S	3.99 U.S./S 8.99 International
Volume 82 Issue 5 September/October, 2010
he Best Known Active Water Karst Caverns in the World
Zarja- The Dawn
EDITOR: Debbie Pohar
DIRECTOR OF DESIGN: Bonnie Pohar Prokup
EDITORIAL OFFICE: 16% Illinois St. LaSalle, IL 61301 TELEPHONE: 815.223.9596 FAX: 815.224.1074
PUBLISHER: Slovenian Women’s Union of America TELEPHONE: 815.727.1926
Vol. 82, No 5, September/October 2010 Published bimonthly Periodicals Postage paid at Joliet, IL and additional mailing offices.
(ISSN 0044-1848)
Postmaster: Send all changes of address to SLOVENIAN WOMEN'S UNION OF AMERICA 431 N. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432
Communications for the next issue of publication
Do you have something SWUA-related you ^ would like to share with readers, like an event you want to let people know about or an idea	^
for an article? We would love to hear from you!	r
Please e-mail the editor at pohar4@aol.com. We	-
reserve the right to edit any article submitted. It	h
is preferable that you submit your idea for	n
discussion prior to writing an article. Articles	I
must be related to SWUA events or members.
The deadline for articles is the 15"’ day of the month, 2 months preceding the issue. For example, articles for the November/December issue must be received by September 15,b. Thank you.
ENIAN
.
IT’S IN EVER
•’v • cw National President’s Message 1
Bylaws and National Convention News 2 ^nnual 2010 Board Meeting Minutes 6 SWU Scholarship Program 12
HERITAGE NEWS
Men in a SWUA World 15	-
Križna Jama Cave 16 From Heritage 18 Slovenia in America
by Tanja Vajk 20 Branch Reports 23	-1
Holiday Fundraiser 31	V
CULINAR
nka’s Taste of ^sSlovenia 32
National President’s Message
Recent Trip to Slovenia Was Nonstop Action
I trust everyone had a great summer, I know I am having one of the best here. Busy as ever but, it’s all doing the things 1 like best. Today is my 44th birthday. That means I have been serving the S WUA for fifteen years now. I first started when I was 29 years old when the Illinois/ Indiana Convention was in need of a Regional President even though I was not old enough according to the bylaws. At that time one had to be 30 years of age.
I have seen so much in the past 15 years, good and bad. I remember being at a regional convention around 1998 when an important figure in the Slovenian community stood up and said he did not see us lasting another 10 years. His thought process and figures were correct however he underestimated the will to survive of a Slovenian. As you can see we passed that deadline and in many ways we are better off as an organization than we were back then.
I will never forget my first board meeting as a National Officer in 1999 when I arrived at our home office and boxes were taller than me piled everywhere you looked. We had over 10,000 cookbooks to sell. We just received a report that we are down to 78 cookbooks left. Can you believe we sold that many? If you have not purchased a cookbook I suggest you do so immediately since they are almost gone.
My recent trip to Slovenia was nonstop action. Bringing the teenagers along changed the course of my normal tour. Instead our group golfed at Bled Golf Course, hiked mountains, went river rafting twice including the Soca River, climbed around castles, a picnic, a boat ride on the Adriatic Sea and so much more. But one thing we did that still impresses me is going into Krizna jama. This is a cave that made one feel like Becky Thatcher or Tom Sawyer.
Imagine going underground with borrowed boots, socks and only a generator light. There was no electricity to help us watch our step on the wet rocks. We had to go slowly and carefully. At one point we turned our hand held lights off and we had complete darkness. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It makes you appreciate your vision. Along the way we stopped to see the bones of the cave bears from 40,000 years ago. I actually held the tooth in my hand. Later we came upon an underground lake with a different color of blue water. There we boarded a raft for a short ride around the first of many lakes. If you ever get the chance to see this cave I highly recommend it. I will never forget this awesome experience. Nor will the others who are looking forward to their next trip back where they will explore further into this cave.
The 2011 National Convention is just around the comer. For those of you who enjoyed the past conventions, you are going to love this one! The Camp Heritage is going to be pretty neat and new, as we will be opening it up to all ages. We are even making it so that the delegates can attend too. Pack your bags; this is one trip you will want to be on.
Bonnie Pohar Prokup National President wprokup@aol .com
Bonnie Prokup playing bocce at Branch 99 s Slimmer Picnic
SWUA’s Bylaws Under Review
Bylaws Committee - Proposals by 12/16/2010 Two Areas of Concern
A four-person bylaws committee has been formed to •eview SWUA’s current bylaws and amendment proposals received from the National Board of Directors, National Officers and all adult members. The committee is experienced in this area as they are the same committee members that served in this capacity in 2007. SWUA is fortunate to have members interested in ensuring that our rules and procedures are updated to reflect the course that our membership strives to follow. The bylaws committee members are:
Denise P. Bartlett - Chairperson: SWUA National Treasurer, Member of Branch 43, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Yvonne Johnstone Khaldy: President of Wisconsin Region, Member of Branch 43, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jan King: On-Line Newsletter Editor, Member of Branch 30, lives in Wasilla, Alaska
Norm Setnicker: President and Branch Reporter of Branch 109, Twin Cities, Minnesota
The committee will consider every submission of amendment proposals to the current bylaws before presenting them to the National Board of Directors for further review. The formal (final) proposed amendments will be presented in the May/June 2011 Zaija - The Dawn issue to allow members to review/consider/discuss them at their Branch meetings and entrust the delegates to vote on them at the June 2011 National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
SWUA members are encouraged to become familiar with SWUA’s bylaws. Members may go to www.swua.org to print a 17 page (plus 3-page Index) copy.
Let’s Get Started - The only two (2) proposed amendments that failed to be adopted at the 2007 National Convention continue to be of great concern to many in our membership. Because of the insistence of these members to promote SWUA as an open and inviting association they will once again be presented to the delegates at the Convention. It is concerning that we have heard from current members and potential members that
these two areas will affect their willingness to be members of SWUA. We are continually striving to increase membership and this is of great concern to SWUA’s National Board of Directors and National Officers also. The first item is the name of our association. Men continue to be a very important part of our membership and the very name of our association appears to exclude them. Some have refused to join until our name is changed. The name “Slovenian Society of America” was proposed and narrowly defeated in 2007. Several suggestions have again been presented and much thought will have to be given to such an important step. Some of the names presented so far are “United Slovenians of America (USA)”, “Zarja”, “Slovenian Union of America”, and “Slovenian World United in America (SWUA)”. Do you have a suggestion? Please submit it!
The second area of concern is the conflicting statements listed in SWUA’s Purposes (pages 1 & 4) when compared to SWUA’s Declaration of Principle (page 3). The Declaration of Principal states “The Slovenian Women’s Union of America hereby declares its belief in and commitment to Christian principles and the United States concepts of freedom and democracy.” SWUA’s Purposes
states “To unite persons (members) who are in
good health, of good moral character and are Christians.” Many, many members have stated/asked “Half the members in onr Branch are in poor health. ”, “ Who s going to be the judge of moral character? ” and "It s un-American to exclude those of other religions. Even in Slovenia other religions are accepted. ” The proposed amendment in 2007 to “delete the mention of health, delete the mention of character, and membership being open to those of all religions - but continuing its commitment to Christian principles” was also narrowly defeated. This too is restricting potential members to join SWUA. Do you have a strong opinion? Please submit it!
Please send all correspondence to Bylaws Chairperson Denise P. Bartlett, 7902 W. Howard Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53220-1612, or telephone 414.327.4990 or e-mail to denisepbartlett@wi.rr.com.	____________
SWUA National Convention
June 16-19, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
What is expected of the Branches? The Delegate’s Role - How can YOU help?
Branch Involvement
The National Convention committee is exploring ways to make the National Convention interesting and relevant to all members. An early decision was made to not solicit donations from all Branches for a silent auction or raffles and to not sell ads to Branches and members for a Convention booklet. Why? We would like to encourage Branches to spend their Branch monies instead on sending delegates, officers and members to the Convention. The more members in attendance - the more successful the Convention! Branches are urged to make the National Convention next year as the prominent event on your calendar. If your Branch financial account is low on funds - please consider and plan fund-raisers to ensure that your Branch is represented when the important decisions and relevant sessions take place. It is important that Branches give some thought to their choice of delegate(s) to represent their Branch.
The Delegate’s Role
The delegate’s role is an important one. Delegates should be willing to continue involvement in SWUA and to possibly consider serving as a National Officer. Historically many of SWUA’s National Officers have been nominated and elected from the attending pool of delegates - (Being a delegate is not a requirement for nomination and delegates cannot be forced to accept a nomination for office.) The Convention is not all business - though important - attendees will also leam Slovenian crafts and traditions, have the opportunity to leam from distinguished speakers, interact with SWUA members from other states, enjoy good food, Slovenian music and entertainment, see a bit of Milwaukee and beautiful Triglav Park and much more.
While all are welcome and urged to attend the business meetings - only the delegate’s sent by the Branches may vote on matters presented to them. There will be proposed amendments to SWUA’s Bylaws that the delegates must vote on and a new National Board to be elected to serve
from 2011 to 2015. Serving as a delegate is a rewarding and educational experience. The duties of a delegate extend over three periods of time: Before, During and After the Convention. In a nutshell - a delegate comes prepared to represent the interests of her/his Branch, takes part in all meetings and activities at the Convention and returns to their Branch to give a full report to those unable to attend. An interesting thought from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Robert’s Rules by Nancy Sylvester, PRP, CPP-T, 2004 Edition, page 230 “Unfortunately; delegates are often sent to a convention instructed on how to vote on a particular controversial issue. However, doing so is contrary to the basic concept of parliamentary law. Conventions are held to bring everyone together so everyone can hear the same information, discuss the issue together, and then make a group decision. When a delegate is instructed on how to vote ahead of time, all the discussion is wasted. A delegate is a human being with a brain and that person should be allowed to use his or her brain. ”
How can YOU help? Let us count the ways:
Attend; Provide financial support to another; Support Branch fund-raisers; Send a potica for the potica contest; Donate your services; Help with transportation; Lend your Slovenian costume for display; Share your talents; Donate items for raffles or gift bags; Send flowers; Help with printing; Donate money for specific purpose; Bring items back from Slovenia; Plan your family vacation in conjunction with the Convention; Pray for good weather. (Note: We can use many more offers of help for the above list and just a few to pray for good weather. Milwaukee is usually beautiful in June.) THANK YOU!
For questions, ideas, offers of help - Please contact Convention Chairperson Denise P. Bartlett at 7902 W. Howard Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53220-1612 or by phone 414.327.4990 or e-mail at denisepbartlett@wi.rr.com.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
SWUA National Convention June 16 - 19, 2011
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ew world class attractions adding to the beautiful lakefront location and exciting enhancements being made to class« M ilwaflfcee hot spots make it, without a doubt, the “City of Cool.” $2.5 billion invested in Milwaukee’s tourism product over the last few years has recent crowd-pleasers like the world's only Harley-Davidson Museum, Discovery World and the expanded Potawatomi Bingo Casino standing side-by-side with famous traditions like the Pabst Theater and the Milwauke# Public Museum. The combination is creating quite a buzz, appealing to travelers the world over.
Culinary Jewels-Diverse and Exceptional
With everything from sacred institutions like frozen custard, bratwurst and the Friday night fish fry to some of the most dynamic and unique cuisine you’ll find anywhere, Milwaukee’s culinary scene offers a taste for every palate. The city boasts the most famous German restaurant in all of North America, not one but two James Beard award winning chefs dazzling diners with their creations and a new twist on our brewing heritage - gastropubs doing beer pairings with meals. Classic tastes balanced out by modem attitude, both served with a warm side of hospitality, are waiting here for you.
Let Us Entertain You-Milwaukee’s Performing Arts
A vibrant arts scene located right on the shores of Lake Michigan awaits you! With a wide range of performing arts venues and theater companies, a unique mix of art galleries and museums, and a strong tradition of arts education, Milwaukee rivals even the largest markets. Milwaukee’s two theater districts are packed with a powerhouse lineup. The downtown district houses the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, the historic Pabst Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the Riverside Theatre. The city is also home to the
Milwaukee Ballet, the Florentine Opera, First Stage Children’s Theater, the Skylight Opera Theatre, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Renaissance Theaterworks and the Chamber Theatre.
That’s Edutainment
Dozens of museums and cultural facilities make Milwaukee the perfect place to learn while you play. Considered Wisconsin’s premier arts institution, the Milwaukee Art Museum boasts more than 20,000 permanent holdings that span antiquity to the present and include works by Degas, Monet, Warhol and Picasso, not to mention one of the largest Georgia O’Keefe collections in the world. Head next door to Discovery World for some interactive fun or pack a trip around the world into an afternoon at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Stop by the Grohmann Museum where you will find the Man at Work Art Collection, the world’s most comprehensive collection documenting the evolution of organized work. And you won’t want to miss Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art where you will find an impressive permanent collection of all media, ranging from Old Masters to 20th century painting and sculpture. The museum also mounts several exhibitions each year.
