, Marion Marion Juricic Bowers 940 Galleron Road St. Helena, CA 94574 Tel. (707) 963-7795 CINNAMON HEART SALAD 1 6 oz. package lemon gelatin 2 1/2 cup cinnamon hearts candy 1 2 cups water 1 2 tbsp. lemon juice 1/2 cups applesauce cup chopped walnuts 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese cup mayonnaise Add candy to 1 cup boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add gelatin and lemon juice. Stir until dissolved. Add 1 cup cold water. Add applesauce. Pour into 9x13 dish. Chill until firm. Mix nuts, softened cream cheese and mayonnaise. Spread on top of gelatin. Chill again. Cut into squares. C^~f Z^litcLCjžL and ^ l^i^UJl by Irene M. Odorizzi, Heritage Director Welcome to the SWU and to Branch #24, Janice Mueller Footsteps Through Time continues to be a book of interest to individuals with an appreciation of the hard times experienced by early Slovenian immigrants to America. Recently, I received an enthusiastic letter from a new SWU member, Janice Mueller, of Branch #24 in La Salle, IL. Janice had ordered a copy of this book for herself and enjoyed it so much that she ordered three books and distributed them to friends as gifts. I was very happy to know of Janice’s enthusiasm for her Slovenian ancestors as the purpose of Footsteps Through Time is to document for posterity, the lives of our dear Slovenian immigrants and how could we do that but by writing and circulating books about these immigrants? I’d like to share apart of Janice’s letter with our readers: Everyone (to whom) I have given the book reads it in one day. They love it. My friend Milly Vogrich Fairber still remembers her trip here as a young child and meeting her father the first time. (Since arriving in America) she has gone back to her village to visit. She also enjoyed your book. Milly remembers getting a banana and a boxed lunch at Ellis Island for the first time... I’m 100% Slovenian as far back as I can trace... I just want to say I'm proud of being an American but just as proud of my Slovenian Heritage." Thanks, Janice, for reminding us of how fortunate we are to have shared two cultures-American and Slovenian. Sometimes, there is a tendency to forget and take our heritage for granted. Anyone wishing to purchase the limited copies of “Footsteps Through Time, can obtain a copy by sending $10.00 and $2.00 for postage and handling to: The Slovenian Heritage Museum 431 N. Chicago St. Joliet, IL 60432 SLOVENIJA MAGAZINE quarterly issue for only $30 USD per year. Personal checks accepted. Send your subscription to: Slovenija Magazine Cankarjeva 1, P.O. Box 169 1001 Ljubljana SLOVENIA Europe It’s truly beautiful magazine! HERITAGE HEROES Jill Johnson, a new member of Branch #30 from Fridley, MN, who I recently enrolled, sent a donation of $25.00 in memory of her mother Antoinette Johnson who passed away on Dec. 9, 1995 before Jill had learned that her grandfather, Anton Kuhar had emigrated from Slovenia. We thank Jill for this donation and we send condolences to her on the demise of her dear mother. She is wished much success with her genealogical research. National Secretary, Evelyn Majercik, sent in two donations to the Heritage Fund. One donation for $15.00 was in memory of Pete Yuratovac, who passed away in 1996. Pete is the husband of the Kay Yuratovac, President of Branch #73, of Warrensville Heights, Ohio. Sympathy is sent to Kay. The other donation for $10.00 was in memory of Rev. Joseph Ozimek, pastor emeritus of Sacred Heart Parish in Barberton, Ohio who died Nov. 10th. Father Ozimek’s sisters, Frances Stepic, Dorothy Budimic and Bridget Zupančič are members of Branch #73. Father Ozimek was known for his dedication to his Slovenian heritage. Our condolences to the entire family. Sabina 'Bartol, past president of Branch 103, sent a Thanksgiving donation of $20.00 to the Heritage Fund in memory of her long-departed husband, John and daughter, Mary Elizabeth. I’d like to share parts of Sabina’s lovely letter with you. “My husband was so proud of his heritage. His father, “Pa Bartol" shopped at the Slovenian grocery stores on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Mass, which was said in Slovenian, was attended at the Church of the Nativity on Sunday and Holidays even though we didn't understand the language. After Mass he would take us sightseeing or visiting friends. ...When we moved to the Washington, D.C. area. I attended Slovenian celebrations at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception which were advertised in the Catholic Herald. Everyone there was friendly but we never engaged in conversation where I was asked my name or if I was a member of Branch 103. In those days I was rather shy but eager for our children to know something of their Dad’s Heritage. .. .Then I asked Freda Michelitch, President of Branch 103, if I could join the branch. I was overwhelmed with joy when she welcomed me and my daughter, Loretta so I feel very proud of our membership. My family (Loretta, Michael and his wife Joyce) are very happy and willingly offer their services in preparation of special events. Also, I am glad to help in any way I can." I’m so happy to have the friendship of Sabina and her assistance with Heritage projects. Her generosity knows no bounds and her donations to many causes including Heritage, ZARJA and Scholarship are always appreciated. ft* nO* GB nT^ N ROOTING AROUND IN THE PAST Researching your family tree is fun and relatively inexpensive. It’s a wonderful avocation or hobby. There are many American-Slovenians climbing that family tree and discovering much about their ancestors. You can spend all day researching and find nothing or you could discover something that will open up 200 years of interesting family history. There are many interesting stories which our genealogists have been sharing with me and 1 marvel at the relatives they have found in those closets and the fascinating adventures they experience as they ride that magic carpet into the unknown. When you are ready to start in earnest, begin by tapping the memories of family members. Look at family photo albums and old family Bibles. Many people had a habit of putting in the flyleaf of their Bibles information on their children. Make that long distance phone call to a relative, advertise for information in a fraternal newspaper or magazine. Every bit of information eventually fits into the puzzle. Especially helpful are death certificates which can be obtained from the county or the state where ancestors lived. From the death certificate of a grandmother, the genealogist can discover where she was bom, the names of her parents and the cemetery in which she is buried. There are also town and country histories, probate abstracts, land records and tombstone inscriptions. The Churches also have records of marriages, deaths and births. After you have completed researching your ancestors in America and arc ready to explore your Slovenian roots then the National Archives in Slovenia will be of assistance. Another noteworthy place to investigate are the Slovenian parish churches which in some cases have 300 years of records if they were not destroyed during World War II. Should you wish to consult some books on genealogy you may wish to start out with this informative guide, “The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy,” by Val Greenwood. Beginners should consider taking genealogy classes rhrough adult education programs or by attending meetings of genealogical societies which can be found the Yellow Pages. There are 11 National Archives and Record Administration centers in the U.S. one of them being in Chicago. The U.S. census records from 1790 to 1920 are contained at these centers. Check in your city for the Mormon operated. Family History Center, which is an excellent resource and these resources are available throughout the nation. There is one in Wilmette, Illinois. If you would like some information available in xerox form to start you on your road to discovery or if you need addresses of the various archives in Slovenia, please send your name and address along with 3 stamps to: Heritage Director, 2362 Paddock Lane, Reston, VA 20191. New Book for Researchers A current book on the market that can provide addresses as to where to write for information is entitled, “The Genealogist’s Address Book,” by Elizabeth Petty Bentley. The book is divided into four units and are listed below: Unit One: National Addresses such as A. National Archives and regional centers; B. Government Agencies such as Immigration and Naturalization Service, Veterans Administration C. Vital Records Offices D. Major Research Libraries with National Focus E. National Historical Societies F. National Genealogical Societies G. Independent Publications Unit Two: State Addresses by State and Trust Territories Unit Three: Ethnic and Religious Organization & Research Centers A. Ethnic Archives, Libraries, Societies B. Religious Archives & Organizations Unit Four: Special Resources A. Lineage and Hereditary Societies B. Surname Registries C. Adoption Registries. Search Groups D. Immigration Research Centers E. Computer Interest & Software. F. Professional Bodies G. Newspaper Columns; Publishers H. Lending Libraries Scholarships For Slovenes Living Abroad If you are interested in studying the Slovenian language in Slovenia in the coming year, write to the address listed below for an application form and detailed information. Dr. Slavko Gaber, Minister of Education and Sport Ministry of Education and Sport Zupančičeva 6 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Phone: 011/386/61/1254-208 int. 42 Fax: 011/386/61/214/820. FOUR $1,000 SWU SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 1997! To be eligible, 1) you must be a high school senior intending to be a full time student at an accredited university or college after graduation, and 2) you must have been a member of the SWU for at least three years prior to graduation. One scholarship can be awarded ever to any one family and only one scholarship can be awarded each year to any one branch. ALL APPLICATIONS ARE TO BE MAILED PRIOR TO MARCH 20, 1997. Applications received beyond that date will be disqualified. The applications are evaluated by the SWU Scholarship Committee based equally on scholastic achievement; school, church, and community activities; SWU participation; and financial need. To avoid partiality, all identifying information is deleted from the material given to the committee members and each applicant is identified by a randomly assigned letter of the alphabet. All applicants are notified by mail of the final decision. If you are awarded a scholarship, one half of the award is paid to you when you submit proof of first semester enrollment at an accredited university or college. The remainder is paid when you submit proof of second semester enrollment. APPLICATION FOR SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION SCHOLARSHIP Name____________________________________________________________________________________Sex M_________ Home Address__________________________________________________________________________________________ City_______________________________________________________________________State__________________Zip_ Name of Parent(s).____________________________________________________________________________________ High School_________________________________________________________________________Principal_________ School Address________________________________________________________________________________________ City_______________________________________________________________________State__________________Zip_ Graduation Date_____________________________________________________Class Rank________________GPA___ College Considered_________________________________________________________Major______________________ SWU Branch Number_______________________________________Years of SWU Membership_ Signature___________________________________________________________________________ Include the following additional material with the application form: __________ One recent 2-1/2” x 3-1/2” photo, black and white or color. __________ Official transcript of high school grades to date. __________ Brief autobiography including school, church, community, SWU activities and personal goals. __________ Statement of financial need. __________ Recommendation from high school principal/teacher/counselor. __________ Recommendation from SWU Branch president/secretary. Send the completed application form and all the requested material to: Mary Turvey, SWU Scholarship Director 52 Oakridge Drive Marquette, Michigan 49855 SCHOLARSHIP FUND REPORT November and December 1996: Donor Amount SWU,Br. 43, Milwaukee, WI $25.00 SWU, Br. 32, Euclid, OH 25.00 In memory of SWU, Br. 42, Maple Hts, OH Pete Yuratovac 10.00 Marge Church Pete Yuratovac 10.00 BarbaraJ. Urick Lois Ziemer 5.00 Mr. & Mrs. RayJaros Josephine Kassan 20.00 Tony Colnar Frances Barman 1,000.00 Tony Colnar Josephine Perpar 20.00 AnneOrazem Angela Beck 5.00 Betty Gorgon Mamie Marin 50.00 Mr. & Mrs. William Dmach Peter Yuratovac 10.00 Mr. & Mrs. Ben Dodyk Peter Yuratovac 10.00 Mr. & Mrs. Richard Epley Peter Yuratovac 5.00 Sophie Goga Peter Yuratovac 10.00 Angela Musil Peter Yuratovac 10.00 Jean Novotny Peter Yuratovac 5.00 Lilian Zagar Peter Yuratovac 5.00 Kay Yuratovac Peter Yuratovac 25.00 SWU, Br. 23, Ely, MN Mary Skufca 5.00 Gladys Buck Joseph Winters 10.00 