ZARJA -THE DAWN 11 54788 URADNO GLASILO OFFICIAL PUBLICATION SLOVENSKE ZENSKE ZVEZE V AMERIKI SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION OF AMERICA NUMBER 2 MARCH-APR1L 1998 VOLUME 70 M T w T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 St. Patrick's Day M T w T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Good Friday - Passover - Easter SPECIAL EVENTS AND DATES MARCH: 2, Chicago, IL Mar. 12 St. Joe’s Table 5, Indpls.,IN Mar. 14 Luncheon-meeting 20, Joliet, IL Mar. 14 St. Pat’s Dance 33, Duluth, MN Mar. 17 White Elephant Auction & Bingo 105, Detroit, MI Mar. 14 St. Pat’s Dance APRIL: 1, Sheboygan, WI Apr. 12 Donut Breakfast after 8:30 Mass 20, Joliet, IL Apr. 18-19 Bakery Sale, St. Joseph’s Church Apr. 21 Guest Speaker at meeting 33, Duluth, MN Apr. 22 Spaghetti Dinner fund-raiser 73, Warrensville,OH Apr. 19 Pancake Bkfst, St. Jude’s Church Please see Branch Activities Reports for more information on these events. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN MARCH National Officers: Mar. 1 - Cirila Kermavner, National Auditor, Cleve., OH Mar. 8 - Josephine Muster, Past Nat’l Treasurer, 95th Birthday, Joliet, IL Presidents: Mar. 8 Mar. 11 Mar. 12 Mar. 13 Mar. 17 Mar. 31 Secretaries: Mary Zakrajšek, Br. 86, Nashwauk, MN Anna Mae Melle, Br. 91, Oakmont, PA Josephine Janezic, Br. 43, Milwaukee, WI Martha Koren, Br. 14, Cleveland, OH Dorothy Maurin, Br. 28, Calumet, MI Adeline Mustonen, Br. 34, Soudan, MN Mar. 3 - Jennie Flisek, Br. 91, Oakmont, PA Mar. 8 - Mary Podgornik, Br. 99, Elmhurst, IL Mar. 26 - Elsie Gallun, Br. 43, Milwaukee, WI TEZAX FUNERAL HOME “First in Service Since 1908” Licensed Producer’s; Richard K. Tezak Lydia Marquardt LUTCF (741-0427) (Forethought Trust) American Slovenian Catholic Union (KSKJ) Call for information and a free booklet "For Future Reference” (815) 722-0524 459 No. Ottawa, Joliet, IL 60432 4jjjp First Midwest Bank V* National Association 50 W. Jefferson Street Joliet, Illinois 60431 (815 727-5222 & HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN APRIL National Officers: Apr. 1 - Kathy Schroeder, Youth Dir., Sheboygan, WI Apr. 24 - Charlotte Laurich, Reg. Pres. MN, Chisholm, MN Apr. 21 - Hermine Dicke, Past Scholarship Dir., 86th Birthday, Madison, WI Apr. 25 - Kathleen Emerson, Women’s Act. Dir. Orion, MI Presidents: Apr. 1 - Frances Korošec, Br. 59, Burgettstown, PA Apr. 4 - Margaret Gricar, Br. 71, Strabane, PA Apr. 10 - Jeanette Killoran, Br. 6, Barberton, OH Apr. 17 - Virginia Uhernik, Br. 74, Ambridge, PA Secretaries: Apr. 3 - Vida Lanari, Br. 19, Eveleth, MN Apr. 24 - Delores Puhek, Br. 2, Chicago, IL Apr. 26 - Jennie Crea, Br. 52, Kitzville, MN MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY! COVER PHOTO: Spring is just around the corner -look for the first signs! ZARJA - THE DAWN (ISSN 0044-1848) Postmaster: Send all changes of address to: ZARJA - THE DAWN, 4851 S. Drexel Blvd., Chicago, IL 60615-1703 NO. 2 MARCH-APRIL, 1998 VOL. 70 Member, Illinois Fraternal Congress Official Publication of the Slovenian Women's Union of America — Uradno glasilo Slovenske Ženske Zveze. Published six times per year - šestkrat na leto. Annual Subscription for non-members, $15.00 — naročnina $15.00 letno za ne-članice. Publisher: SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION OF AMERICA 431 No. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432 Telephone (815) 727-1926 Periodicals Postage Paid at Joliet, IL und at additional mailing offices All communications for the next issue of publication must be in the hands of the Editor by the first week of the month — vsi dopisi za naslednjo izdajo mesečnika morajo biti v rokah urednice do I. v mesecu. Editor, COK1NNE LESKOVAR Editorial Office: 4851 S. Drexel Blvd., Chicago, IL 60615-1703 Telephone: (773) 548-8878 JEAN KORSMAN, National President 1988 - Let's Keep the Connection! Although there is less work for me to do this year in writing six letters instead of eight, I seem to have more trouble covering my topics in a timely manner. This March-April issue will include the SWU Scholarship form for our young applicants. We hope you will encourage the eligible members of your Branches to fill out these forms and send in the required paperwork. These One Thousand Dollar Grants are one way the SWU continues to show their interest in and support of our young members. By helping them to achieve their education goals, we are making a life-long investment in their future. Mother of the Year Deadline Those Branches who honor a Mother of the Year should be preparing their stories by March 1st for the May-June ZARJA. This is one deadline that many Branches fail to meet each year, but one issue that we all eagerly look forward to reading. ZARJA Six times in 1998 The Branch secretaries have all received a packet from our ZARJA office. These contain a schedule of dates for article deadlines, a (pink) calendar to be used for your Branches planned activities and (pink) addressed envelopes for your convenience. Please observe the deadlines and co-operate with the directives enclosed. Board Meets March 19-20 The National Board will be meeting in Joliet on March 19-20. Because of the many financial obligations at this timfe, and to save money, only the voting members of the Board will be in attendance. The appointed Scholarship Director, the Food Editor and the Women’s Activity Director, along with the Regional Presidents have been instructed to send in their annual reports which I will present to the Board. We are looking forward to an orderly and productive meeting which will include several problem-solvers along with our Investment Specialists from Midwest Trust Co. A representative from the 111. Dept, of Ins. has been invited to give us information on the ever-changing insurance directives that govern our SWU. We have many issues to debate. As is expected of your elected National Officers, our promise is to do our very best to make decisions that will benefit the entire organization in the future, continue to promote its high standards of conduct and performance, and help us to achieve our long-term goals. It’s time to get out the seed catalogues and start planning our summer gardens! Seems almost impossible that we have survived this winter with the great expectation of spring! May you all enjoy the season, make good promises during Lent and come to a most beautiful Eastertime. Happy Easter to all! B La/30 slov[jer\e vcUKpru)čne prc^rviK^ NATIONAL SECRETARY - - KEEPING UP-TO-DATE It’s that time of year. Billing has begun, and many of you have been very prompt in returning your payments to us. Thank you. We always struggle a bit at the end of the year, with the majority of dues being received early in the year. We do manage to survive, until the money starts arriving. It has been called to my attention at least three times in December, when notices were sent to members who had not paid their yearly assessments, that there are a few who are still bothered by the direct billing - they liked it better the “old way.” The remark all of them made leads me to believe that some clarification is needed. Let’s talk.about the “old way.” One writer put it this way, “Members who attended the meetings paid their dues, others sent in checks to the (branch) secrertary. The secretary in turn sent in the payments for each of the members,” and she added there were “no problems.” That would have been a great set-up, had it worked that way. Before direct billihg, each branch secretary did collect dues and did send them into the Home Office. BUT, the money she sent in was for the entire branch, not just for the members who had paid their dues. So, if you paid your yearly dues in January, and Jennie Jones didn’t pay hers until June, and Sophie Smith let her’s ride until December, no problem - because you, and several other prompt members were there to carry not only Jennie and Sophie, but several others. When we started the billing, we found not only members but entire branches who had not paid, some over six months back, a few even over one year. There was no manner in which the delinquent dues could be collected, except for the branch secretaries to keep after those in arrears. Those secretaries applaud the new system, and the ones with large memberships welcomed the relief from trying to keep up with the record keeping. So, upon receipt of your invoice when you pay your dues, and Jennie and Sophie don’t pay theirs, they are eventually dropped from the membership, ZARJA is cancelled and their certificates become null and void. At least YOU did not carry them. Perhaps the biggest advantage to the direct billing is the matter of the branch secretary. It seems to be a job nobody wants, as a result, those who remain in office have been there for many, many years. They are tired, they are weary, they have done their jobs well and now want out. Even if they choose to remain in the office, the workload has definitely been lightened for them. SECRETARIES: Regarding death benefits, there are presently 28 death benefits to be paid for 1997 (Oct.-Dec.) for a total of $3,500. They will be paid shortly. We thank you for your patience. In 1998, with the new schedule for ZARJA (every other month) death benefits will be paid on the alternate months. This will keep our budget under control. If your roster of officers for 1998 has not been sent in, we will appreciate your quick response. We find that on applications for new members, the bottom of the application is not being completed. The branch number, location, officer’s approval, member’s signatures are being left blank. This information is important for our records. Please take time to complete the applications properly. Thank you. Hoping that the first two months of the New Year have been good to you and yours, we look forward to again addressing you in the May-June issue of ZARJA. Respectfully, Evelyn A. Majercik, National Secretary A note was received from Mary Dezman, Branch No. 12, that carried sad news. Mary had been a Branch Officer many, many years and writes on occasion to let us know her progress since she has been ill. Her latest note included a prayer card for her son, Michael John (age 45), who had passed away on December 23rd. Michael was a member of the branch and suffered his own difficulties with life. In her short note Mary said, “He is a saint now, and you can pray to him for help.” Our deepest sympathy to you, Mary. There is no grater pain suffered by a mother than the loss of a child. We shall remember Michael in our prayers, and shall pray for you, too. em EDITOR SLOVENIAN-BORN BISHOP AMBROZICH ELEVATED TO CARDINAL L L o be named Cardinal is an extraordinary honour, a humbling and heartening affirmation. I am profoundly grateful to the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. I realize that this nomination constitutes a call for more intensive leadership and effort. That it comes on the 50th anniversary of my arrival in the country which is now my home is a reminder to me that all our lives are a journey; every element is significant as God leads us in ever-deepening service to and with the community.” Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozich ALOYSIUS Ambrozich, scholar, theologian, bishop, is now Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozich, Prince of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, so named by His Holiness John Paul II. The investiture was conducted at the Vatican on February 21st, 1998 in the presence of many Slovenians and citizens of Toronto, Canada, the diocese of 1.4 million Catholics that Ambrozich has administered since 1990. The Slovenian immigrant community in Canada and the United States is especially proud of their son who was bom in Slovenia January 27, 1930, the son of Aloysius and Helen (Pečar) Ambrozich and immigrant to Canada with his family in 1948. Cardinal Ambrozich was educated in Rome and was ordained a priest in Toronto on June 4, 1955. He received his doctorate in theology at the University of Wurzburg in 1970, was a professor of New Testament before becoming Auxiliary Bishop in 1976, Coadjutor Bishop in 1988 and Archbishop in 1990. His appointments include the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (1990), the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy (1991) and the Pontifical Council for Culture (1993). The fact that he is well-travelled, has an exceptional education, scholastic and linguistic ability, fluency in five languages and deep comprehension of international affairs gives him a larger vision of the world and adds to his attributes as a church leader. It has been said of him: “He is a true scholar and has an amazing amount to contribute... He is deeply in tune with people who are suffering as opposed to lobbying... He is very clear on moral issues... He will be a good, thoughtful international advisor...” As one of the Holy Father’s 22 new cardinals representing 13 countries, Ambrozich will belong to the consistory of 168 cardinals who advise the Pope and of the 123 cardinals who qualify by reason of their age, under 80 years, that will elect his successor. Members of the Slovenian Women’s Union will remember that in 1981 then Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto Ambrozich accepted our invitation to be the main celebrant, homilist and lecturer at the SWU Christian Women’s Conference held in Lemont, Illinois at the Slovenian Franciscan Fathers’ Retreat House. Those who attended will recall the impact he made on us as an effective teacher and counselor on matters such as the lessons of theology, faith issues and personal spirituality. Cardinal Ambrozich is only the second Slovenian-born Roman Catholic Cardinal, the first being Jakob Missia (1838-1902) who was invested in 1899 and is remembered for his attention to the need for more priestly vocations and establishment of numerous monasteries, including welcoming the first Jesuit province in Slovenia. Missia sanctioned the expansion of the church of St. Vitus and Franciscan monastery at Brezje where the Shrine of Marija Pomagaj is located and dedicated it on October 7, 1900. CARDINAL AMBROZICH is deeply interested in the Cause for the Canonization of Bishpp Frederic Baraga - was the host of Baraga Days in Toronto in 1996 and homilist at Baraga Days in 1994 and 1995. He has been invited to attend the forthcoming commemoration in Cleveland Sept. 5-6, 1998. Francis Cardinal George The United States has received two new cardinals, one of whom is Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, head of archdiocese of 3 million Catholics. The dream was kept alive for these kids and many more like them ! High School Graduating Seniors: Apply now for a 1998 scholarship if you are a member of the Slovenian Women’s Union for at least three years, planning further education at an accredited college or university, and will be graduating at the end of this spring’s semester. Use the scholarship application form which appears in this issue of ZARJA and for further information contact Mary H. Turvey, 52 Oakridge Drive, Marquette, Michigan 49855. All required data will have to be received by March 17, 1998. We wish all graduates success during their final semester of high School. Branch Secretaries have donors’s cards - or use the one below. SCHOLARSHIP FUND REPORT ~b (Hdp (F^ep the (J)ream s\five t0 the Qlovenlan Women’s Union Scholarship (program has been made for _______________________________________ --------------------------------------- Qlovenian (Women's (ZJnlon Scholarship program <1 (we) enclose S_________________ tfrt Honor of__________________________________________________________ '/^uu and Occasion C]n memory of _________________________________________________________ a Contribution_____________________________________________________ (Qonor's Q(ame_________________________________________________________ 5[)onor's Address______________________________________________________ Q1?_______________________________S,a,e__________31? C°de-------------- December 1997 and January 1998 Donor In Honor of Amount Stacy Radosevich Margaret L. Radosevich $20.00 Paul Belsito SWU, Br. 33, Duluth, MNScholarship Fund 33.60 Josephine Lustick Scholarship Fund 40.00 SWU, Br. 32, Euclid, OH Scholarship Fund 25.00 Agnes D. Zaback MaryZabak 20.00 Rose Lausche In Memory of Ann Saari and Bill Slagan JoeGotchnik 10.00 Ann Saari and Bill Slagan Jim Slogan Sr. 20.00 AnnaL. Hodnik Sylvia Vukodinovich 10.00 Janvid & Mary Staut James Seliškar 10.00 Janvid&Mary Staut Martin Matkovich 10.00 Janvid & Mary Staut AnnStremikis 10.00 Rosemary J. Mlakar AnnaProznik 20.00 Fran & Frank Shepel William Erzar 5.00 Fran & Frank Shepel AngelaGerzin 5.00 Prof. Max L. Schuster Frances C. Payton 100.00 To all thoughtful donors throughout the past year: Your promotion of our SWU Scholarship Fund is deeply appreciated. Because of your generosity four more $1,000 Scholarships can be awarded this spring. To all SWU members: Please encourage the high school seniors who are members of your individual branches to apply. Mary H. Turvey, Director SWU Scholarship Program FOUR $1,000 SWU SCHOLARSHIPS r^n. To be eligible, 1) you must be a high school senior intending to be a full time student at an accredited university or college after graduation, and 2) you must have been a member of the SWU for at least three years prior to graduation. One scholarship can be awarded ever to any one family and only one scholarship can be awarded each year to any one branch. ALL APPLICATIONS ARE TO BE MAILED PRIOR TO MARCH I, 1998. Applications received beyond that date will be disqualified. The applications are evaluated by the SWU Scholarship Committee based equally on scholastic achievement; school, church, and community activities; SWU participation; and financial need. To avoid partiality, all identifying information is deleted from the material given to the committee members and each applicant is identified by a randomly assigned letter of the alphabet. All applicants are notified by mail of the final decision. If you are awarded a scholarship, one half of the award is paid to you when'you submit proof of first semester enrollment at an accredited university or college. The remainder is paid when you submit proof of second semester enrollment. APPLICATION FOR SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION SCHOLARSHIP Name Sex M_ Home Address___________________________________________________________________________ City_____________________________________________________._________________________State____________________Zip_ Name of Parent(s)_______________________________________________________________________________________________ High School_____________________________________________________________________ Principal__________ School Address_______________________________________________________________________________________ City State_____________________________________________________________________________________Zip. Graduation Date__________________________________________________ Class Rank_______________GPA____ College Considered________________________________________________________Major---------------------- SWU Branch Number______________________________________Years of SWU Membership. Signature__________________________________________________________________________ Include the following additional material with the application form: __________ One recent 2-1/2” x 3-1/2” photo, black and white or color. __________ Official transcript of high school grades to date. __________ Brief autobiography including school, church, community, SWU activities and personal goals. __________ Statement of financial need. __________ Recommendation from high school principal/teacher/counselor. __________ Recommendation from SWU Branch president/secretary. Send the completed application form and all the requested material to: Mary Turvey, SWU Scholarship Director 52 Oakridge Drive Marquette, Michigan 49855 b ,.C7 Irene M. Odorizzi, Heritage Director HISTORY OF S.W.U. BRANCHES Looking Back to the Future Branch 20, Joliet, Illinois 70th ANNIVERSARY -1928-1998 Barbara “Bara” Kramer of San Francisco and Josephine Erjavec organized Br. 20 in Joliet, Illinois. Bara organized several branches, among them also Br. 13 in her home town. Mrs. Erjavec served as SWU National Secretary and Recording Secretary and Reporter of Br. 20. On this historic photo-circa 1930’s: Josephine Muster, active branch officer and Nat’l Treasurer for some years (left), Bara (second on right) and Josephine (right). (Second woman is not identified.) Part I - THE BEGINNING Two years following the formation of the Slovenska Ženska Zveza (Slovenian Women’s