Stroll the RiverWalk
The RiverWalk winds along the Milwaukee River with access to some of the city’s best restaurants, brewpubs, shops and waterfront nightlife. It’s the site of many Milwaukee events, including Riversplash! and River Rhythms, and is home to some of the city’s most eyecatching public art. With both permanent and temporary pieces done in mediums of everything from aluminum and steel to neon tubing, the RiverWalk has the feel of an outdoor gallery. The most recent addition to this impressive collection is a bronze statue of Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. The King of Cool, complete with leather jacket and signature double thumbs up, now resides on the southeast comer of Wells Street and provides the perfect pop culture photo opportunity.
Since 1903 the Milwaukee Mile has been revving up crowds. The oldest operating motor speedway in the world, the Milwaukee Mile is the only facility to offer all three of America’s touring series, as NASCAR, the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League compete at America’s Legendary Oval.
Milwaukee: A Family Destination
An ideal destination for families, Milwaukee offers an abundance of fun and unique activities to entertain visitors of all ages. Nothing is hands-off at the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. Cited by Parents magazine as “one of the 10 best children’s museums to visit nationwide,” this is Milwaukee’s only museum designed specifically for kids ages 10 and under and their grown-ups. Keep young minds engaged with the activities provided (free of charge) in “The Road Pack” at the Harley-Davidson Museum.
Enjoy summer fun year-round at Paradise Landing, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center’s indoor waterpark. Cruise through the cosmos, see the world’s largest-known dinosaur skull and reach out and touch a butterfly in flight, all at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Stand completely surrounded by sea life in Discovery World’s Reiman Aquariums. Glide on the same ice as Olympic greats at the Pettit National Ice Center. Enjoy 185-acres of unspoiled natural beauty at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center and get up close and personal with more than 300 species at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
The Great American Motorcycle has been a Milwaukee tradition for more than a century. William S. Harley and
the Davidson brothers created the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Milwaukee in 1903. Celebrate this American classic at the one-of-a-kind Harley-Davidson Museum. Get to know the muscle behind the machines with a Harley-Davidson Powertrain Operations facility tour. Earn the right to travel the open road on your own by graduating from the Milwaukee Harley-Davidson Rider’s Edge Program or go for the ultimate test-drive by renting a bike from Street Eagle Milwaukee. While in town, be sure to hang your leathers at the Iron Horse Hotel, a boutique property designed with both the business traveler and motorcycle enthusiast in mind. Special packages include the “Biker Girl Getaway” and “Couples Ride in Style.”
Milwaukee on Tap
Milwaukee’s long and rich brewing heritage dates back to the 1840s. Names like Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst and Miller hold a revered place in the city’s history, establishing the foundation for our most famous industry and planting the seeds for our reputation as the quintessential brew city. Today, Milwaukee remains a true brew city as home to one of the world’s leading breweries, MillerCoors; two renowned microbreweries, the Lakefront Brewery and Sprecher Brewing Company; the world’s only brewery tour by boat; and brewpubs including the Milwaukee Ale House, Delafield Brewhaus and Hinterland.
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Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Milwaukee offers sporting events that are sure to please any fan. Miller Park, the nation’s only facility with a fanshaped retractable roof and natural grass playing field, is home to the Milwaukee Brewers. Here you can enjoy a game, tailgate along the Menomonee River, and cheer as the beloved world-famous Racing Sausages emerge from the left field corner and sprint toward home plate just before the seventh inning.
Story and photos are complements of the Milwaukee Visitor’s Bureau. To find out more about Milwaukee, visit their website at www. visitmilwaukee. org.
Slovenian Women’s Union of America Annual Board Meeting February 25-28, 2010 SWUA Home Office Joliet, IL
Thursday, February 25,2010
Call to order at 4:00 p.m. by President, Bonnie Prokup
In attendance: Bonnie Prokup; President, Debbie Pohar; Vice President of Outreach, Carol Ryba; Vice President of Home Office, Denise Bartlett; Treasurer, Karen Taylor; Recording and Correspondence Secretary, Mary Lou Voelk; Vice President of Heritage. Also in attendance: Volunteers: Betty Ann Kolasari and Yvonne Johnstone-Khlady. Absent: Bernadette Kovacic Fitzsimmons; Vice President of Marketing
Opening Prayer: Our Father led by Carol Ryba
Minutes from the 2009 Annual SWUA Board Meeting: Carol Ryba made a motion to accept the
2009	Board Meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Debbie Pohar and unanimously approved.
Presentation by President Bonnie Prokup
Overview of the history and growth of the SWUA up to 1962 when our growth began to stagnate. With the exception of the years 1977-1982when membership held tight, we have seen a spiraling decrease in our membership. This has led to the crisis we are currently facing as our organization struggles to remain active, relevant to our members and financially solvent. The reasons for the continued crisis are hard to overcome and include the fact that the majority of our members are aging, that our personal and national economies have become strained and our younger generation is much more multicultural and of more than one heritage. The Board has worked hard to make changes that would recruit more members, ease our financial burdens and stabilize the organization but we continue to struggle to make ends meet.
Provided a review of what the current Board has accomplished during its tenure. The Board’s focus has been on hard work, developing an overriding purpose and a positive attitude. Celebrated successes include:
• Revitalization of the Zarja
• Hosting numerous SWUA and Zarja sponsored events
• Creating a safe building for the museum and the organization
• Trips to Slovenia
• National audit
• Revision of the bylaws
• Hosting of Slovenian dignitaries
• Cleaning, painting and reorganization of the museum
• Establishment of a Heritage Board
• Work on the establishment of 501c3 status
• Completely renovating the upstairs’ apartment
• Creation and launching of a membership survey
• Completion of a new membership brochure
• Hiring of a new Home Office position
• Preparation for the 2011 National Convention
Presentation by Debbie Pohar, VP of Outreach
Recap of the 80th Anniversary year of Zarja:
Secrets of Slovenia Tour where the Slovenian newspaper Delo interviewed members of the group while on the tour.
ZarjaFest: Mary Lou Voelk wrote for and was awarded a grant which helped offset of the costs for some of the events. ZarjaFest was able to sponsor three guests from Slovenia who helped lead many of the activities as a result of the grant. The event started with wine and beer tasting and was followed by a two day-long camp heritage for adults which started with a Slovenian Mass and included Slovenian cooking, language and art activities. The event ended with a dinner and dance with guests John Vidmar and the Singing Slovenes.
Corrine Leskovar has retired.
Presentation by Denise Bartlett, Treasurer
Heritage Fund: Very little for new stock has been purchased until we are able to sell some of the back log of items we currently have remaining in stock. The checking account had $6,154.86 as of December 2009. As of January 29,
2010	the account had $6,657.86 although about $350 is still owed for the cost of cookbook postage.
Progress on plans for the 2011 National Convention: Currently have raised $26,857.71 which is in a separate account. Monies were raised from fund raisers, cookbook sales and those funds left from last convention. Denise is planning to sponsor additional fund raisers in the coming year. The calendar fund raiser brought in 951 entries and resulted in $6,900 profit. Denise went over the specifics of how the pulls were done to ensure that no chance of favoritism was possible. She compared statistically who won and it was very reliable. The biggest winners came from four different states. She plans to do it again next year and will have Jana assist in getting the entries out with invoices.
Bylaws: Proposed changes and revisions were discussed and recommended amendment considerations include:
• Revise the section on the auditors to clarify that they do not get a vote
• Revise job descriptions since some of them are no longer appropriate and do not accurately reflect position duties.
•	Honorary officers and all other members	should be
expected to pay their annual assessment	and be in
good standing.
• Past President role should this be defined in the bylaws
•	Code of Ethics needs to be reviewed
•	Prohibition of any political endorsement needs to be added to bylaws.
• No outside media contact should be pursued without the permission and consensus of the Board.
• Large Branch Profits: should branches be required to share some portion of it with the SWUA? Following discussion the consensus of the Board is that they should not be required to do so however, we can encourage them to help support the overall organization.
• If a branch folds, where should the remaining funds be- dispersed to? The Board felt that in such a case the funds should go to the organization.
• If Branches merge, should the funds merge also? The Board decided that the funds should merge and remain in the newly formed branch.
• Should all SWUA members be allowed to enter names for the nomination of a National Officer position? The consensus of the Board is that individual members should have the opportunity to nominate a person for a National Officer.
• Language is not consistently used throughout the bylaws (i.e. “shall” & “will” are used interchangeably). We should amend the wording to use “shall” consistently throughout.
President Prokup Call for Adjournment at 8:50 p.m.
Friday, February 26,2010
President, Bonnie Prokup: Call to Order at 8:40 a.m.
In attendance: Bonnie Prokup; President, Debbie Pohar; Vice President of Outreach, Carol Ryba; Vice President of Home Office, Denise Bartlett; Treasurer, Karen Taylor; Recording and Correspondence Secretaiy, Mary Lou Voelk; Vice President of Heritage. Also in attendance: Volunteers: Betty Ann Kolasari and Yvonne Johnstone-Khlady. Absent: Bernadette Kovacic Fitzsimmons; Vice President of Marketing
Presentation by Carol Ryba, VP of Home Office
Finances:
Projected income for 2010 is $123,000 with projected disbursements of $164,000 which will result in a $41,000 deficit. We are desperately in need of a new energy efficient furnace with an estimated cost of $5-6,000 and
new brick work and tuck pointing on the front of the building to prevent water leaks with an estimated cost of $10,000. Carol urges that we must resolve our shortages. We had a reduction in our investments of $97,000 due to expenses and loss on the market. Our total assets, including the checking account and building have continued to decline each year. We now have assets totaling $681,925.
Membership:
Our total membership is now at 3,788. Members lost and gained from 2007-2009 include: deceased - 339 members, cancelations - 224, members who have not paid their membership fees - 562, address problems - 56 and increase with new members - 631. We must work to increase membership. At meeting time dues and donations have resulted in $50,125 collected, and we are still bringing in additional dues and donations, but we are down from last year with 3,660 total invoices sent out; 2,320 by mailing service, 196 hand mailed by Carol and 1,144 invoices by email. Will send out second notices and see if we can get more responses. We also had 100 prepaid memberships.
Data-base Manager Position:
Hired Jana Hlade for the new position which will report to Carol Ryba as Vice President of Home Office. In her new position, Jana reviews all membership complaints and disputes, assists with invoicing and collecting membership dues and assists with collecting Zarja submissions for printing.
Ron J. Eijavec and Joy A. Gruber: Financial Report:
•	20% in equities which are performing better this quarter.
•	80% in conservative bonds which are up some.
Currently we have $15,000 pledged to the insurance we have issued. This money is held by the State, not the bank.
The Board asked how we should best manage our continued deficit. We currently have some liquid assets of about $20,000. They recommended that we increase it with the $25,000 bond that is coming due. We will transfer it to a Money Market account or CD.
Review of our assets indicates that we have withdrawn almost $50,000 to meet expenses. This means that we have less investment to bring in monies and we will therefore continue to see this decrease each year. The fees we are paying are currently 1.1% for the financial management of our funds. Overall the market is beginning to make some minor gains. It has been a very difficult 10 year period. While we are finally seeing an upturn in the market we still need to remain very cautious. At this point they describe the gains as very “muted”.
SWUA is still in a good position since we are so conservative, investing in high quality bonds, shorter term bonds and we have stayed out of Euro market. Overall we have less risky investments than many organizations.
Carol Ryba made a motion to accept the Financial Report and recommended investment strategies. This was seconded by Denise Bartlett and the Board unanimous voted to approve it.
Presentation by Mary Lou Voelk, VP of Heritage
Provided an update on efforts to establish not-for-profit (501c3) status and an update on the WWI1 Project.
Presentation by John Durso, Attorney for 501c3:
There is confusion because we are seen as a burial society instead of a not-for-profit agency with the Secretary of the State of Illinois. Perhaps we should have separated it out into two separate entities since the burial insurance is not Not-for-profit while our museum is a charitable, educational and religious organization. The purpose of each is different. The museum could qualify for 501c3 status (tax exempt and donations are allowable) but to do so it must have language in the bylaws that spell its charitable, religious and educational purpose. To become a Not-for-profit agency we would need to make changes to our current bylaws.
The burial fund is probably not so important to the members but changing it does require their input. Options would include:
• We can pay out the insurance policies at their present value.
• We could sell or transfer the policies to another organization that would be willing to buy them. Some organizations will buy them just to acquire the mailing lists.
• Give members option to continue their burial certificate where the value is donated back to the organization.
We don’t need to determine the answer now but we cannot proceed with 501c3 status as long as the organization has the insurance.
John recommends that we take our existing documents and keep them basically the same. We need to add language to bylaws to fit and then register the organization with the Secretary of State since it has only been previously registered with the Department of Insurance. We can keep the name the same.
What about incorporating the Museum Board created last year? John suggests that we make the Museum Board a subsidiary of the SWUA parent corporation where membership is the same for both. They would be a division
of the corporation and their advisory board would report to the SWUA board.