Vida Kumse Joseph Winters 10.00 SWU,Br. 16, Chicago, IL Agnes Krilich 10.00 Edna Winters Agnes Krilich 10.00 Edna &Corinne Winters and Sandi Bittner Joseph Winters 100.00 SWU, Br. 20, Joliet, IL Katherine Knez 5.00 SWU, Br. 20, Joliet, IL AlmaMunick 5.00 SWU, Br. 20, Joliet, IL ZoraVrencur 5.00 SWU, Br. 20, Joliet, IL Anne Marie Stefanic 5.00 Margaret Prebil Joseph Winters 10.00 Sylvia Spretnjak Joseph Winters 10.00 Dorothy Jamnick Mike Potočnik 5.00 Ann Mismash Mike Potočnik 5.00 AnnM.Orazem Mike Potočnik 10.00 SWU,Br. 55, Girard, OH Joseph Kassan 25.00 TonaSoukup Harriet Novak 10.00 Anna Hodnik Mike Potočnik 5.00 Nancy & Paul Martinetto Mike Potočnik 10.00 Phyllis & Bob Turk Mike Potočnik 10.00 Edna Winters Michael Krsticevic 10.00 BarbaraJ. Urick Mike Potočnik 5.00 SWU, Br. 23,Ely,MN Rose Kozar 5.00 A very special thank you once again, donors. Many students have benefited and will continue to do so beacause of your generosity. May 1997 bring each of our SWU members good health and a closer, more meaningful relationship with family members and friends. Mary Turvey, Director 52 Oakridge Drive Marquette, Michigan 49855 Let’s Keep the Dream Alive! IL-IN STATE PRESIDENT (Cont’d from page 4) everyone a Happy New Year and share the highlights. Her relatives picked her up at the Ljubljana airport and drove her to their home town of Velenje. Milan, Erika and their daughter, Maya Novak have a beautiful house. She spent the whole week of Christmas with them. She was forever meeting new people and eating delicious food. She helped them put up the Christmas tree the day before Christmas and the nativity set had real moss underneath it. She was served potica, Slovenian pork roast and many other exciting foods on Christmas Day. She was able to see the home where her grandfather Peterlin lived before leaving for America. She could not get over how beautiful Slovenia is and can’t wait to go with me next time. The Novak’s daughter really wants Bekki to come visit and asked that we come with Gerri Lynn in May. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas filled with love and joy. I look forward to working with each of you in 1997. Happy New Year! NEAT IDEA FOR BRANCH MEETING Branch officers, if you would like to surprise your members with an exciting meeting, then plan to show three videos on Slovenia available from the Heritage Director. These videos can be rented merely by paying the price of the postage. You don’t have to know the Slovenian language to enjoy these colorful videos which appeal to any nationality. You merely have to bring a VCR to the meeting and play the videos which can be viewed within a half hour time span. Make one of your next meetings a “Heritage Meeting,” featuring these videos, arts & crafts from Slovenia, books, maps, national costumes, music, speakers, demonstrations, Slovenian delicacies etc. Invite non-members and juniors to attend the meeting which can turn out to be a wonderful social, educational and membership event. Then tell me all about your success which will be shared with the other SWU members. Write to the Heritage Director with the date when they will be needed and a check for $3.00 made out to the Heritage Fund. The videos must be returned immediately after the meeting so they can be sent to the next branch which has requested them. Irene M. Odorizzi, 2362 Paddock Lane, Reston, VA 20191. CALLING ALL ARTISTS For many years the “love motif’ has been used to promote our heritage on aprons, shirts, hats etc. Many members have been asking for a new design and so this call for action is being directed to our very talented Slovenian artists. Put on your colorful thinking cap and sketch a design that can be used to promote our organization/heritage. Send any necessary explanation if needed and the design to: SWU Heritage Director 2362 Paddock Lane Reston, VA 20191-2640 WELCOME TO A NEW MEMBER MS. KATHY KARPAN OF CHEYENNE, WYOMING “The Embodiment of The American Dream” Furing 1996, Kathy Karpan, an attorney and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Wyoming, waged a commendable campaign to win the Senate seat but was defeated in the November election. It would have been exciting to report that Ms. Karpan was the first woman of Slovenian descent to have achieved the title of U.S. Senator however we may one day still report that she has achieved that distinction since Slovenians are very persevering individuals. When Ms. Karpan spoke to me on the phone and also in a recent letter, she mentioned her ancestry which I’d like to share with you. "Bolh of my mother's parents were horn in Slovenia. Her father was Frank Taucher. I don't know his birthplace, but he emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900’s as he is listed on the Union Pacific Coat Company roster of miners in 1905 in Rock Springs, Wyoming. My mother's mother, Josephine Kirn Luby (Lubi), came from Mokronog and her father was a miner at Trbolje. She emigrated to Rock Springs in the early I900’s to marry Frank Novak. My grandfather was her second husband. I’ve always been very proud of my Slovenian heritage... It's an honor to join the SWU." Ms. Karpan, a native of Wyoming was bom in Rock Springs to Thomas Michael Karpan and Pauline Ann Taucher. Her mother died when Kathy was 12 years old and being the eldest child she took over the housekeeping and child rearing duties. After graduation from Rawlins High School she worked in varying capacities ranging from bookkeeper to the Society Editor of the Rawlins Daily Times and then as a secretary for a decorating studio as she pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Wyoming. After receiving her B.S. in journalism Ms. Karpan became reporter and editor of the Cody Enterprise in Cody, WY and from 1965-66 the Press secretary to U.S. Rep. Teno Roncalio in Washington, D.C. In the summer of 1968, she assisted in the regional organization for Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign. From 1970-74, Ms. Karpan acted as Press secretary and later Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Teno Roncalio of WY. By 1978, she had received her Law Degree from the University of Oregon and accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration as Deputy Director of Congressional Relations and legal counsel. In 1985, Kathy was appointed Director of Wyoming’s Department of Health and Human Services, the first woman to hold that post. In 1986, she was elected Secretary of State and was reelected for another term serving until 1994, when she ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Wyoming. Ms. Karpan began her private law firm in Cheyenne in 1995, and as a Milward Simpson fellow, began teaching at the University of Wyoming as well as serving as interim county attorney for Laramie County. Ms. Karpan’s credentials are praiseworthy and on behalf of the members of Slovenian Women’s Union, it gives me considerable pleasure to welcome her as a member of the Slovenian Women’s Union. As fellow American-Slovenes we are proud of her accomplishments and wish for continued success in future political endeavors. Irene M. Odorizd Heritage Director HOW ARE OUR FRIENDS THESE DAYS?... The New Year brings some news of our SWU former National Officers who are not active any more and it is interesting to hear from them and “keep in touch." JANET MAURIN, former Wisconsin Regional President and President of Br. 1: After multiple strokes, Janet is going back to school, “brushing up on things I have lost”... She goes to Lakeshore Technical College twice a week, taking math and one-handed keyboarding. Her family is growing and she has much enjoyment from her grandchildren. She is living in a new group home in downtown Sheboygan and likes it a lot. Her address now is Harbor Heights, 505 So. Water St., #212, Sheboygan, WI 53081. We wish her all the best and lots of love! IRENE JAGODNIK, former National Auditor and Sec. of Br. 50: Irene and Tony live at Sleepy Hollow, New York, (name recently changed from North Tarrytown), with their daughter, Cindy and husband, Rick. Tony requires 24 hour a day care but is holding his own with Irene’s loving attention to his feeding, etc. An aide comes to their home mornings so that Irene can take care of errands, etc. She has joined a Health Club and enjoys exercising and swimming. She is proud of daughter, Cindy’s continuing involvement in antique glass and pottery shows all over the U.S. Son, Don took Irene out for a day to visit an animal theme park where she had a ball! They also enjoy their animals - pets at home - which is at 650 Riverside Dr., Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591. God love and bless Irene and Tony. flCTIUlTlES Loyal and dedicated members, Jean Železnikar (our Reporter from Br. 2) and Angie Nico (Br. 89) were all dolled up in their Slovenian national costumes at the Illinois-Indiana State Convention last October where they met Nat’l President, Jean Korsman. The hearts in the background are little memorials to departed members of Br. 2 that were displayed on one long wall at St. Stephen’s parish hall. Br. 2 was celebrating their 70th anniversary on this occasion. NO. 2, CHICAGO, IL 1997 - A new year, a new beginning, a start for our future. Hopefully, getting many new members to carry the great organization into the next century! Could we try for 2,000 new members to celebrate? If each member could get one new member!!! does that not sound exciting? It would take a lot of effort from every member of Zveza, but it could be done. Thanks to Ray Nusko (again) for decorating the hall (which was enjoyed by all the societies of St. Stephen’s) in all the holiday splendor; it gets everyone prepared for the celebration of the holidays. Our children’s Christmas party, Dec. 7, was well-attended, theme this year was “Come to the Stable”. Children arrived carrying their stuffed animals. While waiting for the party to began, children colored and made ornaments. A lunch was served for everyone attending, we were happy that Bonnie Prokup and her children were able to attend; it was good to see them. Also, parents of the children, grandparents and even great grandparents attended. The children assembled at the Manger of Baby Jesus and sang Happy Birthday to Him. Santa arrived and you could hear the cheers of happiness; they were all very pleased with the gifts that Santa gave them. Our Penny Social in November provides the funds so that we can have the children’s Christmas party (theme this year was Holiday Happenings.) We have a Christmas Comer, play bingo, a penny table and raffles. Money that is not used for the children party is given to St. Stephen’s Church to buy food for their Cheer Basket for the needy in the neighborhood. Br. 2 still continues the tradition of attending Holy Mass before our Adult Christmas supper; this mass is given in. memory of our deceased members. St. Stephen’s always looks so beautiful at Christmas time, with all the poinset-tias around the altar (which are purchased by families in memory of their deceased. Our theme for this year was “Snowball Christmas” and the hall was decorated as such; it always makes you feel special when you arrive and see all the work that goes into preparing the hall for this event. Thanks to everyone for your time spent; we all appreciate your kindness. Fran Morison read a very touching poem about Mary and Joseph finding their way to the stable where the great event took place, then Father Blase blessed the food. We had a very delicious supper and the sweet table was loaded with many kinds of great pastries. It was good to see everyone, especially those members who have been ill and could not make many meetings. We ended our evening by singing “Silent. Night” in Slovenian and then English, and thank the Lord for bringing us together again. In 1996 we lost 14 members: Irene Carter, Antonia Golob, Genevieve Grzetič, Mary Gyura, Margaret Hergenrother, Elizabeth Kolenko, Frances Kozel, Mary Kržišnik, Frances Maxwell, Mary Raunicker, Minnie Rochay, Mary Slabe, Margaret Stefanic, Kay Himer. They will all be missed in our Br. 2 family circle, please remember them in your prayers that they will rest in peace. In December, our Lord called to rest: Elizabeth Persa Kolenko, sister of Millie, Ann, May and Joe Persa also Genevieve Toplak Grzetič, sister to Mary Kozar, Albie Cecich, Tina Stanek, Fran Yucevicius, Wilma Šinkovec, John and Frank Toplak. Our condolences to the families of both Elizabeth and Genevieve. Sympathy and prayers are with: Metoda Fischinger who lost her sister; Mary Koziol who lost her sister; Johanna Oblak who lost her brother; Helen Mladic who lost her brother in law and MaryAnn Oblak who lost her uncle. Congratulations to Rosemary Hoz-zian and Brian Dore on their marriage. Good Luck and much happiness to you both. JoAnna Oblak has moved to Alver-nia Manor/Lemont, we hope that she will be able to attend some of our meetings. A get-together for S.W.U. members is still pending, Kathleen Emerson is working on a location that could be both suitable and price friendly to everyone. But keep in mind that the National Convention is not very far away: third week of May, 1999, Orlando, Fla. This is a great area; there are many Slovenians who live in Florida now and we might be able to get members. Remember: Br. 2 meetings are the second Thursday of each month, please try to attend the meetings, we really need your input. We are planning many activities for the coming year. If you have some really