ABRAMOVIC, JOHN
Basketball-Military-Business
John,
or "Brooms" as everyone knew him, made a tremendous mark in the
basketball world. As a junior and senior at Salem College in West Virginia
(1942-1943), he led the entire nation in scoring. He averaged nearly 30 points
per game, which was unheard of at that time. He made First Team All American in
1942 and 1943 and still holds the Salem College record of most points in a game
(57), and in the season (777). He was the first player In college history to
score 2,000 points in a career. After spending three years in the Navy during
World War 11, he signed and went on to play professional basketball for several
teams in the National Basketball League, and the Basketball Association of
America. These two leagues formed the National Basketball Association (NBA) the
year after "Brooms" retired. He was inducted into the West Virginia
and the Pennsylvania Sports Halls of Fame. In addition to his basketball
career, John played professionai baseball and also was an avid golfer and
bowler during his lifetime. He was also a high school and college basketball
referee. He was very involved in coaching, and raising his two children. He was
a school board member for six years with the Mars, Pensylvania area school
district, and he was a parttime scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball
organization. John "Brooms" Abramovic, Jr., 81, died on June 9, 2000
at Memorial Hospital-Ormond, FL. He was a lifelong member of Guardian Angel
Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 4, Etna, Pennsylvania. At the time of his death
he had been a member for 63 years. John moved to Ormond Beach with his wife,
Jessie, in 1981, after retiring from his family business, Etna Broom and Mop
Mfg. Co., which he owned and operated with his brothers. He worked as a starter
at Riverbend Golf Club for a number of years. He is survived by his loving
wife, Bessie; son, John III and daughter-in-law, Cindy, Ormond Beach; daughter,
Wendy and son-in-law, David McFadden, Ormond Beach; stepdaughter, Jeanne
Russell, Boyton Beach; and four grandchildren, Andrew Ehrman, Ormond Beach,
Christie and Jonathan IV Abramovic- Ormond Beach, and Anna Sultety of Boyton;
three brothers, William of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Joseph and Albert, both
of O'Hara Township, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his
parents, John and Dorothy Frketic Abramovic.
ABRAMOVICH, ROKO Tamburitza Hall of
Fame
Roko
Abramovich, musician, technician, and arranger, was born in Eureka, Utah, on
August 15, 1909. He spent the next 18 years of his life with relatives back in
Croatia, and came to Chicago area around 1927. In Chicago, Roko mastered the
farkash brac, and played with the "Selacka Stranka" orchestra, under
the direction of Aloise Jaksa. All of the other tambura instruments were added
to his credits in the next years to come, and for a time Roko played with the
Rotkovich family, filling in on the bugaria. During the war, Roko filled in a
number of times on bugaria, for Louie Kapugi also. For a few years he was a
member of the old Yavor Orchestra, and played with the likes of the late Vaso
Bukvich, and people like John Krilcich, Steve Vucinic, Tom Stefancic, and
Elizabeth Plasay. Later in the forties and fifties, Roko played with the Dave
Zupkovich Orchestra, where he featured on the prima. For those avid collectors
of the old 78 records, it is Roko who plays the lead in unforgettables like
Daniela, Cudo Jada, and the note perfect Caralama Kolo. In those years, Roko
played with Ernie Maty, Carl Schutzman, Steve Paulich in the Neven Orchestra also.
Later in the fifties and sixties we find him merging with Nick Skertich to form
the ever popular Veseljaci Orchestra, whose members from time to time have been
Mickey Kusecek, Ray Jankovich, Bucky Bukvich, and Ray Ratz. Roko was married to
the late Mary Bertovic in May 1934, and from that marriage they were blessed
with two beautiful daughters, Ann Marie and Marlene. Retired from the Steel
Mills, but not from music, Roko continues to contribute to the tamburitza field
by teaching two junior groups, the Chicago Juniors of the Croatian Fraternal
Union, and the Sacred Heart Juniors of South Chicago. He continues to fill in
with the Veseljaci Orchestra from time to time, and enjoys spending most of his
time with his six grandchildren. Roko has and will always be known to
Chicagoans as "Mr. Brac."
ABRANOVIC, ANTHONY Military-News
He
was born November 4, 1909, in Croatia, to Anton and Mary (Yankovic) Abranovic.
Tony was a U.S. Army veteran of WW 11. He started "Kittanning News"
in 1949, and retired in 1980 when he turned the business over to his two sons,
Mark and Anthony. Anthony "Tony" Abranovic, 79, of Kittanning,
Pennsylvania, died on Saturday, November
19, 1988, at his home. He was a member of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 29 of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Surviving are his wife, Mary (Stich) Abranovic; five
sons, Wynn of Amhurst, Massachusettes, Alan and Mark of Kittaning, Anthony at
home, and Paul of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey; one daughter, Ellie Abranovic, of
Irving, Texas; one brother, Albert, of Scottsdale, Arizona; two sisters, Olga
Lucas of Millvale, and Helen of McKees Rocks, and three grandchildren.
ACALIN, JERKO Fisherman
Jerko
was born on August 29, 1869, on the island Zlarin, near Sibenik, Dalmatia. He came to this country in 1912. A fisherman, he followed this profession,
first in the State of Washington, later moving to San Pedro. He married Milica, nee Lucev, and they had
seven children. During his fishing career,
Jerko was the owner of several fishing boats, and fished from Alaska to Mexico.
AGICH, PAVAO Tamburitza
Born
in Djakovo, Croatia in 1873. He was a barber and founder of Croatian Singing
Club "Preradovich" in Djakovo, Croatia. He had traveled with
tamburitza orchestra’s all over Germany
in the period from 1902-1903. He has worked for several years as a barber in
London, British Columbia and in Portland, Oregon. He lived in San Francisco
since 1914 and was a member and manager of the Croatian Tamburitza Orchestra in
San Francisco. He is also an active member of Knights of Columbus organization.
ALAGA, GAJA Scientist
One
of our best theoretical physicists was Prof. Gaja Alaga (1924-1988). He worked not only in Zagreb, Croatia, but
also at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen,
University of California, Berkeley, and Ludwig-Maximilians University in
Munich.
ALAGA, NICHOLAS FBI Agent-Attorney
Nicholas
Alaga was born May 21, 1912 in Watsonville, California. His field is Law, and is a graduate of the
University of Santa Clara. He received his LL.B. in 1937 from Stanford University. He was a special agent in the FBI and
currently practices law in San Francisco. He is presently residing in San
Francisco, and is a member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.
ALAGA, NICHOLAS N. Apple Grower and
Packer
An
extensive shipper of apples, who is also his own grower and packer, is Nicholas
N. Alaga, of 114 Maple avenue, Watsonville. Like many others in this locality,
he was born in Dalmatia, Croatia February 18, 1874, his parents being Nicholas
and Mary Lettunich. Nicholas N. Alaga had rather a hard time acquiring his
education after he had gone through the lower grades of the home schools, but
has gained a good knowledge of affairs since coming to the United States at the
age of seventeen years. After spending two years in San Francisco he went to
Santa Clara valley, where he lived a similar length of time. On the 14th of
July, 1894, Mr. Alaga came to Watsonville and went to work for his uncle, Mr.
Lettunich, acting as his foreman for some time. Having saved a little money he then
embarked in business for himself as a buyer and shipper of fruit in 1898. From
this small start, Mr. Alaga has attained to his present prosperity. He is a
member of the Chamber of Commerce and is a third degree Knight of Columbus and
a member of the Austrian Benevolent Society. Mr. Alaga was married in 1911 to
Miss Teresa Farlan, a native of Eureka, Humboldt county, California, and they
have two sons, Nicholas Jr., and Lloyd.
ALUJEVICH, ANTON Boilermaker
Anton
was born in Split, Dalmatia in 1887. He moved to America in 1907 and migrated
to San Pedro in 1918. As a youth, Anton
worked as a boilermaker in the shipyards of his native land and in
America. His wife Franka, nee Poklepovich
and Anton taught their daughters Bozica
(Nathalie) and Madeline to be proactive in the Croatian-American community.
ANCHICKS, LOUISE Army Nurse-Prisoner of War
Louise
M., Captain Army nurse Retired., WWI and II, died in Palo Alto on October 30,
1977; beloved wife of Eli S. Prud’Homme; loving sister of Dorothy Smith of Riverside,
Illinois and Earl Anschichs of Dowers Grove, Illinois; also survived by neices
and nephews; a 52 year member of American Legion, a member of Nurses Post No.
452; served at Bataan and Corregidor, Prisoner of War, P.O.W., Santa Tomas
prison three years.
ANCICH, JOHN Fisherman
There
aren’t many people left in Gig Harbor, Washington who can do what John Ancich
Sr. can with thin knotted rope. Practitioners of the maritime art of
net-mending — once found in nearly every harbor home — are now scarce. But when
commercial fishing dominated the community, that skill was standard.
Understanding the subtleties of sea nature was once a standard-issue skill for
most locals. Now only a slim fraction of the Peninsula populace could have
accomplished the specialized repair job the 87-year-old Ancich performed Monday
on the Fishermen’s Memorial at Jerisich Park. Ancich, just out of the hospital
following a serious fall, got wind of the damage through his community fishing
contacts. He decided to mend the net on the memorial that bears the names of
eight local fisherman lost at sea. The name at the top is that of his only
child, John Ancich, Jr. The younger Ancich, like his dad, uncles, and
grandfather, was a fisherman from the get go. They all started going out on voyages
in their teens and kept at it through their lives. “That’s about all I did,”
John Sr. said. John Sr. and his brothers Joe and Peter, both deceased, were
well-known as the owner and operators of Voyager, a sardine seiner — considered
one of the most productive local boats during its heyday in the 1930s, 40s and
50s, said local maritime historian Lee Makovich. John Sr. fished for nearly 60
years. His son, who skippered several of his own boats, put in about 20 years.
He died from insulin shock aboard his ship, Heritage, in Hawk Inlet, Alaska,
about 20 miles southwest of Juneau, two years ago yesterday, at age 36. “It’s
been tough,” said John Sr., who has no other family locally. “It’s been hard to
take.” In Gig Harbor, Ancich’s maritime spirit showed itself in several venues.
He became a leader in the fishing community and publicly advocated the
preservation of maritime culture through art. He was among a handful of
long-haul backers who made the Fishermen’s Memorial a reality. While working on
that project, Ancich likely had the name Scott Tyree on his mind. Tyree died in
1995 aboard Courageous, a boat skippered by John Jr. that capsized in Canadian
waters. He brushed aside the potential peril as simply a regular part of being
a fisherman, a matter of course — like knowing how to mend a net. “I patched it
the best I could, “ he said. “I just did the best I could.” (Patrick 2003)
ANCICH, MARTIN AND ANNA
Fishermen
Anna came to the United States when she was six years old in
1900. Her mother made the long journey from Croatia to her brother's home in
Tacoma accompanied only by her three small daughters. She did not speak English
at the time. When her husband Martin passed away, Anna Ancich had to find a way
of supporting her large family. She inherited the boat, George A., which she chartered out for some years to local people.
Then, in 1937, Anna took a most unexpected action. She ordered the construction
of a commercial fishing boat! The vessel, a 75' sardine style purse seiner was
built at the J. M. Martinac Shipyard in Tacoma. As an ongoing reminder of her
initiative and enterprise, it was named the Anna
A. Widows often retained ownership of a commercial fishing boat. Anna did
more than that. She chartered her boat to fish processing interests in Seattle
and to canneries in Alaska. She negotiated all leasing and charter contracts
herself. Her skill in making these transactions was recognized and respected.
At various times, her sons Antone and George operated the Anna A. for her. Under her management, the business continued to
prosper. The Anna A. was sold in
1967. Anna died in 1968.
ANCIC, MARIO Tennis
Wimbledon,
England: Centre Court observers were pleasantly surprised to see a 6-foot-4
Croatian, Mario Ancic, giving Roger Federer a spirited match Tuesday. Then they
noticed that he actually was destroying Federer, to the tune of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
And they realized how much the 18-year-old reminds them of Ivanisevic, last
year's champion and a longtime Wimbledon favorite. Ancic is right-handed, and
apparently without the eccentric sense of humor, but everything else speaks of
a kid who grew up idolizing Ivanisevic. It helps that they have the same build
and hail from the town of Split, Croatia and many of Ancic's mannerisms are
vintage Goran. He came into the tournament as a qualifier, playing only his
second tour-level match of the year. Now he's the kid who knocked off the
eighth-seeded Federer, conqueror of Pete Sampras at last year's Wimbledon. In
his press conference - and of course, he sounds like Ivanisevic, too - Ancic
said he's been hanging around his idol for years. "We always hit, even
when I was 10," he said. "We played some Davis Cup together, Olympic
doubles; he has always been like my bigger brother. But Goran is Goran. I am
me. I don't have the three personalities (laughter). Still one." 2002.
ANDRETTI, MARIO Wine Maker-Auto Racing
Mario
Andretti is putting his celebrity marque on a wine bottle. Andretti, the
four-time Indy 500 winner, owns 13 percent of AWG (short for Andretti Wine
Group), which recently bought a bankrupt 53-acre vineyard and winery in Napa County, California and is looking for other
properties. Like racing, Andretti said, “there’s a lot of romance to this
business.” Since his boyhood, Andretti
has been a wine fan and has made many visits to California’s wine country. In
1994, a San Diego promotions firm called Best Regards got Louis Martini Winery
to produce 15,000 cases of specially labeled Andretti cabernet sauvignon to
commemorate the Arrivederci Tour, Andretti’s final full season of racing. In
1995, Joseph Phelps produced 2,000 cases of Andretti chardonnay. “To continue,
we saw that we needed our own base of supply,” said Andretti. Best Regards
principals Phillip Dias and Sarla Perkins then got into the wine business. One of their plans was to convert auto-racing
fans from beer to wine. Last January, Dias and Perkins merged their infant wine
company with an inactive public company called American Arum Corp. Buying a “shell company” is a quick and easy
way to go public without the other and disclosure of requirements of a full
public offering. They changed the name of the company to AWG and its trading
symbol to VINE. Andretti said from his office in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, that
he has an eyeball on another property” and wants to establish a stronger supply
base. The plan is to produce $12 to $19
premium wines and even get into tours and tastings. The family name in Istria
is Andretic.
ANDRIJASEVICH, PETER
Goldminer-Saloon-Grocery
Peter
Andrijasevich, ( wife, Yela Mirko ) came via the Alaska goldmines. When he
arrived in Aberdeen, Washington in 1904 he bought a saloon in the downtown but
was unhappy there so he sold out and opened a grocery store at the corner of
Curtis and West Boulevard. He was a man who believed in helping others and
being active in community affairs. He played an important part in the
organization of two Croatian lodges.
ANDRICH, LUKA Bartender-Cultural
Luka,
as he was called by his friends, was a pleasant member around our Slavonic
Cultural Center. He attended our meetings and socials regularly and was always
a pleasant person to visit with. At our January meeting he served on the
election committee. Prior to his retirement he worked at Maye's Oyster House
and was in the culinary trade for over 40 years. It wasn't long ago that he
prepared one of our quarterly dinners.
He leaves his wife Iva, daughter Kathy, son Andrea, and daughter-in-law
JoAnne. We will all miss this pleasant and kindly gentleman. Luka died on March
11, 1995 in San Francisco and was born in Dalmatia, Croatia.
ANGELICH, MATE Bridge Builder-Auto
Dealership
Mate
"Mike" Angelich, aged 97, of Fort Salonga, Long Island, New York,
died recently in Huntington (N. Y) Hospital. He was born September 8, 1902 in
the village of Medici, Sinj, Croatia to Ante and Ruzica Andjelic. Mate came to
the United States in the 1920's. One of his earliest jobs was that of a high
iron worker. He was part of the construction crew that built the George
Washington Bridge in New York City. He strung the suspension cables 600 feet
above the Hudson River. At age 97, he
was probably the last surviving member of the bridge's construction crew. He
went to school in New York City to learn auto mechanics, and opened Grand
Central Motors in Jackson Heights, Queens. Before permanently settling on Long
Island 50 years ago he lived in Tucson, Arizona and Miami, Florida. Later, he
expanded his business activities by opening Three Star Auto in Huntington, N.Y
- an auto dealership that sold imported cars such as Borgwards, Daimlers, Singers
and Morgans. He also owned Mike's Service Station in Northport. When he
"retired", he began a nursery and raised thousands of beautiful
azaleas, and made his own wine. He also took a strong interest in cow breeding
at the family farm in New Hampshire. He was an active member ofthe Croatian New
Yorker Club - where every year at the annual picnic he was responsible for the
Bar-B-Que. He was one of the first people interviewed for the Croatian
Fraternal Union - Croatian New Yorker Club Oral Histories Project. He is
survived by his wife of 60 years Keti Angelich - former proprietor of Halesite
Real Estate, son Michael and daughter-in-law Gail of Huntington, son Anton of
New York City and New Hampshire. He leaves behind brothers Silvestar, Jure,
Filip and sister Luce in Europe, along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He lived a very rich and full life, and was a very happy, caring and optimistic
person. "He was unique, and one in a million!" He will be sadly
missed. Services were conducted by the Rev. Daniel Bitsko, of the Holy
Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Church, internment was at St. Patrick's
Cemetery, Lloyd Harbor, NY.
ANTICEVICH, ANTE
Fireman-Policeman-Wrestler
Ivan
Anticevich-Vidoja, was born 1884 in Janjina, Dalmatia, Croatia. He arrived in
Galveston, Texas in 1898. He started as fireman 1906 and stayed until 1912.
From 1912 to 1923 took the job as city policeman, and from 1923 to the present,
works as city worker for the water department. Ivan was a very strong man and
participated in heavy weight wrestling. He was the winner in 28 matches in
Texas and Louisiana. He visited Croatia
in 1923 and 1928. In Janjina he doesn't have any close family. In America he
has a brother and two sisters. He is the
member of the Knights of Columbus and honorary member of Croatian Sokol in
Janjina.
ANTICH, ROBERT C. Teacher-Public
Servant
Robert
Antich was a graduate of Lew Wallace High School. He graduated with bachelor
and master of science degrees from Indiana State University. He was a member of
the Gary Teacher's Union. His dedication to the region extended to Lake County
and Gary, Indiana government as a public servant for over 30 years. He
represented his precinct for twelve years as committeeman. For eight years he
served on the Calumet Township Board of Trustees. He finished his political
career after eight years as the Lake County Clerk. He was proud of his heritage
and was a member of the Saint Joseph the
Worker Croatian Church and was an active member of the Croatian
Fraternal Union of America, Lodge 170, where he served on the Board of
Trustees. Robert C. Antich, 60, passed away Tuesday, August 7, 2001. He was,
preceded in death by his beloved parents, Petar and Anna, his brother Joseph,
his nephews, John Antich Jr. and David M. Bade and his brother-in-law, Michael
Bade. He leaves behind his sister Rosemary Bade of Hobart, his brother, John
(Mary Jane) Antich of Grovertown, IN, his sister-in-law, Rose Ann Antich,
Indiana State Senator of Merrillville, nephews, Dr. Daniel M. (Dr. Suzanne
Stolarz) Bade of Munster, Douglas J. (Suzanne) Bade of Chicago, Marc (Stacy)
Antich of Crown Point, his nieces, Violet Bade of Crown Point, Pat (Mark)
Nieubruupt, Christine(David) Palmer, Carol (Ed) Bracich and Rachel Antich, all
of Grovertown, IN; many great-nieces and nephews; uncles and aunts, Joe and Kay
Olds of Crown Point, Tom and Evelyn Olovich of Noblesville, Indiana and Cecelia
and George Olovich of Hobart.
ANTOLAK, SYLVESTER Medal of Honor
Rank
and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry
Division. Place and date: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 24 May 1944.
Entered service at: St. Clairsville, Ohio, Birth:
St. Clairsville, Ohio. G.O. No.: 89, 19 October 1945. Citation: Near
Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, he charged 200 yards over flat, coverless terrain
to destroy an enemy machinegun nest during the second day of the offensive
which broke through the German cordon of steel around the Anzio beachhead.
Fully 30 yards in advance of his squad, he ran into withering enemy machinegun,
machine-pistol and rifle fire. Three times he was struck by bullets and knocked
to the ground, but each time he struggled to his feet to continue his
relentless advance. With one shoulder deeply gashed and his right arm
shattered, he continued to rush directly into the enemy fire concentration with
his submachinegun wedged under his uninjured arm until within 15 yards of the
enemy strongpoint, where he opened fire at deadly close range, killing 2
Germans and forcing the remaining 10 to surrender. He reorganized his men and,
refusing to seek medical attention so badly needed, chose to lead the way
toward another strongpoint 100 yards distant. Utterly disregarding the hail of
bullets concentrated upon him, he had stormed ahead nearly three-fourths of the
space between strongpoints when he was instantly killed by hostile enemy fire.
Antolak is probably Antoljak and many are found in Croatia.
ANTONOVICH, MICHAEL D. State
Assemblyman
California’s
youngest and best-known Croatian-American lawmaker is Assemblyman Michael D.
Antonovich of Glendale. The name
Antonovich (Antunovic) is hardly new to California. The family began immigrating from the Konvali
region with Florio Antunovich during the 1850’s. Michael Antonovich’s grandfather came from
Croatia to settle in Bisbee, Arizona as a goldminer. His uncles settled in Grass Valley, Fresno
and Jackson. Of all the
Croatian-American lawmakers in California, none is more aware of his Croatian
heritage than Antonovich. His capitol
office is graced with a large Croatian shield hand crafted by Luka
Biondich and a map of Dalmatia. He stays abreast of Croatian politics and is
a regular speaker at Croatian celebrations throughout the state. He has traced his family back to 1700 and can
relate the story of his grandparents’ immigration in detail. He visited Croatia in 1970 and hopes to do so
again in the future. Born in southern
California in 1939, Antonovich attended Los Angeles City College and California
State University at Los Angeles (M.A.).
He served as a student body officer for four years and was president of
his graduate class and his fraternity.
While his academic study progressed, he also attended the Pasadena
Police Academy, graduating as a reserve officer in 1967. Even with his
legislative duties, he remains a reserve police officer today. From 1966
through 1972, he served the Los Angeles School District as a government and
history insructor. His concern for
quality education led him to seek a position on the Los Angeles City College
District Board of Trustees in 1969. Out
of and original field of 139 candidates, he won with a record 406,000
votes. He later served as president of
that board which directs the affairs of the eight campus, 100,000 student, 100
million dollar-per-year system. Antonovich served the Goldwater campaign in
1964 and was a regional chairman for Reagan in 1970. In 1972 he easily won his own Assembly
seat. He was reelected in 1974 and in
1976 no opponent could be found to challenge him. He quickly became known as the state leader
in criminal justice and pro-life legislation.
In 1976, at the age of thirty-six, he was named Minority Whip of the
Assembly after having been chosen Outstanding Legislator of the Year, for both
the 1973-1974 ad 1974-1975 sessions.
ANTONOVICH,
RUZA Doctor-Radiology
Ruza Zupan was born in Barlete, Croatia. She graduated from medical school in Zagreb
and married Dr. Ivica Antonovich. She served as a staff radiologist at
Oregon Health Sciences University until 1977, when she joined the Veterans
Administration Medical center where she was chief of radiology until 1995, when
she began concentrating on patient care and resident-eduction programs. Her research articles in angiography,
interventional radionoly, intervetional radiology and chest radiology were
published in medical journals, and she lectured and served as a visiting
professor in Europe. She is the daughter of Tomo and Anka Zupan, two
charter members of the Croatian American Cultural Center.
ANTUNOVICH, FLORIO Goldminer-Coffee
Saloon-Restaurant-Capitalist
Florio
Antonovich, from Konavlje, Dalmatia, Croatia arrived in San Francisco in 1851
on the famous clipper ship, “The Flying Cloud,” the ship that made the record
time from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn. He was a member of the Tuolomne Society in 1853 and probably made a gold strike, as he
returned to San Francisco and operated a coffee saloon and restaurant at the
corner of Clay and East at 403 East Street.
He listed as a capitalist in 1891 and voted in 1871. He was from Konavle. He was a Charter Member
of the Slavonic Illyric Mutual Benevolent Society. He was President of the Society at one
time. In 1868 he returned to his native
country, and there he married a young lady from Bresecine, returned to San
Francisco with his bride same year, and brought into the world a lovely family
of children. He died in 1898 at the age of seventy-three. He is survived by his
widow, Mrs. Florio Antonovich, daughter Mrs. Annie Ashley, and two sons,
William G. Antonovich, a well-known attorney in our colony, and Emile P
Antonovich, Captain in the United States army.
In 1882, Mrs. Nicholas Buja and Mrs. Florio Antonovich, were selected by
the Slavonic Society to raise money for the Society’s new banner, Majika
Slovinska (Mother Slavia). the presentation
of the banner to the Society was made by two young girls, now married ladies,
Mrs. Cora Maroevich and Mrs. Antionette Forrest, in old Platt’s Hall, located
on the Montgomery Street where now stands the Mills Building.
ANZULOVIC, BRANIMIR Professor-Author
Born
in Zagreb on April 26, 1926 he grew up surrounded by parents native from Jelsa,
two sisters and a brother. He graduated from the University of Zagreb School
of.Philosophy in 1952. As a young intellectual he left Croatia. From there he
moved to the United States to continue his academic career. Branimir Anzulovic
obtained his doctoral degree in comparative literature at the University of
Indiana in 1972. During his teaching career he wrote and taught about
literature, cultural history and literary theory at the University of Indiana
and the University of Arizona. An experienced translator and interpreter, he
worked in that capacity for various institutions in Washington, D.C., including
the Voice of America, the U.S. Department of state and the International
Monetary Fund. Among his early achievements, he published film and theatre
reviews in Zagreb during 1950s, and throughout his life he authored numerous
articles and book reviews for literary journals. He also worked as an assistant
editor of Croatia: Land, People, Culture (University of Toronto) from 1964 to
1970. In 1999 he published an important book entitled Heavenly Serbia From Myth
to Genocide (New York University Press). Branimir Anzulovic, recording
secretary of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 1984 and a cultural historian and
alumnus of Croatian University, died November 3, 2001, in Virginia. He is
survived by his former wife Visnja and his two children, Maja and Radovan.
ARBUNICH, ANTHONY Cultural Activities
Anthony
Arbunich joined the Slavonic Society some 58 years ago like his father Martin,
and uncles Tony Bartul, Martin Mihovilovich and Tony Arbunich before him. “It
was and has been a great place to meet friends and relatives that share the
many customs, humor, and love of life.” Tony related. Anthony and his older
sister Pearl, were the children of Martin and Marie Arbunich, who were from the
Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. Anthony’s dad owned and operated a very
successful restaurant at 14th and Market street. hard work and long hours soon
enabled him to purchase a little cottage situated on a knoll with a sweeping
view overlooking Mission Street. This was in the year 1910 and young Tony was
just a year old. three days after they moved into their new home, Martin, on
his way to work and only 32 years of ago, was struck by a street car that flung
him to the pavement resulting in a fatal head injury. There were relatives and new arrivals from
the old country and she would rent rooms to help make ends meet. The first war
came and went and in the early 1920’s, Marie’s sister died of the dreaded flu
that took so many lives. Her husband owned and operated the California Grill in Santa Rosa and
Marie chose to adopt her two nephews and niece. So it was that the little
cottage on Gladys Street was the home of five youngsters, Marie, and a roomer
or two. It was about this time that Marie had two large bedrooms added to the
cottage. The home became known as the “Slavonian
Depot” since so many people came and stayed until they became financially
set. Anthony says it was always a happy place for everyone. After high school,
Pearl began working for a furrier, a line for work she followed until her
recent retirement. Tony went to Fremont School and Cogswell High until his
junior year whe he quit school. His very first job at the age of 16 was an
apprentice butcher at the old Spreckles Market. Life long friend, Jack,
Radonich, several years younger than Tony, worked there also as a wrapper. In 1936, Tony went to work for the Southern
Pacific Railway, working on the maintenance crews servicing the rail cars. he
held this job until his recent retirement in 1975. Marie, Tony’s mother, who
had cared for so many, would enjoy taking her family to Slav picnics and
gatherings whenever possible. Sorrowfully, in her early 60’s, Marie passed on
in 1938. Tony still loved seeing his old friends and attended all the picnics
and gatherings...getting on the street car to the Ferry building and taking the
Ferry to Oakland, then the train to Neptune beach, John Park or the various
picnic grounds and gathering places. It was at an Irish picnic at Portola Park
in 1947 that Tony met the lovely lady Margaret Harte, who was to become Mrs.
Peggy Arbunich. So it was, and is, Tony and Peggy have lived at the happy
cottage on Gladys street raising a wonderful family of three sons, Martin,
Mitchel, Mark, and one daughter, Barbara. Tony has served our society for 30
years as a trustee and the passed 30 as the chairman of the board of Trustees.
ARKOVICH, TONY Restaurant-Saloon
Tony
Arkovich entered the U.S.A. in 1911 at the age of 15 years. He experienced the normal reaction of most
emigrants and would have returned immediately.
His first job was working as a water boy in sewer construction.
After witnessing the way the men had to dig up the dirt and toss it
from platform to platform, they would sweat and strain to do, so he
quit. Next he went to a dairy where he
wore hip boots and washed bottles all day.
By the end of the day he was
sopping wet, hip boots or no. He left
and went to work in a restaurant. In order to save his shoes he walked to
work barefoot. While sweeping the floors and cleaning the booths he often
found money. This added to his income. Gradually he went up the line. While he
cleaned vegetables he would watch the cooks.
One of them took him under his wing and he would stay 4 or 5 hours after
his shift helping him. Next he was a fry
cook then the chef. In 1917 Tony Arkovich, Joe Dzaich, and Andy Leko
opened Joe’s Cafe, 613 South Olive
Street, Los Angeles. Changes come
about-they moved to Bohemian Grill and
Bar in 1936 at Eight and Grand. Next
in 1940 they moved to Eight and Fedora. During the first move Andy Leko
dropped out. Tony moved on to open the Larchmont Grill in 1948. The
last move was to go into business at Nickodell
Melrose with Jack Ban, Leonard Beidle, and Jack Vojkovich buying the
business at Nick Slavich’s retirement. He retired in 1972.
ARNERICH, A. J. Baseball-Alameda City Council
Mr.
Lil Arnerich was born and raised in West Oakland and now resides in Alameda
with his wife, Norma. They have four children and twelve grandchildren. Mr.
Arnerich attended St. Mary's College and completed additional studies at U.C.
Berkeley and San Francisco State.
After
playing six years of professional baseball with the old Oakland Oaks, Lil has
had a very distinguished career in public service. He became Supervisor of
Athletics for the City of Alameda Recreation and Park Department where he
served 34 years until his retirement in 1986. Today, he still serves as a
member of the Alameda City Council. Lil has received over fifty honors by many
public and private sector groups and is truly deserving of this prestigious
honor and award.
ARNERICH, FRANK Restaurant-Goldminer
Among
the rising young men of San Jose, who have accomplished much, although young in
years, is Frank N. Arnerich, who started in the restaurant business when only a
lad of seventeen and now owns a place of business under the name of The Oyster Loaf Restaurant. He was born on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia,
Croatia on June 11, 1888, and was the son of Nicholas and and Antoinette (Chargin) Arnerich. His father came to California in the year
1875 and settled in Amador County in 1900, joining his brother, and there
attended the public schools of Amador City and later went to night school in
San Francisco. Having learned the
business of restaurateur in San Francisco and in San Jose, at the early age of
seventeen he engaged in this line in San Jose in the year of 1905, and has
continued here ever since. He engaged in
business for himself and with his experience in this line, he has built up a
good trade, and he has since been very successful; his up-to-date restaurant,
The Oyster Loaf, being both popular
among the San Jose’s residents and increasingly profitable to himself. Mr.
Arnerich’s marriage united him with Miss Lucy Chargin, who was also a native of
Brac, and a sister of Joseph, Jerry, and Nicholas Chargin. They are the parents of three children-Antoinette
Frances, Lawrence Nicholas, and Beverly Lucille, and the family reside at 137
North Sixth Street. Mr. Arnerich is a
member of the Order of Red Men, and of the Slavonic-American Society, and San
Jose and is past officer in both orders.
He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Elks, and is a charter member
of the Commercial Club.
ARNERICH, JAMES Attorney
A
graduate of the University of Santa Clara, where he was a star football player,
Mr. Arnerich was appointed state director of professional and vocational
standards by Governor Warren in 1946. He resigned his post in 1953 after Warren
was appointed chief justice of the United States, and he went into private
practice. When Mr. Arnerich retired in 1980 he was general counsel of Forest
Lawn Corp. in Glendale. Mr. Arnerich was a native of Los Angeles and served for
four years in the Navy in World War II. Mr. Arnerich, a retired attorney, died
on Wednesday at St. Francis Memorial Hospital after suffering a heart
attack. He was 73. He is survived by his
wife, Rita; a daughter, Mrs. Kathleen Peck of Novato; a son, Robert Theobald of
Northridge; two brothers, Paul of San Francisco and Frank of Santa Clara; a
sister, Marie, of San Jose; and by five grandchildren.
ARNERICH, MATEO Vineyard-Farm-Goldminer
Mateo
Arnerich was born on the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia in the Adriatic
Sea. In 1826, when fourteen years of
age, he became a sailor boy. He followed
a sea faring life for fourteen years, visiting every sea and ocean. He came
from China to San Francisco in 1849, and never left the State of his adoption
but once, when he went, in 1872, to visit the scenes and friends of his
childhood days. From 1849 to 1852 Mateo
mined for gold in the Calaveras. In 1852 Mr. Arnerich came to the Santa Clara Valley,
and soon after became interested in agriculture. In May, 1856, he was united in
marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth (Brown) Moylan, widow of Edward Moylan. They
bought property in the Narvaze grant, and opened a farm, which they occupied
for twelve years. They then found that no valid title to it could be obtained,
and so left the place, and by pre-emption and purchase secured 160 acres of
choice land, which constitute the present family homestead in the Union
District. The ranch is located in an angle of the Santa Clara and Guadaloupe
road, which bounds it on the north and east. Mr. and Mrs. Arnerich commenced
life on the ranch in a comfortable house, which several years ago gave place to
the substantial family residence of
today. Mr. Arnerich was an active, energetic man, and carried forward the
improvement of his property quite rapidly. The neighborhood lost in him a
citizen actively interested in all movenents tending to the general good. His
death, which occurred May 3, I883, was caused by injuries received in being
thrown from a buggy, near his own home. His widow and her seven children, John,
Catharine, Elizabeth, Mateo, Paul, Isabelle, and Margaret all yet making their
home with their mother, are quite well provided for. Mrs. Arnerich was born in
County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1831. She was nine years of age when her parents,
William and Catharine Brown, emigrated to Australia, whence, after a residence
of ten years, they came to San Francisco. Later they becarne pioneers of Union
District. Mr. Brown's death, resulting from an accidental fall, occurred in
1854. William D. Brown, the chief of police at San Jose, is a brother of Mrs.
Arnerich. The first marriage of Mrs. Arnerich occurred at San Francisco in
January, 1851. Her husband died of consumption ten months later. Quite a large
portion of the family homestead is now devoted to the raising of grapes and
fruit. A vineyard of sixty acres furnishes a general variety of wine and table
grapes. In the orchard can be found olive, fig, pomegranate, orange, and lemon
trees. Mrs. Arnerich and her children are members of the Catholic church.
ARNERICH, PAUL Weather Bureau
Paul
was born in Los Angeles, California and his working career was with the United
States Weather Bureau where he started in Burbank and subsequently was assigned
to Oklahoma, Hawaii, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. His career was
interrupted for a long time in World War Il when he was in the US Navy in the
Armed Guard project - a branch of the service formed to protect American crews
on Maritime vessels. In 1951, Paul and Juanita Snyder-Franchina were married in
San Francisco. Paul was a quiet man but his worth and depth were known to many.
Paul and Juanita enjoyed gardening and their lovely home was warm and friendly.
They both loved animals and their patio hosted friendly "little
critters" from the woodlands surrounding their home. Paul was also
interested in geneology and sports. He had been a 49er fan from the time of
Buck Shaw and Frankie Albert. Delving into geneology, he enjoyed many hours
tracing the many Arnerichs from Brac. He was a member of the Slavonic Society
of San Francisco. A true gentleman departed our midst last month just two weeks
before his 84th birthday which would have been on the 20th of June. Paul died
on June 1, 1996. Paul is survived by a brother, Frank and a sister, Marie. He
was predeceased by a brother and his parents, as well as his beloved Juanita.