Scholarship should also become a subsidiary of the SWUA parent corporation. They are 501 c3 and appear to be a self perpetuating board. They currently do not have to report to us. If they cooperate and change their structure we could assume their 501 c3 entity and they would become a division of the SWUA. They could decline this proposition and John indicated that he would help to try to encourage the idea of the SWUA assuming Scholarship’s 501c3status. SWUA would create a scholarship standing committee which would be the same as the board for scholarship is now. They would have to adopt our bylaws. If they would agree, we could complete the restructuring and explain it to the members at the next convention where it would be ratified. Once this is completed, then we can figure out what we want to do with the burial insurance.
John thinks we should begin talking to the Scholarship Board so that they have the opportunity to help save the organization without changing how they operate. If all are in agreement it could happen quickly, in the next few weeks. We should assure them that this will not change any of the power or authority of the Scholarship Board or their positions. We would take over the responsibility of all of the reporting and paperwork to keep 501 c3 status. John will begin developing a resolution to pull all of this together.
It will cost us $ 10,000 to apply for 501 c3 status. John thinks that we can move our assets over to the new 501c3 status since we are currently operating as such. The Department of Insurance will probably make us maintain a certain amount of funds with the burial coiporation in order to cover our liabilities there. Based on actuarial studies they would determine the amount.
If we do this, Scholarship’s 501c3 corporation would become the overall SWUA Corporation. They would need to change their bylaws to match ours and that would save us the $10,000 and lots of work and costly lawyer time. We would then keep a separate burial corporation that stands alone and a second separate corporation that would include a museum division and a scholarship division. Bonnie will contact Mary Turvey to explain it all to her and start to have the conversation with her about trying to work all this out. Everyone was reminded that at the 1993 convention the SWU Scholarship organization and board was established as a result of a donation following the death of a member with stipulation that it go to a 501c3 organization. Soon after obtaining the 501c3 status the Fontana Nursing Home closed and money ($100,000) was deposited into the SWU Scholarship since it was already 501c3 status.
Denise Bartlett resumes her presentation on the
2011	National Convention
The Convention will be held at the Double Tree Hotel. Additional recommendations and suggestions include:
• It was suggested to conduct the business meeting set up in a U shape or hollow square instead of classroom. The Board suggested that we keep it in a classroom style set up due to the size of the convention hall.
• We received very few comments after publishing an article in Zarja asking for suggestions, ideas and comments.
• Cultural activities recommended include art, food, crafts and entertainment.
• Convention: theme, costs, grants, donations, supports, publicity, possible speakers, invitees, transportation, awards and honors were discussed.
• We will sponsor another Camp Heritage. Mary Lou will help and look at writing a grant to help finance it.
Carol Ryba made a motion to confirm the previous email vote which approved the withdrawal of $30,000 for building repairs and operating expenses. Denise Bartlett seconded the motion and the Board unanimously voted to approve it.
Formal Board Meeting Adjourned at 5:40 p.m. for dinner. President, Bonnie Prokup requested that we have a working dinner to further discus ideas for convention.
Saturday February 27,2010
Call to Order at 8 a.m. by President; Bonnie Prokup
Present: President Bonnie Prokup, Vice President of Outreach Debbie Pohar, Vice President of Heritage Mary Lou Voelk, Recording and Correspondence Secretary Karen Taylor, Treasurer Denise Bartlett, Scholarship Secretary Pat Figurowski.
Presentation by Scholarship Secretary Pat Figurowski
Pat provided a report prepared by Scholarship Director, Mary Turvey, on the status of Scholarship. Currently scholarship has enough money to offer 6 scholarships this year. It is recommended that occasionally Zarja could do an ad featuring the Museum and Scholarship. Mary would like to include both the Scholarship Fund and the Museum as possible donation options on the invoices sent out for annual membership fees. (Response: These two entities have not previously been included since currently Zarja is not making enough money to cover its operating expenses. It is not that they are not important, but we are losing money on Zarja and must rely on donations to survive. This is not true of the Museum or the Scholarship Fund).
Mary Turvey’s report included the following:
• Six scholarships of $9,000 each were awarded this year.
•	Scholarship is losing its largest contributor.
• Contributions of $ 12,000 were given in 2008 and $6,000 in 2009, these came mainly from branch donations for the 60th anniversary.
• Investments have gone down but are starting to recover.
• Activities include having 6 articles prepared for the Zarja.
• Scholarship’s Board is recommending that they would like to merge the two accounts they currently have into one. Denise Bartlett made a motion to allow Scholarship Director; Mary Turvey to close the former checking account at Midwest Bank and transfer those funds as she sees fit into another account. Debbie Pohar seconded the motion and it was unanimously voted to approve the motion.
Scholarship would like an updated directory and Karen Taylor agreed to assist with this. Denise Bartlett has an update list she can provide. Scholarship is interested in determining the number of junior members we have for potential scholarships.
SWUA Board reminded Pat Figurowski that per Bylaws 7.06, that as Vice President of Outreach, Debbie Pohar is suppose to sit in on the Scholarship Board.
Presentation by Pat Figurowski as volunteer for the Gift Shop
Pat has completed the stock inventory and is now trying to reduce it by getting rid of some of the older items so we can purchase new merchandise. They will be having a clearance sale to do so. For items sold that need to be mailed out, we need to ensure that prices include costs for postage.
Presentation by Vice President of Marketing; Bernadette Kovacic Fitzsimmons-via conference call
Reported on the survey where there were 110 responses, although not all responded to each questions. The current membership campaign ends March 1st and the winner will get a potica from Rocky Mountain Potica. A new marketing campaign is to challenge each branch to bring in at least 10 new members. A new brochure and new application was created.
Meeting with Heritage Board at 4:00 p.m.
Heritage Board members present include Joe Skala, Robert Kuhel, Mary Carmody, Mary Lou Voelk, and John Vidmar. Absent Jan King and Rose Marie Jisa
Mary Lou Voelk led a discussion about the 2011 National Convention and Camp Heritage and many ideas were discussed.
Immediate preservation of the many valuable pieces, historical records, Zarjas and Ave Marias in basement that are susceptible to fire where we could lose everything is a priority. The Heritage Board would like to move the collections out of the building to a safe place then evaluate what we have, scan all that need to be maintained by creating a digital copy and store the scanned documents in the most appropriate way. John Vidmar will start making calls to find an appropriate place to maintain these items, noting that there may be rental fees associated. They will also need storage bins to move everything and the funds to do so. It was recommended by the SWUA Board that they come back with a price and detailed plan regarding the move and future preservation.
Gift Shop presentation by Mary Carmody included the need to open up an on-line account to sell items from the gift shop. The Heritage account needs to be changed in order to do this as it does not currently allow on-line access. Denise P. Bartlett will still manage the account as Treasurer.
President Bonnie Prokup called for the close of business at 5:00 p.m.
Appreciation Dinner Held
Sunday February 28,2010
President Bonnie Prokup call to order at 8:00 a.m.
Denise P. Bartlett Discussion
Bylaws:
Per attorney creating the 501c3 status we can proceed with our proposed changes. Denise will draft them and place in Zarja explaining the proposed amendments. All proposed changes will need to be finalized at the next meeting in order to have them adopted at the National Convention.
National Board Nomination committee:
Is still needed, Karen Taylor is willing to serve on this committee. An official nomination form needs to be created.
Auditor’s Report: Read and discussed
• Implementation of last year’s recommendation for more detailed documentation is excellent.
• Scholarship will have a loss of Vi of their donations with the loss of their major contributor.
• Gift shop, death benefits, credit cards, heritage account, trust account, building, utilities, petty cash, general account and 2011 National Convention checking and
saving accounts are all found to be detailed and complete.
• There was no documentation of ZarjaFest income generated by silent auction and raffle, Debbie Pohar indicated that she had detailed accounts of all of ZarjaFest and that it went to Carol Ryba. Bonnie Prokup will ask Carol to send it. We have all the receipts and will send a spreadsheet to them as soon as possible.
• The 3rd audit of 2007 National Convention has been tabled. Bonnie may have the spreadsheet and will check to see if can be sent. She thinks that boxes of old receipts from basement might have been thrown out.
• Recommendations
o	Include scholarship in dues invoices, provide members with the option to donate to all 3, scholarship, heritage and/or Zarja,
o	Maintain record of revenue generated from every fund raising activity.
• Suggestion: Investigate using lower grade of paper in Zarja to save money. Debbie Pohar indicated that she has looked into it and we are using the lowest grade we can without effecting the bleeding.
Budget: Debbie Pohar made a motion that the proposed budget be accept as a guideline for FY10, Denise Bartlett seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Wrap up and miscellaneous discussions
50 YEAR Pins: Branch comments and recommendations were reviewed. 9 branches did not respond and those that did are split. We had a discussion regarding the fact that we don’t have $700 to front for the pins at this time. Denise feels strongly that they should be provided. Bonnie indicated that if she wanted to take on the project herself and find a way to fund it herself that she could do so but that the SWUA Board cannot afford to fund it at this time. It was also noted that 50 year members should be featured in Zarja once each year; this information will need to be provided through the membership database and forwarded to the Zarja staff.
Zarja: The question was asked - do we need to reduce the number of issues to save? Zarja costs about $12,000 an issue and reducing 1-2 issues could save $24,000, is that enough to really make a difference? This option was considered and could be done later with a vote if necessary. In the meantime, Debbie will try to keep each issue at 36-40 pages instead of 44 total pages to reduce costs.
Debbie Pohar made a motion to adjourn. It was seconded by Karen Taylor and approved. President Prokup called for the SWUA Annual Board Meeting to be adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
New Membership Application
Slovenian Women’s Union of America Slovenska Zenska Zveza v Ameriki
www.swua.orgswuhome@sbcglobal.net	815.727.1926
Yes! I want to join the S.W.U.A. I want to preserve and promote the legacy of our Slovenian-American heritage. As a member I will receive the publication, ZARJA - The Dawn; I can affiliate with branches and events across the country and best of all, I will come in contact with fellow Slovenians.
Choose type of membership:
Adult, Annual Dues $20.00 For January through December (If you join after
Check here if this is a gift.
Provide recipients name/address below.
August 30, you will not be billed in January of the	If you agree to continue paying for this membership
next calendar year)	next year^ piease provide your name/adress/e-mail
Adult, International Address Annual Dues $30.00
on the back of this form for billing purposes. Junior (Birth to 18), Annual Dues $5.00
Invoices are sent annually in January; dues notices in the amount of $20.00/adult or $5.00/junior will be mailed to the address of the member listed below in January of the next calendar year after joining, unless otherwise specified.
Please print the requested information below and send this application form with a check payable to:
Slovenian Women's Union of America 431 North Chicago Street, Joliet, IL 60432-1703
Last Name	First Name
Street Address   City/State/Zip_
Phone	E-Mail
Date of Birth______________________Branch Affiliation Number (if known)______________Location
Maiden Name _________________________________________________Do	you	speak	Slovenian?_______
Please describe your Slovenian ancestry and provide SLOVENIAN SURNAMES
How did you hear about us? S.W.U.A. member newspaper website___________________other
I would like to volunteer for the S.W.U.A. My area of interest or expertise is_______
Applicant’s signature  __________________________________________________________Date
Tell a Friend! If you wish us to send information to a friend or relative just fill in name and address here: My friend’s name_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address	City	State	Zip
SWU Scholarship Foundation
Celebrating its 61st year of Financially Assisting Studen ts
MISSION: To generate funding to financially assist young students, with hope that they will promote and preserve Slovenian culture.
Four of our eight 2010 deserving scholarship winners expressed their ethnic views and values in their essays, which follow: “The Importance of My Heritage and Culture’' as the subject. We wish them continued success and happiness at college and in their chosen careers. The remaining four essays will appear in the next issue of Zarja.
FRANCESCA DEGARBO Branch 5, Pueblo, Colorado:
“Dober Dan! My name is Francesca DeGarbo and I come from a long line of Slovenian descendants. My great-grandparents came from Slovenia. Their names were Rupar, Klobuchar, Kaplan and Mutz. My mother grew up in a big family setting, and I have grown up with many relatives. My big Slovenian family is the most important thing to me in life. Growing up in such a big family, I have helped make homemade noodles for Christmas dinner, set out my St. Nicholas bowl, watched my Grandma Mutz and Aunt Ruth make potica and I always attend the Zegan blessing of food on Holy Saturday. I am part of a long line of proud Slovenian descendants and I am very proud of my heritage. ”
JEFFREY FAUTCH Branch 39, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota:
“When people ask what my nationality is and I tell them mostly Slovenian ”, 1 always hear, “ What s that? ” I am happy to telI them about my Slovenian country/ heritage.All of my great grandparents on my mom s side immigrated to northern Minnesota from Slovenia in the early 1900 s. My Grandma, Phyllis Kuhar, still lives there, but her children (my mom and 2 aunts) have relocated to various parts of the country.
