Slovensko Kanadsko Društvo -- Calgary Slovenian Canadian Club of Calgary
By Mary Terenta-Donnelly
...Tje bomo našli pot, Kjer nje sinovi
si prostijo voljo, vero in postave... (France Prešeren - Krst pri Savici)
»Našli smo pot, katera nas je pripeljala v Calgary, Alberta. Daleč od naše domovine, da si tu ustanovimo nov dom in družino«. Je napisal G. Slavko Krančan, v naši zgodovinski knjigi.
In the 1920s many Slovenians were attracted to Calgary and the surrounding areas where they found jobs with the railways or became miners in the nearby regions of East Coulee and Canmore. The second major wave of Slovenians to arrive and settle in the province of Alberta came after the Second World War.
As they gathered at their houses, they had a dream to establish a center for themselves where they could meet, celebrate and preserve the Slovenian culture, traditions and language not only for themselves but for future generations. With this in mind, they purchased a small surplus school, which since has gone through many extensions and face lifts to become our current gathering place. Today, we are forty-seven years old and still going strong. We work hard under the leadership of president, Mr. Anton (Tony) Metež, to ensure that we maintain and provide our growing membership with a place to celebrate our Slovenian heritage.
Throughout the year our community holds a number of events which have been attended by officials from various levels of government as well as dignitaries from Slovenia. During the summer months we hold the usual picnics where we B-B-Q pigs ^and^cook up steaks for all to enjoy. On October 12th, we will hold Vinska Trgatev (Grape Festival). Ansambel ČRIČEK, from Slovenia will entertain us with their music. Stealing grapes that are hung from the ceiling, trying to avoid the 'police' from catching you, and putting you in jail is all part of a most enjoyable evening. In November, we hold our annual Members' Appreciation Luncheon. Wine Tasting competition takes place during this event. The competition is intense but friendly. Members are encouraged to bring their home made wine from their own cellars. The winners of the best red wine and white wine are chosen by a panel of judges who have their hands full because bragging rights are at stake. In December, Sv. Miklavž visits our community. This event starts in the morning with a mass celebrated by a visiting Slovenian priest. Parents and grandparents bring the young children for a delicious lunch. The children are kept busy with crafts and games as they anxiously await the arrival of Santa Clause. We are very grateful and appreciative to the Slovenian religious center in Toronto. They arrange and make possible for the Slovenian priest to visit our community in Calgary twice
a year, once around Easter time and the other at Christmas.
Our community runs a program for the seniors.The Senior Luncheons have been very successful for many years. They are held every third Tuesday of the month from October to May under the leadership of Russel Donnelly and Walter Starič. The program provides a place and time to gather, reminisce and enjoy the food prepared by the seniors. Occasionally, we are entertained by members with their accordions. The hall is filled with laughter, music and memories of the early years gone by.
Another very successful program which has grown over the past few years is the Slovenian Language Class. The classes, held on Thursday evening from October to May, are attended by the second and third generation of Slovenian Canadians in search of their Slovenian roots. This year, Ms Ksenija Plankar helped deliver the program which had twenty-one students with varying degree of mastery in the Slovenian language. The students not only learn the language but also the traditions of their grandparents. We listen to Slovenian music and learn Slovenian songs which we love to sing. The students have connected with our Slovenian Canadian community and strong friendships have developed. The classes are a lot of fun and I, as their teacher, am very proud of their accomplishments. We are thankful for the support we receive from our community.
In February, the club held its major fundraiser which involved thirty-five volunteers over a period of two days. These volunteers were a pleasant mix of our younger generation as well as the older generation of Slovenian Canadians, who wish to ensure that our financial status remains stable.
Our Slovenian Canadian community in Calgary is vibrant and looking forward to celebrating our 50th Anniversary.
Slovenian Language Class
What have we been doing?
Anne Urbancic
Ottawa Display
On June 18, the CSHS had the pleasure of attending a special reception at the City Hall in Ottawa to celebrate Slovenia's Statehood Day and also the 20th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and the Republic of Slovenia. We all remember that Canada was among the first countries to recognize Slovenian independence. Our display, showing Canadian Slovenian heritage, together with beautiful works by Canadian Slovenian artists such as Andrea Stajan-Ferkul, Irena Hribar Schmidt and Mirko Korsic greeted the numerous visitors as they entered Jean Pigott Hall. The invited guests repeatedly expressed their delight at seeing the history and art of Canadian Slovenians highlighted in this way. Sincere thanks to Irena Gril, Chargée d'affaires at the Slovenian Embassy for inviting the CSHS to be part of this memorable occasion.
Irena Gril and Dr. Anne Urbancic
Celebrating with Slovenian Association SAVA
The 24th Slovenian Day/Slovenski Dan festivities held at Club SAVA in Breslau, Ontario on June 23rd marked another year of welcoming and nurturing the Canadian Slovenian community in the Kitchener, Cambridge, Breslau, Waterloo and Guelph area. The CSHS was so pleased to hold a Kdo smo? event featuring photographs of club members, whom guests helped us identify. The festivities spoke to the hard work, the collaboration and also the joy of recognizing the many achievements of SAVA members and also those of the Slovenian Coordination Committee Niagara. The impressive Cultural program provided clear evidence of the efforts of all the volunteers. Many thanks especially to Mrs. Maria Prilesnik (SAVA President) and to Mrs. Magdalena Razpotnik (Principal of the Slovenian School and Instructor of the Folkloric Dancers) whose unceasing commitment to the community made the event such a success.