Union), by Marie Pris-land in 1926, Branch 20 of Joliet, Illinois, was organized by Barbara “Bara” Kramer of San Francisco, California, and Josephine Erjavec of Joliet, Illinois. The momentous date was June 11, 1928. Fourteen ladies met at the home of Mary Russ, 1020 North Broadway St. and became the charter members of what was soon to be one of the most dynamic branches of “Zveza” as it was called by its many members in those early years. The charter members selected the following ladies as their first officers: President, Antonia Struna; Vice President, Agnes Skedel; Secretary, Anna Pluth; Treasurer, Rose Gorsich; Trustees, Josephine Erjavec, Louise Riffel, Mary Zupancich. The remaining charter members were: Josephine Jud-nich, Mary Kunstek, Catherine Petrie, Mary Russ, Mary Setina, Catherine Skoff and Barbara Zelko. The enthusiastic ladies began a membership campaign and at the close of the year, within six months of the branch’s formation, 292 members were enrolled in Branch 20. The outstanding workers enrolling new ladies were Anna Pluth, Rose Gorsich, Catherine Dragovan and Barbara Adamich. In 1930, other officers were needed. Josephine Erjavec S.W.U. HISTORY became Recording Secretary, a position she held until 1978 when she retired. Sergeant-at-arms was assigned to Anna Jerisha and the pastor of St. Joseph Church, Rev. John Plevnik became Spiritual Director. In the same year, the second SŽZ (SWU) National Convention was held in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Branch 20 delegates were Antonia Struna, Agnes Skedel, Anna Pluth and Josephine Erjavec who was elected to the National Board as an Auditor. Within the first eight years, “organize,” was the keyword. In 1932, Frances Bottari, assisted by Catherine Dragovan, organized the Sewing Circle. In 1936, the Joliet Bowling League was organized by Jennie Benedict and Emma Planinšek. The ladies bowled weekly at Rivals Bowling Lanes and many tournaments were held there. Mrs. Benedict was elected first bowling director of the Midwest at the 1936 convention in Milwaukee, Wis. BRANCH OFFICERS IN 1931 (Seated): Treasurer Mary Setina, Vice President Anna Mahkovec, President Agnes Skedel, Secretary, Anna Pluth and Recording Secretary Josephine Erjavec. (Standing): Trustee Mary Terlep, Sergeant-at-arms Mary Kunstek, Trustee Anna Jerisha, Trustee Catherine Kuzma. NATIONAL OFFICERS IN JOLIET... at an occasion similar to many held in those old days. At this time they were visiting St. Joseph’s Park. From left to right, Josephine Erjavec, Bara Kramer, Josephine Muster, Marie Prisland (National President), Albina Novak (Editor of Zarja), Marie Floryan (West Allis, Wisconsin) Ella Starin, (Cleveland, Ohio), Josephine Ramuta Sumic and Josephine Železnikar (Chicago, Illinois). S.W.U. HISTORY V LET’S READ ABOUT... ...the “sisterly spirit” Josephine Erjavec, Reporter for Br. 20 for over 48 years tries to impart to readers of ZARJA in February, 1938. Many branches would not be what they are today if it were not for the dedication of our early officers. At the time of this 1938 report Br. 20 had 391 members and were growing. Today they have over 600 members. _ ,• i ril Our annual East- No. 20, Joliet, 111- Qn April er Monday dance wi this 0CCil. 18 at the sl0.ve"iawM, make their first sion our cad and then open the formal appearance an honof dance. This danc will be ^ nQt of our tenth anmvers y reasons. hold a banquet due to v. ^ As you or branch fees m°nthly assessrnem urse ^ treasury. with which to rein QUr mem. 1 ~ie 25 cents a month wm^ Office, , 1 ars pay Soes d from which fu- i -to the supreme fund^onthly publ.ca-, eral claims and ou o{ficial expenses tion and also a retnarkable how are paid. R^“y’ a month goes. No far your 25 cents^^ can yQU et so where in the. . And now when it much for so little. A g ^ave l comes to our d t pay them, to raise a separate tun ^ hgU rent I Month after month . ar in case of » to p»y, SU .n«S£! 10th ANNIVERSARY photo, officers in 1938: Marie Miklich, Anna Korevec, Emma Planinšek, Josephine Muster and Josephine Erjavec; (standing) Jennie Rambich, Catherine Kuzma, Anna Stukel and Mary Kunstek. inciaeiua.o --- f our owu son, to raise "Numerous expenses, urv to defray these num Theref0re, I a dance is held once say ^ dQ her b gt 1 it behooves every ,g event. We 1 toward the succe . jor eVery mem- must fulfil equal Jut1« Some mem her has the same and return 1 bers are veFJ that js not a sisterly I everything, but need equal cour- 1 spirit, for in A record I tesies are shown to e y members is held, far a e; s 'nC°e and it is who render their t0 be on not too late for y each do our share , __________________________________________ I anniversary souvenir 'kindly requ« TEAMWORK by the officers always expected at Br. 20. Photo taken during 1 bers and *.r!ent^*s booklet as “patr< a busy year of 1943, from left to right (seated) Mary Terlep, Emma Planinšek, [ to be liste i (standing) Josephine Muster, Anna Korevec and Josephine Erjavec. S.W.U. HISTORY JUNIOR CIRCLE OF BRANCH 20 The Junior Circle of Slovenian folkdancers pose in their lovely costumes made by skilled seamstress and member, Caroline Gregory. Standing right is Rose Stukel who taught the girls the Slovenian dances on Saturday afternoons at Mrs. Gregory’s small hall located on Broadway St. at the rear of her home. Many of these Junior Circle dancers are still members. This photo was taken approximately 1942. Beginning in 1938, a special activity was founded for the young girls and women. The Branch 20 Cadets (later earning the title of Championship Cadets) was organized by Emma Planinšek and Josephine Erjavec in January of 1938. At one time the number reached three squads of 48 cadets. Captains who served 7 years each were Josephine Mahkovec Goron and Dorothy Govednik Mahan. Drillmas-ters were May me Culic Altai followed by Fred Pearson. In 1939, Josephine Muster formed the Junior Department and a Junior Circle was organized by Mrs. Emma Planinšek. These young ladies dressed in Slovenian national costumes rehearsed on Saturday afternoons at Gregory’s Hall and performed traditional dances that were taught by Mayme Stukel at various events during the year. The Junior Drill Team came into existence through Josephine Erjavec, Emma Planinšek and Mary C. Terlep in December of 1942. The younger cadets uniformed in red, white and blue practiced weekly and as they grew older were merged into the Championship Cadets. The Junior team Captains were Bernice Metesh Zobel and Elaine Troppe Fleming. Mascots and baton twirlers also completed the colorful revue that made public appearances. Emma Planinšek 43 year President SLOVI* iWOMMft JUNIOR CIRCLE members lead the SWU Float down Chicago Street. S.W.U. HISTORY v —J FIRST DRILL TEAM IN JOLIET - THE YEAR WAS 1938! First row: Genevieve Glavan, Mildred Gregorich, Isabelle Gregorich, Lorraine Nemanich, Mary Dolinshek, Helen Mahkovec, Mrs. Mayme Laurie, director, Agnes Rosetich, Rita Stukel, Bertha Planinshek, Dorothy Dolinshek, Isabelle Musich, Helen Todorovich. Second row: Edith Kunstek, Dorothy Zupančič, Elizabeth Petek, Fran Železnik, Josephine Mahkovec, Leona Laurie, Marie Terlep, Mildred Erjavec, Olga Erjavec, Ann Jevitz. Note: Remember, these girls were all unmarried in 1938 so they are not identified by their married names.) GROWING YEAR BY YEAR 1931 Officers: President, Agnes Skedel; Vice President, Anna Mahkovec; Secretary, Anna Pluth; Recording Secretary, Josephine Erjavec; Treasurer, Mary Setina; Trustees: Anna Jerisha, Catherine Kuzma, Mary M. Terlep; Sergeant-at-arms, Mary Kunstek; Spiritual Director, Rev. John Plevnik. Events: Easter Monday Dance with Mrs. Anton Nemanich, Sr., as chairman. Picnic at Von Esch farm. 1932 Officers: President, Agnes Skedel; Vice President, Anna Jerisha; Secretary, Anna Pluth; Recording Secretary, Josephine Erjavec; Treasurer, Mary Setina; Trustees: Mary M. Terlep, Anna Korevec, Jennie Bambich; Sergeant-at-arms, Mary Kunstek; Spiritual Director, Rev. John Plevnik. Events: Sewing Circle organized with Frances Bottari as president and assisted by Catherine Dragovan. Easter Monday Dance with Mrs. Erjavec as chairman. 1933 Officers: Same as for 1932 with the folllowing exceptions. Treasurer, Mary M. Terlep; Trustee: Clara Blaess Buchar. Events: Sewing Club president, Mrs. Caroline Gregory. Easter Monday Dance with Mrs. Pluth as chairman. Picnic in Homewood. Delegate to the third national convention May 22, 23, and 24 in Cleveland, Ohio was Agnes Skedel. Mrs. Erjavec re-elected president of the supreme board of auditors. Fifth year: 239 members. 1934 Officers: Same as those in 1933. Socials: Easter Monday Dance with Anna Korevec as chairman and Mrs. Erjavec as co-chairman. Picnic at Rivals Club. IP —--------- S.W.U. HISTORY BRANCH NO. 20 JUNIOR CADETS First row (left to right): Baton twirlers Doris Bistry and Joan Nahas; Mascots Dolores Brule, Diane Ramuta, Camille Rogel, Beverly Gregory, Francille Vraničar and Geraldine Jevitz; Baton twirlers Joyce Grohar and Jean Zola. (Second row): Marie Vraničar, Frances Cankar, Dorothy Boštjančič, Bernardine Vraničar, Dolores Boštjančič, Marion Juricic, Mr. Fred Pearson, drillmaster, Betty Avsec, Beatrice Likar, Anna Petrich, Genevieve Schmidberger, Dorothy Ancel, and Albina Potochnic. (Third row): Dolores Wisemantle, Marion Strysik, Anna Mae Racic, Helen Hočevar, Lucille Gregorash, Evelyn Mutz, Genevieve Govednik, Margaret Mlakar, Helen Janesh, Theresa Mikolič, Bertha Horvatin and Dorothy Govednik. (Fourth row): Eileen Ferkol, Irene Likovich, Rosemary Horvatin, Mildred Gregorich, Leona Marn, Mary Terese Spelich, Gloria Ann Papesh, Patricia Brule, Bernice Matesh, Bernadine Dragovan, Jennie Pirc, and Lorraine Crnkovič. Not on picture: Dolores and Dorothy Dernulc, Alice Fojut, Virginia Gilha, Betty Jane Kambic, and Dolores Zupancich. (Editor: It’s interesting to note... Many of these youngsters are still members as adults. One of them, Marion Juricic [Bowers] is currently our ZARJA Food Columnist! That’s loyalty!) fsieVif I* r* 'f'K The six mascots were left to right: Diane Ramutta, Camille Rogel, Francille Vraničar, Beverly C. Gregory, Geraldine Jevits and Dolores Brule. Josephine Erjavec Nat’l Secretary Nat’l Auditor 1939-1952 1930-1938 S.W.U. HISTORY DOING SO MANY THINGS... Br. 20 has had many vibrant officers and workers that made sure the members were involved and busy all the time. One way they did it was by showing their patriotism, especially during WW II. At a War bond rally, (top left) we see, from left, Evelyn Mutz, Capt. of Junior Cadets. Jo Goron (Mahkovec) Capt. of Championship Cadets, Charles Reardon, chair of the War Bond Drive, Josephine Muster, SWU, Nat’l Treasurer presenting a check, and Mary Terlep, Treas. of Br. 20. At that time $50,000 had already been collected. Middle: CADET Dance Committee (seated) Jo Mahkovec, chairman, (standing) Betty Martincich, Agnes Resetich and Helen Todorovich; lower: BIRTHDAY PARTY of 10 Cadets: (seated) Genevieve Glavan, Marie Terlep, Marie Prisland, (Nat’l Pres.) Jo Mahkovec; (standing) Mildred Gregorich, Mildred Erjavec, Olga Erjavec, Rita Stukel, Edith Kunstek and Ann Puz. They were all September celebrants. tavern 1935 Officers: President, Emma Planinšek; Vice President, Anna Korevec; Secretary, Anna Pluth; Recording Secretary, Josephine Erjavec; Treasurer, Theresa Zlogar; Trustees: Anna Stukel, Amelia Zelko, Jennie Bambich; Sergeant-at-arms, Mary Kunstek; Spiritual Director, Rev. John Plevnik. Socials: Easter Monday Dance with Jennie Benedick, chairman. Picnic at Rivals Club with Anna Mahkovec chairman. Card Party with Amelia Zelko chairman. 1936 Officers: Same as those in 1935. In February Josephine Muster was elected secretary. Events: Easter Monday Dance with Miss Amelia Zelko chairman. Picnic at Rivals Club MIDWEST BOWLING CHAMPS in 1940 were these gals of the Papesh Tavern Team, (left) Mayme Umek, Ann Papesh, Rene Rigoni, Helen Keith and Rose Carpenter. Bowling was one of the main activities of the younger members from 1936 until recent years. with Josephine Erjavec chairman. Joliet Bowling League organized by Jennie Benedict and Emma Planinšek. Card Party with Ann Stukel chairman. Delegates to the fourth national convention May 25, 26 and 27 in Milwaukee, Wis., were Josephine Muster, Anna Mahkovec and Jennie Benedick, who was elected the Midwest bowling sports director. Mrs. Erjavec re-elected president of the supreme board of auditors. 1937 Officers: Same as those for 1936. In March Marie Miklich elected treasurer. Socials: Easter Monday Dance with Emma Planinšek chairman. Picnic at Rivals Club. All ladies’ church card party with Mrs. Planinšek, chairman. S.W.U. HISTORY . —.... s SLOVENIAN j [ VO. to I jOLItf. tu- JOLIET CHAMPIONSHIP CADETS gained their championship status by performing excellently at parades and exhibitions. This team was the most celebrated and largest team among all drill groups of SWU. (Left photo): The most diligent little workers among the junior cadets earned titles such as “Queen” and “Princess” for their fund raising efforts. On this photo from 1943 we see Frances Cankar, Bernadine Vraničar, Rosemary Hrvatin and Eileen Ferkul who were top fund-raisers. Right: Jo Mahkovec Goron, Captain of the Championship Cadets led the group for many years of successful drill exhibitions. 1938 Officers: President, Emma Planinšek; Vice President, Anna Korevec; Secretary, Josephine Muster; Recording Secretary, Josephine Erjavec; Treasurer, Marie Miklich; Trustees: Anna Stukel; Catherine Kuzma; Jennie Bambich; Sergeant-at-arms, Mary Kunstek; Spiritual Director, Rev. John Plevnik. Events: January 20, the organization of the Championship drill team by Mrs. Emma Planinšek and Mrs. Josephine Erjavec. Midwest Bowling Tournament at Rivals Club; first place winner was the Papesh Tavern. Easter Monday Dance - celebrating branch’s 10th anniv. with Mrs. Planinšek chairman. Picnic in Homewood. Tenth year -411 members. 1939 Officers: Same as for 1938 with the following exceptions. Trustees: 2 - Josephine Sumic; 3 - Marie Nemanich - Spiritual Director, Rev. M.J. Butala. Events: Showing of European tour films by Mrs. Erjavec. Easter Monday Dance with Anna Korevec, chairman and Josephine Sumic as co-chairman. Junior campaign first place won by the branch and Mrs. Muster. Delegates to the fifth national convention May 22, 23 and 24 in Chisholm, Minn, were Emma Planinšek, substituted by Mary Kunstek, Anna Korevec and Josephine Muster, who was elected supreme treasurer, Mrs. Erjavec elected supreme secretary. Union’s headquarters transferred to Joliet from Chicago in July. S.W.U. HISTORY V -■ ■ -J) I PROGRAM 15th Anniversary BRANCH NO. 20 SLOVENIAN WOMEN'S UNION Dedication of the Sloveniah Flag the Junior Cadeta’ Banner and Uniforms if-} W SUNDAY. OCTOBER 2k. I94J JOUST, ILLINOIS (Right photo). The official banner carrier was Bertha Horva-tin, while the official Slovenian flag carrier was Bernadine Vraničar. The pillow bearers for the banner were Jeanne Matkovich and Bernadine Mlakar and for the Slovenian flag, Jonita Erjavec and Irene Planinšek. 1940 Officers: Same as for 1939 with the following exceptions. Treasurer Mary C. Terlep, 3rd Trustee Jennie Benedick. Events: Easter Monday Dance with Mary C. Terlep, chairman. Sewing Club revived and the making of Junior national costumes at the Gregoriches with Mrs. Planinšek, president. Membership campaign first places won by branch and Mrs. Terlep. First Zveza Day in Lemont with the Joliet Chairman Mrs. Planinšek (this and all others held in conjunction with branch No. 2 of Chicago, 111.) Midwest bowling tournament in Chicago, IL- first place winner was the Ann Papesh team. 1941 Officers: Same as for 1940 with the following exceptions. Trustees: 2nd Jennie Benedick and 3rd Elizabeth Kastelic. Events: Easter Monday Dance with Mrs. Muster as chairman and Mrs. Kastelic as co-chairman. Midwest bowling tournament winner was the Modeme Fur Shoppe, who also won the National title in South Chicago, 111. Membership campaign first places won by the branch and Mary Terlep. On top photo Mrs. Terlep is seen as Campaign Queen, an honor she earned by bringing in the most new members. 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION On Sunday, October 24, 1943, Branch 20 celebrated its fifteenth anniversary along with the Dedication of the Slovenian Flag and the Junior Cadets’ Banner and Uniforms. A printed program commemorated the event and was sponsored by hundreds of patrons and well wishes. The events of the day began with a two division parade at 10:15 a.m. Division I participants were: Joliet City Police, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Joliet High School Nations Band, R.OT.C. Unit, SWU #16 Cadets from So. Chicago, St. Joseph Boy Scouts, SWU #20 Junior Circle, Official sponsors, Godparents for the Slovenian Flag, committee sponsors. Division II consisted of: Military Police Color Guard, St. Joseph Grade School Band, KSKJ drill team, SWU Junior Cadets, SWU Championship Cadets, National Officers and out-of-town guests, SWU #20 members, Slovenian Fraternal Societies from Joliet, Lockport and Rockdale. There was a solemn high Mass at 11:00 a.m. with the blessing of the Slovenian Flag and the Junior Cadets’ banner and uniforms by Rev. M.J. Butala. Professor Anthony Rozman directed the Church Choir. At 1:00 p.m. a delicious hot banquet luncheon was prepared by members followed by an elaborate stage program which consisted of 29 musical presentations and speeches. There were numerous committees formed: kitchen, publicity, stage-crew, art work, accompanists and make-up, script writers and pages. The 15th Anniversary celebration developed into an event beyond expectation for the Slovenian community and for these newly organized Slovenian women. Its success was destined because of the total involvement of the participants. Hundreds of members led by dynamic officers had committed themselves to the success of the affair and to Zveza. This display was an expression of fifteen dynamic years—and there was much more to come in the years ahead! End of Part I CIO cJ-fzxitacjz dVzujs, and Irene Planinšek Odorizzi CONGRATULATIONS TO EVELYN MAJERCIK The General Assembly of the State of Ohio cited SWU National Secretary, Evelyn Majercik for distinguished service to Slovenian-Americans of her community and we join with them in commending Evelyn for her outstanding service. Slovenian people are not often recognized by the community for their contributions to an ethnic organization and therefore we celebrate this occasion with Evelyn and encourage her to continue her dedication to our Slovenian heritage and the Slovenian Women’s Union. Volunteer work with any ethnic organization can sometimes be demanding in time and frustrating with problems, so on behalf of the Slovenian Women's Union, I would like to take this opportunity to commend Evelyn as well as all branch officers and members who have consistently performed the difficult task of keeping meetings interesting and fun and for planning numerous heritage activities for their members and community. There is a popular Slovenian adage that says, “You will be repaid for your work by God,” and I’m sure He will look favorably on all who give willingly of their time and talent. Once again, congratulations to Evelyn Majercik. MUSEUM PLAQUE DONATION Remember an article entitled, “Strength is in Togetherness,” by Matilda Ausich, Recording Secretary of Branch 103, appeared in the 1997 Oct.