I didn’t grow up in a Slovenian neighborhood or community, but that doesn't mean I don ’f know anything about my heritage and its culture. Slovenian is my most definite trait and I always have been hearing about my Slovenian heritage, with realizing it mostly through foods. Ever since I was very young I remember my grandma making potica and teaching my mom and aunts (and dad and uncles) how to do it. What a great smell coming from the oven! But my favorite is my mom s barley soup. She uses the recipe from my great grandma's file. I wonder if it came for the Pots and Pans cook book. My mom frequently talks about it and I do see her referring to it often.
My mom (grandma and aunts) made several trips to Slovenia already. I heard so many stories and saw many pictures of the beautiful landscapes and family homes
they visited. My goal is to visit this great country and meet relatives that still live there.
What would a holiday be like in our home without a Slovenian toast? We have so much fun clinking our glasses, saying “Na sdjavia’’ and “Geevio” (And of course I have the non-alcoholic beverage !) I am learning a lot of Slovenian words, but regret that / do not know the language .1 think I’ll study on on it before I make my maiden to Slovenia! I am proud to be a Slovene and hope to pass on traditions to my children some day. ”
BEKKI PROKUP Branch 24, Peru, Illinois:
“My Slovenian heritage holds great importance to me. It represents my past, present and affects my future. I have been fortunate to be involved with the Slovenian Women s Union of America since early on in my life and have grown knowledgeable of my Slovenian heritage. I appreciated Slovenia more when I visited it because I knew of the struggles of the countries past and how much it has developed in recent times. It makes me proud and demonstrates the work ethic that Slovenians are known for. This encourages me to strive to higher accomplishments knowing that this is the Slovenian way.
I	also enjoy the traditions such as the celebration of holidays and the passing down of recipes from generation to generation. I will always be proud of my Slovenian ancestry and look forward to passing on my experiences, knowledge and pride to future generations so they can enjoy it as much as I do. ”
MARTHA RYZNER Branch 20, Rolling Meadows, Illinois:
“Until 2004 the outer limits of my Slovene ancestry had been a mystery. I was told names and dates, but I could never place a name to a face or understand the true challenges my ancestors had faced. However, 2004 was a significant year; a relative of mine worked tirelessly for years to put together a detailed account of my family history, and I was finally able to connect with my ancestors. To me, this was a priceless gift. Understanding where I came from and the hardships endured by those who came before me deepened the pride and I have in my rich Slovene culture. I am proud to say that I am a descendent of the Erjavec family, and I strive for excellence in order to honor my ancestors. ”
SWU applicants are asked to sign a statement agreeing to volunteer 6 hours of their time to their local SWUA branches. Natlaie Mlakar, Branch 100, SWU Scholarship
Foundation winner of 2004 and 2008 writes of her time spent with Branch 100 members, formerly called the Fontana Branch and now renamed the Southern California Branch 100, due to the expansion of members
Natlaie Mlakar	throughout
the region.
Natalie sent the following report, in which she articulates her deep appreciation of our unique membership and our treasured traditions:
“As a lifelong member of SWUA Branch 100, I take part in the annual branch activities, which include a Christmas luncheon and Member of the Year dinner. Driving my grandmother and other ladies to these gatherings gives me the chance to keep in touch with a generation of Slovenian American women who are more than eager to share their knowledge of our rich culture with me when we meet. Many of these women serve as role models to me. They 're strong, talented, knowledgeable members of the community. They have shared with me their knowledge of traditional crafts such as cooking, baking, dancing and skills that are envied by my friends who have not had the benefit of similar cultural richness.
Some are professionals - teachers, nurses, and travel agents. The SWU Scholarships 1 have received have helped me join their ranks, as / am now a Registered Nurse at a top hospital in my community. The benefits of SWUA go beyond a scholarship, however. The real regard is in the interactions and memories shared with the very special and unique women of the SWUA. They are a reminder to the younger generations of where our families came from, a tie to the country’ which our ancestors left and a celebration of the future generations of Slovenian women in America.’’
HELEN D. SKOFF
Benefactor of the SWU Scholarship Foundation
Helen D. Skoff was born in St. Louis, Missouri, daughter of Anton Skoff, a Slovenian immigrant, and mother, Helen, born in the United States of Slovenian ancestry. Helen was a very good student at Rosati Kain High School in St.Louis but didn’t begin her college endeavors until much later. She preserved and received Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Maryland in the 1980’s. She spent the bulk of her career in public service with the United States State Department. Her assignments took her to the far corners of the world and prompted her to become fluent in a second language, French.
She loved to travel and left many journals describing places she visited and people she met on those travels. Helen’s trip to visit family in Slovenia was her favorite and resulted in a rather extensive family tree. Helen never lost her love of knowledge and intellectual pursuits. That is her legacy. Dr Richard Skoff, brother to Helen, states that Helen would be very proud to know she has helped scholarship recipients in their early stages of education. Helen Skoff was born 27 September 1930, lived in Bethesda, Maryland for much of her life, and died at Sykesville, Maryland on 28 January 2010.
“INVESTMENT IN KNOWLDEGE PAYS THE BEST INTEREST” - Benjamin Franklin 1706 -1790 Each and every contribution from SWUA members, branches and friends has been sincerely appreciated and kept the SWU Scholarship Foundation functioning these past 61 years. Branches in particular have helped immensely to fund the SWU Scholarship Foundation with their scholarship fundraisers. Some, such as Branch 3, Pueblo, CO give individual monetary Christmas donations to our Scholarship Foundation, rather than exchanging gifts. Thankfully too, there are also some large benefactors whom will be cited in this and the next issues of Zarja.
Correspondence:
Dear SWU Scholarship Foundation: I would like to thank you greatly for selecting me to receive the 2010 Rose Marie Princ Scholarship. 1 will be attending Heidelberg University and this monetary assistance will be greatly appreciated. The long time practice of the SWUA providing scholarships to its members is both generous and honorable. Hvala lepa, Kara Maruszak
Dear Mary Turvey and the members of the SWU Scholarship Foundation Committee: Thank you for the SWU Merit award of $ 100.1 will use this money to purchase books next semester I am proud to be Slovenian and a member of the Slovenian Women’s Union of America. Thanks again. Courtney Grant
Dear Ms. Turvey and SWU Foundation: Thank you so much for selecting me as the 2010 Frances Barman Scholarship recipient. The scholarship will be a great help to my family and me. Thank you again, Francesca DeGarbo
Mary Turvey, Director	M. Marjorie Church, VP &
4 Lawrence Drive	Treasurer
Marquette, Michigan 49855 1028 Skyland Drive mturvey@aol.com	Macedonia, Ohio 44056
yemec 1 @windstream.net
SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS
The following contributions were most gratefully received and acknowledged:
“All contributions are tax-exempt”
$100 Donation
Branch 5, Indianapolis, IN
$50 Donation
Joyce and John Zawerschnik
Joyce and John Zawerschnik in honor of Gertrude Burg
$40 Donation
Elvie J. Blasick
$25 Donation
Marge Church (+William Fletcher)
$20 Donation
Adrienne Armbruster Pat Figurowski
Krista Lundgren Lawson (2003 SWU Scholarship winner) Erik Lundgren Theresa Tevsh Toms
$10 Donation
Branch 50 Euclid, OH (+Josephine Gomik)
Branch 50 Euclid, OH (+Anne Orlikowski)
Ivanka Matic (+Anne Orlikowski)
Rose Mary Toth (+Josephine Gomik)
Rose Mary Toth (+Anne Orlikowski)
For more information on the SWU Scholarship Foundation Program
please visit http://www.swua.org “scholarship”
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Men in a SWUA World
Križna jama
If you are curious of what a caveman must have saw when he walked deep into a cave, or what a pioneer experienced as he looked for shelter in the time before lights, Old Don has the place for you. A place where you walk deep into a cave with no light other than the flashlight you carry and the paths are two pieces of string along a rock floor and it culminates into several underground lakes.
I	have been on many cave tours in many different countries but nothing like this! This was rustic, challenging and at the end very rewarding; the cave I speak of is the Križna jama. This tour though not for the faint of heart is a must do for the willing and able.
Our tour began by meeting our guide Erika and getting a shot of slivovitz for courage, a definite yellow flag, then you trade in your shoes for a pair of knee high boots before entering the locked mouth of the cave. Once inside you realize that there are no artificial lights and they give you a flashlight of sorts which will be your only source of light; nervous yet? It was now that you start down the path of make-shift steps and follow an amazing winding path that is pretty much the same as when the caves were first discovered in 1832. Unlike many other tours there are very little man made helpers such as stairs or railings; only where	Don Baldin in his cave boots
you really need them.	Setting instructions before
Now as you are in the	entering KrižnaJama
cave your guide will ask you to turn off your torches and believe me you find out what dark is and realize if all the flashlights fail there is no way to get out, no way to know which way is which. Again a little disturbing and at the same time incredible, a true sense of adventure and awe
suddenly fall over you as you realize how much we count on our vision. Next you move into an area where you come upon perfectly preserved cave bear remains which you are allowed to touch, a unique opportunity considering the last cave bear roamed the caves thousands of years ago. At this time you start to hear water rushing and realize a raging river runs deep in the base of the cave and the best part is you now walk along a two foot path only inches away from it. Oh, 1 forgot to mention the path is made of loose wet rocks; nerve racking but it gets a bit tenser when you are a large person like old Don and one of your party decides to check out the ceiling for stalagmite. The final stop on the short tour is the first of 22 lakes and you get to take a boat ride across the lake; the boat is actually a rubber raft and you paddle across an underground lake. The boat trip is enhanced by a small light under the raft that gently lights the cavern. The whole boat part is about ten minutes and the walk down to it is about a half an hour; but the tour isn’t over yet, because there is no train or tram to take you back up to the surface. No, you now have to hoof it back over the same difficult terrain in the same dark cave. This is why I honestly say that it is very interesting and a once in a life time opportunity, but only if you are able to do it; because there is only one way in and only one way out.
Now we did the short tour and for those that are more hardy, four people a day can venture on the longer tours which are between six and seven hours; that is something the younger members will have to try and tell Old Don about because his heart may be willing but his knees ain’t!
A few quick facts about the Križna jama are that its depth is 32 meters deep and the total length is 8.27 kilometers. The number of visitors choosing to do the longer tour is limited to 600 per year and only four may go each day and the price for the guided tour is 180 euro per group and participants must be in excellent physical condition.
Well, that’s all the space I have this time; but in further issues look forward to reading about the adventures we had and the people we met on our last trip to Slovenia. Until, next time, may good luck be yours! - Don Baldin
Križna Jama Cave
The Most Atractive Journey to the Underground
Križna jama (Cave) is one of the best known active (water) karst caverns in the world. It is particularly renowned for its chain of underground lakes of crystal clear water, separated by calcite (calcium carbonate) barriers. The cave was first documented in 1832. The early explorers had come across the skeletons of bears that had once inhabited the cave but it wasn’t until some years later when Ferdinand von Hochstetter, a member of the Vienna Academy of Science, visited the cave that serious archaeological excavations were started. The most beautiful part of the cave includes the lakes and stream
passages which are accessible only by boat. These were first explored by Slovene cavers in 1926. The calcite barriers that hold back the lakes that make Križna jama unique are made of calcium carbonate that is carried into the cave in the waters of two streams that sink on the Bloke plateau. The calcium carbonate is deposited as rimstone barriers between pools in the cave. The barriers are still being built up and consequently the water in the lakes is rising and has, in many places, flooded stalagmites on the floor. This gives the explorer the impression that some of
TLORIS • GROUND PlANE
Vhod/Entrance
^Kalvarija
Kalvarija
the formations have “grown” out of the water. The length of all passages is over 8 km (5 miles).
The most famous symbol of Križna jama is Kalvarija. In this chamber is a huge mound of collapsed material which is covered with a stunning display of stalactites and stalagmites. At Kalvarija the cave splits into two branches - Blata rov to the north and Pisani rov to the north-east.
The Blata rov is not as accessible and is less frequently visited. Most explorers choose to continue along Pisani rov which requires the use of boats. Part of the way along Pisani rov is a side gallery which is named Matjažev rov and contains several mighty columns. Continuing along Pisani rov the explorer enters the impressive Kristalna gora (Crystal Mountain) which is the largest chamber in the cave. The explorer can climb the mountainous pile of collapsed rocks to a point well above the stream and yet the roof still soars above him out of sight. There are many unusual and impressive towering stalagmites which provide a fitting climax to any exploration.
The bones of a brown bear (top) and the cave bear (below)
Piratska ladja - The Boat of Pirates
Visitors can see some of interesting sites in the cave in one hour. To experience secrets of the cave you should make a reservation for the longer visit of 4 hours.
One Hour Visit to the Cave
The entrance part of the cave is known by its huge halls. The other passages are cut of by calcareous sinter or
covered with rocks, smaller stalagmites and stalactites. The natural light is gone after a few hundred feet and visitors continue to explore the cave with hand lamps. The main passage continues through the Great Hall towards the big stalagmite, Cimboraso, where an extremely interesting display of bones of cave bears can be seen. The bones surprise visitors with their size and mass. The path continues through the passage which drains off water from the first lake. The visit is followed by a ten minutes boat ride on the first lake before returning to the entrance. This one-hour visit of the dry part of the cave is suitable for groups of up to 50 people.