great recipes, please bring them to the meetings so we can send them to our ZARJA Food Editor. Zveza Picnic will be July 20, for those members who live in other parts of the country and are planning to be in the Chicago area for your vacations, there are many hotels/motels near Lemont. Please remember our sick with cards. Take care. Love, DAISY NO. 3, PUEBLO, CO The holidays are over and we are a month into the New Year. Let’s make it a good one. Slovenian Women’s Union No. 3 held their Christmas party at Patti’s Restaurant on December 5. After the meal, games were played, prizes were given out and there was great com-raderie among those present. Our hostesses, Eileen Kaplan and Margaret Cullen are to be commended for hosting such a nice party. The Slovenian Women’s Glee Club party was held at Patti’s Restaurant December 11. Fun was had by all thanks to our hostesses, Mary Tekavec, Josephine Lipich, Kathryn Sincovec, Rose Krall and Josephine Krašovec. Worthy of mention is our member, Mamie Pugel. Mamie has served for over thirty years as Lodge Secretary, National Board Member and currently serves as an Honorary National Board Member of the Western Slavonic Association. She has been awarded with both the Colorado-Wyoming State Fratemalist of the Year Award in 1991 and the National Fraternal Congress of America Fratemalist of the Year Award in 1995. Mamie became ill recently and although she is recovering nicely she would benefit greatly from your thoughts and prayers. On a happy note, congratulations are in order for fifty year anniversary celebrants, Nadine and Henry Pritekel and Katherine and Edward Kochevar. Kathryn and Frank Sincovec also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary but condolences are in order for Kathryn on the loss of Frank in December. Immaculate Conception Lodge 104 Christmas party was held at St. Mary’s Church Hall on December 1. The meal was catered by Nunez Catering. Drawings were held for prizes for both adults and juveniles, comraderie was enjoyed by all and members were commended for the donations of canned goods. The lodge’s matching fund project was a joint effort with St. Mary’s Church, St. Joseph’s Lodge #7 and Immaculate Conception Lodge #104 with a soup festival and bake sale. Members are to be commended for their efforts in this project. Checks from KSKJ Home Office for $500 for Immaculate Conception Lodge 104 and $250 for St. Joseph’s Lodge #7 were presented to Reverend Ervin Schmidt by Norma Becco, Financial Secretary of Immaculate Conception Lodge 7 and Rudy Krašovec, President of St. Joseph’s Lodge 7. Our sympathy goes out to the families of Frank Cvar, Frank Sincovec, Ann Javornik, Joseph Mihelich, Stanley Golob, Antonia Lukezech and Mary Tekavec. As always, get well wishes are extended to all who are ill and let’s remember those who are home-bound and in nursing homes in our prayers. Have a great 1997. PAULINE PAUCHICK NO. 5, INDIANAPOLIS, IN LOTS OF NEWS! LOTS OF NEWS! During our Holiday Party, we had the election of officers. PHYLLIS FON is our newly elected President. We know she will do a great job for us in the coming year. If you see Phyllis congratulate her on her new position. MARY FRANCES MOHR has been reelected to the Treasurer post and DOLORES KONECHNIK is the Recording Secretary. ROSE IVANCIC has served Branch 5 many times throughout the years, most recently as our President. Rose has volunteered her time for our various fund raisers, including a donation for the latest raffle. She has driven for and been an honorary pall bearer on many occasions. These are just of a couple of things she has done for Branch 5. For her time and generosity, we thank Rose Ivancic. The raffle was held in November. Congratulations to all our winners. MR. & MRS. LOUIS KONECHNIK, a grocery store gift certificate; MARY MCCRACKEN, a grocery store gift certificate; SEAN LEKSE, a grocery store gift certificate; SONNY LEKSE, $20.00 cash; BERTHA MEDSKER, a coffee break gift basket; TRISH CARRICO, a big bag of homemade noodles; FRANCES KONOVSEK, a big bag of Homemade noodles; and MARY DRAGAN, a “Love its in Every Slovenian” T-shirt. For all of you who purchased raffle tickets, thank you for your generosity and support. We had a great response from ALL the members of Branch 5, and we thank you. A special thank you to ARLENE KREBS for setting up for our party and to LUDY ALBIN, ANGIE DRAGAN, and SYLVIA STANFIELD for taking care of the clean-up after the party. KATIE FON, who attends Indiana State University, has been extremely busy this fall. She was in her first mainstage production. She played Elma Duckworth, the teenage waitress in Bus Stop. She is also involved with various other productions from working the light board to designing sets and costumes. Congratulations, Katie. I am still working on my family tree, the search is slow but continuous thus far. I have even heard from relatives on my dad’s side from Slovenia. Even though I am in Texas, I have been keeping in touch with my family and friends via the Internet. For anyone who wants to send me information can do so via e-mail (if you have it). I am “barbara@mohrpart.com”. I would love to hear any member news or just news. Our May meeting and luncheon is scheduled for May 1, 1997. That is over three months away, so no excuses for not attending. We will honor our member of the year at this meeting. A special hello to any of you that has been sick and for those of you who are shut-in. We think of you often and you are in our prayers. Love from Texas, BARBARA MOHR NO. 10, CLEVELAND, OH To the family of our member, Katherine Gregorinčič we extend our sincere sympathy. She was one of our oldest members at age 94! God grant her eternal rest! We enjoyed the celebration of the 90th anniversary of our parish, Assumption of Mary in November. With many guests and parishioners, the services in church were unforgetable and the banquet that followed at the SND ST. 10, CLEVELAND, OH Izrekamo globoko sožalje družini naši članici Katerina Gregorinčič ki je umrla v mesecu novembru stara 94 let. Rojena je bila v Prekmurju in živela je v Slov. starostnem domu na Neff Rd. Spadala je pri št. 10 -sem je prišla zgodaj po prvi svetovni vojni 1921 leta. Tisti ljudje ko so prišli takrat v tistih letih po vojni so že skoraj vsi nas zapustili, samo še po nekot se najde kakšnega. Se nekaj važnega. Kakor je bilo objavljeno, je naša fara pri Mariji Nebovzeti slavila 90 letnico. Bog nam je poslal zvečer 9. novembra malo snega. Dan za proslavo je bilo lepo ampak zvečer pa spet nepričakovan sneg. Slavno mašo je imel g. škof Pirih iz Kopra. Bilo je lepo, veliko ljudi in narodnih noš, mali so bili prav lušni, lepo oblečeni v nošah. Po slavni maši je bil banket v Slov. domu na Holmes. Imeli so tudi lep program. Res kot nalašč je Bog podaril tisti dan z lepoto. Cerkev je bil lepo okrašena, maša je trajala 2. uri, seveda predno se je vse to uvrstilo in uredilo ker je bilo nabito polna cerkev. Zelo lepo je škof pridigal, se lepo zahvalil za lep sprejem, lepo petje, vse je zelo pohvalil, rojake in vse, še posebej naše prednike za veliko truda polno in požrtvovalno delo. Koliko truda so vložili, da so postavili res lepo cerkev Materi Božji na čast. Prinesli so res trdno vero in dobro voljo in zvestobo do Materi Božje in naprej gojili svoj materin jezik, tudi svoje otroke večinoma učili in vzgajali v svojem materinem jeziku. on Holmes was wonderful. The words of Bishop Metod Pirih of Slovenia, who came for the celebration, stressed the love and dedication of those who founded our church. God bless our pastor, Fr. John Kumse and all who worked so hard to make it nice for us. We had the celebration of the holidays at Marie’s restaurant on Lake Shore Blvd. in November. Sixteen of us enjoyed it. Happy NewYeartoallour members. T. FERRACCIOLI Še posebej so se posvetili narodni kulturi, ustanovljali pevska društva, da ni umrla domača lepa pesem in melodije. Preteklo je že veliko let tudi odkar je umrla naša ustanoviteljica, g. Meri Prisland. Ona je res, z vsem srcam in dušo se posvetila za svoj narod, ker je ustanovila to našo društvo Slovenske ženske zveze. Vedno je veliko pisala v Zarji, zelo rada sem čitala njene dopise. Tudi druge članice so dosti več pisale v našem jeziku in sedaj so se pa kar ulenile, še tiste, ko bi vsaj malo lahko napisale. Naj nam bo za danes zadosti mojih melodij, še malo za druge. Dobro, da ni včeraj deževalo ali snežilo. Včeraj 20. novembra smo imele Božičnico na Lekšor Bol. pri Maria’s Restaurant. Po kosilo smo imeli žrebanje, ženske so prinesle zelo veliko daril. Nas je bilo samo 16, tudi g. Župnik, Janez Kumše se bil znami. Sedaj pa vse katere ste praznovale vaše rojstne dneve v novembru, posebno Martine (11. nov. je bil sv. Martin iz mošta napravil rdečo vino!) in druge ko v decembru in januarju praznujete in godu-jete želim še veliko zdravih in srečnih let med nami. Vse katere ste pa izgubile svoje drage, Vam želim prav iz dna srca globoko sožalje tudi v imenu naše podružnice in želim, da ne bi nam ljubi Bog pobiral več članic. Sprejmite vse skupaj lepe pozdrave in nasvidenje spet, če Bog da, na drugi seji. Srečno in blagoslovljeno polno novo leto 1997, zeli, T. FERRACCIOLI NO. 12, MILWAUKEE, WI Hope all had nice holidays. The members wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. We are missing Til-lie Russ at our meetings. Hope your health has returned. Sylvia Kotze and Joan Yaklich spent time again in the hospital. Hope your problems are solved. Our snowbird Leona Zigman is headed for Florida again this year. Evelyn Laurich and Agnes Morrow headed for Branson to do some foot stomping. Stavia Dobersek went to Cleveland over Thanksgiving for the Polkafest. She wants to learn the polka hop! A nice holiday for Rose Luebke who traveled to Seattle to spend the first Christmas in 20 years together with Rose and Ray’s daughter and family. Grandpa Ray will catch up on football with his grandsons. My oversight! At our luncheon in Oct. our charter member, Mary Bucov-nik donated a beautiful afghan which she made. I was hoping to be the winner, but maybe next time! Her color combination was beautiful. Thanks again, Mary. Our thanks, too, to Albert Jelinek for handling our Christmas party which would be Dec. 5th and the printing of tickets. Our officers are the same, only Fran Piwoni is the new Vice President. Our meetings are still at St. Peter’s Episcopal church at 80th and Lincoln Ave., on the Third Thursday of the month at 12 noon. 1996 being a transition year, our secretary, Theresa Fedran did a superb job as we went on direct billing and she had to check everything on our membership. Now it should be easier. Come and join us at the meetings and spend a delightful afternoon. Theresa Mershnik lost her husband, Tony after taking care of him for a long time. This is a correction from my last report when I gave the wrong name -it’s not Fran but Theresa. Sorry, Theresa and thanks for being understanding. * * * Our Christmas party came on a day of nasty weather. The streets were passable so I went out, got my car out of the garage and went on my merry way. So, if you missed it, don’t blame the weather. It was do-able! 40 strong, we came to the party. Usinger’s is now CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON WAS A REAL CELEBRATION! A group of Br. 13 members at the Christmas luncheon. Most of them we met at the grand 1995 National Convention in San Francisco that remains a blessing to the SWU and fond memory to all who attended! Names of those on the photo are not given in order, but the attendees included: Josephine Aiuto, Pres., Louise Petrusich, Vice President, Beverly Jackson, Reporter, Rose Scoff, Virginia Sustarich, Anna Fabian, Ceta Zager, Dorothy Zaharin, Ina Hendersohn, Mary Shockly, Evelyn Brandy, Helen McQuiller and Ann Kambick. Rose Scoff, young-at-heart member has reached the distinguished age of 97 years, and enjoys the friendship of SWU members acquired during her almost 50 years of members and as a long-time National Officer. God love you, Rose! Photos: Michele Twers making Slovenian sausage and four people were lucky to take some home. As you know, they make very good sausages and our branch was treated to some at one of our luncheons. Thank you, Debbie, again. Our Woman of the Year is Julia Schneck. She attends all of the meetings and is deserving of the honor. Happy Valentine’s Day to all! MARY KIEL NO. 13, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Happy New Year to all SWU branches from Br. 13! We had a delightful Christmas party, a gift exchange and wonderful food. It was a nice way to close 1996. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I know that with the re-opening of the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Day there were many happy hearts in San Francisco. Archbishop Wm. Lavada celebrated the mass with Fr. Zagar and the new Polish priest, Fr. Rybacki. The Slovenian, Croatian and Polish communities will share the church. I know it was a true gift from God for our choir to be able to sing in their church once again. We held election of officers and Anna Fabian made a motion to retain our slate of officers which was voted unanimously: President is Josephine Aiuto, Vice President, Louise Pet^ rusich, Secretary, Moreen Spencer, Rec. Sec’y. Beverly Jackson, Treas. Michele Twers, Auditors, Virginia, Ann and Doreen Sustarich and Reporter, Beverly Jackson. We have some nice events planned for 1997 - the first being a Valentine Party on Feb. 6th. Our monthly meetings are the first Thursday of each month at noon. We have a brunch planned in May. Josie will also host her famous bus trips. They are wonderful fun, very informative and a terrific lunch is served. Call Josephine Aiuto at 863-8632 if you would like to join us. It’s with much sadness that I report the death of Emil Hnilo. Eleanor and Emil were a very supportive couple and joined our many trips. We will truly miss this quiet, gentle man. Our prayers to Eleanor and her daughters. President Josephine received letters from Sophie Troya, Marion Lucchesi, Marie Health. These ladies were very active for years and have all moved away. We miss you and think of you all. Our prayers also to Mary Wraa and Kate Lampe on the sick list. I miss seeing so many of our faithful who can’t come anymore. Remember, you are missed and thought of often. Ginny Sustarich is glad to have Rudy doing better so she can join us again. "The secret of life is not to do what one likes, but to try to like what one has to do!” Again, Happy New Year. BEVERLY JACKSON NO. 14, EUCLID, OH From knee-deep snows at the beginning of November to expected temperatures in the 60’s at the beginning of January. What lies ahead? Celebrating our annual Christmas Dinner Party was a joyful occasion among guests and friends. The annex of Slovenian Society Home was transformed into a winter wonderland amid brilliant red poinsettias, green garland and twinkling lights. A centerpiece of a candle surrounded by flowers and twinkling lights decorated each table. Mary Sintic and her husband, A1 worked many days and hours to provide this gleaming setting for us. Thanks to Mary and A1 and to Jackie Ulle who helped arrange these decorations. Pres. Marty Koren’s husband, Ed served as our able bartender. Thanks also to Vera Bajec and Jennie Fitzthum who handled all the phone calls and who greeted us at the door. Thanks to everyone who brought gifts to be used for door prizes. Each year we catch up with the grandchildren of member, Antoinette Zabukovec, whose daughter Joyce and husband Eric Edelman bring their children Molly 5 and Scott 3 to join in the festivities. We’ve seen Molly and Scott grow from babes-in-arms to fun-loving, active children. We were delighted to have among us June and Jimmy Slapnik, who have donated so many flowers to various organizations through the years and who donated poinsettia plants for door prizes. Once again Sophie Mazi and her staff prepared and served a delicious home-style meal from home made soup with dumplings, pork chops, roast chicken to strudel. Annual elections were held in November with the following results: Martha Koren, President; Vera Bajec, Vice President; Diane Varney, Secretary/Treasurer; Addie Humphreys, Recording Secretary. Auditors are Stana Grill, Antoinette Zabukovec. Rose Rodgers and Ileene Collins, Sunshine Committee; Banner Carrier is Josephine Kastigar, and Reporter Alice Kuhar. Spiritual Advisor is Rev. Francis Sterk of St. Christine’s Church. Speedy recovery wishes to Ileene Collins, recuperating from knee surgery in Florida. Condolences to Paula Dolinar on the death of her dear mother Paula Adamic. May God grant our loved ones eternal rest. Upcoming events to jot down on your calendars: Annual Mass for living and deceased members to be held on Ash Wednesday, February 12 at St. Christine’s Church. Mothers.Day Dinner on TUesday, May 6 at 6:00 Slovenian Society Home. Call Vera Bajec with reservations at 481-7473. May your Valentine’s Day bring you love and joy! ALICE KUHAR NO. 20, JOLIET, IL Greetings dear members! I am the new recording secretary for our branch. My name is Kathryn Stonich. I just moved back to Joliet from Tticson, AZ where I lived for 18 years. I like Arizona, but I am glad to be back home. My phone number is 727-3177. I will be waiting to hear from you. Congratulations to Mary Ann Stukel, Will County Recorder and Joseph Babich, Will County Board for winning the last election. Gary and Lori Bond had a baby daughter. A 50th Anniversary on Oct. 19th was celebrated by Mr. & Mrs. Paul Dirker of Mountain Home, Ark. They were married in 1946 by Msgr. Butala and have 11 grandchildren. Dawne Fischer and Paul Stefanich were married Sept. 27 in Las Vegas. The groom is the son of Lillian Stefanich and the late Curly Stefanich. For 50 years Bernice Ogu-lin has kept St. Joseph Medical Center in good order. She is on the housekeeping staff on the 8th floor. She says if you lay around and do nothing, you stiffen up and get arthritis. She is 72 years young. Way to go, Bernice! Branch extends sincere sympathy to Frances Babiki on the death of her husband, to Lorraine Hrubos on the death of her sister, to Lorraine Belom Left photo: Proudly wearing their Slovenian national costumes, these So. Chicago members added color to the festivities of IL-IN State Day. Standing are Sylvia Spretnjak, Marge Prebil, Gladys Buck, Mary Ann Skibbee and Angie Nico (Oglesby); seated, Delores Hennelly, Edna Winters and Vida Kumse. Right photo: It was a lovely day - so say Deanie Adelman (2), Marilyn Brunner, and members of Br. 24. All photos taken at the IL-IN State Day were submitted by Angie Nico (89). and Sophie Kolokowski on the death of their brother Joseph Matkovič and to Cyndi Karges on the death of her mother, Corrine and to Dorothy Mahan who lost her mother-in-law. Get well wishes for Dorothy Horvat, Mayor Art Schultz, our Grape Festival Mayor and also Rudy Deichman. Our Branch Christmas party was a big success. The food was good and we all enjoyed the magician and his tricks. Our installation meeting was Jan. 19th at St. Joe’s park with Fr. David Stalzer conducting the installation of officers. An added note of interest, Bernice Metesh had two of her cousins from Slovenia visit her in October. I had the pleasure of meeting these 2 handsome fellows. They love America and wish very much to return. They did a lot of shopping and took a lot of clothes and hard-to-get things back with them. I wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year! KATHY STONICH CANDIDATE FOR FEB. 25TH ELECTION v. Our member, Jonita Ruth is running for the City of Joliet Council in the February 25th election! We hope all our Joliet members will consider her candidacy! Those who know Jonita say she is an energetic and helpful person, always on top of things and ready to participate -whether it be the renovation of Chicago Street, the Mural paintings on N. Scott Street, the efforts for good elections as an election judge, volunteerism in all the lodges she belongs to: SWU Br. 20, KSKJ #108, Ladies Aux. VFW Post #367, Rosarian Club of her parish, St. Joseph’s, also as an active board member of the School Board of St. Joseph’s, at the Rialto Theater, for the March of Dimes Fund-raising, wildlife conservation, and as a very concerned citizen whose sole desire is to help improve the community of Joliet. Jonita is the top membership campaigner for SWU, winning awards for the last six years! Anyone who heard her enthusiastic words on membership at the last two National Conventions will remember Jonita as a go-getter! We know Jonita will do a good job as a member of the Joliet City Council and hope you will give her your vote on Feb. 25th, 1997! C. V J NO. 22, BRADLEY, IL Stretching the imagination a wee bit, our December meeting resembled a White House conference, all eleven of us comfortably seated around Ann Richards’ elongated kitchen table! We had just enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Family Restaurant and were ready to tackle some business, like the amount of contribution to St. Joseph Church for Christmas, election of officers (the same crew, with Mollie McIntyre unanimously chosen president), selection of Woman of the Year (easily, Barbara Rittmanic), the decision to have the annual Mass in November for deceased members and their families, and the when and where of the next meeting (Gabrielle Lustig and Toni Legris on March 18). One must realize we put in much commenting and conversation in our decision-making, hence no time for “igre” (games) but co-hostess, Margaret Planton, brought forth enough colorful Christmas bags of goodies to award each member, in addition to our routine raffle, door prize and the usual four games prizes, all determined by drawings. Then came the apple strudel, ice cream, cookies and coffee! What a send-off, but not before stopping to admire the beautifully decorated tree and the many pieces of Ann’s Christmas craft work. Nice to be so talented. Our heartfelt thanks to Ann and Margaret for such a wonderful party! Life is a mix of joy and sadness. To Mary and Barbara Rittmanic and Margaret Planton our sincere condolences upon the death of their sister and aunt, Angela Spreitzer Burnett of Florida. May the Lord grant you eternal rest, Angela. It has just come to light by way of a local newspaper story that our old neighbor, William Ponikvar, received a letter, certificate, and medal from the Russian Government honoring him for his services with the U.S. Forces to ensure the Russian allies were getting their supplies during the “Great Patriotic War” (WW II). This commendation came on Oct. 7, 1994, and Willie is still trying to figure out why it came at all, after nearly fifty years! Willie is the son of charter member, Anna Ponikvar. 1997! A new year, a new start. A thought to keep in mind: Practice makes perfect, but be careful what you practice. May all our readers have the best year ever! EMMA LUSTIG NO. 23, ELY, MN Special thanks go out to the lunch committee for December and the calling committee for the success of a wonderful Christmas dinner at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort on Monday, December 2, 1996. What an evening! It started out with a Social Hour, then a lovely dinner. Everything was so good; and after dinner we were entertained with button-box accordion music by Adolph Levar. A special Christmas letter from the National Board of Directors was read by President Jane Yadlosky; and special recognition was given to our 50-year and over members. We have 23, two of whom have 67 years — Ann Lunka and Rose Kozar; they joined in 1929. Congratulations to all of you! Of course, we had to play the “B” game for a bit more fun and drawings for door prizes. Yes, it was quite an evening. We all know things like this just don’t happen. It takes planning and hard work. Thanks to Molly Grahek. Evie Prijatel, Fannie Strukel, Gloria Smuk, Sally Davidson, Angie Godec, Jane Yadlosky, Lillian Hren, Polly Polyner; and special thanks to Gen Erchull who designed and made our special little bags for prizes. Our calling committee is the greatest!!! They got the word out and reservations. Thanks, gals!! And we can’t forget the hard work behind it all — our Treasurer, who took care of collecting the monies, paying the bills and doing such a great job. Thanks, Rosemarie Buchner! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! We’re looking forward to Minnesota Days in September, 1997. Plans are in the beginning stages. Here we come, Duluth! JANE YADLOSKY, President NEW MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME! NO. 24, LA SALLE, IL “Re-election” of officers was held at the November meeting. The following officers will continue to serve: Anne Wangler, President; Minnie Carter, Vice President; Adele Gensler, Recording Secretary; Betty Stack, Financial Secretary-Treasurer; Jo Foley and Teresa Kinczewski, Auditors; Anne Wangler, ZARJA Reporter. The term of office is two years, after which time another election will be held. Rev. John Onderko, pastor of Resurrection Parish is our Spiritual Advisor. Thank you to all who participated in the Bakeless Bake Sale. Your generous donations allowed us to again pay the dues of members 80 years of age and older. We are most proud of this. If you misplaced your letter and envelope and would still like to contribute your donation will be much appreciated. We also made donations to our local food pantry for Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. In our name, Betty Stack purchased a gift for a needy child she selected from the Catholic Social Service “giving tree” in church. We enjoyed our Christmas Party at the Paramount Club on December 12. We thank the chairmen, Barb Pohar and Helen Swietek and their committee for a wonderful party. The tables were decorated beautifully with Christmas favors for all. The candle centerpieces were door prizes which were won by Adele Gensler, Teresa Kinczewski, Doris Hallett, Justine Anglavar, Jo Grabowski, Sharon Brady, Rose McLaughlin, Frances Puetz, Mary Mecum, Wanita Helmer and Anne Wangler. Our members in local nursing homes received fruit trays for Christmas which were prepared by Minnie Carter, Adele Gensler and Betty Stack. Remember those of our members with health problems, Theresa Wellner who is unable to do organ duty at Resurrection parish due to back problems, Betty Stack who has foot troubles, Rev. John Onderko who has had throat surgery and has to limit his talking,.and especially for Minnie Carter’s Great grandson, Kevin Sweetland, who is at St. Jude’s in Memphis. There are a lot of people ill with flu and bad colds as usual at this time of Bonnie Prokup’s mother, Barbara Pohar, her sister, and Adele Gensler, all of Br. 24, joined in the festivities at the IL-IN State Day. Br. 24 will host the next State Day in the fall. year. A visit, phone call or card would brighten the day. Our sympathy is extended to Mildred Welch