ARNERICH, PAUL J. State Senate-Sheriff
A
man of especial gifts who easily
impresses others with both his natural ability and his acquirements through experience
is Paul J. Arnerich, a native son, having been
born near San Jose on September 23, 1869. His father was Mathew Arnerich, and he
married Mrs. Elizabeth (Brown) Moylan, the widow of Edward Moylan. When fourteen years of age, Mathew Arnerich
shipped as a sailor, and in the historic year of ‘49, he voyaged from China to
San Francisco. Three years later, he
removed to Santa Clara Valley and here engaged in agriculture. In 1856 he married, and purchased 160 acres
in the Union district. He died on May 3,
1883, from injuries received in a fall from a buggy. Mrs. Arnerich also came from an old pioneer
family, she died here about 1910. As kind parents this worthy couple provided
the best training for Paul in the public schools, and when he had finished with
his studies, he worked with his father on the home farm until he was
twenty-one. Then, for several years, he
farmed for himself, and in 1905 he ran for the State Legislature, in which he
served a term. He was then appointed to
the United States Marshal’s office as deputy marshal and discharged that
responsibility for ten years, he ran for the Legislature, was elected in 1915,
and in 1917 he was reelected. Next he
was deputy sheriff in Alameda County for a couple of years, and finally was
engaged in the real estate business for a number of years until he became
deputy sheriff, serving under Sheriff Lyle of Santa Clara County. At San Jose,
on February 21, 1898, Mr. Arnerich was married to Miss Eva LaMontagne, a native
of Santa Clara County and the representative of another pioneer family; and
four children blessed their union. They
are Bernice, Francis, Genevieve and Elizabeth.
Mr. Arnerich belongs to the Republican party, and when he gets tired of
politics he turns for recreation to hunting and other outdoor sports.
ARNERICH, VINCENT G. Attorney
Born
in San Jose California in 1909- graduated from Loyola University Class 1930
“Magna Cum Lauda”, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree. He was chosen commencement speaker delivering
the thesis in philosophy which he prepared for his degree. In 1932 he received his Bachelor of Laws
degree “Cum Laude.” Within this time he
was awarded six medals of honor, one for his thesis in philosophy, and another
for general excellence in class work throughout the four years of his Law
School Course. Admitted to the Bar in 1932 he practiced law in the firm of
Arnerich and DeValle, and resides at 5880 south Flower street in Los Angeles.
ARTUKOVICH, JOHN A. Contractor
John
A. Artukovich Jr., a Los Angeles-area contractor whose work included the Los
Angeles aqueduct through the Mojave Desert, the Bunker Hill Redevelopment
Project Tunnel and other projects across the United States, has died. He was
72. Born in Los Angeles to Croatian-immigrant parents, Artukovich lived most of
his life in San Marino and Arcadia. His
father founded the John A Artukovich Co. a construction firm, in 1909 and
Artukovich had been president since 1952. Artukovich's sudden illness shocked
his family who said he had never had to go to a hospital and was working seven
days a week until he became sick.
"He was the rock in our family, a role model and mentor," said
Anita Artukovich, his daughter. Artukovich went to Loyola High School and
Loyola University in Los Angeles. He
also served in the Army during the Korean War until he was given an emergency
discharge after his father died. In addition to his daughter Anita, Artukovich
is survived by three sons: John A.
Artukovich III, Matthew and Michael.
ARTUKOVICH, VIDO Construction
The
late Vido was born on July 15, 1892 in the village Klobuk, district of
Ljubuski, Herzegovina. As many hundreds of other Croatian young men from
Herzegovina, he left his native land and came to America in 1912. He
permanently settled in Los Angeles and lived there until his death. The late
Vido Artukovich brought with himself all the values of a Herzegovinian village:
the commitment to his religion, the true love for his Croatian people, the
traditional Croatian honesty, the big heart and open mind, as well as
entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance at work. His beginning was very hard as
the livelihood was hard to all of our immigrants, but the late Vido didn't give
up. During forty years of hard and persevere work, at the beginning together
with other Croatian pioneers and then at his own, he succeeded to establish the
construction firm he and all of the Croatians in California should be proud of.
Vido Artukovich, a prominent member of our colony, died on Tuesday, July 16,
1964, the day after his 73rd birthday anniversary. He passed away of a short
illness, comforted from his wife, children and numerous grandchildren.
AUSEZ, FRANK Contractor
One
of the leading cement contractors in Richmond and vicinity is Frank Ausez of
No. 2100 Burbeck Avenue, Richmond. He was born in Croatia on December 3, 1883,
one of five children in the family of Frank and Catherine Ausez. His father was
a builder and it was natural that Frank,Jr., should take to the building trade.
After finishing his education in his native land, in 1905, Mr. Ausez landed in
America and crossed the continent to Lafayette, Colorado, where he spent three
years. After this he traveled through the northwest looking for a suitable
place and in 1909 landed at Richmond,
California. After some deliberation he concluded he would try his luck here and
began work as a concrete and cement contractor, a business he had become
competent to handle in every department. From the first he was successful and
as the years have passed he has had his share of the cement and concrete work in
this locality and has done considerable bridge and street work. As he has
prospered he has invested in property and owns his home and is well satisfied
that he cast in his lot with Contra Costa County. He became a full-fledged
American citizen. In San Francisco in 1919. Mr. Ausez was married on November
9, 1913, to MIss Mary Yanezich, also a native of Croatia and a daughter of John
and Annie Yanezich. She has one brother living in Richmond. Mr. and Mrs. Ausez
have three children: Frankie, Annie and Frances. Mr. Ausez is a member of the
Builders Exchange and takes an active interest in its meetings. He belongs to
the Woodmen of the World, the Red Men and the Richmond Elks. To help boost the
city of his choice he is a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
AVIANI, ERNEST Restaurant
One
of the first good fish eating places upon approaching Fisherman’s wharf is the Neptune at 2737 Taylor Street. The proprietors are Robert Soljack and Ernest
Aviani from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. Robert Soljack claims five
years of experience at Fisherman’s Wharf
and he and Chef Aviani took over this historic location about one year ago in
1936. They renovated the building, made
some changes and today have a comfortable eating house and surely a suggestion of good sea food with
the open kitchen and charcoal broiler. When lunching or dining at the Neptune
one may eat at the counter, or at open tables or in booths. About 140 persons can be accommodated at one
time. The place is famous for its cioppino, fried crab legs, abalone,
deviled crabs, charcoal broiled fish of various types, and other seafood
specialties. Fish is bought from the boats when they arrive from the sea at
Fisherman’s Wharf, and is served the same day.
Menus are made out according to fish available. Some 300 meals are served daily. With such food, with such panorama of hills
and bay, with such a picture of fishing scenes, a net mending, of crab cooking,
of displays of fish for sale, of the teeming life of those who make their
living by the sea spread before one, it is indeed a treat of treats to enjoy a
fish dinner prepared as the specialists of the Neptune know how to cook it, and
thus enter into one of the typical phases of life in San Francisco.
BABAJKO, CHRIS Sailor
Chris
“Ito” Babajko will be remembered not only by people on the Island of Olib but
also by his fellow Olibljani in America as someone who did the almost
impossible. Ito came to the US in 1960 when he was a 18 years old. He worked at various jobs in the Los Angeles
area. In 1982, at age 40, he decided to
return to Olib for a visit. Instead of
flying like most people, he sailed to Olib in his 13 meter (about 40 feet long)
sail boat. This was quite an undertaking. It would be quite a feat for a full crew of
men to make this trip under the best of circumstances. As it turned out, Ito sailed much of the way
single handed. First, a little background on Ito. He was born on Olib in
1942. When Ito was three years old he
was stricken with Polio and both his legs were effected. There was no doctors
on Olib to help him. Although his legs
were weak even as a child, his upper body was very well developed. Today his body resembles that of a “body
builder.” Equally, he has always had a
very strong will and once he decided to do something, he did it no matter how
difficult it was. It was therefore no
surprise to his classmates on Olib when they heard of his adventure.
Accompanying Ito on the onset of the trip were two of his American friends, a
man and a woman. They all left Los
Angeles and sailed to Mexico where they encountered rough waters. So they
docked at the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta where they celebrated New Years
day, 1982. While in Puerto Vallarta the
woman in his crew did not continue the journey.
This left him with only his male crewman. The two men continued on until they reached
Costa Rica. After arriving in Costa
Rica, Ito’s remaining crewman decided against going on to Olib with him. In Costa
Rica, Ito met Maria who decided to go with him to Olib. It took them 36 days
to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The engine
of the boat broke down while they were in Panama and they had no alternative
but to use the sails for the remainer of the trip. To add to this already difficult endeavor,
Maria was so sea-sick most of the trip, Ito had to tie her to the mast of the
boat to keep her from going overboard.
Ito had to sail this very large boat by himself from Costa Rica to
Olib. Ito not only accomplished this, but he and Maria arrived safe and
unharmed at the port of Zadar. The Croatian
newspapers in Zadar interviewed him on his arrival. Later, Ito and Maria were married together
they have a daughter. One can only say
this is something to be proud of and a great deal of praise should be given to
Ito for this accomplishment.
BABAROVIC, JOHN Architect
John
Babarovic was director of long-range planning at American Airlines in the late
1960's. He represented the airline in the design and engineering of the Super
Bay Hangars in Los Angeles and San Francisco. These were the largest in the
world at the time, designed to accommodate four of the new Boeing 747's and two
DC-10's under one roof. He also designed the American Airlines terminal at San
Francisco. While with the firm of Harrison & Abramowitz in New York, he
worked on the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center and the Citibank
headquarters. At the time of his death he was working on a double- decker
docking system for the Airbus A380, a superjumbo jet that is planned to have
two seating levels. Mr. Babarovic was born in Susak, Croatia, and was a
graduate of St. George's College in Argentina and Syracuse University in New
York. He served in the United States Army, in military intelligence, in the
Korean War. John A. Babarovic died on November 2, 2001 in London, England where
he lived. He was 69. He is survived by his wife, Anne Crawford Babarovic of
London; a sister, Frances Baglantzis of New Rochelle, New York; two daughters
from a previous marriage, Juliana Babarovic Jaynes of Newport News, Virginia,
and Christina Maria Babarovic of London; and a grandson.
BABICH, JOHN Baseball
John
Babich, the tall right hand pitcher whom Connie Mack grabbed off the Yankee
farm at Kansas City, a year ago, might well be called: "Jack the Yankee
Killer" for, despite the fact the Athletics finished last, Babich defeated
new York five times out of six starts, and New York lost the pennant by only
two games. John held the Yankees to thirty-six hits in the six contests. In the
only game he lost to New York. Winning fourteen and loosing thirteen games for
a team that had a percentage of only 351 at the end of the season was a great
feat for Babich, especially when it is recalled that in 1936, John was believed
to be through as a pitcher. In fact, that was what everyone thought except
John, himself. He had developed an injury to his right elbow when with the
Boston Bees and was forced to undergo an operation for the removal of a chipped
bone. He went on the voluntary retired list and returned to his home in
California.John had little to do but think about his future and when someone
told him that George Uhle had been able to stage a comeback by reason of
learning how to throw a "slider", John decided he would try to do
likewise. He essayed to pitch for Boston again and also for Jersey City without
success in '37 and was sent to the Mission team in California. Won twelve and
lost eight. He became encouraged. In '38, he won nineteen and lost seventeen
for Hollywood. The Bees recalled him but when the chance came to get Shortstop
Miller from Kansas City, they tossed in Babich. He really staged a comeback
with the Cowboys, winning nineteen and losing only six games. Despite that
excellent record, the Yankees brought in Pitcher Breuer in preference to the
veteran and this gave Connie Mack the chance to land the courageous Croatian in
the draft, about the best bet Mr. Mack ever made in the annual selection. The
training season in California was not a week old before the dean of managers
knew that he secured a most dependable hurler, one who should be a regular starter.
Johnny, who by the way, is a neighbor of Sam Chapman, also of the Athletics,
was just eighteen when he reported to the San Francisco club for a trial. He
was shipped to Globe, Arizona but recalled to win five and lose three games
late in the season. The next year, 1932, he was free agent, he signed with the
Missions and did so well in 1933, he was sold to Brooklyn. His trade to Boston,
his injury and operation followed. Now at age of twenty-seven,Johnny finds
himself really starting. More power to him.
BABICH, JOSEPH G. Judge
Judge
Babich was first appointed to the bench as a Municiple Court Judge by Governor
Goodwin Knight in 1957. He was elevated to Superior Court in February 1964,
when he was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Sr., and served until he
retired from the bench in April 1984. During his tenure as Superior Court Judge
he was reelected to that office three times. During his term as Judge, among
other duties Judge Babich was elected by his fellow Judges to serve as
Presiding Judge of the Municiple Court ( 1962) and also of the Superior Court
(1975, 1977). Judge Babich's father, Josip was born in Runovici, Croatia and
came to the United States in 1906. His mother, Helen (Skrmetta) was born in the
village Bobovisca on the island Brac, Croatia and came to the United States in
1900, when she was two years old. Judge Babich was born and raised in
Sacramento, California. After service during World War 11, Judge Babich
received his Bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1948, and his LL.B.
degree from University of San Francisco Law School in 1951. He was admitted to
the California Bar in 1952. Married with six grown children, Judge Babich
resides in Sacramento with his wife of 45 years, Eleanor.
BABIC, NICHOLAS S. Guidance Counselor-Teacher
Nicholas
Babic is a Guidance Counselor at Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland
Heights, Ohio. Born October 31, 1929 of Croatian parents in
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; married with one child. Educated at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania B. Ed., 1952; Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 1955-64;
John Carroll University Cleveland, Ohio 1965-66 with a major in Education and a
specialty in Humanities and Guidance Counseling. Member of American Personnel
and Guidance Association; National Educarion Association; American School
Counselors' Association. U.S. Army Education and Information Supervisor, Ft.
Sill, Oklahoma 1954-55 .
BABIN, TOMO Longshoreman-Military
Croatian-Americans
have been a part of many different political movements in the United States.
Communism was no exception. Indeed, Croatian Americans constituted in the early
years of the history of the Communist Party of the United States of America one
of the largest ethnic groups in the Party. Since the fall of Communism, documents
have been released from various archives which shed some more interesting light
on this often overlooked aspect of our history. One of the more incredible stories involves Torno Babin,
born in 1901 in Preko - Poljane, near Zadar. We do not know too much about
Babin's early life although after he arrived in New York he appears to have
mostly worked, like many of our immigrants from the islands and Dalmatia at the
time, along the docks of New York's West Side. By the early 1930s, Babin became
active in Communist Party organizations and a member of the Party as well. The
outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
saw Babin volunteer for the International Brigades and he served as commissar
of a battalion while there.
After
his return to New York, Babin assisted in organizing the Yugoslav Seamen's
Club. Primarily consisting of Croatian seamen and shipyard and dockworkers, the
Club was a Communist-controlled front organization. It nevertheless achieved
great importance in the Croatian-American community and, during World War 11,
became one of the most vocal supporters- of Tito's Partisans. During this time,
Babin came to the attention of the American Office of Strategic Services, the
precursor of the CIA. The OSS, and its British counterpart, the SOE, recruited several
dozen primarily Croatian-Americans and Croatian-Canadians who were to be
parachuted to Tito's forces. At the time the Allies had yet to establish formal contacts with the
Partisans. Apparently, the OSS and SOE believed that these immigrants, all of
whom appear to have been Communists, would be perfect for such activities.
While
Babin never made it to the Partisans, he engaged in surreptitious activity on
behalf of Soviet Military Intelligence, known by its Russian initials as the
GRU. Authors John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, in their work Venona: Decoding
Soviet Espionage in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), note that
certain documents, recently released by the America's National Security Agency
(and available on their website) show that Babin provided the GRU with
information about his recruitment work for the OSS and SOE as well as providing
it with "a steady stream of information ... about American shipping in New
York harbor."
The
Americans never caught Babin. After World War 11, he joined Yugoslavia’s
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and served, at least publicly, as Yugoslavia's
attache for relief work and for its merchant marine at Yugoslavia's embassy in
Washington, D.C. He continued to remain a liason with the Croatian-American
community and is known to have had contacts with various Croatian-American and
other Communists.
In
1948, however, he left the embassy after having announced his support for
Stalin following the Tito-Stalin split,
Babin, who had married to an American-born Croatian, sought political
asylum in the United States, claiming that he would be persecuted if forced to
return to Yugoslavia. However, the United States had already instituted
repressive measures against Communists and initiated deportation proceedings
against him. American authorities finally succeeded in deporting Babin to
Poland in 1950 and he died in Warsaw in March 1956; far from both his native
Preko and his wife and children in the United States.
BACH, NENAD Recording Artist-Composer
Nenad
is a recording artist, composer, and performer who has recorded for Sony,
Polygram and many other labels. Two of his albums reached No. 1 in Europe, and
to date he has sold over one million records. In addition, he has performed all
over the world with a wide range of artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Bono
& The Edge (U2), Brian Eno, Indigo Girls, Richie Havens, Garth Hudson &
Rick Danko (The Band), Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead), Martin Sheen, Michael
York, John Malkovich, Ellen Burstyn, and many more. He performed at Woodstock
'94, and in 1998 he made a compilation album with Bruce Springsteen, Leonard
Cohen and Allen Ginsberg. In March 1999, he opened the Miss Universe pageant in
Europe with his new song "Miss Universe." Nenad also writes and
records music for film and theater. He has scored many features and short
films. One such project was "King of Cool," a biopic about the life
of Steve McQueen, which premiered on American Movie Classics (AMC), to over 65
million households. Another was "Life beyond Timothy Leary".
Subsequently, Nenad scored the Mladen Juran film "Transatlantic",
which was the Croatian entry for consideration as Best Foreign Film in the 1999
Academy Awards. He just finished scoring a new film directed by Burt Young called
"Murder on Mott Street".
Finally,
Nenad is also a record producer with a special interest in documenting the
fascinating but little-known musical traditions of his homeland, Croatia. His
most recent work includes the production of three new acappella albums:
"Fire on the Sea," by Klapa
Fortunal; "Following the
Cross," a collection of Lenten chants based on 600-year-old Gregorian Chants never previously recorded;
and just released "Novaljo, Novaljo," by Klapa Navalia. Nenad's work
and his life story have been featured on all the major US TV networks (CBS,
ABC, NBC), on CNN, on Sky Channel, and on TV channels in Russia, France,
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Japan, and many other countries. Press
coverage has been similarly widespread, ranging from The New York Times to
Billboard, from The Washington Post to Corriere Della Sera, and from The Boston
Globe to the New York Daily News. Nenad's most recent solo record is
"Thousand Years of Peace" which will be released in 2001. The album
was recorded in Nenad's own recording studio, which he also uses for his
scoring and production work and which was designed to accommodate anything from
acappella vocals to rock and roll to symphonic orchestras on a location.
He
is currently in preproduction for a new solo album, which is due for release in
Spring 2002. Nenad sang in the new recordings of "We Are Family"
benefit for the Sept. 11th fund as well as scored the film "The Making and
the Meaning of We Are Family". His label just signed a contract for the
worldwide promotion and distribution of "The Pharos
Cantors"(Glagolitic Chants based on Gregorian Chants). He also recently
completed work as a language consultant
for the literature and film project for all four of the Harry Potter
books. Through his singing and songwriting Nenad's goal is to spread the
message of joy and universal peace.
BACHAN, LUKE G. Fruit Packer
He
came from Dalmatia, Croatia where he was born February 28, 1889, the son of
Luke Bachan, a hardworking farmer whom he never knew, for he passed away when
the son, L. G., was about three years old. His devoted mother is still living.
On October 6, 1907, he landed in New York, eager to try his fortune under the
more favoring Stars and Stripes; and soon after setting foot on American soil
he boarded a train and started for California. On the 13th of October, 1907,
Mr. Bachan reached the Pajaro valley in Watsonville and immediately went to
work. Luckily, he had been able to save
a little money from his dollar-a-day income, and, though his beginning was
unpretentious enough, he has been, by hard work, foresight and thrift, very
successful. This is evidenced by the fact that he has just bought the Dunbar
& Hansen plant, with all the equipment -a very important adjunct. His
success here has developed an intense interest on his part in all that pertains
to the growth and future of Watsonville. Mr. Bachan has been twice married, his
first wife being Miss Tresa De Lares, by whom he has had two children,
Catherine Anna and Luke George, Jr. Mrs. Bachan, who was beloved by all who
knew her, died November 1, 1922, and he had subsequently married Miss Maria P.
Alaga, by whom he has one child, Alice Maria. He is a republican; has attended
to the third degree in the Knights of Columbus; is a Forester of America; and
belongs to the Austrian-American benevolent Association.
BACHMAN, JOSIP Tamburitza
Josip
Bachmann was the organizer and director of the Tamburica orchestra "Croatia" in the Croatian
parish of St. Anthony's in Los Angeles. As an expert of Croatian tamburica
music which interested and occupied him since his early youth in his native
Osijek in Croatia. He was born January 7, 1915. In his native Croatia he
belonged to the Croatian eagle Club and the Croatian Krizarsko Bratstvo. He played for Radio Osijek. Music was always
a great part of Josip Bachmann's life-especially after his musical education,
which he finished at the Osijek Musical Academy. Josip arrived in the United
States in 1957, where he continued to contribute to the artistic life of the
Croatian community in Southern California. As a conductor of the "Croatia
Orchestra" he held many a concert-not only in the parish halls of St.
Anthony but also in many of the musical institutes of the United States. In
this way, many thousands Americans first heard Croatian tamburica music. He
also conducted for three phonograph albums: "Croatian melodies",
"Croatian Sounds" and "Songs from Croatia." Many of these
were difficult selections from very accomplished Croatian tamburica composers.
Maestro Bachmann devoted much of his time-even as he worked regularly-to the
Croatian children and young people to whom he taught the different tamburica
instruments free of charge.
BACICH, STELLA Fashion Designer
Stella
Bacich, or “Stella of Hollywood”, became a successful fashion designer of
women’s sports clothes in the 1930s and was commissioned by various movie stars
to design sport slacks. She was an
American citizen, originally from Los Angeles.
Stella was one of the youngest of California’s designers to be in
business for herself. She also worked in
such movie studios as Film Modes, Kay Dell Screen Modes and Dorothy Newman.
BADOVINAC, JOHN Editor-President CFU
John
Badovinac, former president of the Croatian Fraternal Union, edited Bulletin
(Vjesnik) of St. Nicholas Lodge No. 14 of the CFU in the late 1960s. He also
edited The American Croatian Pioneer, which was issued monthly by the Lodge No.
663 of the CFU in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and is still a rich source of
information on Croatian local history. For over ten years The American Croatian
Pioneer was dedicated to the service of its members and to all CFU members in
the greater Cleveland and northern Ohio areas. John Badovinac published many
articles on Croatian history and ethnic history; these were published in the
Zajednicar newspaper of the Croatian Fraternal Union. John’s family came from
Zumberak, Croatia.
BADURINA-JUSTIS, LORRAINE M Reference
Librarian
Lorraine
Badurina is a Librarian at the Oregon College of Education, Monmouth, Oregon.
She was born to Croatian parents June 25, 1945 in Vancouver, Washington.
Education includes Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 1963-67, B.A.;
University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 1967-68, M.L.S. with a major field in
English and a sprecialty in Librarianship.
BAGARIC, DALIBOR Basketball
Dalibor Bagaric has changed his summer plans after a
heart-to-heart with operations chief Jerry Krause, who convinced the
second-year center it would be in his best interests to participate in the
Bulls' summer program. Bagaric had grown so disenfranchised with a lack of
playing time, he vowed to stay in Croatia throughout the summer. But Bagaric
has seen more playing time since Brad Miller was traded to the Indiana Pacers,
and Krause made sure Bagaric understood the importance of remaining in Chicago. ''Dali
and I talked,'' Krause said. ''He's going to stay here. "He's going to go
home to get married, then come back for the summer program, like everybody
else. ''He's a nice young man who was frustrated. But we never have had any
problems with Dali. He's a hard worker.'' Bagaric said he has adjusted his
attitude after talking to Krause, who drafted him with the 24th pick in 2000.
''[Krause] told me what I have to do and what I'm supposed to do, and I will do
it,'' Bagaric said. ''We had a good talk. ''And now I'm playing more, and it's
a better situation. I will be here.'' Bagaric is under contract through
next season. March 10, 2002.
BAHORIC, JOHN Professor
Born
June 21, 1936, Chigago, Illinois. Educated at 1955-57 Menlo College, Menlo
Park, California, A.A. 1958; 1961-64 University of the Americas, Mexico City,
Mexico, B.A.-1964; 1964-66 University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado,
M.A.-1967; 1969 University of New Mexico, Ph.D. Candidate in Ibero-American
Studies. Instructor of Spanish at University of New Mexico, Department of
Modern Languages, Albuquerque, New Mexico. He specialized in Spanish and Latin
American Literature. U.S. Army Service in Germany, 1957-1959 and study in
Austria. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese
and German and is a member of the Modern language Association.
BAHR, CAROLINE Tamburitza
It
all begins with one woman. Caroline Puskarich,
a native of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, played in junior tamburitz
groups as a child and then went on the play, dance, and sing in the well-known
Duquesne University Tamburitzans. Moved
to California, she married Afred Bahr in 1962 and settled in Mountain View to
begin her married life. But once a tamburitzan, always a tamburitzan, and she
missed the dancing, playing, and singing that she was used to. The solution was to start up a tamburitza
group of her own based upon her past experience in Pennsylvania. In 1965
Caroline gathered a group of some fifteen adults who were willing to work at
this new experience, found some instruments, and began teaching in various
homes and in the fruit-drying shed on the Sulaver ranch in Cupertino. Shortly after that beginning Caroline started
several junior groups and the era of the Veseli Seljaci and its allied groups
was launched. By the mid-1980’s the tamburitza and kolo groups numbered about a
hundred participants. Veseli Seljaci
played to enthusiastic crowds at nearly twnety national Extravaganzas and had
presented yearly concerts to large audiences. There were invitations to play in
Seattle, several cities in Nevada, and in southern California. During their most active period, the Veseli
Seljaci recorded 4 LP records and 4 cassette tapes, and they performed at 15
Tamburitza Extravaganzas in various cities around the United States.
BAJURIN, DAN Restaurant
What
more appropriate name could be chosen for a restaurant specializing in sea food
than Popeye? That popular sailor popped into mind of Dan Bajurin when he
planned his new eating house in September, 1936, at picturesque Fisherman’s
Wharf, 2770 Taylor Street in San Francisco. And so, when you step past
the large stove on the sidewalk where fresh lobsters, shrimps and crab are
cooked, into the dining room, you meet Popeye face to face in the amusing
paintings on the wall of the Popeye Fish
Grotto. You see him in his various
sea adventures which are delightfully intriguing. Then when you are seated in one of the
comfortable open booths, he again greets you on the menu. It is always gay and
interesting relaxation to go to Fisherman’s
Wharf. The atmosphere of the sea, of
fishing, of the Latin race, of the ships which sail the seas, always enfold one
and carry the mind to distant shores, from whence came these men of many lands,
where fishing was their calling in the old country. Quite in keeping with this
are the four partners of Popeye Fisherman/s Grotto. Two of them, Dan Bajurin and Mario Zarish,
are from Dalmatia. When Dan came to California in 1929 he missed his
fishing adventures and decided to have a restaurant where fish would be the
specialty. He has worked and had restaurants since that time in Sacramento and
San Francisco. Before opening Popeye
Fish Grotto, he worked in one of the most popular of the fish grottoes in
Fisherman’s Wharf. Airy, bright, new and clean, the dinning room can accommodate
as many as 92. The charcoal broiler is of the latest type and not only is
broiled fish a specialty but this one eating place at Fisherman’s Wharf where
one may feast upon tender broiled steaks and chicken. And, if some of the party desire fish and others
do not care for it, each may be satisfied to his taste. The pots of chowder,
Boston clam and Coney Island clam chowder, the mackerel pickled by the chef
that day, the trays of freshly shelled shrimps, the great jars of newly made
dressings, all were in readiness for customers.
BAJURIN, NORBERT Golden Gate Yacht
Club-Commodore
A
small San Francisco boating club known for its stiff drinks and salty
characters is making an impressive and unlikely bid for the oldest prize in
professional sports, the America's Cup. If it succeeds in this elite,
highstakes race being waged in the waters off New Zealand, the Golden Gate
Yacht Club - whose Commodore is a radiator repair businessman - could change
the staid and sterIing image of yachting.
Nineteen
members of the Golden Gate club spent the last two weeks in Auckland, New Zealand, partying with the sailors and
cheering for their high-powered team - aware
that bringing the Cup home would be like hosting the Olympics on the
Bay. The regatta is an exclusive party the band of blue-collar boaters never
imagined attending.
The
Golden Gate snagged its front-row seats to the Super Bowl of sailing through an
unexpected deal forged between the modest mechanic and Silicon Valley mogul
Larry Ellison. The Golden Gate is the official sponsor of Oracle BMW Racing, a
syndicate, bankrolled by the software billionaire.
The
incongruous pairing happened after talks unexpectedly broke off between Ellison
and the city's prestigious St. Francis Yacht Club. The club had balked at Ellison's
requirement that three members of Oracle racing sit on the St. Francis, board.
Golden Gate Commodore Norbert Bajurin,
who runs Alouis Auto Radiator in San Franciscos Western Addition, says he feels
like a proud parent. "I got goosebumps walking around Auckland, seeing
signs and billboards with pictures of our club burgee with the Golden Gate
Bridge on it," said Bajurin, 46, a former Rohnert Park cop.
"Most
people that I met in New Zealand believe we are a large club representing the
upper crust of San Francisco society," Bajurin said. "I'm proud to
let people know we are a small,
people-oriented club that has struggled to maintain its very existence."
The pale-gray Golden Gate clubhouse is situated between Crissy Field and the
Marina Green, about 100 yards from the St. Francis. Bajurin is credited with
taking the club from a state of imminent demise to the pursuit of sailing's
Holy Grail. Desperate to find sources of revenue to sustain the club, Bajurin
pitched the sponsorship idea to Bill Erkelens, a Bay Area sailor who runs
Ellison's racing operations.
“We
knew we had city-front property. We knew Larry has a house in Pacific Heights,
and if he’s not out on the bay sailing, he could be sitting up there watching
the race. Oracle Corp. CEO Ellison, an accomplished amateur sailor and fierce
competitor, is spending $ 85 million of his fortune in hopes of bringing the
Cup to the San Francisco Bay. He is one of four billionaires backing
syndicates. Oracle racing got what it wanted out of the sponsorship deal: a
club that would allow it to manage its own sailing operations and stage its own
defense if victorious. The Golden Gate secured a much needed infusion of cash.
More than 100 members of Oracle racing became dues-paying club members. The
club charges a $ 1,000 initiation fee and $90 in monthly dues.
BAJURIN, RUZA Teacher-Croatian
Activities
Her
death came upon suddenly in 1999. Her husband Joza passed away just few months
ago, and now it seems that Ruza longed for joining her dear Joza. Ruza Bajurin was
born in Zenica, Bosnia, on October 2, 1918. She attended elementary and high
school in Zenica. Her parents moved to Zagreb, so she continued her education
in Zagreb. She graduated in linguistics: French, Italian and Spanish. Beside
those languages she was interested in Esperanto and Russian. In 1942 she was
sent to Berlin as an official interpreter at the Croatian embassy. There she
met her future husband Joza. She married in Berlin. The son Borna was born in
Zagreb in 1943. By the end of the war the couple separated- Ruza returned to
Zagreb with her son Borna, and Jozo moved from Switzerland to America. She was working and studying in America. She
worked in an exclusive school in San Francisco teaching French, Russian and
Latin. She founded the Croatian Fraternal Union
Lodge "1007 Ivan Mestrovich". She was the secretary of the
Lodge for many years. Furthermore, she organized the Croatian Library with an
enviable number of books. She founded the Croatian language school. Ruza was a
humanitarian person. She had been working for years as a volunteer in the
senior's home "Laguna Honda". She also wholeheartedly worked to ease
the pain and suffering of Croatian orphans.
BAKARICH, GERALD S. Judge
Judge
Bakarich was appointed to the bench as Municiple Court Judge by Governor
Deukmajian in January 1991. Judge Bakarich currently sits on a Superior Court,
assignment in Department 98 (a criminal department). Judge Bakarich is a second
generation American. His grandfather, Stjepan, was born in Udbina, Lika and emigrated
to the United States to settle in Rose, Nevada and work in the copper mines
until his death as a result of a mining accident. Judge Bakarich's father,
Nick, was born in Rose, but as a teenager moved to Sacramento, California.
Judge Bakarich received his Bachelor's degree from California State University,
Sacramento in 1975 and his J.D. degree firom Lincoln Law School, Sacramento in
1982. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1982. Judge Bakarich is a Chief
Warrant Officer with the California National Guard. Prior to his becoming a
judge, Judge Bakarich served the City of Sacramento as a police officer and,
after passing the bar, the County of Sacramento as Deputy Disctrict Attorney.
He and his wife Peggy reside in Sacramento, California. Judge Bakarich has
three adult children.
BAKOTICH, JAKOB Stonemason
My
parents Jacov (James) and Tonina (Antoinetta) Bakotich came to San Francisco
Bay area in March 1905. Dad came earlier in 1900. He returned in 1905 to marry
mother in her home town of Vis, Croatia on island of Vis. They were childhood
sweethearts in Vis, and were married in Sveti Duh Catholic Church across the
street from mom's house, which I have visited three times. They honeymooned in
Split and Trieste and took a boat from there to New York, which took 30 days.
The train was the next transportation to San Francisco. Mother's maiden name
was Slavic and her mother's maiden name was Mare Cargotic. Dad's mother's
maiden name was Tonina Puhalovic. Dad was an artisan stonemason having learned
his trade from his father and older brother, Antone, who were contractors in
this trade in Vis. Dad worked in the Bay area, Napa and Martinez. My sister
Mary was born December 7, 1905 in Martinez. They moved to San Francisco in 1906
and were all shook up by the April 18, 1906 earthquake. They lost all but 2
blankets and a knife dad's father had given to him. They evacuated to a park
near their Green St. apartment and then to Oakland to the home of friends.
Later, that year 1907 they moved to South Palo Alto (Mayfield) and later bought
a home on Kipling and Hawthorne Streets, Palo Alto. My brother James was born 1909, and I was born there later.
Dad also later helped to bring his younger sister Lena, from Vis.
BAKULICH, PETAR Fisherman
In
1921, my father, Petar Bakulich, arrived in Bellingham, Washington. I think he
came to America through Canada. He was 19 years old and was born on the Island
of Vis, Dalmatia, Croatia. I do not know
a lot of his personal history at that time. However, he lived with his sister,
Yela Mu1jat and brother-in-law, Nickola Mu1jat; who were the parents of my
first cousins, Frank and Vince Mu1jat. I am writing this article to let the
people of Bellingham know how this young immigrant from Dalmatia is a forgotten
part of your city's history in the early 1900's. His first job in this country
was during the development of your beautiful Fairhaven Park.
He
pulled tree stumps after the trees were cut down to clear the area that would
be used for the park. To do this, he was given two mules in a team attached to
a wedge plow and with a series of chains when the setup was completed - he
would give the command to the mules, and hopefully pull up the stump. If he was
successful he would then go to the next stump. Sometimes the stump was too big
or too deep and when he gave the command, the mules moved forward and if the
plow wedge got caught under the stump the wedge plow would catapult him over
the stump and he would land between the mules. This was because my father had a
firm grip on the handles and was not able to release his hold in time. He would
describe his displeasure in a language only another Croatian would appreciate,
and not for publication in this letter. Anyway, with some thanks to my Dad,
Bellingham got its Fairhaven Park and my Dad had his first job in America. At
best, it was a tough job even in those days for a young man trying to find his
way in America. I never visit Bellingham without passing through the park. I
have a warm feeling about his contribution to the people of Bellingham. This
story was repeated time and time again to my sister, my brother, and me.
After
the tree stump-pulling job, he joined the salmon fishing fleet like so many
other Croatian immigrants. This was another tough job as described in early
articles of the Pacific Northwest Croatian. To say that these men were only
fishermen does not do them justice. These men were pioneers of the industry and
innovators of supporting industries, canneries, boat builders, net
manufacturers, harbor builders, and many other businesses up and down the
coast, from Canada to Mexico. Together they helped develop the largest fishing
industry in the world. These pioneers of that legacy should never, ever be
forgotten.
Around
1921-1924, my father met my mother, Mary Ru1jancich, daughter of Tomazina and
Frank RuIjancich. Mom and Dad lived on 12th Street with the rest of the
Dalmatian immigrants and Mom's three sisters, Pearl, Antonette, and Helen. It
was an easy walking distance to the boat docks, or in my father's case, the
walk to the future Fairhaven Park. My mother graduated from Fairhaven High
School around 1923. She came to America with her mother and dad when she was
five years old. My father didn't get along too well with his potential in-laws,
in fact, they tried to discourage any relationship between the two. However, my
Mom and Dad were determined to get married and plan their future together. They
hopped on a train from Bellingham to Sacramento,
California
where my Dad had relatives. On October 28, 1925, they were married, but the
marriage did not have the blessing of her parents. My mother was 19 and my
father was 24. Of course the relationship between my father and his in-laws
improved over time and they became good friends. Once they were married in
Sacramento, they moved directly to San Pedro. There was another colony of
Dalmatians who like many other fiiends and relatives from the old country, were
willing and waiting to give a helping hand to a newcomer.