This part of the cave can he seen (visited) every day by arrangement.
April, May, June: Every Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. July, August: Every day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. September: Every day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Four Hour Visit of the Active Part of the Cave FEEL THE CAVE!
From first lake this tour continues over the rocks to the second lake where in the middle of the lake the ceiling lowers and makes the passage to the water part difficult. This is the start of the adrenalin part of the visit. Water streams over calcareous sinter barrages from one lake to another.
Barriers are built by calcareous sinter, which eliminates from two streams flowing from Bloke plateau. Barriers and water level are still rising. Water covers stalagmites and its structures, which gives the impression that they grow out of water {Port of Venice, Pirate s ship, Church organ, Lynx). The lakes are up to
6	meters (19 feet) deep and get longer at the end of the cave. The tour ends at Calvary (Kalvarija). In this hall rich with stalagmites and stalactites the cave divides into the northern part - Mud (Blata) and north-eastern part -Colored passage (Pisani rov).
Visit takes from 3 1/2 to 4 hours and must be booked in advance.
To help preserve the intact nature of the cave, only one group of up to 4 people (per day) can visit this water part of the cave.
Thank you to Erika Marolt and Matej Krilar from Slovenia for writing this article.
Prvo jezero - The First Lake
From Heritage, From the Museum
At the Museum and Library
Scanning of the Application for Membership documents, the Mati Register and the compilation into an Access database requires an assembly line. Two very dedicated volunteers, Carol Novak and Carole Terlep have scanned Application for Membership records through 1953. These are the records of 1,013 deceased members. Pertinent data is then sent to Mary Lou LaValie of Branch 100 who enters the data onto the Mati Register. Mary Lou in turn submits the listing to Rita Starich of Branch 43, Preservation and Archival Specialist, who manages our digital records. Look for the Mati Register in this issue.
Minnesota branches are indexing the Zarja issues. While it may appear overwhelming at the onset, once the reading begins, the SWUA history unfolds. It reads as a novel!
Pat Figurowski, gift shop inventory and sales manager, keeps an organized listing of all items in the gift shop and submits all sales reports. Also new at the gift shop is: The Food and Cooking of Slovenia by Janez Bogataj!
Please thank these volunteers for their dedication. Without them our vision, mission and purpose would be for naught.
As this article was going to press, I received the latest issue of Zarja July/August 2010. 1 need to express a personal thank you to the following branches for mentioning the following in Branch News: To Branch 16 South Chicago for informing SWUA members of their WW11 project in September. To Branch 100 for giving Mary Lou LaVallie the floor to personally deliver the procedure for scanning and the building of the Mati Register. To Branch 109 for their exuberance and organization regarding the WW11 project. 1 look forward to receiving these surveys in honor of those who gave of their lives for this country. Many Slovenian Americans did not return.
And finally, to quote Norm Setnicker “Digitizing the Zarja magazine without major funding is a daunting hut worthwhile project. It will truly be the history of the SWUA if and when it is completed. ”
To members of the SWUA, I do not aim to give up, these projects will all come to fruition; they will become future publications as well as research data for the world. It is my belief that the SWUA will become known the world over for their preservation projects.
Email correspondence
How easy can it get, email correspondence with branches throughout the country?
World War II Survey Project:
Richard Terselec, Branch 103 posted two surveys!
Bonnie Klaus Zupan, Branch 100 telephoned regarding her father Joseph Klaus.
Frances Kovatovich, Branch 39 sent an email: "Seven of my mother s eleven brothers served in WWII and I am diligently searching for dates!" Plus after reading the obituary of Max Jakel and his involvement in WWII, Frances delivered a survey form to his daughter Nancy Bombick.
Rosemary Ribich, Branch 39 was also quick to send in a survey.
All surveys are filed at the museum in Joliet. When you fill out a survey you are volunteering for the SWUA! Remember the deadline, Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2010.
Nothing like getting ready for Christmas. After receiving Jingle Bells with Slovenian lyrics, Marge Church was quick to respond with a thank you and a request for Silent Night! A Google/Bing search (Silent Night/in Slovenian) was all that was needed. The same search will give you utube and the Alpski Kvintet singing in harmony. Jakob Aljaž translated Sveta noč to Slovenian in 1871. Look for a feature story on this famous Slovenian in a future Zarja. Here’s wishing every branch a happy sing-a-long in December.
On The Telephone
Ed Bayuk, Branch 102 called with a request for the kozolec building plan, hopefully Ed submits a photo of the finished project.
Arlene Sunkel, Branch 20 requested information on beekeeping and the beehives of Slovenia for her son and daughter-in-law in California.
Anita Vovk, Branch 35 ordered 20 Marija Pomagaj prayer cards. The laminated cards are available from the museum gift shop.
Great conversations were held with Delores Hennelly, Branch 25, Stephanie Segulin, Branch 10, Daisy Zelesnikar, Branch 2 and Mici Brigant, Branch 43.
Slovenian Tarok
The card game is Slovenian Tarok. A Google search brought up the Cleveland Card Game Players. Gary Brunger is their organizer. Gary passed along the following sites for purchasing the decks of cards. The Cleveland Players use the Slovenian Tarok rules for playing. I am hopeful branches will be interested in learning the game prior to the 2011 Convention. What fun to have a room full of Tarok players in Milwaukee!
Tarock
Milan Ni 193«
Sites for purchasing the card decks: http://www.tarobearslair.com/karo-tarock-piatnik.aspx (Cards with a linen finish)
http://www.tarobearslair.com/luxus-tarock-piatnik.aspx (Cards with a glossy, more slippery feel) http://www.pagat,com/tarot/sltarok.html (Free: Slovenian rules for the game)
Email me if interested. I will send you the above sites, which will eliminate the laborious task of entering data.
Regarding the Tomsick Family Story:
Zarja July/August 2010
While preparing for the family story, Ken and Anne Tomsick both expressed being overcome with floods of memories. “Our dining room table is full of papers, photos, albums!”
This forgotten memory pertains to Anne’s wedding dress. See photo, page 19 July August 2010.
Anne’s beautiful wedding gown was designed and sewn by the very talented seamstress Carol Traven of the Carol-
Fran Bridal Shop located on Superior Avenue in Cleveland. “It was a Friday, and Ken and I had just left St. Hyacinth Church after the wedding rehearsal. We were in Ken’s brand new winona green 1953 Pontiac Chieftain and were anxious to reach the Bridal Shop before closing. While waiting for a traffic light, we were rear-ended. The culprit was never caught. The honeymoon car had broken rear lights and a dented trunk. Best laid plans! Carol Traven now resides at the Cleveland Home for the Aged.”
Convention 2011
Our guest of honor at the 2011 Convention will be Dr.
Janez Bogataj, professor at the University of Ljubljana,	the
Department of Ethnology and	Cultural
Anthropology. His basic field of research is the ethnological profiling of Slovenes, their culture, way of life, their cuisine, arts and crafts, heritage and their society. His curriculum vitae that includes a listing of his books and publications is posted on www.swua.org. A limited number of his latest cookbook, The Food and Cooking of Slovenia is available at the SWUA gift shop. FYI, American measurements are given! A dynamic figure,
Janez Bogataj is known as one of the most prolific culinary Slovenian writers.
“cuisine is an area in which you get to know the cultural heritage, individuals, families, villages.... In their everyday lives”. Food permeates all our senses; it becomes a lifelong memory, which never leaves the soul. We Slovenian Americans can attest to this! Plan on attending the 2011 Convention!
To je to (this is it) Mary Lou Deyak Voelk VP Heritage & Culture
The food and cooking of
SLOVENIA
joivsiOBcea!
SLOVENIA IN AMERICA
by Tanja Vajk
Like The Gates by Christo and Jeanne Claude in 2005, Manca Juvan (pronounced “mahn-tsa”) came to New York City for one month this winter. Manca is a Slovenian photo-journalist from Ljubljana. Manca sent an email to the Slovenian Women’s Union of America New York Chapter a few days before she arrived asking if any of us would be willing to be interviewed for a photo-reportage on Slovenians in America. I looked at her website - her photograph of Iranian women in veils was as moving as the iconic shots of immigrants onboard ship arriving at Ellis Island at the turn of the century (Women during Ashura festival, Tehran 2008 www.mancajuvan.com). I emailed her saying I would love to meet her and participate in her project.
We agreed to meet early on a Sunday morning at Veselka, a 24-hour diner one block away from St. Cyril, the Slovenian church on the Lower East Side, and go to the church after breakfast for photos and a recorded interview. It was a cold dull grey day, the streets were empty and windswept. In time, a young woman with a camera bag over one shoulder greeted me with outstretched hand. She is petite yet tall, with a handsome face and a winning broad smile, little or no make-up and cropped hair, “gariponne” (like a boy) as the French would say; she has the posture and long stride of a filly, with the grace that Jackie Kennedy said comes from riding horses as a girl. She speaks and writes excellent English, and seems comfortable with everybody she speaks to, diving right in, without the Canadian or even American slow reticence of testing the waters to get to know someone. She is as happy to answer questions as to ask them and her face remains equanimous, except when a quiver passes over it like a cloud, rare moments of revealed emotion. Her manner is professional and forthright with a few moments of impatience, though she catches herself quickly so as to not lose the attention of her subject.
Between the waves of her interviews and photography, and the two times we met at the beginning and the end of her stay here, I got a glimpse of the person behind the camera. Manca was bom in 1981 in Slovenia. Her father had been a cameraman in Berlin and gave Manca her first camera when she was eight. Along with her love of horses, her passion for the camera was all-consuming. She could not ride and shoot at the same time with her first camera, so her father soon gave her an SLR (a single lens reflex 35mm camera) and by the time she was 15 she was shooting for magazines and newspapers. Her father encouraged her to earn her own money and she developed a strong sense of independence. She applied to college, choosing Directing as her major but got accepted into Photography. She kept working and shooting through her first year of university and decided to go to Afghanistan to find the women imprisoned for moral crimes (rape victims) in 2001. Through luck and circumstance, she obtained access to the women’s prison three times - and returned with her photos and a portfolio.
Manca learns from her mentors - while one might think she is spending too much time writing, not enough time shooting, another will say she is talented for both and she should develop them together. We had a long conversation about the difference between photo-journalism and written reportage. Manca felt that there are two very different processes in the brain: as a photographer she relies primarily on an instant rapport with, and feeling for, her subject, whereas to write she has to be more analytical and rational, focusing on details that would just appear in the photograph but have to be observed in order to translate the story into writing. She tries to write quickly, before the memory fades, just as she shoots quickly, soon after she meets her subjects.
In the month she spent in New York, Manca recorded 17 interviews with Slovenians. A limited number of her photos were exhibited at the Slovene Ministry of Culture in Ljubljana in March 2010, see opposite page.
Tanja Astrid Vajk, writer	Giselle Potočnik, nutrisionist and	Stephen	Autalics,	scientist
Slovenia is the country of my grandmother,	Gabriel Indihar, ekonomist
staramama, Magdalena Slatnar Vajk United States is the countiy of my mother,
Barbara Vallin Vajk
P. Krizolog Martin Cimerman, župnik
Peter Ugrin, glasbenik
Lenart Krečič, glasbenik
Tanja Trček Pulišič, doktorski študent Klemen Novak, igralec	Robi	Poredoš,	novinar
Martha Batich’s Story Written in 2005 at Age 100
I was bom 100 years ago on July 29,1905, in the small Slovenian village of Cohi, in the beautiful valley, Vipavska Dolina, overlooking the mighty Triglav Mountains. At that time it was not Slovenia but the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy of Emperor Franz Joseph. Katarina, my mother and Frank, my father had seven children. I have outlived all of them.
Life was very simple in our village of 18 houses. Everything was homemade and homegrown. We had a wood burning stove and oven. There was no electricity, and no indoor plumbing. Today it’s hard to imagine life without a washing machine, television, radio, telephone, newspapers, antibiotics, immunizations or Coca Cola. We had to collect water from a spring in the middle of the village and carry it home in a wooden bucket on top of our head. Daily foods included polenta (corn mush), potatoes, sour kraut and sour turnips. Meat was eaten only on Sundays and holidays. We made our own Slovenian sausages, sauerkraut and turnips, raised our own chickens, pigs and made our own butter. We sold our eggs, butter and ham at the market in Trieste to pay for taxes. The only foods we bought in a store were flour, sugar, rice and oil.
We traveled everywhere on foot. The walk to church was 30 minutes and to school 25 minutes. I loved to read but there were no libraries. I would borrow books from our priest in a nearby town. In those days girls had to learn to sew, knit and crochet in school as well as learn reading, writing and arithmetic. I was the village babysitter but never got paid.
I was nine years old when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 and 1 remember my mother saying, “Now we are going to have war”. She was right, soon after, World War 1 began. The war years were very difficult; I remember the noise of the bullets and the explosions. There was very little food; 1 remember being hungry all the time. The soldiers would take our produce from the fields. We were so happy when the war ended in 1918.