Raising the Slovenian Flag at Toronto City Hall
"We are Slovenian. We are also Canadian. And, we are proudly Canadian Slovenian".
The pleasure in Councillor Joe Mihevc's voice as he spoke these words was reflected on the faces of all those who attended this special ceremony at Toronto City Hall on June 25, 2013. So many people from all walks of life, of all ages, stood quietly but proudly as the Canadian and Slovenian anthems were sung and the Slovenian flag raised for the first time in Toronto history, for all the city to see. We hope you'll enjoy some of the pictures of the event, which we have preserved in the CSHS Archives. Many thanks to Councillor Mihevc and Honorary Consul John Doma for organizing and hosting this splendid occasion and for inviting the CSHS to participate with a display.
A group of Mladi Glas dancers on their way to Toronto City Hall for the Slovenian Flag Raising celebration
El Dorado
Anne Urbancic
El Dorado. The Gilded Place. A city of gold. The Spanish conquistadores sailing from their homeland in the mid 1600s to the foreign stretches of the new world dreamed of such a city. They had seen proof of its existence in the chief of the Muisca tribe (who lived near today's Bogotá, Colombia); as part of a religious ritual, he appeared covered from head to toe in gold dust, a sure indicator of gold mines waiting to be unearthed in the area.
But there was no El Dorado in South America in the 1600s. Instead, the northern latitudes of the new world
could boast far more: if not a city of gold, then at least gold, gold, gold, waiting to be panned in the Klondike, a region in Canada's Yukon.
A young man, who had known much poverty in his early life, had decided, like many of his compatriots, to move from Europe and try his fortune in America.
It is said that he landed in New York City in about 1887 with $1.75, and not one word of English. He mostly walked to Johnston, Ohio and later to Brown's Park Colorado to find work: herding sheep, rounding up cattle. He studied as much as he could, so that he was later described as being educated, and perfectly fluent in English. He was handsome. He was in love with a Dance Hall actress, Violet Raymond, who did vaudeville stints with her sister. She refused him; he was too poor for her.
Then, he caught a fever: gold fever. Rumours of finds in the Klondike enticed him to follow the trails that led to the Right Fork of Bonanza Creek in August 1896.
Anton F. Stander
By the time he arrived with four other men, they were almost out of food. Arguments arose, and as the foreigner, and one quick to engage in dispute at that, he was ostracized. But by this time he knew his destiny; he had seen what his pans of mud and water brought up from the river. So he approached the saloon keeper of the town to give him credit in return for half interest in the claim. Together, they bought more claims. By the summer of 1897, when the first packet boat left the area filled with gold, he was not on it. Although obscenely rich
by this time, he stayed back because he wanted to pursue a sentimental interest, Violet Raymond. As a result his name was not mentioned when incredible stories about the Klondike were told, not until much later. And in fact, when a full page article about him appeared in a special commemorative issue of The Klondike News on April 1, 1898, the reporter even misspelled his name, calling him Antone F. Standard. At other times he is listed as Stadler. We know him better as Anton F. Stander, an early Slovenian immigrant to the US and Canada.
What am I signing: Deed of Gift Agreement Form
Anne Urbancic
Funny thing about Archives: as in all such places, all CSHS volunteers and our Archivist, Frank Majzelj, work in the present moment, gathering and classifying the past in order to make it more accessible to the future. The records, artifacts, documents, photos and letters are not for us. They are for future generations. In order to ensure that these are properly classified, we ask our donors to fill out and sign some papers. Similar papers are required by all recognized archives in Canada, and in fact, in the world.
If you are asked to donate family memoirs without signing the required protocols, you should ask why.
Knowing why there is a bureaucracy in place is a good place to start talking about archives. When you donate, you want reassurance that your memories will be well preserved. This issue of OUR STORY will begin a brief series of articles that describe how the CSHS protocols work.
DEED OF GIFT AGREEMENT FORM:
This form identifies you as the donor, your address and phone number (and email), in case we have to contact you for further clarification; it also has the date of your donation as well as the name of the archivist who received your donation.
The form is a contract of sorts because it informs future archivists that the material about you or your family was donated by you (we do not purchase donations), and that you are aware that it will be sorted and classified to the highest archival standards. It also expresses your wishes about how archivists should
deal with the material we cannot store: we can have it withdrawn or we can return it to you.
Some donors feel their material is sensitive. You can ask for a restriction on your donation, in whole or in part, so that no one has access to it for a specified time period. No one means the archivists as well. Because of such restrictions, only now are we reading in the press about some of the state secrets of previous American Presidents and other world politicians. Their files remained sealed to all for 50 years or more after their death.
Our Archivist and our volunteers have signed an agreement that all material donated to the archives is confidential. We cannot write about it or even talk about it without your written permission. So, for example, when you read in the Glasilo or in this bulletin, the stories about people who have made donations to our archives, you can rest assured that in each case the person interviewed has given written consent, and has seen and approved the article before it goes to print.
Once your donation is classified and stored, the Deed of Gift Agreement guarantees that archivists, researchers and genealogists of the future will have access to it only according to your wishes.
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OUR STORY is published by:
Canadian Slovenian Historical Society
52 Neilson Drive,
Toronto, ON M9C 1V7
For more information contact:
Frank Brence
Telephone: 416-281-6794
E-mail: frankbrence@rogers.com
In this issue:
•	Slovensko kanadsko društvo - Calgary Slovenian Canadian Club of Calgary
•	What have we been doing?
•	El Dorado
•	What am I signing: Deed of Gift Agreement Form