{"id":943,"date":"2021-03-13T17:55:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T17:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/babamim.com\/?page_id=943"},"modified":"2021-03-18T23:14:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T23:14:52","slug":"page-8","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/babamim.com\/index.php\/page-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Page 8"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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SNF\/St. George Cemetery\/Petrov\/Marich\/etc.\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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“At the St. George Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA”<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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+Andja Mamula,<\/span>\u00a0steadfast SNF pioneer and her daughter,\u00a0+Martha Mamula Belosh,<\/span>\u00a0with Marty’s niece and Andja’s granddaughter,\u00a0Milana Mamula Karlo Bizic<\/span>, 1943 at the St. George Serbian Orthodox Cemetery in Pittsburgh. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Both of those tending to the graves were\u00a0<\/span><\/span>SNF “Women of the Year” (Person of the Year).\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

by\u00a0Aleksandar Petrov<\/span><\/strong>, a poem published in the booklet\u00a0THE STONE AND THE BELL<\/span><\/strong>, a publication underwritten by the 100th Anniversary Cultural Fund of the Serb National Federation, July 2001. The booklet was dedicated to Jovan Bratich, long-time Serbian section editor of the AMERICAN SRBOBRAN.\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

In the hills<\/p>

on South Side,<\/p>

above the river called Monongahela<\/p>

(A name as opaque to them<\/p>

in their lifetime<\/p>

as the red-black noon of Pittsburgh<\/p>

under the soot screened sun,<\/p>

a water-name-Monongahela!<\/p>

like a nut struck<\/p>

in the throat of newcomers<\/p>

from the rugged Krajina karst),<\/p>

here they lie<\/p>

midway between steel mills<\/p>

and saw mills that are no more,<\/p>

under the vibrant grass,<\/p>

the sedate snow,<\/p>

of this spring day,<\/p>

and every other day,<\/p>

disturbed only by the din of birds<\/p>

Borotoa, Studen, Vukas,<\/p>

Zatezalo, Mamula, Mrvos, Pijevac,<\/p>

Krneta, Klipa, Zdrale,<\/p>

secendants of Vukela, Dojcin,<\/p>

Stojan and Pavle,<\/p>

those who lived beyond old age<\/p>

and those stranded despite<\/p>

strong wings<\/p>

(killed in action!),<\/p>

buds that never learned<\/p>

to bloom or wither,<\/p>

those who fell asleep in daylight,<\/p>

those who sank at night<\/p>

into a deeper slumber,<\/p>

they are seeds gathered in the hand<\/p>

of the One who sowed their bodies<\/p>

on earth and reaped<\/p>

their cross bearing souls<\/p>

in Heaven.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Borotoa, Studen, Vukas,<\/p>

Zatezalo, Mamula, Mrvos, Pijevac,<\/p>

Krneta, Klipa, Zdrale,<\/p>

who never set off across the sea<\/p>

but awaited with pure hearts<\/p>

the hand that was to shut their eyes<\/p>

and embed them gently alongside their ancestors,<\/p>

Vukela, Donjin, Stojan, Pavle,,<\/p>

they were snatched instead<\/p>

by a different hand<\/p>

at the doorstep<\/p>

while sitting at the loom,<\/p>

plowing in the field,<\/p>

standing by a haystack,<\/p>

holding a notebook in school,<\/p>

sucking a thumb<\/p>

in the cradle,\u00a0<\/p>

facing the altar,<\/p>

under the cover of night,<\/p>

in broad daylight,<\/p>

their last breath struck<\/p>

by a hammer,<\/p>

a rock, a dagger,<\/p>

so they ended up<\/p>

in rivers,<\/p>

in pits,<\/p>

hanging from branches,<\/p>

in the fields,<\/p>

behind barbed wire,<\/p>

under scorching lime,<\/p>

like candles in the church,<\/p>

stripped of their tongues,<\/p>

eyes,<\/p>

breasts,<\/p>

with their heart,<\/p>

like an apple,<\/p>

in their mouth.\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

For your souls,<\/p>

buried without prayer,<\/p>

resting not in peace<\/p>

but crying out like forebording birds<\/p>

from the rugged Krajina karst,<\/p>

for you pray those rescued<\/p>

from their neighbors and brothers<\/p>

by the ocean,<\/p>

the dead and living families of<\/p>

Borotoa, Studen, Vukas,<\/p>

Zatezalo, Mamula, Mrvos, Pijevac,<\/p>

Krneta, Klipa, Zdrale,\u00a0<\/p>

descendants of the same Vukela,<\/p>

the same Dojcin,<\/p>

your and our Stojan<\/p>

and Pavle.\u00a0<\/p>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dr. Sasha Petrov,<\/span><\/h3>

Since 1993, Serbian Section editor of the American SRBOBRAN.\u00a0<\/p>

Dr. Aleksandar Petrov is an amazing person of academic intellect, an outstanding poet and novelist whose works have been printed and translated widely in many countries, including Britain, Spain, Sweden, China, Taiwan, Japan and the USA.<\/p>

He was born in Nis, Yugoslavia, but received his Ph.D. at the University of Zagreb. \u00a0He has published over 20 books of literary and scholarly works in history and literature of Slavic Studies. \u00a0For many years he was the Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Literature and Art in Belgrade, where he also served as Director of the History and Literature Departments.<\/p>

LIKE GOLD IN THE FIRE is one of Petrov’s books that was excellently reviewed by Olga B. Markovich, of Toronto, Canada. \u00a0Olga was also an SNF “Woman of the Year” for her unending research on the Serbian people of America, Canada and Serbia.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

++++++++++++++++++<\/p>

Ned Marich, SNF Stipendist, 1934<\/span><\/h3>

\u00a0<\/p>

Ned Marich is gone. \u00a0Died July 25, 2009, but I refuse to let his great deeds go to the grave with him. \u00a0He wasn’t buried at St. George Cemetery in Pittsburgh, rather in Indiana, where he lived. However, he belonged to all of us who cared about what happened the last 20 years in the former Yugoslavia.<\/p>

Ned was an educator, who taught in the Gary Public School System and the Cedar Lake School District at Hanover Central. \u00a0But even after he retired, he continue to educate Americans about the truth of what was happening in Serbia through various newspaper articles and editorials he wrote. He’s another of those Bosko Yugovich heroes, carrying the flag and fearless to the end.<\/p>

Ned J. Marich was born on March 27, 1915 in Gary, Indiana to Jovo and Gosa Marich, who came to America at the turn of the 20th century from Trebinje, Hercegovina.<\/p>