whose sister in law, Dorothy Mlakar of Peoria Heights, passed away on October 21st; also to Fannie Piletič, whose husband Anthony passed away on November 17th. Tony is survived by two sons, Robert and James, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren; and to Anne Matthews and Florence Smorkol, sisters of Rose Furlan who passed away on Christmas morning, and to her sisters in law, Teresa Kinczewski and Irene Mauser. Rose had been a member of Branch 24 for 45 years. She is survived by her husband, Stanley and two sons, Joseph and Michael and a granddaughter. Rose and Stan were very active in KSKJ activities and she sang in St. Roch’s Choir for many years and she is fondly remembered for the many wedding duets she and the late Albina Bregach sang so beautifully. I want to thank the members who came to the funeral home to recite the burial ritual. We welcome two new members, Mary Mecum whose grandmother, the late Josephine Rady was a long-time member and Linda Struna whose grandmother-in-law, the late Anna Klopcic was a 52-year member. They were both present at our Christmas party and they were able to meet many of our members. Happy birthday to February birthday celebrants: Theresa Jensen, Irene Mauser, Sharon Brady, Theresa Savnik, Doris Hallett and Anne Wangler; and to March birthday celebrants: Josephine Pohar Brady, (Junior member), Teresa Kinczewski, Helen Millman, Mary Gertrude Johnson, Mary Hewitt, and Trese Hollerich. As a rule we do not meet in January and February but we will have a special meeting on Thursday, February 20, in La Salle Catholic School at 7:00 p.m. Branch 24 accepted the 1997 II-linois-Indiana State Convention to be held in La Salle on October 5th. We will need a lot of help and participation from our members to make the 1997 Convention a success. Bonnie Pohar Prokup, our member, is the new State President and we want her to be proud of her home Branch. Please try to attend this important meeting. Your presence will be much appreciated. ANNE WANGLER, Reporter NO. 25, CLEVELAND, OH HAPPY NEW YEAR... GOOD HEALTH AND PROSPERITY TO ALL! Our Christmas Party was held at Sterle’s Country House on E. 55th and St. Clair. We exchanged gifts and enjoyed a wonderful meal with wonderful friends. Our deepest sympathies to our President Fran Gazvoda and family on the passing of their mother... May her memory be eternal. Get well wishes to Jan Krivacic, Josie Ambrosic, Marie Orazem. Josie Valenčič. They are all convalescing at their homes. A card would be nice. Looking forward to a busy and productive year for all the branches. Weather permitting we planned a January meeting to renew “AULD LANG SYNE” EMILEE JENKO, Reporte. ***** It isn’t hard to diet these days. Just eat what you can afford. NO. 26, PITTSBURGH, PA Greetings to all our Zveza members near and far! Our meeting in November was attended by twenty-four members - we are certainly hoping to have a few more members come and visit with us on the third Monday of the month at 12:30. Make a new year resolution to come sometime, members! Many questions were discussed - the most important was the great Christmas Party, scheduled and heLd on Dec. 9th. Also, a donation was sent to the Scholarship Fund and we received a thank you card from the Home Office for this! We all send our best greetings to all for the new year - good health and prosperity! JANE LYNCH NO. 32, EUCLID, OH We hope all had a very good holiday which was healthy, happy, and safe. The flu bug has been around and a lot of our members have been sick so far this winter. Hope all of our sick members are feeling much better now. We congratulate Branch 50 on their 65th Anniversary; their Christmas dinner was held on December 8th. It takes a lot of hard work from all the members to keep things going forward. Congratulations to all members. In our November meeting we had Election of Officers. President Ann Cooke, Vice President Alma Eppick, Secretary/Treasurer Charlotte Perdan,' Recording Secretary/Treasurer Frances Ogorevc and Adrienne Jager, Auditors Josephine Comenshek and Josephine Gomik, Sunshine Ceal Znidar, Historian Frances Ogorevc, Hostesses Ceal McLean and Adrienne Jager, Attendance Jean McNulty, Raffle Mary Zakrajšek and Helen Kovačevič, and Sergeant At Arms Helen Kovačevič. We will meet the third Wednesday of the month. No meetings in January, February, July, and August. Meeting place at Slovene Society Home at 7 o’clock. Our donations will be to St. Christine’s Church, ZARJA Fund, and Scholarship Fund for S. W. U. We thank Helen Kovačevič for taking charge of the election. Thanks to the officers that did a terrific job last year. After our November meeting we had refreshments and we played the dice game. It is a very enjoyable game. Everyone went home with at least one prize. Our December meeting was our Christmas party. We had a very nice party with plenty of food, good spirits, and music. Ham and potato salad was furnished by the Branch. Thanks to all the members for salads, bake beans, and pastries. Members and guests enjoyed the food. There was an exchange of gifts for all who wished to participate. All members received a door prize gift. President Ann Cooke passed out candy canes and Secretary/Treasurer Charlotte Perdan gave Santa Claus pencils. Thanks to Lavonia Avitt who furnished the Christmas music. Rose Brancely thanks everyone who sent her get well wishes while she was in the hospital. She is now at home recuperating. Rose sends her best wishes to all for a good New Year. Congratulations to Emily and Joseph Buchar - on October 2nd they were presented with a great granddaughter, Bailey Elizabeth. Parents are Tracie and Ken Kitchen. Brother Ryne, 4 yrs. old, enjoys his new baby sister. Congratulations go out to our Secretary/Treasurer Charlotte Perdan who completed classes at Lake Erie College for the MBA program in Health Care. The ceremony will be May 4, 1997. President Ann Cooke is enjoying her holidays with daughter and family in Florida. She is escaping the cold weather for two months. She will be back with a nice tan. Our March meeting will be on the 19th of March. We will be saying the rosary for Lent. It also is St. Patrick’s Day, so it would be nice to wear something green to the meeting. Bring a friend and/or a family member to the meeting. Do not forget about our Chinese Auction on October 15th, 1997. It is time to start gathering gifts for the auction. Happy birthday and happy anniversary to all our members in January and February. May the New Year bring good health and happiness to all. FRANCES OGOREVC, ADRIENNE JAGER NO. 33, DULUTH, MN Our branch will host Minnesota State Day on Sept. 14, 1997. All officers are remaining except vice president, Mary Spehar White and auditor Shirley Hoppayan. Eileen Fedo will be honored May 7th as Mother of the Year. Voters Day Bake Sale netted $320.95. There were 37 adults and 10 children at our Christmas Party. What a treat to have junior members with us! They sang in Slovenian and English. Everyone enjoyed the “Pot luck” meal. Dime Social and gift exchange. Prayers for our members on the sick list including Helen Mosack. Prayers of sympathy to Agnes Gal-leberg (husband) and Margaret (Gal-leberg) Clancy (father). “150 Years of Marriage”! Alice (Roguski) and George Cacich; Ann (Vukonich) and Clifford Ericksmoen; Winnifred (Spehar) and Dominic El-lena. Joined together to celebrate their Golden Anniversaries. They were all married at St. Elizabeth’s church and all are life-time members of the parish. They received all their sacraments there, too. Congratulations to all of them! LOIS PELANDER, Reporter NO. 35, AURORA, MN Our Advent Dinner meeting was held on Sunday, Dec. 8th with 23 members present. The election returned our present officers to serve another year: Pres. Florence Holland; Vice-Pres. Anna Rose Smolich; Recording Sec. Alice Wilson; Sec.-Treas. Dorothy Jamnick; Sgt. at Arms Janice Grebence. Thank you, ladies. Meetings for the year will continue to be held on Sunday afternoons. The dime social will be on Feb. 9th at the Community Center. Hostesses will be Bernice Ceglar, Mary Noson and Mar-lys Rabb. Congratulations to coach, Rose Antilla and her volleyball team, including her daughter, Janelle, who were runners up in the 7A Title. A job well done! And, best wishes to Thomas and We love to read news of your branch in ZARJA! Karen (McGauley) Dennis who were -married on Nov. 23rd. Get well wishes to Anna Rose Smolich and Katharine Hanka’s husband, Henry. Our sympathy and prayers are with the family of Michael Potočnik and to John and Gabrielle Goritchan who lost their 3 year old granddaughter, Anne, a week before Christmas. Grant them eternal rest, Lord and let the perpetual light shine upon them. Sympathy and prayers are with the Emest (Francine) Stellmach family whose mother, Helen, passed away on Dec. 24th. She was 97 years old. And, to our National President, Jean Korsman and all the Purkat family, whose mother, Annie Purkat, 94 years old, passed away on Dec. 31st. May they rest in peace. Heather Orazem, a SWU Scholarship Winner is enjoying her studies and travels in Spain this year. The Eagle Scout of Honor ceremony held in Hibbing, MN was especially a happy time for the family of Nathan Lee who was awarded the Eagle Scout Award, the highest in scouting and something very hard to achieve. He joined the Boy Scouts in 1992 and has attained many awards and badges. For the Eagle Scout service project Nathan built four wooden outdoor lawn chairs for the Greenview Alzheimer’s Residence in Hibbing. He is also very active in sports and excells in his studies. Nathan is the son of David and Connie Lee and grandson of our member of Br. 35, Mary Noson and her husband, John. Congratulations, Nathan! Thanks to Edward Ceglar who made the beautiful advent wreath for our dinner table. He raises and dries all his own flowers. You are an artist, Ed! After the meeting we enjoyed a deli- cious dinner served by our American Legion Auxiliary. Instead of a gift exchange we gave a monetary gift of $74.00 to the activities department of our local nursing home. Thank you, ladies for your generosity. Happy Valentine’s Day! ANNE M. ORAZEM NO. 39, BIWABIK, MN Our November meeting had 23 members in attendance. Pres. Jean opened the meeting with a beautiful poem. The meeting was mostly to discuss the Weinacht festival in our town. We have so many generous volunteers who made strudels and poticas. We postponed the Dec. meeting and planned the Christmas party for Jan. 5th as we knew we’d be pretty tired after the Festival and holidays. We booked the Social Room at St. John’s church and after a short meeting played our usual favorite games - this was for fun time. Each member was asked to bring a non-perishable donation to be given to the Food Shelf and in lieu of a turkey we sent a $25 donation to the Merrit House for their Christmas celebration. Our Sunshine Girl, Ann Geržina sent Christmas cards to all our shut-in members and those in nursing homes. She does such a wonderful job all year round, remembering all who have been ill, have lost a loved one or anything else they experienced that we want to share. Thanks, Ann. We at Br. 39 would like to wish all our wonderful members and their families a Happy New Year. And, to all who have been ill, a message of love and caring. Get well soon. God bless all of you. ANGIE HIETALA Rec. Secretary MEMBERS, PLEASE NOTE! Direct Billing for 1997 dues is beginning this month. You will receive your direct bill (invoice) from the National Secretary directly and are requested to return your payment in check (no cash, please). Send your payment as soon as you receive the bill - not before - Your prompt attention will assure you the proper recording and is appreciated! ŠT. 39, BIWABIK, MN Bilo je lepo in sončno nedeljsko popoldne 3. novembra, ko smo se zbrale za mesečno sejo. ki je privabilo kar 23 članič. Preds. Jean je otvorila sejo z zelo primerno molitvijo in je seja nato lepo potekala. Uredile smo več važnih zadev v soglasju in pripravljenosti da bodo te potekle brezhibno. Na prvem mestu je bil naš “Weinachfest" o katerem je bila razlaga že v našem dopisu zadnji mesec. Imamo dosti članic, ki se bodo žrtvovale za delo ta dan in upamo na lep uspeh. Sklenile smo tudi, da se seja meseca decembra ne bo vršila. Pač pa bomo imele božični sestanek potem 5. januarja, kjer bo tudi naše vsakoletno božično kosilo. To bo tukaj v naši cerkveni dvorani in vse članice bodo pravočasno obveščene. V tem času smo tudi nap-rošene, da prinesemo hrano v konzervah ali sicer za “food shelf.” Pravtako bomo pomagale našim bolnim prijateljem v “Merrit House” in darovale purana za njih božični priboljšek. Naša zvesta članica Ann Geržina bo poslala božična voščila vsem, ki so v bolnicah ali zavetiščih. Ko bo ta dopis objavljen, bomo že v pobožični dobi. Vendar, ker pa dobre želje vedno veljajo, Vam vse, ki ste blizu in daleč želimo blagoslovljene praznike, posebno, da bi bilo tudi novo leto za vse polno božjega zegna v zdravju in zadovoljstvu in da bi na svetu spet zavladal mir in soglasje. To iskreno želi in vsem topel novoletni pozdrav, ANNETUSHAR NO. 40, LORAIN, OH Fourteen came to our Nov. 13th meeting. Thanks to Francine for taking the minutes in my absence. Agatha took over for our Pres, who was also absent. She opened with prayer. Thanks to birthday girl, Martina Woelfe, for the delicious dessert she served. Thank you for Zarja Donations A GOLDEN DAY - A GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY! Mr. and Mrs. John F. Drstvensek celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary recently with a Mass of Thanksgiving at SS. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church. Rev. Joseph Yelenc and Rev. Paul Krajnik officiated. Following the Mass, a dinner party was held at Mountain Jack’s Restaurant for the immediate family and relatives. John Drstvensek and Agnes Tomazin were married on her birthday; June 29, 1946 at SS. Cyril and Methodius Chruch where they continue to be active members. The bride’s cousin, Rev. Martin J. Pet-rasic of Omaha, Nebraska performed the wedding ceremony. They have two children and three grandsons. Dr. John A. Drstvensek lives in New Albany, Ohio with his wife, Bridget and two sons, Kurt and Joseph. Dr. Elaine Edgar lives in Worthington, Ohio with her husband, Paul and son, Thomas. John F. Drstvensek is a retired Trainmaster from Lake Terminal Railroad. Since retiring, John and Agnes spend the winter in St. Petersburg, Florida where they both enjoy golfing. Agnes is a 50+ year member of the Slovenian Women’s Union, Br. 40. She is a charter member of the former Drill Team and served many years as a reporter for the ZARJA. Our sincere congratulations! Reporter Donations: Br. 32, Euclid, OH $25 Br. 47, Garfield Hts., OH 25 Betty L. Gorgon (50) 50 tMamie Marin Olga Dorchak (47) tMargaret Bizjak 5 tRose Ban 5 tFrances Gazvoda 5 Donations for Pictures: Jonita Ruth (20) 5 Br. 35, Aurora, MN 5 We had a delightful guest, Barbara Buta, Irene Kokinda’s sister from Arizona. We expressed our sincere sympathy to our Irene Kokinda on the loss of her husband and to Annette Septaric on the loss of her sister, Hermine Strancar. Agatha received a tee-shirt from headquarters which sells for $12.00. Molly Glavan bought it. Orders are being taken for shirts. We decided to make favors for our members in nursing homes: Angie Martin, Anne Rozanc, Ann Babrowski, Rose Knezetic and Emma Matos. In charge of making the favors is Agatha. Mary Evanish, our 107 year old member, passed away recently. We wish to express our sincere sympathy. We decided to honor all our mothers again this year at our May celebrations. Our Francine and husband, Frank celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on Jan 6th. We had our Christmas dinner at the German Villa on Dec. 3rd with 25 members and friends. The food was delicious. We wish to thank Fr. Joseph Yelenc for being our guest and leading us in prayer. Fr. Krajnik was unable to attend. Thanks to our Stephanie Polutnik who surprised us with a reading of “A cup of Christmas Tea” which got us in the holiday mood. We each brought a gift and held a raffle. We were glad to see Alice Rutar and Jean Balogh well enough after being seriously ill to come and celebrate Christmas with us. Rose Knezetic fractured her hip but that didn’t stop her from coming. Her daughter brought her in a wheelchair. We missed our Angie Zgonc as illness kept her away this year; and we also missed Agnes Drstvensek because they went to Florida for the winter right after Thanksgiving. The Drstvensek’s picture and write-up is in this issue of the ZARJA. Hope to see you at our Feb. 12th meeting at 1 p.m. Love, MARY MATOS NO. 42, MAPLE HEIGHTS, OH Best wishes for the new year from Branch 42! With seventeen members and one guest present at the meeting on November 9th, elections were held: Millie Lipnos, Jo Stoltz and Marge Church graciously accepting another year’s term as President, Recording Secretary, and Secretary/Treasurer, respectively. New officer elected was Jean Offutt, Vice President; and Mary Tome, Dorothy Mehosky and Eleanore Charvat agreed to serve as Auditors. This was followed by an interesting presentation of fresh flower arrange- ments by floral designer, Lynn Ravida, of Novak’s Flower Shoppe. The arrangements were purchased by members, and the door prize arrangement was won by Marge Church. On November 10th, Rev. Joseph Ozimek, brother of member, Dorothy Budimlic, died at the age of 75 after a long illness. After his ordination in 1947, Father Ozimek served various parishes including St. Mary’s, St. Vitus and St. Christine’s, followed by twenty-two years as Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Barberton. At Sacred Heart he was responsible for building a new Chapel and Rectory. He was known by his peers as a hard-working priest who treasured and promoted his Slovenian heritage. In addition to Dorothy he is survived by sisters, Frances Stepic, Bridget Zupančič, and brothers, William and Norbert. Sterle’s Slovenian Country House was the setting for our Christmas Lunch on Saturday, December 14th, where twenty-four members and friends enjoyed the socializing and many fine door prizes. p A GIFT TO V OPE JOHNPAUL FROM PEOPLE OF SLOVENIA Sadly, we learned that the brother of Jo Stoltz, Ronald Hočevar, died unexpectedly in Atlanta, Georgia. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her and the entire family. A memorial will be held in the near future. Understand that Angie Zupanc is doing fine after her recent hospital stay. Teresa Gorup’s daughter, Margaret, was here from Columbus visiting her mom and dad who is in a nursing home. As a student in the PSR Program at St. Wenceslas, Kimberly Balach was chosen to play the role of the Blessed Mother in the reenactment of the Gospel of the Nativity at the Christmas Eve Mass. Lastly, special birthday greetings are extended to Diane and Michae Balach, Lillian Sadowski, Nikolett; Lerchbacher, Edna Scotton, Joannt Kosak, Allison Gruden and Theresa Ferfolia. We are pleased to welcome new members David Lipnos (wife Ellie has been a member for fourteen years) and children: Nicholas, 16: Mary, 11; Kelly, 10. Planned for the first quarterly meeting of the new year, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 8th, Slovenian National Home, will be a special cake decorating lesson by our own Jean Offutt. We hope to see you there. In the meantime, please let me hear from you with your news bits for the next column. ALBINA SKOCAJ, Reporter NO. 43, MILWAUKEE, WI We had our November meeting on the 20th because the 27th was just the day before Thanksgiving day. The meeting was opened with a prayer, the minutes were read and the financial report was given. All was approved. We were treated to a luncheon by our Birthday Girl, Matilda Weich. Here’s hoping she will have many more Happy and Healthy Birthdays. Our Christmas at Klemmer’s was wonderful. We had our luncheon in the room in the Loft with a beautifully lit up fire place. The food was delicious and the visiting put everyone in a very Holiday spirit. Our next meeting was on January 22nd, same place same time. ANNE E. KONCZAL, Reporter 40 I ome welcomed the second II ■ largest group of Slove-v. nian Pilgrims in history on Dec. 13th, 1996. They came by bus, train and airplane to thank the Holy Father for his May visit to their homeland and to present to him a large, magnificent spruce tree taken from the forests of Kočevje and the same age as Pope John Paul, 76 years old. The tree is 28 meters tall and weighs 4.233 tons! It was placed on the plaza before St. Peter’s Basilica and lighted with thousands of white lights. The pilgrimage included the President of Sovenia, Milan Kucan, the Minister of Interior, Andrej Ster, other political leaders such as former Prime Minister Lojze Peterle, Janez Dular, Jože Osterc and the Slovenian Ambassador to the Vatican, Dr. Stefan Falez whose 6 year old daughter pushed the button to light the tree at the opening ceremonies. The chorus “Anton Foerster” and others presented a musical program for Pope John Paul and concluded the visit with a spontaneous rendition of “Mi se imamo radi”, a well-known simple folksong that everyone joined in singing. Then they called out to him: “Mi Slovenci Vas imamo radi” paraphrasing the words the Holy Father spoke when departing from Slovenia last May when he said, “Papež Vas ima rad!” The Slovenians also presented the Vatican with numerous spruce trees that were placed in various parts of St. Peter’s as Christmas decorations and finally, a young beech tree brought from Slovenia was planted in the Holy Father’s garden where it stands among trees of other nations. The Bishop of Maribor, Most Rev. Franc Kramberger presented the homily at the opening mass on Dec. 13th in which he stated that three of the lighted candles on the Advent Wreath signified the light that was turned on when Slovenians accepted Christianity 1250 years ago, the light of a culture that has preserved this nation from extinction and the light of freedom from oppression which its newly found independence in 1991 signifies. Bishop Kramberger is the successor of Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek who is to be beatified this May as the first Slovenian saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Frederic Baraga may be soon on the list following Slomšek as the first Slovenian-American saint of the church. This event is sure to remain an unforgettable landmark in the relationship between the Vatican and Slovenia enhanced by the fact that the Vatican was among the first world governments to recognize the independence of Slovenia in 1991 and now, five years later, the President of Slovenia and government officials joined with church leaders to form a solid bonding. It will also be known in a few weeks who has been selected by the Holy Father to replace the retired Archbishop of Ljubljana, Dr. Alojz Sustar who co-hosted the Papal visit to Slovenia and was the honorary sponsor of the pilgrimage of Slovenians to Rome. NO. 50, CLEVELAND, OH THE WORD SECRETARY TAKES ON SPECIAL MEANING FOR OUR MEMBER! Dober Dan! The most significant happening before Christmas was the 65th Anniversary/Christmas Dinner of our Branch 50 on Sunday, December 8th which took place at the Slovenian Society Hall on Recher Avenue in Euclid, Ohio. Our Branch has come a long way since 1931. Two of our four surviving Charter members, Mitzi Bencin, and Sophie Posch (our 1st president) attended. Antoinette (Celesnik) Gaeta, who unfortunately had eye surgery, and Carole Traven were not able to be present. Our other honored guests were Corinne Leskovar, Editor of ZARJA and Evelyn Majercik, National Secretary. Oh what a wonderful time we had except for knowing our President of the past 25 years, Ann Tercek, has gracefully resigned. During Ann’s presidency, our membership more than doubled. For most of us, it is difficult to even imagine such a change. Nevertheless, the show must go on. Prizes were given and the result of the raffle drawing made many happy members and guests winners. It all started the ball rolling toward a very happy holiday season to end 1996 and to begin 1997. (Please note there is a more explicit write-up of this event elsewhere within this issue.) Our next meeting will be held at the Gateway Manor Apartment Social Room on February 19th. We will install our officers at that time who will remain the same except for the fact that we do not have the main office filled, the presidency. We hope that one of your New Year resolutions was to attend your Branch meetings. We need your input and ideas, especially on how to improve our attendance in 1997. During this interim we hope our members will be in good health and blessed to remain with us at least during the year ahead. However, our most recent sick list has consisted of the following, Helen Bonac, Alice Debaljak, Josephine Debevic, Millie Pike, and Katie Slaper. We received a note that Ann Dole’s husband, Frank passed away last month. Our sympathies are extended to the family. Also, we regret to announce we have lost a total of seven (7) members to death last year (1996). Our member, Wanda Golobic re- Recently promoted to the position of Executive Secretary at KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, Ms. Marilyn K. Renick, CPS (Certified Professional Secretary), is a woman of the 90’s! Her activities include serving her second term at President of the Downtown Cleveland Chapter of Professional Secretaries International, the turned before the end of last year from a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she attended the graduation of her grandson, Rickman Anthony from Colorado State University who received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is the oldest son of Robert Anthony Golobic, Wanda’s son, who met with a fatal accident while leading a hike in nearby mountains. In a couple more years, Robert’s second son, Ryan Andres will be next to graduate, followed by a daughter, Renee Aileen, four years from now. Note the initials of each spells the word RAG. Rose Anne, Robert’s wife and the mother of these ambitious children is doing fine — Ah yes — another RAG. Wanda had a wonderful time during this visit with all the ragamuffins. Happy New Year to all and remember to Smile and the world smiles with you. Snore and you sleep alone. Nasvidenje! VI MORAVCHEK Association for Office Professionals and has numerous other affiliations to organizations in the field of executive administration. She is also very dedicated to the Professional Secretaries International, an organization of over 40,000 secretaries which provides educational resources and opportunities to achieve and maintain the highest level of professional competence. Marilyn is a graduate of West Technical High School, certified training at various institutions and colleges and is currently enrolled at Meyers College