-Nov. ZARJA issue of ZARJA. In that article she suggested that branches and members make donations to the three main funds of the SWU, rather than donate only to community funds or religious organizations. One of the SWU funds which certainly needs the support of its members is the Heritage Fund. Matilda Ausich has taken the lead by donating $100 for the Heritage Plaque which is displayed in the Slovenian Heritage Museum. Her contribution was made in memory of her immigrant parents, Anton & Mary Ausich of Woodward, Iowa, and their children, Anton, William, Amalia and Matilda. Tillie felt that she wanted to honor her beloved parents as they provided the loving, secure and happy childhood which she enjoyed in Iowa. The memory of her parents and life in Woodward has never faded. The engraved plate on our Heritage Plaque will be a permanent reminder of the Ausich family. Remembering your loved ones by contributing to the Heritage Museum Plaque is an ideal memoriam to those you hold dear. Consider sending a donation by forwarding a check made payable to the SWU Heritage Fund to: Heritage Director, 2362 Paddock Lane, Reston, VA 20191. Your donation will be published in this column. Hvala lepa in advance. RAFFLE DONATION Cirila Kermavner, Sec. of Branch 25 sent a donation of $18 from her branch. The ladies raffled a flower arrangement and sent the entire amount as a donation to the Heritage Fund. It was a great idea to have a raffle ladies, and we thank you for the donation. HOLIDAY DONATIONS Additional holiday donations for the Heritage Fund were sent along with lovely greeting cards. Dora Voyatzis of Branch 103 sent a generous check in the amount of $25. Dora joined Branch 103 very soon after it was formed in 1965, and has been a loyal member for over 30 years. Hvala lepa for your contribution, Dora. Mary Jermene, Secretary of Branch 85, forwarded the branch’s annual check in the amount of $25 for Heritage. If every branch contributed annually to the Heritage Fund, as Branch 85, and a few other branches, it would make the financial path much smoother for Heritage. Thank you to the ladies from DePue, Illinois for their support and loyalty. Christine Borst, beloved wife of associate member, Leon Borst, Branch 30, and John Rigg, husband of Irene’s cousin Emma, of Auburn, Illinois, are remembered by Ken and Irene Odorizzi with a $10 donation. May they rest in the arms of the Lord. Edward g. Shus- ELDEHOSTEL trerich of Middle INCLUDES SLOVENIA ™«T having AARP include Slovenia in their 1998 International Catalogue. Tours will now be offered that include Slovenia. The course of study will focus on all aspects of Slovenia with lectures on history, politics, economic conditions, culture and daily life. Walking trips will take the group through the city to view all the historic places and travel as well to small villages in the countryside, the Postojna Caves, Lake Bled, Mt. Triglav and many more and varied activities. For further information contact Eldehostel or Mr. Shus-trerich. THINK HERITAGE! HERITAGE HEROES MEMORIAL DONATION Sincere sympathy is sent to Jill Augustine, past president of Branch 103 on the recent death of her mother, Pauline Grum Caldwell. Jill wished to remember her mother with a donation for the heritage plaque displayed in the Slovenian Heritage Museum in Joliet. Along with Jill’s donation she also sent some facts about her mom and I’ll share parts of her letter. "My mother was born in Waukegan, IL on June 25, 1914, the sixth child of Frank and Josephine Bezek Grum. Her parents had emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s from Rakitna, Slovenia. She was married in 1933 and raised two children, John and Jill. During her years in the midwest she was active in the Immaculate Conception church choir.” Mrs. Caldwell joined Branch 103 in 1993, when she moved to Virginia to live with her daughter and son-in-law. Tillie Ausich, recording secretary of #103, remembers that “she was a friendly person and well-liked by the members.” At this time, it’s appropriate to mention that Jill Augustine is now living in Kronberg, Germany and her attendance at the meetings and various activities is missed by the members. As president for two years, she brought her creativity, energy and dedication to the office. She made a difference! Sincere appreciation for your donation, Jill. Mrs. Pauline Grum Caldwell was photographed in front of her daughter’s home, soon after she moved to Virginia in 1993. Jill remembers her mother as a woman who believed in laughter and love and the importance of making happy memories. Slovenian Women’s Union Heritage Museum 1 (we) enclose $ ______________________________________ In honor of___________________________ Name ami Occasion In memory of As a Contribution Donor’s Name ________ Donor’s Address Remember those you love and hold most dear with a gift to the Heritage Fund. Please send the donation to Heritage Director, 2362 Paddock Lane, Reston, VA 20191. Your donation will be acknowledged in the HERITAGE HEROES column. VIRGINIA MEMBER VISITS MUSEUM It was a surprise to receive a picture tucked within a lovely: Christmas card from associate member, George Plautz, Jr. of Fairfax, Virginia. George and his cousin Bemie visited the SWU Heritage Museum in Joliet during the month of October ’97. A photograph was taken of their visit and of their hostess, Jonita Ruth, clerk at the SWU National Office. George mentioned in his note that he purchased some books from the Museum Gift Store but he’s still trying to find a book entitled, Slovene Immigrant History, by Molek. If any member is familiar with this book, know of an existing copy, and would be willing to let George read it, please write to me. I’ll pass the word on to George, who is very active in computers and in genealogy. Visitors to the Slovenian Heritage Museum were greeted by Jonita Ruth (center)... George Plautz of Fairfax, VA and his cousin Bernie. The Liberty and Ellis AMERICAN FAMILY Island Foundation is HISTORY CENTER ZoL mL™™" dertaking. They will create a place where the families of today can leave record for future generations. A hundred years from now your own descendants could come to Ellis Island to learn about you and your family. They’ll view photographs or listen to oral history which you were instrumental in recording. For further information on how you can participate in this gigantic undertaking write to the Foundation at P.O. Box 5200, New York, NY 10164-2880. IN MEMORIAM Many thanks to Nika Kovacic, charter member of Branch 103, for her donation of $20 in memory of Pauline Grum Caldwell, mother of Jill Augustine, past president of Branch 103. Nika mentioned in her letter that she will miss seeing Pauline at the monthly Slovenian Mass held in the Slovenian Chapel at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception the first Sunday of each month. Nika has been very active and wholly dedicated to Branch 103 since its inception in 1965. The love of Zveza is in her heart. Hvala lepa, Nika. Irene Odorizzi: SLOVENIAN-AMERICAN ARTIST COMPLETES IMMIGRATION MURALS Congratulations to Lucille Dragovan on another milestone in her artistic career. As reported in an earlier Heritage column, Lucille was commissioned in 1996, by the City of Joliet, to paint four huge murals representing Slovenian emigration to America on a wall across from St. Joseph School in Joliet. The completed murals were beautiful and brought raves from all who visited the site. The City of Joliet was so satisfied with the murals that they commissioned Lucille to complete the wall, adding four additional murals which continue with the story highlighting the customs, ceremonies and work ethic which the Slovenian Americans have inherited. Lucille recently sent me a postcard depicting the four new scenes and with it a short note. I’d like to share parts of her letter. “The new murals make a great addition to the four we painted in 1994. The large lot has been improved with a new load of gravel and flowers which are now growing in containers in the parking lot. The city is also fixing the street and sidewalks. Things are happening.” Commendations once again to Lucille and all the volunteers who assisted with this memorial honoring the Slovenian immigrants who emigrated to America in search of a better life for themselves and their children. Four New Murals honor Slovene Immigrants MURAL #1 THE PROCESSION The first Mural portrays a spring-time procession of children carrying “Butarice” bundles of fruit, flowers, pussy willows, etc., the earliest greens grown in the region. The time is Palm Sunday and they are on their way to Church to have them blessed. A flag bearer and a young man playing a recorder lead the group. This is a custom that still exists today. MURAL #2 A SLOVENE WEDDING “The Slovenes always enjoy a wedding.” A bride and groom step out to dance while the button box musician is playing Slovene melodies. Dancers in native costume are swinging their partners. Some stories are told of weddings lasting 3 days in Slovenia! MURAL #3 THE HARVEST The scene can be either at sunrise or sundown, because it is a known fact that all Slovenes work all these hours. The husband and wife are gathering grain, while their daughter brings them a basket of food. The kozolec (hayrack), a symbol of Slovenia since it is seen almost all over the countryside, is ready to accept the products of the harvest. MURAL #4 THE SINGING LESSON Inside the classroom (St. Joseph’s, circa 1930’s, children of the immigrants), a nun is conducting a singing lesson with her class. While the students sing, a boy who has been naughty sits on Sister’s platform, a custom that was practiced years ago. Words by our artist: The ideas and designs were created, then presented to the City Council and approved for funding. Painting of the Murals was begun in May and continued into the summer months. Much thanks is due to those parishioners who volunteered their time, talent and labor to assist the artist. During the entire project, Mollie Gregorich was my assistant; Bob Baher contributed his artistic ability, and even brought his vacationing brother, Bernard, to help. Diana Govednik, Jean Russ, Dorothy Mahan, Laura Markun, Jean Govednik and Esther Barbabe did a great job finishing many of the details. (Most of these names are our members oj SWU Br. 20. Lucille also thanked the pastor oj St. Joseph's church, Fr. George Klepec and JonitaRuth, our Home Office secretary. I.O.) It’s easy for some of us to remember this typical scene ___________________________________________________________ as Lucille Dragovan has painted it from true life! SLOVENIAN EASTER CARD AVAILABLE AT MUSEUM J&taqos lovljana VtilliltelTiiOCillG prašnik^ Artist, Lucille Dragovan, has presented Heritage with an exquisite design for a Slovenian Easter Card. A limited supply of cards were printed on fine white paper using a lovely shade of orchid ink. The design features a young Slovenian woman displaying her Easter table with baked pastries. This card can be purchased at the Museum for the price of $1.00 per card. Purchase them while they are still available and you will delight your friends and relatives with an Easter greeting sure to please in the Slovenian tradition. Start w ith Us! That’s the name and that’s the message for the current SWU Membership Campaign, now going on! Sign up a new member today! Use the SWU Brochures that tell the story of our “Zveza” - get your friends interested in the heritage work and women’s activities promoted these many years by the Slovenian Women’s Union. Membership Applications are available through the branch secretaries or write to the Home Office, 431 No. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432. SLOVENIA Travel Book: Beverly Jackson, Branch #13, San Francisco reported the following a few months ago in the Branch Activities column: "Mary Shockley and daughter, Ina Henderson, spent 6 weeks in Slovenia. They used the Slovenia Travel Book (from the Lonely Planet Series) and give it rave reviews. The wealth of information in this little book is truly astounding and a copy should be in the home of anyone who has an interest in this lovely country' says Ina". If you have an interest in Slovenia, or if you'd like to give it as an EASTER or birthday gift to a child, friend, yourself or anyone else, send for your copy today. The book can be picked up at the Home Office in Joliet or ordered by mail.. The book is $14.00 if you pick it up at the home office in Joliet. It is $16.00 (to cover packing and mailing) if ordered by mail. Please include check made out to "Slovenian Women's Union" when ordering by mail. SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION SLOVENIAN WOMEN'S UNION HOME OFFICE (IN THE HERITAGE MUSEUM) DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S ACTIVITIES c/o JONITA RUTH KATHLEEN EMERSON 431 N. CHICAGO ST. 41 SPARROW HILL JOLIET ILLINOIS 60432 ORION MICHIGAN 48359 (815) 727-1926 (248) 370-0015 «&> (fii <£> eft) fit riti fft» (ft) rfi) rft) rM> A> <&> A r&i tjii tflj cfii tfli TO w TO TO w) TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO Co TO OO CO TO How To Seod Your Recipes A. INTRODUCE YOUR RECIPE, for more interesting reading, with a few lines such as Slovenian (or other) origin, memories, humor, or even an explanation why the recipe is so good that you wanted to send it in etc. These little stories make the recipes more personal and fun to read. Example: See the introductions to the recipes in this issue. B . »NEW ADDITION THIS MONTH* - NAME REGION OF SLOVENIA WHERE RECIPE ORIGINATED, if known -example this issue. This idea is from Father David Stalzer of Joliet who wrote and said, "It would help people to understand that even though Slovenia is small nation, it is somewhat diverse in its customs, practices and foods." (i.e. cooking, recipe styles). C. WRITE RECIPE TITLES IN ENGLISH AND SLOVENIAN if you or someone else can translate. See recipe page. D. LIST ALL INGREDIENTS ABOVE THE DIRECTIONS IN THE ORDER USED. See example in this issue E. GIVE EXACT MEASUREMENTS, 1 pkg. (5.1 oz.) instant vanilla pudding, 1 can (8 oz.) tuna, 2 tsp. salt, 1 C. milk etc. F. USE KNOWN COOKBOOK ABBREVIATIONS, Tbsp. for tablespoon, tsp. for teaspoon, C. or CUP for cup etc. G. GIVE PAN SIZES, COOKING TEMPERATURES, TIMES ETC. Example: 9” x 13" baking dish, 350° Bake 35 min. H. INCLUDE AMOUNTS THE RECIPE MAKES, if applicable. Example: Serves 4, Makes 4 dozen cookies etc. I. DOUBLE CHECK YOUR RECIPE FOR CORRECTNESS AND COMPLETENESS before submitting it. J. PROOFREAD YOUR RECIPE AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PROOFREAD IT for clarity and understandability. K. INCLUDE SUGGESTIONS OR OPTIONS. Example: Nice to serve with a fruit salad, Serve with a favorite prayer, etc. L. GIVE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS. PHONE NUMBER BRANCH#, MAIDEN NAME, if applicable, and. optionally, your AGE - becaase a woman's age is always optional! Your phone number is important! - information Is 95$ a call and there are often questions about your recipes. This is a lot of "stuff" but it makes for more interesting, correct recipes. sLODEnihns TO COOK Mail ta Sprung, and alt thingA uexnaL 5jx 6ixcL\ and. ftauten& and £ife Eixnnal 3ta.?jm eas,jxsi Spring, March 20th, arrives in the middle of Lent with a promise of daffodils and jonquils. The end of Lent, Holy Saturday, is a special day for Slovenians, for it is the day of Velikonočni Žegen, the blessing of Easter food. We don't live near a Slovenian church, but I have a box of salt that was blessed at St. Joe's church in Joliet many years ago. We use it only on Easter so it will last many more years. Those who live near a Slovenian church are so lucky. One of my cherished childhood memories was when the church was full of people carrying beautiful big Easter baskets filled with food that was wrapped in a fine cloth - a very colorful scene. Then, on Easter morning, we donned pretty pastels to attend Holy Mass. Why is it that the bells never ring more clearly and silvery nor the choir sing more lyrically or mellifluously than on Easter? After church, we returned home to partake of Žegen food - bread, potica, klobase, Easter eggs, oranges, horseradish root shavings, milk and coffee, which, along with our prayers, nourishes body and soul. It is also a ritual to thank God for Easter and His love so that we can follow His example in loving each other. Mea Culpa! My error in missing last month's issue of Zarja. Since we will be down to six issues a year, I misunderstood the new deadline and missed the due date. My apologies to Corinne too. It'd be nice to be perfect! On the other side, you have been sending more recipes recently! Keep them coming! Jhe nicest part of your food editor's job is getting to know you. 1 often have to call you (so need your phone numbers) for recipe details and I get into great chats with you. Keith and I talked to Elliot and we found Elliott, wife Kay and we had a lot of common interests in genealogy and travel, so the four of us hope to get together some day. This month's recipes from Elliott, Bea and Mary are good examples of having fun-on-the-phone! Please read HOW TO SEND YOUR RECIPES before mailing any in. Thanks. Also, a lot of you have been ordering the SLOVENIA TRAVEL BOOK. One woman ordered 10 to give as gifts! I sent copies to all afficers, regional presidents (let me know if you didn't receive yours, a few were lost in the mail) and others. Thanks for your thank you notes. Ixt's all pray for the love in our SWU. V Marion Marion Juricic Bowers 940 Galleron Road St. Helena CA 94574 Ph: (707) 963-7795 "My mother is a great cook,” says Elliott Plese, Br. #3, of Ft. Collins, Colorado, "so I follow all of her suggestions and when the cloud of flour settles she is finished and the result is perfect. Here is her/my recipe I'm sure you'll like it. Please do not ask for an interpretation of the title because our neighborhood was complex - Slovenians, Croatians, Serbs, Greeks, Slovaks, Czech, Blacks, Italians etc. and we shared recipes." (Corinne said it resembles Jota, a dish made near the Italian border in the Trieste area.) JALEPSE (pronounced yah-lip'-sheh) SMOKED NECKBONE SOUP 4-6# smoked pork neck bones 8 C. water or more 3 bay leaves 2 large potatoes, cubed 1 large onion, diced 1 medium carrot, finely diced 1 cup barley 1 can, 31 oz.. Great Northern white beans 1 can, 32 oz., sauerkraut with juice 1 can, 12 oz., sauerkraut juice or water 2-6 cloves garlic, crushed Salt and pepper to taste 2 Tbsp. flour 1/4 C. cold water to dissolve flour Put the neck bones in a large soup kettle, cover with the water, add bay leaves, bring to a boil, simmer 30 minutes or until bones are tender. Remove bay leaves and discard. Add the vegetables, barley and garlic. @ring to a boil and simmer only until the potatoes and barley are done. Add salt and pepper. Mix flour and cold water, add to pot and cook to thicken mixture. Thanks for this hearty recipe, Elliott! Serves 8. Bea Novak Vinzens, 74, Br.#2, of Schererville, Indiana writes, "Both of my parents came to the USA from Slovenia. Mom ended up in Joliet where she gained employment as a housekeeper for a German family, so many of her Slovenian recipes had a touch of German in them. Coming from a large family, mom's cooking was very economical, but so very tasty. Here is one of her recipes. It is one of my favorites." SPINACH GERMAIN 4 slices bacon, diced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium clove garlic, crushed 2 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, 10 oz. each 3 or 4 Tbsp. flour Salt and pepper to taste Cook spinach according to package directions but do not drain. Fry bacon in a large skillet until golden brown. Remove bacon and set aside. Measure fat in skillet. [Discard all but 4 or 5 Tbsp., (or if bacon is lean, add oil to make 4 or 5 Tbsp.) Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon fat until transparent. Add flour, stir and brown lightly as in ajmpren. Add spinach with liquid and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Thanks to you Bea! This would be good with your Easter ham or lamb. Serves 6. Mary Zales, 79, Br. #8, of Steelton, Pennsylvania sent in a recipe she received from Ann Devaric, 82, also from Steelton. Mary said this is a Slovenian dish from the Dolensko district of Slovenia and that it is the first thing that goes at church get-togethers and is a hit at bake sales. Hvala lepa for sending this delicious recipe, Mary! ZILJEVANKA (pronounced zil-yfc-van'-ka) CUSTARD "CHEESECAKE" 12 oz. small curd cottage cheese 1 C. sour cream 4 Tbsp. melted butter 4 Tbsp. sugar 4 Tbsp. flour 4 whole eggs, beaten Pinch of salt 1 Tbsp. soft butter to line dish Heat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients except butter to line dish. Line an 8" x 8" glass dish with the 1 Tbsp. of butter. Add mixture to dish . Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Marion's note: This would make a pretty dessert topped with strawberries, raspberries or canned cherry pie filling. P. S. The name source of this recipe is unknown, maybe it's not even of Slovenian origin,but Ann calls it "doughless strudel". A#####*##########** Cooking tip: Those of us who love to cook and are now down to one or two people in the household fondly remember the days when we cooked up big batches of food. We can still do this with some recipes such as Elliott's neckbone soup. Have fun-for-a-day cooking up a storm and then freeze batches enough for one or two in each container. You will have ready meals handy for days when you are too tired or too busy to cook! athleen’s onnection Update of Bishop Baraga Fundraiser for the Slovenian Cultural Gardens DONATIONS: Individual State Branch Total Donation Donation $170.00 Michigan $ 62.00 #105 $232.00 $105.00 Ohio $100.00 #42 $205.00 $ 65.00 Illinois 0 $ 65.00 $ 50.00 Wash. D.C. 0 $ 50.00 $ 30.00 Maryland 0 $ 30.00 $ 20.00 Wisconsin 0 $ 20.00 $ 10.00 Minnesota 0 $ 10.00 $ 5.00 California 0 $ 5.00 $455.00 $162.00 $617.00 This Bishop Baraga statue was placed at the Slovenian Cultural Gardens in 1935 - and now will be replaced with your generous help. As you can tell from the numbers (left), we have only reached 21% of our goal of $3,000.1 discussed this dilemma at one of my Branch meetings and it was then they elected to donate a dollar from our treasury for each of our members. Considering we only average 14 members a meeting, I thought that was very generous on their part. They also asked me to put out a CHALLENGE to all the other Branch’s to elect to do the same thing. We all know that our organization is aging quickly and overall we are not as active as we were even 10 years ago, however this campaign is very important and we really need to reach our goal. If you are unable to use your treasury to make a generous donation based on your membership, then may I suggest you hold a specific activity as a fundraiser. A bake sale or card party for example, would promote ACTIVITY in your branch and also help promote your Slovenian heritage by assisting the Slovenian Women’s Union in their efforts to preserve it by purchasing the statue of Bishop Baraga. We need to look beyond the location of the Slovenian Cultural Garden and visualize the whole picture. By making the Baraga memorial a reality we are not only honoring an important Slovenian in history, we are sharing with the world our tribute to Bishop Baraga. Please complete the slip below and mail your check payable to Slovenian Women’s Union, to Patricia Adamic, 11381 Briarcliff, Warren, MI 48092. ------------------------- Cut off here------------------------ SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION BISHOP BARAGA STATUE FUND Please send your donation as soon as possible. The goal for the restoration will be reached with your contributions, individual or group, for any amount you wish to give. Thank you. Kathy Emerson, Women’s Activities Director Yes, I/we wish to help in the fund drive for the restoration of the statue of Bishop Baraga in the Slovenian Cultural Gardens in Cleveland, Ohio. My/Our donation is enclosed. $5 ____________$10 $15 $20 Other Please make check or money order payable to SWU Baraga Fund and send to Patricia Adamic, 11381 Briarcliff, Warren, MI 48092. Name: ___________________________________ Branch No.:_________ Address:______________________________________________________ ENJOYING THE MAGIC OF VEGAS! The Las Vegas reunion was small but for those of us that did come it was a lot of fun. On Friday, our National Secretary, Evelyn Majercik who was a first time visitor to Las Vegas, was blessed with beginners luck at the $1.00 slots upon her arrival at the stardust. She was traveling with Olga Dorchak, the Michi-gan-Ohio Regional President, and her sister, Elsie Spellacy. Yolanda Roel and I represented the Michigan delegation. We met the Ohio group Friday night for a drink in one of the hotel lounges. On Saturday we met up with the groups from Illinois and California at the Dinner Show at the Excalibur Hotel. Mary Ann Skibbie, Br. 16, her daughter, Susan Skibbie and sister, Grace Beissel came from the Chicago area. Rosemary Mlakar, Br. 100 drove Anne Kapel, Pres. Br. 100, also Elvie Blasick and Mary Sommers from California. We enjoyed “King Arthur’s Tournament” which included a utensil-free dinner and a spectacular fantasy show that was based loosely on the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was hard to tell what we enjoyed more, the show or eating without utensils! Sunday morning we met at Guardian Angel Church for 9:30 mass. Following mass we had a late breakfast at the Peppermill Restaurant across from the hotel. At 5:00, after leaving a few more pesos at the casinos, we literally piled into Rosemary’s mini van and went downtown. The ladies recommended having supper at the Mainstreet Station. The buffet was wonderful with selections of the usual ethnic fare including Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Greek and American. The dessert area was a sweet-lovers’ paradise! Rosemary, Ann and Elvie gave us the tour of Fremont St. We saw 2 different laser shows, enjoyed the local entertainment including a great street show of container playing. We caught up with Mary where she was at a school reunion. Yola and I flew out on Monday as did the Ohio gang. Mary Ann, Susan and Grace were staying for a few more days to enjoy the sights and Susan’s jacuzzi. Rosemary, Ann, Elvie and Mary returned to California. I would like to thank all the members, their friends and relatives that came to Las Vegas. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and enjoyed the company of my fellow SWU members and their guests. I especially appreciate the extra attention Rosemary paid to us by driving us downtown and sharing what she enjoys in Las Vegas. By popular demand we will be having “Reunion #2” this year in the fall. I learned a couple of things I would do differently but since we all had a good time we will be back! Watch your ZARJA for details of our next reunion! Kathleen Emerson Women’s Activity Director Top: Our group in front of Angel Guardian Church Right: Grace Beissel, Yolanda Roel, Susan Skibbie and her mom, Mary Ann enjoyed the Main Street Station; and below, at the table, are Yolanda Roel, Kathleen Emerson, Evelyn Majercik (seated) and Olga Dorchak and her sister Elsie Spellacy (standing). A LIFE’S WORK IN THEIR COMMUNITY ZEFRAN FAMILY CONTINUES THE TRADITION Nothing changes and everything changes... That’s the thought most people have in their minds as they contemplate their lives. People come and people go! We all live from.day to day with our ups and downs - and make the best of it. Many do not want to think farther.. .until it becomes important and necessary. For this reason, the Zefran family of Chicago has always been a trusting and sincere friend to not only their close community, but throughout the city and state. The Zefran family, in business for 70 years, since 1927, has been taking care of people in a most sympathetic way in their funeral chapel on Cermak Road, not far from St. Stephen’s Church and other churches in the area. With newer thinking on the subject of funeral care, they have begun a new system for funeral arrangement called “Fore-Thought” so that if a person makes his or her wishes known, and it’s documented, his bereaved family, when the time comes, can know what to do to make the funeral of their loved one as he or she would wish it. “The best gift you can give your loved one is to make your funeral wishes known in advance,” says the youngest member of the Zefran family business, Debbie Zefran Jerry, the director of funeral pre-arrangements and family service counselor, dedicated to serving families. “Today more and more people are choosing to plan their funerals in advance. It relieves an emotional burden from those you love. By being able to make sound decisions in advance, without stress, you can free your loved ones from this responsibility. This allows them to concentrate on supporting each other, rather than being asked to make several major decisions at a very emotional time. Often families are confused about what is proper. They may agonize over what you would have wanted. By your expressing your own wishes, selecting your options in advance, there is no doubt. And, you can even change your mind later, if you wish. You can also relieve the financial burden from those you love, by choosing to handle the funding of your funeral in advance; we have plans that will assure that your survivors will never have to pay any additional funds for the services and merchandise you selected. Pre-payment is a wonderful option but the value is in the education each person receives when discussing it. In sharing this part of my job my most important objective is your peace of mind.” Debbie also spends many hours in following up on the items that a family must deal with after a funeral. She’s always on call, she says, and takes more than just interest in cases - she considers anyone who comes to the Zefrans as family for which she must do everything she can. The family business is being directed now by Frank Zefran, Debbie’s brother and his wife, Lois. He represents the third generation of Zefrans known for their sympathetic family care. The primary officer in the company is their dad, Louis Ronald who with aunt, Marilyn, followed in the footsteps of grandparents, Louis J. and Elizabeth Zefran. They founded the business in 1927 at 1941 West Cermak Road in Chicago. At the present time Frank manages the Cermak Road chapel along with Funeraria La Paz (formerly Chrastka) in Berwyn and Mt. Auburn at 4101 So. Oak Park Ave., Stickney, IL. They also have a northside location, known as the Furman Funeral Home in Chicago. What connects the Zefran family to the Slovenian Women’s Union is the long association they have had with our Branch 2 in Chicago. Elizabeth was one of our fine branch officers, organized the bowling teams and later became the National Sports Director; meanwhile, she served as Regional President for Illinois-Indiana. From 1970 to 1976 she was the National Treasurer and was a close associate with Albina Novak in the SWU Home Office when it was located in Chicago. All through the years, beginning with Louie and Liz, Louie and Liz Zefran were staunch supporters of their church, community and family. Their strong advocacy of fraternal organizations and other clubs is another part of their legacy. Debbie Zefran Jerry Family Service Counselor all the family was involved in Zveza activities and still today, their memory is held in deep respect. It is most fulfilling for the family to have Debbie undertaking this new phase of the business as Family Service Counselor. She’s the kind of person who has the talent and personality to be with people and answer their wishes. She and her husband, an Oak Lawn fireman, Bill Jerry, have two children, Billy and Jillian, and stay in touch with the community from their Chicago residence. Her friends say Debbie is a great organizer and keeps tabs on all her school-mates and friends, frequently organizing reunions and bringing them together. So, the question, “what to do when...” does have an answer, and it’s just as close as a call or visit to the Zefrans in Chicago. Editor Louis Ronald Zefran with his son, Frank and daughter, Debbie, are continuinng the tradition... Mary Turvey Slovenia - Summer 1997 It has been 100 years since the immigrants from Travnik and Loški Potok in a region south of Ljubljana arrived in Travnik, Michigan, a small rural village south of Marquette. One descendent, a retired school teacher, Frank Bartol, decided it might be appropriate for descendents of these immigrant families to return for a party in their ancestral home, Travnik, Slovenia. It would be a good way to reacquaint families and learn more about the life style and culture of its people. Frank not only planned the party but decided to take the tour group of 34 people, traveling from the north of Salzburg, Austria to the Bled region, down to Novo Mesto and surrounding tourist areas, Cerknica, Portorož on the Adriatic, north again to the Soča River Valley where World War I was fought, Ljubljana, and onto Travnik for a three day visit with family and friends there. My ancestors are from the Mozirje region but I was very excited when Frank called to invite me on the trip and offered to have one of his cousins drive me to my ancestral region. It has been one of my life’s goals and it actually happened; a dream came true. On the trip I took about 11 rolls of film and some notes from an excellent tour guide, native of Slovenia who has lived with gypsies, worked in the United States as a chef, among other occupations, and most importantly has a great understanding of Slovenian history and folklore. He had many interesting stories and much information to offer. After a day’s drive to Chicago with a flight late that day to Philadelphia and then onto Munich we finally arrived tired but ready to absorb all that we could. The bus first took us through the fairybook settings of large castles and farms snuggled into green rolling hills. We stopped at Chiemssee, a resort village on a beautiful lake where one of Ludwig II’s castles stands, then on to Salzburg, an ancient, extremely clean city, it’s 16th century protective castle still atop the highest mountain, many courtyards and squares, including the baroque building and gardens where the “Sound of Music” was filmed. Although very tired, we attended a string quartet concert of Mozart’s music in the original marble hall in which Mozart actually performed. The trip continued with a drive southward along the alpine highway through the beautiful Julian Alps. Arriving in Slovenia was just like coming home. At the entrance the words “MAMA” were produced on raised stone, and the border guards seemed much nicer. I felt the presence of my grandparents. Immediately we saw rural scenery, including a kozolec or two, and mainly women with wooden rakes working in the fields. Lake Bled, in a very quiet misty atmosphere, was most beautiful, serene, even if there were casinos, large hotels, and concerts in session nearby. People strolled along the treelined paths as boaters cleaned the bottoms of their highly varnished gondolas used to take tourists to the little 9th century church. As swans glided on the water there was a feeling of magic and mystery in late afternoon and into early evening along the lakeshore. A two level castle, originally an archbishop’s palace from the 11th Century, high on a hill to the right of Lake Bled has been restored although the chapel was not open. Artists were there early, overlooking the lake, filling their canvases quickly. A museum within the archbishop’s palace held artifacts from prehistoric dig sites nearby. Funerary pots, jewelry, crude weapons, such as spears, metal shields, and medieval artwork, were all there along with the skeletal remains of a young woman from the Iron age, still wearing a necklace and earrings. There was an attraction to her - I wondered what her life had been living nearby, had she felt the magic of this glacial lake surronded by magnificent mountains and a cool, clear atmosphere or was it just a source of substance and transportation to her? (To be continued) flCTIUITIES NO. 1, SHEBOYGAN, WI Meeting: 3rd Thursday, 6 p.m. Parish Resource Office Happy healthful New Year to you and yours! We had a very successful Christmas meeting and party. A wonderful time was had by all members present. Nominations of officers took place and here are the results: President, Ruth Sheck; Vice President, Kathy Shroeder; {secretary/Treasurer, Dorothy Brezonik; Recording Secretary, Aggie Gruenke; Sentinel, Dorothy Behnke; Auditors: Doris Spender and Olga Maynard; Sunshine Girl, Irene Stein. Congratulations to all our officers and wishing you God’s blessings for this new year. At our meeting it was decided that all members be named Member of the Year for 1998. We all have a great time and all the ladies will enjoy having dinner out and receive a fresh carnation. On April 12, 1998, Slovenian Women’s Union, Branch 1 will host donut breakfast at St. Cyril after 8:30 mass. Please remember, ladies, we need your help, so plan on attending. Our fund raiser for this year was a bakeless bake sale on Valentine weekend on Feb. 14-15. Our regular meeting was held this time only in the church hall after the 8:30 mass. Attention to all members: Our regular meeting place has been changed to the Parish Resource Office in St. Cyril School building. They are also changed to the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. God bless you all. DOROTHY BREZONIK NO. 2, CHICAGO, IL Meeting: 2nd Thurs. St. Stephen’s lower hall As we celebrated “New Year Beginnings” at our January, ’98 meeting we had much to cover: Father Blase installed the new officers for the year: Pres. Fran Morison; V.P. Meta Hanzlik; Sec./Treas. De1 lores Puhek; Rec. Sec. Jean Cerjak; Sentinel - Elsie Ciszek; New Auditor - Ann Bunetta; Kitchen Committee -Maria Rigler and Rick Rakovec; Reporter — Daisy. Joe Worth presented each a lovely red carnation. Our flag was draped in memory of all our members in 1997: Ella Kasper; Rose Kleiderman; Tekla Ker-zich; Mary DelRusso; Catherine Tuzak and Rose Zielinski. With the new year of 1998, we once again have lost two of our dear members. Pavla Arko (88 yrs old) was a member of Zveza for 48 years. She attended all the meetings when living nearby. Also, Helen Storcz (73 yrs old), our member for 20 years, passed away. We were always happy to see her, she attended even in a wheel-chair. Our condolences to their families; please remember them in your prayers that they will rest in peace. During the Christmas season, De-lores Puhek and Gen Puhek Buol visited several stay-at-home members with fresh floral bouquets made by Joe Worth. Please remember our members and friends who are ill, at home, hospital, or in nursing homes. They need your cards, phone calls and visits to cheer their lonely hours: Elsa Antoniolli; Elsie Melissa; Mary Pecharich; Marie Ovnik, Josie Squok, Bruna Novy, Angie Blatnick; Mary Reich, Catherine Srabamek, Ann Bunnetta, Irene Smid; Mae Persa; Albie Rasp; Albie Cecich Mary Foys; Tony Squok; Mary Kozial; Mary Foys Lauretig; Ronnie Zefran. Our 50-year members for 1997 are: Rose Grill; Elsie Statkus; Mary Omerza and Christine Stanek. We are very proud of all the SWU scholarship recipients: Steven Fitzgerald (grandson of Helen Fitzgerald) completed 4 years at the U of I in Champaign/Urbana in 3 years with a degree in Engineering. We wish him much success in the business community. Mother of the Year: we will honor Jean Plaza Cerjak (formerly of Hawkins, WI). She told us she was from a Polish farm family of 10 children. She has 2 daughters and 2 sons. She is a very unique gal, you will read her bio in the May issue of ZARJA. Mark your calendar for May 14 - March - we will be celebrating our meeting with the St. Joseph Table and St. Patrick fun. Please attend, show your colors by wearing red or green. It will be a fun night. March 20 - 1st day of spring. March 22 - Altar Society Bunco at St. Stephen Gym Hall. Games and lunch. It is always a great time, and many nice prizes are given. Our condolences to Jean Hrastar on the loss of her husband, Sylvester, and to her daughter Laura and grandchildren. Jean, for many years, has been secretary at St. Stephen’s, also our past Recording Secretary. Remember him in your prayers that our Lord will grant him eternal rest. May 2-3 and May 9-10 (2 weekends) Parish Mission at St. Stephen’s. Guest speaker is Father Bernard Horzen of La Salle. April Meeting - Because Holy Thursday falls on our regular meeting date, the meeting will change to April 16. Please mark your calendars. Date to Remember: July 19 - St. Mary’s Seminary, Lemont, IL. Zvezin dan. S.W.U. Annual Picnic. Ann Bunetta has a new great grandson - little Mathew Ryan Bunetta, Jr. bom 12/14/97, and a new member of Br. 2. Ann Hozzian’s family had much to rejoice in ’97. Son, Stephen married Holly Wiesnewski on Oct. 4, 1997 and daughter, Rosemary and her husband, Brian announced they will be proud parents in February. Do you remember when you were small, you rode the plains with your horse along with Gene Autry and “Champion” and Roy Rogers and “Trigger”. Time does not stand still even for our heroes. These “cowboys” now in their 90’s. Happy Trails to both of them! This is a strange life — we have junk food that costs more than real food, sports clothes to work in and mobile homes that don’t move, (from a Chicago newspaper)! Hope you all have a wonderful and Blessed Easter. Love, DAISY NO. 3, PUEBLO, CO Meeting: 1st Tues.