He was a devout member of his St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, Indiana, serving 13 years as the church’s Serbian translator secretary.<\/p>

Throughout his lifetime, he was generous to the church and Serbian organizations, like the Serbian National Defense Merrillville Chapter, where he was past-president and a delegate many times to the national S.N.D. national conventions. \u00a0He was a dedicated member of the SNF King Peter II Lodge 16.\u00a0<\/p>

But what made Ned VERY special is that he was one of the original SNF stipendists awarded a scholarship to study in Belgrade. \u00a0That year, the SNF selected 9 of the brightest students throughout America to earn a degree from Belgrade via scholarships.<\/p>

\u00a0Ned Marich 1915-2009<\/h4>

A strong believer in education, in his will, Ned, in gratitude to the Serb National Federation for sponsoring him to study at the University of Belgrade in 1934, left upon his death a $13,000 donation to the current SNF Scholarship Fund.<\/p>

Ned wanted to be able to give SNF members and opportunity to further their education as he did.<\/p>

Vjecnaja Pamjat.<\/strong><\/p>

Memory Eternal.<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0Slava mu!<\/strong><\/p>

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Pgh.Steel History & Karajlovich Family\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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100 Years of Serbian Orthodox Heritage in Pittsburgh<\/strong><\/span><\/div>
by Milana (\u201cMim\u201d) Karlo Bizic\u00a0 12\/6\/06<\/div>
Published in the American SRBOBRAN
In honor of my Karajlovich (Karlo) and Mamula Grandparents<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Samojilo Karajlovich:\u00a0 One of the first ones in and the last ones out of the Jones and Laughlin Mill gate. He helped organize the Unions and the bosses didn’t like that much, but they hired his sons on the spot due to his Honesty and Integrity. (Photo taken by his eldest son, Milan Karlo, who graduated from the New York Institute of Photography.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

+++++++++++++++++<\/p>

Why the Unions came into being.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>

This one Serbian lady, originally from Aliquippa and now closer to New Brighton, told me her father (a Union organizer) was beaten up countless times, and his body dumped, left to die\u00a0 on their front porch.\u00a0 She recalled her mother and her always cleaning up all the blood.\u00a0 Soon afterwards, he died of extensive internal damage to his stomach.<\/strong>

If you remember, Mileva Medin was always so proud of her father\u2019s role in helping establish the unions too.\u00a0 His name was Bozic and a plaque in Aliquippa bears his name with 4 others.<\/strong>
\u2014\u2014\u2014\/\/\/\/<\/strong>

“The day laborers who had earned fourteen cents an hour in 1892 (our grandfathers-Nikola In 1897 and Samojilo In 1906!) received only a cent more at Jones and Laughlin in 1907.”<\/strong>


Josephine McIlvain, a teacher in PPS, did a study of Pittsburgh’s South Side.\u00a0 Watch this info about wages:<\/strong>


\u00a0“Wages in both old and new mills had not kept pace with the<\/strong>
cost of living after 1880. The Pittsburgh Survey in 1907 estimated that a 22 percent increase would be needed to keep up with rising prices, but United States Steel workers had received only a 15 percent increase, while at Jones and Laughlin the increment amounted to just 7 percent.\u00a0<\/strong>


“Skilled workers’ wages had actually decreased over the<\/strong>
past fifteen years \u2014 as much as 33 percent for rollers (Uncle Joe Mamula was a roller!). The survey further noted :”there has been a consistent policy on the part of the management, not only to cut rates so that with the increased production the earnings of the tonnage workers should not go up to exorbitant figures, but to cut the rates for the highly skilled men still further, so that the earnings for these positions should be brought down to a<\/strong>
figure nearer the common average.”\u00a0<\/strong>


\u00a0“The day laborers who had earned fourteen cents an hour in 1892 received only a cent more at Jones and Laughlin in 1907.<\/strong><\/h3>

+++++++++++++++++++<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe ask that you be mindful that each milestone is but another commencement-and to recall the words of our Lord, \u201cBehold, I make all things new (Rev.21:5).\u00a0 Today, invite Him to continue to come into your lives anew, into the life of your parish, and to show you the way for the ongoing upbuilding of your Church and Parish according to His divine plan.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>
<\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0So wrote Right Reverend Bishop Christopher (now Metropolitan Christopher and at one time parish priest V. Rev. Velimir Kovachevich) for the celebration of the Holy Trinity\u2019s Serbian Orthodox Church\u2019s (now Cathedral\u2019s) Burning of the Mortgage June 10, 1984.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Twenty-two years later, on November 3, 4 and 5, 2006, the congregation celebrated another milestone, this time 100 years of Serbian Orthodox heritage in Pittsburgh. Metropolitan Christopher returned, along with Bishop Longin and Bishop Mitrophan, leading more than 400 worshippers in a celebration of the past, present and future of Serbdom in Pittsburgh.\u00a0 Current Parish priest Fr. Rajko Kosic (who was elevated to Protonamesnik by Bishop Mitrophan in recognition of his leadership role in Pittsburgh), HTC builder priest V. Rev. Fr. Dragan Filipovich, and Very Rev. Fr. Rodney Torbic, invoked the Lord to continue coming into our daily lives, fulfilling His divine plan for the parish.\u00a0 Deacon Dragoslav Kosic, who just the day before, celebrated the baptism of his second daughter, Teodora, worked smoothly in his role as Deacon, representing the Holy Angels around God\u2019s Throne.\u00a0 Also assisting were longtime HTC Readers David Manko and Joe Hayden.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Patriarch Pavle, who had visited Holy Trinity in 1992 and again in 2001 in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Serb National Federation, sent greetings from Belgrade, and also prayers \u201cto God that He grant the benefactors and contributors who have passed into eternal life, and who helped build your temple, everlasting rest in the Kingdom of Heaven.\u201d