In that same year, the worldwide influenza epidemic occurred and killed millions of people and almost killed me. I contracted influenza while weak from hunger but survived because when the war ended, soldiers abandoned sacks of potatoes along the roadside along with their military supplies. My mother cooked those potatoes and fed them to me. 1 credit that to my getting well. God was watching over me.
In 1922,1 was 17 years old and the country was under Italian occupation; there were few jobs. My father asked me to join him and my sister Justine in Cleveland, Ohio. I decided to immigrate to the USA. It was a good decision but difficult to leave my dear mother and my beautiful valley.
There were no commercial airplanes in 1922. I sailed on The President Wilson for 17 days finally reaching the harbor of New York passing by the Statue of Liberty and finally disembarking at Ellis Island. I never dreamed my name would one day be
Left to right: Martha Batich, son-in-law Dr. Zouhair Yassine, daughter Carol Yassine and grand daughter Leila Vespoli
engraved on The American Immigrant Wall of Honor at Ellis Island. A train took me to Cleveland, where my father was waiting for me. I cherished my Slovenian heritage but wanted to become an American citizen soon. I was proud that I was one of the first of my immigrant friends to learn English and to obtain American citizenship.
For 37 years I was very active in the Cleveland Slovenian community and served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Slovenian National Home on Holmes Avenue. I worked hard all my life and have held various jobs. I was a clerk in an old fashioned grocery store, Fisher Brothers before the era of super markets, where we had to weigh everything for each customer. I was an assembly line factory worker at National Acme during World War II and later a seamstress making men’s suits at Joseph & Feiss. At night I went to high school.
I thank God that I can still see well enough to sew, read and cook. I look forward to receiving the Slovenian newspapers, which I enjoy very much. I love to bake Slovenian bread and make grape jam from the grapevine in our backyard. Gardening is also a great love of mine. Each summer, I look forward to receiving the Keep Akron Beautiful Beautification Watch Award, for keeping our flowers and shrubs well maintained and free of weeds. I go to St. Hilary Church every week, to my Bible Buddies study group once a month, and to my Fairlawn Friendly Folks club. I’ve lived through six terrible wars and thank God every day for good health, my wonderful family and this wonderful country. I never believed in taking much medicine, even aspirin.
God bless America. Thanks to God, I’ve lived the American dream.
Martha was 105 on July 29. Everyone comments that she is an amazing women. She has resided with Dr. Zouhair and Carol Yassine, her son-in-law and daughter for fifty years but now since May 2 7'h she is residing at the Village of St. Edward. Her health is good but she developed some dementia in the last year. Her joys are going to Mass every day and receiving loving visits from her family and friends.
Branch Reports Poročila Podružnic
BRANCH 1 - Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Our last two meetings at Branch 1 were filled with Slovenian heritage and even learning a few Slovenian words. Angie Fritz and Tony Glazer taught us some basic words at our May 23 meeting, which was also a breakfast meeting. Dober dan (hello or good day), Dober vecer (good evening) and Na svidenje (until we meet again) were just a few of the greetings we learned. Thank you Angie and Tony for sharing your knowledge with those of us who are just trying to learn the language!
On June 14, which is Flag Day, we celebrated our heritage with a Slovenian Pot Luck Dinner in our church hall. Our President Aggie Gruenke and Vice President Mary Ann Schellinger did a splendid job of decorating the hall in white, blue and red.
Thank you, ladies for adding that special touch to the evening.
Some of the foods we enjoyed were potica,
potato salad, cucumber soup, rice sausage, štruklja, apple strudel, flancante, ginklafa and many other Slovenian foods. We even had some pink tea and a bottle of Slivovitz, which I found a bit potent!! Many recipes were shared and exchanged, and 1 have to say, there was certainly enough food for everyone to enjoy! A big Thank you to all who made the evening a success by bringing your Slovenian specialty.
July 18lh was our annual SS Cyril & Methodius’ church picnic. Another day to celebrate our Slovenian heritage with kranskis, potica and of course a little beer! They also served hamburgers and brats and lots of other goodies. The day started with a Polka Mass performed by The Jeff Winard Band and Fr. Glenn Powers as celebrant. It was a beautiful Mass, and the perfect way to start out the day! After the Mass, Jeff and his band entertained us with polkas and waltzes, and the dancing began! Flope everyone has a great summer. Na Svidenje,
CHERYL KOTNICK LOPOUR
got slivov'tti!
Cheryl Kotnick Lopour
BRANCH 2 - Chicago, Illinois
The Zveza picnic was held on a glorious day. We honored two members of the same family. We celebrated Chris Pirman’s birthday, our oldest member at 99, and her grand nephew Glen Latronico. Glen returned from his 5th deployment in Afghanistan with the Army Rangers. We are very proud to rejoice in Glen’s return and the contributions of all our service women and men who give so much to our country and us. Vince Rigler kept the spirit alive with beautiful Slovenian music. Thanks to all the members from other Branches who attended. It is always good to see old friends.
REMEMBER! We will not have a meeting in September, because we will be attending the Illinois/Indiana State Convention, hosted by Oglesby Branch 89 on September 19, 2010. It should be a nice ride, as the trees will be starting to turn to fall colors. If you have anything you wish the delegates to address bring them to Fran’s attention.
October meeting: Since this is our first meeting after harvest, please bring a veggie recipe to share; it will be exciting to see what tickles our taste buds. A prize will be given to the most interesting recipe. See you at the meeting on October 17,2010.
DAISY
BRANCH 5 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Autumnal greetings to all Branch 5 members! Hopefully, this colorful time of year will also be a cooling down time after the intense heat of the summer! Thoughts turn to more inside activities, time spent more slowly as we move toward the last quarter of the year. Vacation time may be over for some, as the start of school is here. Others start to plan their yearly trek as “snowbirds” to find a warmer climate.
October is the Month of the Rosary, and also our annual
S	WUA Memorial Mass, usually the first or second Sunday in October to remember our deceased Branch 5 members, watch the Holy Trinity bulletin or TRINITARIAN calendar for exact date. We will not have a meeting after mass. Those of us here in Indianapolis are thinking of meetings! Mary, Karen and I are thinking of the next SWUA Convention, anyone interested in going? We also are thinking of all of our members here and our next meeting. We would like to have our Holiday meeting at Iron Skillet on November 6th at 4 p.m. The cost of the family style chicken dinner will depend upon how many members will join us, so we need to know ASAP if you are interested in going! Please call: Phyllis at 852.9850 or Karen at 852.3212 and leave a message or send e-mail to potica@aol.com. We hope to get a nice crowd there for what will be good food and good fun!
KAREN, MARY AND PHYLLIS
I would like to thank you for reporting Patricia Coppinger-Griffin s passing and to thank you for your prayers. Gail, John (Patty s husband) and I were very grief stricken with the loss of Patty.
However, I am dismayed that our names were misspelled! Our maternal grandmother s name was Mary Plutt. I can still remember Grandma verbalizing her outrage when her name was misspelled. Yes, I am aware of the variant spelling for the surname Plut and Plutt. My grandfather, Mark Plut, spelled his name with the double‘t’. Those of you that knew my grandparents will probably smile if you can remember how their voices would escalate in volume when they wanted to 'make a point ’. Therefore, in the memory of my Grandma and Grandpa I am requesting this correction.
My surname was reported as Kohn. My husband’s name is Paul Kahn. His family name is descended from the House of David. I am proud to share my husband’s family name - Kahn.
Thank you, Mary Jo Kahn Branch 13 - San Francisco, California
BRANCH 14 - Euclid, Ohio
Hello once again from Branch 14 in Euclid, Ohio. We have some very sad news to report, one of our biggest supporters, Francis Prijatel, left us on June 19th at the age of 90. We last saw her at our Mother’s Day Dinner in May, which she attended in a wheelchair, and as usual she had brought her family, about fifteen people, whom she treated. This group has attended every Mother’s Day and Christmas Dinner for years and their table was well known for winning many of the raffle prizes. Several times she and her three daughters, Joanne Bowman, Marilyn Beasley and Louise Formica, decorated the tables for these events. We will truly miss her. Fran was active in the community and many people especially remember her for playing her button box with the Buttonaires. They visited and played the button box with and for her during her final illness. Branch 14 has lost a remarkable member.
Soon Stana Grill will be calling about our Christmas Dinner the first Tues. in December. Flopefully everyone will be in great health and able to attend and meet again old friends.
PATRICIA BUDZ1LEK
BRANCH 16 - South Chicago, Illinois
It has been a hot, rainy summer in Chicago and it’s about to come to an end. Thank God, but what I’m glad about is that we will be back for our meetings. I miss not seeing all the ladies since May. Our first meeting after the summer break is the second Saturday of the month on September 11th. I hope everyone will be at that meeting.
DOROTHY NOVAK ROSSI
BRANCH 20 - Joliet, Illinois
Contact Information: patricia.schager@sbcglobal.net You are all invited to spend Sunday, September 26, in a traditional Slovenian town square, complete with a grape arbor, food and good old-fashioned fun. It’s that time of year again, time for the Slovenian Grape Harvest Festival and Dance. The popular Bob Doszak band playing all the favorite polkas is providing music. And yes, there are strudel, potica and smokies. Doors open at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph Park, Raynor Avenue, in Joliet. Tickets are $ 10, and children 10 years old and under are still free. This is our 30lh year keeping the Slovenian tradition alive in Joliet. The grape harvest is an important time in Slovenia. It’s a time for celebration, and what better way than with lively music and traditional foods.
Anyone interested in more authentic Slovenian music can contact the Heritage Museum in Joliet. There is a wonderful variety of CD’s available by some of the best polkateers and singers in the world.
Two of our members recently honored by the national KSKJ as Lodge Persons of the Year for their contributions of outstanding time and talents were Colleen Kovic and Genevieve Klainsek. Our members are truly giving people in the community.
Looking over the meeting schedule for the 2010-2011 year, the meetings will feature a host of interesting guests and lots of good food made by each month’s hostesses. We do have a good time each month, and welcome old and new members. The business portion of each meeting is handled by “pro” President Char Kobe and her very capable board. The speakers and/or demonstrations are always fun to hear and watch.
Reminder: The Illinois/Indiana State Convention is September 19. Scheduled banquet, meeting and reports important to us all are just a part of the day’s activities.
PAT SCHAGER
BRANCH 24 - LaSalle, Illinois
Contact Information: 91ives@comcast.net Dober Dan! Our summer “Slovenian Fest” picnic was held on Thursday, June 17 at Pulaski Park in La Salle. There were approximately 40 people in attendance who enjoyed the outstanding culinary delights such as: blood sausage, mashed potatoes with cucumber gravy, sausage and sauerkraut, homemade dinner rolls, potica, strudel and flancati, just to name a few. It is always well attended, with members bringing their spouses and/or other guests. The weather was warm and lovely and so was the company.
Speaking of food, I made the potato salad, featured in the July/August issue of Zarja, for a family gathering and it was a big hit with everyone! Compliments to the “chef’ and to all who are responsible for the beautifully featured recipes and the photos to go with them.
We are looking forward to attending the Illinois/Indiana
Regional Convention hosted by our Slovenian sisters and neighbors, Branch 89, on September 19 in Oglesby, IL. These gals know how to entertain and host a party, so it should be a successful and memorable day for all who attend.
This fall will find us in Debbie Pohar’s garage, where she and her sister Cathy Lenkaitis are going to teach us how to make flanciti. Believe it or not, there are a few of us who don’t know how to make this Slovenian delicacy and are so looking forward to the demonstration.
Please remember our sick and shut in members, especially Jo Foley, sister of Fr. Bernard Horzen, O.S.B. We pray the Lord brings them comfort, hope and peace.
Enjoy autumn and all the magnificent beauty it brings, pray for those less fortunate and especially our men and women in the armed forces. And, until next time, may your hearts be filled with love and peace.
LORETTA STORY
BRANCH 35 - Aurora, Minnesota
Contact Information: anitaml@frontier.com 218.229.3202
Sunday, May 23, 2010 our members organized a brunch after 10:30 a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Aurora. We had 22 attendees and we spoke about the Marija Pomagaj Shrine in Brezje and some of the members gave their accounts of their visits to the shrine. Father Steven Daigle, our new pastor, joined us and learned a lot about Marija Pomagaj and her works and how she survived the War. We also pointed out to him that Marija Pomagaj hangs proudly in our church proper. We warned him also to not take her down from her special place. 1 am looking for some up dates on the shrine in Brezje and in Washington DC. Also new information on the museum dedicated to her in Brezje.
I thank Mary Lou Voelk for the Marija Pomagaj prayer cards. They are nice to tuck in a gift or just in a card to an elderly person in the nursing facilities, tucked in sympathy messages, birthdays or just thinking of you messages. If you know of a DVD of the shrine in Brezje, let me know.
“Glej, glej, glej, Slovenija gre naprej! Slovenian soccer team did a good job.
Congratulations to all graduates and to all the summer brides and grooms and God Bless America!