pursuing a BS in Business Administration in Management. We know Marilyn will excel, since her professional life has been directed on this course. Marilyn is the daughter of John and Julie Kuhar (nee Zdesar) of Euclid and lives in Amherst with her husband, Randy and stepson, Matt. She has been a member of Br. 50 for over 20 years and was a 1976 SWU debutante. All the members extend warmest wishes and admiration! AT NO. 54, WARREN, OH Our branch members enjoyed a very nice Christmas luncheon. We had 15 in attendance. The tables were gaily decorated with pink poinsettias and these were then given our as door prizes. We had tasty cookies that our members brought and I made a cake for dessert. We were a little saddened when we realized there were no favors - the usual gift brought by our beloved pres. Jo Kassan. We sang Christmas carols and had a nice afternoon together. Our donation to the Slovene Home for the Aged for their Christmas Tree was greatly appreciated. Home for the holidays were Elsie Shine’s son and family from Augusta, GA, our son, Phil from Korea, Virginia Shine’s daughters, Marsha from Colorado and Patti Ellis from Cincinnati. I know that you all had wonderful times with them. Visiting Florida is Isabelle Rek and Vic Zuga is at her daughter’s in Columbus, Ohio after attending the wedding of her grandson, Kurt Jackson, in Covington, KY which we also attended. It was such a lovely weekend. He was married to Melissa Mackey at the Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption and the church was more beautiful than those we had seen in Europe. It was all so breathtaking, with the church still decorated for Christmas, we will remember it always. To the newlyweds, many years of happiness, love and good health. Sympathy and prayers to Mary Diana who lost her brother-in-law and to Anka Kregar’s fiance, Michael whose father died two days before Christmas. How sad the holidays are when we lose our loved ones. Thanks again to Br. 55 of Girard for the monetary gift in memory of Jo Kas-san to the SWU Scholarship Fund. My husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on Dec. 15th and had a cocktail party in our home. With our daughter and her husband, Mark from So. Carolina and son, Paul and wife, Carla from Wadsworth, it was fun. We had a wonderful weekend and have many happy memories. Everybody enjoyed seeing our “old” wedding album. Our next meeting is on Feb. 19th at 12 noon at the Elks - then remember March, April and May. Please try to come. God’s blessing to all. JOANNE PONIKVAR NO. 73, WARRENSVILLE, OH A New Year. What happened to the old one? As I look back on my calendar, it is hard to believe all that occurred in 1996, and it makes one wonder what notes we will make for 1997. Our Christmas party was held at my home on December 2nd. We had a small gathering, 10-12 members, but it gave us time to sit and chat with each other. The food was great, and I was happy to entertain the group. We were delighted to have our president, Kay Yuratovac, with us. A happy note in 1996! John and Josephine Turk celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary! After a Mass marking the occasion, the family had breakfast together. Our heartiest congratulations to the couple. Many of you remember our past treasurer (Agnes Walters) now deceased. You probably remember that she had a daughter, Ellen who was affiliated with the Museum of Natural History, written up many times in the paper, appearing often on local TV shows. Ellen retired after forty years with the Museum. We felt it worthy of mention, especially for the out-of-towners who like to keep up with local happenings. Our sympathy to Sylvia Kocjan on the loss of her sister-in-law, Anne and her brother. Laddie Medved. Laddie had lived in Los Angeles, was a double amputee. Anne and Laddie died within three hours of each other. Our prayers to you, and for you, Sylvia. And also to Lottie Timko whose sister passed away, a victim of Alzheimers. As Mrs. Reagan so appropriately put it at the National Convention this year, “It is just an awfully long goodbye.” How true. The Brindza’s, George and Babe, both have had spells of ill-health. We do hope they are on the mend, and that the bitter cold weather will not add to their problems. When I initially wrote this article for February, I was in Florida. The sun was shining through the windows, the Christmas tree sparkled and the flowers were in bloom outside, just below the window, and the palm tree was swaying in the warm breeze. (The article was lost in the mail). Today, in Bedford, it is cold, a storm is headed our way and looks like by the weekend we will be snowbound. Too bad we can’t return to Florida just for the weekend. Perhaps many of you heard about our son Michael who, in early November, went into kidney failure (Michael has been diabetic for thirty-eight years). He was placed on dialysis and seems to be adjusting well to his new life style. He was able to return to work in December. We thank you for the many thoughts and prayers on his behalf. Our Anniversary Mass will be on April 6th, 1997, 10:30 a.m., St. Jude’s Church. As usual, we will enjoy the Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast that follows immediately in the church hall. Please join us for this special get-together. No meeting until March 3rd, so you have time to make a note on your calen- dar, and leave time in your busy schedule to be with us. We skipped January and February because so many expressed their dislike for going out in the cold weather. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you. Spread some of that love around, not only on the 14th of February, but all year. Respectfully, EVELYN A. MAJERCIK NO. 102, WILLARD, WI November Report At the time of this report, the days are nearing Thanksgiving. We celebrate the passage of fall and winter is on the way! A big thank you is in order to Rose and Sue Pakiz for doing a great job in decorating the church altar for the holiday season. Frank and Rose Pakiz celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 26th at the. Greenwood Legion Hall. Many of their friends and relatives came to help them celebrate this special occasion. The highlight was the musical tribute presented by their children and some of their grandchildren called, “This is Your Life!” It was both comical and entertaining. The former Perko General Store burned down on Sunday, Oct. 27th, another Willard landmark gone! On Oct. 29th the Slovenian singers of Willard enjoyed a delicious meal at Dale’s North Mound Tavern. It was a pleasant get-together. Our sincere sympathy to the families of Valentine Yurkovich and Rose Ulesich. Condolences and prayers to their families. Rev. Msgr. Matthew Malnar is presently teaching at the Holy Apostle Seminary in Cromwell, CT on delayed vocations. A Hunter’s Bake Sale was held at the Parish Center on Nov. 23rd, sponsored by our branch. Mr. & Mrs. Wissell had their infant son baptized at the Holy Family church on Nov. 9th. December Report The holiday season behind us, this is a good time to catch up on household tasks and sewing projects. The days are long and cold. Br. 102 held a delicious pot luck dinner, a meeting and gift exchange on Dec. 1st. The CCW selected Jenny Krapfas Mother of the Year. Following the meeting Bingo was played. Happy birthday to all our members celebrating in January and February. With deep regret I report the death of Alice Prebil, age 89-1/2 of Boyceville, WI, formerly of Willard. Joanne and Bob Trunkel drove to Corpus Christi, Texas in December to visit their daughter, Chrissie. She will be moving now to Green Bay, WI. Our prayers for the sick and those in nursing homes and hospitals, especially Donnie Wolf, Ann Stremikis and Joe Plautz. Best wishes to all for peace, friendship and good health in the new year. FRIEDA KLANCHER NO. 103, WASHINGTON, D.C. December meeting, a climax to a busy year! Dear Sisters, Drage Sestre, Our December meeting was a great success. Despite forecasts of rain, ice, and snow, fourteen brave souls attended our last meeting of the year. And a busy one it was! Highlight of the business portion of the meeting was the election of officers. By unanimous vote, the new officers are Mary Lou Terselic, President, Donna Sheridan, Vice President, Mimi Mejac, Secretary, Tillie Ausich, Recording Secretary, and Molly Thomas, Treasurer. Our 1996 committee members agreed to continue in their positions for another year. With elections completed we concluded our business meeting by selecting our Woman of the Year for 1997. (A biography highlighting our candidate will appear in the spring issue of ZARJA.) Our Christmas social which followed the meeting was steeped in holiday tradition with music and the raffling of Christmas gifts donated by Cecilia Hlebanja and Tončka Cigale. Many of the raffle items were stuffed animals of various sizes contributed by Cecilia. (My grandson, Paul was the lucky winner of a 31-inch stuffed dog named Tas after the cartoon character! It was the biggest prize and made a grand and humorous showing while traveling through the Baltimore, Chicago, and Milwaukee airports on the way to being delivered on Christmas evening. Paul was overjoyed with his new buddy, Tas.) Next, Donna Sheridan and I distributed and demonstrated craft items. Donna brought pinecones and ribbons and showed how to decorate them for the holidays. I demonstrated how to make pomanders using oranges, apples and lemons and enlisted the help of other members to stud the fruit with cloves. After curing in spices for some months they will be decorated and ready for display. The above craft ideas were in response to our quest for ideas for items to sell at our various functions. We wanted craft items that could be made rather easily and inexpensively while involving a broad spectrum of our members. Another presentation was homemade potpourri using typical Slovenian plants. This was a project I started in Oct. Surprise potpourri gifts were distributed to all who attended in the form of filled glass containers or decorative ribboned sachets. The technique and recipe suggestions will appear in a later ZARJA article for all those who may be interested. We ended our meeting with wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We left with warm hearts and full tummies thanks to the wonderful and bountiful sweets provided by hostesses Donna Sheridan and Angie Stare. JILL AUGUSTINE FEATURED MEMBER OF BR. 103, ANN CERNELC Ann Cemelc has endeared many friends in the Slovenian Women’s Union, having been a loyal member of Branch 103 since September 1967. She has been a regular attendee at our meetings until recent years when she became unable to travel. However, she is still a loyal member and enjoys the visits and remembrances of her many friends. Ana recently moved from her home in Alexandria, Virginia which she shared with her dear friend Donica Ad-žemovic. After inquiries, Donica agreed to furnish some background information on Ana’s past experiences. Ana was bom on July 24, 1908 in Brežice, Slovenia. Her family home was beautifully situated in mountainous country of farmlands, pastureland, and vineyards. She became quite familiar with the many tasks involved in dairying, harvesting, breeding livestock and pigs, grape-picking, and wine-making. She and her brothers and sisters spent much time in the country picking mushrooms, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries which grew along the hedges. Her first employment was as an invaluable assistant to the local medical doctor. She then went to a nearby town where she worked for a family caring for their children. The family transferred to Belgrade and invited Ana to visit them there. While visiting in Belgrade, she found employment in a mothers’ and children’s home (Žensko Sklohižte) — actually more like a daycare center where working mothers left their children in the morning and collected them at night. Ana was in charge of the babies’ ward. The head of this center, a Slovenian, was a friend of Donica’s mother. When Donica’s sister was bom on August 31, 1936, the head of this center recommended Ana as a suitable person to care for the baby. Ana visited the mother and her new-born infant in the hospital; a love affair instantly began, and is still going on, sixty years later, and hopefully for many more years. Donica’s father was a diplomat which Sophie Stalzer Wyant, Br. 30: JOURNEY TO GOTTSCHEE (KOČEVJE) required much traveling and transfers to various countries. In 1936, they were living in Laconica, Greece; then Ankara, Turkey; Cairo, Egypt; Capetown, South Africa; then back to Egypt. Ana was privileged to travel with the family throughout these exciting trips, and was accepted as part of the family. After Donica’s parents immigrated to the United States in 1954, Ana went to Frankfurt, Germany where she took care of the children of a Polish family while awaiting her turn for a U. S. visia. She received her visa in 1958, just i time to attend the August wedding of her “baby” in Alexandria, Virginia (her “baby” is Donica’s sister that Ana cared for when she first met the family). Donica’s parents were living in Washington, D.C., and Ana worked at Jelleff’s Department Store on F Street in their bridal alterations salon. She was much loved by the customers, the young brides-to-be and their families, and received invitations from many of them to attend their wedding ceremonies, as well as many glowing testimonials for her