<\/p>

Hearty Early Pioneer Temple Builders<\/strong><\/span><\/div>


\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Who were these early pioneers who built the first church of St. George in Pittsburgh in 1906?\u00a0 For the most part, they were immigrants who left their homes in the Gormije, Krajina area of present day Croatia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to find a better land for themselves and their progeny.\u00a0 These Lic(h)ani and Kordunas(h)i had little in the way of monetary wealth, but they brought with them exciting possessions that enriched America\u2019s coffers significantly: most importantly, a non-yielding spiritual wealth for God and their Serbian Orthodox faith; a true treasure chest of Serbian cultural heritage; assets of belief in themselves, dreams of well-educated children and grandchildren, a willingness to work hard and to sacrifice whatever it took to make those dreams come true.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, many of the very early immigrants from the end of the 19th century went first to McKeesport, then settled on the South Side, finding long hours and low-paying jobs in the Jones and Laughlin (J & L) mills surrounding the area.\u00a0 Instead of the beautiful green and fertile fields they left behind in the old country, they were lucky to find other immigrants in poor, close-together tenement houses who had already come, who were willing to make room for them until they could find a home of their own.\u00a0 Census records of 1900 and 1910 show that it was nothing for families of six, eight or ten to make room for three, four or five relatives or bachelor boarders in their alley homes.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Cousin Joelle Bobik sent one of those email lists that show what life was like in 1906.\u00a0 The average life expectancy was 47 years.\u00a0 Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.\u00a0 Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone, and you know they weren\u2019t our relatives then!\u00a0 The average wage was 22 cents per hour, with the average worker making between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.\u00a0 More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.\u00a0 Sugar cost four cents a pound.\u00a0 Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.\u00a0 Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.\u00a0 Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The five leading causes of death were: 1.Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea\u00a0 4. Heart disease\u00a0 5. Stroke.\u00a0 (One can only imagine the devastating grief our ancestors went through losing so many of their children to the 1917-19 influenzas\u2026.).

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write.\u00a0 Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. \u00a0

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.\u00a0 We can be sure the reigning steel barons Carnegie, Frick, and Jones, who built mansions for themselves that can only be compared to the finest fairy tale castles in our immigrant grandparents\u2019 imaginations, had multiple servants. These mill owners were ruthlessly anti-union, and used intimidation tactics and violence, while supposedly maintaining an \u201copen\u201d shop, which only meant that the workers remained free to accept whatever management offered.\u00a0 There were shootings, beatings, no work, infamous black lists, just about anything to discourage any kind of organized labor.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Stuart Boehmig writes in his 2006 book IMAGES OF AMERICA: PITTSBURGH\u2019S SOUTH SIDE: \u201cConditions were deplorable for most workers and their families.\u00a0 Working 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, the men had little time to maintain a household.\u00a0 There was a desperate need for water, which was carried in buckets to the apartments.\u00a0 Common water pumps and shared outhouses served rental properties rarely updated by landlords.\u00a0 In 1914, 85 percent of the employees were non-English speaking, placing them at a terrible disadvantage in moving beyond their present living conditions.\u201d

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Research at the tight-security\u00a0University of Pittsburgh Labor Archives on 7500 Thomas Blvd. in the Point Breeze section of Pittsburgh<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0shed some light upon a few of our Serbian men and their wages.\u00a0 One early labor card I found was for Samil Mamula, #4402.\u00a0\u00a0This \u201cServian\u201d born in 1898 was earning 17 cents per hour on May 1, 1910, was employed in the Blooming Mill as a brakeman. SIX YEARS LATER, January 1916, he got his first raise, up 4 cents per hour to 21 cents, and finally, 33.5 cents per hour by October, 1917.\u00a0 WWI accounted for the sharp raises, just like for WWII, not from the goodness of the hearts of the owners. Little wonder then why industrialist Henry Clay Frick replied to a dying Andrew Carnegie proposing a truce after two decades of separation,\u00a0\u201cTell him I\u2019ll see him in Hell, where both of us are going.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Mom\u2019s uncle, Rade Mamula, was a Laborer, #9914, then #13347 and then #13068.\u00a0 He was born in 1888, but was an American citizen, living first at 2713 Larkins Way in 9\/19\/22 making 30 cents per hour.\u00a0 By the time he moved to 2707 Sarah Street, he was working at the South Side works #11 Mill, was married, and making 44 cents per hour when he suddenly left on September 25, 1933.\u00a0 Cause?\u00a0 The card says \u201cDied.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say that he was killed in the mill when a big girder struck him from behind in the head.\u00a0 Nor does it say anything about the widow and four children he left behind.\u00a0 Ironically, I found where he had to place his signature after being hired in 1922 on the back of his stamped card, \u201cassuring\u201d he had safety training. Wonder if it was authentic, since most other cards didn\u2019t show the same.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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nterestingly enough there was a Mildred Mamula, Serbian, employee # 80520, whose Social Security number was 211-__-____.\u00a0 The eighteen-year old lived at 2512 Carson Street, and worked as a Laborer in the Hot Mill, employed on 4\/11\/44.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0There was a barrage of Nikola or Nickola or Nicholas Mamulas.\u00a0 One of them lived at 2714 Larkins Way, was a locomotive engineer and made 71 cents per hour on 9\/29\/39.\u00a0 In case of accident, J&L was supposed to notify his cousin, Dusch Mamula in the Blooming Mill.\u00a0 Other Nicks lived at 2426 Burnham Street, 3118 War St., 2104 Sidney S., 2713 Larking Way, 2826 Larkins, 323 Overbrook Blvd., and finally mine, my grandfather Nikola Mamula, from 2716 Sarah Street!

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0This 2716 Sarah Street address was also home to the\u00a0Steel Workers Organizing Committee<\/span><\/strong><\/span>, of which we were always so proud because of what the union was able to accomplish for the workers. Records show that a Mary Winowich worked for the SWOC at $25 per month when it was briefly located first at Liberty Hall.\u00a0 Then, the SWOC rented at 2608 Sarah Street but moved when the rent went from $30 to $50 per month in just the two months time it was there.\u00a0 U.S. Census records from the 1930s show that Eli Radovich lived there with his wife Martha, roomer Milton Cetina, Nicholas Doycinovich and his son, Nicholas, and the six members of the Blasko family, led by Agnes (45 years old) and son Charles (23).\u00a0 All \u201cSerbian\u201d.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0There were many Serbs actively involved in the leadership of SWOC, especially Milkovich (Acting Chairman), Bielich (President) and Brnilovich.\u00a0 In fact, a special executive meeting had to be held on Feb. 5, 1941, at 5:00 PM at 2716 Sarah Street to determine Mike Milkovich\u2019s position as Clerk once he returned from his government\u2019s service, in accordance with the Selective Service Act.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Josephine Mamula, Nikola Mamula, Laura Mamula Karlo, 1943, 2716 Sarah Street, S.S. Pittsburgh, PA\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The SWOC United Steelworkers of America #1272 stayed at 2716 Sarah Street until it located its CIO Headquarters on 2325 Carson Street many years later.\u00a0 Boehmig says the SWOC organized in Pittsburgh in 1936, grew to 125,000 workers in 154 lodges.\u00a0 It played a major role in assuring the 40 hour week and increased wages of 15 cents per hour, and securing recognition of independent grievance committees, all under the leadership of Phillip Murray.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Paul (“Pi”) Belosh, Milana (Mim) Karlo Bizic,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paul M. Belosh in stroller.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pouring over the SWOC lodge minutes from 1937-1943 at the Labor Archives, I saw the rent for my grandfather\u2019s bottom floor front rooms was $20 per month, including heat and light.<\/strong><\/span>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0A look at Aliquippa, PA\u2019s early Jones & Laughlin steel history from 1907 offers a glimpse of how hard it was for Pittsburgh\u2019s steel workers and primary wage earners who worked for the same J & L company.<\/strong><\/span>