-Sept. thru May St. Mary’s Church Hall By the time you receive the March-April issue of the ZARJA, we will be well into 1998.1 wish everyone a happy and healthy year. Our meeting January 6 was well-attended although we would like to see more members come. It is worthwhile to attend these meetings because Margaret Cullen and Eileen Kaplan do such a good job of making the day enjoyable and it’s unbelievable the camraderie that is enjoyed by those present. Our meeting opened with a prayer and then a beautiful memorial tribute was given for our deceased member, Mary Burchik. Auditors Katherine Kochevar and Pauline Pauchick audited the books and reported them to be in perfect order and commended Eileen Kaplan for keeping such good records. We voted unanimously for Rose Zupančič to be our Mother of the Year. She is very deserving of this honor. Our current officers will remain in 1998. They are: Margaret Cullen, President and Recording Secretary and Eileen Kaplan, Financial Secretary. Our outgoing Recording Secretary, Mary Drobnick is to be commended for a job well done in 1997. The mystery gift for January was donated by Rose Jersin and won by Rose Zupančič. After the meeting, Hostesses Agnes Glavich, Josephine Krasovic and Katherine Kochevar served a delicious dessert and then Bingo was played. I made an error in my December article where I stated that the hostesses for October were Agnes Glavich and Gertrude Jordan. The hostesses were Agnes Cvar and Gertrude Jordan. Sorry, Agnes. Our Senior Sociable group met January 9 and, like all others, everyone seems to enjoy this. A “Meals on Wheels” is served and then Bingo is played. Two people who need to be commended are Helen Galich and Kathryn Sincovec. Helen always donates bread or some form of pastry and Kathryn donates a craft item to be used as either a raffle or bingo prize, We do appreciate their generosity. Congratulations are in order for Grant Macklem, son of Roger and Mary Macklem and grandson of Frances Ondovchik, one of our faithful members. Grant is a senior and was nominated to the United States Naval Academy by Senator Wayne Allard, and to the United States Air Force, Coast Guard and West Point by Representative Scott McGinnis. No decision has been made yet. Let’s remember in our prayers the home-bound, the sick and their caretakers and the nursing home residents. Our next meeting was to be February 3rd and we hoped everyone would make an effort to come. PAULINE PAUCHIK NO. 5, INDIANAPOLIS, IN Meeting: 1st Thurs. SND, from May to Dec. A small group gathered for our annual holiday party in December, but still everyone had a good time. The food was excellent. Thanks to all of you for bringing a covered dish. Election of officers was held at the December meeting, once again the members asked the present officers to remain in office. Therefore, YOUR officers are Phyllis Fon, President, Dolores Konechnik, Recording Secretary, and Mary Frances Mohr, Secret-ary-Treasurer. What, you all didn’t vote for me to continue to be your ZARJA reporter? It must be true, you all forget about me down here in Texas. Our next meeting and luncheon will be in May. This annual meeting will held on Thursday, May 14th. We have three members who we will be honoring. Please plan to attend. I would like to see more attendance at these meetings. How about dropping me a line and letting me know why you don’t attend. Send to Barbara Mohr at 14100 Montfort Drive, #3126 - Dallas, TX 75240 (972-404-0637) or e-mail me at barbara@mohrpart.com. It was decided at the last meeting that we would hold another raffle. Please look for your raffle tickets in the mail about the first of April. We are also accepting donations for the raffle; those wishing to donate can either call Mary Frances at (317) 852-8305 or Phyllis Fon at (317) 852-9850. Member News: I wrote last time that Mary “Tashi” Fon was in Slovenia for our December meeting. Tashi really enjoyed her trip, and I put her to work while she was there. She was able to locate my cousin, Andreja Konovsek. Andreja and I share the same great-great grandparents. We are really excited, especially since Tashi took pictures for us. All member news is welcome, don’t say you don’t have my address. We offer our prayers and thoughts to those of you that are sick or shut-in. Remember May 14th. Love from Texas, BARBARA MOHR NO. 6, BARBERTON, OH Meeting: 1st Sun. Slovene Center HAPPY EASTER -VESELE VELIKONOČNE PRAZNIKE! Going through the winter months: St. Patty’s Day and of course Easter. Hope everyone has mulled through this winter. Our prayers go out to Jeanette, our president, feeling under the weather. Hope she’s better soon. Still have about five people out that need to send their dues. If you’re not going to send please drop me a card. Thanks also for the cards and inquiries on new membership. I know you guys are out there. Again, send to: Linda K. Lambright SWU #6 Secretary P.O. Box 16602 Surfside Beach, SC 29587-6602 Phone: (803) 448-5441 As I prepare to meet the day Let the dawn fall softly on my shoulders, Lord, As I prepare to meet the day, Let the sunshine wrap its warmth around me, As I go along my way. Let me feel your presence near me, As the gentle breezes play Through blades of grass, and in the trees, Causing leaves to sway. Let me show some kindness to each person that I meet, Let me see your Image in each person that I greet. LINDA A WEDDING IN MODERN Part III A “poročno slavje” or wedding celebration followed the marriage ceremony of Sabina and Aleš Štebe. It was held in Domžale, in the Gorenska region of Slovenia. As we entered the restaurant we guests were served our choice of kiwi liquer, brandy or champagne. When the wedding party arrived, the musicians of Ansambel Svetlin were waiting outside to greet them and escort them into the hall. Tables set for 200 guests were overflowing with potica, krofe, flancate and cookies along with bottles of wine, juice and mineral water. We were then served platters of wiener schnitzel, roast pork and chicken with many side dishes. Soon the Svetlin Ansambel struck up the first tune and dancing began. As we enjoyed the music there was a commotion and before we knew it, the bride was “stolen” and whisked away by,aunt and uncle, Danijela and Zdene. Immediately the bride and groom’s protector, Miro and “priče” Egan and Juč had to search for the bride because they must have her back safe and sound at the reception before midnight. Soon the trio located the stolen bride and her captors at a local “gostilna” where champagne was then ordered for everyone in the house with the tab paid for by protector, Miro. The bride was finally returned to the wedding reception amid much applause and cheering. At midnight, a three-layered wedding cake and a second cake in the shape of a lamb were cut by the bride and groom and served to guests. As the music struck up again it was time for the bridal dance led by Sabina and Aleš, then their parents, and so on. The bride formally introduced each of the guests from both sides of the family. It was time for more music and soon a chain was formed and all joined in as we wove throughout the restaurant in time to the music. As we returned to our tables we saw that, once again, a full course meal had been set up with platters of breaded chicken, veal cordon bleu and pork cutlets with more trimmings. After dancing off the food another wedding ritual began. It was time to symbolically auction off the bride’s bouquet! Guests began to make bids in order to purchase the bouquet for their village. After a time of much laughter and joking, the groom called the auction to a halt and the bride stepped to the center of the floor as all unmarried eligible young ladies eagerly gathered around with hopes of catching the bride’s bouquet. With encouragement from onlookers the bride counted, “One, two three,” and tossed the bouquet over her head! Lucky Kristina, the bride’s sister, caught the prize with the expectation that she will be the next bride from the village! Yes, once again as we returned to our tables, another meal had been prepared for us with stuffed pork roast, thick slices of veal roulade stuffed with spinach and hard boiled eggs, and chicken. Once more, we danced off our food and as the clock approached 6:30 a.m. the band escorted the bride and groom to their car and as they left there were many cheers and good wishes. As we left for home we were each given favors of mints wrapped in pink net and lace. This was indeed a blend of old and new Slovenia. Alice Kuhar Br. 14, Cleveland, OH, Phone (216) 531^1637 The first meeting of the year 1998 will be held on Wed. March 25th at the Collinwood Slov. Home on Holmes Ave., 1 p.m. Members are urged to attend so that plans for our “Mothers of Year” celebration can be made. This will take place in May. Get well wishes to all our members. Our prayers are with you. Blessed Easter holidays and good health. Our sympathy to the family of Agnes Bojc who passed away shortly after the death of her husband. Please notify our secretary of the death of a member so we can pay our respects. News of our Pres. Stefie Segulin and her family: Stephanie Dagg became a grandmother 3 times! Her daughter, Terri had a baby boy, Bradley; her son, Billy Dagg had a baby boy, Christopher William; daughter, Roberta had a baby girl, Samantha. Happy belated birthday to Theresa Dagg - Feb. 18th and Stephanie Dagg - March 6th. The granddaughter of Stephanie Segulin, Colleen Collins is in the Army, stationed in Louisiana. Nice to see Martha Batich from Akron, OH at the Coll. Slov. Home annual stockholders meeting in February. She is still active in Branch 10. Don’t forget our meeting in March. Again, Happy Easter! ANN STEFANČIČ NO. 12, MILWAUKEE, WI Meeting: 3rd Thurs. St. Peter’s Church Hall except July & Aug. Here we go again! We had to cancel our Jan. meeting and put it on the following Thurs. Guess what? Some more snow! So all the cakes went into the freezer for the February meeting. We planned to talk about our State Convention, so we were hoping to get together in February. Lydia Jenich went to California, along with husband, George, to celebrate their daughter’s big birthday. Mary Evanich spent a few days in Arizona visiting her sister. We extend our sympathy to Mary Dezman in the loss of her son. May he rest in peace. IN THE OLD TRADITION SLOVENIA NO. 10, CLEVELAND, OH Meetings: 4th Wed. SND - Holmes Avenue Jenny Ward is back in the hospital; hope you will be home soon, Jenny. Don’t worry about not getting the ZARJA for two years; I am taking care of this for you. Just get well! Miss you at the meetings. Evelyn Laurich is a great grandma again, so she is very happy. Agnes Morrow is spending a month in Las Vegas with her son. She says the machines don’t tempt her; she is playing it smart! Ann Grambow and Julie Pesec spent 10 days at Notre Dame, Indiana. Their niece moved there so they had the grand tour. As there will be fewer issues of our ZARJA this year I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s (belated) and Happy Easter (in advance)! Stay healthy and warm. MARY KIEL NO. 13, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Meeting: 1st Thurs. Slovenian Hall on Mariposa St. Greetings from San Francisco! With only six issues of ZARJA now the reporters must really think ahead. I’m back at Christmas and it’s already time to say Happy Easter. A motion was made at our December meeting to keep our same slate of officers. Again, we thank these ladies: President, Josephine Aiuto; V. Pres., Louise Petrusich; Secretary, Moreen Spencer; Treasurer, Michele Twers; Recording Sec’y and Reporter, Beverly Jackson; Auditors: Virginia Sustarich, Ann Sustarich and Doreen Sustarich. From what I heard, we had a lovely Christmas party. Everyone said it was good to see so many members. Unfortunately I had cataract surgery that day which was very successful, but they discovered I had gotten a bacterial infection in surgery. After 2 more emergency operations and seven weeks on antibiotics, I believe I’m now on the mend. I thank everyone for their prayers. Our treasurer, Michele Twers has had a rough time with hand surgery; a lot of pain and a lot of therapy. She’s had a pretty hard year. I know ’98 will be better. On Dec. 4th, our member Marion Mirabella had a triple by-pass. While she was in surgery, her dear husband, Mel, passed away at home. Marion is having a very difficult time. Remember that recently she had both legs amputated. I know this lady very well as we have attended many Paper Doll parties together. We were scheduled for the national Paper Doll Convention in April. She’s a caring, sensitive gal, and a real fighter. She needs your prayers right now and if you send a card, I know she’d love it. Marian Mirabella c/o Vencor Hospital 2800 Benedict Drive San Leandro, CA 94577 God bless you, Marian! Get well soon! And for good news, I hear Anna Fabian has two new great grandchildren. She has six already. Betty Doherty is a great grandma of six also. I just received the new schedule of Josie’s Fun Trips. She has some great day trips planned: Steinbeck House, a boat cruise, Shadowbrook, Folsam Dam tour. If you are interested in a great day, call Jo for more information at 415-863-8632. Remember: Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with the right decision - “I ’11 try!" Try to make every day worth while. Try to make someone smile. Try to be a little kinder and most especially to yourself. Wishing everyone a Blessed Easter. BEVERLY JACKSON (Dear Bev, so glad to hear you are doing well after your ordeal with the eye-surgery and subsequent infections. Everyone attending the last Nat’l. Convention especially wishes you well! Editor) No. 16, SO. CHICAGO, IL Meeting: 2nd Saturday 1 p.m. Monthly except Jan.-July-Aug. St. George’s Hall Greetings! Smile! Smile! It’s almost spring! Please take note that there will be a slight change in our meeting dates for March and April. The dates are March 7 - 1st Saturday. April 4th -1st Saturday. Please mark your calendars. We are going to celebrate our 70th Anniversary in May. Our Mass will be on Tuesday, May 12th at 11 a.m. at St. George Church. The dinner celebration will be at Gaddini’s on May 14th at 12:30 p.m. For reservations please call Edna at 221-5708 or Gladys at 221-0475 after 6 p.m. Our one 50-year member is Kay Jurincie. Now I would like to back track since I missed the January issue - Mea culpa! It was a real joy to receive Christmas greetings from near and far - thank you everyone. Mary Peloza sent greetings from Colorado, hope you are well, Mary. Rose Salakar’s card came from Racine, Continued on page 29 ^•lankie Spettch °o° °o° °o° 2o9 UlllAUAUUAil Join me for Button Box classes. Everyone has fun! Minnesota....Frankenmuth Cleveland ....Milwaukee For details & reservations 1 O O o Call 330 - 336 - 9196 or write Keyboard Cue Corporation PO BOX 564 Barberton OH 44203 O ;8 Music for the Button Box 5 Books & Cassettes ■Accordions (>u SCeteznik Availahte V T I » VVVVVfVVfVT TLh BR. 2«, JOLIET, ILLINOIS OFFERS THE FOLLOWING SCHOLARSHIPS TO ITS MEMBERS Adult Continuing Education Scholarship We are happy to be able to award a $500 scholarship to a member 21 years of age and over who may be pursuing advanced or continuing education. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 1. Must be a member of SWU a minimum of 5 years. 2. A citizen of the United States. 3. Must be actively pursuing an advanced degree, or currently in an educational program, either in college or vocational education. 4. There must be an indication of financial need. 5. The applicant must be working toward a degree or certification, and must be making satisfactory academic progress (with GPA of C + or better). 6. The applicant may not be in default or owe a refund on a federal grant or federal education loan. The following items need to be forwarded to the Scholarship Committee. 1. A letter identifying your need for the award. 2. A transcript of your most recent semester grades (if applicable) from the institution you are attending. 3. A current, signed Federal Tax Return. Mail the above information to: Mrs. Barbara J. DeLaney, 2209 Greengold Ave., Crest Hill, IL 60435 For further information please call (815) 727-1926 or (815) 744-9422. NOTE: All information will be kept confidential. Each applicant will be given a number and the scholarship committee will not know the identity of the applicant. HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP (Graduating Eighth Graders) A Scholarship, in the amount of $500, will be awarded to the applicant who meets the following criteria: 1. Must be a current 8th grade student and must be a member of Br. 20 for two full years. Parent or guardian must be a member'for at least 2 years and be physically and or financially supportive of the SWU organization’s fund raisers. 2. Applicant must have been accepted at one of the Catholic high schools, and be enrolled for the fall semester. 3. Scholastic ability must be proven. A written recommendation from the school principal or eighth grade teacher should include an estimate of the applicant’s ability to perform and complete high school work. Recommendation must also include an evaluation of applicant’s character and code of behavior. 4. A statement from the applicant outlining his or her individual or family membership in Br. 20, plus an overview of involvement in branch activities. This statement must be fowarded to the branch president for signature. 5. One scholarship will be given in each category. 6. A student cannot receive a scholarship two years in a row. HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS (Current High School Students) The Scholarship will be awarded to an applicant who meets the same criteria as for Graduating Eighth Graders who have been accepted and are enrolled for fall semester at a Catholic high school. A Scholarship, in the amount of $500 will be awarded to the academically qualified high school student who wishes to continue his/her education in a Catholic high school, or is planning to transfer from a public high school to a Catholic high school. If you are interested contact Barbara DeLaney for application papers. Phone number (815) 744-9422. Completed application form and requested data is to be sent to: Br. 20 Scholarship Program Mrs. Barbara J. DeLaney, Chair 2209 Greengold Ave., Crest Hill, IL 60435 Deadline for submitting completed application is April 15, 1998. Envelopes postmarked after due date cannot be accepted. To maintain objectivity in awarding the Scholarship names of the applicants will not be published by the Scholarship Chair. Each applicant will be assigned a number so that committee members will not know which applicant they are reviewing. Scholarship will be presented to the winners at the branch’s May meeting/Woman of the Year Banquet. One scholarship per family per year. All Slovenian Women’s Union of America members and guests are invited. BRANCH 20, JOLIET, ILLINOIS CELEBRATES ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY October 4, 1998! FESTIVITIES INCLUDE: Breakfast at 8:30 in Ferdinand Hall followed by a 9:30 meeting. Polka Mass at 11:30 in St. Joseph’s Church, then Dinner at 1:30 at the Empress’ Grand Ballroom Tickets are $20; make reservations as soon as possible! Rooms at the Express Hotel have been set aside for October 2, 3, 4. Rates are $63 plus tax for a double room. For more information please contact: Pat Figurowski (815) 741-1863 or Jonita Ruth (815) 726-6990 & (815) 727-1926 Plan a mini-weekend!! Enjoy the Empress Hotel and Casino! For package deal prices, contact Pat or Jonita. ( IM P to t f % CASINOS • HOTELS JOLIET, IL. No. 16 Cont’d: WI. It’s always good hear from you. Mary Ann Starcevich sent her greetings from her home in Florida - your notes and cards are appreciated. Congratulations to two young people who were confirmed - Gianna Rossi, Dotsi Rossi’s granddaughter and Peter Amicarelli, grandson of Lena Amicarelli.