It
was at this time he joined the San Pedro fishing fleet.
We
all know that tuna and sardine boats are very large and very expensive to
operate. Consequently, there were very few individuals who were sole owners of
these boats. Instead, the fishermen would get together with friends and
relatives, form partnerships, and then purchase a boat. My father was a partner
in the following boats: the Magellan, Oakland, Betsy Ross, and the Blue Sky.
All the boats are now docked in Davey Jones' Locker. No one can say that being
a fisherman is an easy job. Most of the fishermen I knew had a philosophy Of
"when pulling on a rope, and if whatever you were pulling did not move,
and you complained that this is too hard - they would say it couldn't be that
hard, You didn't break the rope yet. " Another bit of wisdom was given to
me when I first started fishing and we had a good season. "'Seven years
good luck, seven years bad luck. Son, save your money in the good years for the
bad years because you'll have them and then they won't be so bad " Even fishermen have fun and often it's very spontaneous.
Once while fishing off the coast of Mexico, about 200 miles out to sea, my
father fancied a swim. He took a long dive out of the crow's nest from about
fifty feet up. He made the mistake of diving with his mouth open and on impact
with the sea, his false teeth popped out and he lost them. it took two months
to replace them; good thing Dalmatians like soup! He never did that again!
These
old timers had very little tolerance for effors or mistakes and if you made
one, look out! Once again fishing for tuna off the coast of Mexico, we were in
a set and caught a school of tuna mixed with about 15 tons of sharks. Since I
was just getting my start I was assigned to work the skiff, when the skiff came
along side the boat I was given a long boat hook and told to push the skiff
away from the boat so they wouldn't bang each other due to the roll and pitch
of the sea and cause damage. The rest of the crew were on deck hauling in the
net. While pushing the skiff away from the boat, the hook got caught in the net
and all work stopped so I could release the hook. If I didn't release the hook
it might have ripped the net, and we could lose the tuna. As hard as I tried I
couldn't get the hook released. My father lost his patience and took matters in
his own hands. He took off his boots and jumped in the water with the sharks,
pushing them out of the way with his bare hands. Then he swam through the
sharks to the boat where the hook was tangled. He unsnarled the hook and swam
to the skiff, he handed me the boat hook then swam back to the boat. The crew
was waiting for the sharks to bite my dad, but they didn't. Then my father told
me not so nicely to never make that mistake again. He was a real trooper when
it came to giving someone a chewing out. After the set was over and we had the
tuna aboard, one of the crew members whispered to me that, "Even the
sharks think your old man is too damned tough to eat. "
In
the early 1930's between the tuna and sardine fishing season and during the
light of the moon when the fishing fleet was not fishing my dad played soccer
with the local San Pedro team called the "Jardrans" he played with
this team for a number of years and the family and relatives would go watch him
play on Sunday aftemoons. In his younger days he was very spry and to prove it
he would jump over the open hatch on the Betsy Ross and also he could stand
along side the kitchen sink and spring jump to the top surface of the sink.
Some of his fishing buddies who were friends on Vis before they came to America
told me that he should never have left Vis and stayed there and became a
professional soccer player. I guess it's from his side of the family that we
inherited our ability to play good sports. Like my cousins Frank and Vince
Mu1jat in basket ball, my cousin Anthony Brajcich, baseball; my brother Frank,
Baseball; and myself, all league - Ist team basketball; and my nephew, Joe
Lovitto, who was drafted at age 18 to play major league baseball for the Texas
Rangers. All of these, like my dad, were above average in sports. I remember
once when my neighborhood boy fiiends were out playing football in the street
and my Dad came home early from working on the boat. He saw us kids playing and
asked us if he could kick the ball we gave him the ball and he sent us down the
street to catch the ball except when he kicked it - his foot went through the
ball and it popped! There was so much excitement between us kids, that I don't
remember what we played the rest of the day, probably marbles.
In
the Dalmatian tradition around Easter my Dad, my uncles, and fishing buddies
would get together and buy a spring lamb, slaughter the lamb, save the innards,
heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. My Mom would make a Dalmatian island stew
with potatoes called "Kulin" in Croatian. They would sit around the
table eating this stew and drink home made wine and praise God how good it
tasted. "Boga stoye vo dobro" Drink more wine and have a good time.
About 3 o’clock they would all go home, the parting shot was "We have to
do this again next year." I think these guys liked my Mom’s cooking - and
the wine wasn't bad. either.
In
1954 thru 1956, 1 was stationed in Ketchikan, Alaska in the US Coast Guard. In
1955 my father made his last fishing trip. I think this year he gave up tuna
fishing to make one more salmon trip so that he could see me. Sadly, we were
only able to spend one afternoon together; and at that time he complained about
a sore he had in his mouth. When he returned to California the doctors
diagnosed it as advanced cancer. He was a heavy smoker, drinker, and a tough
fishing son-of-a-gun. He died on January 18, 1956. His funeral was huge even by
San Pedro standards. For you and I he
lives on in Fairhaven Park. So whenever you pass through Fairhaven Park,
remember one of your own who helped make this park and say a prayer. (Bakulich
2000)
BAKULICH, PETER JR Fisherman-Military
Tuna
Trip Aboard the Blue Sky: By 1948 1 had been fishing for 2 years and was no
longer considered a novice fisherman or deck hand, and also thanks to my father
Petar Bakulich, I was also part owner of the 85-foot purse seiner, “Blue
Sky." We had a crew of eleven men, all Croatian, from up and down the
Dalmatian coast and the islands of Vis, Dugi Otok, Brac, and Korcula.
The
newest member of the crew was my friend Matt Milosevich. We were pals in high
school and he wanted to try his luck at commercial fishing. Matt's folks -
although not from any of the Dalmatian islands, they were still from Croatia up
around the Area of Rijeka. Matt's father came to !the US through Canada but not
into the Pacific Northwest. He came through the Northeast through Minnesota
then south to Colorado, this was in the early 1900's. The folks settled in an
old town on the Santa Fe Trail called Trinidad. The town was very active in the
cattle drives during this extended period. Matt's Dad worked in the coal mines
and he bought a 50 acre farm where Matt was raised with his 4 brothers and 3
sisters. During the depression Matt's father was also a part-time copper-smith
making wine barrels in the barn to help support the family (along with some
bootleg spirits that Matt doesn't like to talk about). Matt moved to San Pedro
in 1942 during WW 11 and we have been friends ever since.
All
the crew members of the Blue Sky were able-bodied, experienced men who could be
counted on to handle any situation on a typical fishing trip. In May or June of
1948 we were getting ready to fish tuna in Mexican waters which would take 5 to
7 days traveling time before we came to the fishing grounds. After saying
good-bye to our families and friends at the San Pedro fish docks, we left the
Los Angeles harbor around 6 P.M. We were now under way and heading south off
the California coast. Matt and I were assigned the 8 P.M. to midnight watch. At
night out on the ocean around 10 P.M. there is a darkness that is darker then a
midnight wine cellar. I mean you can't see anything 30 feet away - no stars
were out, no moon, no nothing! I was on the helm steering the boat and Matt
said he was going to go below to check out the engine room and deck. He was on
his way back to the bridge when Matt saw another crew-meniber on deck. His name
was "Svetco" an old-timer fisherman with many, many years of
experience, Svetco was attempting to fetch a bucket of sea water to flush the
toilet (in those days this was the only way to flush). Svetco made a very
dangerous mistake that almost proved fatal. One of the first things a fisherman
or any seaman learns is that you never ever wrap the end of a rope that fastens
to a bucket around your wrist, because when you throw the bucket into the
water, the weight of the water rushing into the bucket causes a force strong
enough to pull any man over board unless he is on good solid footing. This is
what happened to Svetco, he couldn't retrieve nor let go of the bucket so it
pulled him over board. Matt was standing about 20 feet from Svetco and saw the
whole thing, He immediately made his way back to the bridge where I was
steering the boat. Very emotionally, he tried to tell me that Svetco, fell over
board. I very calmly told Matt that this was his first fishing trip and to quit
horsing around-we don't play that type of joke on each other and this is a
serious thing to be kidding about. Boy he sure got excited then... He said,
"Pete, No I'm not kidding and go to hell, Svetco, did fall over
board!" He finally got through to me and I turned the boat around,
reversed course and we woke up the crew. Then we started searching the waters
with a high-power search light. We finally spotted Svetco bobbing in the water,
waving his hands and shouting to be helped-he looked like a floating orange. By
now Svetco, had been in the water about 10- 15 minutes. George, another
crewmember, quickly went to the bow of the boat with an emergency life ring.
When we came close enough to Svetco, George threw the life ring and made the
perfect throw right over the arm of Svetco. I think Svetco was going down for
the 3rd time. When we got him on deck, he was holding onto the life ring -for
dear life-so hard that we had to pry it off. We all knew that in a few more
minutes Svetco would have drowned. As it was, Svetco was suffering from cold
and exhaustion. We got him undressed., dried him off, and gave him the
fisherman's cure all-two shots of bourbon whiskey and put him to bed. We were
all very thankful he was alive as we continued on our way to the fishing
grounds in Mexico.
The
next day when Svetco was almost recovered and dressed, he showed us his arm
that was in the life ring. It was black and blue from his wrist to his
shoulder, bruised and tender from grasping the ring so hard. He was very
grateful to the whole crew but especially to Matt. He gave Matt most of the
credit for saving his life and he promised Matt that when we returned to San
Pedro he would buy him a nice pair of slacks from "Brown Brothers"
the best men's store in town. Matt and old Svetco became good friends. He took
Matt under his wing and spent time teaching him the fundamentals of being a
fisherman. He had great gratitude to Matt for sounding the alarm and saving his
life. Matt said he was a cranky old fart who complained all the time.
In
about 30 days we caught enough tuna to load the boat and headed for home. Back
at San Pedro after 2 days of unloading the tuna, the crew was ready to go home.
Svetco was all dressed up with his polished brown shoes, nice tan pants,
matching shirt and tie, and to top off this outfit he placed an expensive tan
colored Stetson hat on top of his head-he really looked the part of a sharp
dude, He was ready to leave the boat and told every one good-bye then told Matt
he was going to town and buy him the promised pair of slacks. As he went to
step off the boat onto the dock, he lost his footing and fell into the
water. “Oh no not again!" This time
there was no fear of Svetco losing his life, only the loss of pride and
humility of this very experienced seaman falling into the water at the
dockside. Most of the crew rushed to the side of the boat to watch Svetco.
There he was spitting and sputtering, his nice Stetson hat floating off his
head about 4 feet away. The skipper of the boat asked him, "Svetco what
the hell are you doing in the water?" There was Svetco cussing as only a
Dalmatian can, against his mother, father, God, his friends, the crew and any
one else within shouting distance. The crew was hysterical with laughter,
laughing so hard that we were incapable of helping him out of the water or even
to throw him a rope to climb out, which made him more angry. One of the crew
got hold of a small brailer and retrieved his hat that by now was soaking wet.
When he finally got back on board all he could say in his fine Dalmatian accent
is "This is a voodoo-boat, a voodoo-boat, and it's trying to kill
me!" The crew went into another fit of laughter. He went into the cabin to
change his clothes and we could still hear him cussing out the voodoo-boat, He
finally got dried off and changed, As he was leaving the boat for the second
time, someone said, ""Hey Svetco don't forget your hat!" which
caused another round of laughter.
The
next day the crew was back on board to finish up the chore's left over from the
last fishing trip and to get everything ready for the next trip. Svetco came on
board a little later and called Matt over to give him the new pair of slacks,
then he went into the cabin and packed his clothes into his duffel bag and left
the boat. As he was leaving you could hear him say, "damn voodoo-boat!
"
From
that day on, I've never seen Svetco again, that was over 50 years ago. Matt and
I are both over 70 years old, live in Fullerton, California and play golf
together 2 or 3 times a week. We still reminisce about our fishing experience
aboard the Blue Sky; some how, now and then, Svetco gets into the conversation
and we have a little chuckle. We don't remember the last names of Svetco, or
George who threw the life ring, or even some names of the rest of the crew; but
then it's not necessary. I imagine that all the crew has passed on since Matt
and I were the two youngest of the Blue Sky Crew at that time. The next year,
1949, 1 moved to Bellingham, Washington and for 3 months lived with my Teta,
Yela Mu1jat, on'the north side of town. I went fishing salmon on the boat,
Uncle Sam with Jack Radisich. Jack died the following year from cancer. He was
a very good man and skipper. After the season was over I returned to San Pedro
and fished sardines and tuna for a few more years until I joined the coast
guard. Matt also quit fishing and joined the army serving in Korea. After his
discharge he became a successful construction contractor. (Bakulich 2001)
BAKULICH, VIRGIL Goldminer-Police
Inspector
Read
this except from the April, 1946 of Police and Peace Officer's Journal and see
if you have life experiences to match those of Inspector Bakulich. If you do,
then you might write your autobiography and retell the escapades and adventures
of your life story. While Inspector Bakulich is certainly not the last San
Francisco Police Officer to became a published author, it is entirely likely
that he was the first! And read about his ironic chance meeting with one of the
great American writers of the 19th Century. Could that encounter have been the
inspiration for Inspector Bakulich to became a writer? One of San Francisco's
most colorful, efficient, and courageous police officers, who served in the San
Francisco Department from July 11, 1894 to March 19, 1919, is completing for
publication a book entitled "The Flight of My days," which could well
be titled "The Recollections of a San Francisco Policeman". This
former police officer is Virgil N. Bakulich, who now with his wife resides in
San Jose. A giant of man, standing 6 feet 4 1/2 inches when he joined the
department, Virgil Bakulich was a most imposing figure. A native of the Island
of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia he left that country in 1881 and arrived in California, then teeming with gold
miners and the usual camp followers. He was the most able linguist the
department has ever had, speaking, reading and writing Greek,
Russian,(Croatian)Slavonian, Italian, German and English. During his service as
a police officer he figured in the capture of many hardened criminals and
solved many crimes, all of which are ably presented in his autobiography. To
give an idea of the contents of his forthcoming book we will present many of
the most important topics he has prepared after careful research and from his
personal diary of events that few men have occasion to experience: A preface of
his autobiography in which he tells of his parents, his native country, its
antiquities, of the visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Dalmatia in 1869, and of
his departure for America in 1881. He tells of the gold fever that drew his
father to California and how his father lost his life by drowning in the
Lincoln Mine, Amador County. His arrival in California was the beginning of
many hair-raising escapes and a series of personal attainments in law
enforcement and athletics. He tells of his narrow escape after falling down a
1100 foot mining shaft in Plymouth, California, shortly after arriving in this
country. He moved to Sonora, Toulumne County in 1885, and two years later found
$5,000 in gold in a gold pocket on Brown's Flat. He tells of many escapes from
caveins, falls and blasting. Also he recites the instance where he prevented a
tar and feather party in 1888. He sets forth how he left the mining country in
1889, and came to San Francisco, and one of the first things he did was to find
$475 in a lavatory at 151 Eleventh Street. He joined the Olympic Club, and as a
novice won the coast championship for tossing the 56-pound weight. At the old
Woodward Gardens he participated in a stubbornly contested international
tug-of-war contest which lasted one hour and 47 minutes, with Bakulich's team
winning. On July 11, 1894 he joined the Police Department and from that time
his life was filled with action as following list of cases he took part in
working on. He visited his native land in Dalmatia in 1900 with his father's
remains, thus fulfilling his promises to his mother when a boy. Cupid's darts
and arrows in Split ending in matrimony December 20, 1900. Return to America.
Earthquake and fire in San Francisco, April 18, 1906. Robert Louis Stevenson's
very valuable ring and jewelry recovered. Arrest and conviction. Retired from
the San Francisco Police Department march 19, 1919. With Peter Dragicevich
opened a steamship and insurance office.
Second visit to Dalmatia in 1922. Out of gratitude for favors received
and his instantaneous cure, built a memorial chapel to his beloved parents
dedicating it under the auspices of St. Theresa of Lisleux to the greater glory
of God.
Returned
to California in 1939. This book of Virgil Bakulich is bound to be interesting
to many of the old timers of this city and we wish the old detective sergeant
all the success in the world. We knew him well, and he was a fearless, hardworking
and loyal peace officer.
BALCH, JOHN Contractor-Stonecutter
Much
of the sanitation and health of the inhabitants of San Pedro depends upon the efficiency with which its great underground network of
sewers have been installed. John Balch
was responsible for about 95 percent of all the big sewer installations made in
San Pedro between 1913 and 1927. Balch
was born in Herzegovina, June 13, 1869.
He studied in a local seminary and in 1884 passed the preliminary
examinations for the Catholic priesthood.
For four hundred years his male ancestors had been stone cutters and,
instead of completing his preparation for the priesthood, he learned the trade
of stone cutter and became a proficient letterer. In 1891 he took passage for the United
States, landing here with a capital of about 3,000 dollars. His first employment was in Greenwood
Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, where he received an average of from five to
eight dollars a day, which was considered an excellent wage at that time. In the meantime he was attending night
school and studying English, In 1907
Balch came to California for his health, being advised to do so by the company
which continued to pay his salary. Mr. Balch took one trip home in 1894, returning
in 1895. He was married in Newark, New
Jersey, August 4, 1898 to Carrie Pennington, a native of Mount Morris, New
York.
BALICH, JOSEPH C. Attorney
Joseph
Balich is an Attorney at Law in Summit, Illinois. Born October 11, 1925 of
Croatian parents in Summit, Illinois,
Educated at Carleton College, Northfield,
Minnesota B.A. 1949; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, LL.B.
1952 with a major field in law. Member of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity.
BALIC,
STEPHANIE Croatian Activities
Stephanie earned a degree in English from California State
University, Sacramento. She worked for a
major telecommunications company for several years. In 1990, she married Bozidar Balic from
Dugopolje, Croatia. They have three children: Adriana, Ivana, and
Stephan. Stephanie is also a vital member of the Croatian American Cultural
Center as her duties go beyond those of secretary. She takes care of all
rental correspondence and catering proposals.
This year, she took on the job of souvenir book layout, typesetting and
art work. She is also a charge of
catering at the Croatian hall and her hors d’ ouevres are famous. Her
parents, Stojan and Sally Butigan, both deceased, were among the founding
members of the Croatian American Cultural Center.
BALOKOVIC, ZLATKO Violinist
A
world-renowned violinist and activist, Balokovic was born in Zagreb.
During the 1920's and 1930's, he and his American wife, Joyce Borden, toured
extensively in Europe; but during World War II they settled in Camden,
Maryland. Balokovic became deeply involved with many wartime committees;
and in 1946, the couple visited Yugoslavia as official representatives of the
American Committee for Yugoslav Relief. There, he became personally
acquainted with Marshall Tito, Milovan Djilas, and others. In 1947,
Zlatko and Joyce Balokovic returned to America for a coast-to-coast speaking
tour telling of their experiences. He was involved with Yugoslav and
Croatian organizations such as the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief
(1946-1950), the National Council of Americans of Croatian Descent (1943-1948),
the United Committee of South Slavic Americans, and the United Yugoslav
Relief. Until the 1960’s, Balokovic continued to give concerts. He
died in 1965 and was buried in Zagreb.
BAN, HRVOSLAV Priest-Editor-Author
Fr.
Hrvoslav was bom on August 31, 1924 in Stobi, Macedonia. Fr. Hrvoslav comes
from a Zagreb family, and lived in Zagreb since he was 8 months old. In the
Croatian capital he finished elementary and high school. After World War 11 he
studied art history and archeology. He was an associate with all the religious
papers in Croatia, but because of his national and religious works he was
imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement twice. Afterwards he studied
philosophy and theology in the Gregorianum in Rome. Four years later he edited
the historical program for Radio Vatican, from 1966-1969 and 1971-1972. After
the collapse of the Croatian Spring in 1971 he left Europe on June 27, 1972 for
America. He became a member of the Franciscan community in the same year and
was ordained a priest by Croatian Cardinal Franjo Seper on November 4, 1973 in
New York. For a short time he served at SS. Cyril and Methodius parish in New
York, and in 1974 he came to Chicago to work in the office of Danica. After the
death of Fr. Ljubo Cuvalo he took over as editor. He was also an editor of the
Croatian Almanac. He again served in the Croatian parish in New York as
assistant pastor (1978-1981), and in the same position for St. Anthony parish
in Sharon, PA (19811982), and St. Jerome in Chicago (1982-1992). Fr. Hrvoslav
was an author of many books and articles.
He was also the author of many radio dramas and editor of many books.
Fr. Hrvoslav returned to the homeland in the summer of 1992. He died on April
23, 2000 in Humac and was buried there. The funeral mass for Fr. Hrvoslav was
celebrated in Humac on Easter Monday, April 24th by Fr. Tomislav Pervan,
Provincial of the Croatian Franciscans of Hercegovina. Following was interment
at Novo Groblje cemetery.
BAN, PAUL Engineer-Contractor
Paul
began working for General Motors, Allison Engine Division at the onset of the
Second World War. He taught Air Force recruits warplane engine repair and
maintenance at Lambert Field in St. Louis. Very soon after, he was sent by
General Motors to the West Coast and was subsequently stationed at various air
bases from the state of Washington to California. This was all exclusively
under the purview of the Fourth Air Force. His job was to instruct pilots and
other personnel on engine maintenance and repair of the famed WWII fighter
plane, the twin-engine P-38 Lightning. He had been involved with the
development of a supercharger for that plane's engine and related many a
hair-raising story of flying cramped behind the pilot's seat on test flights to
"troubleshoot" engine problems. He was scheduled to continue in the
war effort overseas but the assignment was canceled with the end of the war.
General Motors offered him permanent employment in California but he resigned.
He chose to stay close. to family and friends in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
There he resumed his career as a contractor. Never, however, could he ignore
his love of flight. He followed the development of jet propulsion and the
advances of science in space travel to the very end. Music was a big part of his
life. He played banjo in several bands while he was young. He always sang and
harmonized at every gathering and had acquired quite a collection of Croatian
music. He surprised us all, when in his declining years, he decided to learn
and master the harmonica. Paul was born Oct. 26, 1908 in West Frankfort,
1llinois. In November, 1932 he married Danice Klarich and they had two
children, a son Paul and a daughter, Danice. Paul died August 10, 2000. Paul
was the person who always greeted you with a smile, handshake and new joke. He
and Danice were always the gracious hosts and their outward appearance often
belied the difficulties they experienced through their lives. Their daughter,
Deenie, had health problems throughout her lifetime and sadly she succumbed to
those illnesses on Oct. 22, 1982 at age 35. Paul is survived by his wife
Danice, son Paul, granddaughter Gina Burton and her husband, Tom, and
great-grandchildren, Sarah and Paul, in addition to his brothers, John and Emil
Ban, sister Katie, brothers and sisters-in-law, many relatives and countless
friends. Paul's funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Croatian Church, St.
Louis and a eulogy was given by Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 167 President,
Robert Potocnjak.
BAN, SAMUEL Goldminer-Restaurant-104
Years
Brother
Sam would have been 105 years of age November 12. 1989 Sam was born in the village of Ugljane near
Sinj in Dalmatia and came to America in 1903.
He worked as a field hand in the Dakotas and for restaurants in the
mining towns of Arizona and Nevada.
Adventure took him into the gold fields of Alaska where he hiked the
Yukon Trail. He settled in San Francisco
in 1912 and in the next three years in this order, became a U.S. citizen,
bought a home and married his first love Helen, after just two months of their
first meeting. Sam became an avid lawn bowler, a sport he participated in till
his late nineties. The Bans had four
children; Catherine, Matt, Violet and Anna, and were a close and loving family. Helen passed on in 1969. Sam was a very
special person to his friends and brothers of the Slavonic Society where he was
a member for 65 years. He had a special
gentle charisma about him and was always surrounded by family and friends. In
medieval Croatia a Ban was a lord or master over a province of territory. True to his surname, Samuel Ban lived a noble
and regal life.
BANAC, IVO Professor
Professor
at Yale University, Connecticut. Ivo was born in Dubrovnik on March 1, 1947.
His parents are Niko and Anuska Banac.
Education: Fordham University, New York, Stanford University, MA in
historical science (1971) and PhD (1975). He was assistant at Stanford
University (1975-77); assistant professor at the History Department (1982-88);
full professor at Yale University, Connecticut; (1988); editor of East European
Politics and Societies, journal; correspoding member of HAZU. Published: the
National Question in Yugoslavia: Origin, History, Policy (1988); With Stalin
Against Tito: Informbureau Breach in the Yugoslav Communist Movement (1990);
The Croatian Language Question (1990); Dubrovnik Essays (1992); Against Fear
(1992); edited six books. Member of:
Croatian Academy of America; American Association for the Advancement of
Slavic Studies; IVIH; the International PEN Club.
BANINA, JERRY Tamburitza Music
My
father, Joe Banina, was born on Veli Iz, an island in Dalmatia, Croatia He
never heard a Tambura untfl he settled in East Chicago, Indiana. The first time
he heard Tamburitza music he fell in love with the sound and decided he wanted
to learn and to play with a group. He talked a few other guys in the area to
join with him. They bought "Farkas" Tamburitzas, hired an instructor,
John Rozgoj. They called themselves "Tamburaski Zborg Zuljezda" and
that was the beginning. So, of course I heard that sound from day one. The
"Old Timers" called us the "Scrap Gang". In 1940 we made
our first official debut. I was 12 years old. In grade school I joined the
band. Learned to play the trumpet, trombone, and baritone born. I became
interested in American music and learned, to play the guitar and bass. In high
school I had a 12 piece dance band, and also played with a Polka band for
awhile. I also played with a Romanian orchestra for a number of years. In 1950
1 was drafted into the Army and played with the 28th Division band. When I
returned home the "Zujewzda" name was changed to "The Star
Serenaders" - that's another story. The four of us, Deak Raffkin (my
uncle), Harry Zuvich and Steve Deanovich began a fantastic musical association
that lasted for nearly forty years. After Deak passed away, we chose Dave
Nanista to take over for him and we are stfll strumming away. In the
"80's" I was an instructor for the Indiana Harbor Junior Tams for
five years. I wrote my own arrangements. Now I am an assistant director for the
Hoosier Hrvati Taniburitza Orchestra of Northwest Indiana, under the capable
leadership of Edo Sindicich. With all my experimenting with different music
forms, I never gave up on my tamburitza music -- I love the sound, just like my
Dad.
BANOVAC, BOB Restaurant
Park Place, 1980 Union St., San Francisco. Park Place, opened in 1977, has everything you always wanted in a seafood
house but were afraid to ask for. The
old Cooperage interior has been artfully expanded to seat 75 on two levels (the
back section is now raised instead of sunken), redone in natural wood with
elegant simplicity, and now much larger patio area encased in glass, with
outdoor lighted planting. The casement
windows at tableside (in beautiful doweled frames) all open out, while overhead
a massive redwood structure supports a “cathedral” ceiling of clear glass whose
great panes also open. Two intrepid
window-washers have at them daily, and even at night some of the panes are
open, freshening the air. Hurricane
mantle lamps light the tables, in white and brown linen, matching a sparingly
used brown-check wallpaper. Seating is
in cane armchairs. It’s a beautiful
dining environment.Park Place, is the first to offer the specifically San
Francisco style of that cookery- Dalmatian cuisine in the tradition of
Tadich’s, Sam's and Maye’s. There’s
nothing imitative about this. Principal
owner is Dalmatian-American Bob Banovac
and the manager is Tony Ivelich, whose father Dominic was chef at
Tadich’s for 40 years. Here you’re
served the seafood you were born and raised to recognize as right. For example, I had the day’s special- broiled
red snapper (a fillet the length and breadth of the fish), striped black from
the grill and tasting of the charcoal, but so moist it was still seeping its
juices. Only Dalmatians from Croatia can
do that.
BARAC, ANTON Fisherman
Anton
Barac was born in Stilja, Dalmatia, Croatia on April 24,1908, the son of Lovro
and Jela Barac. There were five boys and two giris in the family. He came to
United States in 1938, and settled in
the Pacific Northwest, where he worked as a f1sherman, Anton Barac died
on January 12, 1984. Survivors include his wife, Iva of Tacoma; son, Ljubo of
Sunnyvale, California; sister, Kata GrIjusic in Dalmatia; brother, Mate In
Argentina; grandsons, Marijan of Tacoma and Anthony of Rijeka, Croatia and one
granddaughter, Shirley of Sunnyvale, California. Anton was a member of the
Croatian Fraternal Union in Tacoma, Washington.
BARANOVICH CLAN
Also
written as Barhanovich, the Baranovich clan originates from Sibenik in Dalmatia
and the Barhanovich clan from the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. Vincent
Baranovich’s activities were first discovered with a notice of mail at the Post
Office at Victoria, British Columbia in 1870; in 1871 he was fur trading in
Alaska. He also was associated with John Peratrovich who had married and Indian
in Alaska and had 29 children; other Croatian associates were Tony Valensolo
and Tony Markovich in Alaska. Vincent W. Baranovich was Secretary of the Haida
Indian Tribe in 1938. Anton Baranovich was a 36 year old fisherman in 1880 at
Clatsop, Oregon; the US Census listed
him as Italian. Andrew Baranovich was a cook in 1900 in the Santa Clara Valley
of California and Peter Baranovich was a waiter in San Francisco in 1903.
BARATTA, MIRA R. Congressional Affairs
Mira
Baratta served as an Adviser on Foreign and Defense Policy to former Senator
Bob Dole. She also served as Legislative Assistant for Arms Control and Foreign
Policy to Republican Leader Dole from June, 1989 until June, 1996. From
1986-1989, Ms. Baratta served in the Reagan Administration as Deputy Director
for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Before her tenure at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, she was a legislative
aide for foreign policy to then U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, now Governor of
California. In 1982, Mira Baratta graduated magna cum laude and received her
degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington,
D.C. She has completed graduate work at the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts. Currently, Ms. Baratta worked on the
Presidential campaign for Bob Dole. Mira Baratta's hometown is Pasadena,
California, where she resided until 1978.
BARBARE CLAN
One
of the first shipbuilders was Stephen Babare, who came to the United States in
1881 on a ship which traveled around the Horn. Upon the death of one of his
children, he returned to Starigrad, Island of Hvar, Croatia, his home. In 1886,
he received a certificate of engineering from the Academia di Commerici e di
Nautica in Trieste. In 1891, he returned to this country, bringing with him all
the tools of his trade, many of which were handmade. Babare decided that Tacoma
would be the ideal place for an experienced shipbuilder. He was a master at his
trade. Some of the boats built by the S. Babare Ship and Launch Company were
the Sloga in 1904 and a nine horsepower boat commissioned by Frank Berry, the
Rustler, which was built in 1906. The last boat built by Babare was the
Starigrad in 1909. When he died in 1910, George and Nick Babare, his sons,
established the Babare Brothers Shipbuilding Company. Their sister remembered:
George and Nick Babare built one of the first deep-sea fishing boats, the
Oregon, in about 1911. 1 will never forget the ordeal my mother went through
that time. No one had ever gone out into the Pacific Ocean to fish before. It
was only to Cape Flattery, but the older people considered this plain suicide.
Evidently the wives and mothers of these young people, who were planning this
folly, were up in arms, meeting together, talking and trying to figure out how
to stop them. The crew consisted of the captain and eight men. I came home from
school one day and found my mother crying and wringing her hands. The women had
called on her that day and told her that her two sons were no better than
murderers. This boat that was going to the ocean could not possibly ever come
back and all these young men were going to drown and they would never be seen
again. My brothers tried to reassure her, told her there was nothing to worry
about, but she worried. By 1918, the Babare shipyard was turning out a
completed boat every forty-eight hours. In 1914, the government took charge of
the shipyards to build boats for the war effort. Everyone who wanted to work
for the Todd shipyards would come to work for a day at the Babare yard so that
they could write that they had had experience on their job application. It was
not easy to be the mother of shipbuilders. When a boat was ordered by an
out-of-towner at the Babare yard, the customer was invited to stay at the
family home for free room and board.
BARBICA-SABATINI KATICA Social Worker
Her
maiden name was Barbica, born in Trpanj at Peljesac peninsula, Dalmatia. She
moved in America when she was five years old. Studied at the University of
California in the 1930’s. She is a social worker helping poor Croatian families
in Oakland, California.
BARBAROVICH, JOHN Fisherman
After
1890, fishermen came to Anacortes from most of the fishing countries of the
world, but especially from the northern Adriatic. The pioneer of the Croatian
group was Ivan (John) Babarovich who left the Adriatic island of Brac, Croatia
for America in 1879. His family lost track of him for many years but learned by
chance that he was in Seattle, Washington. His brothers, Peter and Spiro with
their families, joined him in 1902 and they all homesteaded on Sinclair Island.
After a few years they moved to Anacortes for the sake of their children. The men
became commercial fishermen, using small boats with room only for their nets
and fish. During the fishing season they lived in camps on the beach where the
women of the family cooked for them. In 1910 John Babarovich built a larger
boat, the "Uncle John," with facilities for eating and sleeping. This
made the fishing more flexible. (Sleasman 1999)
BARBIER, MATTHEW J. Sea Captain-Oyster
Beds-Military
Captain
Matthew Barbier, a highly successful oyster man and owner of three splendidly
equipped boats plying the lower reaches of the Mississippi from New Orleans,
Louisiana to its mouth, started in the oyster business when he was fourteen
years old in association with his father who owned and operated large beds in
the Grand Bayou, In 1922 Captain Barbier started his own business, which he
still owns and which, is operated from his headquarters at Empire in
Plaquemines Parish. Captain Barbier has his general headquarters and residence
in New Orleans at 2804 Dumaine Street. Two of three boats owned by Captain Barbier
are used in towing operations for the Freeport Sulphur Company at Port Sulphur,
Louisiana, and another boat, the "Texas," is employed in bedding
oysters and the "Dixie" utilized, in running oysters from the beds of
Grand Bayou into New Orleans. Captain Matthew J. Barbier was born in New
Orleans on the nineteenth of September, 1888, a son of the late John Barbier, a
native of Croatia who came to the United States and settled in New Orleans when
he was twenty-five years of age, and Eleanor (Pellagali) Barbier, who died in
1922. The elder Barbier was for many years a prominent factor in the local
oyster industry and continued in the business until his retirement a few years
prior to his death in 1927. Captain Barbier was educated in the schools of
Louisiana and during the World War was a member of the United States Navy,
serving for eleven months as an attache of the New Orleans Naval Station before
going overseas where he saw duty in France as a sailor on the warship
"Wassaic." He is an expert seaman and has held both a pilot's and
captain's license for a quarter of a century or more. On the seventh of
November, 1917, Captain Barbier was married in New Orleans to Miss Florence
Wenholz, also a native of the Crescent City. The five children of Captain and Mrs. Barbier are
Matthew J. Jr., born in 1918, now a marine engineer and operator of the boat
"Denver" owned by his father and employed in the serviceof the
Freeport Sulphur Company; Frederick, born in 1920 and now associated with the
Odendahl Company; Dorothy, born in 1923, a member of the 1940 graduating class
of the John McDonough High School in New Orleans; Eleanor, born in 1925 and
Joan Barbier, born in 1927. The last two named children are students in New
Orleans schools. For many years Captain Barbier has had a prominent part in
local civic activi ties and is a member of the Slavonian Benefit Society and
the B. K. of A. He is also a Mason, a member of Osiris Lodge, and is affiliated
with the Consistory and Shrine. Religious association is with the Catholic
Church.
BARCOTT, TONY Fishing-Professor
From
Joseph Canetti's Seafood Grotto near the entrance to the Main Channel of the
Port of Los Angeles, to the smoky bars and stucco prewar cafes of San Pedro and
Wilmington, information on Tony Barcott
and his class in commercial fishing has spread by word of mouth. I heard he was
a good old man who knows everything, said Newton Martin, a merchant seaman from
Uniontown, Pa. Martin arrived in Los Angeles last week looking for a job in the
fishing industry. He was directed to Barcott.
Barcott's
class in commercial fishing is held in the meeting room of the Fisherman's
Cooperative Assn, a cream-colored building at the north end of Berth 73, a
diagonal slip off the Main Channel southwest of Ports o’Call and home for the
San Pedro fishing fleet On the far wall of the class room on the co-op's second
floor, text-book -style charts illustrates families of fish. Another wall has a
black-board on which Barcott leaves messages for students and visitors. A
brochure illustrating foul-weather gear is tacked on a corkboard, along with
row of postcards-some yellowed-from former students. (I tell the kids to send
me a card.) The postmarks range from Alaska to Costa Rica.