\u201cForged in Steel\u201d by: David Pacchioli (Research\/Penn State, Vol. 20, no. 1 (January, \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01999))<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was a dizzyingly polyglot place. The company actively recruited immigrants, figuring that they would be both easier to control and willing to do the hard, dirty work of the mill. Freshly arrived Poles, Italians, Slovaks, Greeks, Syrians, Serbs, Croats, and Hungarians worked alongside native-born Irish, African Americans (themselves migrants from the rural South), and Anglo-Saxons. The babel of languages was considered an advantage: Workers who couldn\u2019t understand one another would be less likely to fraternize, or to organize, likening union organizers to \u201cbloodsuckers\u201d and \u201cmad dogs\u201d who should be met with violence. Union organizers were tailed, shaken down for union cards, and rousted from their boarding houses.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Samojilo Karajlovich (Karlovich) and his grandson, Dr. Ron Kneib, on\u00a0 Ron’s 4th birthday, only a short time before his grandfather’s passing after suffering a stroke in 1955.\u00a0 His funeral was one of the largest seen at the time, with flowers filling the rooms, gorgeous baskets stacked 3 and 4 high.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

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Besides the flowing water, \u2018neath the amber sky<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Fred Schmidt, Master music and band teacher at South High School, where all South Side Serbs attended, wrote the Alma Mater for the school.\u00a0 \u201cWhen those flaming mills, light those clouds and hills, there\u2019s a golden glow on the scene below\u2026.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Now, South Side is a yuppie haven, complete with the finest restaurants, clothing and book stores.\u00a0 The steel mills are gone.\u00a0 But 50 years ago, it was hard to put out laundry as it would soon be covered with soot.\u00a0 People washed their windows several times a week to keep them clean.\u00a0 Historian James Pauton wrote: \u201cPittsburgh is smoke, smoke, smoke\u2014everywhere smoke\u2014by night it was Hell with the lid taken off.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0But no matter how hard the conditions of working 12-16 hours per day, sometimes working seven days a week, at the dirtiest of jobs, our Serbian pioneers endured.\u00a0 They came home covered with black soot, and the women who had been busy all day watching the children, baking bread and providing meals, still found the strength to wash their husbands\u2019, brothers\u2019 and boarders\u2019 burning feet and filthy clothes.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0I can still see my grandfather\u2019s clothes where he took them off in the middle of the kitchen.\u00a0 Completely covered with dirty soot and black grime, they could almost stand by themselves, in sharp contrast to his white long sleeved underwear. The women labored heavily, but instead of burning steel mills, in bumpy white-washed cellars with slits for windows, with wringer washers and \u201cautomatic\u201d dryers that consisted only of row after row of clotheslines strung back and forth like precise, evenly spaced band member formations found on a football field.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Many steelworkers, like Rade Mamula, were killed in industrial accidents, leaving helpless widows and their children to fend for themselves. Some, like Stevan Trbovich, from 26th and Sarah Street, were injured.\u00a0 Stevan, who emigrated from Lapovac, a small village near Veljun in present-day Croatia (Austro-Hungary), was given $100 and transportation money back to the old country when he lost an arm.\u00a0 While here, he was active in the church as an elder and secretary. Stephan helped carry the cross to the St. George cemetery for its dedication.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Somehow, the Pittsburgh Serbs still \u201cmade it.\u201d They lived through times of unemployment, unresolved grievances, and the devastating Great Depression.\u00a0 Despite all the hardships, they managed to build a church. Then two.\u00a0 Finally, a magnificent award-winning Cathedral designed by architect Jovan Tomich. \u201cOur\u201d American Serbs became doctors, lawyers and engineering chiefs, pharmacists, dentists, financial experts, teachers, administrators, world-famous architects and authors with beautiful homes, big back yards– some with Olympic-sized swimming. Pools. How? How was this made possible?
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Serbs had great family support systems, extended families with strong emotional ties, and closely knit relationships with one another.\u00a0 They were people who valued Education and loved their God. They used their treasures, talents and time wisely.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1948 Philip Visnich Choir from St. Sava’s, Pgh. S.Side<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Popular songstress Vinka Ellison entertains in Pittsburgh, Nick Lalich right behind.\u00a0 Two ladies to the right of Nick is +Kuma Sonya Kalember from Gary, Indiana. Photo by Milan M. Karlo, published in his\u00a0American SERB LIFE<\/span>\u00a0magazine, 1948.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

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Our\u00a0Karlo’s Confectionary Store<\/span>\u00a0was only 1 shot block up from the\u00a0Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill<\/span>\u00a0at\u00a013 South 27th Street<\/span>\u00a0on<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Pittsburgh’s South Side,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>which is now only an empty lot<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mim, born 1\/2 block away in 2618 Carey Way, and our dog SHEP, and Uncle Nicky Karlo.\u00a0 Note all of the guys in suis across the block.<\/p>

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Maxwell, Motivational expert, says:\u00a0 \u201cPeople who use time correctly are purposeful, committed to values, attuned to strengths, choosers of happiness and equippers.\u201d\u00a0 Look how our early pioneers practiced these without ever hearing of Leadership Principals.