beautiful work and the care she expended on each and every dress. After Donica’s father died in 1962, her mother and Ana moved to Alexandria, Virginia in about 1980. Ana looked after her in the most tender and devoted way, until Donica’s mother died a few short months from her 89th birthday which would have been on April 25, 1993. Donica and Ana stayed i Alexandria until July 1996. As of now. Ana has two residences, one with her “baby” in Amherst, visit to Ana’s family in Slovenia in September, 1996. Even though she has spent most of hei life abroad, Ana has maintained her Slovenian roots. Until the recent troubles in Yugoslavia, she had visited her family yearly in Brežice. This year (1996), a large family reunion was planned to which Ana was looking forward. While Ana was caring for her “baby”, she taught her many Slovenian songs which have become part of the family’s singing repertory. As with most Slovenians, Ana has a fine singing voice, and is an accomplished dancer. She loves music and, again, as most Slovenians, she cooks divinely; her desserts and pastries have won her a devoted following among all the family, This past June 23 American and Canadian Gottscheers journeyed to the homeland of their forefathers, the once-German settlement in the former Yugoslavia called Gottschee (Kočevje). It is a part of Slovenia and is located southeast of Ljubljana. The trip, the first of its kind, was sponsored by the Gottscheer Research and Genealogy Assn. a non-profit association established to preserve the ancestral heritage, history and family records of Gottschee. Co-chairing the trip were Elizabeth Nick of Colorado, president and Sophia Stalzer Wyant of Minnesota, vice president. The group plans from the eldest to the youngest. Donica’s brother and sister both have large families — children and grandchildren -- who all love and cherish her. Many thanks to Donica for furnishing the information about Ana and her exciting life with a family who care deeply for her. November Report Our November meeting was short, yet enjoyable. Mary Bodling and Polly Caldwell, our hostesses, served delicious treats—thank you again, ladies. Our guest speaker was Sr. Mary Popit who gave a very comprehensive discourse relating to her work at “New to sponsor trips to the homeland every 2 years. Participants were from California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Georgia, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada. Should anyone have any questions regarding the trip please feel free to contract Sophia Stalzer Wyant at Rt. 2 - Box 640, Palisade, Minnesota 56469 (218-845-2394). I am enclosing a group photo taken at the church overlooking the area of Moschnitze near Muckendorf. It is slated for renovation in the very near future. Endeavors for Women,” a transitional center for homeless women. This was very enlightening. Sometimes we tend to forget the trials of many unfortunate people who desperately need our prayers and help. Many thanks to Sr. Popit for her visit and sharing her experiences with us. Once again, let’s offer our prayers for Molly Thomas. She is not only recovering from her broken wrist, but her involvement in an automobile accident created more problems. She is coping exceptionally well, and Molly, our prayers are with you. The members of Branch 103 extend a sincere wish to everyone for a happy new year 1997. Blessings to all. MATILDA AUSICH MflŠfl SLDUEMSKfl DEDIŠČIIiR BARAGA Začetki Katoliške Cerkve v Ameriki FRANC JAKLIČ IX. BARAGA REDNI ŠKOF SAULTSKI LETO 1860 Iz Mackinaca je prišlo 19 okrašenih sani ponj. Pri cerkvenih vratih ga je sprejel misijonar Murray. Pridigal je v treh jezikih in 82 oseb birmal. En teden je ostal pri njih. Dne 18. februarja je zdržema spovedoval 10 ur. Nazaj grede so ga do konca jezera spet peljali na saneh, potem ga je z obema spremljevalcema spet objel pragozd. Spet dva dneva težke hoje na krpljah, spet dve prenočitvi pod mrzlim nebom. 12. marca je v Saultu zapisal v dnevnik: “Velika milost, tri polne ure jutranjega premišljevanja.” Dne 15. aprila pa: "Velika duhovna nesreča to jutro! Namesto ob treh, sem vstal šele ob petih; dve uri popolnoma izgubljeni.” V dolgi, nepretrgani molitvi je častil in ljubil Boga in govoril z njim o dobrem in zlem, ki ju je gledal v svoji škofiji. Ko je pomladansko sonce oprostilo jezero ledenega oklepa, je spet priplula v Sault prva ladja, ovenčana z zelenjem. Bila je to Lady Elgin. Baraga jo je težko čakal; odpravil se je z njo na škofovske obiske v zahodni del škofije. Spotoma je pritisnil hud mraz, jezero ob obali je zamrznilo in 20 ur niso mogli naprej. Potem je potegnil močan veter, vzvalovil jezero tudi ob obali, z valovi razlomil led in ga odgnal. Baraga je obiskal Houghton in še nekaj drugih misijonov. V Superiorju so bili že več mesecev brez duhovskih obiskov, ker je Van Paemel v La Pčintu orejšnjo jesen tako zbolel, da se je moral začasno vrniti / Belgijo. Zdaj je Baraga ostal v Superiorju 10 dni in opravljal vsa dušnopastirska dela. Sprva jih je k spovedi malo prišlo, potem je pa moral cele dneve presedeti v spovednici, zlasti ker so prišli tudi od drugod. Prvega junija je beležil v dnevnik: “Junij, moj rojstni mesec, se je lepo začel; bomo videli, kakšen bo pozneje. Mnogo spovedi. Prišli so tudi iz Fond du Laca in iz indijanske rezervacije." Drugi dan je zapisal: "Izreden dan dela. Neprestano spovedovanje, pouk za krst, birmo in prvo sv. obhajilo." Dne 3. junija je pa ladja North Star prej prišla, kakor so mislili. Sredi dela se je moral odpeljati. Peljal se je v La Pčinte. Ker ni bilo Van Paemla, je tudi tukaj za en teden spet postal indijanski misijonar. Spet je videl, kako raste število katoličanov, pogani pa izumirajo. Za dva dni je šel tudi v pet ur oddaljeno indijansko vas Bad River. Bil je gost pri družini Navadživans, ki je prvo nadstropje priredila za kapelico. Maševal je in učil, spovedoval, obhajal, birmal in previdel nekaj bolnikov. Ko se je vrnil v La Pointe, je bil v nedeljo 10. junija od štirih zjutraj do desetih zvečer neprestano vprežen. Imel je pet govorov, mnogo spovedi, 23 krstov; tri osebe je birmal. Cerkev je bila nabito polna. V Minnesota Mine je videl, da Fox in Čebulj živita v svoji leseni hišici ne samo v uboštvu, ampak tudi v pomanjkanju. Navajen je bil skromnosti; siromaštvo teh dveh zglednih mladih duhovnikov ga je pa tako presunilo, da jima je dal svoj jedilni pribor, ki ga je jemal s seboj. V dnevniku se čudi Čebulju, da se je tako hitro, še prej kakor v pol leta, vživil v razmere in se dobro naučil angleščine in francošine. Tudi drugi so ga občudovali. Prestavil ga je v izpraznjeni La Pčinte in mu dal dve leti časa, da se nauči očipvejščine. Iz La Pčinta je poslal potem Čebulj svojemu bratrancu Globočniku v Kranj tole pismo: “Tukaj prebijem več ko polovico svojega časa v samoti, brez tovariša in brez kuharja. Od malega šmarna si sam kuham. Tciko kosilce si napravim, da mu ga ni enakega. Čaj in prepečenec sta moja hrana; včasih mi kakšen Indijanec prinese tudi kakšno ribo. Pijače imam dovolj: bistra, zdrava kapljica je sama na sebi - iz jezera. Drva so prav poceni: vzamem sekiro in se malo z njo zasučeva; drevesce pade in v pol ure se prikaže dim iz moje lesene cerkvice; kuhinja, stanovanje in cerkev je namreč vse pod eno streho. Sosedov sem imel poleti veliko, skozi okna in vrata so mi noter lezli in skakali: kobilice in komarji, ki tako grdo pikajo, da če bi v peklu ne bilo drugega kakor taki komarji, bi se upiral doli iti. Bogat sem pa tudi, da še nikoli ne tako v vsem svojem življenju, saj imam zadovoljno, veselo srce. Škof Baraga so mi rekli, ko sem jim eno na kitaro zabrenkal: To me pa res veseli, da ste tako zadovoljni, Misijonar mora biti veselega srca.' Le povejte vsem, da pod soncem ni bolj srečnega človeka, kakor je med indijanskimi divjaki Virškov Janez.” Potem pravi: "Tukaj nima človek posla samo z Indijanci, ampak tudi s številnimi krivoverskimi ločinami. S protestantskimi misijonarji smo v vednem boju, ki so silno prekanjeni." NADALJEVANJE It’s still Christmas in our hearts! Youngsters anxiously wait their turns to tell Santa their Christmas wishes at Br. 79, Enumclaw, Washington party. Santa is aided by elf, Dorothy Sleigh. OUR JUNIOR WRITES INTERESTING ESSAY The story below came from the 12 year old son of our Br. 20 member, Andrew Ryzner. His great grandmother May me Fedo (95 years old), his grandmother Dorothy Koncar, mother Diane Ryzner and countless cousins and other relatives are all members. His mom said he wrote a research paper for a 6th grade project — all about Slovenia. Ryzner family lives in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. During his oral presentation Andrew showed his class a copy of ZARJA. Thanks, Andy! The Ten Day War One day during the struggle for Slovenia’s independence, war broke out between the Slovene and the Yugoslav forces. That day, Anton, a young Slovene, got a phone call from the Slovenian special forces. They wanted Anton to fight in the war that had recently broke out. “Okay,” said Anton to the special forces. “I’ll do it. After all, I’m fighting for my country.” So the next day Anton went to the special forces headquarters. Right when he got there the General greeted him. “Hello Anton! We’ve been expecting you. Well... Let’s get right to the point. Do you know how to use a gun?” “No,” answered Anton. The General answered back, “okay then. We’ll have to teach you how to use a gun now. We’ll also need to teach you battle skills.” So for the whole second day of the war, Anton was sent to battle skills class for 12 hours. The next day Anton was in battle skills class for another 14 hours. That day they had a final test. Only 10 people passed including Anton. “It’s a good thing you’re a fast learner, Anton,” said the General. “Get lots of rest tonight! You’re going into battle tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.” That night Anton thought about what would be happening the next day. “I hope I don’t get shot or killed,” he thought. “Oh, boy. This’ll be a frightening experience. Okay. I have to calm down and go to sleep.” Finally, Anton fell asleep. Before he knew it, it was the morning of the fourth day of the war. Today Anton would be going into battle. When Anton arrived at the special forces headquarters, the General told him to get ready right away. As soon as Anton had his bullet-proof vest on, it was time to go into battle. As Anton, the tanks, and the battle team were walking they heard rumbling. Not from their own tanks but from tanks ahead of them. Suddenly a gunshot flew by. “Get down!” the General screamed. “Fire! Engage in battle!” After the battle, which seemed to last forever but lasted only one hour, was r, Anton and the battle team had 30 tages. So they headed back to the dquarters and kept them in prison cells. Then Anton became a prison guard. The prisoner he was guarding seemed like a nice guy so Anton said to him, “What’s your name?” “My name is Emil,” answered the hostage. “Why do you want to know?” “I don’t know,” said Anton. “I just thought that may be we could become friends.” “I strongly doubt that’ll happen.” “We could keep it between you and me. Besides, our General told us to treat you guys nice if we got to guard one of you. We’re going to let you free as soon as this war is over. I hope that happens soon.” “Me, too,” said Emil. Luckily, the war did end soon. It only lasted another six days. All through these days Anton gave Emil everything he needed and Anton and Emil became best friends. On the last day of the war, which was the 10th day, a cease-fire was announced and Emil got to call his parents so they could bring him home. “Good-bye, Anton,” said Emil to Anton. “Hey, would you like to keep this?” Emil handed Anton a picture of himself. “Sure! Thanks,” said Anton. “Oh, would you like to keep this?” Anton handed Emil a picture of himself. “Wow, what coincidence! I’d love to keep this,” answered Emil. “Thanks a ton!” Emil and Anton never forgot each other. The End PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID CHICAGO ILLINOIS TEZAK FUNERAL HOME "First In Service Since 1908” [ Licensed Producer's; Richard K. Tezak Lydia Marquardt LUTCF (741-0427) (Forethought Trust) American Slovenian Catholic Union (KSKJ) Call for information and a free booklet "For Future Reference” (815) 722-0524 HABERMANN Funeral Home 805 N. 6th Street Sheboygan, WI 53081 First Midwest Bank ▼* National Association 50 W. Jefferson Street Joliet, Illinois 60431 <=> (815 727-5222 gg \0^S HONIG 25224 W. Eames Street, Channahon, IL 60410 Office: (815) 467-3140 Home: (815) 726-4129 FAX: (815) 467-3146 ROSANNE RUTH REALTOR Member of Branch 20, Š. W. U. Fred C. Dames Funeral Homes Phone 741-5500 Mark L. Dames Jeffrey M. Dames Brian L. Dames Fred J. Dames 251 North Cvnler Si. Jolwl. IL 80*35 3200 BUCK Hd . Jolul IL 60435 A ZEFRAN FUNERAL HOME Louis Ron Zefran Frank J. Zefran Marilyn E. Zefran Lois M. Zefran 1941 West Cermak Road Chicago, IL 60608 847-6688 N AVSEC PRINTING Union Shop “Over 60 Years of Service” 825 Plainfield Road Joliet, Illinois 60435 (815) 722-2961 V J ZELE FUNERAL HOMES, INC. TWO COMPLETE FUNERAL HOMES Cleveland, Ohio 452 East 152nd St. 6502 St. Clair Ave. 481-3118 361-0583 SHELIGA DRUG INC. 6025 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, OH 44103 (216) 431-1035 Ser\’ing our neighborhoods' daily needs AMERICAN SLOVENIAN CATHOLIC UNION Ask About "KSKJ ANNUITIES" A New Beginning HOME OFFICE: 2439 GLENWOOD AVENUE • JOLIET, IL 60435 • (800) 843-5755