- Anne Ksiažek is one very proud mother these days. Her daughter, Rosanne received her master’s degree in special education and her son, Tom received his degree in business administration. Anne’s pride and joy are her twelve grandchildren. Our Vida has recovered from her surgery. Marie Vidovich is on the mend - she spent a couple weeks in the hospital but now she has a bad case of ‘cabin fever! Join the club, Marie! Sixteen members of the Krai family took to the slopes, they skiied in Mancelone, MI. Belie ve it or not, no broken bones! Our condolences to Barbara Maggio and her sister Joanne Hutchison on the loss of their dad, John Maggio. May he rest in peace. God love you! MARGE NO. 20, JOLIET, IL Meeting: 3rd Tues. except June to Sept. ■‘SlSsr St. Joe’s Park Hall Dear members, hope you all had a nice Valentine’s Day and got something sweet! In March, we will be celebrating St. Pat and St. Joseph Days. Also, First Friday is March 6. Please remember to fast and offer up prayers for our beloved country which is in such need of our help. Easter is right around the comer. Remember how we used to dress up and wear our Easter bonnets? Now it’s rare to see a hat worn in church. All you secretaries will be getting flowers or candy from your bosses, or is that considered sexual harrass-ment? Oh well, gone are the good old days. Bea Metesh became a grandma again, a prospective new member like his sister, Krista. His name is Cody Joseph Zobel. Congrats to Marcia Fedo, daughter of Janice and the late Robert Fedo, wed to Chrisopha Limbach on Sept. 20th in Sieburg, Germany. A reception was held in Stadt Blankenberg, Germany where friends and family from Joliet, Rolling Meadows, IL, Brazil, Hawaii, Rarotonga, Sweden and Switzerland celebrated together. The food was a mix of German cuisine, seafood and a Hawaiian style roast pig. They now reside in Burlington, VT. Also, congrats to Teri Kay Lennon whose daughter, Mary Catherine was married to Tino Dano Villaflor on Nov. 15th. Get well wishes to: Sandra Hancock, Sandra Gregorash, Bemice Ogulin, Barbara Delaney, Theresa Papesh, Janet Anzelc, Anna Fandak, Marie Scheidt, Mary Barbie, Louise Dobczyk, Ray Hoffman, and for our former mayor of our Grape Festival, Frank Yankovic. Hope they are all feeling better. Our member Mary Jo Mullin has gone to our Lord. Her husband is Joseph Mullin. Our condolences. Jo and Richard Tezak celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary with a Polka Mass, Sunday, Feb. 8th. May they Polka on for many more anniversaries. If anyone would like to go on a 12-day All Star Polka Tour to Slovenia, Austria and excursion to Czech Republic June 29 - July 10, 1998, you can contact Bob or Judy Doszak or call 1-800-800-5981. The itinerary sounds interesting and a lot of fun with lots of polkas. We are running a contest for 70 new members in honor of our 70th Anniversary. The one who signs up the most members will be surprised with a gift! On March 11th we meet at 7 p.m. at St. Joe’s Park. After our regular meeting, we will play Bingo and have a silent White Elephant Auction. Everyone is asked to bring a wrapped gift item to be auctioned. Also, we’re going to celebrate St. Joseph and St. Patrick’s day. We will have Irish music and say a special prayer to St. Joseph in honor of his feast day, March 19. The last time our auction was fun. Our hostesses for March 17th meeting will be Jean Herbst and Joyce Kopta. On April 18 and 19th, Saturday and Sunday: Our Second Bakery Sale at St. Joseph Church before and after all the masses. Your generous donation, as usual, will be appreciated. There’s always lots of goodies for you to take home. Jo Lustik is Chairman. April 21st meeting is at 7:00 p.m. Our guest speaker will be a representative of the Women’s Health Connection from St. Joe’s Medical Center. She will explain the advantages of becoming a member and the variety of programs available to educate and inspire today’s “Woman.” Please let us know of any members who are shut-in. Send name and address to Pat Figuro wski ,216 Reed wood Dr., Joliet, IL 60436 or call 741 -1863. And please let me know of any news that I could use for our ZARJA to make for interesting reading. We want to keep our members happy. Bye till next time, KATHY STONICH NO. 23, ELY, MN Meeting: 1st Monday St. Anthony’s Church Hall Sept. thru May Branch 23 of the Slovenian Women’s Union in Ely, Minnesota, held their Christmas Dinner at Vertin’s Cafe on December 8, 1997. Regular business was dispensed. However, President Jane Yadlosky read a letter pertaining to the State Convention next fall. There was no meeting in January, 1998. Entertainment provided by Carol Brudy, with a series of Christmas carols and members joined in with singing. After the musical interlude, Bingo was played. Drawings were held for a number of prizes; and winner of the 50/50 raffle were Margaret Somrock and Julia Zgonc. It was a very nice dinner and program, and a great way to welcome the Season’s activities. Our next meeting was to take place at the Senior Citizens Building in Ely in February. Submitted by, MARCELLA ZUPEC, Reporter WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE STATE CONVENTION Dear Members: Although by the time you read this issue, we will be well into the new year and Christmas 1997 but a memory, I would like to wish all of you God’s blessings for good health and happiness. May 1998 be a year of new beginnings for all of us! I am taking this opportunity to express my pride in our State President, Bonnie Pohar Prokup, for epitomizing the enthusiasm and determination of the women past and present who are the backbone of Slovenska Ženska Zveza. Those of you who participated in the 1997 Illinois-Indiana State Convention held in LaSalle observed our President in action. May we share in her enthusiasm for and support of the SWU by encouraging members and friends to join with us in producing a dynamic turnout for the 1998 State Convention later this year in Joliet. (Conventions recharge your “spirit” like a tune-up does to your cars.) I am honored to serve in the capacity as Vice President to a Woman of Bonnie’s caliber. God bless all of you and may His Love surround your days with peace. Til we meet again, nasvidenje! Sincerely, Genevieve Puhek Buol IL/1N State Vice President Branch 2, Chicago IT’S IN EVERY s(love)mian We love to read news of your branch in ZARJA! NO. 24, LA SALLE, IL Meeting: 3rd Thurs. Catholic School Library Mar. - Apr. -May-June Sept.-Oct.-Nov. Christmas seems so long ago (time flies quickly once you are a Senior Citizen). I just have to take a few lines to say a bit about our Christmas party and brief business meeting at Starved Rock Lodge. Two of our younger and newer members were willing to take the chairmanship for the party and they had a lovely party for us. The 18 members who attended had a very nice time and all of us appreciate the effort they put in the planning and we want to thank them for their good work. The tables were so pretty and we each had a Christmas Tree favor to take home. Thank you Mary Mecum and Linda Struna! Fruit baskets were delivered to our shut in members by Adele Gensler, Betty Stack and Minnie Carter. Anna Lushina in La Salle Healthcare Nursing Home and Olga Fritz in a Texas Nursing Home and Mary Gomik and Wanita Helmer who are both out of town were remembered with Christmas Novena and Mass Cards. Betty Stack delivered a gift for a small child to Catholic Social Service. Wanita Helmer had knee surgery in Memorial Medical Center in Springfield on January 13th. We hope and pray that this will be the end of surgery for her as she continues with physical therapy. She’s been away from us for a long time and we are all anxious to have her back home. Betty Stack is recuperating from a fall and back injury, Jo Foley, Theresa Well-ner, Theresa Kinczewski and our Spiritual Advisor, Fr. John Onderko have had illness this past month. We hope all are feeling better by the time they read this. Remember our sick and shut-in members with cards and prayers. Happy Birthday to our March birthday celebrants: Junior member Josephine Pohar Brady, Theresa Kinczewski, Helen Millman, Mary Gertrude Johnson, Mary Hewitt, and Trese Hollerich. In April, Mary Jean Weihman, Adele Gensler, Marianne Schweickert, Theresa Wellner, Frances J. Ficek, Mary Ann Brunner, Junior member Ashley Collins, Ann Cassidy, Debbie Pohar and Mary Ann Potthoff will be a year older. Looking a little ahead, Jo Foley and Rita Mae Pyszka will be observing their birthdays in May. Best wishes to all for a Happy Birthday and Healthy year. Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m. in La Salle Catholic School. Plan to join us as we plan our activities for the year, including the 70th anniversry of our Branch 24. As you read this we will be observing the sacred season of Lent. This is a special time of Penance and prayer -a time when we take a good look at our lives and vow to do better. I wish all of you a most Joyous and Blessed Easter. ANNEM. WANGLER, Reporter NO. 25, CLEVELAND, OH 2nd Sunday, 1:00 p.m. St. Vitus Social Room Happy 1998... A prosperous year and a healthy one ahead!! Well, back to business now that all the festivities are over for awhile. My news is a bit old but some of our members were not in attendance at our Christmas party. It was held at Sterle’s Country House. Many attended. We had elections, Fran Gazvoda, President, read the rules for the election. We had a written ballot. The following are the new officers; Pres. Fran Gazvoda, V. Pres. Josie Perpar, Secy. Peg Moore, Treas. Ann Clemence, Recording Secy. Jan Krivacic, Auditors, Gene Drobnič and Emilee Jenko. Sunshine, Peg Moore. All in attendance were happy with the results then back to partying and eating all the delicious food at Sterle’s. We had a gift exchange. We want to wish Jo Mohorčič a very happy 80th birthday...wish she could have joined us...also Josie Perpar was confined to the hospital for some surgery and is now on the mend. Frances Hočevar was also confined to the hospital for a short while but now is resting at her home. A card would be nice. Say a prayer for all the deceased members and keep our sick and shut-ins in your thoughts. Please remember to contact the sunshine lady for anyone in the hospital or on the sick list. Cards are always so nice to receive and to know that you are thought of. Please note: Our meetings are in the social room at St. Vitus. Please try to attend all our meetings. Wishing that the sunshine lights the pathways from the sky above, bringing beautiful peace and wondrous bliss to all. EMILEE JENKO NO. 26, PITTSBURGH, PA Meeting: 3rd Monday VFW Hall, 42nd St. On Monday, December 15th, Branch 26 in Pittsburgh had a splendid Christmas party. It was enjoyed by 23 members. The weather was perfect for our affair. The food for our luncheon was provided by Ann Zagas, Dorothy Pietro and Betty Metzer; they were also our Prize Committee . A luscious Cranberry Jello Salad was created by Helen Cesnik. A delicious fruit dessert was prepared by Mary Bratetich whose cakes and cookies would melt in your mouth. Everyone went home with a lovely present. A short meeting took place during which time correspondence from Joliet was read (concerning the upcoming 70th Anniversary Celebration). We are trying to get a couple of women to attend this affair which will take place in October of 1998. We will talk more about this at our next meeting in March of 1998. Maybe we will be able to join in with another branch from Western Pennsylvania to share transportation expenses. A Blessed, Healthy and Happy New Year to all in 1998. JANE LYNCH, Recording Secretary NO. 32, EUCLID, OH Meeting: 3rd Wednesday SSH Recher Ave. HELLO Ladies! By the time this letter appears Valentine’s Day will have already past but sending lots of love to everyone. At our last meeting in December our group celebrated Christmas at our annual Christmas party. The food, music, gifts, and friendship were wonderful. In March and April we hold our regular meeting. Please come and join us to start off the New Year. Ceal and Howard McLean’s eldest son, Howard and his family drove in from Terre Haute, IN for a few days between the holidays. Elizabeth Petrovič passed away on December 19th and was laid to rest on December 23rd. A good friend and a long-time member, Elizabeth Perme passed away and was laid to rest on December 31st. Many of our members visited Jakubs Funeral Home to pray and pay our respects. There we were met by Elizabeth’s nephew, Ron Werhnyak and wife, Janet from South Bend, IN. Elizabeth was the godmother of Ceal McLean and a long time friend of Ceal Znidar. She now lies next to her late husband, Anthony who passed away in 1973. They were married for 37 years. Elizabeth worked at National Screw Company in Cleveland for over 47 years. May they rest in peace and are now in God’s loving care. Jean and Edward Krajewski went to the Fiji Islands, New Zealand, and to Australia. Wow!! Hope you both enjoyed yourselves. President Ann Cooke is in Florida once again visiting her daughter and grandchildren. She’s one of the lucky ones who gets to escape this Cleveland winter weather. Hopefully Ann is enjoying herself tremendously. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone on March 17th and Happy Easter to everyone on April 12th. Stay safe and healthy. Hope to see you all soon, on March 18th. ADRIENNE JAGER NO. 33, DULUTH, MN Meeting: 1st Wed. St. Elizabeth’s Church January Report We had our annual dinner meeting at The Shack Supper Club in Superior, Wis. We do this every year to celebrate the charter of our Branch. We held our election of officers in. November. Those elected were: Pres. Bev Menart, Vice Pres. Mary White Rec. Jackie Rukavina, Treas. Rosemary Donald. On Nov. 22 Tony and Bev Menart were honored by relatives and friends at an Open House Reception on the occasion of their 40th Wedding An- niversary. They were married at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Nov. 23, 1957. We congratulate them and wish them many more years together. Our Christmas Party was Dec. 7. Gifts were given to our Junior members. Oops! I forgot an important event. At our Nov. meeting, Sharon Bucar was elected our Mother of the Year for 1998. She will be honored at our May meeting. She has been Youth Activities Director of our Branch for several years. February Report Greetings from Br. 33. We had a good winter, but we are eagerly anticipating spring! Not much has been happening here in the last couple of months, but Rosemary Donald is working up a calendar of events and activities for the coming year. At this writing we should all have a copy. On April 22, we will be having our annual Spaghetti Dinner. This is our major fund raiser for the year. We will also have a Bake Sale. Our prayers go out to any of our members who are ill. Sometimes they have already recouperated by the time we hear about it. Please contact Virginia Mikrut if you know of someone. She is our Sunshine Chairman. LISA MCDONELL NO. 34, SOUDAN, MN Meeting: 3rd Wed., 1 p.m. St. Martin’s Church Hall Jan. to May; Sept. & Oct. You would call our last meeting on January 21, 1998, as an “ideal” meeting—we had a nice turnout, we had a “busy” meeting, a good time was had during our social hour, with our priest, Fr. Pakiz, joining us for lunch afterward. Installation of officers was conducted by Helen Adkisson who always does a nice job for us. The officers for 1998 are: Adeline Mustonen, Pres., Agnes Mattson, Vice Pres., Victoria Bobence, Sec. Treas., Emma Be-toume, Rec. Sec., AngelaTekautz and Mary Gomick, Auditors. We were interested to read in ZARJA that the first assessment billing was made on 1-15-98 and mid-February should see the end. Now if we could only get a print-out of our branch members, this is what I truly would like to see. We ask for this at every MN Day Convention and nothing happens. The branch, as usual, donated to the MN Citizens Concerned for life, we cannot give up on trying to ban abortion, especially the partial birth abortion. Our member of 44 years, Sophie Zupanich died on November 13, 1997. She had just moved to a nursing home in Virginia. We had honored her as our Mother of the Year in 1988; she served as hostess with Marge Skala. She was eulogized by us after her funeral. At our meeting Kay Dean and Agnes Tekautz were hostesses. Emma Be-toume brought the door prize which was won by Lorraine Berg; it was an arrangement of bulbs which had been already started in a decorative bowl. Our next meeting was Scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, with Emma Betoume and Adeline Mustonen as hostesses, the door prize being brought by Victoria Bobence. Winners at our meeting were Angela Tekautz, Adeline Mustonen, Theresa Berg, and Margaret Mesojedec. We have had such an exceptional winter, mild temperatures for the most part with not much snow. The deer have been seen every day, coming into town to eat the com, apples and other feed people put out for them. Fr. Pakiz has a faithful three or four who wait until we are through with morning Mass to watch for Father who feeds them; they are beautiful to watch-some come right up to feed out of his hand. Agnes Tekautz had a wolf visiting at her house for awhile, it might have been sickly; and others have seen wolves, too. I wish you all a very Happy Easter... all of us will be busy with carrying on our Easter traditions in some way or another. ADELINE MUSTONEN, Reporter Share your recipes, household hints and cooking secrets for our new SWU Cookbook, Pots & Pans II, to be full of new and tested recipes, plus some of the best of the old! NO. 35, AURORA, MN Meeting: 6 per year Community Sr. Center On Sunday, Dec. 7th we had a meeting and Christmas party at the American Legion clubrooms. Secretary Dorothy Jamnick conducted the meeting, in the absence of President, Florence Holland, and opened the meeting with prayers. Vida Marinšek is our Mother of the Year and she wants to celebrate this honor with all the mothers of our branch, which will be held on Sunday, May 3rd. Congratulations to Vida and all our mothers! The following officers were elected for 1998. President, Anna Orazem; Vice President, Anita Vovk; Secretary, Dorothy Jamnick; Recording Secretary, Alice Wilson; Sgt. at Arms, Janice Grebence; Auditors: Janice Grebence and Phyllis Turk. Installation of officers was done by Anna Hodnik. Thanks to Florence Holland who served as President of our branch for 10 years and to all returning and new officers. A monetary donation was given to the Holy Rosary church organ fund in memory of Anna Rose Smolich. Thanks to David and Theresa McGauley for their generous donation to the SWU Scholarship fund. Congratulations and many thanks for a job well done to Alan Hodnik who served as Mayor of Aurora for ten years. His mom, Anna, wife, Erika, and daughters, Alysa and Carolyn are all members of our branch. Congratulations to Suzanne (Orazem) Williams of Roscommon, MI who received the Ralph Sperry award which is given to a special person who works with and for handicapped persons and those with disabilities. She teaches adult education in the Houghton Lake, MI schools, is a volunteer for the Coor special Olympics program and was named “Coach of the Year” for her help with the 1997 Michigan Special Olympics. She and her two sons are members of our branch. (She has introduced her gym class to Slovenian music, polkas, clap dance and the birdie dance and they love it.) Our sympathy and prayers are with Anita Vovk and her family. She lost a brother in January and a sister in December. May they rest in peace. Mark your calendars with these dates of our meetings, May 3rd; Aug. 5th; Sept. 13th SWU State Convention, Oct. 11th, and Dec. 6th. After the meeting adjourned we enjoyed a delicious dinner catered by the Legion Auxiliary. Thanks again to the ladies for their monetary gifts ($55.00) for the Hospital Activities Dept. Phyllis Turk is our sunshine chairman. Please call her if someone is ill, make their First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Graduation etc. so she can send them a card from us. ANNE M. ORAZEM NO. 39, BIWABIK, MN 1st Sunday monthly St. John’s Church Here’s hoping everybody has managed to get up and go after the holidays and hope every body has fought the flu. Our weather up here has been fantastic, in the 30’s every day. Our Feb. meeting was conducted by our new President, Veda Lanari. Our retiring Pres., Kathy Siskar installed her at this meeting. We welcome her to Biwabik as she is a transfer member of Virginia, Br. 65. We have selected our Woman of the Year. She is Martina Michaels. She also is a transfer from Virginia and a sister to Veda and Maria Ferkul. What a beautiful lady. Congratulations. We will be honoring our 80 years and over at our dinner celebration. Our “over 80” members will be paying their own dues as we have over 40 members. A letter will be sent to them. We have selected our honorary pall bearers for the coming year. They are Ann Geržina, Millie Mestruck, Katy Steblay, Jennie Ahlin, Ann Boszkur, Maria Ferkul, Katy Bone, Fran Siskar, Jean Korsman and Tootsie Hietala. Ann Geržina and Tootsie will call when needed. Ann Geržina is also our sunshine girl again this year. Also we are praying and wishing Ann Lushar a speedy recovery after her surgery. We miss you, Ann. Hurry back. Here’s wishing you all a prosperous New Year and God Bless. ANGIE HIETALA NO. 40, LORAIN, OH Meeting: 2nd Wed. SS. Cyril & Method Hall Eighteen members came to our Nov. 12th meeting. Thanks to our Agnes Serazin for the delicious dessert she made and help to me entertaining in place of our Pres, who was ill. Thanks again for your kindness, Agnes. Agatha brought our meeting to order with prayer. We had two guests who are members of Br. 32 in Euclid, Mary Ann Foster who lives in North Ridgeville with her widowed mother Anna Rossman. Mary Ann was lucky and got the door prize. We changed the date of our Christmas Luncheon to Dec. 11th due to many members having another engagement. We sent a get-well card to our Pres. Our Stephanie Polutnik entertained us with a reading about what happens in life when we grow old. Irene Kokinda recited a prayer to our Blessed Mother and also sang us a Slovenian tune and the rest of us joined in the singing. Our Francine and husband were celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary on Jan. 6th. Congratulations! I celebrated my 85th birthday on Dec. 16th. Time sure does fly! Our Molly Glavan got the surprise of her life recently. She got a telephone call from Ljubljana, Slovenia from Anton Stukely, a cousin of the late Joseph Glavan. Anton wished all the Glavan family a Happy Holiday. What a pleasure it was to talk on the telephone to Slovenia. Anton Stukely visited Molly in 1996. It was 4:15 p.m. our time when Anton called and 10 p.m. Slovenia time. We closed our meeting with prayer. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing Keeno. Our Christmas Mass luncheon at Mountain Jacks was a delightful affair. 28 members and friends came and enjoyed the delicious food. We spent the afternoon singing carols and some of our favorite Slovenian melodies. Irene Kokinda sang several beautiful songs. We wish you all a healthy and happy 1998. ***** Jan. 14th was a cold and slippery day but that didn’t stop 21 members and two guests from coming to our meeting. Thanks to our Birthday girls, Agnes Serazin and Lenore Pavlovčič who treated us to chicken soup with Farina dumplings to warm us up! Sue Tomazic surprised us with priz-zels for dessert. It also seemed like Christmas in Jan. with all the prizes brought in for our money making project. Thanks to all for being so generous. Our Angie Zgonc got the door prize. Our pres, brought the meeting to order with prayer. We tried to elect new officers, but no luck. You will have to put up with us for another year. Agnes Tomazin, Pres.; Agatha Donges, Treas.; Mary Matos, Rec. Sec.; Agnes Serazin and Sue Tomazic, auditors and Mary Matos, Reporter. We decided we would honor all our Mothers again this year at our May celebration. We wish to express sincere sympathy to our Rose Jancar on the recent loss of her sister who passed away recently. We received a invitation from Branch 20, Joliet, IL to their 70th anniversary on Oct. 5, 1998. We closed the meeting with prayer. Try to come to our next meeting on the 2nd Wed. of the month at 1 p.m. and enjoy the hospitality of our lovely ladies; you won’t be sorry if you come. We wish you all a Happy St. Patrick’s and a Blessed Easter. Love, MARY MATOS NO 42, MAPLE HTS., OH Meetings: Quarterly;:, 2nd month of the quarter, 2nd Saturday Maple Hts., Library Due to the change in publishing the ZARJA to just six issues by doubling up the months, we did not have a reasonable time frame to get a report in the last issue. Many thanks to Albina Skocaj for the fine job she did as a reporter. Belated December birthday greetings to Donna Stubljer, Joe Offutt, Nicholas Lipnos, Beth Carroll, Eleanor Lipnos, Albina Skocaj, Jennifer Loc-kard, Mary Lipnos, Marge Church and Christine Hajek. January Birthdays: Kelly Gaines, Mary Perko, Kelly and David Lipnos, Karen Lockard and Camille Lao. February Birthdays: Nicki Ler-chbacher, Edna Scotton, Allison Gruden, Theresa Ferfolia and yours truly. March Birthdays: Anne McCaslin, Ann Zupančič, Marie Vercek, Albina Mroczka, Tina Buehner, Vida Vercek, Katie Kossakoski and Kimberly Balach. April Birthdays: Margaret Roznik, Arlene Legan, Eleanor McArdle, Helen Grocky, Imelda Blazy, Terry Anzo, Dorti Zidar and Mary Jo O’Neill. Christmas lunch at Pipers III was greatly enjoyed by the 28 attendees. Prizes and winners were listed in the last newsletter. Welcome back to Ohio, Betty Kosak Gawor, currently residing with sons, Dan and Dave in Seven Hills. As we go to press I received news of the demise of our member, Vida Shega. Our deepest sympathy to husband, Frank and family. May she rest in peace. A special greeting to our members residing in retirement centers and assisted living facilities, locally to Mary Ann Filips at Judson Retirement Comm., Frances Tomsic at Little Sisters of the Poor, Vida Vercek at Walton Manor, Nicki Lerchbacher at Slov. Home for the Aged and out-of-state is Mary Mauer at Our Lady of Peace Haven in Pensacola, Fla. We will remember you all at our Annual Mother’s Day Mass which will take place Sunday, May 17th at St. Wenceslas Church in Maple Hts. at 12:30 p.m. Following the mass we will go to Holiday Inn (Independence) for lunch. Please make an effort to attend. As your new scribe, members, I humbly beseech you to keep me informed of the activities of you and your families. My phone No. is 398—4367. Zbogom, LIL SADOWSKI SWU Crest indicates the 70th Anniversary of this branch in 1998. Congratulations! NO. 43, MILWAUKEE, WI Meeting: 4th Wed. St. John Evangelist Rectory I hope all of our members and families had a joyful Holiday Season, and I am wishing all a happy and healthy 1998. We celebrated our Christmas Party on December 13th at Klemmer’s. Our dinner was excellent and everyone enjoyed the visiting. We also raffled Cookies which were beautiful and delicious. Our January meeting was opened with a prayer by our President, minutes were read, and the financial report was given. A wonderful lunch was served by our Birthday Girls, Helen Prijic, Jo Zahn, Joan Yaklich and Shirley Schulta. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and many, many more. January is also the Birthday month for Milka Menchak, who was unable to attend the meeting because of a mishap. Here’s hoping that everything will be o.k. Catherine Oliver, our Treasurer, was unanimously selected as our “Mother of the Year 1998,” an honor well-de-served. This celebration will be at Klemmer’s. Time and date will be given later. Our “Mother of the Year” for 1997, Elsie Gallun will do the crowning. I have been informed that Frances Sagadin is grandma for the 11th time to grandson, Phillip Anthony, and Rose Vodnik is great grandma for the fourth time to great granddaughter, Catherine. Congratulations to both of you! Mary Musich who now lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois, says hello to all and says she misses us. She will attend our meetings whenever transportation is available. On March 22nd USPEH Chorus will have a Pancake Breakfast at Kuglitsch’s at 44th and Greenfield, 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Price of tickets $4.00. Sunday May 17th is the USPEH Spring Concert, 3 p.m. Guest Chorus is Slovenska Pesem from Chicago area. Reception to follow in Setnicar Hall. June 14th Bogdan Drč Chorus from the Ljubljana Clinic, sponsored by the USPEH Organization. Concert to be held at Central High School in West Allis. Reception at K.C. hall on South 92nd St. Separate tickets are needed for each event. Meeting was closed with a prayer. Our next meetings will be held on March 25th and April 22nd. Same place and same time. ANNE E. KONCZAL, Reporter NO. 47, GARFIELD HTS., OH Please note change in meeting place to Bedford Public Library, 70 Columbus Rd., 1 p.m. in March, May, Sep. and Dec. ftlNO. 50, EUCLID, OH Meeting: 3rd Wed. Euclid Public Library except July & Aug. Happy New Year! The New Year always began with the month of March prior to Julius Caesar’s era, representing the awakening of life after the cold of winter. Many countries continued to believe March as the beginning of the year: France maintained it as the 1st month until 1564, Scotland until 1599, and England until 1752, to name a few. The deadline for the March/April issue of ZARJA is Feb. 1st so it will be printed too early to report anything about our meeting on Feb. 18th. Did you remember to wear “Red” and to congratulate our 1998 Valentine Queen? It should be a good meeting being held at the new, improved Euclid Public Library. The library opening in January was very impressive. Many of our members attended. As a reminder, be sure to wear green at the March meeting on March 18. See you there. Also, Wed. April 15th is the following month’s meeting date which will take place the Wednesday after Easter. Many of our members missed Lodge 50’s editorial in the December issue including my dear Teta Ronnie who lives in the Villa de Marillac Nursing Home in Pgh, PA. That report was incorporated in the November issue which was originally not scheduled to be printed. Most of the news, however, was important to activities coming in December which would have been too late to be of any use had it been printed for December. Now you must be as BR. 50 CELEBRATES WITH THEIR MEMBER All good members and good friends! Helen Zak, Anne Tomcik, Anne Arhar and Ann Tercek celebrated Anne and Edward Arhar’s anniversary at the meeting of Br. 50. confused as I was. I promise I’ll write something, if its only “No news is good news.” Although time has passed since our Christmas Dinner Party held at Kristy’s Restaurant, everyone was duly impressed by the welcome we received and for the delicious food we were served. Our perpetual entertainment was by Louis Trebar and his accordian answering table-to-table requests for our favorite Slovenian and English musical memories. This was followed by seasonal songs sung by Mary Mam and our President, Ann. The evening was embellished by soft and alcoholic drinks served with compliments of Ann Winters, Jean Miller, and Ann Tercek, interspersed by a raffle which delighted all 98 who attended. Special “Thanks” go to the many members who donated the raffle prizes. All in all, we can always look forward to every Christmas Party. As of Feb. 1st, our known members not in good condition consist of Jane Somrack, Josephine Debevec, Joan Podmore, and Millie Pike. May you all be well by now. Also Jennie Kokotec moved away to be closer to her children for health reasons. Sympathies go to members Jane Kosicko, who lost her dear husband, and to Josephine Sieworek, who lost her sister, Ann Miklavčič. Francis Hrovat and Bertha Vidmar also lost their sister, Veda Shega. A sad last minute addition: Eleanor Karlinger’s sister Dorothy Krygier passed away at the Wickliffe Country Place where they both lived, and Josephine Justin went to her reward as this report was written. Our sincere condolences are extended and may the deceased rest in peace. Now is a good time to keep the Scholarship Program in mind. Applicants should be members in good standing for the past three years at least. Let it be known of eligibility. We will do our best to process the application. In closing, do you find it familiar that just when you think your cup of happiness is full, some jerk comes along and bumps your elbow? NASVIDENJE! VI MORAVCHEK Ann and Edward Arhar celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in October. Ed says “I can still show, you the exact spot on the dance floor where we met at the Slovenian National Home on St. Clair Ave.” Now after 50 years they are still dancing at many affairs in the area. Ann and Ed have 5 children and 10 grandchildren, and it all might never have happened if Ann’s parents hadn’t decided to leave their native Slovenia for a better life in the U.S. when Ann was 11 years old. Recently Ann and Ed were honored as faithful volunteers for their many years at the “St. Joseph’s Christian Life Center” on E. 185th St. and Lake Shore Blvd. Ann said it is a joy to them, not a job. Ann is an accomplished seamstress; she worked for “Andre Delawn”, a famous designer who made clothes for numerous stars and celebrities. She made most of her own clothes, as well as dressed all her children. One year, the mother-and-son outfit she had created won a prize in the Cleveland museum of Art’s Easter Parade. Later, when her children were older, she worked at the famous Higbee’s Silver Grill in downtown Cleveland for 23 years. Their parish is St. Vitus and are very active there. Ann has recently been ordained a Eucharistic minister; they serve together at St. Vitus, the first married couple to do so at that church. Ann and Ed looked so elegant as they had their marriage vows renewed at a liturgy conducted by our own beloved and honored Bishop Pevec. It was a beautiful mass and ceremony with church full of friends and relatives. Ann has two well-known brothers, John and Joseph Hočevar. Joe is affiliated with KSKJ. Ann is a loyal member of Branch 50 for 23 years and is always most welcome at the meetings etc. with her ever smiling and kind disposition, and is loved by everyone! The picture was taken at a meeting when we presented “This is your life.” It was very interesting. Congratulations again, Ann and Ed! With God’s blessings we wish you many more years in good health and much happiness and remember, keep on dancing!! Ann J. Tercek, President, Br. 50 Chuckle For The Day I have become a little older since I saw you last and a few changes have come into my life since then. Frankly, I have become quite a frivolous old gal. I am seeing five gentlemen every day. As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Then Charlie Horse comes along, and when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day. He doesn’t like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint. After such a busy day I’m really tired and glad to go to he with Ben Gay. What a life! Submitted by Jonita Ruth In Loving Memory 5th Anniversary f CarolPiccirello Born, May 23, 1942 Died, March 20, 1993 No one knows how much we miss you. No one knows the bitter pain we have suffered. Since we lost you life has never been the same. In our hearts your memory lingers, Sweetly tender, fond and true. There is not a day, dear one That we do not think of you. Sadly missed by Loving Mother, Ann Tercek Daughters, Debra and Denise Sisters, Nancy Mramor and Joan Podmore Br. 50, Euclid, Ohio NO. 54, WARREN, ON Meeting: 3rd Wed. Feb. thru May, Sep., Nov., Dec. Our group enjoyed a lovely Christmas luncheon at my home. We had quite an array of tasty dishes and our desserts were delicious! We had a raffle to help our treasury and we all talked so much that we forgot to sing Christmas carols! We had election of officers, since we were unable to meet in November. Our slate remains the same - no surprises! As of this month, I have been secretary and treasurer for 35 years. We also voted to honor all our members for the Mother-Daughter Luncheon in May. Vic Zuga is doing very well after her heart surgery and it was good to have her among us. Elsie and Tony Shine were at their son’s in Georgia for several weeks and Virginia Shine had family in from Colorado for the holidays. We just came back from South Carolina where we helped our son-in-law celebrate his 40th birthday. We had a wonderful time. A blessed and Holy Easter to all. I know we can’t wait for springtime -although we are having a mild winter! JOANNE PONIKVAR Secretary-Reporter NO. 56, HIBBING, MN Meeting: 1st Tues. First Ave. Apt. Social Room except Jan.-June-July Meeting of Feb. 3, 1998 was held at First Ave. Apt. Roll call read. On August 15, 1998 we will have our sixty-fifth anniversary of the SWU #56 of Hibbing. For our Mother’s Day Mass for our deceased members we go for breakfast after the mass and it was decided to either go to Sportsman Cafe or the Old Howard Restaurant. Milenna Kohler will check on these places and report at March meeting. Lunch Committee for March was chosen. President Carlson will call. Following birthdays were recognized: Jan. - Josephine Erickson and Milenna Kohler. Feb. - Katherine Lamson, Rose Maras and Mary Sporer. Jackpot was won by Edith Jones. Meeting closed with prayers. Since President Valerie Carlson was absent. Vice President, Ann Satovich, presided over the meeting. Sincerely submitted by, EDITH JONES NO. 73, WARRENSVILLE, OH Meeting: Mar.-Apr.-May-June Aug.-Oct.-Nov.-Dec. Sec’y. Epley’s Home 20294 Emery Rd., No Randall Just after the holidays and well into the New Year, we had a visitor in our home. Did you ever have someone “drop in” and stay well beyond their welcome? The longer they stay, the more you wish they would leave!! That’s how we felt about our visitor. His first name was “Flu” and his last name was “Bug.” We still feel the effects of the visit and short of getting out of town, we will probably feel those effects of the visit for a few more days. Maybe by this time, the same visitor has been at your home. You do have to treat him well, no use resisting him, he will put you in bed and he does make you hurt. You are at his mercy; just keep fighting until he decides to leave. I refer to the bug as “he,” because we women are so mugh gentler, kinder, understanding, no mean streak in our makeup! We do hope that any of you that have been sick with “the bug” are on the road to recovery. Our branch has been touched by the passing of two male friends, husbands of our members. Betty Bayus’ (recently deceased) husband was laid to rest during the holiday season. We extend our condolences to the family. With both parents gone, there will be difficult days ahead. More recently, Victor Sray, husband/father of members Olga and Mary Ann respectively, entered his eternal rest. Olga and Victor were married 51 years and were active in many Slovene circles, especially those centered around St. Lawrence Church and the nearby SND. They lived in the immediate area of both the church and the hall, perhaps the last of numerous Slovenes who were “fixtures” of the neighborhood. Victor was also the brother of our member, Josephine Turk. Our prayers and sympathy to all of you. Still another demise that deserves mentioning. John Krofl, husband of Helen (formerly of Branch 15) passed away late January. We mention him because of his devotion to duties at St. Jude’s Church, where we are sure he will be missed by many. To Helen and her family, our prayers. A Crafty Idea When a comer cupboard hutch needed a “new” look, I decided to make a doily for each of the three shelves. I found a pattern, only 13 rounds, measures about six inches in diameter. I used a No. 20 ecru thread and the results were great. Only one problem, after I made the three - I enjoyed the pattern so much, I couldn’t stop there. I made several more and tucked them inside Christmas cards. Next plan is to keep making them (here/there) and send them with other greeting cards. They were all well received at Christmas. The instruction for this crochet pattern is a diagram (not written), but very easy to follow. It is almost a coffee-break project, easy to make in one day, and if you prefer using heavier thread, it can be done. A self-addressed stamped envelope and $1.00 will bring this pattern to you. Please send your requests to: Evelyn A. Majercik P.O. Box 46539 Bedford, OH 44146 Many of you have received tickets for our upcoming raffle, the only fundraiser we will have in 1998. It is difficult to come up with ideas that will appeal to everyone. It was the general concensus of opinion that the best prize to offer would be money; it suits everyone’s fancy, one size fits all and is most welcome in any household. Please take time to return your tickets to Alouise Epley. The drawing will be held on Sunday, April 19th when we meet for our Pancake Breakfast after our Anniversary Mass at St. Jude’s Church. Join us at mass at 10:30 a.m., enjoy the K of C breakfast afterward and you’ll be on hand to hopefully hear your name called as winner of one of our cash prizes. A ' Christmas letter received by Alouise from Bemie Blatnik was full of items regarding all that has happened within her family, especially the marriage of her daughter Kathy to Brian Kraus. Bemie and her daughters are members of the branch. Our best wishes to the newlyweds, and good luck to all the others mentioned in the letter. It is a busy household and Ber-nie, don’t worry about the “empty nest.” The next thing Blackie will have to work on is a revolving door - they do come back!! Our next meeting is either just about here, or you just missed it. March 2nd will start our scheduled meetings. Please join us at 7:00 p.m., the Epley Residence is the location. We will have much to talk about after our long winter rest. Take care, stay well, rejoice-Spring is almost here. Respectfully submitted, EVELYN A. MAJERCIK NO. 85, DEPUE, IL Meeting: at Members’ Homes I do not have much to report this time. We did not have a meeting in January as the weather was not the best and we did not have any business to take care of. At our last meeting in December we had the election of officers. The same officers had to stay in as they had no choice. We decided not to select a Mother of the Year as all our members are special Mothers of the Year. I am happy to report that Pearl Dren-nan is recuperating at home after being in the hospital 3 times in the past several months. We hope you will be feeling better and will be able to attend our next meeting. We hope, too, that Mary Oberch will be able to attend. We miss you gals when you are unable to attend. My sister, Ann just returned home from spending 3 weeks in Plymouth, MN with her daughter and family. It’s good to have her back. I guess the ground-hog saw his shadow in PA. So we are supposed to have more winter. The ground-hog here didn’t see his shadow so I guess we’ll be alright. Ha! It’s a beautiful day today; good to see the sun after quite a few gloomy days. Stay well everyone and God bless. MARY JERMENC NO. 89, OGLESBY, IL Meetings: 2nd Mon. except Jan. and July Dickinson House We will have our first 1998 meeting on Feb. 9th so my notes will be very short as I write previous to this date. Rose Ann Prey and Jo Morrison are two happy grandmothers, when Vanessa Morrison made the high honor roll at L.P. High School. She is a senior and will be college bound in the fall. Helen Komater is another happy grandmother; her grandson Chris Banich, a freshman at L.P. High School also made high honor roll. He is the son of Mitzi Banich. Congratulations to all. American Easy Life Slovenian A Life Insurance Plan Catholic forAges40to80 Union Call Us For Details HOME OFFICE: 2439 GLENWOOD AVENUE ♦ JOLIET, IL 60435 ♦ (800) 843-5755 Darlene Wasielewski was saddened at the loss of her brother-in-law, Robert Douglas Hunter. We all extend to her and her loved ones our heart-felt sympathy. Mary Ann Samuelson is in a nursing home. Her address is: “Mary Ann Samuelson, New Beginnings Care Center, 1000 Dixon Ave., Rockfalls, IL 61071. Jo Morrison is also in a nursing home. Her address: Meadows Menno-nite Retirement Community, Room 229, Box 310, RR #1, Chenoa, IL 61727. Emma Casserly’s address is: LaSalle Health Care Center, 1445 Charters St., La Salle, IL 61301. I’m certain the ladies would love to hear from members; a card or a small note would make things a little brighter for them. Our National Secretary, Evelyn Majercik is in line for congratulations on being cited by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio for distinguished service to Slovenian-Americans of her community. We are all happy for you, Evelyn. Congratulations, again! Ash Wednesday is on Feb. 25th and Easter will be celebrated Apr. 12th -where is the time going? Have a Blessed Easter! EUNICE KOMATER NO. 95, SO. CHICAGO, IL Meeting: 2nd Wed. Apr.