Five Characteristics of Wise Stewards of Time<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>


#1 Purposeful:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life, consistently channeling time and energy toward an overarching purpose. \u00a0<\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Our pioneers\u2019 main purpose (after the welfare of their own families), was to safeguard their Orthodoxy and Serbian heritage.\u00a0 They established Serbian lodges first, and attended other churches, but felt a need to have a church of their own.\u00a0 On October 8, 1905 they organized a church that was incorporated as St. George Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church on January 13, 1906.\u00a0 It was only a small house on 123 S. 25th Street on South Side, but it was the first S.O. Church in Pittsburgh.<\/p>


#2 Committed to Values:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0People who use time correctly underscore their values with the time they spend. By acting in accordance with their beliefs, they find fulfillment. Clarity of values is like a beacon of light, guiding the way through life\u2019s twists and turns.\u00a0 When extended to an organization, values inspire a sense of broader purpose. They make work worthwhile. In an organization, if vision is the head and mission is the heart, then values are the soul.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Pittsburgh Serbs were committed to values they held dear.\u00a0 In 1910 they purchased land in Carrick for the St. George Cemetery.\u00a0 The faith of the humble community thrived.\u00a0 Soon they purchased larger quarters from the Lutheran Church in 1911, at 103 South 16th Street.\u00a0 They added a belfry in 1917 and established a church school and choir.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(I\u2019m fortunate enough to own one of those school desks, a gift from my mother, who was lucky enough to purchase one from a nearby antique shop.\u00a0 She always regaled me with her stories of Serbian school and the strict \u201cMiss Mamula\u201d.)
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0When an argument arose about burial between a parishioner who lost his young child in an accident and the priest, many families left to form the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, just 5 blocks away.<\/p>

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#3 Attuned to Strengths:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0People who use time correctly play to their strengths. By doing so, they are most effective. As Jim Sundberg says, \u201cDiscover your uniqueness; then discipline yourself to develop it.\u201d You are blessed with a unique set of skills and talents. Find them, refine them, and let them carry you toward success.<\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Our Serbs did just that.\u00a0 By the 1920s. the ladies formed the Kolo Srpskih Sestara, the indispensable part of the parish.\u00a0 Andja Mamula had many skills.\u00a0 She was an elementary school teacher in the old country, and had writing and speaking skills that served her well in leadership roles.\u00a0 Early photos attest to her as President of the Kolo at St. George\u2019s, later President of St. Sava\u2019s Kolo, and also President of the Ladies\u2019 Lodge, Majka Jugovica.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Another example of \u201cattuned to strengths,\u201d can be seen in this example.\u00a0 When St. Sava\u2019s parishioners purchased the Cemetery\/picnic grounds in Castle Shannon, each male in the family was supposed to cut down five trees.\u00a0 My Uncle Chappy (George), home fresh from the *C.C.C. (Civil Conservation Corps), not only cut down his five trees, with his brother, Uncle Joe, but cut them also for his blind brother, Steve, his Dad, and for good measure, going beyond what was ever expected of him, cut five trees each for each of his sisters:\u00a0 Martha, Rose, Millicent and Latinka (Laura) to their lifetime pride.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0This \u201cattuned to strengths\u201d philosophy didn\u2019t die with the pioneers.\u00a0 You see it today with the leadership skills of George Topich and his sons and their extended families.\u00a0 Bobby leads the HTC choir and Dane for many years was \u201cMr. Shadeland.\u201d Speaking of Shadeland, there\u2019s Milly Radovick and her mom and whole family, serving not only Holy Trinity, but the whole eastern KSS!\u00a0 There\u2019s Dr. Nenad Janicijevich and his beautiful family of medical experts:\u00a0 Wife\/Dr. Milena, daughters Dr. Jelena and Nurse Nada and son Dr. Bora, who recently received his medical degree from Belgrade University.\u00a0 Dr. Nenad led in the founding of the American Serbian Information Center during the terrible years of disinformation (1990-2000) about the Serbs, he led the Relief efforts of the Eastern Diocese, along with the help of countless volunteers and especially his brother, Predrag.\u00a0 For the 100th Anniversary, Drs. Nenad & Milena donated $10,000, with another promised \u201cmatching fund\u201d of up to $15,000 for HTC\u2019s new Capital Fund Drive.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Just look at all the committees who worked tirelessly and diligently to plan and execute this year\u2019s grand celebration, especially those led by Lara Trbovich, Rudley Mrvos, Valerie Tassari, and the Slavkovichs with their White Angel Productions.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Look no further than Fr. Rajko himself!\u00a0 Besides being a caring, loving, dedicated priest, he has the talents of a carpenter, just like Christ.\u00a0 He used those talents to construct the frames for the 29 icons that adorn the back wall of the altar.\u00a0 Each is 50\u201d by 8 feet!<\/p>

4. Choosers of Happiness:<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 People who use time correctly choose happiness by prioritizing relationships and recreation. Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness.<\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0With the above, we make mention of the members, parishioners and organizations of both Holy Trinity and the present-day St. Sava, Randy Lugares\u2019 orchestra, and other Orthodox friends who made it possible to celebrate the historic Serbian Orthodox Heritage weekend in such a fine fashion.\u00a0 But then, we could go all the way back to the Neven Tamburitza Orchestra playing on a street corner in the 1930\u2019s, Choir socials at Liberty Hall in the 40\u2019s, Savez Day picnics up at the cemetery, weddings, bridal showers, Turkey Trots or New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations at the American Serbian Club, Serbian Days gatherings at Kennywood, or a week or two at Shadeland Camp,\u00a0where the Serbs\u00a0CHOSE<\/span>\u00a0to stick together and enjoyed each other\u2019s friendship and conviviality.\u00a0 Not that they didn\u2019t participate in other, more \u201cAmerican\u201d activities, but they genuinely love \u201ctheir own.\u201d\u00a0 Other parishioners are looked upon as \u201cone family\u201d in God, extended family members.\u00a0 It\u2019s so true, family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness and \u201cNiko Nema Sto Srbin Imade\u201d couldn\u2019t be more correct in instances like this!\u00a0 God bless the Serbs!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>


#5 Equippers\u2028\u2028:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0People who use time correctly equip others in order to compound their productivity. They realize the limitations of individual attainment, and they build teams to expand their impact. By developing an inner circle of leaders and investing in them, wise time-users multiply their influence.\u00a0 Equippers recognize that legacies are carried on by people, not trophies. They pour themselves into the lives of others and watch the ripple effect of their leadership spread through those they have taught and mentored. Equippers seek significance over the long term, which causes them to have a vested interest in the success of their successors.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0These of course were our fathers and mothers, Sunday School Teachers, talented choir directors, jr. tamburitzan leaders, our Djedos and Babas. And mainly our priests.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0While I have only the fondest memories of Fr. Zivojin Ristanovich, Fr. Velimir Kovachevich and Fr. Milan Savich, we cannot overlook the tremendous and tireless deeds of Fr. Aleksija Savich and his immense role for Pittsburgh Serbdom.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0He not only administered to his flock, he kept increasing it by making countless trips back and forth to Gormije in the early 1900\u2019s, where he would personally shepherd people to Pittsburgh.\u00a0 Since he knew them all so well personally from serving in the Gormije Monastery\u2014their strengths and weaknesses–he would match up young bachelors in America with brides from the \u201cOld Country.\u201d (My Karajlovich-Karlovich-Karlo\/Batalo grandparents were testimony to his matchmaking skills.\u00a0 People, not trophies!)
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0If you look up\u00a0Aleksije Savich<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in the Ellis Island immigration records, perhaps only one or two examples will appear.\u00a0 But if you research deeper, looking at alternative spellings, you\u2019ll find many more. He was a dedicated worker, and \u201cequipper,\u201d building \u201cteams\u201d to expand the Serbian impact in America. \u00a0<\/p>