The
co-op is a hangout for fishermen and Barcott knows them all the crewmen; the
skippers of the multi million dollar "tuna clippers,” white, slick and
sleek of line; the owners of the chubbier and smaller local tuna boats of '40’s
vintage with names like Saint jude and St Christina; the renegade skippers who
fish outside the jurisdiction of the unions. If you have time, Barcott can tell
story after story about their lives.
Barcott
towers over most people. Short- cropped gray hair frames sky-blue eyes and
large facial features eroded by sea weather. His hands are muscular from years
of hauling nets, the second finger on his right hand misshappen-the result of a
youthful accident. Born to Croatian parents, Frank and Fruna, who immigrated
shortly after the turn of the century to the salmon-rich waters of the Pacific
northwest, Barcott and his five brothers learned the trade of commercial
fishing on the family's salmon boat. Barcott was crewing ("for free")
by age 12 and dropped out of school in the ninth grade to work full-time for
his father. The Barcotts eventually moved to San Pedro, and in 1945, in
partnership with his father and brother Frank Jr., Tony Barcott became skipper
of the Coral Sea, a 72 foot purse seiner built in Tacoma, Wash. Barcott married
his next door neighbor, Winnie Vitalich, and they reared two children, Marie
who lives in San Pedro, and Frank, an officer with the long Beach Police
Department.
From
1950-58 Barcott was president of the Fisherman's Cooperative Assn., an
organization owned and operated by San Pedro fishermen. By this time, Barcott
had earned a reputation as an " honest fisherman," said one admirer.
"Even the wise guys respect him."
Toward
the end of the '50s, the fishing market fluctuated and Barcott fell on hard
times. He decided to-sell his much-loved Coral Sea. A couple of years later,
Barcott and a partner were able to purchase the Janis M., a cannery boat. He
fished for almost another 10 years, but the seas seemed rougher and the trips
longer. Barcott was getting older. The Janis M. was sold back to the cannery in
1968, and Barcott, without a boat, was at loose ends. He worked for a while as a marine clerk on the
docks, but he wanted something more to do. "I missed the sea, I prayed to
God to find me an easy job," he said with a grin.
Around
that time, the Fishermen's Union, Local 33 of the ILWU, and the Fishermen's
Union of America, Pacific and Caribbean Area, of the AFL-CIO, in conjunction
with the Fisherman's Co-op, wanted to start a class in commercial fishing. The
unions asked Barcott to teach the class and he quickly agreed. But there was a
catch: Barcott had to finish high school, then study for a degree in commercial
fishing at UCLA to meet state requirements for teaching. Barcott was
overwhelmed and "embarrassed” to return to school, but he did it. And in
1971, at the age of 57, after more than 40 years at sea, Tony Barcott the
fisherman earned a brand new title: "The Professor." Barcott reached
under the counter and pulled out a large chart with his students' names neatly
printed down one side. Across the top were listed the skills he had taught
them: Knots, Net Mending, Splicing, Gear Handling, Dockwork and Navigation. The
class is held four times a year and costs $28. It is administered through
Harbor Occupational Center, 740 N. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro. The most recent
class began Tuesday. There is no age limit but Barcott will not take any one
under 17-"We don't want to rob the high schools." Students who
complete the course receive an Achievement Award from the Center. After getting
a job and working 30 days on a boat, the student is eligible to join the
fishermen's union. Half the students, Barcott said, want to make fishing a life
career. The other half just need a job and a paycheck. On a local tuna boat
that also fishes mackerel and anchovy, a student on a crew in one year can make
anywhere,from $5,000 to $20,000. One man crewing aboard the bigger, lushly
equipped, far-ranging clippers that seek only tuna can make between $30,000 and
$45,000 a year. But it's not easy money. The work is exhausting. The local
fleet follows fishing seasons and fish. The ocean, said Barcott, "is like
a big highway. The fish don't swim, They follow along with the currents."
Between
80-100 students leave Barcott's class annually for the decks of a fishing boat.
Barcott's employ ment placement rate is about 95 %. Each week at least a dozen
former students and experienced fishermen return to the classroom either to
brush up or pass on the skills that have insured the livelihood of the
fisherman since almost the beginning of civilization. Barcott for the most part
is candid with his students about the realities of a commercial fishing career
today. Although some fishermen feel the local fishing fleet is doomed in San
Pedro, "I don't tell my students that." But one of the reasons for
the class is that the profitability of the fishing industry generally has not
attracted the traditional source of manpower for the local fleet-- the sons of
fishermen. Ironically, many of those men were put through school by their
fathers for more lucrative careers in medicine or law. Most of the boats used
to be controlled by either Dalmatian or Italian families, but the mix of the
fleet has changed and family control has diminished,
"There's
not one Dalmatian skipper today," said Barcott.
The
immediate future holds either uncertainties for fishermen young and old.
Competition from the Mexican government's desire for a strong fishing fleet,
restrictions on fishing near the migratory path of tuna off the Pacific Coast
of Mexico, other U.S. fishing treaties with foreign countries and dependence on
tuna by the San Pedro fleet may combine to impair the livelihood of local
fishermen. In the 50’s, when Barcott was president of the Fisherman's Co-op,
the San Pedro purse seiner fleet (not including small, gill-net boats) numbered
about 150. Today, he said, there are fewer than 50. But Tony Barcott has faith
in his class, in his students, in the ancient affair between the fisherman and
the sea. This is the philosophy of his class in commercial fishing. He is
optimistic about the future and already has "a couple of guys in mind to
take over the teaching job when he retires.
BARETICH, SAM Restaurant
Sam
Baretich ( wife, Mary Haramia ) owned and operated the Ideal Café about 1900
and went on to become associated with the Palace and Vienna in Aberdeen,
Washington, two of Aberdeen's best known eateries of the early days. Once
established, he sponsored many Croatians to come here and either put them to
work in his business or helped them locate in one of the many mills.
BARHANOVICH, F. YANKIE Insurance
Business
F.
"Yankie" Barhanovich is a highly respected and well thought of civic
and business leader in the, Biloxi, Mississippi area. He's a successful
insurance executive and a valuable member of our community. "Yankie"
didn't achieve his position by waiting for it. He proved that by hard work and
determination, an individual can end up at the top. F "Yankie"
Barhanovich was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, sixty-one year's ago. In 1938, he
started as a 23 year old agent with the American National Insurance Company of
Galveston, Texas. After fourteen short months he advanced to Assistant Manager,
and four years later was elevated to District Manager "Yankie" has
held the position of District Manager for 33 years. In addition, "Yankie"
won the company's President Trophy in 1968. His agency is among the top fifteen
in the Nation for the past 30 years and his is the leading District office in
the South Central Division, "Yankie" Barhanovich Is a self-made man.
He made it to the top. During his Professional-career. "Yankie" found
time to actively participate in civic affairs. He has served as president or
chairman of many organizations such as the East Harrison County Lions Club and
the Shrimp Bowl Classic. He also acted as State Commissioner of the Amateur
Softball Association for 10 years. During his many years of community service,
"Yankie" has received various awards. These awards include the Biloxi
Outstanding Junior and Senior Citizen, 1970 Junior Chamber of Commerce Boss of
the Year and the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to Amateur
Football. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in
1971. "Yankie" is currently chairman of the Mississippi Coast
Coliseum Commission and former President of the Mississippi Coast Chapter of
the National Football Foundation. Yankee was president of the Slavonian Society
in Biloxi, Mississippi.
BARHANOVICH, JOHN Basketball
Coach-Teacher
Everett,
Washington. Now that John Barhanovich has watched his Cascade High School girls
basketball team compile a 24-5 record and capture sixth place in the Class 4A
state tournament, he wants to enjoy watching the activities of his three
children. Citing a need to spend more time with his family, Barhanovich
announced his resignation as Bruin basketball coach at the team's
end-of-the-season banquet last night. In eight years as coach, he compiled a
90-89 record, including 55-22 the past three seasons. "The time commitment
to basketball just got to be too much," said Barhanovich, who has taught
marketing and business classes at Cascade for 10 years. After analyzing his
options, he realized he wanted to make a change. "My kids are ages 2, 5
and 9, and they're going to be young only once," he said. "It's time
to spend some time at home with my wife, Diana, and our children." He said
offseason demands on coaches have escalated in recent years. "That's not
necessarily bad," he said. "But in my situation, that's time I can't
give up at the moment." Seniors Ann McColl, Ciara Papac and Jessi Williams
formed a nucleus for this season's outstanding Cascade team, which had been
together for several years. And Barhanovich said he wanted to remain with the
team through their eligibility. McColl will attend the University of Wyoming,
and Williams has a softball scholarship to Western Washington University. Papac
is looking at community colleges. "There are things I'm going to miss
big-time," Barhanovich said. "Like the games themselves. I'm going to
miss the strategy. But it's the right time to allow someone else to take over.
We'll still go to games on Friday nights. "And who knows?" he added
with a laugh, "maybe it's time to go to the movies on Friday nights."
Barhanovich, who also has kept Bruin football statistics for several years,
promised he won't disappear, saying, "I'd still like to stay involved in
athletics at Cascade High School." And he said he "didn't slam the
door" on future coaching opportunities but called any such move
"definitely in the distance."
BARICEVIC, ELIZABETH M. Professor
Professor
Baricevic was born in 1923 in Portland, Oregon.
Her field is Romance languages and is a graduate of Marylhurst College,
Marylhurst, Oregon. She received a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1951. She is the Acting Chairman of the Modern
Language Department at Marylhurst College. She presently resides in Portland,
Oregon.
BARICEVIC, KENNETH Engineer
Kenneth
Baricevic was born August 8, 1920 in Portland Oregon. His field is Electrical Engineering and is a
graduate of the University of Portland at Portland. He preforms consulting and
application of electric utility equipment at Westinghouse Elec. Corp. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers. He presently resides in San Francisco, California.
BARISICH, GEORGE Fisherman
Mr.
George Barisich is a third generation commercial fisherman. His parents are
Croatian born, but came to Louisiana while still young. George was born in 1956
in New Orleans, and spent much of his childhood in Arabi, Louisiana. He
presently lives in Violet in St. Bernard Parish, with his wife and children.
From the age of eight years, he spent a lot of time on his father's boat
helping with the shrimping. While working as a fisherman, he attended
Southeastern University. George, like his brother, learned everything about
fishing and shrimping from his father. When his father became too ill to work,
he sold his half of the business to George. George has five boats, one of which
he describes as being thirty-eight years old, which is made of cypress and double
planked. Most of the time he trawls for shrimp, but he has also fished oysters.
George is an active advocate for fishing as a traditional way of life. He says,
"it's something that's in the blood."' Commercial fishing is far more
than just a job to him; it represents an entire traditional way of life.
However, he sees it is seriously being threatened by increasing governmental
regulations. Today. commercial fishing is more high-tech than it was when
George started shrimping in the 1960s. The fishing boats now have radar, VHF
radio, and telephones on board. It's a totally different life than it was in
the past. The one thing that has not changed is that shrimpers are still out
fishing for many days. George comments, " I am usually out six to seven days
at a time, and maybe sometimes a little longer." When asked, "what
makes a good fisherman?", he answered,
"it's in the blood; also, believe it or not, it's the chase for the
shrimp, and the adrenaline rush shrimpers feel.” Mr. Barisich is President of
the United Commercial Fisherman's Association. For his presentations he speaks
on various cornmercial fishing operations and he uses, tapes showing trawling
and fishing operations on shrimpboats. George has attended the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Festival, the New Orleans Work Boat Show, the Islenos Festival,
and the Bycatch Symposium in Seattle, Washington.
BARISICH, PROSPER AND KATICA
Restaurant-Fish
Katica
was born to Visko and Katica Zoranich Zaninovich in Velo
Grablje, Dalmatia, Croatia on October 23, 1888. Her eldest brother, George, had
emigrated to America in 1904; two years later, he returned for a visit to Velo
Grablje. While there he asked her to
join him and cousin Vincent in San Francisco, which she did, arriving in San
Francisco in 1910. There she met Prosper Barisich, a most congenial ‘Hvarani’
living in Fresno, whom she married in 1912.
Prosper was proprietor of a going business-- a fish market. Their home on E Street became a weekend mecca
for her brothers and cousins; there the young men learned of the excellent
opportunities for farming in the San Joaquin Valley. Many happy
visits were exchanged between Fresno and North Dinuba, where her relatives
settled on a 60 acre ranch. After Prosper
passed away, Katica married Vincent Tomicich, formerly of Los Angeles. They became co-owners, with Drago
Udresich, of the Mission Cafe,
located on Fresno’s Broadway. She passed away at age 89, on May 16,
1977. A son to each of her dear “first
cousins” carried Katica to her final resting place-- The Holy Cross
Cemetery in Fresno.
BARKIDIJA, MIJO and KATA Croatian
Activities
Kata
Bogisic was born in 1879 in the village of Dubravice, near Dubrovnik. She came
to America as a young girl in1902, first to Montana where she married Mijo
Barkidija. They had three sons, Ivan,
Nikola and Pero, and two daughters, Kata and Mara. In 1912 they moved to
Los Angeles. Six years later her husband
Mijo was killed in a construction work accident. She was always very
active in the Croatian colony and
belonged to several societies.
BAROVICH, MIKE Movie
Theaters-Mariner-Fisherman
Theaters
throughout the Northwest have been owned and operated by Mike Barovic, who was
born in the town of Janjina, Dalmatia, in 1897. When he was four, his mother
died, leaving the family in the care of an uncle. At the age of twelve, a
neighbor secured him the job of mess boy on the steamship Franconia. It was the
beginning of a long adventure. The freighter sailed from Italy to New York.
Barovic crossed the ocean many times, his last trip being on an Austrian fruit
freighter at the time that Archduke Ferdinand was murdered. On the return trip
to the United States, the ship dropped anchor in Camden, New Jersey. In 1917
the ship was interned in New York. The U.S. Bureau of Investigations took the
twenty-six crewmen and placed them in a boarding house there. Since the
countries were at war, these young men could not sail the seas. Barovic
searched for work. Finally the Seamen were permitted to work on U.S. ships out
of Bangor, Maine. Barovic made twenty-five dollars a month as a quartermaster,
transporting coal on a collier sailing ship. Later, he moved to Chester,
Pennsylvania, to work in the shipyards.
Having
met fellow countrymen on his visits to Philadelphia and New York, Barovic and
three companions set their sights on Washington State, where Pete Jugovich had
gone. They worked their way across the country. The trio arrived at the Union
Depot in Tacoma at midnight in 1920. At the train station, they were left
without direction until a policeman named Holly, who was well acquainted with
the Croatian Community in Old Town, took them to a boarding house there. Mike
Barovic worked as a fisherman and took a job cleaning theaters. He met and
married Andrea Constanti-Kovacevich, daughter of Dominic Constanti who had
emigrated from the town of Starigrad on the Island of Hvar in the early 1890's.
Constanti
fished and operated a wholesale fishermen's supply house and grocery store. He
was a far-sighted man who loaned money to fishermen to buy boats and equipment.
He also gave them groceries on credit and served as their banker. In 1917,
Constanti purchased from his brother-in-law (Peter David, whose family had
first settled in Orting) the Liberty and Everybody theaters in Tacoma and the
Stewart and Dream houses in Puyallup. In March, 1924, he opened the Liberty
Theater in Sumner and, in April, 1930, the Roxy in Aberdeen. Constanti was a
successful theater man and plowed his earnings back into the business through
the renovation of the old, and the acquisition of new, holdings. From mess boy
to seaman to fisherman, in 1921 Mike Barovic moved to Puyallup to begin his own
rags-to-riches story. He owned and operated the Beverly, Riviera, and Parkland
Theaters in Tacoma, the Roxy and Liberty in Puyallup, the Riviera in Sumner,
the Avalon in Bellingham, and, with partners, the Fife Drive-In and 112th
Street Drive-In in Tacoma. From theater owner to entrepreneur, Barovic, has
done all things well. He is an avid sportsman and has been honored for his
contributions in this field. He has been a friend to people from all walks of
life-from movie stars, to politicians, to fishermen, to farmers-and yet, he
still says, "Dalmatians are the biggest-hearted people I have ever
met." The state of Washington has benefited from the work, talent, and
imagination of this genial Croatian.
Perhaps
the story of Mike Barovic is unique in that, although he led an ordinary life,
some extraordinary things have happened to him. One of these took place in the
East, when, as a young seaman, he accidentally found the father he had never
known. Mike recalled: I had some free time, so I went to play a game of
billiards. I didn't know any of the men but I played a pretty fair game, and
they asked me to stay and play again. As we became acquainted with one another,
one of the men stated that he was from the town of Janjina, the place that I
was a born. A little later, he said that his name was Barovic. I listened and
cautiously I asked who his relations were and if he had any children. He said that
he had two sons, Mitchell and Frank. When I came to this country, although my
name was officially Mitchell, they called me Mike. just by chance, I discovered
my father. After I brought my brother, Frank, to this country, I introduced
them and we brought the "old man" to Washington to be near us.
BAROVICH, NIKOLA
Hotel-Saloon-Winery-Goldminer
Nikola
Barovich was born on December 31, 1830, at Janjina, near Dubrovnik (Ragusa),
Dalmatia. At the age of 18 he became a sailor and embarked upon the Croatian sailing
vessel Fanica.Flying the Croatian tri-color (trobojnica), the Fanica, commanded
by Captain Ivan Kopatich, in 1849 entered the port of New York, with a cargo
from Dalmatian ports. In New York young Barovich left the Fanica and boarded a
Russian sailing vessel, and headed for the capitol city of Brazil, Rio de
Janeiro. Upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro, Barovich left the Russian vessel,
embarked upon another ship, and sailed via Cape Horn in the direction of
California, hoping to get there in time for the gold rush, which was then in
full swing. On June 17, 1850, he entered the Golden Gate, and arrived at the
port of San Francisco. He immediately left the ship and went to the gold mines
to seek his fortune. His search for gold took him as far east as Nevada. In
1852 Barovich opened a general merchandise store in San Francisco, and became
quite prosperous. He was a leader among the Croatians there, and with the help of
other Croatians he organized, in 1857 THE CROATIAN SLAVJANSKO-ILIRSKO
DOBROTVORNO DRUSTVO (Slavonic-Illyric Benevolent Society).
Nikola
in 1856 owned the famed Constitution Saloon in San Francisco, and from 1857 to
1860 owned the Sebastopol Saloon on the corner of Davis and Jackson Streets. He
had a business at Sonora, California in 1852-53 and no doubt financed his
saloons with his good fortunes in the mining camps. He was a share holder in
the El Tesoro Silver Mining Co. of La Pas, Mexico in 1863.
He
married Miss Dolores Castro, a member of one of the oldest Spanish pioneer
families in California, and his son Augustus was born in 1866 in Nevada;
Amelia, 1868; Frank, 1869; Mary, 1871; Dolores, 1873; Nicholas, 1875; and
William in 1877.
Nikola
was a pioneer of Austin, Nevada and owned the Alhambra Saloon in 1866, the
Sazerac Saloon in 1867 and Barovich's Saloon and shooting gallery in 1873. In
1867, to assist the Irish in Austin, he served on the St. Patrick's Ball
Committee.
After
the silver boom in Nevada, he returned to California in 1882 and opened the Dalmatia Hotel in San Jose. Later he
ventured into wholesale liquors and operated a winery.
Nikola Dies at San Jose
Nikola
Barovich, well known throughout this State and Nevada, passes away. San Jose,
California- June 3, 1895--Nicholas Barovich, a well known resident of this
city, and a pioneer of 1850, died at his home in this city last evening. He was
a native of Dalmatia, Croatia, aged 66 years. He arrived in New York in 1849,
and the following year came to San Francisco via Cape Horn. He made occasional
trips to Alviso upon lumber vessels until 1851, when he went to the gold mines
and met good success.
BARTON, NICK P. Music-Engineer
Metallurgical
Technologist at U.S. Steel Gary Works, Gary, Indiana. Born March 5. 1917 of
Croatian parents in Versailles, Borough, Pennsylvania. Educated at St. Edward's
University, Austin, Texas 1936-37; Duquesne University Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, B.S. 1938-39; Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, Advanced
Metallurgy Studies; Indiana University, Bloomington; Advanced Mathematics
Studies. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois. Published
Articles in various American journals. Instructed in Tamburitza Music Work with
Youth Groups. Have written several musical compositions copyrighted. Most of
them are English lyrics to various
Croatian folk tunes.
BARTULICA, NIKOLA D. Psychiatist
Nikola
Bartulica is Assistant Superintendent at St. Joseph State Hospital, St. Joseph,
Missouri. Born November 22, 1927 in Split, Croatia. Education includes Real
Gymnasium, Zagreb, 1946; Medical Faculty, University of Zagreb, M.D. 1953 with a major field in
medicine and a specialty in Psychiatry; Fellow of Menninger School of
Psychiatry, Topeka, Kansas, 1959-63. Published Psychology of Dictatorship
(Third year paper for graduation by Menninger School of Psychiatry, Topeka,
Kansas), 1963. Member of American Psychiatric Association; Alumni Association
of Menninger School of Psychiatry. Experience: Zagreb
Emergency Center, Zagreb, Physician 1956-57; Institut Albert Prevost, Montreal,
Canada, Resident in Psychiatry 1957-58; Provincial Hospital, Cambellton, N.B.,
Canada, Resident in Psychiatry 1958-59; Topeka State Hosp., Winfield, Kansas,
Resident in Psychiatry 1959-63; Winfield State Hospital Winfield, Kansas,
Clinical Director 1963-65; Staff Psychiatrist, Pierre Janet Hospital, Hull,
Quebec, Canada1965-68.
BARTULOVICH CLAN
Goldmine-Scientist-Croatian Activities
Sponsored
by a relative in 1920, George Anton Bartulovich, 19 years old came from Gradac,
Dalmatia, Croatia, to Leadville, Colorado.
He worked in the mines, eventually leasing “The Fanny Bryce” mine on
Johnny Hill. In 1927 he married Johanna Gornick who parents were John
Gornick from Zvirce, Slovenia and Mary Koenig from Hinje, Slovenia. In 1928
twins George and John were born. George
Sr. built his own house in Leadville.
The family lived a little while in Ruth, Nevada where Geroge built
another house. Back in Leadville, when the twins entered first grade,
their mother registered them as “Barr”, a name which became permanent for
George. John kept the name Barr through
his army years, but when he was a freshman at St. Mary’s College in Moraga,
California he had his name changed legally back to Bartulovich, and he
graduated with that name, with a B.S. in physics. In 1944 the family moved to a neighborhood of
Dalmatians on Cypress Street in Oakland, California, where Geroge worked
as a carpenter and build this third house on Buena Ventura Avenue. Joanna died
in 1953. In 1959 George married Tera
Markovina in Korcula, Dalmatia, and brought her to Oakland. George
was active almost 50 years in the Croatian Fraternal Union, serving as
President of CFU Lodge 121 of Oakland. He died in September, 1990.
Tera died in January 1992. George Barr married Violet Cetinich in
Oakland, California in 1951. Their
children are Jeanette (1953), John (1957), and Elizabeth (1961), who has the
only great-grandchild, Jack Ryan Fahey, born May 14, 1999. Elizabeth is
married to John Fahey and lives in Martinez, California. She has a B.S. in psychology form UCLA
and some teaching credentials. George was an enviable dancer, bowler, and
raconteur. George worked as a lithographer and died in February 1994.
John Bartulovich married Joan Backus of San Francisco in 1957. Their children are John Jr. (1959), Mark
(1960), and Regina (1961). Regina is married to Eddie RIchards and they live in
Santa Rosa, California. She has degrees
in humanities from St. Mary’s Moraga and from Sonoma State U. Joan has a B.S. from University of
San Francsico, an M.A. from San Francisco State U. and specialist teaching
credentials. John Bartulovich Sr. was a research scientist for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in Albany, California. He was architect,
carpenter, cabinet maker, plumber, mason, electrician. His happiest years
were when his father helped him. His love for Slavic culture, history,
music, food, and social events was enhanced by the kolo group he, George and
Violet joined in 1949. During his first 45 years in California he
celebrated his Croatian and Slovenian heritage at the Church of Nativity in San
Francisco. The Slovenian-language choir at the masses evoked happy
memories of his childhood in Leadville, and he was hooked! John participates in reunions for both St.
Mary;s College and for the 11th Airborne DIvision which served in occupied Japan.
John continues to serve as President of Croatian Fraternal
Union Lodge 121 of Oakland (and bowls with Lodge 900 of San Francisco),
the Chuch of the Nativity, where he is on the Board of the CSUF
(Croatian-Slovene United Foundation) and Slovenian Hall of Portrero Hill in San
Francisco, where he is Vice-president of the Board of DIrectors. He
enjoys membership in Club Slovenia, the American Slovenian Association, and the
Slavonian Mutual Benefit Society of San Francisco.
BARULICH, FRANCIS Teamster-Military
Francis
Barulich was born in San Francisco and spent his youth on a ranch in in
Hollistcr with his brother Ed and two sisters. He is still remembered as a
spunky athlete on the Serra High Football Team. He joined our Slavonic Society
on April 10, 1940. He was one of the first called to the service as a member of
the 148th Field Artillery and was on a troop ship headed for Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941. The ship was divertcd to Australia and Francis was in heavy
combat thereafter from island to island. Fortunately he came through uninjured
though his group suffered heavy casualties. After his discharge Francis met
Anne and married in 1946 and worked as a teamster for Pacific Intermountain
Express. Francis was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, past commander
of the American Legion and active in Veterans Affairs. He was an avid golfer
and pool enthusiast. His friends knew him as a happy person, who enjoyed his
family and friends. Francis died on December 8, 1993. He leaves his wife Anne,
daughter Beverly, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
BARULICH, GEORGE S. Police
Inspector-Attorney-Pilot
George
Samuel Barulich was born here in San Francisco and spent most of his youth
living on Seneca Avenue across from Balboa High. He was always an avid sportsman, who in his
youth enjoyed early morning surf fishing on Bakers Beach with his brother Matt
before his high school classes. He
achieved the rank of captain as a WWII Air Force pilot. After the War, he attended University of San
Francisco, and later evening Law School classes while working as a San
Francisco Police inspector. George became an active, and respected member of
the SF Bar. He joined the Slavonic
Society in April of 1971, and served as our Vice President and legal council,
working diligently with his brothers for the acquisition of our present site
facilities. George had a strong zest for
life, a passion and intensity for his work.
All who knew him felt his strength and resolve. George leaves his wife Alyse, sons, George,
Jr., Marc and Paul, and his grandchildren, Sara and Michael.
BARULICH, VICTOR Restaurant Supply
Mr.
Barulich was born in 1921 In San Francisco.
A graduate of Sacred Heart High School, he co-founded Bi Rite Food
Service Distributors in 1966, supplying some of the city’s oldest and most
popular restaurants. Over the years, Mr. Barulich became well-known in the food
business as his company grew from a five-person, $500,000 business to a
140-employee, $50 million enterprise that serves 2,500 hotels and restaurants.
“Work was his hobby,” said his son, Stephen A. Barulich, vice president of Bi
Rite. Mr. Barulich founded Nugget
Distributors Inc., a cooperative organization for 180 private food-service
distributors nationwide that use their combined buying power to obtain
discounts. Mr. Barulich served in the Army during World War II. After the war he worked as a milk route
driver for Berkeley Farms. From the mid-’50s to the mid ‘60s, Mr. Barulich
owned and operated the Sunset Central Market, a corner grocery store, on 10th
Avenue and Noriega Street in San Francisco. He Died in 1999 and in addition to
his son, Mr. Barulich is survivied by his wife, Ziney M. Barulich of San
Francisco; a daughter, Dianne C. Prindville of San Jose; another son, Stephen
of San Francisco; and eight grandchildren.
BASICA, NIKOLA Railroad
Nikola
Basica reached the Panamean port of Cristobal where he found a job. Nikola was
born on the Island of Mljet, Croatia. He earned two dollars a day but did not
work every day so he went to Balbao to find a new job. There he worked as a
bartender earning fourty-five cents an hour. In 1933 on the boat
"Ancon" he sailed to New York to find another job. In New York he
found a job in a restaurant. He washed dishes and pots for one year earning
fifteen dollars for five days of work. September 1939 he decided to go to his
cousin Ljubica Basica in Monterey where she and her husband Vicko owned a
restaurant. He worked in their restaurant until 1941 when he went to San
Francisco. In that city he managed to find a job on the railway, as an
assistant mechanic and eventually as a mechanic. His earnings were sixty-five
cents per hour. In San Francisco he married Franica Milin originally from
Lumbarda, Korcula. He moved to Oakland with his wife where he continued to work
for a railway company until he retired in 1975. Nikola and Franica had two
daughters, Nina and Lana. Both of whom are married. Nikola and Franica Basica
live in the city of Alameda, California.
BASICA, VLAHO Family Clan
Vlaho
Basica-Bujko with his wife Ana nee Srsen of Govedjari, Island of Mljet, Croatia
went to America in 1908. He worked on an olive farm and vineyards around San
Francisco, Salinas and Watsonville. In America they had five children: Ane
(1908, San Francisco), Paul (1909, Salinas), John (1912, Salinas), Mary (1913,
Watsonville) and Blase (1914, Salinas). The entire family returned to live on
Mljet in 1920. There, in Maranovici, they had their sixth child, a son Neno
born in 1922. Their son Paul returned to
California in 1928 to his uncle Nikola Srsen in Monterey, while his brother
Blase and sister Ana returned to America in 1929. Paul later married Ana
Markovich and had three children with her: Danica, Paula and Blase. After
divorcing Ana, he remarried. From 1946 he lived in San Pedro, where he engaged
in fishing. In 1959 his brother Vlaho came to San Pedro and from that time they
fished together in the waters of the Pacific from San Pedro to San Diego. Blase
married Kata Ruzica originally from Prvic Luka near Sibenik. They had two sons.
Vladimir and Vlaho. Pavo visited Mljet in 1974 and Blase in 1973 and 1988.
BASICH, VLADIMIR Architect-Croatian
Activities
Vladimir
Basich, 66, the Croatian-born architect who supervised the design of Chicago
buildings such as the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown and architectural
award-winning guard towers at Cook County Jail, died Monday, October 16, 200
while on vacation near Split, Croatia. Mr. Basich, who always went by Walter
with English-speaking friends, had an eccentric sense of humor and a passion
for finishing event the most difficult projects on time and on budget. During
his 25 years with A. Epstein & Sons, the Chicago-based industrial and
commercial architectural firm, Mr. Basich always handled important projects and
saw to it he got the manpower to accomplish them, said Wayne Bryan, a retired
architect who worked with Mr. Basich there. An expert at managing design and
construction, Mr. Basich's imprint can be found on the Cook County courts
building in Maywood, Curie High School on the Southwest Side, and in
architectural remodeling done at the Criminal Courts Building next to the
County Jail at 26th Street and California Avenue. "He was very efficient,
very capable," said Bryan, who described Mr. Basich as driven and
outgoing. "You knew he was there. He was a strong character. You'could
always hear when he was around." Mr. Basich was a child in Zagreb,
Croatia, when World War 11 broke out. The detail-oriented Mr. Basich later told
his children he was entranced by American movies at the time. He said he kept a
careful record of all the films he had seen during that period. When he
graduated from the Uniersity of Zagreb with a degree in architecture in the mid
1950s, he was disillusioned with the communist government and spent several years in Germany before
coming to the United States in 1961. He stayed with family members in Gary,
Indiana, before moving to Chicago and beginning his architectural career. A
jocular man with an engaging, if something puzzling, sense of humor, Mr. Basich
had a love of minutiae. Words held a great fascination for him, and he learned
as many of them as he could, always making a point of using just the right one
to express his ideas. A voluminous reader of history and politics, he developed
strong opinions and didn't shy away from expressing them. Much of his attention
was devoted to Croatia, of which he was a staunch proponent. In 1974, he led an
effort to buy an old supermarket on Devon Avenue and renovated it to create
what is now the Croatian Cultural Center on the North Side. Working with
Croatian Catholic priests and other community leaders, he strove to foster a
unified Croatian American presence in Chicago throughout his life, his family
said. His Croatian boosterism even was reflected in his team loyalties. He
became a Bulls fan when Toni Kukoc, another Croatian joined the team. Mr.
Basich founded his own firm, Basic Architecture, in the late 1980s. With his
wife, Elena, whom he married in 1967, he divided recent years between their
Northbrook home and a condominium in Naples, Florida. He retired last year. Mr.
Basich also is survived by two other sons, Adrian and Alex; and two
granddaughters.
BASKOVICH, NIKOLA M.
Businessman-Fisherman
Mr.
Baskovich was born in the Croatian city of Makarska, April 21, 1890. His
father, Paul, was a business and hotel man in that city, and his mother,
Catherine, was from a prominent family. At the age of sixteen he came to
America and landed in New York, friendless and unable to speak a word of
English. He remained in the Metropolis
only two days, going from there to Norfolk, Virginia, where he remained for a
time before coming to Los Angeles, where he arrived on Christmas day,
1906. There he obtained a high school
education and also took a special course in a religious school. After finishing his schooling he went to San
Francisco where he landed with a capital of one dollar and fifty cents. A policeman to whom he appealed got him a job
washing dishes in a restaurant. Shortly
afterward he left San Francisco and went on to Wilkenson, Washington, where he
secured work in the coal mines. He was
soon promoted to foreman and remained for four years. In 1912 he left the mines and went to Alaska
as a prospector for the Fidalgo Island Packing Company. It was a trip filled with many hardships, and
he fished for salmon while there, remaining for about six months. He returned to Tacoma, where he worked in a
pool hall for a time, going from there to Puget Sound, where he fished for
salmon, 1913-1914. He then took a trip to the Bering Sea for the
Pacific-American Fisheries in 1915-17.
In 1917 he was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after all of
the equipment of this company. He was
married that year and had the misfortune to contract a sever case of influenza,
which lasted for eighteen months. In
1919 some tuna boat fishermen from that district came to San Pedro and
recommended him as manager for the boats of the Nelson, & Kittle
Company. He left his sick-bed in Tacoma
and came to San Pedro, where he was employed by this concern for three years. When it was combined with the Van Camp Sea
Food Company he became supervisor of the entire fleet of three hundred fishing
boats. During this period he also became
proprietor of a meat market and grocery at Thirteenth and Center streets. He also owned an interest in some Washington
boats and was a member of the advisory Board of the Bank of Italy. Mr Baskovich was a member of the Los Angeles
Elks, the Croatian Fraternal Union and Dalmatian Club. He was married November 19, 1917, to Miss Ana
Cuculich of Tacoma, Washington, daughter of Mathew and Frances (Pasic)
Cuculich.
BATINA, ANTHONY J. Dentist-Military
Anthony
Batina is a dentist in Chicago, Illinois. He was born October 4, 1923 in
Chicago, Illinois to Croatian parents; he is married with two children.
Education includes De Paul University, Chicago, Illinois, 1946-49; Loyola
University, Chicago. Illinois, 1949-53, College of Dentistry, D.D.S., 1953 with
a major field in dentistry. Member of American Dental Association; Catholic War
Veterans; Delta Sigma Delta. Military
service in England, Germany, France, Belgium; World War II service in the Army
1944-46.
BATINICH CLAN
Military
In
July 1944, just one month after the Allies’ bloody Normandy invasion, infantry
Pfc. Mitch Batinich landed on Omaha Beach. He took part in the battle of
Falaise Gap, then joined Gen. George Patton’s Third Army until the war’s end.
Fifty-six years later Batinich’s son, Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Gary Batinich,
pinned a long-overdue Bronze Star on his father. The ceremony took place Sept.
9, 2000 the same day Colonel Batinich assumed command of the 466th Fighter
Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. There wouldn’t have been a ceremony had
Colonel Batinich not filed forms to receive his father’s military records from
the National Records Center in St. Louis. Nine months later, he received a
letter listing his father’s authorized medals. In an addendum, the records
center mentioned that the former Army sergeant was eligible to receive the
Bronze Star.
“It
was a surprise to me,” said Colonel Batinich, an F-16 pilot. “I was going to
put together a shadow box with all his medals and include a flag I’d flown in
my F-16 during Northern Watch and Southern Watch.” The Bronze Star would add a
golden glint to the decorative box. Since its inception in 1944, the Bronze
Star has recognized acts of heroism performed in ground combat. It is the 10th
highest award available, just above the Purple Heart. Mitch Batinich was one of
seven brothers. All of them served in the military — five during World War II.
Four served overseas, but the Army wouldn’t let the fifth son serve in combat
for fear of having too many deaths from one family.