ANITA VOVK
Tezak’s
1908 - 2008
Home to Celebrate Life ®
1211 PLAINFIELD RD., JOLIET, IL 60435
www.tezakfuneralhome.eom
815.741.2563 Fax 877.587.8460 815.722.0524
Celebrating our 10(t"‘ Year!
BRANCH 39 - Biwabik, Minnesota
Contact Information: rribich@northlc.com -218.865.6600
By the time our members read this issue of Zarja, we will be ready to “board” the bus to attend the first Regional Minnesota convention to be held in St. Paul, MN hosted by Twin Cities Branch 109. From the information we are receiving from President Norm Setnicker, it appears to be a fun-filled ZVEZA DAY with emphasis on our beloved Slovenian heritage.
We are now compiling issues to address for presentation by our delegates at the 2011 National Convention in Milwaukee.
Jean Korsman, former National President, Minnesota Regional President and Branch 39 President celebrates her 75"' birthday with this FOUR GENERA TION photo.
Left to right: Kathy Riordan (grandmother), Laura Cole (mother) holding Ria Rain Cole and Jean Korsman (greatgrandmother). Ria was born December 6, 2009.
We send our “Che-stee-tam” (congrats in Slovenian) to another recipient of the SWU Scholarship Foundation. Our member and granddaughter, Bailey Ribich, was listed as a Merit Award Winner. She is sophomore attending Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and majoring in Business Management. Nice going Bailey.
An interesting article that appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel was sent to me by my sister who resides there. Isn’t it amazing how our Slovenian heritage stretches to many parts of the United States. An East Knox woman, Lydia Pulsipher, was recently named to the honorary position of Consul for Slovenia by Samuel Zbogar. We remember him as the then ambassador from Slovenia to the US attending our 2007 National Convention. I hope to get in touch with Lydia and share our legacy. If I do, I will write about it in another issue.
ROSEMARY (SERTICH) RIBICH
BRANCH 40 - Lorain, Ohio
Contact person: Stephanie Polutnik at step@windstream.net Just several months ago, I told of celebrating Agatha Donges 90th birthday in February now she is gone. Agatha died in May. She had been an active life member of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church where she sang in the choir. She served as treasurer of our branch. Agatha was also a member of KSKJ. When she was younger she drove a school bus. She was a farm girl at heart, raising chickens, milking cows and caring for a large vegetable garden. She was most proud of her beautiful flower gardens. She loved working with ceramics and enjoyed traveling when time allowed. When she became a widow in 2001, she sold the farm and moved to Lorain. She is survived by two daughters, two sons, five grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. To them we extend our sympathy. Her funeral Mass was held at St Frances Xavier Cabrini Church. Rest in peace, dear friend. We will keep you close in memory.
1 have just undergone knee replacement surgery. 1 must say it wasn’t all that bad. The therapy is relentless, but is going well. So far so good!
Now for a quick story to prove what a small world this is! My grandson Mark lives and works in Seoul Korea. Being a true and loyal Slovenian, he followed the Slovenian soccer team in the World Cup as many of us did. On a whim, he went on the Internet hoping to find another Slovenian in Seoul to watch the playoff game with him. Sure enough there was a Slovenian tourist in Seoul and they met to cheer for their team. In the course of their conversation, Mark told him that his grandma Stephie [that’s me] was born in the small town of Vrhnika, just outside of Ljubljana. Amazingly, this tourist was from Vrhnika and his grandmother still lives there. She is 85 and we have plans to chat on Skype very soon. Small world indeed!
I must say that the thought of those delicious salads Jenka presented in her last column make my mouth water. Let’s have a picnic! Enjoy the rest of the summer.
STEPHANIE POLUTNIK
BRANCH 43 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Contact Person: Janice Gehm 414.321.1413 twogames@wi.rr.com Our 80lh Anniversary Celebration was a memorable event for all who attended. During the cocktail hour we were serenaded by Tony Gorenc. The dinner was delicious followed by a delightful program emceed by Dave Bevsek. After the singing of both National Anthems the Uspeh Chorus presented a short program of Slovenian songs. The door prizes were wonderful and many thanks to all who donated them, especially, Karen Janežič, Triglav Cultural Society, Tillie Skusek, Mary Cay Freiberg, Josephine Janezic and Jan Gehm. Many thanks to the entire committee, especially President Jan Gehm who put in many hours to make this event so special.
Rose Chepeck and Toni Needham were given a Voluntary Service Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Both put in over 13 years and over 3,000 hours volunteering on the Nursing Home Floor at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Memorial Center, congratulations!
Our June evening meeting included a delicious dinner prepared by our members and an interesting talk by J. Bryant VanCronkhite, who went through the process of writing our memoirs. Have you thought of doing this for your family?
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at noon, at the West Allis Library. Bring your appetites and ideas.
Branch 43 will have a bake sale on November 2, 2010, at the 88lh St. School. Won’t you help us by baking? Before you know it, the National Convention will be here. The committee, chaired by Denise P. Bartlett, meets regularly with such enthusiasm. We are looking forward to meeting the famous culinary chef from Slovenia, Janez Bogataj, who will attend the convention. Our next committee meeting will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2011, at noon at the site of our convention, The Doubletree Hotel, 611 W. Wisconsin Ave. If you are interested in helping in any way, please join us for this meeting. Since lunch is scheduled (Dutch Treat) please call Denise or Jan Gehm for reservations.
MICI BREGANT
BRANCH 50 - Euclid, Ohio
Contact Information: 216.531.2745 or cjaynow@yahoo.com Branch 50 will host the Ohio State Convention on Sunday, October 10, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Euclid, Ohio. There will be Mass at 9:30 a.m. followed by a brief meeting. All Ohio branch members are encouraged and welcome to attend this important event at this most beautiful and serene location. The Shrine is a real spiritual oasis in the city, complete with an outdoor Via Crucis - the Way of the Cross - and a gift shop! Plan to make a day of it with us.
SCOLA
WWW.SCOLA.ORG
Helping people of the world learn more about one another
Planning the final touches for the Ohio Convention will be the order of business at our next Branch meeting on Wednesday September 15, at 1:00 p.m. at the Euclid Public Library.
Anne Arhar recently volunteered at the Euclid Senior Center but took a spill on her way to morning Mass at Our Lady of the Lake Church (formerly Holy Cross Church). Several nuns rushed out to help Anne and called 911. We are very happy to report that Anne is recuperating nicely without any fracture, though her right hand is in a splint.
We are very sad to report on the deaths of Anne Orlikowski, who passed away at age 101, and Josephine Gomik at the Slovene Home for the Aged. Our condolences and prayers are offered to their families and loved ones. A hearty welcome to new Branch 50 member Kathy Hlad, a former Miss SNPJ and popular button box accordion performer and teacher, famous for her bright smile. We are pleased to have Kathy aboard. Continued wishes to member Angie Shine for a speedy recovery from a broken hip.
We are looking forward to Tony Petkovsek’s 49th annual Thanksgiving Day Polka Party, which this November will be celebrating 20 years at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Cleveland. This treasured local tradition promises a weekend of great food and music, dancing and the annual Cleveland Polka Hall of Fame awards presentation.
ANNE TOMSICK
BRANCH 89 - Oglesby, Illinois
Contact Information: barbarabruch@yahoo.com or815.339.2714 We have two big events coming up. First is our kick off potluck at noon on Sunday, September 12 at the Dickinson House. Bring a dish to share and bring the junior members. We have activities planned for them and it is always a fun well-attended meeting. Then on Sunday, September 19, we are hosting the Illinois/Indiana State Convention. We start the day at 10:30 a.m. with Mass at Holy Family Church; the meeting and dinner will follow at the Oglesby Elks Lodge. Please come; we are hoping for a good attendance.
I	read with sadness of the passing of Tory Bobence. My husband, young daughter and I stayed at their Clear Lake Resort in Ely about 20 years ago. Tory took me with her to her garden club’s garden walk and dinner. John took Ken and Kitty fishing. We loved staying there and have talked about it often. Tory was a remarkable woman and sincere sympathies are extended to her family and all of her Minnesota SWUA friends.
Write or call any time with questions or comments and we will see you at the Convention.
BARBARA BRUCH
BRANCH 93 - New York City, New York
Contact Information: 201.947.6336 or lzalokar@yahoo.com or Lgross@tstnyc.org Suddenly our branch president became the point person for all questions relating to “Where are Slovenians watching the World Cup Game?” fielding queries from ESPN, the Slovenian consulate, and the New York Times! As a result, our members were joined by many new faces and the press (none other than sports writer George Vecsey who did a nice article crediting SWUA.) We were also contacted by the NY Post for reaction to the 2-2 draw with the U.S.!
We’re working hard on having our 3rd Slovenian Heritage Weekend being as great as the first two; hopefully members at branches near to Blairstown, NJ might like to join us for hiking, dancing, Slovenian film watching, wine
drinking and strudel making. Interested?
Call Lynn Zalokar at 201.947.6336 or send an	e-mail
Lzalokar@yahoo.com.
Slovenian classes are once again being	Lynn Zalokar s shirt for
taught by Marta	the World Cup
Stemberger at St
Cyril’s, beginners and advanced beginners, a few of our members are really trying hard to master this language! This learning opportunity is made possible by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Slovenia supplying textbooks and other help. For more information contact Branch 93 member Marta Stemberger at 718.919.0727 or by e-mail Marta@eARINNA.com.
Mass in Slovenian is at St Cyril’s at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, with the monthly cultural hour/lunches following mass the 3rd Sunday of the month resuming in September.
Watching Slovenia in the World Cup
See our web-site www.SWUANYC.org for current and past activities, or take a look at www.facebook.com (type in “SWUA”). Join our Yahoo group for notification of upcoming activities (e-mail: SWUABranch93NYC-subscribe@yahoogroups.com). Not on e-mail? Call Branch 93 contact: 201.947.6336. Same number to suggest an event, or contact Lynn Zalokar at Lzalokar@yahoo.com. See Branch 93’s report in the Jan/ Feb issue of Zarja for other leads to activities in NYC area.
ELIZABETH GROSS
Kudos to Elizabeth Gross for recognizing the importance of organizing a meeting place for watching Slovenia in the World Cup. This brought recognition to the SWUA-NYC branch and Slovenia via the front page of the NY Times sports section after the Slovenia-Algeria 1-0 match! See the link to the article on the Branch 93 website: www.swuanyc.org.
BRANCH 99 - Lemont, Illinois
Contact Information: jmhlade@hotmail.com Summer has ended and school is back in session. We’re looking forward to the fall colors and cooler temperatures.
This past July our branch hosted a Summer Social at Vice-President Paula Mavec’s home. The highlight was a bocce ball tournament as Paula has a bocce court in her back yard. Four teams of four people competed. The first place undefeated team included Mark Hlade, Sammie Mavec, Frank Cepon and Don DePratt. Second place team included Joe Mavec, Don Baldin, Jean Ficek and Angelca Bajda who was visiting from Mendoza, Argentina. Winners each received a cash prize, and the balance of the proceeds went to the branch. Also in attendance were SWUA National President Bonnie Prokup, and Zarja Editor Debbie Pohar. It was a fun day with great food and great friends.
Bocce Winners: (left to right) Sammie Mavec, Mark Hlade, Don DePratt and Frank Cepon
Board members, members and guests of Branch 99 would like to thank Paula Mavec, Jana Hlade and their families for their successful Branch 99 Summer Social. All enjoyed tremendous food, sipped on drinks and played bags and bocce balls!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Branch 99 will be forever thankful for all your hard work and dedication.
Hf AO UM«**
Albert Mavec, Head Umpire Thank you, Paula, for opening your home to our branch, and thank you to all members and friends who joined us on this sweltering 99-degree day!
At our August meeting,
we had guest speaker .	,
„,	„	,,	Jana	Hlade
Slavica Sovan talk to us . . . . „
Assistant Head Umpire
about the Slovenian
national costume, Narodna Noša. Details of this meeting will be in the next issue.
Our next meeting is on September 12,h at 1 p.m. in the library of the Slovenian Cultural Center. We will be discussing our annual Bunco party that will be held on October 24th from 1 -4 p.m. in the small hall of the Cultural Center. Cost is $2 per person to play and we will be offering many raffles and prizes. Please attend as this is our largest fundraiser for our branch. Bring a friend!
Please be sure we have your email address. Send to secretary Barb Block at barbandlarryblock@att.net. Email is the quickest way for us to keep our branch informed of events. Have a wonderful fall season!
JANA HLADE
BRANCH 100 - Southern California
Contact Information: 949.495.0097 orajkoci@cox.net Although our Branch does not have monthly meetings, the members still manage to meet informally at other Slovenian events and keep in touch through our families.
We had the opportunity for about seven of us to get together in mid-June for a strudel-baking day at my home in Laguna Niguel. It was supposed to be just apple strudel, but just the day before we realized that some of the apricots on our tree and the next-door neighbor’s tree were just ready for picking. So the project turned into a combination event where we made, not only the apple strudel, but also apricot and a mixture of both for several pans. We had an ulterior motive in this baking session and we were able to supply nine pans of strudel to be used as dessert at a Wine Tasting Party in Temecula the next day. Needless to say, the dessert was a big hit and was a tasty finish to the great food and wines that were enjoyed that afternoon.