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Unity of St. Sava and St. George Kolos<\/strong><\/span><\/div>
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\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Laura Karlo, then secretary of Holy Trinity KSS, wrote in the SRBOBRAN about the KSS celebrating their Silver Jubilee, the 25th anniversary of \u201cRenewed\u201d unity, on Sunday, October 25, 1987.\u00a0 In so doing she said they were honoring the eighty years of service and devotion, \u201cfounded and perpetuated by the parents and grandparents of today\u2019s Kolo members. This commemorates the consolidation of the St. George and St. Sava Kolos in 1962, separate entities then, but with a common goal-UNITY, a goal that had been reached through common sense, hard work and inspiration of the church organizations.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Shy Laura, signing herself only as \u201cReporter,\u201d continued:\u00a0 \u201cIt was back in 1905 that the St. George Church Board, a catalyst of Pittsburgh Serbdom, originated.\u00a0 With foresight and pride, with a noble purpose of preserving their religion and traditions, a former Russian church (originally a Lutheran one) was purchased.\u00a0 Father Sava Vojvodich was the first priest to serve in what was to become the St. George Eastern Orthodox Church of Pittsburgh.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIt was on January 3, 1928 that the forerunner of the present Kolo was organized in the home of Andja N. Mamula, with a total of twelve members. + Cveta S. Kosanovich, a charter member and STILL active, proposed the name \u2018SLOGO,\u2019 personifying peace, harmony and goodwill.\u201d<\/p>

Historical Treasures Revisited<\/strong><\/span><\/div>
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\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Current President of Holy Trinity, George Topich, found several wonderful old documents for the historical display in Holy Trinity\u2019s historical files.\u00a0 One of those was a little handbook signed by +Jovo Miljush, President, and +Mile Trbovich, Secretary, authorizing +Simo Verlinich to solicit donations on behalf of the Congregational Committee of the St. George SERVIAN Orthodox Church, for purchase of a Church Building on the corner of Sixteenth and Roland Streets, on the South Side of Pittsburgh, which he handed in on September 14, 1907.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0It is very interesting to note that Jovo Miljus was the father of the famous baseball player, +Johnny \u201cBig Serb\u201d Miljus, who made his professional debut Oct. 2, 1915, and played his final pro game, September 25, 1929.\u00a0 Johnny played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1917-1927) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1927-1928) before playing for the Cleveland Indians (1928-29). Miljus played in several World Series games, the most \u201cfamous\u201d (infamous) being the October 8, 1927 game where he was a relief pitcher for the underdog Pirates against the Bronx Bombers, the NY Yankees.\u00a0 In the last of the 9th, with the score tied, and bases loaded, including Babe Ruth (who had given Miljus his nickname of \u201cBig Serb\u201d) on 2nd, Miljus struck out Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel.\u00a0 Miljus had 2 strikes on Tony Lazzeri, but a wild pitch allowed Earle Combs to score the winning run, and the Yankees were now world champs four years in a row!

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Jovo Miljus is also famous in Pittsburgh Serb National Federation history, as he is the one who purchased on a visit to Serbia, the magnificent gusle with the whole history of every Serbian ruler engraved on the bow.\u00a0 This incredible gusle can be seen at the Heinz Western Pennsylvania History Museum, located in Pittsburgh\u2019s Strip District.
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\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Another \u201ctreasure\u201d George found with the help of Anna Marie Belich, church secretary, was the \u201cPRILOZI\u201d or list of donations for the purchase of Pittsburgh\u2019s St. Sava Church 1942-1943.\u00a0 Simo Vrlinich led the way with a $200 donation, followed by Jovo Miljus\u2019 $105.\u00a0 The next list of donors each gave $100:\u00a0 Nikola Vrlinich, Jovo Vrlinich, Nikola Mamula, Janko Karamarkovich, Simo Mrvosh, Stevo Senjan, George Soknich, Nikola Bruich, Milosh Niksich, Stevo Savich, Stana Milich, Bogdan Vuynovich, Smilja Stojanovich, Jovo Chotra, Nikola Vukchevich, Milovan Momchilovich, Milovan Vukelich, Milovan Milkovich, Jotso and Gojko Lalich, Petar Stipanovich, Sava Tomashevich and Nikola Jankovich.\u00a0 There were 49 other donors listed, with gifts ranging from $50 to $1.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0But imagine pledging so much money at a time when most workers were making a little more than $5.00 per day with large families to care for!\u00a0\u00a0They put their time, treasures and talents where their mind, hearts and souls were!\u00a0 Vision, mission, values.<\/strong><\/span>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Also found was a list of the Rules and Regulations for the St. George Independent Serbian Orthodox Church Cemetery of 1937, with the word \u201cIndependent\u201d blackened out.\u00a0 The final regulation, #34, was that no priest or priests were permitted to conduct any religious or funeral services in the Cemetery other than the priest of The St. George Serbian Orthodox Church.\u00a0 Anyone living through the 1963+ nightmare understands how hard that must have been on people who owned lots there.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Another find was the list of charges for services, cemetery lots, etc. at St. Sava S.O.C. in Pittsburgh, January 15, 1946.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, a lot of eight graves cost $200 for members.\u00a0 One small grave was only $15, with a large one priced at $35.\u00a0 I say interesting as my \u201ceyes always on the future\u201d Grandmother and Aunt Marty purchased 32 graves in one spot, assuring that the whole family could be buried together.

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Finally, I\u2019d like to end by giving you a glimpse of life around this time. \u00a0<\/p>

Baba\u2019s Diaries<\/strong><\/span><\/div>


\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0I am fortunate to have inherited my Baba Andja\u2019s diaries from 1936-1962.\u00a0 From them I can glimpse life as it was, the comings and goings of Andja\u2019s children, friends, the church celebrations, the good times and the sad times.\u00a0 I know what I did almost every day of my early life (1941-62) thanks to my grandmother who recorded it for posterity.\u00a0 It was simple, but interesting.\u00a0 For instance, going back even before I was born\u2026.

