naŠa zgodovina Vol. 7 No. 3 Fall 2017 Trgatev Milena Soršak Trgatev je bila v preteklih stoletjih za slovenskega kmeta eno najimenitnejših dogodkov v mesecu vinotoku. Bajka pripoveduje, da je dal Slovencem vinsko trto Kurent, pri starih Slovanih zelo spoštovan bog. Na visokem hribu je rastla vinska trta, ki je segala do neba. Ob vesoljnem potopu se je ubog človek hotel rešiti in začel plezati po njej. Kurent se ga je tako razveselil, da ga je otel smrti, a ta mu je moral obljubiti, da bo on in njegov rod vedno ljubil trto in njen sad. Odlomil je vejo in šel po svetu. Ustavil se je ob Jadranskem morju in tam zasadil trto, od kjer se je razširila po vsem Slovenskem. Na Štajerskem so vinogradništvo poznali že v predrimski dobi, dolgo tradicijo v tej panogi ima tudi Dolenjska, saj je že v Gorskih bukvah (zakonik Ferdinanda I.) iz leta 1543 predpisan postopek o gojenju trte. Ker ima Slovenija kar nekaj podnebnih področij, se bera ne opravlja v istem času. Najzgodnejša je v Beneški Sloveniji in Brdih, sledita ji Vipavska dolina in Bela Krajina, Dolenjska in Štajerska pa sta na zadnjih mestih. Tudi način trganja in običaji ob trgatvah so se še do preteklega stoletja dokaj razlikovali od kraja do kraja. Niko Kuret jih nazorno opisuje v knjigi Praznično leto Slovencev. V današnjem času je večino težkega dela prevzela mehanizacija, ostala pa je nostalgija, ki se oživlja na družabnih vinskih trgatvah, ki jih v večini organizirajo vaška prostovoljna gasilska društva. Pomembno je omeniti, da je ohranjenih na stotine pesmi o trti in vinu, ki so jih prepevali ob končanem delu. Večina slovenskih emigrantov je prišlo iz podeželja in zato ni čudno, da so kmalu po ustanovitvah društvenih pristav organizirali simbolične vinske trgatve, ki so jih spominjale na rodni kraj. Na Slovenskem letovišču pri Boltonu je bila prva vinska trgatev že leta 1961. V stari lopi je bila pod stropom nad plesiščem nameščena brajda z vabljivimi grozdi, v kotu pa postavljena okoličena ječa. Ko sta župan in županja odplesala prvi ples, se je plesišče odprlo za vse ostale, s tem pa tudi prilika za trganje grozdja, ki je bila močno nadzorovana od paznikov v uniformah. Kdor je bil pri dejanju zasačen, je moral plačati globo ali pa odditi v zapor. Izpuščen je bil le proti določeni odkupnini. Tradicija vinske trgatve je pri slovenskih društvih v Ontariu dokaj močna zasidrana, saj z njo zaključujejo poletno sezono na svojih pristavah. Največja in verjetno najbolj obiskana je na Slovenskem letovišču na Zahvalni dan, kjer sta župan in županja v spremstvu muzikantov poleg bogate krone nad brajdo, ki je obtežena z vrečkami grozdja, središče pozornosti. Prireditve, ki so povezane s tradicijo, še vedno privabljajo staro in mlado, od blizu in daleč, kar nam da upati, da bo slovenski živelj še dolgo ostal zaznaven delček mozaika kanadske multikulture. LIPA PARK 50th AnniversryForever Slovenian -Film Mary Rožmanc Sarah Pusic Larsen On August 6, 2017 Lipa Park 50th anniversary celebrations continued with the Music in the Park theme featuring Walter Ostanek, Canada’s Polka King. In honour of the 50th Lipa Park celebrations the Canadian Slovenian Historical Society (CSHS) displayed the exhibit “Building Community Far and Wide: The Life of Canadian Slovenian farmers and their families in the Niagara Region”. This exhibit was held at the Ontario Queen’s Park Provincial Legislature in 2016. Mary (Pecek) Zabukovec donated the Vineland pictures that were part of the exhibit. Both she and her sister Frances (Pecek) Servis visited the CSHS booth and were pleasantly surprised to see their photos in this display. Most of the Lipa Park guests that came by the CSHS table were not aware that this display had been selected out of many applications for display at the Ontario Legislature in 2016. Mary Zabukovec and Frances Servis In collaboration with the Canadian Slovenian Historical Society, the VSKO Film Board is in the midst of production on “Forever Slovenian”, the first ever documentary series exploring the immigration history and cultural identity of Canadian Slovenians over the last 150 years. This legacy piece will celebrate our cultural heritage and commemorate our communities’ contributions to Canada through the arts, folklore, philanthropy, language, business and faith. The documentary series’ producers, Sarah Pusic Larsen and Sonja Obljubek, have already conducted dozens of interviews in the GTA, Hamilton and Niagara regions, Ottawa and Slovenia, and they are thrilled to continue capturing more beautiful stories and club event footage within the Canada-wide community. For event filming inquiries and sponsorship contributions, please