Triglav Park is located in a picturesque setting where all things Slovenian are celebrated. Recognizing our rich history, sense of family, faith life and cultural significance, the vision for the current location in the Town of Norway was for Triglav Park to be a second home to the many Slovenian refugees who came to Wisconsin. In the 50 years since, generations have found serenity, history and pride at Triglav.
What a glorious and most memorable day…Slovenians in Milwaukee, enjoying the company of Slovenians from Polhov Gradec, Slovenia.
On Sunday, July 15, twenty-five Triglav members warmly welcomed our guests from Slovenia as they each came off the bus after driving 6 hours from St. Paul, MN. There was an immediate connection, even though few spoke English.
President Tom welcomed the group and then Fr. Bogdan Oražm, the organizer of this pilgrimage extended his thanks for our hospitality and in doing so, the group sang for us, “MOJA DOMOVINA.”
After a short rest, we all went to the St. Cyril & Methodius Chapel and celebrated Mass. I welcomed the visitors in Slovenian and told them how honored we were that they ended their week long pilgrimage with us here at Triglav. The entire Mass was in Slovenian with a young girls choir leading us in song.
The girls sang a special song written by Missionary Franc Pirc entitled “Baraga’s Song” which describes the life and missionary work of Bishop Baraga.
Our guests by now were very hungry and thirsty. A sincere thank you to Maureen, Anne, Marta, Ellen, Barb and Kathy for preparing the delicious lunch. The feedback from our guests on how good the food was, was very evident with how quickly their plates were emptied. Thank you to all you brought homemade bakery which finished off the lunch.
Now it was time to relax. The youngsters immediately ran to the lake and sounds of laughter could easily be heard on top of the hill. Fr. Bogdan decided to show his talent by taking on opponents in ping-pong. He is a very serious player! The women mostly relaxed in the shade talking with members, but the real excitement came when it was time to play balina.
Before starting, Janez made sure that everyone had the same rules and then the fierce but oh so lively game began. At times Tony had to get the measuring stick out, so you can see how good these players were.
As the evening was starting to come to a close and before our guests left, they wanted once again to thank us by singing some beautiful Slovenian songs. What a way to finish off a picturesque day. As our guests started to say their good-byes, tears filled our eyes. I know that I couldn’t have been more proud to be Slovenian, and oh so grateful for our parents who taught us their beautiful Slovenian language and worked so hard to give us this park so that we would always remember them and where our roots began. I am positive that they were all very proud of us today that we shared our Slovenian hospitality with visitors from their homeland. I wish that all Triglavani could have been with us to share in this wonderful day!
Tarok is a card game that is played by many Eastern Europeans. Gypsies used these cards for their fortune telling and they refer to them as Tarot cards. The card game predates the fortune telling. Recently we found an instruction book for Taroks (it is how the Czech immigrants referred to it) printed in English by Automatic Printing in 1951 by Jerry Prescott whose uncle was Czech. His nephew Mike Prescott is the 3rd generation of the family involved in the printing business and reported to us that there is no problem in making copies of this booklet. In fact, they still have a box of the original 1951 printed booklets which we are arranging to have shipped to the Slovenian Catholic Center in Lemont which is the home of two Tarok tournaments a year.
ATTACHED is a PDF of that booklet.
Right-click and pick "save link as" here to download.
This is the January 2018 issue. There was no December 2017 issue
Our Sympathies
Condolences are extended to the family of Joe Arko. Joe was a refugee of war-torn Slovenia (born near Ribnica) as a two-year-old with his family in May of 1945 to Austria where he spent about 5 years in the Displaced Person Camp at Spitaal au Drau. The family migrated to the USA living first in Canon City, Co, then Joliet near St. Joseph and then to St. Stephen in Chicago. Joe and his wife Freda made their home in Lemont near the Slovenian Franciscan Monastery. Joe worked for 40 years for Argonne National Laboratory where he was known as the local MacGyver. When the physicists did not know how to design a piece of equipment for their experiments, Joe was the person they turned to. Joe used these skills to support many of our organizations. Nothing ever seemed impossible to him. He was also a passionate musician and singer, a member of every Slovenian choir in the area as well as virtually every Slovenian music group playing Avsenik and Slak. He will be sorely missed.