January 3, 1938-“Dosao ovde Rade Pozderov sin Nikola, a Latinka za njega pise “theme.”\u00a0\u00a0(Rade Pozderov’s son Nikola was here, and Laura wrote his theme for him.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>

It must have been successful as the next night, January 4th—-“Bio i Niki Stojanovic ovde, i kaza Laji jopet da nesto za njega pise.”\u00a0\u00a0(Nick Stone was here and he asked her to do an essay for him, too!<\/span>)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em>They were the best of friends, all the way through school until he died.\u00a0 He and brother Pete, Pertz, and George Erdel were at Baba\u2019s ALL the time!)<\/div>


January 6, 1938:\u00a0 Nikola (Papi), Josip i Batalo su pecenica donesli od Bucarne.\u00a0 Vagao je 150 funti.”\u00a0\u00a0(Papi, Uncle Joe and Batalo brought home the pig from the butcher’s.\u00a0 It weighed 150 pounds!)<\/span><\/em>

On Sunday, Jan. 9, Kumin bojs Walter, Chedo Milich i Slobodan Pekic su dosli u podne.\u00a0 Lepo su. Jeli keksa i pili vina.\u00a0 Lai i Smia su osli u show, vidli su sliku koja se zove “Stage Door.”\u00a0\u00a0(Kum Walter came, along with Chedo Milich -later editor of the SRBOBRAN- and Slobodan Pekic, in the afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0 Pleasantly, they ate cakes and drank wine.\u00a0 Laura and her friend Smia went to the show.\u00a0 They saw “Stage Door.”)<\/span><\/em><\/span>

Jan. 17, 1938- “Laja otisla na tanac koji su drzali Pgh. Serbs Basketball Team.\u00a0 Veli da nigda nije toliko naroda videla.\u00a0 Dosla kuci u po druge.\u00a0 (Laura went to a dance held by the Pgh. Serbs Basketball team.\u00a0 They said they never saw so many people in their lives!\u00a0 They came home past midnight.)<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>

Like Mother, Like Daughter, Intermittently<\/strong><\/span><\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Aunt Marty gave my mother a diary on Dec. 24, 1935 which my 17 year-old Mom wrote in English, Serbian AND German when she didn\u2019t want anyone to know what she was writing.\u00a0 We\u2019re lucky to have this:
January 3, 1936<\/span><\/span>:\u00a0 Kuma Potkonjak made us rehearse our program through.\u00a0 Skaljak came up and told us of the Serbs and the Slavic race.\u00a0 We left about 9:45.\u00a0 We kids played basketball in the gym, boys and girls together. (Some German words here) We joined our King Peter II gang in front of the A.O.H. (Ancient Order of the Hiberians, which was directly across the street from Baba\u2019s house!).\u00a0 We sang various Serbian songs until 10:45.<\/p>


January 16, 1936<\/span><\/span>:\u00a0 Pete, Nick, Erdel, Mitzie Musulin and their Helen, Bus (Helen Basara) and Duddy and Smia here.\u00a0 Sang church songs from 7 to 8.\u00a0 Then the gang went out for a snow fight.\u00a0 Erdel gave me a good sock with a snow ball.\u00a0 Enjoyed it all immensely.\u00a0 Mitzi told me she is going to have the \u201cApostle\u201d the first day of church and I the \u201cVjeruju.\u201d (But it was Aunt Marty who actually sang it, for the record!)<\/p>


January 25, 1936<\/span><\/span>:\u00a0 In the evening our gang went down to Serbian school to organize our new choir.\u00a0 Lugojna gave a very interesting speech on the organization of choirs, etc.\u00a0 Chose the name \u201cPhillip Visnich,\u201d after the famous Serbian composer.\u00a0 Sloboda Pekich, pres., Erdel-VP, Mitzi Musulin, Sec\u2019y; Marty (Belosh) treasurer.\u00a0 Nick (Stone), Bertha Milkovich and I are on the membership committee.\u00a0 We three went around and collected money from men and women there to pay 25 cents a month to help our choir.\u00a0 Met Angie Codan.\u00a0 All the Grubesich kids were here, Nickie sure grew.\u00a0 36 members in choir.\u00a0 Whole gang walked home together.\u00a0 Nick and Previs treated me especially nice.<\/p>


January 27, 1936:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 Wanted new dress, so Peep and I went to the Merky (Pittsburgh Mercantile Company- the huge company department store on 26th and Carson Streets. for the Steel Mill across the street!)\u00a0 Bought one for $1.95, Mom made me take it back.\u00a0 Manicured nails, wore a beautiful pink silk sport dress with brown jacket, very becoming.\u00a0 Program didn\u2019t start until 9:15.\u00a0 Sure was a hit.\u00a0 Many congratulations over my poem (St. Sava\u2019s day declamatica); Didn\u2019t dance except one with Mitzi as floor was too slippery (Mom was in a cast most of the time for her leg.)\u00a0 Was sorta a big shot.\u00a0 Nick and I went around and collected $3.50 for our choir, sure acted like a good sales lady.\u00a0 Had a good time with Bus who got a new permanent and talked with Violet Pekich, Mitzie and Nick Grubesich.\u00a0 Spent 30 cents on refreshments.\u00a0 Helen Shatlan was with me part of the night. Very big crowd, very surprised.\u00a0 Mom and I left at 1:10 AM.\u00a0 Went to sleep and slept pretty well.\u201d<\/p>


\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Here\u2019s the part I love.\u00a0 My Mom would read and re-read her mother\u2019s diaries and her own, too, to bring back memories.\u00a0 One of her favorite memories is when she repeated the poem she said on Jan. 27, 1936 at the Serbian Club for St. Sava\u2019s Day in 1987(?).\u00a0<\/p>

Well, there was an addendum added to her diary, 10\/4\/94 on the Jan. 27th date of 1936.\u00a0 It says, \u201cRemember, Mimbo (she knew I would find this!), \u201cDvadesetog ovog veka\u2026.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>


\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0So here I am, twelve years after she wrote that, and six months since she passed away, remembering the joy she had of teaching us her favorite poem because the audience made her feel so good in 1936:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDva desetog ovo veka, Sveti Sava na nas ceka.\u00a0 Za visinu un nas gleda, gde brat bratom mira neda.\u00a0 I cude se nase glase, gde neki rusi pravde\u2026 ponizuje nasa slava, gazi, ruzi pravoslavne.\u00a0 Sve visnim se molim Bogu, da nam daje ljubav, sloga.\u00a0 Da se brat za bratom miri, da se Srpski jezik shiri, da se slavimo Srpske Krsna Slava, to nam zeli Sveti Sava!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>


\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0One hundred years. I can only give you a brief glimpse of life in that time frame. Mom saved some things that helped. I found her \u201cNovo Odusevljenje\u201d or \u201cRenewed Excitement\u201d certificate of appreciation from January 29, 1984 signed by Fr. Dragan Filipovic.\u00a0\u00a0Fr. Dragan, who led a HTC contingent to Washington to proclaim \u201cKosovo is Serbian, Kosovo is Serbia.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>