Mitch
graduated from high school in June 1943. On Aug. 24, to no one’s surprise, he
was drafted into the Army. After training in Manchester, England, Mitch came
ashore on the second wave of the Normandy invasion in July 1944. He remembers
getting ready for the big push to take the Falaise Gap. “Our airplanes bombed
for three days; they looked like grasshoppers in the sky,” he said. “Then they
woke us up at 3 a.m. to go up to the Falaise Gap.” That was the Allies’ first
major breakthrough beyond the beachhead. Batinich joined Patton’s Third Army,
90th Division, until the war ended. For his actions, he received the Combat
Infantryman’s Badge. After the war, in 1947, Congress decided anyone who
received the Combat Infantry Badge was also eligible, “upon application,” to
receive a Bronze Star. Since most of the people were out of the service by
then, they didn’t realize they were eligible for the medal. “There are probably
thousands out there who are entitled (to receive the Bronze Star) but don’t
know about it,” Colonel Batinich said.
As
evidence, Mitch’s brothers, Peter and George, who also qualified for the medal,
didn’t receive it until Colonel Batinich filed for it on their behalf. Echoing
a familiar theme to families of war veterans, the colonel said that while he
was growing up neither his father nor his uncles spoke much about their war
experiences.
One
story Mitch does like to tell involves the time he broke his leg in France and
was shipped to a hospital in England. He soon discovered that his brothers
Peter and George were in the same hospital. Peter, an infantryman, had been hit
by shrapnel, and George had been injured in a jeep accident during German
shelling. “My brothers found out I was in the same hospital, and they came down
to see me,” Mitch said. “Then they bugged the major in charge of the hospital
until he finally said, ‘Get the hell out of here.’” The three brothers drove to Stratford on Avon
— William Shakespeare’s birthplace.
Now 75 years old, Mitch runs a tavern in Hopkins, Minnesota. Above the
tavern’s windows, a flag flies for each of the seven Batinich brothers. Each
flag is identified with the brother’s name in big letters and his respective
service emblem.
Colonel
Batinich, a native of Eveleth, Minnesota, graduated from the Air Force Academy
in 1978 and has served as an F-16 instructor pilot, flight commander and
commander of the 419th Operations Support Flight. He has logged more than 2,568
flying hours in the F-16. When, at the end of the long search, he opened the
letter and discovered his dad deserved the Bronze Star Medal, Colonel Batinich
said it was “a very emotional moment,” growing teary-eyed to recall it. “I
started right away to see how I could get it to him.” His mother was also
shocked by the news. She and her son kept the secret, intending to surprise
Mitch during the change of command. But, upon the advice of his mother,
Batinich told his father two weeks before the ceremony. The Bronze Star
Batinich received was an authentic medal from 1944. The ceremony was a proud
moment for father and son. “It meant a lot to us both,” Colonel Batinich said.
“To this day, when my father sees a flag, it’s a very emotional experience for
him. He’s a hardcore patriot.”
BATINOVICH, ROBERT G. Business
Corporation-Public Utilities Commissioner
Robert
“Bat” Batinovich is third generation Croatian American and second generation
California Croatian American. His father
Matthew (Matt), uncles George and Joseph, and aunt Violet all moved to
California from Lead, South Dakota during the 1920s and 1930s. A quote from
George’s journal, written in February, 1923.
George is living and well in Oakland at the age of 97. “It was a hard
struggle, evidently, for mother and dad to bring us children to our present
ages in life. A struggle to be repaid by
God. I trust, as it was almost
impossible for us to even attempt to repay them. Although, we can at least show our
appreciation by making mother happy while with us, and praying for the peaceful
repose of their souls.” Further, George
records: Dad was born October 26, 1870, christened Mathew Batinovich. Mother was born January 12, 1875. Baptized January 15, 1875 and christened
Anica Fuskuls. Dad came to America April
of 1893; Mother came to America in May
of 1901. They were married in May, 1901.
Both were born in Dalmatia, Croatia. George records he was born June 12, 1902
and baptized July 13, 1902, being christened George Anton Batinovich.
There was a brother John Born in 1903 and died shortly thereafter.
Matt Batinovich was born August 14, 1904 and baptized August 21,
1904. Matt was Robert’s father. Sister Violet was born April 11, 1909 and
baptized shortly thereafter. Robert Batinovich was raised in both San Francisco
and San Pedro, California and graduated from St. Anthony’s school in Long Beach
in June of 1954. Robert has a brother,
Kenneth, who was born June 12, 1939. From
a working class beginning Robert plunged himself into the business world with a
burning desire to succeed. Robert Batinovich is founder, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Glenbourough Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE-GLB), a real
estate investment trust (REIT) with total assets approximately $2 billion and
an equity capitalization of approximately $1 billion. Mr. Batinovich and members of his immediate
family own or control 7% of the outstanding stock of the REIT, which owns and
operates a highly diversified nationwide real estate portfolio. He has owned a
commercial bank, which he ultimately sold to Gulf & Western. Mr. Batinovich
served as the President of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of
California. His many charitable affiliations include Georgetown University. Mr.
Batinovich was born July 13, 1936, and is unmarried. He resides
in Hillsborough, and is building a vacation home at Mauna Lani Point of
the island of Hawaii. He has two children; a daughter, Angela, who is a
freshman at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; and a son, Andrew, who
is Chief Operating Officer of the REIT, and resides with his wife in Hillsborough. Mr. Batinovich attends St.
Bartholomew’s Roman Catholic Chruch in San Mateo. His hobbies include deep
sea fishing, golf, water volleyball and cards, and sports.
BATISTICH, JOHN J. Attorney-Croatian
Activities
Attorney
at law from Oakland, California. Born
December 28, 1898, on the Island of Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia. Attended public
schools there. Emigrated to the United
States in 1920. Graduated from Oakland
High School in 1922. Attended University
of California from 1922-1928, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1926
and the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1928. Has been practicing law in Oakland,
California, since 1928. Married Mary
Bernice Stuke (daughter of native Dalmatians) in 1931. He has been fairly
active in extracurricular activities at the University of California. Was contributor and associate editor of the
“Occident,” the students’ literary magazine.
Member of the English club.
Member and first president of the Dobro Slovo Slavic Honor Society of
the University of California. In
collaboration with Dr. George Rapall Noyes, translated Vojnoviche’s “Dubrovacka
Trilogija”-”The Trilogy of Dubrovnik” and Lazarevo Vaskrsenje”- “The
Resurrection of Lazarus,” and Gjalski’s “San doktora Misica”-”The Dream of
Doctor Misich.” Since graduation from the University of California, has been
active in the Sokol ranks. For the last
two years he has been the president of the Grand Lodge of the Croatian Sokols
of the Pacific Coast, and the year before that, secretary. Took active part in the last Sokol Assembly
at the occasion of the Olympic Games at Los Angeles.
BAUTOVICH, BALDO Cooper
Baldo
Bautovich, a 75-year member of Lodge 177 of the Croatian Fraternal Union passed
away on July 12, 1985 at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood. He was 104 years young. It is with heavy
hearts that we bring forth this sad news of a beautiful person who had always
enjoyed good health for him many years of life.
He was the oldest member of Lodge 177.
Several years ago, we reported that brother Baldo Bautovich of Croatian
Slavonian Benevolent Society of CFU Lodge 177 achieved the distinction of
outliving his certificate of insurance.
In 1981, it gave me great pleasure to report that brother Bautovich
celebrated his 100th birthday. Joining our Society on June 6, 1910, he had the
recorded 71 years of membership in the CFU.
Brother Bautovich was born June 28, 1881, about 30 miles from Dubrovnik. He followed his oldest brother to New York at
the age of 16 arriving on March 8, 1897.
He and his brother lived in New York with a large family. The following
year, he traveled alone across the United States to Santa Cruz County, working
the fruit orchards in small town such as Capitola and Soquel. During this eight-year period, he commuted to
San Francisco by horse and buggy to learn the “Cooperage” trade, making and
repairing oak barrels for the Northern California wineries. He became adept at fashioning fancy barrels
by hand. The 1906 San Francisco earth wake sent him back to Capitola where he
met and married his wife, Nike, Becoming the first couple to be married in St.
Joseph’s Church. An offer of a free
train ride brought the newlyweds to Los Angeles where they resided for 40
years, raising four daughters. In 1951, at the age of 70, he retired from the
Western Cooperage Company on Slauson Avenue near Bickett Street here. He moved to Huntington Park where he continued
to make fancy barrels as a hobby along with cultivating the garden which he
loved. Surviving are his four daughters, Mary Bautovich, Ann James, Frances De
Young and Pauline Bautovich, now a nun devoted to the Catholic order.
BEBAN, DOMINIC J. State Senator-State
Assemblyman-Sheriff
Dominik
Joseph Beban was born in San Francisco on May 16, 1872. He recieved his education in the public
schools of that city and graduated at an early age. By trade, he was a printing pressman. From 1906 to 1908 he served as deputy sheriff
of his native city. On November 6, 1906,
he was elected to the Assembly from the Forty-third District, the Republican
and Union Labor parties honoring him with their respective nominations. Realizing and appreciating his faithful and
efficient service as Assemblyman, his constituents reelected him on November 3,
1908, by a most flattering majority, favoring him again with the Republican and
Union Labor parties honoring him with
their respective nominations. From 1910
to 1912 he again served as deputy sheriff of San Francisco. With the Republican nomination he was, on
November 3, 1910, elected to the Senate from the Twenty-fourth Assemblt
District, and on November 3, 1914, he was agaiin elected to the Senate with the
progressive nomination- this time from theEighteenth Senatorial District. One and all grieve over the loss of his
potent influence for right and justice, which was the dominant characteristic
of his legislative career. Physically and morally he was of upright courage. Throughout his comparatively brief life he
knew but one fear, and that was the fear of doing an injustice to his fellow
man. His virtues as a man and citizen,
his career as a legislator, his fidelity and signal ability in the discharge of
the important trusts that were committed to his care, will ever lie treasured
in the memory of those who had the good fortune to know him; therefore be it
Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions he engrossed by the Clerk of the
Senate, and that the same he conveyed to the widow of the late Honorable
Dominick Joseph Beban; and be it further Resolved, that when the Senate
adjourns on this day, it does so out of respect to the memory of the late
Honorable Dominick Joseph Beban.
BEBAN, FRANK Lumber Business
Frank
Beban was born in Tunnel Terrace, Goldsborough, New Zealand on 26 March 1882.
As a young man, he realized that he was not going to make much as a partner in
his Hokitika butchery, so he went to Martha, He asked her for a loan of thirty
two pounds so he would have enough to emigrate to America. Frank was Martha's
favourite so she lent him the money to go seek his fortune.
Frank
went to into timber milling when he went to Canada and did well for himself He
rnilled the large tracts of forest on Vancouver Island. In fact the area was
referred to as Beban-Country. When Frank returned to see his family in New
Zealand in 1926, he created much excitement. The family arrived by ship in
Auckland with their cadillac and travelled to Taihape. Vonnie recalls their
arrival in town. She and her friend Nancy McLenan were standing at the door of
Nancy's parents' hotel when they saw a flash car going down the road "'
Look" said Vonnie "the steering wheel's on the wrong side." They
then heard that the Bebans from America had arrived so Vonnie and her sister
Dell rushed home to see the visitors. Vonnie was fascinated that the children
drank '"pop". Frank's wife Hannah made a big impression on the girls.
They thought she was lovely. Hannah told the girls that she had got married at
16. Frank brought his children with him. The eldest Evylen was about 12 when
they visited. Frank took Rita, Vonnie and Dell's sisier, back with them to
Canada to help with the children. His son John or, as he was called, Jack Beban
made an impression on his New Zealand cousins. He was born on 26 October 1914
and so was ten when he visited New Zealand. The New Zealand cousins noted was
"a lovely wholesome round-faced little boy " said Vonnie. After he
married Gertrude Ingham, he had two sons, Frank Beban and Don Beban. Frank,
born in 1940, followed his father into the family timber business Beban Logging
before Jack died in May 1977. Rock Beban Jnr met Frank Jnr in Nainamo and found
they had an uncanny resemblance to each other. They became firm friends. While in
Nanaimo, Rock also met Frank's mother Gertrude and his brother Don, a
stockbroker. Frank and his wife Dolores, his mother Gertrude, the children and
Dolores' parents visited New Zealand a few years later. Rock held a family get
together for them at his home before they all went on holiday together. Frank
was tragically killed in an air crash in 1987 aged 47 but Dolores and all her
daughters continue to live at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. Frank and Dolores'
eldest daughter Catherine Beban was born on 30 September 1960. Caroline Beban ,
the second daughter who was born on 19 Jan 1967, has two children Scarlett
Harlington born in October 1985 and Frank Sheppe born on 29 October 1995. The
third daughter Christine Beban was born on 7 September 1968 while the youngest
of Frank and Dolores' daughters is Jackie Beban and she almost seven years
younger as she was born on I I May 1975.
BEBAN, GARY Football
Consensus
All-American and Heisman Trophy winner in 1967 and one of University of
California at Los Angeles greatest quarterbacks, Gary Beban was regarded as a
fine runner as well as an intelligent field general and passer. Raised in Redwood City, California, he
graduated with a degree in history. Beban played professionally with the
Washington Redskins in 1968 and 1969 and is presently an executive for Coldwell
Banker, a large commercial real estate firm.
BEBAN, GEORGE Actor-Movie Company
From
that small constellation of actors and actresses who move thearergoers to
laughter and to tears, a star was taken yesterday when George Beban, lovable
character man, died. His death was due to injuries received when thrown
from a horse near Big Pine last Saturday. Beban rose to the heights of
greatness in his interpretation of Italian roles. His sympathetic anactment of
parts, whether those of peasant of prince, gained for him a fortune and the
following of countless stage and screen fans. Beban died at the California
Lutheran hospital. His brother, Lewis,
of San Francisco, was at the deathbed.
George, born in 1873, was an accomplished vaudeville and film star who
began his career at the age of eight, singing and dancing with famous minstrels
in San Francisco. His father was Roko Beban of Zlarin, Dalmatia. Performing many Italian roles, George starred
in “Hearts of Men”, his first movie drama created by his own producing
company. He played many other roles,
including the famous vaudeville presentation of “The Sign of the Rose” and
numerous silent films including, “The Italian” (1915), “Jules of the Strong
Heart” (1918), “One More American” (1918), and “The Loves of Ricardo”
(1926). George was married and succeeded
by his children George Jr., George III, and Mary. Funeral arrangments will not be made until
the actor’s 11-year-old son, George, and his sister, Mary arrive here from New
York on Monday. Beban’s wife died here
in 1926. Beban was 55 years of age. His
stage training began when he was 8 years old. He sang and danced with the old
Reed and Emerson Minstrels in San Francisco.
As a master of Itlaian dialect, Beban advanced rapidly on the stage, in
vaudeville and in drama. Beban virtually dropped from print since his
retirement in 1926, but gained some undesirable notoriety recently when Tom Mix
and WIll Morrissey engaged in a fist fight during a house warming at Beban’s
new home in the hills of Playa del Rey. During the air races held here
recently, Beban was one of the hosts to Prince George of England. George Beban,
film actor, who died in Los Angeles on October 5, left the large part of his
$400,000 estate to his 14-year-old son, George Jr. The will was filed for probate here today.
Beban’s home adress was No. 210 West 101st street. Porbate Judge Desmond
yesterday admitted to probate the will of the late George Beban, film
actor. The will disposed of an estate of
$500,000 or more in California, and it was stated that there was other property
in the State of New York. Mrs. Mary Beban Smith, a cousin of the actor, was
appointed executor of the estate, according to the terms of the will, and Judge
Desmond fixed her bond at $450,000. She
will serve in this capacity with the Lawyers’ Trust Company of New York, also
mentioned in the will.
BEBAN, ROBERT P. Computer Engineer
Robert
Paul Beban Jr. was a fourth-generation San Franciscan who grew up in the
Mission District, whose father ran a cable car up Castro Street and into Noe
Valley. His father was Isidore Paul Beban, born in San Francisco, the son of
Rocco Beban, who mined for gold in the Sierra in the 1860’s before he came to
San Francisco to operate a restaurant at Grant Avenue (then Dupont Street) and
Broadway. Mr. Beban’s son, Richard, said he traced the name of that
great-great-grandfather through state records in Sacramento and found, filed in
the courthouse in Mariposa, a record of his naturalization as an American
citizen in 1863. Mr. Beban died Monday in Santa
Rosa. He was in charge of computer
operations at a wood-processing firm in Sonoma
County. He was married to the former Vivian Perry, who remembers a gripman
on the Castro Street cable car who used to wave to her when she was 5, and pull
the bell cord in greeting every time the car went by. The gripman was the
father of the man she married. She lived at 23rd and Castro streets, she said,
and in the 1930s, when she was ill and forced to stay in bed, her family put
her bed in the Victorian bay window that looked out on the steep part of Castro
Street. She got to know the cable car gripman well, she said. Years later, when
she met her husband, she heard the story his father told at home of the “poor
little girl in the window” at 23rd and Castro, and how he’d ring his bell and
wave at her. The gripman, Robert Paul Sr., also was a teamster in San
Francisco, and delivered coal. He died
in 1953. Mr. Beban grew up on Jersey Street between Sanchez and Church streets.
Mr. Beban leaves his wife, his mother, Marie; children Robert III, Richard, and
Aline Beban, Kathy Adams, and Stepdaughter Julie Wilder. There are five grandchildren.
BEBAN, WALTER Saxaphonist
1920’s
in San Francisco: Walter Beban, saxaphonist, will be the feature on the Monday
program arranged by the Daily News to be sent out from their KLS broadcasting
station. Beban is known to San Francisco.
He was with Art Hickman for two years. Following this time he spent six
months in Paul Ash’s orchestra. He is at the present time making records for
the Columbia Graphophone Co. His program Monday will consist of the following
selections: Mighty Lak’ a Rose, Say I While Dancing, For the Sake of Auld
Lang Suno, Wabash Blues, My Honey’s Loving Arms, All Over Nothing at All. A saxaphone that
laughs is the latest novelty in the musical world. Walter Beban of the rose room orchestra at
the Palace in San Francisco, is
responsible for the “baby Sac” that laughs and weeps. Needless to say, the “baby” is a most popular
infant. The little instrument is and exact duplicate of its larger brother, and
has the same wide rande of tones, but of a lighter, more whimsical
quality. In some of its notes it very
closely resembles that of the human voice, so Beban has been successful in
imitating a queer, gurgling laugh that has proven a delight to the dancers at
the Palace. Beban, who is one of the most popular saxaphone soloists of the
coast, says that the saxaphone
interprets the love theme of the present day music better than any other
musical insturment. The love song of today, he insists, carries the
thought of dance and be happy today for tomorrow doesn’t count, while the love
songs of the days of hoopskirts and pokebonnets’ breathed the message of
firesides and long happy futures. This
spirit says Beban was best brought out by the violin, but today’s
happy-go-lucky way of living can best be interpreted by the saxaphone. “The
occasional bizarre not, the passionate entreaty in its plaintive wall, the
barbaric splendor of the deepest tones,” says Beban, “fits very closely indeed
into the lifetone of today.” It is for these reasons, Beban says, the
saxaphone’s popularity will not soon wane.
BEBICH CLAN
In
1897 Steve Bebich and Petar Jugum set off from Desne, Croatia--destination the
village of Aberdeen, Washington close to the Pacific Ocean. They had received
letters from friends who said there were plenty of jobs with good pay. Jugum
stayed in Aberdeen but Bebich moved to Wilkeson to work in the coal mines. In
1906 he married Helen Medak and five years later returned to Aberdeen where
other members of their families had settled. When he wasn't fishing
commercially, Bebich worked at Aberdeen Lumber & Shingle and Donovan Lumber
Co. mill. Eight other members of the Bebich family were to arrive before World
War I: Joe J. operated the Croatian Pool Hall on Curtis street and later the
Alaska Cigar Store in Cosmopolis, Mike was a barber, Peter owned a fishing
boat, Sam, Marko and Tony all worked in the sawmills while Stanley and Joe M. had
the Model Bakery. Cousin Pearl became the wife of Tony Nicholas.
BEBICH, JOE Fisherman-Military
Joe
Bebich was born February 8, 1913, to Steve and Helen (Medak) Bebich. During
World War 11, brother Bebich served in the Coast Guard and had patrolled the
coast in a blimp. He ran the sign shop of the City of Aberdeen's Street
Department and retired in 1975. He had also worked as a commercial fisherman
and at the Spar restaurant in Aberdeen. On Sept. 13, 1952, he married Wendla
Wagner in Aberdeen. She died in 1995. He enjoyed traveling to Reno, Nevada, and
gardening and was an avid sports fan. He especially liked baseball and had
played the game in Electric Park in Aberdeen when he was young. Joe Bebich was
a 70-year member of the Croatian Fraternal Union, joining in March 1929. He
served as secretary for many years. Joe Bebich died on July, 3, 1999 in
Aberdeen, Washington, He is survived by two nieces who were also his
caregivers, Verna McArthur of Aberdeen and JoAnn Hliboki of Montesano, and a
nephew, Steve of Hoquiam. Four brothers, Marko, Mike, Steve and Tony, and a
sister, Matilda Nicholas, also died before him.
BECIR, GEORGE Police
Interpreter-Goldminer-Coffee Saloon
George
Becir from Konavlje, Dalmatia, Croatia. was an interpreter in the police courts
and maintained a coffee saloon at East and Commercial streets in San Francisco,
California. He voted in 1859 as an
American citizen and was mining gold at Jackson, Amador county, in the same
year. His brother, Martin, was a
director of the Slavonic Society in 1864.
Martin was married to Luci and George had a Mexican wife, Carmalita.
Luka Becer from Konavlje, known as Luka Baker, was nephew of George Becer.
Becir used the names of Baker and Becer.
BEGOVICH, DOMINICK Restaurant
It
was the late Governor James Rolph, Jr., who started the political stampede at
mealtime to Johnny and Domink’s restaurant, the Polk and Sutter Oyster House, located at Polk and Sutter
Streets. And today the stampede
continues, for the food in delicious, the surroundings have the degree of
privacy which conferences of various sorts demand- and they serve
old-fashioneds in steins! In real life
the well-known and popular partners are Johnny Zidich and Dominik Begovich. But to everyone who knows them they are just
Johnny and Dominik. These two have been
partners for the past 15 years and are both from Dalmatia in Croatia.. They began to work at an early age to learn
the restaurant trade. Dominik was aboard
a boat in a galley at the age of 10.
Later he migrated to New Orleans and became chef in one of the large
hotels. He came to San Francisco in 1906
and for the past 27 years has been at Polk and Sutter Streets. It was Gov. Rolph who proclaimed vehemently
and often that Dominik is the best chef in the world! Later he came to San
Francisco and was at the old Portola. He
advanced form one stage to another in various restaurants, and in 1920 he
became connected with he Polk and Sutter Oyster House. He has been there ever since. When entering
this unique grill, one has a choice of going in to the main dining room and to
the booths and banquet room, from either street. But if entering one of the Sutter Street
doors, one find himself in a very large market and sees merely the hint of what
is behind the scenes of the restaurant proper.
For there is the open stove and broiler, there is the counter at which
22 may dine at one time. there is the hall which leads to the booths and dining
room downstairs and to the banquet room and booths upstairs. To his staff of 14, Johnny points with
pride they are men of his own
country. One waiter has been with this
famous establishment for 30 years.
Others have served many years.
And there's a customer, says Johnny, who has appeared every morning for
his ham and eggs for the past 10 years.
BELAJEC, VLADIMIR J. Chemist
Vladimir
Belajec is a Research Chemist at WITCO Chemical Company, Chicago, Illinois. Born March 14, 1929 in
Zagreb, Croatia. Educated at 2nd Male Real Gymnasium, Zagreb, 1947; University of Zagreb, Chemical Technical
Faculty. Diploma 1955; Rheinisch-Westfalische Tech. Hochschule, Aachen, Dr.
Rer. Natl., 1961 with a major field in Chemical Technology and a specialty in
Organic Chemistry, Petrochemical;
"Kulturministerium des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen," during
work on doctoral thesis; thesis
"Charakterisierung Eines Saarlandischen Schwelteers, 1961"
Doctoral. Member of American Chemical Society.
BELEG, GEORGE Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Music Teacher
Tambuitza
musician, composer, instructor, director. George Beleg lived his life for these
joys. he was born with a gift for music and spent a lifetime cultivating this
love, especially for the tamburitza music which inspired him at a very early
age. George Beleg was born November 20, 1876 at Suhopolje, Croatia. At the age of four, he began his musical
studies when he was given a crude violin made from a heavy cornstalk, strung
and accompanied by a bow made from a tree branch. Young George cherished the
instrument which soon prompted his father to buy him a real violin. His music
progressed and his interests expanded to include the melodies produced by the
tambura which led his father to have a tamburitza made for him to play. His
early efforts to become proficient with the tambura are now tamburitza history.
Young George was a youth with deep religious affiliations, having been
encouraged by his mother. He often composed music and lyrics of a religious
nature which he played and sang for his mother. He served as an alter boy,
attending Mass with his mother, and soon was involved in the church choir as
the lead singer. He studied for the priesthood but when his father informed the
bishop of George's love for music, young George was prompted to leave the
priesthood to pursue a musical career. Before his 18th birthday, George had
formed his own tamburitza orchestra in Croatia and continued work with his
music there until his departure for America. George Beleg arrived in the United
States in 1906 and settled in the Turtle Creek Valley Area near Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. From 1906 until 1949, he organized and taught many tamburitza
orchestras in Pennsylvania in such locales as Clairton, East Pittsburgh,
Rankin, Braddock, Wilmerding, Trafford, Pitcairn, McKeesport, Duquesne,
Homestead, North Side Pittsburgh and Monessen. As the years went by, he taught
from 12 orchestras until they increased in number to more than 34 different
tamburitza groups. In some instances he taught three generations of families,
first teaching the fathers, then the sons, and then their children. Mr. Beleg,
along with Dragutin Elias, is generally credited with having organized the
beginnings of the tamburitza movement in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area in the
years following shortly after the turn of the century. Prior to 1910, Beleg
directed the ensemble known as the "Stara Sloboda" (Old Freedom), the
original of the long line of Sloboda orchestras to follow. By 1910, he
organized the Tamburaski Zbor "Sloboda" (Freedom) at East Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. This Sloboda Orchestra is reputed to have been the very first
tamburitza ensemble ever to play over the pioneer radio station KDKA of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which at that time, in the year 1924, was located on
the ninth floor of the K Building in East Pittsburgh. The group presented
broadcasts every Wednesday night for two years, receiving a fee of $25 per
performance. George Beleg served as a proud member of "Hrvatska Vila"
Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 141 of East Pittsburgh, PA. He was highly
regarded as a loyal lodge member and promoter of tamburitza music in the East
Pittsburgh area. By 1912 he had performed the "Hrvatski Sokolski
Zbor," a popular tamburitza orchestra in East Pittsburgh during that time.
Another popular group of Mr. Beleg's was the "G. Beleg Miesovati
Zbor" which included his daughter, Julia, on bisernica, Mary Prstac on
bisernica, Helen Prstac on bugarija, Anthony Cvetnich on brac, Anthony Baburic
on berde and Mr. Beleg on cello. From 1910 to 1920 George Beleg served as the
instructor and leader of the Radnicki, Pievacki, Tamburaski 1 Diletanski Zbor "Bratstvo"
which was organized in Old Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now known as North
Side Pittsburgh. "Bratstvo" played for many dances and picnics in the
greater Pittsburgh area and offered a variety of cultural and musical
performances, including dramatic plays with complete chorus and tamburitza
accompaniment under the direction of Mr. Beleg. Mr. Beleg is also credited with
providing tamburitza entertainment at the first and second Croation Days held
at Kennywood Park in 1932 and 1933. There are countless individuals in
southwestern Pennsylvania who have benefited from the teachings and expertise
of George Beleg. Beleg was not only a well-known tamburitza entertainer but was
greatly respected for his valued instructions which guided the progress of
numerous tamburitza students who later achieved prominence in the tamburitza
field. Throughout his life, Mr. Beleg composed quite a number of Croatian songs
and directed many tamburitza groups and choirs in the communities surrounding
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His passing on March 8,1949 was a great loss not only
to his family but also his long-established friends, students and fellow
musicians who shared his love of the tambura and tamburitza music. He was a
kind man, a true gentleman, a great humanitarian and an excellent fraternalist.
He shared his love and his knowledge freely and will long be remembered for his
outstanding contributions to the world of tamburitza music on the American
continent.
BELIC, ADRIAN and ROKO Documentary Filmmaker
Documentary
filmmaker Adrian Belic woke up
yesterday with a hoarse voice. Although he and his brother, Roko - both nominated in the
documentary feature category for "Genghis
Blues" - didn't win, the Oscars experience was worth it. "We had
so much fun," he said. Adrian, 30, and Roko, 27, both of Vallejo, made a
documentary about San Francisco blind blues singer Paul Pena's trip to Tuva,
Mongolia, to compete in a throat singing contest. "Genghis Blues" was
shot on video for about $45,000. Adrian
said he knew they were underdogs in the Oscar category, which was won by
"One Day in September." "But it didn't matter," he said.
"The experience was just amazing. It really does have the feeling that
you're at the center of the universe for one blip of a moment, and everybody in
the world is watching. " Besides, the Oscar show itself was really
wonderful. We were in the seventh row off to one side and we could see the back
of Michael Caine's head." The brothers took their mom, Danica, with whom they share a rented
house. She had lived with her sons in a dumpy Folsom Street room over an auto
body shop during the two years it took them to make their movie just out of
college. Neither majored in film. "Going to the Oscars was surreal,"
Adrian said in a room crowded with friends and well-wishers yesterday morning.
He had to shout over the festive commotion and frequently put down the phone to
greet people. "Sorry about that," he kept, saying. "With the
parties and hustling our butts off to meet friends at airports, get tuxedos,
get limos so we could actually make it to the show, all of it done on 45
minutes of sleep over an entire weekend
- you get this feeling after a while of being sedated on a strange
planet,"' he said. The brothers had planned a big Oscar acceptance speech.
They were going to give "a big shout" to Pena, who lives in the
Haight but was unable to travel because of illness. And they were going to try
to get Kongar-Ondar, the world's most famous Tuvan throat singer - featured in
the film - to perform, even though Oscar officials had told the Belics they
could not bring Ondar onstage. "We were going to do it anyway," said
Belic. Until a week ago, the Belics were trying to figure out how they would
even get to the Oscar show since both of their cars were broken down and their
mother's wasn't in good enough shape to make a 400-mile trip down Interstate 5.
"When you're a documentary or independent filmmaker, you learn how to
hustle to survive," said Roko. With the help of Bay Area supporters, the
brothers were able to fly. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave
them 10 tickets. The brothers, their mom and singer Ondar took up four, and six
were spread among others who worked on the film, or who helped fund it. In San
Francisco, "Genghis Blues" is being distributed by the Roxie Cinema.
The Web site (www.genghisblues.com) tells of area screenings. Getting a limo in
Los Angeles on Oscar weekend is like trying to score a snow cone in the desert.
The Belics spent hours on the project calling every agency in town. "Finally
we had one lined up, but it fell through," he said. "Then this friend
of a friend of a friend got one, so we went with it.” The limo they crowded
into broke down just as it reached the red carpet in front of the Shrine
Auditorium, where the Oscar show was held. “We had this perfect plan to arrive
at the most visible spot right in front of the
crowd and where the big oversized Oscar thing was standing," he
said. 'We, got out, and just as we did, I looked back and the driver was trying
to crank the keys. The car had died. "Then suddenly this whole army of
Secret Service-looking guys came along and started to push. They pushed our
dead limo away and people cheered,” Then there was the hassle of getting tuxes.
They tried to keep the cost under $ 100. They shopped by phone and finally
found "a deal." One reason the Belics, got so little sleep was all
the partying. The night before the Oscars, they went to a big one at the Screen
Directors Guild and another at a club in Santa Monica. "We had no idea who
the people were, but the food was great. It was a terrific party." At
about 2 a.m., the Belics went with Ondar and some friends to downtown Los
Angeles to "cruise the Shrine." "We just. wanted to see what it
looked like with all ”the people sleeping out," Belic said. It was like a
party. So they talked Ondar into giving an impromptu throat singing concert.
And the brothers passed out postcards advertising their film. After the Oscar
show, the brothers and Mom and Ondar crowded into the Governor's Ball, which
all Oscar contenders get to go to. It's a big after show event, so really cool
people like Jack Nicholson or Clint Eastwood don't bother to attend. But
"it was amazing," said Belic of the star power. "It was like the
hobnob center of the universe." Their mother was tired after the
Governor's Ball, so she went back to the hotel. The brothers went on to a huge
wingding at the Congo Room given by Artisan Entertainment, producers of
"Buena Vista, Social Club," another Oscar documentary contender.
"Unbelievable," said' Belic, of that bash. "Then we made our way
somehow to the Miramax party at the Beverly Hills Hotel." That was one of
the great parties, Belic said. Real Oscars were standing on tables all over the
place, but people were so nonchalant that "'they might as well have just
been table decorations. But what was really cool is that I got to talk to
Michael Caine. Then we got to meet Quentin Tarantino, the 'Pulp Fiction' guy’,
He had actually heard of our movie.” By Peter Stack CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
March 28, 2000
BELIC, ANGEL Professor-Attorney-Editor
Professor
and Chairman of the Foreign Language
Department, Wilkes College, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Born April 12,
1915 in Djakovo, Croatia, married.
Education includes 2nd Class. Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia, Diploma 1934;
University of Zagreb,1934-1939, Dr. of Law, 1939; University of Rome 1939-1947
(with interruptions). Dr. of Political Science, 1947. Leipzig, Germany, summer
1939; Geneva, Switzerland, 1942; Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachutes1968: special course in teaching techniques of Romance Languages.
Major field was Political Science, Law and specialty in Spanish Language and
History of Hispanic Civilization. Thesis: 1947 "La posizione di un popolo
senza propio stato nel quadro dello Statuto delle Nazioni Unite." Rome.
Dissertation for doctorate of Political Science (Cum Laude). Published articles
in the field of Political Science and
publications in Studia Croatica, Buenos Aires, and in Hrvatska Revija
(Croatian Review). Co-editor of Studia Croatica (Spanish) from 1959 to 1967.
Articles in Hrvatski Dnevnik (The Croatian Daily) Written as its Rome
correspondent 1940. Nineteen years of residence in Argentina.
BELIC, LIZA Professor
Lizza
Belic is a College Instructor at Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
She was born on November 14, 1917 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. She attended the local
schools in Dubrovnik and graduated from the University of Zagreb in 1939. She
has a Masters Degree in language and literature and speaks Croatian, Spanish,
French, Italian and German. She came to America in 1968.
BENKOVICH CLAN Restaurant-Hotel
In
about1895 the brothers Nikola and Andrija Benkovich-Groseta came to America
from Babino PoIje, Island of Mljet, Croatia. On his departure to America
Andrija left his wife and son in Mljet. He first lived and worked in Oakland
and later moved to Monterey where he worked as a cook in a restaurant. Later he
became the coowner of a restaurant in Monterey. His brother Nikola also lived
in Oakland for some time and then moved to Watsonville where he was with S.
Strazicich a co-owner of the hotel "Morning Star" When they sold the
hotel, he moved to Monterey where he worked in a restaurant as a cook like his
brother Andrija. There he married Maria who was of Portugese origin. They had
no children.
BENKOVICH, IVAN Artist
Ivan
Benkovic was born in Recica near Karlovac in 1887. He graduated from the
gymnasium in Karlovac and then enrolled at the School of Art in Zagreb. His
favorite works featured landscape and romantic subjects. His first exhibition
took place in Zagreb in 1911; afterwards he lived for a while in Vienna and
Paris. When the outbreak of World War I made his stay in Paris impossible, he
had his family moved to America. Living under difficult conditions, Benkovic
engaged in commercial art. Then by the intervention of Nikola Tesla he obtained
a job as illustrator and reporter for a Chicago newspaper. He produced many
scenes of Chicago and of the Atlantic coast, sometimes signing his works with
the pseudonym "Bankov." His oil paintings "View of the Harbor in
Chicago," "Swamp," "Scarlet Sagebrush," and
"Self-portrait" are preserved in Zagreb, but, the majority of his
drawings and paintings have been lost. Among his best known works dealing with
Croatian immigrants is a huge oil, executed for the Croatian League, during
World War 1, entitled "Liberation of Croatia," reproductions of which
were circulated in this country. This powerful and very promising artist died
in New York in 1918.
BENKOVICH, JOHN E. Military-Crane
Operator
Mr.
Benkovich was born May 7, 1914, in Mount Olive, Illinois, moving to Sugar
Creek, Missouri at the age of two. He served with the U.S. Army 79th Infantry
in the European Theater during World War II, and was awarded four Bronze Stars. He was a crane operator
for the Amoco Oil Co. for 36 years, retiring in 1976. He was a member of the
Knights of Columbus and Nativity of Mary Catholic Church. John Edward Benkovich
Sr., 85, Independence, Missouri died Saturday, April 8, 2000, at Truman Medical
Center. His wife of 53 years, Mildred Benkovich, died in 1999. His survivors
include one son, John E. Benkovich Jr., Overland Park, Kansas, a daughter and
son-in-law, Francine and Leon Davis, Blue Springs; four grandchildren, Breck
and Dustin Benkovich, and Aaron and Jeff Davis; one brother, Steve Benkovich,
Blue Springs; one sister, Helen Lee, Kansas City. A Mass of Christian burial
will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the church. Entombment will follow in the
Mount Olivet Cemetery Mausoleum, Raytown.