Condolences are also extended to the family of Avgust Petek. Gusti was also an immigrant from Prekmurje. Gusti was an active member of both the Prekmurje Social Club as well as the Slovenian Catholic Center. He was one of our most active outdoorsmen who loved to hunt and fish. You could also find him playing Balina on Sunday afternoons up on the hill beyond the picnic platz. He was always recognizable by his smile and the greatest mustache of anyone in the community. He will also be missed.
Cleveland Consulate
Consular visit: Consul General Andrej Rode will be at the SCC in Lemont beginning at 1:00 pm on Saturday, February 10th. Please call to make an appointment. Appointments will be taken first. It also helps to call his office in Cleveland if there is anything out of the ordinary about the need for the appointment. The number in Cleveland is 216-771-7010.
AmCham
AmCham Slovenia together with Department of State and the US Embassy in Ljubljana invite students from the US to take part in the program 6-week European Experience - Internship in the Green Heart of Europe this summer. Undergraduate students interested in a new outlook on business and entrepreneurship. More information about the program is available also on the web http://www.amcham.si/en/european-experience.html.
The application deadline is March 1, 2018. Confirmation of acceptances occurs on April 30th. the internships are held in June and July. The program does not cover a return ticket or incidental living expenses during the internship.
Consulate Address
We remind you again that the Consulate in Cleveland has moved. The new address and telephone number are below.
Consulate for the Republic of Slovenia
1100 E. Superior, Suite 720
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-771-7010
Tarok
Tarok is a card game that is played by many Eastern Europeans. Gypsies used these cards for their fortune telling and they refer to them as Tarot cards. The card game predates the fortune telling. Recently we found an instruction book for Taroks (it is how the Czech immigrants referred to it) printed in English by Automatic Printing in 1951 by Jerry Prescott whose uncle was Czech. His nephew Mike Prescott is the 3rd generation of the family involved in the printing business and reported to us that there is no problem in making copies of this booklet. In fact, they still have a box of the original 1951 printed booklets which we are arranging to have shipped to the Slovenian Catholic Center in Lemont which is the home of two Tarok tournaments a year. We will also have the scanned booklet available online at the SCC website.
Potica
Potica is commonly served at Slovenian homes during the holidays. It was also known as Povitica as the Croatians still call it. the earliest references we find to this walnut bread is in the writings of Valvasor. The Slovenian Union of America at its home office in Joliet sells original ceramic round baking molds (similar to a bundt cake) for anyone who wishes to make it in its original form. Hopefully, by the next newsletter, we will publish a recipe for potica from the 16th century.
Slovenian Merchandise
Ivan Hozjan and his wife, Rose, run a business that specializes in goods such as hats, t-shirts, drink coolers, coffee mugs, decals, license plate frames, different types of clothing that have Slovenian Themes. You can find them online at www.SlovenianSpecialties.com.
Slovenian Language classes
The Filosofska Fakulteta sponsors ongoing Slovenian Language classes. The summer program is the most popular that runs from the end of June to the end of July. there are tuition scholarships available through recommendations from the Consular offices. Please start this process asap to ensure you qualify for the funds available
The second semester for the Saturday Slovenian Language Classes at the SCC begin on January 20th. There is an adult class that is held every week from 10 am until noon.
Venerable Bishop Frederick Baraga
The 150th anniversary of the death of Venerable Frederick Baraga is being celebrated in Marquette, Michigan the weekend of January 19, 20 and 21. More information is available on their Facebook page. There will be further celebrations of his life during the Annual Bishop Baraga Days which will be held on August 17, 18 and 19 in Marquette. Currently, they are in a capital campaign to turn the last home he lived him into the official archives of the BBA as well as a research center on his life, the lives of the missionaries (many of them Slovenian) who created Church in the UP and their impact on social policy towards the Native Americans in that area.
This newsletter is issued by the Slovenian Consular Office in Chicago. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep people in the Slovenian American communities of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana aware of current events that might be of interest. We welcome news especially of events and new arrivals to the local community. Email notices may be sent to the
Consular Visit: Consul General Andrej Rode regrets that he will have to postpone his visit to Chicago until February. He was awaiting an upgrade for the portable equipment used in the passport process. It has not arrived. He is assured that it will be ready for his visit on February 10, 2018, at the Slovenian Catholic Center.