\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Before that, Mom Latinka was like Simo Verlinich from 1906-07, offering to serve as a solicitor for her church, but instead of St. George, or for her old St. Sava, this time it was for Holy Trinity.\u00a0 Her certificate of Solicitation was signed by +President Samuel Vignovich, Rev. Fr. Milan Savich, George Topich (Finance Committee), +Nicholas R. Stone (Building Committee) and +V. Rev. Zivojin Zdravkovic.
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Solicitor\u2019s Pledge went like this:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u201cI pledge allegiance to the Holy Trinity Building Fund and to the progress for which it stands.\u00a0 One beautiful building, under God, indivisible, with brotherhood and love for all.\u201d
<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0From poor immigrant steel mill roots, HTC is a magnificent Cathedral poised to continue serving its American Serbian population.\u00a0 Other Americans marvel how we have maintained our Serbian language through our songs and great traditions. We know we\u2019re lucky to have what we have.\u00a0 It was all jealously guarded and handed down to us for us to preserve and pass on.\u00a0 Niko Nema Sto Srbin Imade!\u00a0 Happy 100th Anniversary, Holy Trinity!

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cOngoing and upbuilding your Church and Parish according to His divine plan!\u00a0 Together, we can!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MOre (More about Steel Unions)


*The CCC was a public works program that put over three million young men and adults to work during the Great Depression of the 1930\u2019s and 1940\u2019s in the U.S.\u00a0 It was sometimes called \u201cRoosevelt\u2019s Tree Army.<\/p>


Important Information:
\u201cForged in Steel\u201d by: David Pacchioli (Research\/Penn State, Vol. 20, no. 1 (January, 1999))
Somehow, Vacca relates, the Amalgamated managed to sign up enough workers to start a local affiliate, Beaver Valley Lodge 200. The company\u2019s attempts at intimidation only intensified. Lodge officers\u2019 homes were subjected to round-the-clock surveillance; neighbors and visitors were followed and questioned. \u201cWe received word yesterday,\u201d the Lodge president wrote in early 1935 to Frances Perkins, FDR\u2019s Secretary of Labor, \u201cthat the police department of the Corporation had taken into the plant a machine gun, gas guns, shotguns and rifles, and placed them at convenient places.\u201d He adds, plaintively, \u201cWe are American Citizens, not Reds, as the police say we are.\u201d
In another incident, a laid-off worker who had been seen collecting signatures for the union abruptly vanished, to the dismay of his wife and seven children. It was later found that he had been dragged off the street by police on unspecified charges, held in jail for some days, then spirited 60 miles to a state mental hospital, where he was committed. When union officials finally determined his whereabouts, they contacted the governor, reform-minded Gifford Pinchot, who ordered the man\u2019s release. Stirred to anger, Pinchot also sent a detachment of state police to protect Aliquippa\u2019s citizens. First lady Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, herself an outspoken labor advocate, traveled to town to give a speech. \u201cI am against Jones and Laughlin first, last, and all the time,\u201d she told a large crowd of workers. \u201cI am with you in the fight you are making . . . for the chance to call your souls your own.\u201d Several of the men who attended Mrs. Pinchot\u2019s speech were fired \u2013 veteran workers who suddenly, according to later company testimony, became incompetent or negligent or violent.
\u201cThis process,\u201d Vacca says, \u201cis something the workers really saw as evidence of their economic citizenship. Here was their chance to stand up and say things were unfair, and to get them resolved. Particularly for the immigrant and black workers, who had always been restricted to the lowest, dirtiest jobs, here was protection from the arbitrary decisions of foremen. It was a system they could use \u2013 and they used it.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Solid Roots
By Laura Mamula Karlo
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\u00a0(Mom Laurie wrote this when she attended Writing Classes at the University of Pitsburgh in the 1970’s)<\/span><\/p>

They stand there,
The tombstones.
Evidence of what was.
A genetic procreation.
Gone, but living
Into other generations.
I look at them,
Mute as they,
But not cold nor dead.
I am here, today.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Well-known Matriarch and staunch Serbian pioneer immigrant, Andja Mamula, with her oldest daughter, Martha Mamula Belosh, and granddaughter, Milana Karlo (Bizic) bending over Andja’s infant daughter’s grave from the 1917 flu.\u00a0 This is at the old St. George Serbian Cemetery in May, 1943. Andja and the rest of her family are buried in Holy Trinity’s ST.SAVA cemetery in Castle Shannon, PA.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Milan Karajlovich-Member, Serb National Federation-Sprski Narodni Savez, 1940.<\/span><\/p>

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“Dad, take me to Pittsburgh for 3-Day!”<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Beloshs, Benusas, & Mim, 2008 at Cousins Jules’ & Cheri’s 4th of July picnic. \u00a0Cousin Paul Belosh made copies of the SRBOBRAN story about me being named SNF Person of the Year. \u00a0On August 8, 2009, we inherited all of these new cousins when our Halle married Matt Benusa! We feel so lucky. \u00a0They’re great.<\/span><\/span><\/div>

++++++++++++++++++\u00a0<\/p>

We in Pittsburgh were lucky to the the Serb National Federation headquartered in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>

Metropolitan Christopher said in his letter of congratulations to the SNF on it’s Centennial in 2001:
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“The history of the SNF abundantly documents that the Serbian people have rejoiced together, mourned together, labored, prayed and suffered together, and because of that has survived over a hundred years to yet remain a vibrant, concerned and dedicated Serbian institution which continues to emphasize and reinforce our values and heritage.\u00a0 A prominent historian and philosopher once said:\u00a0 ‘If a man is fortunate, he will before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children.\u00a0 The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future.’ “<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>

++++++++++++++++++<\/p>

Bishop Longin wrote:<\/span>\u00a0“The SNF has played an irreplaceable role in the preservation of everything that is ‘holy and honorable’ for the Serbian people.”<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

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Baba Andja Mamula, in front center.\u00a0 To her left, and our right, is her daughter, Martha Belosh.\u00a0 Behind them is Rev. Fr. Alexis Savich of the St. George Church that was located at So. 16th Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side.\u00a0 Baba was the President of the Serbian Society “Majka Jugovica”. We have a ribbon of that says 1917, and it has on it the 4 C’s:\u00a0 “Samo Sloga Srbina Spasova.”<\/span><\/p>

Click the lower right hand corner of the photo to enlarge.<\/span><\/p>

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