BERANEK, JERRY Lumberjack-King of the
Woods
Jerry
Beranek is the king of the woods- he’s the only man in the world to climb a
colossal 357-foot-tall redwood tree. Jerry climbs redwoods for a hobby, sliding
and pulling and dragging himself ever upward until in the treetop he can see
for miles around and people below look no bigger than tiny ants. Like a real-life Tarzan, the 33-year-old
daredevil who is from Fort Bragg,
California, swings from branches of smaller trees to the towering tree he wants
to conquer, then propels himself by rope until he reaches the top of the
stately tree towering over the forest. “Getting to the top is another three
hours. You can’t attack the tree
directly. “Its Girth at the bottom is more than 20 feet, too big around to
accommodate the safety line and rope. “So i start out climbing a smaller
redwood, 10 feet in diameter of less, whose upper branches stretch to the big
tree I want to reach.” Lugging 25 pounds of equipment and a 10 pound backpack
on his 6-foot-1 frame, he searches for a spot where the branch system of the
tree he’s on is level with the one he wants to conquer. “I’m about 200 or 250
feet in the air and I make like Tarzan and swing myself from one tree to
another,”the gutsy climber explained. Jerry’s been climbing redwoods for 10
years and he’s climbed within 10 feet of scaling the largest tree in the world-
a 367-foot monster that’s thousands of years old. When he reaches the top of a
giant tree, he takes photos, listens to his transistor radio and eats a picnic
lunch as the world below him seems small and distant. “It’s magnificent up
there,” he said. “There’s nothing in the world like a redwood high.”
BERETICH, DOMINIK Military-Fisherman
Dominik
Beretich Dies in U.S. Military Service-Dominik Beretich, a member of Croatian
Fraternal Union Lodge 439 in Seattle, Washington since July, 1913, gave his
life for his new homeland in World War 1. Beretich, a fisherman and
brother-in-law of lodge co-founder, Franjo Franicevich, was a U.S. citizen and
as such, was conscripted to serve in the U.S. forces in Europe. He died
September 29, 1918 on the battlefield in France.
BERIC, LYDIA Librarian
Lydia
Beric nee Marinovic was born June 29, 1936, Skopje, Macedonia. She is the head
librarian at Brighton Park Branch Library in Chicago, Illinois. She completed
her education at the University of Zagreb, Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty
1954-60; Roosevelt University Chicago, in English 1962-64; University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. M.A. L.S. 1965. She speaks Italian, Russian and
Croatian.
BERKANOVIC, EDWARD T. Attorney
Edward
Berkanovic is an attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a general law practice.
Born September 1, 1909 in West Allis, Wisconsin he is married with two
children. Education includes University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. B.A.
-1931; University of Wisconsin, Law School LL.B. -1934; University of
Wisconsin, Law School J.D. -1966 with a major field of American History and Law
and a specialty in Probate Law,
Corporate Law, Real Estate Law. Published Courts of Milwaukee County 1934,
Wisconsin Law Review, Law School, University of Wisconsin. Member of
International Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi; Croatian Fraternal Union;
Slovene National Benefit Society. Presently Goverment Appeal Agent, Board 48,
Selective Service System of the U.S.; Attorney for Yugoslav Consulate for the
State of Wisconsin.
BEROS, MATHEW Photographer
He
was born October 2, 1897 in Podgora, Dalmatia, Croatia. As a professional
photographer for over 35 years, he traveled to many corners of the world,
including Croatia, New Zealand, South Sea Islands, Australia, Europe and many
parts of the United States. He practiced his craft in Cleveland, Ohio where he
won numerous awards. In the early 1960's, he and his wife retired to New
Orleans, Louisiana, where he lived until his death. A tribute paid to him upon
the receipt of one of his many awards reads: "Mr. Beros is the type of man
you like to remember as an exemplar of genuine culture and refinement, You may
justly say he has 'social intelligence.' He speaks with a delightful and
correct accent on topics relating to his voluminous travels, his hobby and
anything that you may be interested in." "Whilst still a youngster,
brother Beros always sought out the scenic spots of nature and reveled in their
beauty. At the age of 16, the wanderlust
seized him and he started his world travel. Upon his return to Dalmatia about
four years ago, he met Maria, for the first time and proposed to her 25 minutes
later. and he says that he made a good choice," said another review
published in the early 1930's. Mathew Beros was a longtime member of American
Croatian Pioneers Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 663 of Cleveland, Ohio.
Matthew S. Beros died on May 9, 1986 at
the age of 88. Surviving are his sisters Antica Milicic and Yovanka Sisarich of
Australia. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Osretkar Beros, a brother
Ivan and sister Marian,
BERRY, THEODORE Fisherman-Postmaster
Theodore
Berry came to Dockton, Washington as a beach seiner in 1905, and, during the
ensuing years, had acquired several engine powered seiners. He had been
recognized as an ambitious young man upon his arrival in 1899, when he had
accompanied the mother and sister of Mary Babare Love to the United States.
This enterprising young man had his female companions placed in steerage, and,
upon landing, presented the money saved by this bit of frugality to Stephen
Babare. In 1912, he married Rose Bussanich, the daughter of the drydock
blacksmith, and became Dockton's postmaster, a position he held for twenty-eight
years. Theodore Berry was known for his farsightedness and his closeness to
county political thinking. "His influence with King County government
resulted in the construction of the Dockton Park in 1932-33, which provided
work for local men. The park has become a haven for latter-day pleasure
boaters, who flock to its docks on warm summer weekends. Fishing boats were
often called upon for emergency service during the flu epidemic of 1924.
Theodore Berry's boat, the Kanaka Boy, made regular trips to Tacoma to
transport the doctor to Dockton. 0ne stormy night, Theo was summoned by his
wife's family. Sandro Bussanich was desperately ill, as was his wife, Anne. The
Kanaka Boy made a desperate run to Des Moines through heavy seas kicked up by a
full southwester, only to arrive back with the doctor too late to save either
of the two Bussaniches.
BERTOVICH, JOHN Shipyard Worker
He
was born March 25, 1911 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania and moved to San Pedro
after WW II. While employed at the Long
Beach Naval Shipyard, John and his wife Eva raised two sons, John and Anthony
and one daughter Mary. Ann Kucic, John‘s
sister resided in Pennsylvania after John moved to California.
BEZIC, SANDRA
Olympics-TV Sports
Sandra Bezic, a 1972 Olympian and former Canadian pairs
champion, joined NBC Sports in 1990
as an analyst for its figure skating coverage. Sandra skated competitively
with her brother, Val, from 1967 through the mid-1970s. She and her
brother won the Canadian pairs novice title in 1967 and the Canadian
senior competition four straight times from 1970-1973. Sandra has served
as the analyst on numerous NBC Sports' figure skating events, including
four World Figure Skating Championships 1991-1993 and 1995 and the World
Professional Figure Skating Championships from 1990-1995. She has
designed programs for many top skaters, including Brian Boitano, Katarina
Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi and Kurt Browning. Sandra Bezic has
choreographed and/or produced more than 25 television specials in Canada
and the United States, including the Emmy Award-wining "Carmen on
Ice." She won Gemini awards for producing Browning's "You Must
Remember This" and Brian Orser's "Night Moves." Bezic also
produced the North American Tour of "Stars on Ice" and is the
author of "Passion to Skate: An Intimate View of Figure
Skating." Sandra and her brother Val are Canadian Croatians.
BEZMALINOVICH, NICK King of
Fishing-Airlines
The
biography of Nick Bez (Nikola Bezmalinovich), wealthy Dalmatian fisherman of
Seattle, Washington, reads like a narrative from the pen of Horatio Alger, but
is a true-to-life rags-to-riches story. Until 1945 he remained relatively
unknown east of the Rockies. In that year, however, he was photographed rowing
a boat as the then President Harry S. Truman was fishing for salmon in Puget
Sound, and suddenly he was shoved into the national limelight. He became the
subject of much speculation and inquiry. He became a personal friend of
President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. Who was Nick Bez? Though this
fabulous fisherman is a man of national repute and one of the most eminent
Croatian immigrants in America today, only the barest details of his life are
available. He was born on August 25, 1895, on the Dalmatian Island of Brac, one
of the larger Adriatic isles situated southwest of the town of Split on the
mainland. As a mere boy he became acquainted with fishing, sailing, the
hardships, and the adventures on the Adriatic. Like many other Dalmatians
brought up on the sea, Nick learned about greater opportunities across the
Atlantic, and so he early left his home and emigrated to the United States.
Though he was fortunate enough to have his passage paid for him by his father,
he arrived virtually penniless and friendless in New York in 1910. He was a
mere boy in a strange new land. As be explained, “ I had no relatives, friends
or acquaintances in the United States so I was on my own." He made his way
to the West Coast, where he knew there were other Dalmatians, many of them
engaged in the fisheries. Not knowing any other life or trade but that of the
sea, Nick Bez started his career in the new land by borrowing a rowboat and
fishing for smelts on the Pacific. For an ordinary lad of fifteen to break into
the fishing business would have been virtually impossible. But Nick seemed to
have something that most of those around him lacked. He was strong, courageous,
resourceful, and above everything else, determined to succeed. After six years
of hard work, dogged persistence, and extraordinary thrift, he became the owner
of a big salmon boat, a purse seiner.
Possession
of his own equipment, however, did not mean the end of the struggle for
survival but, instead, the beginning of a new phase of that fight, an exciting
though a somewhat unpleasant experience. As a boat owner he became involved in
a contest, with no holds barred, for control of the lucrative Alaskan salmon
industry. Big Nick (who is 6 feet 2 inches -in height and weighs 225 pounds)
led the purse seiners against the beach seiners (who use horses to drag flat nets
up on the shore). The conflict was long, drawn-out, and bloody, but ultimately
he succeeded in completely crushing the opposition.
Thenceforth
Bez had comparatively smooth sailing. He expanded his holdings by buying one
boat after another. In 1931 he branched out into the airlines business with the
purchase of Alaska Southern Airways, which he later sold to Pan American at a
large profit. He bounced back into competition, however, with the West Coast
Airlines in 1946. Also in this same year he began canning fish on board a large
converted freighter belonging to the United States (something he had been doing
on his own ships on a limited scale for a number of years), supported by the
government in Washington and financed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
The avowed purpose of this undertaking was to prove'that American fishermen
could replace the Japanese, who, in the years preceding World War II, caught
and processed 66 per cent of the world's tuna in their floating canneries and
virtually monopolized the multimillion-a-year catch of the Bering Sea's huge
king crabs. The experiment ended in 1948, deemed a complete success, and Bez
returned to the use of his own floating canneries.
Nick
Bez is one of the wealthiest and most influential of the Croatian Americans. He
owns or controls a string of fishing boats, four of the biggest salmon
canneries in the Pacific Northwest, two gold mines, and an airline. His
airline, Air West, was later sold to Howard Hughes for 100 million dollars
He
is married (to the former Magdalene Doratich, an American-born Croatian) and
has two grown boys. He is a member of the Transportation Council of the United
States Department of Commerce, the National Democratic Club, and many other
organizations.
Because
of his generous contributions to the Democratic party and his friendship with
high government officials, Bez has been accused of using his political
connections to the detriment of small fishermen. This hurts the big fellow. He
confesses that processors, including himself, "cotch too damn many
feesh" to maintain an adequate supply. He favors a stabilization of the
industry by developing new grounds and methods.
BIANKINI, ANTE Doctor-Publisher-Author
A
contemporary of Dr. Vecki was Dr. Ante Biankini, also a physician; he was also
active as a politician, proponent for the South Slav cause, publisher, editor,
and writer. He arrived in Chicago in 1898. For years he practiced as a
physician and surgeon and was well known to thousands of the large Croatian
colony in Chicago. His reputation as a surgeon at Mercy and Columbus hospitals
and as a professor at Northwestern University was further enhanced by a number
of scholarly books in the field of medicine written in English and Croatian.
BIELE, LUKA Fisherman-Fishdealer
Luka
was born in Cavtat, Dalmatia, Croatia as was his father before him. His birth
date was October 5, 1875. He was born
Luka Kristov Bjele. His father's name
was Kristo. his great grandfather's name
was Antun B. I am told he has at least
one sibling who had a son. This son was
in the military and sailed into San Francisco, California once and visited my
grandmother's family in Richmond. My
grandmother was teased by her brothers because she looked so much like her
cousin. Someone sent me a paragraph from
a book that was in Croatian. From what I
have been able to piece together, his great grandfather Antun B was born around
1717 and died around 1792. He came to
Cavtat around 1737. He Italianized the
name to Bianca towards the end of the 17th century. (1780)
He had two sons, Miho and Kristov.
Kristov was a ship captain. Miho
was an undersea diver. Kristov, Antun
and Miha were the sons of Miho. Antun
Antunov Bianchi was a business man who moved to Cairo, Egypt in 1866. Luka is listed in the 1900 census as having
immigrated here in 1892. He was 25
years old, called himself Luke Biele and was a boarder and a fisherman. It states he had been in the U.S. for eight
years. He was not a citizen. He is 25 years old. In the 1910 census, he is married now for
about four years and has two sons, Christopher age 3, and Howard, age 2. He is 34 years old and his occupation is a
fish dealer. He lived next door to his
wife's family. He had married Rosie
Freitas. She was born in San Pablo of
Portugese immigrants, Joseph and Mary Freitas and came from a family of ten
children. He uses the name Louis
Beal. He is in Contra Costa County. He
had married Rosie in St. Francis De Sales Church in Oakland California on
Nobember 7, 1905. In the 1920 census, he
calls himself Louis Beale. He is a
lodger, age 44 years old and lodges with his son, Christopher,13, and his
daughter, age 7. He has been divorced
now about four years. It states he
immigrated in 1890. He became a
naturalized citizen in Pennsylvania in 1890. It states he was born in Dalmatia
and his native tongue is Slavonian and the same is listed for his parents. He is listed as a retail fish merchant. His is listed in the 1927 phone directory as
LC Biele, 719 Wood St. in the business
listings. Otherwise he is listed as
Louis C. Biele, fish, 719 Wood St. We
do not know when he came to San Francisco.
He fished commercially with Mr. Spanger of San Francisco's famous
restaurant. He died at age 69 in 1945,
known as Louie Biele, according to his obituary. According to California Death Records, his
name was Lucas Christopher Biele. At
that time, he was a resident of San Pablo.
He was a commercial fisherman at the time of his death and his obituary
states he had engaged in the fishing business all of his life. He was a member of the Oakland aeries of
Eagles, the Moose Lodge, and St. Paul's Church of San Pablo. He was survived by
his sons Howard Louis Biele of Richmond, Christopher Earl Biele of San
Francisco, and his daughter, Alice Gertrude Biele Neckel of Richmond. He had five grandchildren; Beverly Neckel, Edward (Fritz) Neckel, and
Wayne Neckel. Louie Biele was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Richmond,
California. (Denise Jackson 2004)
BILAFER, JOSEPH B.
Goldminer-Restaurant-Croatian Activities
Born
in Strp, Boka Kotorska, Dalmatia in 1876. He came to America in 1891. For the first couple of
years he worked in gold mines, and then moved to San Francisco where he was
involved in restaurant business. He was a Treasurer of Croatian Union of the
Pacific for six years, before he became its President in 1927. He is a former
president of Slavonic Mutual Benevolent Society and president of Committee for
75th Anniversary Celebration of this Society. Member of Croatian Benevolent
Society Zvonimir-Dalmatia.
BILANDIC, MICHAEL
Mayor-Councilman-Chief Justice
Michael
A. Bilandic grew up in a Croatian connnunity in Chicago. He served as Mayor of
Chicago from 1976 to 1979. Elected to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1990, he
has served since Jan 1. 1994, as Chief Justice. Not only is he an accomplished
lawyer, politician, and justice, but Michael Bilandic has also become a
respected artist and photographer in Chicago. Michael Bilandic was born in
Chicago on Feb. 13, 1923. He attended St. Jerome Croatian parish school at 2823
S. Princeton Ave, and De LaSalle High School at 35th and Wabash. He graduated
from St. Mary's College in Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree and from
De Paul University College of Law with a Doctor Juris degree. He served as a
First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps during World War 11. Bilandic began
practicing law in Chicago in 1949. A member of the Chicago City Council from
1969 through 1976, he was elected mayor of the City of Chicago in 1976 and
served until 1979. He became Chief Justice on Jan. 1, 1994. Bilandic's rise to
success than is his optimism and determination. A youthful spirit, 76-year-old
Justice Bilandic is a forward-thinker and a man of great wisdom. He is also a
remarkable athlete; he runs marathons, plays tennis, and swims.
On
the 10th Anniversary of Mayor Daley's death, Bilandic said "I would gladly
mortgage everything I own for my son to have the opportunity to be influenced
and mentored. in this field by someone like Mayor Richard J. Daley." Both
Richard Daley and Bilandic grew up in the neighborhood of Bridgeport, and it
was in Bridgeport, the I I th ward of Chicago, that they began their
influential careers. In 1969, Bilandic won the alderman seat in the I I th
ward. In 1976, Mayor Daley died suddenly. Bilandic took over as Acting
Mayor. Six months later, Bilandic won
the general election to become Chicago's first Croatian American mayor. He won
over 77 percent of the vote. In 1984, Bilandic was elected to the Ist District
Appellate Court, where he served until his election to the Illinois Supreme
Court in 1990. He became Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court on Jan. 1,
1994 and continues to serve.
Bilandic
still remembers taking Croatian language classes during regular school hours at
St. Jerome's School in Bridgeport. Even other I I th ward children, including
the children of Irish and Italian immigrants, attended the Croatian language
lessons. He spoke Croatian with his parents at home and spent six months of his
childhood on the island of Brac, Croatia, studying out of books from St.
Jerome's on a trip with his two brothers, his sister, and his beloved mother.
Mike Bilandic says he was brought up in an incredibly loving and caring home.
His parents both came to the United States from Croatia in the early 1900s. His
mother Dinka Lebedina (the name changed in America to Mimi) came from the
village of Bobovisce on the island of Brac, Croatia. His father Mate Bilandzic
immigrated from Dicmo, a village near Sinj, Croatia. They had four children,
Ivka Eleonore (1922), Michael (1923), Stephen (1925), and Nick (1927). The
family name was changed to Bilandic. Keeping in touch with his roots has
contributed to Mike Bilandic's strong sense of identity. He always wanted to
share his Croatian family roots with both his wife Heather, and son Michael
Morgan. Bilandic says, "I wanted my son to experience the same things I
experienced." Michael and Heather were married while he was mayor, on July
15, 1978, at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Since his wife Heather signed him
up for art classes at the Evanston Arts Center 12 years ago, Bilandic has
received guidance from famous artists and photographers, including his wife,
Heather, who is herself a talented artist in oil paints. Photographer Dell
Herman said, " People are surprised at how good he is." His subjects
range from the 100-year-old tree in front of his house to photographs of North
Avenue beach. Other favorite photographs include a picture of his wife Heather,
on a Gold Coast side street. He has also taken his love of photography to
Croatia, where he took a favorite photograph of fishermen by boats at Makarska,
a coastal town that Bilandic call the "Palm Beach of Croatia." Just
last year (1998), he used a picture of his grandparents' home as a Christmas
card for family and friends. Justice Bilandic appears in several photographs
himself, posing with President Jimmy Carter, Senator Adlai Stevenson, Mayor
Richard Daley, George Dunne, Ed Vrydolyak, among many other national and local
politicians. Bilandic's son Michael Jr. currently attends the University of
Texas. His wife Heather earned a bachelor's degree from Smith College and a MBA
from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She has also
served the city of Chicago as executive director of the Chicago Council on fine
arts. Recognized as a long-time friend, mentor, and model to many Croatian
Americans, Chief Justice Bilandic encourages those starting out, no matter what
the venture or task they attempt, despite all of its uncertainty and fate. He
quotes the old Mayor Daley, "When God closes a door, he opens a window.
"
BILICH JOSEPH T. Industrial Relations
Joseph
Bilich is Director of Industrial Relations at Hoover Bearing Division, Hoover
Ball and Bearing Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan, He was born May 16, 1933 in
Weirton, W.Virginia and is married with five children. Education includes
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, B.S., 1955. (Business
Administration); Attended various courses and seminars at Columbia, University
of Michigan, Wayne State University with a major field inIndustrial and Labor
Relations; Organization Development and a specialty of Professional Manager,
Generalist. Member of American Society for Training and Development; Beta Alpha
Phi:Honorary Business Fraternity; Industrial Relations Association of Detroit.
Occupational experience includes 1955 Labor Relations training, Aliquippa,
Pennsylvania; 1956 Promotion Labor Relation Analyst; 1958 Promotion Supervisor,
Industrial Relations, Louisville, Ohio; 1962 Promotion Assistant Division Manager,
Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp., Detroit, Michigan; 1968 Promotion Co-ordinator
of Labor Agreements, J. & L. Pittsburgh; 1969 Director of Industrial
Relations, Hoover Bearing Division, Hoover Ball and Bearing Company. Received
J. P. Niland Award in 1955 for "Most Outstanding Student in
Management"; former member of the Duquesne University Tamburitzans.
BILICH, MATT J. Oysterbeds-Oyster
Market
Matt
J, Bilich, 732 Governor Nicholas Street, New Orleans, Louisiana is a highly
successful oyster man, a planter and distributor of oysters, and has been
associated with this industry in New Orleans and the Gulf coast area near the
mouth of the Mississippi River since he was twelve years of age. Mr. Bilich
began work in the oyster trade in 1906 and was employed by his father in the
Bayou Cook area for several years . In 1911 he started his own business and
during his youth. and early manhood was considered one of the most outstanding
fishermen of this section, oftentimes working from fourteen to eighteen hours per
day and frequently as much as twenty four hours without stopping. Practically
eighty per cent of his oyster crop was destroyed in the disastrous storm of
1915 and Mr. Bilich almost lost his life as well, but recovered and soon
re-established his business and aided materially in the general rehabilitation
of the industry. Matt J. Bilich was born in Croatia on the ninth of November,
1894, a son of John M. Bilich, a widely-known local fisherman and oysterman
until his death in 1915, and Maude (Zibilich) Bilich, now well past seventy
years of age. When he was twelve years of age, Mr. Bilich came with his parents
to the United States, settling in Plaquemines Parish. The maternal grandfather
of Mr. Bilich, Luke Zibilich, fished for oysters in Bayou Cook for many years
and his son, Paul, was a director in the old Whitney Central National Bank of
New Orleans. On the sixth of April, 1926, Mr. Bilich was married in New Orleans
to Miss Francis Hihar, a native of Plaquemines, Parish who was born and reared
at Empire. Mr. and Mrs. Bilich have three children, Madeline, born the
twenty-ninth of March, 1927, a graduate of McDonough School No. 15 in New
Orleans; John, born the eighth of December, 1929, and Catherine Bilich, who was
born the first of August, 1930. Anthony Zibilich, Mr. Bilich's uncle, was
formerly associated in business with Mr. Bilich but later returned to Europe
and since that time Mr. Bilich has had sole charge of the cultivation and
operation of the oyster beds located in Bayou Chalon and Bayou La Chute. In
1931 Mr. Bilich formed the Louisiana Oyster Men's Protective Association and
was named vice-president of the organization. In 1933 he established a retail
oyster market situated at 732 Governor Nicholas Street operated in co-operation
with a number of other oystermen. Mr. Bilich is a member of the Slavonian
Benefit Association and has been affiliated with that organization for nearly thirty years. He was formerly a member
of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and is connected with the Masonic order. Mr. Bilich is a recognized authority on
oysters and an article dealing with various phases of the industry appeared in
the February fifteenth, 1931 issue, of a leading New Orleans paper.
BIOCINA, GEORGE Ranch-Laundry
George
Biocina, clan name Ronje, was born in 1882 in Postira, Island of Brac,
Dalmatia, Croatia. He came to San Francisco, California in 1904. He was
employed by the Gallant Laundry Company until 1916 when he went into the
laundry business at his home on Persia Street in the Excelsior District which
he built in 1916. In 1922 he constructed a large laundry on Brazil Avenue which
included two houses, four building home sites and the laundry. His partner in
the laundry was George Santich also from Brac. George expanded his holdings by
purchase of a large 22 acre orchard in Mountain View in 1933. He bought this
ranch during the economic depression with cash. George Biocina was an excellent
businessman with a sense of humor and an outgoing personality and was
considered a leader in the Croatian-Dalmatian community. He held many parties
at his ranch with barbequed lamb and home made wine. He was known to have made
spirits from 1919-1931. He was a life long member of the Slavonic Society of
San Francisco. George married Katie Lazaneo from Postira, Brac in 1907 at the
Croatian church of Nativity in San Francisco. Margaret was born in 1908; John
in 1909; Catherine in 1911; Anton in 1912; Nancy in 1914; George in 1916; Peter
in 1918; Mary in 1921. Margaret, John, and Mary died as children. George had a
brother, Peter, in San Francisco and cousins Spiro in San Pedro and Ljubo in
San Francisco. His wife Katie Lazaneo had a brother Nikola in Cupertino with a
ranch and sister Lena Jelincich in San Jose.
BIOCINA, MICHAEL Pharmacist
Died
in Watsonville, California, May 14, 1978;
survived by two sisters, Eva Skarich of San Francisco and May Skarich
also of San Francisco; and a brother, George Skarich of Greenbrae; a veteran of
WWII; a member of B. P. O. E. 1300 in Watsonville, American Legion,
California Pharmaceutical Assn., California Alumni Assn., Kappa Psi; a retired
pharmacist, had been in this occupation for 49 years; graduated from UC
Pharmaceutical School in 1930 and had lived in San Francisco for 18 years; a
native of Los Angeles; aged 68 years.
BISKUP, LUKE P. Fruit Packing Farm
Luke
P. Biskup, prominently identified with the fruit-packing industry of
Watsonville, is a self-made man. He was
born June 5, 1887, in the province of Dalmatia, Croatia, and was reared on a
farm. His education was acquired in his native land and in 1908, when eighteen
years of age, he yielded to the lure of the new world. After reaching the
United States he started for Watsonville, where he joined an older brother, who
has preceded him to the Pacific coast. For three years he was employed on fruit
farms in the Pajaro valley, driving teams and also doing plowing, pruning and
other labor. He worked for a year in the orchards near San Jose, saving as much
as possible from his wages, and on his return to Watsonville rented the
Litchfield ranch, a sixty-acre tract, for which he paid the sum of four hundred
dollars per annum. The place was situated in Green valley and twenty acres were
devoted to apricots, peaches, cherries and pears. The first year was a
disastrous one and Mr. Biskup lost a thousand dollars but made up his loss in
the second year, making a profit of one thousand dollars. He next leased the
Chris Johnson ranch of eighty acres, twenty of which were utilized for the
growing of apples, and operated the property for three years. He paid an annual
rental of eight hundred dollars, and his profits for each year amounted to one
thousand dollars. Mr. Biskup then bought a twenty-acre apple orchard in the
Railroad district for eight thousand dollars and operated the ranch
successfully for two years, when he sold it for sixteen thousand dollars,
doubling his money. For the past five
years Mr. Biskup has engaged in packing and shipping green and dried fruits,
designated as Rosebud brand, working on an independent basis, and in this
venture he has been equally successful. He shipped forty carloads of fruit in
1923 and under his expert management the business is enjoying a rapid growth.
In 1922 Mr. Biskup married Miss Anna Glage, who was born in South Dakota, and
they own a nice home in Watsonville. Mr. Biskup gives his undivided attention
to his business, and the Austria Benevolent Society is the only organization
with which he is connected.
BIZACA, JOSEPH Carpenter
Joseph
was born in the village of Postira on the Island of Brac and migrated to the
America in 1939. He worked as a carpenter and resided like so many other folks
from Brac, in the Excelsior District of San Francisco where he was to meet a
young lady, also from Postira, Rita Vlahovich. They were to marry and have five
children; James, Joseph, Stephanie, Peter and Kathy. Joe was an avid fisherman
and a great dancer who loved to polka. Joe became a master of his trade and was
the job superintendent for the construction at his parish church, Corpus
Christi. Upon his retirement in 1979, Joe and Rita moved to Citrus Heights. He
was a 50-year-plus member of the Slavonian Society. Joe died on January 31,
1995 and leaves his loving spouse, Rita, five children and 4 grandchildrcn.
BLAGDON, CHARLES M. Photographer
Born
and raised in San Francisco. Graduate of Balboa High School. World War 11 Navy
Seabee Veteran. Prize winning photographer for United Press International, 40
years. Danco Realty, 20 years. Member of Slavonic Mutual Benevolent Society,
SIRS Branch 57 and Excelsior Boys. Beloved husband of Mary Lou Blagdon, married
50 years in April of 2001; loving father of Linda Menary, Chris and Dan
Blagdon, dearest father-in-law of Brad Menary and Terry Blagdon; awesome
grandfather of Scott and Michael Menary and Kevin, Brian and Giana Blagdon;
devoted son of Josephine and the late Charles Blagdon; loving brother of Helen
Hix and many nieces, nephews and sister and brothers-in-law. Charlie passed
away at age 74 on January 8, 2001.
BLASKOVICH, JERRY Doctor-Author
Jerry
Blaskovich was born, 1934, in Chicago.
He served six years in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during the Korean
War. Subsequently he attended the
University of Zagreb School of Medicine and interned at Cook County
Hospital-Chicago. While Blaskovich
completed the residency in Dermatology at USC-L.A. County Hospital, Los
Angeles, he was Fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health in
Psychocutaneuos Diseases.
In
1971 he became Diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and a member of
the American Academy of Dermatology, Metropolitan Dermatological Society of Los
Angeles, Long Beach Dermatology Society, and Pacific Dermatology
Association. He served several terms on
the Board of Directors of the Califonia Congress of Dermatological Societies,
which represented over 2,800 dermatologists in California. Most recently he was appointed to the
International Society of Dermatology.
Aside
from his medical career, he is an active in numerous American civic
organizations. Most notably--The Boys
Club of San Pedro. A board member since
1970, he held all board positions, including two terms as president. He was one of the founders and first
president of the Croatian Catholic Family Guild of Mary Star of the Sea Parish. He is also one of the founders and serves on
the Advisory Board of the World Congress of Croatian Phsyicians. Presently he serves ont he Advisory Council
of the Gustave von Grunbaum Center for Near Eastern Studies at UCLA.
Despite
maintaining a busy practice and teaching at USC as Assistant Clinical
Professor, to satisfy his intellectual curiosity, he took time and attended
UCLA. In December 1992 he received a
Master of Art degree in Islamic Art History (Minor in Islamic Studies and
Balkan History).
Blaskovich
anticipated the need to aid Croatia even before the Serb led Yugoslav forces
initiated overt warfare. He spearheaded
humanitarian efforts to supply much needed medications and visited the
frontlines several times. He evaluated
medical facilities, refugee camps, interviewed and examined war crimes and rape
camp victims for the Foreign Press Bureau.
To
deconstruct the rampant disinformation that has pervaded the conflict in the
former Yugoslavia, he has had numerous letters to the editors and Op-Ed
published in newspapers and periodicals throughout the United States and
England, and addressed civic groups, such as the Lions and Kiwanis. He presented the plenary address at the World
Federation of Humanists. At the
University of California at Irvine,
sponsored by the Rosen Holocaust Center, he gave a keynote address on the
Serbian atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as headed an open
forum on the subject. Books published: “Anatomy and Deceit” (Dunhill
Publishing; New York: 1997) “Anatomija Prijevare” (Moderna vremena; Zagreb:
1998) “The Zagreb Mosques A Study of
Non-Muslim Sponsorship of Islamic Art in the Balkan Heart of Christendom”
(UCLA; Los Angeles: 1992) Hits and Myths of Croatia and Bosnia: Chapter in “The
Proceeding of the XV International Humanists Congress” (Springer; New York:
1997)
BLAZEVICH, BILL Tamburitza and Kolo
Bill
died on May 21, 1990 in San Francisco. Bill, who never married, cherished the
Croatian Fraternal Union and his endeavors left us with a fuller feeling of
fraternalism. His contributions to our
cultural program has left its impression on all of us who learned to dance the
kolo, play tamburitza music and sing the songs of our heritage. He was our
mentor and he was especially delighted when he taught our youth the music and
dances of their heritage. Bill loved
children and was for many years, the Nest Manager of our own Nest 282. Our late
brother Bill also played a major role in the administration of our lodge. He, at one time or another, held every lodge
position but preferred to remain on the sidelines and let other take the
bows. He rarely missed a lodge meeting
and for a number of years hosted the meetings in the basement of his own home
surrounded by tamburitza instruments and volumes of Croatian music and records.
A native of Red Rock, Montana, he was a learned man who was valedictorian of
his college graduating class and who with his family came to California where
he was hired as an engineer with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company where he
remained till he retired.
Bill
was given a testimonial dinner in 1972 by his appreciative lodge members and in
lieu of gifts and at his request, he was given a purchase order to be used for
the purchase of musical equipment for his junior tamburitza classes. He was a true fraternalist in every sense of
the word. At our lodge’s 50th Anniversary Dinner/Dance in November, Bill
donated 100 commemorative wine glasses and was given what was to be the final
standing ovation for his invaluable and unselfish contributions to our Society
and to his fellow man.
BLAZEVIC, EMIL Teacher-Music School
For
more than fifty years Emil Blazevic contributed to American and Croatian music
and to the education of many good singers. He was born in Kraljevica, Croatian
Littoral, in 1880; he came to America around the turn of the century. A teacher
of music and singing, he had his own school of music in New York. He was an
excellent singer, composer, conductor, and popularizer of the tamburitza music.
Blazevic was eighty years old when he died in New York in October, 1960.
BLAZINA, THOMAS D. JR. Airforce
Pilot-West Point Instructor
Lieutenant
Tommy Blazina graduated from West Point with his wings as well as his infantry
insigna. His record showed graduation from both the Academy and the Air Corps.
He had been flying for over a year. First two-wing trainers -speed eighty-five
miles an hour, and next A-T-6's 275 miles an hour, at Stewart Field not far
from West Point. After graduation the Lieutenant was sent to Williams Field in
Arizona to fly the P-51 and P-47. These seven-ton fighters could fly 350 miles
an hour and were used as dive bombers wide strafers. The pilots called them
"Jugs." After graduation from aerial gunnery and strafing school the
young lieutenant was selected to go to March Field and fly P-80 jets. He was
assigned to the 94th Fighter Squadron,
In
June 1948 Lieutenant Blazina flew back to Chicago to be an usher for his sister
Marilyn's wedding. After she gave up her glamorous career as a dancer and flew
to West Point to see her brother graduate, Marilyn decided to finish her
education and enrolled in the exclusive Loring School for Girls where she
graduated with honors in June 1948. She planned to enter university that fall,
but she met and fell in love with a young doctor from her father’s old country.
Joseph Veich M.D., a graduate of Zagreb University, was in America on a student
visa from Croatia. He was finishing a year of internship in Chicago and was to
report to Yankton State Hospital in South Dakota for another year of residency
in his specialty-psychiatry. Separation seemed intolerable and so the young
couple were married June 13th and left for South Dakota the last of the month.
In
September 1948 Tommy Blazina enrolled in California Institute of Technology at
Pasadena, where he was to take graduate training in Aeronautical Engineering,
specializing in Jet Propulsion and Rockets. The Air Corps wanted him to secure
his Master's Degree because he was to be a Design and Development Officer and
work as a technical engineer with guided missiles and rockets. First Lieutenant
Thomas D. Blazina Jr. on June 16, 1949 received his Master of Science degree
from Cal Tech along with six other officers and several hundred other
graduating seniors. The fliers wore their uniforms which stood out in sharp
contrast with the black robes of the seniors. General Eisenhower sent a letter
of congratulation and Tommy had already received a letter asking him to
consider appointment as an instructor at West Point.
His
father and mother drove out from Chicago and sister Marilyn and her husband
Joseph Veich rode with them.
After
the graduation Tommy and his girlfriend Midge announced details about the
wedding which was to take place two days later in the chapel at March Field.
The dramatic military wedding in the chapel at March Field drew together many
warm friends of the popular couple. Most of the 94th Squadron were there and
many old Chicago friends. Major Clayton Peterson served as best man, and
Chaplain Clinton Everts officiated for the wedding rites. Frances and Tom were
proud to share their son with the lovely bride. After the ceremony the
reception was held in the patio of the Officers' Club and friends were helping
open congratulations... Suddenly one of his
friends raised his hand and commanded, "Quiet everyone! I want to read
this one out loud."Lt. and Mrs. Thomas D. Blazina, Patio Officers Club, March Field. Heartiest congratulations to the
fine son of my friend and comrade of World War One and felicitations to his
bride on their wedding day. Many many years of happiness be yours. Dwight D.