The Society of Slovene Studies had their annual meetings in Chicago in early February. Information about this organization can be found at www.slovenestudies.com. This year they had a moment of silence for Fr. Blase Chemazar, OFM a long-time member who passed away in early April. This is a not for profit scholarly organization whose membership is open to anyone interested in scholarly research of Slovenian culture, language and history.
Our Sympathies
Condolences are extended to the family of Jane Summers Zefran. Jane was born into the Bogolin family who were a bedrock of the Slovenian community located in the St. Stephen neighborhood. After marrying Ron Zefran, she became active in the Zefran Funeral Home business helping many of us through difficult hours of grief. She was a member of the SCC and her husband Ron was on the founding board of the SCC.
Condolences are also offered to the family of Marija Turk, a longtime member of the Slovenian Catholic Mission as well as the Slovenian Catholic Center. Marija was a reader at Mass less than a month before her death. She will be remembered for her expertise in the kitchen, her ever-present smile, and good nature. She was one of the critical people on Karl Zorjan's Koline Dinner crew.
Condolences are also offered to the family of Marija Grum in Milwaukee. Her funeral is Friday at noon at St. Dominic Church in Brookfield, WI. Marija and her husband were a critical part of the Slovenian community in southeast Wisconsin and we saw them frequently at events in Chicago.
Condolences are offered as well to the family of Bill Prokup of Peru, Illinois. Bill died young. he supported his wife Bonnie's multiple offices with the Slovenian Women’s Union of America including her presidency which started the path to the reorganization of the SWUA from a fraternal insurance company to a fraternal organization. He was also a beloved softball coach at St. Bede Academy. He was a proud husband, father, and grandfather.
May all of these people rest in peace.
Franciscans
The Slovenian Franciscan Provincial, p. Marjan Čuden, OFM and the secretary of the province, p. Tadej Astrehovec, OFM. They visited all three of the sites in the USA which are staffed by Slovenian Franciscans. They were welcomed by a committee of parishioners from the Slovenian Catholic Mission who were able to review with them the current status of the grounds and the fund-raising activity.
Cleveland Consulate
I have received a number of calls about the Cleveland Consulate. It moved last month and has a new address and telephone number. the information is repeated below:
Consulate for the Republic of Slovenia
1100 E. Superior, Suite 720
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-771-7010
New Book on the Displaced Persons Camps which held Slovenians
The Družina Publishing House in October released the book: Rojstvo Novih Domovin (Birth of New Homelands). We have readers in our area who were in camps, were born in camps or had parents and grandparents in camps. In the past few years, a few picture books have been published on this topic. This book has 16 vignettes written by people who lived this experience and is organized in sections dealing with the daily lives of the refugees. It makes the point that the educational system built in the camp was excellent, better than in other DP camps scattered across Europe. The book also notes the quantity and wide scope of the books that were published in the camp. I grew up with these books in my parents’ library. They educated a whole generation of people who made their mark in their new homelands oversees. Rojstvo Novih Domovin is available for purchase from Družina.
Another book was published recently by Mohorjeva Družba in Celje in both English and Slovenian. The book was written by Maria L. Videc whose parents were both born in Slovenia. The title is From Slovenia with Hope. She herself was born in Netherlands in 1947. She was a professor of Public Administration before running and winning a seat in the Dutch Parliament. She took her family's history of migration prior to the war to Germany and then America and turned it into a historical novel. The book is printed with both the Slovenian and English translations in the same book. Many of us have family histories that include multiple generations of our predecessors migrating to the USA starting from the time of the Civil War to the post-WWII era. This book focuses on the early 20th century which witnessed tens of thousands of Slovenian migrants that went to parts of Europe as well as the USA.
KOLEDAR:
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Slomšek Slovenian School Sv. Miklavz Program
Sunday, Dec 31, 2017
New Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance at the SCC
To have your event added to the calendar, please email me at [email protected] and we will add it to the next newsletter. Slovenian organizations are welcome and encouraged to share your open events.
Consular hours are by appointment.
Please contact the consulate in Lemont by email or telephone.
Dr. Janez P. Vidmar
Honorary Consul for the Republic of Slovenia for Illinois
You are receiving this email because you are either a member of a Slovenian organization, have requested to be updated with news, or know the Consul personally. We promise to not spam you.
Our mailing address is:
Dr. Janez P. Vidmar, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Slovenia for IllinoisPO Box 63414252 Main StreetLemont, IL 60439