contact the production team at ForeverSlovenian@gmail.com. Sonja Obljubek and Sarah Pusic Larsen Povejte nam kaj (PNK) - Tell us your story Anne Žagar The CSHS oral collection is called Povejte nam kaj. We are looking for people who would be willing to tell us their story – the story of why and how they came to Canada, or, for those born in Canada, the story of your life as a child of immigrant Slovenian parents. The interviews are recorded and take approximately one to two hours. They are usually done in person at a mutually convenient location, or they can be done over the phone, if distance is an issue. The interview starts with a formal oral and written request for your permission. During the interview, the interviewer listens carefully and guides the process by asking general questions related to your story. There is no pressure, or judgments passed, as this is your story. The interviewers are trained, adhere to standards followed by all professional archives, have signed confidentiality agreements, and must respect the privacy of what is recorded. The recordings are then stored in the archives of the CSHS. You are also offered a copy of the interview. If you have provided written permission, the interview may be written up in Glasilo magazine or in the society’s quarterly bulletin. If you are interested in being interviewed, contact us at cshistorical@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you. 2 Kitchen secrets Heidy Novak In 2014 Heidy Novak took the initiative and established cooking classes at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Hamilton. These classes were meant to engage interested parishioners and friends in the art of preparing various Slovenian recipes. The sessions were called “Kitchen Secrets” – because we invite home cooks who have a specialty recipe to come to our hall kitchen, share their techniques and yes, sometimes their secrets, with interested participants. We’ve even had a couple of gentlemen come through our kitchen enthusiastic about learning so that they too can keep our traditional Slovenian recipes alive in Canada. With many enthusiasts and helping hands, we have prepared a variety of recipes representing different regions of Slovenia and hope to continue in years to come. A Brief History of Potica Anne Žagar Slovenians have been preparing potica for centu­ries. It is first mentioned in the first Slovenian lan­guage book ever printed back in the 16th century. Potica is very closely linked with family traditions and is served on major holidays and celebrations, like Christmas and Easter. The most important part of making potica is the preparation of the leavened dough, which is a delicate process that takes time, patience, and a lot of practice. Once the dough has risen, it is filled with either a sweet or savory filling, and then baked. There are over forty different kinds of fillings for potica, but the most pop­ular among Slovenians are walnut, tarragon, honey, bacon, and carob. Many cookbooks offer recipes, but most households still make this traditional dish with the recipe that has been passed down in their family from generation to generation. dough, giving helpful hints and comments where necessary. All of the demonstrators shared their secrets willingly in the hope that these traditional Slovenian dishes will live on. With the help of expert leadership, we have prepared: golaž, barley stew, štruklji, cabbage rolls, peach cookies, perogies, krhki flancate, orehovi rogljički, cmoki, kuhane štruklice v juhi and of course the most traditional of treats, potica. With so many students eager to enrol, we had to hold our potica session 3 times to fit everyone into a class. Our Kitchen Secrets cooking sessions average 19 participants who come from the Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Burlington, Oakville and even the Toronto area. Our cooking sessions run throughout the winter months and are not only a cooking lesson but also a social event for anyone who participates. Several of the sessions have included a tasting luncheon following the class. We are all very grateful to all the home cooks who have shared their talents in the kitchen and always invite anyone with a specialty recipe or a recipe request to contact us so that we can keep our kitchen cooking. Throughout Slovenia’s history, all social classes prepared potica when celebrating festive occasions, and the filling of the cake was a symbol of the fam­ily’s social status. The wealthier families used expen­sive fillings such as walnuts and cream, and the poor could only afford to fill it with herbs or hard bits of fat. Today the filling is no longer an indicator of a family’s class, and potica continues to be a tradition in Slove­nian families. No important holiday is celebrated without the tra­ditional potica. After many centuries, it still symbol­izes a festive time when the whole family gathers at home. It brings out happy memories and hopes for a good future.Adapted from:Posedel, Andreja. “Home.” Culture Trip, 26 May 2017, theculturetrip.com/europe/slovenia/articles/a-brief­history-of-potica-the-traditional-slovenian-dish/. 