Eisenhower’'.
When
Tommy and Midge arrived at Elgin Field, his next assignment, he was immediately
informed that he was to go for three months to the Test Pilot School at Dayton,
Ohio. After graduation from school at Wright-Patterson Field, Tommy returned to
Elgin to complete a two year tour of duty there. He wanted to go overseas to
fight in Korea and addressed the proper request to his commanding officer. He
then persuaded his superior to approve his letter and it was sent on to
Washington. Back it came in a few days. "Request denied. Candidate is
scheduled to teach at West Point. We need him here to train officers. Valuable
man. No, to overseas request." Two important events took place in
1951-Lieutenant Blazina received his commission as captain, and he was ordered
to West Point to serve there as an instructor. He had been invited to teach
there while still at Cal Tech, but the War Deparment raised the age limit for
teaching at the Academy. His new assignment was in the Department of Mechanics,
teaching Thermodynamics and Fluids, and Jet Propulsion. Some time later he
became Assistant Professor in the same department and worked under Colonel
Elven Heiberg and Colonel Archie Higdon.
General
Eisenhower in October, 1951, wrote from Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe,
to Tom Blazina congratulating him on his son's appointment to teach at West
Point: "I cannot tell you how delighted I am to hear the good news about
your son. He is living up to your high expectations, which is completely
understandable in view of the splendid stock from which he sprang.
After
his three year tour of duty as an instructor at West Point, Captain Blazina was
assigned to Tyndall Air Base, Florida, where he worked with rockets and flew
the F-86D jets. He graduated at the head of his class in time to fly with Midge
to California to spend Christmas with his parents. Tom and Frances had moved in
the winter of 1953 to Whittier to live with their daughter Marilyn and her
husband Dr. Joseph Veich. Next assignment was Landstuhl, Germany, where he
would fly the F-86D rocket-assisted jets. He arrived in January 1955, but Midge
could not get clearance until April. Twice a year maneuvers were held in
Tripoli where there was plenty of room over the desert. The pilots stopped in
Italy on the way home for fueling. Some brought their wives beautiful
embroidery or leather bags, but not Captain Blazina. He loaded his rocket pods
with salami, Mozzarella cheese, and Lasagna noodles. Next-year Tommy brought
back an even larger supply of salami, Mozzerella, and lasagna noodles as his
friends egged him on. They knew they would have another good feed. Captain
Blazina worked hard. He ate with a keen appetite, and expected all about him to
move with the same vigor that. he displayed.
He
had to teach the base commander how to fly the new plane, and the colonel
complained to Midge, "I wish you would tell that young captain of yours to
take it easy when he is instructing me to fly. I'm just not as young as I once
was, and can't keep up with him." On the third trip back from Tripoli, the
captain did not bring salami. He brought his wife a small Berretta instead. The
day before he was to return, Midge was informed that the order had come through
promoting her husband to major. She bought two gold leaves and drove to the landing
field to surprise him. Major Blazina had worked hard for his promotions. He
believed that good officers possessed integrity, and wanted to improve so they
could better serve their country.
Colonel
Archie Higdon, who was now teaching in the new Air Force Academy in Colorado,
wrote Tommy twice urging him to request transfer to the new academy. "We
need men like you here to help establish an institution of high standards.
Won't you please try to get transferred here? We need you and will assist you
in any way in effecting the transfer." Colonel W. H. Tetley, Director of
Engineering for the European Air Material Force, also was inviting the major to
join his staff. He wrote, "The surveillance of this project requires an
engineer of your experience and drive. "It is highly desirable that this
slot be filled with a rated officer current in jet aircraft, as he must deal
with toperational types, and be able to discuss current flying problems with
authority. Finally I know you can do a good job and will stick to it when the
heat gets turned on." The Air Force, however, had other plans for Major
Blazina. He had been selected to represent the Air Force at the Naval War
College. On November 13, 1957, General William B. Keese, Deputy Director
Military Personnel wrote, "I wish to congratulate you on being selected to
attend the next class of the Command and Staff Course, Naval War College,
Newport, Rhode Island. "A selection board at this Headquarters recently
reviewed the records of approximately 1600 officers, nominated by major
commands and special USAF activities, and selected 528 for command and staff
training during fiscal year 1959. From the top half of this group of 528, 15
officers were designated as best qualified to represent the Air Force at fiscal
year 1959 command and staff courses of the Army and Navy. You are one of six
designated to attend the Navy Command and Staff Course. "Your selection is
indicative of your military accomplishment to date. I am confident that you
will capably represent the Air Force during your school assignment and, upon
graduation, bring to the Air Force a knowledge and appreciation of Navy
problems which should be of great benefit to the Air Force, as well as
yourself, in future assignments."
Major
Thomas D. Blazina never received these orders. Major Thomas D. Blazina died in
an aircraft crash November 5, 1957, at Landstuhl Air Force Base, Germany. The
F-86D all weather fighter-interceptor had previously developed mechanical
trouble and was thoroughly checked by some of the best mechanics in the Air
Force. They found no mechanical difficulty, so the major took it up for a test
flight. As it roared off the ground the craft seemed to lose some of the burner
and immediately exploded killing Major Thomas D. Blazina. His father was Eisenhower’s
old Sergeant.
BLAZINA, TOM Military
President
Eisenhower was Sergeant Tom Blazina’s Lieutenant during the Mexican border
troubles with Pancho Villa in 1916. They
kept in touch during Eisenhower’s rise to General of the Armed Forces
during World War Two and his term as President of the United States. His
father, Tomo Blazina, came to America in the 1880’s and returned to Slavica,
Gorski Kotar, Croatia to marry. He returned to America, leaving his wife, young
Tom and other children behind. He died in a coalmining accident at Roslyn,
Washington and was buried in the National Croatian Cemetery. Croatians also
maintained the Dr. Starcevich Cemetery at Roslyn. His widow and children then
came to America.
Eisenhower is Republican Candidate for
the Presidency of America: Three
thousand ward captains and precinct workers crowded into Chicago's Orchestra
Hall on a hot sticky night in July 1952 to hear the Republican candidate for
the Presidency of the United States of America. About nine o'clock General Dwight
Eisenhower, the candidate, was presented. Chicago was a Taft city, but the
crowd responded with moderate applause as it measured the stature of this man.
"I am not unacquainted with Chicago," he began, "for I served on
the Mexican Border with Chicago's famous Fighting Irish Seventh Infantry."
Sergeant Blazina: A short heavy set figure rose
suddenly in the second row of seats directly in front of the speaker and
shouted, "General Eisenhower!" The startled General looked down on
his interrupter, and a wave of movement swept the crowd as necks craned to see
the heckler. Police moved toward the front. "General Eisenhower," the
booming voice continued, "Sergeant Blazina of the old Fighting Irish
Seventh Infantry reporting, and saluting the next President of the United
States." Here was drama. Reporters seized their pencils as the crowd rose
to its feet and cheered the candidate, "We like Ike! We want Ike!"
The General motioned the sergeant to the front of the platform and when the
shouting finally died down, shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder,
"Sergeant Blazina, I'm mighty glad to see you." Applause interrupted,
"We had some great fights down on the border, didn't we?" "Yes,
sir, General, we sure did." Ex-Sergeant Thomas Blazina had reported to the
then Lieutenant Eisenhower many times on the Mexican Border, and he had
reported to the General often since and a warm and genuine friendship had grown
up between the two men.
Blazina Enlists in Army: As a boy Tom Blazina longed to join
the armed forces. He wished to serve in either the army or the navy of his
adopted country. Tom knew that his parents would not sign the papers, so he
forged his mother's name. At last he was a fullfledged member of the Illinois
National Guard. Before the summer camp closed Tom Blazina achieved his deepest
ambition. He shot a score of 217 on the rifle range and won the Expert Rifleman
Award with seven points to spare. He was now the best shot in his company. On
Saint Patrick's Day the following winter, he was given three medals-Marksman,
Sharp Shooter, and Expert Rifleman. Family and friends joined in genuine
approval for their Tom was equal to the best shots in the Fighting Irish
Seventh.
Pancho Villa and the Seventh Regiment
in 1916: "Good
morning, Major," the first lieutenant saluted smartly. "I am
Lieutenant Dwight Eisenhower and I have been assigned to Seventh
Regiment." 'Fellows, I met the Regimental Tactical Officer this
afternoon." Corporal Tom Blazina announced to a group of fellow non coms
gathered after supper a few days later for a bull session. "You mean that
regular army fellow?" Sergeant BIatz Second Regiment asked. Tom nodded.
"Well, if you ask me I think he's just a stuck-up dude in fancy clothes.
Him and his West Point airs," continued Blatz. "I disagree with
you," Tom returned. "This regiment needs some military airs as you
call them. I call it discipline, and Lord knows we need discipline if we're
going to lick Villa or anybody else.""I think Lieutenant Eisenhower
is as fine an officer as I've ever seen." "Lt. Dwight Eisenhowever is
his full name, and you can't find a finer young officer," Tom repeated.
"If I ever have a son, I hope he will be like the lieutenant." I predict that Lt. Eisenhower will command a
regiment or even a brigade some day, and that I pray to God that I'll some day
have a son who'll be like him."
They recognized that he had knowledge and skills beyond their meager
information. By this time everything was patched up between the Mexican Government
and the United States.
Old Friends Meet Again: Ex-Sergeant Tom Blazina planned to
miss one day of the West Point Graduation Week and meet with some Crane Company
executives in New York City. He leisurely walked from his hotel but as he
reached the railroad station, he heard martial music and hastened to the guard
on duty at the gate. "What's the music this morning? I didn't know
anything special was going on today." "Well, General Eisenhower,
Chief of Staff, decided to come up this morning and they are putting on a
review for him." "General Eisenhower!" Tom exclaimed, "he
was my lieutenant on the Mexican border." "Well, if you want to see
him you had better rush back up the hill. The review is about over." Tom
ran over to the parade ground and witnessed the last of the exercise. After the
review General Eisenhower, General Wainwright, General Omar Bradley, General
Taylor, Superintendent ot the Academy, with their staffs and colors formed a
procession to march back to the superintendent's headquarters. Ex-Sergeant
Thomas Blazina ran ahead and found a place along the line of march. As the
marchers approached with General Eisenhower on the side next to Tom, the old
sergeant stepped briskly forward two paces and smartly saluted. "General
Eisenhower, Sergeant Blazina of the old Fighting Irish Illinois Seventh
Infantry reporting." The general halted, surprised, and turned toward the
sergeant. The marchers stopped and General Taylor seized General Eisenhomer's
arm to protect him from harm. Guards pushed forward, but General Eisenhower
shook off the restraining arm and rushed over to the sidelines. "Why,
Sergeant! Sergeant! Am I glad to see you." Placing both hands on his
friend's shoulders. "Blazina, isn't it? "What are you doing here,
Sergeant?"
Son at West Point: "Well General, you remember New
Braunfels? It was there that I vowed that if I ever had a boy, he would go to
West Point and be an officer like you." "How is the boy? How is the
boy?" "General, you have just seen him pass in review as a West Point
graduate." "And what shall I tell the Irish in Chicago, General
Eisenhower? They won't believe I've talked to you." "Tell them that
I'll always remember my first and most important command." Tom hastened
back to his hotel in Highland Falls. "Guess who I saw this morning?" "Where
have you been? We thought you were in New York City on important
business," his family responded. "I've been on important business all
right. After thirty years I just saw my old lieutenant from Mexican Border
days-General Eisenhower. My idol and inspiration." He recounted the meeting
with the famous general. When Tom returned to Chicago he looked up many old
acquaintances from Mexican Border days, and recounted his meeting with their
lieutenant.
President Eisenhower and Sergeant
Blazina at Palm Springs:
When President Eisenhower vacationed in California sunshine at Palm Springs in
the winter of 1954, many of Tom's friends jokingly said, "Well, Tom, I
suppose you'll be rushing down to Palm Springs to see Ike, now that he's so
close." "I might just do that, too." The Sarge had just visited
the White House a few months earlier. A few days later Tom answered the phone,
and a voice said, "This is Tom Stephens, President Eisenhower's secretary,
and he wants you and your wife to come down to a reception next Monday."
"Ike wants you to come down for a farewell reception given in his honor at
Smoke Tree Ranch. A Los Angeles paper
featured the story of the Mexican Border and Tom's meeting's with the President
in more recent years. Paul Hoffman escorted the couple over to the President,
"Here are old friends." "Mrs. Blazina. Well, well we meet again
and I am glad to see you. "And Sergeant! It was good of you to come down
for the reception." Tom and Frances bade the President and his charming
wife good-bye, and the President repeated, "Sergeant, you come down and
see me again. Just anytime. You just phone my secretary for an
appointment." Boyhood in Croatia:
Thomas Blazina was born on July 15, 1893. The locale was a village in a quiet
Croatian valley near Slavica in County Gorski Kotar. Tom's father, Toma, was
born in 1862 and twenty-five years later left for America to seek his fortune.
He dug coal in the states of Illinois and Iowa and returned to Slavica again in
1891 and married the lovely Mary Stimac, then eighteen years of age. Here they lived
until Toma Blazina built a new home the following year on one of the small
farms he bought on his return from America. In March 1895 another son was added
to the family. Trying to raise a family on the meager soil discouraged Toma
Blazina and in 1898 he decided to return to America and work in the mines. It
was a sad parting as he bid goodbye to his beautiful young wife, his two sons,
a darling daughter and a baby yet unborn. Little did they suspect the tragedies
which would soon overwhelm their lives. News had come from Roslyn, Washington.
"'Your dear husband has been killed in a coal mine. At Christmas time Mary Blazina received a
letter from America from her sister asking her to think over a proposition to
come to America. "One of our friends has seen your picture. He is a good
home-loving man and has fallen in love with your picture. He wants to marry
you." Mary Blazina answered the letter asking for further details, but the
next letter from Chicago was from Gayton Beretich proposing marriage. She talked
to her oldest son, age ten. "Tommy, dear, I have not promised to marry
this man, but I would like to go to America to meet him. "Go, mother dear,
we'll be good boys and wait for your call from America." Finally came the
good news that mother and sister had arrived safely in America. Mary Blazina
had married-the news came to the boys that now they had a step-father. This new
father was born in Dalmatia. More news from America announced the birth of a
new son, a new brother for Joe and Tom, who were now excited about the trip to
America. Tom said to his Aunt Lucy one day. "I feel as if God has given me
wings and I can soon fly off of one of those mountains to America." School
was out in June and teachers and schoolmates bade the young emigrants goodbye and
wished them good luck, and Godspeed to their mother and America.
BOBAN, NED Restaurant
A
native of the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia he lived in San Francisco and
Marin County since 1938. He served in the Pacific with the United States Army
Air Forces in WW 11. Ned owned Maye's Oyster House at 1233 Polk Street in San
Francisco until he retired and sold the restaurant in 1986. He was married
to his wife, Lepa Boban, and had one
daughter Nina Nikolich. Ned passed away on Sunday, April 15, 2001. Ned was a
member of the Slavonic Mutual and Benevolent Society of San Francisco.
BOBAN, VLADIMIR Naval Architect
Vladimir
Boban is a Naval Architect and Project Engineer in Research & Development,
ESSO International Inc. New York City, New York. Born November 22, 1927 in
Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia; Married and an American citizen. Education includes
Real Gymnasium, Split, Croatia, Graduated, 1946; Technical Faculty, University
of Zagreb, Diploma 1953 in Naval
Architecture, Ship design in all phases - new concept in
design - Research instructural field and application. Member of Society of
Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Experience in Naval Architecture -
Planning Department - Shipyard, Split, Croatia; 1955-58 Production Engineer,
Cement factory, Solin, Croatia; 1958-60 Designer, part time, Italy; 1960-64
Naval Architect, H. Newton Whittelsey, Inc.; 1964-67 Naval Architect, Head
Structural Section. John L. McMullen Associates Inc. - New York.
BODOR, FRANJO Doctor
At
this year's annual meeting in Chicago, October 28 - November 1, 2000 the
American Academy of Pediatrics honored the achievements of several of its
members. Among them was Dr. Franjo Bodor, who received the prestigious
Practitioner's Research Award in recognition of his contribution to a major
advancement in practice of pediatrics. In the late 1970s, Dr. Bodor made the
observation that many infants and very young children, who came to his office
with purulent discharge from their eyes, also often have a simultaneous ear
infection. He decided to study the relationship of the two infections and found
that out of 132 children with eye infections seen in his office in one year, 96
(73%) had an ear infection at the same time. He observed that his patients'
siblings and playmates will often also have either eye or ear infections, or
both at the same time, suggesting this to be an infectious disease. He
conducted two more studies, which confirmed the initial observations. Further,
he found that most of the simultaneous ear and eye infections were caused by
the same germ (H. Influenzae). The important side finding was that most parents
(60%) were not aware that their infant or child had also pain in the ears. The
significance of this contribution, leading to this year's award, was the
discovery that every infant and young child with purulent discharge from the
eyes might have, in a high percentage of cases, a simultaneous ear infection.
Therefore, an infant and/or young child with inflamed eyes must have a thorough
examination of the ears also. When both eyes and ears are simultaneously
infected, one should treat this as single disease entity. Dr. Bodor named this
infectious ailment "Conjunctivitis Otitis Syndrome" and described it
in several publications. Dr. Bodor graduated from the Medical School at the Zagreb,
Croatia University in 1958. He immigrated to the United States in 1966 with his
wife Vera and sons Darko and Marko. After completing the residency in
pediatrics at the University Hospital in Cleveland, Dr. Bodor practiced
pediatrics on Cleveland's West side, where he did his research. He retired from
the practice in 1996 and moved with his wife to Sarasota, FL where they now
reside. He is a member of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 235 in Cleveland,
Ohio.
BOGDAN, VICTOR Croatian Activities
Victor
Bogdan was a member of the Slavonic Society, like his father before him. He was
on the Board of Directors as the sick committee chairman. Vido was an employee
of the Railway Express for over 30 years until his retirement in 1974. Since
then, he enjoyed working at Candlestick Park as a gate keeper at 49er and
Giants games. Vido was best remembered as the secretary of the Old Austrian
America Society, a position he held for many years until the society was
dissolved. He and his spouse Emily were married just one month short of 50
years, and lived in Westlake for over 30 years. Vido leaves two sons, James and
Kenneth. and their families.
BOGDANOVICH, MARTIN Fish Cannery
French Sardine Company-Star Kist Tuna
One
of the largest factories of canned fish, the French Sardine Co., is owned
by Mr. Martin Bogdanovich, native of
Komiza, Island of Vis. The company was founded
on November 20, 1917. The founding capital was 10,000 dollars and it has
been increased from time to time, so the present (1932) par value of stocks is
1,000,000 dollars. The founders of the French Sardine Company, Inc., are
natives of the Dalmatian islands, where sardine fishing is one of the main
occupations. Considering the low investment capital available, the first
factory was 100 feet long and 60 feet wide. That factory had soon become too
small, so it has been extended to 450 feet and the second floor has been built.
On May 1, 1929 the management of the company bought from another fishing
company, Spano Packing Co., the neighboring factory. That factory was
demolished and a modern one was built. The new factory included the old French
Sardine Company's factory, so the present plant is 450 feet long, 160 feet wide
and has two floors. The factory produces canned sardines, tuna and mackerels.
The canned mackerel under the brand name "Eatwell" is well known all
over America. Furthermore, the company is the biggest canned mackerel producer
in the United States with the annual production of about 150,000 cans. The
annual production of canned sardines is about 350,000 cans, that is about
70,000 cans per month, since the sardines are being processed only five months
a year. The annual production of canned tuna is about 150,000 cans. The success
of the company is an accomplishment of its president, Mr. Martin Bogdanovich.
Mr. Bogdanovich was born fifty years ago in Komiza at the island of Vis. From
his very young days he was fishing and learning from his father who was the
professional fisherman. After being forced to serve 4 years in the Austrian
Navy, Mr. Bogdanovich immigrated in America and settled in San Diego where he
was working as a fisherman for a while. Afterwards he bought a fishing boat and
moved to San Pedro. As a fisherman he was rather successful, so he was the
first to possess a motor fishing boat with a 30-horse power motor. Besides
that, he was the first one to introduce
fresh fish from ice to the California fish markets. In 1914 he left
fishing and bought a fresh fish store, California Fish Company. He managed the
store successfully until year 1917 when he took over the entire management of
the French Sardine Company. Mr. Bogdanovich is well known as a hard worker who
dedicates all his time to his business, and he could be found there every day
except on Christmas. Although there is a sufficient number of assistant
managers in the factory, Mr. Bogdanovich prefers to control the canned fish
production personally; from the moment when fresh fish is received, to the
moment it is packed in boxes. Such an attention is priceless since it could not
be obtained from any employee. Therefore the products of French Sardine Company
are well known for their quality in processing and packaging. Mr. Bogdanovich
lives with his family in San Pedro.
BOGDANOVICH, MARTIN J. Fish Cannery
Martin
J. Bogdanovich, son of Joseph Bogdanovich was born in Komiza, Island of Vis on
November 5, 1882. By 1908 Martin had met
and married Antonia Simich, a fellow Dalmatian.
They were the parents of seven children; Lucretia, Mary, Joe, Geraldine,
Katherine, Nina, and Dana. 1908 was
a year in turmoil for Martin; he married
and relocated to San Pedro, California.
Upon his arrival in the United States, Martin became involved with the
fish processing industry and by 1917 had established the French Sardine
Company, which employed hundreds of workers, many of them from Komiza. Bogdanovich was also prominently involved in
the formation of the Dalmatian-American
Club and the construction of the club’s building in San Pedro during the
1930s. A park was named after
Bogdanovich in that city.
BOGISICH, BALDO Restaurant
Baldo
was from Dubrovnik. He had a coffee
saloon at Pacific and Drumm Streets and later operated the Ferry House at 715
Davis Street in San Francisco. Baldo had
an Irish wife. He later moved to Oakland
and operated the Mechanics Exchange
Restaurant on 7th Street in 1870.
BOJANIC, JOHN Priest-Prisoner
John
Bojanic was born on January 26, 1890, in Vrisnik, on the Island Hvar, in
Dalmatia, Croatia. He received his elementary education in his home town and
his high school and college training in Lokrun and Dubrovnik. In 1906, he
entered the Dominican novitiate in Dubrovnik where he took Innocent Maria as
his religious name and made his first profession of vows on December 15, 1907.
After completing his philosophical and theological courses at the Dominican
House of Studies in Dubrovnik, he was ordained a priest on August 10, 1913.
Father Bojanic's first assignment was to the Dominican High School in Bol as a
professor of German and Greek. In 1917, he became a military chaplain with the
Austro-Hungarian Army. Captured on the Albanian front, he spent ten months in
Italian prison camps before he was able to return to work in his Province. In
1919, he was appointed professor of languages at the Realka State College in
Split.
In
1921, George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, asked the Dominican
Province of St. Joseph to assume responsibility for Holy Trinity Croatian
Parish in Chicago, then under the temporary care of the Benedictines from St.
Procopius Abbey. The Master of the Order assigned Father Bojanic to the
pastorate at Holy Trinity. He arrived in Chicago on February 4, 1922, the first
Dominican to take up permanent residence in the Archdiocese. Father Bojanic
served as pastor of Holy Trinity for forty-four years, during which time he was
able to put the debt-laden parish on sound financial footing and to provide a
center of worship and Catholic education for the Croatian people in the Pilsen
neighborhood that enabled them to retain the best of the traditional art and
culture of their homeland.
In
1966, Father Bojanic retired to St. Dominic-St. Thomas Priory in River Forest,
Illinois, where he spent his days in reading and prayer and in counselling his
many former parishioners who stopped by for a visit. In early November, 1980,
his health began to decline rapidly, and he had to move to the Oak Park
Convalescent and Geriatric Center, not far from his Dominican community in
River Forest, for special care. He died there of heart failure on November 26,
1980. Following services at St. DominicSt. Thomas Priory in River Forest, and
at Holy Trinity Church in Chicago, he was buried in the community plot at All
Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on November 29.
BOMBELLES, JOSEPH T. Professor
Joseph
Bombelles is a professor of economics at the College of Arts and Sciences,
Department of Economic's, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois. Born
June 2, 1930 in Zagreb, Croatia; married
with two children. Education includes University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. Diploma 1952; Academy of
International Law, The Hague, Holland. Certificate, 1954; Case-Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio, Ph.D., 1965. Thesis completed Deficit in the
Balance of Payments of Yugoslavia, 1948-1957, Master's; Planning and Economic Growth
of Yugoslavia 1947-1961 Ph.D. Published Economic Development of Communist
Yugoslavia 1947-64, Stanford University,
The Hoover Institute on War, Revolution and Peace, 1968. Member of
American Economic Association; Omicron Delta Epsilon; Society for Development.
BONTEMPO, H Priest
Catholic
Croatians of California were without a
priest of their own language, until the arrival, in December 1901, of the
Reverend Henry Bontempo, S.J., a Jesuit missionary from Dalmatia. Father
Bontempo was born in Rovigno, Istria. In
January, 1902, Archbishop Riordan gave him temporary parochial jurisdiction
over the Catholic Slavs of San Francisco, to whose spiritual needs he
ministered faithfully and zealously, holding services and preaching in Croatian
on Sundays in the Ladies’ Soladity Chapel under the old St. Ignatius Church on
Hayes Street, near Franklin Street in San Francisco.
BORIC, STANLEY Editor
Editor
of "Nasa Nada," Official Bi-monthly paper of the Croatian Catholic
Union in Gary, Indiana. Born December 5, 1909 in Brist, Croatia; Married with
six children. Education includes Classical Gymnasium, Split, Croatia, Graduated
1935; Franciscan School of Philosophy, Sinj. Croatia 1934-35; Law Faculty of
the University of Zagreb 1936-39. Publications Edited, Fra. Andrija Kacic
Miosic, Razgovor Ugodni. Gary, 1954; The Croatian Primer Picture, Gary, 1960;
Edited, Francis Preveden, A History of the Croatian People. New York, 1962.
Owner and manager of store: Religious
Articles - Church Goods in Gary, Indiana.
BORINA, NICHOLAS M Farm Packer
Goldminer
Nicholas
M. Borina, of 57 Brennan street, Watsonville, is engaged in the raising and
shipping of both apples and berries. He was born in Dalmatia, Croatia, December
20, 1888, his parents being Mateo and Mary Borina, worthy farmer folk. His
father died in military service but his mother is still living. They never came
to this country.
At
the early age of eleven years Nicholas M. Borina emigrated to the Unites States
and for a time attended evening schools in San Francisco, while he labored
during the day and lived with an uncle, who already had a large family to
support. From 1900 to 1907 he worked on farms, and in that latter year went to
Alaska for a season. On his return to California he stopped in San Francisco,
where he clerked in a grocery store and also worked for a builder. Then he came
to Watsonville and for three years he had charge of a packing house. In 1911 he
began business for himself in a very modest way. He had saved some money and
since then has made a pronounced success. He has good orchard land, and also
grows his own berries. All this is doubly creditable, for since he was a boy of
seven, he has made his own way and supported his mother in the bargain. He
gives employment to one hundred people and is doing an excellent business. Mr.
Borina's wife before her marriage was Miss Lucy Secundo, a native of Dalmatia
but reared here and they have had two daughters, Marian and Jane.
BORKOVICH, KATHERINE H.
Professor-Doctor of Medicine
Professor
of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Internal Medicine in Baltimore,
Maryland. Born April 11, 1915 in Monaca, Pennsylvania to Croatian parents.
Education includes Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, B.S., 1935;
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, M.D. 1939;
Internship Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland, 1939-40; Pittsburgh Medical
Center, Pennsylvania,1940-41; Assistant Resident in Medicine, Johns Hopkins
1941-42; Fellow in Cardiology, Harriet Lane Home, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore,
Maryland 1942-43. Major field in Medicine with a specialty in Internal Medicine
- Subspecialty in Cardiology. Publications "Remediable
Hypertensions," Maryland State Medical Journal, December 1959; "Primary Pulmonary
Hypertension," Maryland State Medical Journal, January 1961; 'Primary Pulmonary
Hypertension," Tice-Harvey Practice of Medicine, May 1964; "Acute
Anemia and Abdonimal Tumor Due to Hemmorrhage in Rectus Abdonimis Sheath
Following Anticoagulant Therapy." Archives'of Internal Medicine. January
1966. Member American College of Physicians (Fellow); American Heart
Association; American Medical Association; American Society of Internal
Medicine; Alpha Omega Alpha. In April of 1963 sent to Croatia by U.S.
Information Agency to be member of the Medical U.S.A. group and placed in
charge of the Heart and Lung Machine.
BOROVINICH (BRONICH), LOUIS Farm
When
Louis Bronich was a young man of twenty-two years of age, he came to California
to join his brother, M. M. Bronich. He was born in Cilipi, Dalmatia, Croatia,
on October 2, 1876 a son of M. M. Borovinich (as the name was spelled in
Dalmatia).
He
came direct to Stockton, California in 1898, his brother had preceded him by a
number of years. At Stockton, in August, 1907, Mr. Bronich was married to miss
Mary Deranja, a daughter of Antone Deranja and his wife, Mrs. Ella Deranja,
both born and reared in Dalmatia. Mrs.
Bronich was born in Gruda, Dalmatia, August 16, 1883, and in August, 1906, came
to Stockton, where she met her future husband. The first five years of their
married life were spent on Union Island, and in 1912 the family moved to the
Ramsay ranch near Lathrop, where they remained for three years, when the family
moved to the Rossi River ranch. Mr. Bronich
was striken with influenza in 1918 and he passed away on January 1 of that
year. He had always enjoyed the best of
health and his untimely passing was a severe blow to his immediate family.
Mr. and Mrs Bronich were the parents of four children; Pauline, born on
Union Island, is a pupil in the Mossdale school; Nellie was born in Stockton,
and also attends the Mossdale school; Mary died in infancy; and Martin was born
on the river ranch. Mrs. Bronich is a woman of splendid business
capabilities and is successfully managing her ranch and at the same time
rearing and educating her three chidlren.
Mr. Bronich became an American citizen in San Joaquin County.
BOSKOVICH FARMS
Their
humble beginning was in 1915 when a Croatian immigrant, Steve Boskovich, father
of Philip Boskovich, began bean farming on five acres in North Hollywood,
California. That five acres has grown to 12,000 acres producing over 17,000
acres of crops annually. That's a lot of food put on tables in America, Europe
and the Orient. Boskovich Farms inc. has over 100,000 square feet of
refrigerated storage located in the three shipping points. Boskovich Farms Inc.
sells: green onions, celery, strawberries, iceberg, romaine, green and red leaf
lettuce, broccoli, spinach, kale, cilantro, cauliflower, radishes, parsley,
leek, bunch, carrots, Boston, endive, escarole, Napa, bok choy, bunch beans,
cabbage and chard. Boskovich Farms Inc. is growing, packing and shipping from
five districts to assure consistent high quality and dependable supplies of
their entire mixed vegetable line 365 days a year. Since 1915, one of the
Boskovich family has checked every step involved in the production, harvest and
distribution of every product this family sells. Steve came from Mostar area
and Dedo from Cvinici Stolac, Hercegovina. Steve and Baba were the first couple
to be married in St. Anthony's Croatian Church on Jan. 1, 1911. Philip was born
Oct. 2, 1915 on Yale Street, around the corner from St. Anthony's where he was
later baptized. The Boskovich family
moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1915.
After World War II his two brothers joined him in the farming operation,
and they became "Boskovich Bros." Upon graduating from the University
of Southern California, his two sons, Philip and Joe, joined the business along
with nephew George. The farming operation then became Boskovich Farms, Inc.,
and is now one of the largest produce growers in North America.
BOSKOVICH, JOHN J. Judge
Judge
Boskovich was appointed to the bench as Municiple Court Judge by Governor
Edmund G. Brown Sr. in November 1966, and he was re-elected twice more to that
position by the people of Sacramento County. In November 1976 he was appointed,
by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to the Superior Court, where, again, he was
reelected twice more by the people of Sacramento County, where Judge Boskovich
served until his retirement in June, 1991. Judge Boskovich is the son of Frank
Boskovich and his wife Mary (Strukan). Frank Boskovich was born in Sinj and
emigrated to the United States in 1913, to settle in Jackson, California. Mary Strukan
also emigrated from what is now Croatia in 1918. They were married in the old
St. Mary's Church in 1921. Judge Boskovich was born and raised in Jackson,
California. After service during World War 11 he received his Bachelor's degree
at the University of San Francisco in 1950, and obtained an LL.B. degree from
the University of San Francisco Law School in 1953. Judge Boskovich resides in
Sacramento, as the survivor of his wife of 42 years, Betty, who died in January
1995. He has two adult children. His son is an attorney and his daughter is a
microbiologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Though officially retired, Judge
Boskovich still mediates, arbitrates and tries cases, upon the agreement of the
litigating parties.
BOSKOVICH, JOSEPH Farms and Produce
Joseph
M. Boskovich is Chief Executive Officer of Boskovich Farms Inc., one of North
America’s largest gorwers and shippers of fresh produce. As CEO of the
Oxnard-based Boskovich Farms Inc., Boskovich oversees a vertically integrated
company with farming, sales and shipping operations in Salinas, California,
Yuma, Arizona and Sonora and Baja, Mexico.
Founded in 1915 on five acres of land in North Hollywood, the company,
still family owned and operated, produces more than 30 varieties of various
vegetables and strawberries from more than 17,000 acres of crops annually.
Joseph Boskovich is chairman of the board of the Grower Shipper Association of
Central California and a board member of the United Fresh Fruit and Vetetables
Association. He is past chairman of the Venura County Agricultural Association
and a former member of the board of directors of the Fresh Produce Council, the
Santa Clara National Bank and the Ventura County Council of the Boy Scouts of
America. Joseph M. Boskovich, founder of Boskovich farms, Inc. since 1915,
has been elected to the University of Southern California Board of Trustees.
The Boskovich Family, being devoted Trojans, has given to numerous projects and
programs at USC, including renovation of the Montgomery Ross Fisher Building
and construction of the Marshall School’s Jane Hoffman and J. Kristoffer
Popovich Hall, a three-story, 55,000 square-foot structure that will house the
school’s graduate programs. Boskovich earned his B.S. and MBA degrees from
the USC Marshall School of Business in 1975 and 1977, respectively. His wife, Gail Ann Van Dyke Boskovich, earned
her B.S. degree from the Marshall School in 1978.
BOSKOVICH, NICK
Goldminer-Sheriff-Landowner
Many
Croatians, a large majority of whom came as labor immigrants, never intended to
stay in America but planned to return to their homeland and retire with the
money they had saved. Nick Boskovich was one of these. Born in 1870, Nick
Boskovich was thirty-two years old when he departed from the town of Selca, on
the island of Brac, Dalmatia to seek his fortune in America. He left behind a
home, vineyards and orchards of olives, grapes, figs, and cherries (the olives
were made into olive oil, the figs were dried and sold, and the grapes and
cherries were used to make wine) all in the care of his wife, Marulina, and his
two-year-old son.
Boskovich
traveled first to Tacoma, then to Alaska in pursuit of the ever elusive gold.
There he stood in water up to his armpits for fourteen hours a day in order to
earn the five dollars- a-day wage; any other job would have paid only a dollar-
and- a-half. There was little chance, though, of amassing gold for himself. The
pockets of the men were checked each night to ascertain that no nuggets had
found their way into the wrong places. After two years of this, the gold supply
gave out, so he returned to Tacoma where he found a job in the St. Paul and
Tacoma Lumber Mill. Nick Boskovich was a frugal man. He earned money at the
most difficult jobs and sent it back home for safekeeping. He loved his glass
of beer, and yet daily he passed the saloons where beer was but five cents a
glass, snacks included. The five cents would be better spent in Selca. Each
penny saved brought him closer to the day when he could return home and live
graciously on the money he had worked so hard to earn in America.
In
1907, he did return to Selca and fathered a daughter, but came back to Tacoma
after she was born in 1908. He had money to make and things to do. When the St.
Paul and Tacoma mill moved its operation to Eatonville, he moved with it and
settled there permanently. He earned $1.75 for a twelve-hour workday. jobs were
so scarce that an acquaintance begged Nick to let him take his job. He offered
to pay Boskovich seventy-five cents to stay home; he would work for one dollar.
Nick recognized the fact that, with competition like this, a man could not be
caught sitting down at his job. Gradually Nick acquired property in the
Eatonville community, piece by piece. When someone needed a hundred dollars, he
always knew that "Old Nick" would have it, but the deal had to be
made in land. In this manner, he obtained many small parcels of land throughout
the town. He continued to save every penny he earned and sent it back home.