Several of our members are checking into venues for our December luncheon and Christmas Party.
There is also a lot of talk about how many of our branch members will attend the National Convention next year. There are several who are extremely interested in attending, so we hope that it will be possible to have them represent Branch 100. Those of us who attended the last convention at Starved Rock really had a wonderful time.
We hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer and early fall. Na svidenje!
JEAN KOC1
BRANCH 102 - Willard, Wisconsin
Contact Information: kleespires@comcast.net or 847.356.6160
Greetings from Willard! Congratulations to Megan Johnson on being selected as a Scholarship Foundation Merit Award winner along with our prayers for another successful school year. Members are encouraged to remember George and Michael Plautz along with Pat Sixel as they face continued challenges to their health. Birthday wishes
are extended to members celebrating their special days this fall notably Rose Pakiz, Rose Pekol, Jodi Spagna, Andrea Plautz, Dorothy Podboy, Josephine Verschay, Theresa Zorman and junior member Sandy Brierton who is our special helper at meetings.
Slovenian culture and music was on display once again this year at the High Ground (Wisconsin’s memorial to those who served our country in the Armed Forces) in Neillsville. The annual Diversity Days celebration exposes area school children to the variety of nationalities present in the area. Judy DePasquale and Bill Snedic entertained the students with music and a display of artifacts.
KAREN SPIRES
BRANCH 108 - Olney, Maryland
Contact Information: Bettekfitz@verizon.net Members, friends and guests are invited to join us on Sunday, September 19th for a 1:00 p.m. luncheon meeting at the Hunan in Olney. We will discuss recommendations for SWUA bylaw changes and other details concerning the upcoming National Convention in Milwaukee. We also look forward to hearing at this meeting about the many adventures our spiritual advisor, Fr. Peter Rožič has had in Slovenia over the summer. Our sincere congratulations are wished to him on becoming an uncle (stric) for the second time.
Congratulations to member, John Klansek on completing a 63-page cookbook, entitled Grandma Klansek Recipes written in memory of his mother Mary Yurchak Klansek. Mary was born in Luzerne, PA in 1900, the daughter of Slovenian immigrants. In 1922, she married John Stephen Klansek, a Slovenian immigrant, and in the late 1920’s opened a country store named Klansek’s Grocery Store that Mary operated for more than 30 years. Our member John has captured many warm memories of her special recipes, growing up in Luzerne, PA and shared this cookbook with his family as a memoir and opportunity to pass on his mother’s specialties, some of which where handed down by her Slovenian immigrant parents. This work is an inspiration to all of us to preserve family memories and recipes as a gift to the next generation.
Congratulations to member, Marjeta Cedilnik for greeting Slovenian long distance biker, Jure Robie in Mt. Airy, MD during the Race Across America (RAM) in June. What an exciting event for Marjeta to be present at a timing point, and for Jure to be greeted by a native Slovenian in a small suburban MD town.
BERNADETTE KOVACIC FITZSIMMONS
BRANCH 109 - Twin Cities, Minnesota
We watched the World Cup match between the U.S. and Slovenia with a certain amount of trepidation along with hopeful enthusiasm. It was
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truly a win/win situation with Slovenia upstaging the U.S. in the first half. Minnesota Public Radio(MPR) called and wanted to know where “all” the Slovenians were meeting to view the game. Just envision a hundred Slovenian soccer enthusiasts huddled at Jax Cafe in Minneapolis sipping excitedly on their favorite “pivo”. This would have been a great PR move on our part, but alas we were all scattered in different “nooks and crannies’ in Minnesota.
Our TC website just opened another door which will enrich our Slovenian community. A new theatre, “Terra Firma” will be producing a show called “Wash My Sins Away” written by the exciting Slovenian playwright Kim Komljanec. There is a workshop this fall with an open invitation to our TC Slovenians to be a part of this production. 1 know we have a lot of “wannabe” Slovenians, do we have a lot of “wannabe” actors/actresses?
Our enthusiastic Branch 109 suffered what we hope is a temporary setback, we lost our regular meeting location. The Nectary Restaurant owned by Andrew Percic closed at the end of July because of a building lease issue. For the past 6 years the Nectary was home to our regular monthly meetings, events and special projects as well as a storage area for our Festival of Nations sets. Hvala Lepa, Andy for being such an excellent host.
Despite that setback Branch 109 will be hosting the Minnesota State Convention of the SWUA at the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul on September 12. Invitations have been sent to Consulate General Jure Zmauc, Senator Amy Klobuchar and father Jim Klobuchar along with a special presentation by Dr. Marge Pryately speaking on Slovenian missionaries in Central Minnesota. State President, Rosemary Ribich will conduct the business meeting, which will be highlighted by a discussion of bylaw changes to the SWUA constitution. These changes will be discussed at the upcoming National Convention in Milwaukee.
Branch 109 looks forward to another challenging year, continued work on digitizing the Zarja, collecting and collating the WW11 project, discussing possible changes to SWUA bylaws and participating in the Festival of Nations cultural exhibits. Let me end this article with a quote from John Wooden, a legend in collegiate athletics and philosophy: “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. ”
NORM SETNICKER
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Calendar of Events
SEPTEMBER 12,2010
Minnesota Regional Convention Hosted by Branch 109 of the Twin Cities.
SEPTEMBER 19,2010
Illinois/Indiana Regional Convention Hosted by Branch 89 of Oglesby, Illinois.
SEPTEMBER 26,2010
Annual Grape Harvest Festival Hosted by Branch 20 of Joliet, Illinois. For further information contact Jonita Ruth at 815.727.1926.
OCTOBER 10,2010
Ohio Convention Hosted by Branch 50 of Euclid, Ohio at the National Shrine of our Lady of Lourdes in Euclid. There will be Mass at 9:30 a.m. followed by a meeting.
NOVEMBER 5-7, 2010 3rd Annual Slovenian Heritage Sampler Weekend Hosted by Branch 93 of New York City. Call 201.947.6336 for further details. Everyone is welcome to attend.
NOVEMBER 26-28, 2010
Tony Petkovsek's 49,h annual Thanksgiving Day
Polka Party at the Marriott Hotel in downtown
Cleveland.
SWUA
National Convention
Milwaukee, Wisconsin JUNE 16-19, 2011
Fresh Evergreen Holiday Decorations Now Available Through SWUA
We are again conducting a holiday season fundraiser to support SWUA. These beautiful Christmas items are made from fresh evergreens, and each wreath comes with a door hanger. Orders will arrive at your door via UPS or FedEx between November 22 and December 10.
If you order as a gift, simply fill	in	your	message on	the
order blank and a card will be enclosed with	gift. There is
no extra cost for this. Anyone who has ever visited Slovenia knows how Slovenians love their beautiful green forests. In addition to purchasing a decoration, you will be helping the SWUA meet their financial endeavors.
After you check out our competitive prices, we hope you will order these Christmas items to decorate your home or give as gifts to your families and friends. Make your selection, fill out the order form and follow the procedure below:
Checks should be made payable to SWUA and sent to: SWUA c/o Carol Ryba 3305 Glenshane Way Ormond Beach, FL 32174
Orders must be received by SWUA no later than NOVEMBER 10. Kindly include your Email address on the form so that we can send a receipt. If you do not use Email, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope with your order so you can receive a receipt via snail mail.
Remember there are no additional shipping costs added to your order which makes this an excellent price. For more information on the products, check out the Mickman Brothers’ site www.mickman.com. We know you will not be disappointed in these lovely
Christmas decorations. Following are two testimonials from our members:
“Those were beautiful wreaths, Carol! My wife and I both thought they were packaged well, smelled fresh with neat ornamentation. Thanks for organizing that fund raiser. ”
“Hi! I am one of the very satisfied customers for the trees and Christmas centerpieces last year and I am glad to learn that you will be doing this again. ”
Carol Ryba ryba4homeoffice@yahoo.com or 386.615.3965
Holiday Gift Order Form
To order one of these Holiday Decorations, please complete the information requested below We would like to order one of the following:
□ Classic Gift Wreath !
EH Victorian Gilt Wreath S □ w intergreen Wreath S Please send this Holiday Gift to:
Name Take your time! Please print clearly in CAPITAL LETTERS
□ Cranberry Splash Wreath S Candlelit Centerpiece S | [ Holiday Gift Living Tree S
Street Address 48 contiguous states only—No P.O. ttoxes PLEASE
City
Sender’s Last Name
Make checks payable to SWUA—Send to:
□
SWUA c/o Carol Ryba 3305 Glenshane Way Ormond Beach, FL 32174
A portion of this gift is the planting of an evergreen tree, in your honor, within our nation's enchanting forests.
Slate Zip Code
Sender’s Phone Number
Proside Email Address so we can send sou a receipt.
If you do NOT have an Email address and want a receipt, please send us a STAMPED self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
Holiday Message
This tree will endure for decades to come as a sign of life and vitality for future generations of people and wildlife that call these forests their home, Happy Holidays!
SWUA MUST RECEIVE ORDERS BY NOVEMBER 10 Orders will be delivered between Nov 22 and Dec 10 Contact Info: Carol Ryba rs ba-thomeoftkeVyahoo. com J86-615-J965
From:
PRINT MESSAGE CLEARLY PLEASE
Jenka’s Taste of Slovenia
Garlic Soup (Česena juha)
This is a great rich soup recipe that is also popular as a remedy for the cold or flu in Slovenia.
5 cups chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
% teaspoon dried sage % teaspoon dried thyme
2 eggs, slightly beaten 1/8 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated Salt and pepper to taste 4 slices bread, toasted and cubed
In a saucepan bring the broth, garlic and herbs to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a bowl, mix the eggs, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Return the soup to low heat, add the egg mixture to the soup gradually, stirring continuously over low heat until it thickens (do not overheat the soup, as the eggs may curdle). Pour into soup bowls to serve and place several cubed pieces of toast and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Serves 4
Cheese Strudel (Sirov Strudel)
Vi pound farmers’ cheese, grated (or ricotta, drained)
Vi cup sour cream 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Vi cup sugar Vi teaspoon salt
12 sheets phyllo pastry dough, thawed Va stick butter, melted
'/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in warm water and drained
In a bowl combine cheese, sour cream, egg, vanilla, sugar and salt. Spread out one of the sheets of phyllo dough and brush with butter. Place another sheet of dough on top and continue the process until you have 4 layers of dough prepared.
Place 1 /3 of the cheese mixture at one of the smaller edges of the rectangular piece of dough, leaving 2 inches of space at the outer edges. Sprinkle 1/3 of the raisins on the cheese
mixture. Fold the left and right edges of the dough over the cheese mixture first and then fold the front edge of the dough and proceed to roll up the strudel to the far edge of the dough. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter. Using the same process, make 2 more strudels with the rest of the cheese mixture.
Place the strudels on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serves 9
Cherry Strudel (Češnjev štrudel)
3	cups cherries, pitted
Vi cup sugar
1 cup fine bread crumbs
8 sheets phyllo pastry dough, thawed
V2 stick butter, melted
In a bowl combine cherries, sugar, cinnamon and Vi of the bread crumbs. Spread out one of the sheets of phyllo dough and brush with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Place another sheet of dough on top and continue the process until you have 4 layers of dough prepared.
Place Vi of the cherry mixture at one of the smaller edges of the rectangular piece of dough, leaving 2 inches of space at the outer edges. Fold the left and right edges of the dough over the cherry mixture first and then fold the front edge of the dough and proceed to roll up the strudel to the far edge of the dough. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter. Using the same process, make another strudel with the rest of the cherry mixture.
Place the strudels on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serves 6
Note from Jenka:
For a wonderful cherry-cheese strudel, combine /2 of the cheese mixture and sprinkle cherries on top instead of the golden raisins. Also apples or just about any variety of filling you desire could be used to prepare these simple yet delicious strudels. What is so fantastic about these strudel recipes is that they are incredibly easy to make for a small group without spending hours preparing and stretching for a traditional strudel.
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Did you say POTICA?
Yes, that is right! Zarja the Dawn will once again feature potica in the November/December issue.
We are looking for recipes, stories, pictures, etc. If it has to do with potica, send it in to wprokup@aol.com by September 10, 2010.
Wintergreen $33.00
Victorian $32.00
Cumkn y 5pto>h Vmsrth,
Cranberry Splash $33.00
AIRMAIL
NARODNA IN UNIVERZITETNA KNJIŽNICA
DS
iII 54 7882010
MEMBER ID 70665 IRENA SESEK TURJAŠKA 1. P.O. BOX 259 1000 LJUBLJANA SLOVENJA
920100321,5
Fresh Evergreen Holiday Decorations
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Living Tree $30.00 (20" tall)
Candlelit Centerpiece $31.00 (18” wide)
Now
Available
Through
SWUA
Price Includes Shipping
Great Holiday Gifts See Page 31 for Details