-May-June Sep.-Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 12:30 p.m. Sacred Heart Church Hall A cheerful atmosphere brightened our Christmas Party with 21 members attending. Our guests were Sister Regina and Sister Goretti from Sacred Heart Parish School. Evelyn Driscoll was in the midst of her eager plans and preparations for our Party by donating all the Christmas table decorations and the poinsetta plants. Evelyn offered her thoughtfulness and prayful way to remember our members and friends; a special thanks to you, Evelyn! Our Chairlady, Ann Yosue and Co-Chairlady, Helen Santy planned the Party. Hostesses, Mary A. Perkovich and Manda Dosen presented a huge cake with all the Christmas decorations on it. They were assisted by Marge Nik-sich, Helen Price, Eleanor Bandera, and Dolores Hennelly. I am deeply touched by the effort of Sharon Komar who brought Marge O’Connor. Marge is confined to a wheelchair; as is also Amelia Cuzella who has problems with her legs. Their presence was very impressive to me. It also was nice to see Helen Nowicki, Inez Carney and Rose Smoljan. In conclusion: This year, as in the past, I would like to raise a toast to our entire force who shouldered the burdens of our branch throughout the year, I hope to see a lot of members at our meeting on Wednesday, April 8th at 1:30 p.m. Please try to attend. God bless all of you, and stay healthy. MILDRED JAMES Thanks to Tillie Ausich for submitting this prayer by Sabina Bartol. Liturgy of the Hours - Easter Eternal Father, you gave us the Easter mystery as our covenant of reconciliation. May the new birth we celebrate show its effects in the way we live. You gave the Apostles the peace of Christ. Grant peace to your people and the whole world. NO. 102, WILLARD, WI Meeting: When convenient Parish Center The month of January is almost over as I write. It was cold and snowy. Christine Trunkel, a member of our Branch, belongs to the St. Norbert’s Collegiate Chorale of Green Bay, WI. A concert was held in December with about 150 people in the chorus, and accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra. Christine is an administrator assistant at the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame. She loves her job! There are several people now in the hospital or in nursing homes. Evelyn Seliškar fractured her hip and Josephine Artac suffered a stroke on Dec. 3. They are both in a nursing home. Dorothy Gregorich had brain surgery on Jan. 5th. Wilbur Adams came home on Jan. 23rd after being in the hospital for almost 3 months. Wilbur had heart surgery in late October. He had a new heart valve put in and had 2 by-passes. We wish him a complete recovery. Two recent deaths to be reported are Pauline Perushek Volk and Mary Celesnik Suda. Mary spent over 5 years in the Thorp Nursing Home. Sincere condolences to their families. The SWU of Willard planned on having a Valentine’s Day meeting and party on Feb. 15th. A potluck lunch was to be followed by a Valentine exchange and Bingo. Corrections from the last report: Bill Backus is a grandfather (not a father, as reported) to Lucas and Skyler. I apologize for the mistake. Mary Djubenski recently returned from a trip to Santa Fe, NM where she spent time with Mike and Gloria Plautz - a trip well-deserved. On Dec. 13th a wedding was held in Nebraska uniting Darlene Protopec and Stanley Volovsek. Our best wishes to them. FRIEDA KLANCHER NO. 105, WARREN, MI Meeting: 2nd Tuesday, 7 p.m. SNPJ Northern Home 31690 Mound Rd. Warren Happy New Year! I apologize that I was not able to submit an article for the January-February issue. Our family wishes all of you a happy and healthy New Year of 1998! Our branch will be sponsoring a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner/Dance on March 14, 1998 at the Northern Home on Mound Rd. The Eddie Adamic Orchestra will be providing the music. For more information and for tickets, you can contact Patricia Adamic at 751-0513 or Fran Adamic at 751-7726. Spring is right around the comer, as is Easter. This year will be extra special because my husband and I will have our daughter to share in the Easter joy. I am looking forward to taking her to Macomb Community College for their annual Easter Egg hunt which is sponsored by the college student organizations. The Slovenians have many traditions for the Easter Season, too. On Palm Sunday, processions are held before Mass, and beautiful “butare” are crafted for the celebration. I hope my sister, Maria will make the “butare” for our family. She has made them for several years and they are beautiful!! Our branch wishes all the other branches a Happy Easter. Vesela Velika Noč in Bog Vas Blagoslovi!! Na Svidenje, DORI KREGAR FOOY NO. 66, CANON CITY, CO Am sad to report the passing of our long-time officer, Christine Konte who passed away on Oct. 29th, 1997 at the age of 95 years. She was bom on May 11th, 1902 in Leadville and was a homemaker, living in Canon City for 79 years. Mrs. Konte is survived by son, Frank of Kenai, Alaska and a daughter Christine Cingoranelli - there are five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and one great great grandchild also surviving. Christine was the last of her generation of the Rozman family - her parents, Anton and Mary (Champa) Rozman were among the earliest immigrants from Slovenia. She was a member of SWU for 61 years and a branch officer for most of them! God rest her soul and may she have eternal peace. HELEN MCFARLAND NO. 59, BURGETTSTOWN, PA Our members seem to be leaving us quickly this year. We are saddened to learn of the passing of Mary M. Ferbežar our member for 31 years who died at the age of 89 at a nursing home in W. Virginia. She was bom on July 30, 1908, the daughter of Joseph and Frances (Marold) Frazier. Three sisters survive her, Jenny Ferbežar, Frances Korošec and Elsie Ferbežar, all of Burgettstown, a brother, Joseph, a nephew and four great nieces. Mary’s sisters are our members equally loyal, all with memberships of over 50 years. Our prayers for her eternal and sweet rest. ROSEMARY ORENCHUK NO. 81, KEEWATIN, MN We are sad to announce the passing of two of our dear members, Anna Jac-kovich and Anna General Prebeck. Mrs. Jackovich died in May, 1997, our member for 43 years! She is survived by a son, Anton, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She was bom in 1900. Anna General Prebeck died on January 1 st at the age of 88. She is survived by her husband, Milo, a son, Max, daughter Dorothy Kukich, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Anna was a member of our branch for 60 years! She was a long-time officer of SWU and well known business woman in the area. We pray for their eternal rest and offer our condolences to the Jackovich and Prebeck families. Josephine Kapla, President ČEŠČENA SI, MARIJA (Our member of Br. 50, Carole Traven, sent us these words that she translated from the Slovenian. Thanks, Carole, they are wonderful!) VERSE# 1 THE ANGEL ANNOUNCED TO THE LORD’S HOLY MAIDEN, YOU’RE BLEST FROM THE HEAVENS, WITH SPIRIT OF THE LORD. CHORUS OH BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, ANGELIC IS YOUR VOICE, WHEN TIME RUNS OUT, AND LIFE IS STILL, WITH YOU WE WILL REJOICE. VERSE #2 MARIA RESPONDED, I’M LORD’S HUMBLE SERVANT, YOUR WORD IS TO HONOR YOU, WITH “THY WILL BE DONE.” CHORUS VERSE #3 THE HOLY DIVINE WORD, IS BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR, WHO LIVED, LOVED AND CARED FOR US, OUR JESUS, SON OF GOD. CHORUS FUNERAL OF OUR MEMBERS ARE SOLEMN EVENTS Many years ago the branches began to use the SWU plaque, a small and simple wooden stand with our emblem and the words IN LOVING MEMORY, at the funerals of members, placing it in a significant place in the funeral chapel. If you wish to replace the plaque you have or wish to have one, please inquire at the SWU Home Office, 431 No. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432. Most branches offer appropriate prayers (according to the suggestions in our SWU Ritual Books) and those attending the funeral of a member carry red or white carnations as symbols of love. One such branch is No. 20 in Joliet that sent in the following: These words are spoken at the close of the prayer for departed members of Branch 20, Joliet, IL. “WITH THIS RED CARNATION, SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION, BRANCH No. 20, PAYS A FINAL TRIBUTE TO OUR DEPARTED MEMBER, (Name) ________________________________________________ “IT IS THE NATIVE FLOWER OF THE SLOVENIAN PEOPLE AND IT REPRESENTS OUR HERITAGE AND LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.” MflŠR SL0UEM5KR DEDIŠGIHF) BARAGA Začetki Katoliške Cerkve v Ameriki FRANC JAKLIČ IX. BARAGA REDNI ŠKOF SAULTSKI LETO 1864 V začetku leta 1864 je prišel Pirc iz šentpavelske škofije v Minnesoti že kot 78-leten starček v Evropo po duhovnike in bogoslovce. Dobil jih je 16; od teh je bilo 8 Slovencev. Eden prvih priglašencev je bil bogoslovec Jakob Trobec, rojen leta 1838 na Logu pri Polhovem Gradcu. V šolah je bil vseskozi odličnjak in navdušen narodnjak. Kmalu po duhovskem posvečenju v Št. Pavlu je prevzel velikansko, še neurejeno župnijo Wabasha (Uabaša) ob Mississippi in je moral oskrbovati tudi daljno okolico, kjer so bili katoličani brez duhovnikov. Hodil je okoli njih kakor Baraga iz L'Ansa okoli rudarjev, jim maševal v zasebnih hišah, jih učil in spovedoval v raznih jezikih. Bila ga je sama dobrota in darežljivost, skromnost, potrpežljivost in ljubeznivost. Celih 21 let je ostal v Wabashi. Potem je v Št. Pavlu ustanovil novo župnijo sv. Neže in jo vodil 10 let. Postala je ena največjih in najboljših v škofiji. -Poleti leta 1897 je zvedel, da ga je sveta st6lica imenovala za škofa v St. Cloudu (Sent Klaudu), ne daleč od St. Pavla ob Mississippiju. Na vse načine se je branil in upiral; naposled se je uklonil iz pokorščine. Eden od škofov soposvečevalcev je bil škof Vrtin. V St. Cloudu je imel Trobec podobne naloge kakor Baraga v Saultu: vernikov malo, iz raznih narodnosti; treba je bilo graditi cerkve - 76 jih je postavil -, šole, župnišča, bolnišnice in druge dobrodelne zavode. Pri vsaki cerkvi je hotel imeti katoliško šolo. Rad je opravljal vsakdanja duhovniška dela. Zaradi starosti se je tik pred prvo svetovno vojsko odpovedal škofiji. Naselil se je v slovenski naselbini Brockway (Brčkvej) pri svojem nečaku-župniku. Tam je umrl leta 1921. Pokopali so ga na brockwayskem pokopališču, najstarejšem slovenskem pokopališču v Ameriki: “Med svojimi rojaki bi rad počival," je določil v oporoki. -Baragova misijonska poročila in Baragov misijonski sloves so mu zbudili misijonski poklic. V Ameriko ga je povabil Pirc, Pirca je bil pa Baraga. Tudi čez zimo 1863/64 je bil Baraga sam v Saultu. Poleti je prišel eden od detroitskih jezuitov. Potem sta pa kardinal Barnabč in jezuitski vrhovni predstojnik v Rimu ugodila Baragovi prošnji. O. Menet se je z enim redovnim bratom vrnil v Sault in se je nastanil v novi Baragovi hiši. Baraga se je umaknil v staro Pirčevo hišico pri cerkvi. O. Meneta so bili tudi saultski župljani veseli, saj so bili zadnja tri leta večkrat brez duhovnika, zlasti čez poletje, ko je bil Baraga na vizitacijah. Vojaška posadka je o. Meneta pozdravila s streli. Jezuiti so od tistega dne do danes ostali v Saultu. Tudi uršulinke so se vrnile v škofijo, a ne v Sault, ampak v Ontonagon. Tako je ta šola prešla v zanesljive roke. Baragi je ni bilo treba več nadzorovati, kakor je moral nadzorovati življenje in delo svetnih učiteljev v župnijskih šolah. Imele so že prvo leto 32 gojenk in precej zunanjih učencev in učenk. Prednica, skušena, modra in delavna ženska, je šla v Kanado po nove sestre, da je bilo vseh skupaj 17. - Uršulinke so tudi v Marquettu prevzele šolo. V pozni pomladi se je Baraga peljal po Reki svete Marije in Huronskem jezeru v Alpeno. Cerkve še niso poštavili, zato je maševal, učil in spovedoval v šoli. Popoldne je sklical katoličane, da se zares zmenijo zastran cerkve. Kupil je stavbišče sredi mesta za 150 dolarjev. Tudi na nabiralno polo se je prvi podpisal. To pot so pa katoličani radodarno segli v žep. Tudi nekaj protestantov je prispevalo. Upal je, da bo prihodnje leto cerkev že stala. Dozidali so jo pa šele čez dve leti. Iz Alpene se je peljal na Bobrov otok. Murray je končno vendarle postavil precej veliko cerkev. Se zmerom se je moral s pridigami in z Društvom treznosti vojskovati zoper pijanstvo Ircev in Indijancev. Baraga jih je tam 60 birmal in kar 110-im podelil prvo sv. obhajilo. Potem ga vidimo ob Gorenjem jezeru, najprej prav na zahodu, v Bayfieldu pri Čebulju. Ko je bil s Foxom v Ontonagonu, se je prišlo iz gozda priglasit za krst devet poganov. Poučil jih je in krstil. 11. septembra je v Rocklandu krstil sedem Indijancev in jih vpisal v krstno knjigo, ki je še ohranjena. Iz družine Ažagavigižig so bili krščeni štirje otroci. Baraga je navadno dal svojim krščencem imena velikih svetnikov in svetnic iz stare in nove zaveze. V Marquettu je nastavil modrega in vztrajnega Nemca Thieleja in mu naročil, naj namesto stare, majhne cerkve postavi novo, veliko in lepo. Že takrat je mislil, da bo to morda nova škofijska cerkev. Verniki so velikodušno prispevali: po 50, 100, 150 dolarjev; eden je dal 600 dolarjev. Ko se je nekaj časa ustavil v svoji saultski hišici, je začel z obiski na Dolenjem Michiganu, kakor je 29. novembra pisal na Dunaj. Začel je s Križno vasjo. Res so povečali cerkev, kakor so mu prejšnje leto obljubili. Noben belokožec bi tega dela ne mogel narediti lepše in trpežneje, kakor so naredili indijanski tesarji in mizarji. Njihov dušni pastir Sifferath je sam pomagal pri delu, da jih je ohranjal pri dobri volji. Baraga je imel pri njih tudi birmo. V Srednji vasi še niso povečali cerkve. NADALJEVANJE WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS TO JOIN THE SLOVENIAN WOMEN’S UNION SWU Membership allows you to: • strengthen (support a Slovenian organization by your membership • participate and enjoy national and branch activities • enjoy your magazine ZARJA — THE DAWN • participate in the camaraderie of Slovenians throughout the U.S. • learn about your Slovenian heritage Share your talents and interests with other members as a: • Contributor of articles or art work for ZARJA - The Dawn. • Genealogist assisting members in tracing their family trees • Slovenian heritage researcher or Joliet area museum volunteer • Compiler and distributor of heritage information • Ethnic festival organizer and/or participant • Teacher of conversational Slovenian language classes • Translator of Slovenian writings, • Demonstrator of Slovenian crafts, baking or cooking skills • Travelogue presenter • Performer (Singer, dancer, musician, athletics, magician etc.) • Activities coordinator for Junior members • Choral director or participant • Dance instructor for Slovenian folk dances • Social hostess or program co-ordi- nator for meetings, conventions • Sunshine person for sick members Most important, membership in the SWU alllow you to support an organization which preserves Slovenian ethnicity so that future generations will enjoy the benefits of their Heritage and Culture. Joining the Slovenian Women’s Union of America requires applying on a form that is available from Branch officers or from the Home Office. Branches are located in the major cities of 15 states, namely: California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin. Many members live in other states and still belong to their original home states or Br. 30, a Home Office branch that accepts all members. Classification of membership is based on age when joining as follows: Adult Class, 14 through 66 years; Junior Class, from birth to age 18. S.W.U. pays monetary death benefits to your selected beneficiary. Every adult member also receives the official publication ZARJA - THE DAWN 8 times per year free of charge. Assessment is payable by direct mail to the Home Office. SWU Branches have activities for members of all ages, they conduct services for departed members and attend funeral services as a part of their regular activities. A member is selected by each Branch to be honored in the month of May as Mother/Member of the Year. For applications and more information, please use the coupon below. Dear Slovenian Women’s Union of America! □ Please send me an application form so I can join the S.W.U. □ I am particularly interested in receiving a listing of the Slovenian Heritage items for sale at the SWU Home Office. Name: _ Address: ( ) My interest lies in the following areas: ( ) Please contact me about my interests and membership: _________________ My phone: ______________________________________________________________ Clip out and mail to: Slovenian Women’s Union of America, 431N. Chicago St., Joliet, IL 60432 Telephone: (815) 727-1926 Start AViTH Us - and make this the year YOU sign up a new member for your branch! Next time you attend a meeting, pick up an application for someone YOU will invite to join. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID JOLIET ILLINOIS HOMES IN THE JOLIET AREA COLDWELL BANKER HONIG-BELL Realty rosanne ruth the name to know 2300 Glenwood Ave., REALTOR Joliet, IL 60435 Office: (815) 744-1000 Home: (815) 726-4129 FAX: (815) 467-3146 Member of Branch 20, S.W.U. “Call me when you are buying or selling!" ZELE FUNERAL HOMES, INC. 452 East 152nd St., Cleveland, Ohio (216) 481-3118 SHEUGA DRUG INC. 6025 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, OH 44103 (216) 431-1035 Sen’ing our neighborhoods' daily needs 1» _____________________________________ Haber man — Zimmer Funeral Homes Traditional to Contemporary Funeral Services - Cremation Services ___ ., Pre-Arranged Funerals -Title 18 Funeral Tmsts 805 N. 6th Educational Programs - Serving AH Faiths 117 N. Wisconsin Dr. Sheboygan u«n~d fumtx Howards Grove 457-7012 Mark S. Zimmer "Serving Sheboygan A Sheboygan County Since 1873’^^^ Stefanich's Restaurant 457 North Scott Street Joliet, Illinois 60432 (815)722-9751 Fax’(815) 722-5750 SLOVENIJA MAGAZINE Quarterly issue/$30 USD per year. Personal checks accepted. Send your subscription to: Slovenia Magazine, Cankarjeva 1, P.O. Box 169,1001 Ljubljana, SLOVENIA, Europe It’s truly beautiful magazine! A LONELY PLANET TRAVEL BOOK BY STEVE FALLON SLOVENIA Cost is $16.00 ($13.95 plus $2.05 postage and handling) Proceeds from the sale of SLOVENIA will go toward our 1999 Convention Fund. Slovenian Women’s Union is proud to bring our members and friends the availability of SLOVENIA at nominal cost and convenience. Please send your orders to Kathleen M. Emerson, Women’s Activity Director, 41 Sparrow Hill, Orion, MI 48359. At Your Service During Ufe's Most Difficult Moments Louis “Ron" Zefran Connie Rodriguez Frank J. Zefran Debbie Zefran Jerry 1-800-249-9150 (773) 847-6688 SZls-fxan <^3xxn£.xa£ fi-d. 1941 West Cermak Road, Chicago, IL 60608