3 MILOŠ ZAJC, AN IMMIGRANT’S KALEIDOSCOPE: SLOVENIA, ITALY, CANADA, (Toronto: TLAC, 2017) About a year ago, I used this space in OUR STORY to bring you an interview with Miloš Zajc who had justfulfilled a long-time dream, that of writing his life story. Word by word, sentence by sentence, page by page, he worked tenaciously, encouraged in his task by his daughters, and their children. We’ll never know how many memories of all colours and shapes flooded back to him as his computer dutifully recorded the many years of his life. Often there were snippets of music associated with events and people that danced across his memories; there were long stored photos of family and friends that begged for a story of their own. There were also brief reminders of the historical context framing his recollections and stories.You can be sure that with every memory he chose to recount, there were so many more that he had to set aside, perhaps for telling aloud, perhaps for silencing forever. He had to filter through decades of documents remembering friends and neighbours, and capturing his family on occasions important and whimsical.When the pages were typed, edited and proofread, his story was ready to be presented. To celebrate this wonderful achievement, Miloš invited friends and family to join him in launching his book, and in celebrating his life. He asked us all to share in the memories that shaped him; he wanted to introduce us not only to each other, but in our imaginations to all the names and faces of the people who made the pages of his memoir so poignant and interesting. Miloš writes with humour, with pathos, with empathy, and with the wisdom and reflection of 92 years.The book launch was held June 1, 2017. The evening was decidedly cool, unusual even for a Toronto June, but inside the Columbus Centre, the hall was warm and convivial. His daughters, Paula and Teresa, and their families, were justifiably proud of what their father/grandfather/great-grandfather had written. OUR STORY is published by: In this issue: Canadian Slovenian Historical Society • Trgatev People of all ages arrived to congratulate him and to reminisce with him. I myself was delighted to speak to a former neighbour of his from his earliest weeks in Canada, a young Italian woman from Edmonton who later boarded with Miloš and his wife Caterina in Toronto. Her memories of those days tumbled one over the other as she told me delightful and poignant and touching stories of those first months in Canada. Mingling with the guests Miloš had invited, andover delicious hors d’oeuvres and wine, I had solid proof of the respect and love with which they held him. Added to this was admiration for his memoir. To hear him read passages from his book offered a glimpse of Canada through the eyes of someone who took on whatever life brought, and shaped it into a memory worth keeping. He even told the audience a secret: “Except for the boring Sundays in the 1950s [when all of Toronto seemed closed], I would not want to live in any other city on this planet.” The heartfelt laughterthat followed came from a group who immediatelyunderstood how much the city had changed in the decades since Miloš first chose it for his home. I think the photographer that evening walked away from the event with a camera full of happy smiles. Miloš’s book is well worth reading. I’m certain that many Slovenian Canadians will find that they share similar life events, and will enjoy reminiscingabout them through his voice. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of his autobiography, contact: https://www.emilzajc.com/. The book will ship directly to you upon confirmationof your purchase. As for Miloš, he is on to new adventures,enjoying a much-anticipated trip to Slovenia with his granddaughter, Laura, who is exploring her Slovenian heritage for the first time. Anne Urbančič 52 Neilson Drive, Toronto, ON M9C 1V7 For more information contact: Miriam Čekuta mmcekuta@gmail.com • LIPA PARK 50th Anniversary • Forever Slovenian - Film • Kitchen Secrets • History of Potica • Miloš Zajc, an Immigrant's Kalaidoscope: Slovenia, Italy, Canada, (Toronto: TLAC, 2017) 4