With the First World War came the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire, and the
thousands of florins he had deposited at the Blagaina (similar to a savings and
loan association) in Sumartin were no longer of any value. He began saving
again. The outbreak of World War I caused changes which included an interruption
of the immigration process." After the war, having found that the future
was more secure for him in America, Nick Boskovich realized that he had become
a stranger to his family. The solution was to bring them to America to be with
him. In 1921, when he was fifty-one years old, Nick Boskovich finally sent for
his wife and daughter. It took two years to prepare the necessary papers and
make arrangements for their entry into this country.
When
Marulina (Mare) Boskovich learned she was going to leave Selca, she was torn.
It was considered an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to live in
the United States, but not all of those who had been left behind had a burning
desire to come to America. Wives came to please husbands. Mothers thought that,
by staying in Croatia, they would be denying great advantages for their
children. Marulina Boskovich is said to have kissed the very steps of her home
in Selca with tears in her eyes. She was leaving behind her land, her home, her
relatives and friends, and, most importantly, her son, who had been called to
serve in the army. She was forty-four years old; she knew that she would never
see any of them again, and she never did. As she looked westward, she feared
what America might bring. An acquaintance who visited the United States had
told her that he would have been very happy for her if she were journeying to
California, but Eatonville. Going to Eatonville, Washington, that was like
going to the ends of the earth.
The
journey to America was easier for Marulina and her teen-aged daughter than it
had been for Pava with her infant years before. By now there were fellow
countrymen who had already been to America and who were returning for the
second time. Marulina Ursich Boskovich and her daughter Darinka, departed for
America in 1923. They left Selca, on the island of Brac, at 4:00 A.M. and
walked to Sumartin where they were to be taken by boat to Makarska. At
Makarska, they tearfully said good-bye to the son and brother, whom Marulina
never saw again, and from there another small boat took them to Split. Arriving
in Split, they traveled by train to Belgrade where passports were obtained. The
train once again took them farther away from home to Vienna. There Darinka, as
a fourteen-year-old, was fascinated by the horse and buggy ride they took to
the hotel. After having toured Vienna, mother and daughter entrained to
Hamburg, where they were to meet fellow Bracani and begin the twelve-day trip
across the Atlantic. The Boskovich women were delighted with their cabin and
accommodadons but, typically, were ill day and night. Eagerly they awaited the
dinner hour and the opportunity to sample new types of food, but upon entering
the dining room, one whiff, and they had to run back to their cabin. Nothing
would satisfy their palates except the apples which were sold at that time for
ten cents apiece. Darinka was overjoyed when she thought she had struck a
bargain. The man insisted that she give him the smaller coin (ten cents) rather
than the larger coin (five cents). It was only later that she learned that the
worth was not determined by size. An unpleasant incident occurred aboard ship.
The cabin boy kept insisting that he should be given something. Angry that they
did not understand his request for a tip, he began pointing to Marulina's
engagement ring. She tried to tell him that she did not understand. He grabbed
her hand and tried to remove the ring from her finger. Fortunately someone
passed the cabin at this point, and he was frightened away. The passenger ship
Reliance arrived in New York in November, 1923. The women boarded a scow and
were taken to Ellis Island. Companions from Brac, John Breskovich and Joe
Rosin, were already naturalized citizens and left them here. Mother and
daughter were not happy to be left, for they knew no English. At Ellis Island
they were interned for three days. Here all were stripped and examined from
head to toe. "I believe they were looking for lice, for they combed and
combed our hair. It was very embarrassing," Darinka remembered. From Ellis
Island they entrained to the state of Washington. Picnic baskets were purchased
at the station, and these sustained them as they sat and slept in the cbair
seats during the six-day trip to Tacoma. Darinka had never met her father until
that day at the train depot in Tacoma when she was fourteen years old. She knew
him immediately from his pictures and spotted him for her mother. They then
drove to the town of Eatonville, where Nick Boskovich worked in the lumber mill
and was a deputy sheriff . There was no way of knowing what America had in
store for them. Marulina had carried her woolen pillows under her arms all the
way from Brac to Tacoma. She had packed in sheets (there was no tissue or
packing paper in Selca) all of her dishes and lovely china pieces. When she
unpacked, it was found that most of the valuables in the trunk had been
crushed. Marulina was heartbroken.
The
day after our arrival, I was enrolled in school. Unfortunately, I was placed in
the first grade and given a special desk. I spoke and understood no English,
but of course, having been schooled in Croatia, I was good in math. I Still
blush, remembering the embarrassment I felt. Here I was, a buxom fourteen-
year-old girl who had been the 'belle of the ball' in Selca, and now I was in a
class with babies! The teachers and children were good to me, but it was very
hard to be the 'new girl in school'. One little boy kept chanting,
"Katrinka came to our school!" My name is Darinka, and those words I
did understand. Lonely for companionship, mother and daughter would relive what
they thought was taking place at home. On Sundays they would reminisce,
"Now they are going to church; now they are walking along the
piazza." For many years, everyone who arrived from Selca first came to the
Boskoviches in Eatonville. They took jobs in the mill for a short time, but
eventually they all settled in California.
English
was a difficult language to master, but master it they did. Sometimes Marulina
played it to her advantage. In the town of Eatonville, salesmen made a good
living selling door to door and very often were difficult to discourage. Nick
Boskovich had prospered, and it was known that he owned property and could
afford to buy new things. A very persistent salesman kept knocking on the door,
bent on selling,his wares. Mrs. Boskovich felt she knew just how to discourage him. To his every
questions, she would answer, "No speeka English." She repeated this
time and time again, until the discouraged salesman gave up. As he left the
yard, she noticed that he had failed to shut the gate, and, forgetting herself,
she called out in her broken English, "What's the matter, you no gotta
gate at home?" He turned and replied, "No speeka English, lady!"
At the age of nineteen, Darinka attended the Three Kings Ball in Old Tacoma.
"There I met the most handsome, intelligent Croatian bachelor in
townl" she said. A month and half later, Pete Jugovich and the young woman
from Selca were married. Life in Selca and Eatonville had ended, and a new and
fulfilling life began in Tacoma.
BOSKOVICH, PHIL , JOE, GEORGE King of
Onions
It’s
tough to grow green onions in a downpour, but impossible when the acreage turns
into cityscape. But for now, Boskovich Farms holds title as the nations largest green onion grower. The family, now supervising 1000 leased acres
from headquarters alongside the Valencia Industrial Center, estimates that
increasing urbanization could yank its final crop within 5 to 10 years. “We
definitely want to stay in this business,” vows Joe Boskovich, speaking as the
family’s third generation. Their
resources were tested this winter; the monsoon-like rains bought “tremendous
losses” when many of the radishes and green onions, which are grown and packed
locally year-round wither rotted or lost their topsoil. The rains interrupted
this area’s salubrious reputation as an ideal cradle for both products. Light frost allows for a winter crop, while
the summer’s warm days and moderate nights add to the bounty. The constant
harvest finally has resumed its routine; the three sons and three grandsons of
the late Steve Boskovich now oversee an expected annual yield of two million
boxes of green onions and half that many radishes. A box of either product
contains 48 bunches. They supply 13
major supermarket chains in the state, using a family-owned fleet of six giant
trucks. The daily order placed by Alpha
Beta stores, for 1000 cartons of onions and 500 of radishes, represents one
truckload. Joe Boskovich, sales manager, is one of the founder’s three
grandsons in the business. The trio-
completed by Phil Jr. and George Jr.- hasn’t yet cracked the age barrier of
30. Joe and Phil’s father, Phil Senior,
is president of the corporation; his brothers, George and John are vice
presidents. Their enterprise goes back to 1915, when Steve Boskovich, a young
immigrant from Croatia planted his first
crops in what was to become North Hollywood. The operation remained small in
its first location, growing its onions and radishes for the Los Angeles
market. Boskovich, who died two years
ago at 88, moved his business to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1955. Volume began blossoming in the mid-1960s. The
“Onion King” brand now sells well on the East Coast and in Canada. The “Radish King” companion also is
distributed form a loading dock and warehouse in Salinas, where the family is
competing with Northern California growers. An increase in volume was required
by the decrease in per-unit profit, Joe said.
The retail price of a bunch of radishes or green onions has increased
about a penny for each of the past five years, far more slowly that the prices
of lettuce or tomatoes. The green onions and red radishes, Boskovich said, are specialty items which lack the constant
demand of lettuce, and therefore keep a deflated price. But they provide steady
employment for some 500 people on Boskovich Farms, which obtains yearly leases
from Newhall Land and Farming Company.
The area’s other prominant tenant farmers, Tapia Brothers corn and
BunnyLuv carrots, rotate their fields with Boskovich. The farm constantly is
looking for new crops, Joe said. Parsley, leeks and turnips will be grown
as a winter addition this year. New Boskovich employees often decide whether to
take packing shed of field work. The packing shed workers, who are paid
hourly, wash the onions and radishes, and pack them in corrugated boxes with
ice.
BOSKOVICH, RUDJER To California
In
the year of the 200-year anniversary of Rudjer Boskovich's death (1711-1787),
the Croatians in California are proud of the fact that the literary and
scientific heritage of their countryman and scientist is kept in the Library of
Rare Books at the University of Berkeley. Boskovich is one of the most
universal and original celebrities in the science of 18th century. Beside
numerous scientific papers published in Vienna, London and many other cities,
he worked as a professor and as a founder and manager of the astronomical
observatory Breri in Milan. As the director of French Marine Optics in Paris,
he dedicated his work about eclipses to the King Louis XVI.
Boskovich
traveled a lot, and had friends-and naturally he had enemies, too - all around
Europe. He was well informed about the situation in America, since he had
interesting conversation with Benjamin
Franklin in Paris. Franklin was there promoting to the French the idea of
founding the United States of America. In the early sixties of the eighteenth
century, the English Royal Association of Astronomers invited Boskovich to join
their expedition to California in order to observe the planet Venus passing in
front of the sun. Boskovich accepted the invitation, and wrote to his family in
Dubrovnik about the trip he planned. However, some difficulties arose.
California was a Spanish colony and the Spanish were not favoring Boskovich who
was the friend of the English and the Austrian citizen. Beside that, Boskovich
was Jesuit, and that holy order had been suppressed in Spain even before the
Pope did it in 1773. Therefore Boskovich didn't get the necessary permit so the
expedition left without him. Although he was probably disappointed, his family
was glad for it, as his sister Anica wrote: "We never heard of California,
and we hardly pronounced its name. We didn't find it in my book among other
names of America, nor we know where this wild place is located..."
Boskovich
was lucky not to have gone to California because most of astronomers that went
to the trip and successfully studied Venus, died of some epidemic disease.
BOSNICH, TONY Boxer-Restaurant-Saloon
Watch
him closely and see if he doesn’t still show the fancy footwork, employing a
modified Ali-shuffle as he moves along the wooden planks behind the Starlite Hofbrau bar, bobbing and
weaving as he plops an olive into a customers’s very dry Martini or empties an
ashtray. Tony Bosnich used to do his mixing in the professional ring, light
heavyweight style, turning pro the same year he graduated from San Francisco’s
Balboa High School in 1941. The softspoken ex-fighter was born and raised in
the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco, California “the hill”, Tony calls
it, and shortly after his father’s death, he began sneaking his 13 year old
body out of the house and go down to the Corpus Christi Church gym on Alemany
and Santa Rosa. “My mother didn’t find out until I’d fought two bouts,” he
recalls, also remembering how she panicked upon learning. “I calmed her down
and told her it was what I wanted to do,” he adds. Those trips to the gym
kicked off a career that included some 50 professional fights from 1941-50,
(minus two years in the service) including a 10 round decision he lost to Joey
Maxim, world light heavyweight champ from 1950-52. Tony cuffs his chin with one
massive fist and remembers flooring Maxim, (the first time he’d been knocked
down). “After he went down, I wanted to whack him again so bad I blew it,” he
says, though not regretfully. He says he never was flattened to the canvas
himself, though he admits he was somewhat of a “cutter,” lifting a finger to
his left eyelid which he reports used to open-up real easy. “Sure boxing has
changed, when you have good times you don’t have many good fighters,” he
asserts.‘There weren’t any jobs when I was fighting and boxing was a good way
to earn a living,” he recalls. He knows because he referees bouts around the
Bay Area today, earning “roughly” I percent of the house, “but there just
aren’t that many fights anymore.” Prior to starting at the Starlite two years
ago, Tony owned a bar on 18th and Connecticut Street in San Francisco. He and
his wife Athena, have three children, in addition to Tony’s son by an earlier
marriage. The oldest son is on the San Francisco Police Department’t crime
prevention unit, while Tony says his other son is “kind of a prefessional
student.” The Bosnichs have two daughters, including a 20-year old Stella who
recently awarded Tony grandfather status.
BOTICH, MARKO Marine Architect
An
architect born in San Pedro. Co-founder
of Rados-Botich and second cousin of Bob Rados.
The two merged their companies to form an international firm
specializing in the design, construction and reconstruction of sea- going
vessels. The firm is also engaged in
many housing projects and community development.
BOYKO, JOHN, SR.
Teamster-Superintendent
Brother
Boyko was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 1912. He joined the Croatian
Fraternal Union in1940. In addition to his membership in the CFU, he was a
member of the Teamsters Union 420 and was in the Los Angeles Athletic Club for
many years. His wife, daughter, son and
daughter-in-law are members of Croatian Lodge 177. As a young boy, he traveled with
his father all over the United States.
His parents were Ante Boyko and Matia Paich. Brother John received his education
in Crementon, New York. For 19
years he was superintendent at Luers Meat Packing Company. In 1968, he went to work for various construction
companies as a truck driver and retired in 1975. He enjoyed his retirement
until he was 71 years old. Brother Boyko met his sweetheart, Mary Ann Ljubisic,
at St. Anthony’s Croatian Church choir in July 1936. His wife lived in Los Angeles all her life
and she also is very active. They were married in St. Anthony’s Croatian Church
on Nov. 14, 1937. They celebrated their
46th year of marriage and made their home in Temple City, California. He and
his wife were in Vitina and Veljaci, Hercegovina twice, in 1961 and 1979,
visiting their parents birthplace, relatives and friends. John Boyko died in 1983. Survivors include
his wife, Mary; daughter Marilyn of Los Angeles; son, John, Jr. of Grants Pass,
OR; sister, Eva of Whittier; three brothers, Nick of Oklahoma, George of Lake
Tahoe, Nevada and Albert of Covina; sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, 14 nieces,
12 nephews and 31 great nieces and nephews.
BOZANIC, ANTON Priest-Author
Father
Anton Bozanic served our Croatian community well during his stay at "Most
Precious Blood" parish (Croatian Catholic Mission) in Astoria New York
during the 1990’s. Not only did he perform his duties as a priest very well, he
was also involved in a number of other activities which helped our people. He
was always eager to get things moving by attending most of the meetings and
functions that our clubs and societies hold during the year. He was responsible
for initiating several get-togethers, not only for adults from different areas
of Croatia, but for the youngsters of Croatian background in order to promote
their appreciation for our culture and our language. He would bring our most
influential people to come and speak to our younger generations in order to
convince them to keep in touch with our people and our ways of life. A part of
his time was used to further his education at St. John's University and Fordham
University which are two of the leading Catholic universities in the New York
Metropolitan area. Along with all these accomplishments he also spent many
hours, days, months preparing and publishing several books that deal with the
history of our people from different areas -- when and where they immigrated, -
how their family and everyday lives developed, where their burial sites were,
who were our local leaders, who our most prominent people in this society. We
would go on... One thing is for sure: His diligent work and dedication are
greatly appreciated! Wishing him all the best in Mali Losinj (a place we all
could wish for). By Nick Kvasich, Staten Island, NY
BOZICEVIC. JOSEPH Professor
Joseph
Bozicevich is a professor of modern
foreign languages at Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia at
Fredericksburg, Virginia. Born December 21, 1925 in Rakovica, Kordun, Croatia; married with two
children. Education includes State Real Gymnasium, Bihac, Croatia 1937-41;
Juniata College Huntington, Pennsylvania B.S. 1958; Middlebury College,
Middlebury, Vermont, A.M. 1963; Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
Ph.D.,1968 with a major field in Russian Language and Literature and Teaching Russian Language and Literature.
Thesis completed 1968 Juraj Krizanic: Seventeenth Century Pan-Slav Visionary,
Ph..D. Member of American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European
Languages); American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages. Interpreter for
British Troops in Austria 1945-47.
BOZICEVIC-MALBY, MARIA Professor
Maria
is a professor in German and Russian at
Frostburg State College, Frostburg, Maryland. Born May 16, 1937 in Zagreb,
Croatia. Education includes 9th Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia. Graduate, 1956.
Daytona Beach Jr. College, Daytona Beach, Florida 1959-1960; Florida State
University, Tallahassee, Florida B.A 1960-1962; Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusets A.M., 1963; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusets, Ph.D.1969
with a major field in Slavic Studies, Serbian, Croatian, and Russian
literature. Thesis completed 1963: "Turgenev's Superfluous Men"
(Master's). June 1969: "Necista krv u srpkoj i hrvatskoj knjizvevnosti
Ph.D. Published Translations of Modern Yugoslav Prose and Poetry. Liter,Review,
Farleigh-Dickinson University,1968. "The Impact of the Appolo-Dionysius
Struggle on G. Hauptman," SAMLA Bulletin. Member of American Association
of University Professors; Modern Language Association of America;
South-Atlantic Modern Language Association; American Association of Teachers of
Slavic and East European Languages.
BOZIVICH, FRANCIS J. Employment
Counselor
Francis
Bozivich is a counselor at the Minnesota Employment Service St. Paul, Minnesota.
Born December 17, 1914 to Croatian parents in
South St. Paul, Minnesota. Education includes St. Thomas College, St.
Paul, Minnesota 1933-34; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota B.S.,
1937; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota A.M., 1938; Army
Administration Diploma 1943, U.S. Army
School at Cite University, Paris, France. Major field in Educational Psychology
and Educational And Vocational Counseling.
BOZIVICH, HELEN Professor
Helen
Bozivich is a Professor of Statistics, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.
Born May 6, 1916 in So. St. Paul,
Minnesota. Education includes St. Catherine's College, St. Paul, Minnesota
1933-34; University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota B.S. 1937; University
of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota M.S., 1938; Iowa State University, Ames,
Iowa Ph.D., 1955 with a major field in Statistics and specialty in Design of
Experiments. Thesis: 1955 "Power of Analysis of Variance Tests for Certain
Incompletely Specified Models," Iowa State University , Doctoral. Member
of Phi Beta Kappa; Pi Lambda Theta; Sigma Xi.; American Association of
University Professors; American Statistical Association; Institute of
Mathematics Statistics.
BRACANOVICH, ANTHONY J. Draftsman
Anthony
Bracanovich is a draftsman in Plant Engineering at Chrysler 8 Mile Plant in
Detroit, Michigan. Born June 18, 1920 on the Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia;
married with two children. Education includes Classical Gymnasium, Split,
Diploma, 1940; University of Zagreb, Law
Diploma, 1948; Mechanical Drafting and Mathematics, Detroit College of Applied
Science, Ferndale, Michigan 1952-53; Body Drafting and Design, Chrysler
Institute of Engineering, Highland Park, Michigan, 1953-54; English, University
of Detroit, Michigan 1955-56.
BRACANOVICH, MARTIN
Saloon-Restaurant-Ranch-Railway Station
Martin
had a saloon at Quiney and Pine Streets in San Francisco, California in 1854
and a restaurant at 252 Stewart Street in 1862. He had a restaurant in Austin,
Nevada in 1867 and another restaurant at Columbus, Nevada in 1876. It appears
from newspaper accounts that he had a ranch, saloon, restaurant, and train stop
at Soda Springs in 1880 or earlier. Martin married a Mexican girl in San
Francisco in the 1850's and had a son, Nicholas, and two daughters, Ana and
Virginia. He appeared on the Federal Census of 1860 as Martin Brazzanovich and
the 1870 Census as Martin, B. Martin Brazzanovich and his wife located at Soda
Springs near Candelaria offered the public health springs containing sulfur,
magnesia, and borax. Martin operated the Soda Springs Station for the
convenience of Carson and Colorado Railway passengers. He provided saloon, restaurant, health
springs, and picnic facilities. He must have been a gracious and honest man as
one notice he placed in the Candelaria paper stated: Come to my premises, Soda
Springs, Esmeralda County, Nevada on or about the 27th of August 1880, a small
sized, buckskin colored horse five or six years of age, branded JO on the left
hip. The owner may recover property by
calling at my place and paying all legal expenses. Martin started a “May Day Picnic” at his grounds and
place of business for the people of Candelaria and the surrounding area. They had dancing, hunting, drinking, and
other socially acceptable activities. Martin came from the Island of Hvar,
Dalmatia, Croatia as he baptized the children at Old St. Marys Catholic in San
Francisco.
BRACANOVICH, TATJANA Teacher
Tatjana
nee Definis, is a Teacher at Madison District Public Schools Madison Heights,
Michigan. Born January 12, 1935 in Sutivan, Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia; married with two children. Education
included Gymnasium, Vladimir Nazor, Split, Diploma 1955; University of Zagreb
1955-57; Higher Pedogogical School, Zagreb 1957-59 with a major field of English
and Croatian Languages.
BRADVICA, LUKA Construction
Foreman-Croatian Activities
Brother
Bradvica was born on March 18, 1887 in Veljaci, Mostar in Hercegovina to Jure
Bradvca and Mara Vukojevic, the sixth of eleven children. Even at an early age,
he was determined to go to school for at least four years as was the norm for
the country in that era and for boys only. He went to serve and live at the
Franciscan Friars Home and Church, where he served for eight years, gaining
more knowledge. At age 18, he decided,
as so many of our Croatian forbearers did, that there was no future in his
native land. An avid reader then, he
read that America was paved with “gold” via brochures from the Standard Oil
Refinery and the railroads. He came to America on the Princess Eugene by way of
New York and went directly to Los Angeles on May 6, 1907. An older brother
lived here, in the area of our Croatian church, where most Croatian immigrants
resided. He found the street not paved with
gold. Brother Bradvica took any job that was available at that time, never a
shirker of hard work. It took him five
years to save enough money to send for his girl from Veljaci. She arrived Sept. 1, 1912. Luka Bradvica and Joza Bojka were married in
St. Anthony’s Croatian Church on Sept. 12, 1912. After 60 years of beautiful
marriage, they renewed their vows at the same church they were married in. His beloved wife passed away on July 11,,
1979. In the interim, brother Bradvica
solicited and helped build the Croatian Church and helped the Hrvatska Sveza na
Pacificu, a fraternal organization. Both
were dedicated in 1911. Also he helped
build the Croatian National Center on Budlong Ave., Los Angeles, where “Croatian
Day” picnics were held every year in August. On Oct. 8, 1981, he was named the
first “Man of the Year” by the Hrcatska Seljacka Stranka at a banquet held at
St. Anthony’s Parish Hall in recognition of his contribution to the Croatian
Community. Brother Bradvica and Joza had seven children, the oldest dying in
infancy. They reared six in the
American-Croatian manner. All very
active in church and Croatian circles.
He was an adamant believer in education and lived to see three children
plus eight of his grandchildren receive college degrees. With all hardships, he never forgot his
family in Stari Kraj. He helped them
financially during his 76 years in America.
With the merger of Hrvatska Sveza Na Pacificu and the Croatian Fraternal
Union of America, he was a member since March 6, 1911. He was a very dedicated person. He served in
Lodge 177 as an officer in various capacities and was delegate to several of
the CFU National Conventions. He loved our lodge, always working for the lodge
and membership, particurily young members.
You would always find him working at our picnics and lodge functions. It
is with deep regret that the members of Croatian-Slavonian Benevolent Society
CFU Lodge 177, report the death of brother Luka Bradvica, who passed away May
6, 1983. A former employee of P & J Artukovich Construction Co., he worked
as a construction foreman and was a member of St. Anthony’s Croatian Church of
Los Angeles.
BRAJEVICH, ANTON Contractor-Boat
Builder
Anton
was the president of the local lodge of the Croatian Fraternal Union. A contractor and boat builder by trade, his life
was an interesting travelogue; from his native town Split, to South America,
Central America, then North America in 1914, and San Pedro 1920. With his wife, Cvijeta-nee Petrasich they
resided in their own home on 13th street.
BRATONIA, FRANK Teacher-Military
Frank
Bratonia was born in Tacoma, Washington on October 20, 1916. He was the only
son of Matt and Frances Bratonia. It was here that he was enrolled in the Croatian Fraternal Union. He was an
active member for 65 years. He graduated from high school in Tacoma, then went
on to receive his Bachelor's Degree from Washington State University and his
Master's Degree from Central Washington University. He served six years in the
United States Navy.During that time he met and married Ciaire Wilson. Frank
Bratonla's teaching career was spent in Kitsap County. He taught for 30 years
at either the junior high or senior high level. He was a life member of the
Elks Club, a board member of the YMCA; a past president of the Bremerton
Athletic Roundtable and a member of the Recreation Board of Kitsap County.
Frank Bratonia died in 1999. Survivors include his wife, Claire, a son, Mark of
Sequim; a daughter, Shelley, of Fairview, Oregon; four grandchildren, Aaron,
Adam, Brian and Linsey, all of Sequim; two sisters, Rose Stolarski and Lucille
Lewis, both of Tacoma.
BRAVAR, ANTHONY J. Theatre Design
Executive
Director Manchester Institute of Arts & Sciences, Manchester, New
Hampshire. Born April 4, 1931 in
Braddock, Pennsylvania to Croatian parents; married with two children.
Education includes Carnegie Inst. of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1949-53, B.F.A.; Yale School of Drama, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut,
M.F.A.1959-1963 with a field in Theatre design, design of stage settings,
lighting and theatre buildings. Thesis O'Neil's "Lazarus Laughed" as
an Opera (M.F.A.) Published "Enrichment Center for Arts Exposum,"
submitted to the Department of Education, Office of Health, Education and
Welfare, Washington D.C. Member of American Education Theatre Association;
Associated Arts Councils of America; U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology; Illuminating Engineering
Society. Stage Manager, Pittsburgh Grand Opera 1945-53 ; Technical Director,
Manistee Drama Festival, Michigan 1950; Instructor and Director of Drama,
University of Buffalo 1955; Associate Director, Music Department, University of
Buffalo 1957-59; Graduate study, Yale School of Drama, Yale University
1959-62; Scenic Designer, South Shore
Music Circus, Boston 1961; Production Designer, "The Playground,"
(film)1964; In 1966-73 by appointment of the New Hampshire Governor, Chairman
on the arts for the N.H. Arts Commission.
BREKALO (GRGURAS), VESNA Croatian
Activities
Born
in Fratrovi, a small village in Gorski Kotor, Vesna came to the USA 20 years
ago in 1980 and settled in the San
Francisco Bay Area. She was employed at Levi Strass Co. for most of her
employment life. While working, she attended St. Mary's College and obtained
her B.A. Degree in Business Management. She is married to Mi1jenko Brekalo and
they have a baby daughter named Katarina. Administering the Croatian
Scholarship Fund student program requires untold hours. Yet Vesna is
well-organized and fulfills her role for CSF with effeciency and diligence. CSF
Oct 2000
BRENTAR, JEROME Writer
Jerry
graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with Honors having
majored in International Studies. From 1981 to 1984 he worked for Senator John
Glenn from Ohio as a legislative assistant. He then returned to Cleveland to
pursue studies in Journalism at Kent State University where he received his
Masters degree. Jerry Jr. died on November 23, 1999 in Novato, California. He
was born on May 28, 1956 in Munich, Germany and at the age of 3 years he
returned to Cleveland with his parents. The family church affiliation is St.
Paul Croatian Parish in Cleveland. Jerry was a talented creative writer who
also had written numerous letters in support of Croatian independence. He was
reared to be proud of his Catholic Croatian heritage and was fluent in
speaking, reading and writing in the Croatian language as well as in Russian
and German. Jerry left Cleveland in 1992 to be with his brother John, a
psychologist at Stanford University, settling in Sunnyvale, California. For the
last two years he resided with his sister, Mary-Ann Drazina and her family in
Novato, California. He worked as a writer for Wine Corn in Napa Valley,
California and also wrote a column as a restaurant critic for the San Francisco
Chronicle and the Palo Alto Daily News. Jerry and his brother John also
assisted refugees from Bosnia in resettling in the Bay area. Jerry was a member
of the Croatian Catholic Union. He is survived by his parents Jerome and Dora
Brentar; brother John; sisters Carolyn and husband Boris Music; Mary Ann and
husband Tom Drazina and Dora and husband Marc Bourgault; nieces Mara Drazina,
Suzy and Victoria Music; and nephews Christopher Music and Ante Drazina.
BRENTAR, JOHN Psychologist
Psychologist
John Brentar has been helping Bosnian refugee families who have relocated to
the Bay Area overcome these very real issues.
He has provided guidance to the families intially on his own time. Dr.
Brentar, who is fluent in Croatian, became involved with refugees several years
ago when he was asked by Menlo Park School DIstrict to be and interpreter for a
meeting with a newly arrived Bosnian family. Word of Dr Brentar’s skills
and willingness to help became known among refugee organizations in the Bay
Area. As a result, he has aided a
variety of families, primarily by helping to determine the need for and
availability of mental health services for the children and parents. “Most of the families have significant
adjustment problems,” says Dr. Brentar. Dr. Brentar’s ties to the Croatian
commnity are rooted in his family’s history. His mother was a World War
II refugee from Croatia.
BRIGICH, JOSEPH Dairy Farm-Croatian
Activities
Joseph
Brigich, vice-president of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America, was born on
may 17, 1932 in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. His parents were Marko and Katherine
Brigich. He married Louise Tolzda and has 2 daughters and son. Joseph attended
the Agriculture College and Insurance School. He is owner of a dairy farm, beef
farmer and land owner; member of a board of Trustees of Croatian Fraternal
Union (1964-1978); member of the Executive Board of CFU (1978); Slovene
National Benefit Society; Democratic Party.
BRKIC, ANGELA Writer
Courtney
Angela Brkic grew up in Washington, DC, and received her undergraduate degree
in Anthropology/ Archeology from the College of William and Mary. She received
a Fulbright Scholarship in 1995 to collect data on women in the war affected
population living in Croatia. In 1996 she joined a Physicians for Human Rights
team as a forensic archeologist, and worked on sites around Srebrenica, Bosnia
Herzegovina. She returned to Croatia where she lived for several more years,
working alternately with missing persons and other grassroots groups, and as a
free-lance translator. She has also worked for the United Nations War Crimes
Tribunal and for the United States Agency for International Development. She
returned to the US in 1999 to pursue an MFA in Fiction at New York University.
Her first book Stillness, a collection of short stories about the wars in
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, will be published in late 2002 by Farrar,
Straus, and Giroux.
BRKIC, MATE Manufacture
Mate
Brkic and his family operate successfully two businesses: United Hydraulics in
Wickliffe, Ohio and Two-M Precision Co. in the newly built plant in Willoughby.
His specialty is the manufacturing of custom heavy-duty hydraulic cylinders.
His son Mate Jr. and daughter Doris Zurak are involved in the management of the
expanding businesses.
BRKICH, MARTIN Contractor
Born
in Ljubuski, Hercegovina he came to the United States on June 12, 1898. He has been engaged in the contracting
business for most of his life. He is
active in Croatian circles, and was vice-president of the Slavic Democratic
League and and active member of the Croatian American Athletic Club; member of
the Croatian Unity of the Pacific, Lodge No. 5, and the East Los Angeles
Democratic Club. He is an active member
of the Southern California Contracting Association.
BRONZAN, ROBERT Education-Football Coach-Croatian
Activities-Professor
Dr.
Bob Bronzan resides in Danville, California, with his wife, JoAnn. They have
two sons and two daughters. Bob is a first generation Croatian and his parents
came from near Dubrovnik. Bob earned his B.A. degree from San Jose State
University and his doctorate degree from Stanford. He has distinguished himself
in the fields of education, athletics, business, and is a true humanitarian.
Bob served on the faculty at San Jose State for 35 years where he coached
football for fourteen years and served as the athletic director for twelve
years. He has received numerous honors and awards, including serving on the
1972 Olympic games planning committee. He also served as a sports specialist to
the former Yugoslavia in 1964, 1966, and 1970. Bob also has the distinct honor
of having served as the coach to Bill Walsh, a four-time winning superbowl
coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Finally, and of noteworthy importance, Bob
Bronzan is one of the founders of the Croatian Scholarship Fund and the first
president.
BROZOVICH, FRANK Dentist-Croatian
Activities
Frank
Walter Brozovich, President of the Croatian American Association, is a first
generation American. Frank was born in 1931 in Cle Elum., Washington. His
father, Stanislav, emigrated from Croatia in 1903 and his mother, Agata
Matkovic, in 1920 to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Frank Brozovich himself
worked during college in the coalmines of eastern Washington. As a child, Frank
was an alter boy in for his town's Catholic church, St. John the Baptist. He
recited Mass in Latin every Sunday and iniagined himself becoming a priest when
he grew up. Frank Brozovich played football for his high school team, and he
was presented the Citizenship Award from his graduating high school class. He
attended college at Washington State University, where he was a member of Phi
Delta Theta fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology
in 1953 and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Marquette
University in 1957. While at dental school in Milwaukee, Frank Brozovich was a
roommate with Rudy Perpich, who became the longest-serving governor in
Minnesota history. He also was great friend with Rudy's brother Tony Perpich,
who as state senator would chair many important committees. The three Croatian
friends shared many glorious adventures during their days at Marquette Dental
School. When Frank returned to Washington State, he married his college
sweetheart, Darlene Butkovich, who also earned a degree from Marquette (in
Dental Hygiene). Darlene's family was also originally from the Gorski Kotar
region of Croatia; she grew up near Seattle. Her mother came to the U.S. from
Delnice as a young girl in the early 1930's. Darlene's paternal grandparents
emigrated from Crni Lug and Lokve around 1912. Her father and both grandfathers
worked their whole lives in Montana, Oregon, and Washington as coal miners, an
occupation that was typical for Croatian emigrants.
Together,
Frank and Darlene Brozovich established a dental practice in Renton, a suburb
of Seattle. Today, the Brozovich's general dentistry practice is one of the
largest in the greater Seattle area. Throughout his career, Dr. Brozovich has
actively worked for legislation concerning dentistry and issues confronting the
dental profession. He has been a member of the American Dental Association,
Washington State Dental Association, and Seattle-King County Dental Society for
40 years. Among the positions he has held at the Seattle-King County Dental
Society are District Coordinator of the Legislative Affairs Committee, Chairman
of the Board Nominating Committee, and Member of the Liaison Committee between
Dentists and Insurance Companies. In 1997, the American Dental Association
honored Brozovich with the Lifetime Membership Service Award.
Dr.
Brozovich!s family spoke Croatian at home while he was growing up. He remembers
his parents' stories of life in Gorski Kotar, an area of Croatia close to Lika
that was occupied only once -- by Napoleon. Similar to Herzegovina, Gorski
Kotar was marked by high Croatian patriotism, which was kept alive in the town
of MrkopaIj by the parish priest. When communist army tanks rolled into Croatia
in 1990, a close Croatian friend told him how Canadians in Vancouver were
raising money to send arms to Croatia. Dr. Brozovich suggested that they
instead direct their efforts for Croatian independence toward politics: For
every dollar raised on the political scene, he said, they would be rewarded
tenfold or more. And so, in 1991, Dr. Brozovich became a leading founder of the
Seattle-based Croatian American Foundation, now the Pacific Northwest Chapter
of the Croatian American Association. Dr. Brozovich was first elected to the
Croatian American Association!s National Executive Board in September 1993, and
he became National President of the Croatian American community's ethnic lobby
in March 1994. He has served four terms in this position. For his service to
the Croatian cause, Ante Beljo in Detroit awarded Dr. Brozovich, along with
Ilija Letica, Tony Peraica, and Vlado Markovac, President Tudjman's
"Crveni Pleter" medal in November 1998. In 1999, the Croatian
business community in Cleveland presented him with a "Zahvalnica"
award for his work in Croatian American politics. In 1995, he also received an
award from the Croatian government, presented by Croatian Parliament President
Nedjelko Mihanovic during the Croatian American Associations annual
"Croatian Days on the " in Washington, D.C.
Dr.
Brozovich's family has been highly active in the Croatian American community.
His son Frank, a research cardiologist and associate professor at Case Western
University, resides in Cleveland and is an active member of the Croatian
American Association's Ohio chapter. As a father, Frank Brozovich always
stressed the importance of education to his children. Frank Brozovich first
visited Croatia, the land he had grown up with, in 1971 with his children, his
wife, and his wife's parents. Since Croatia's independence in 1990, he has
renewed contact with his many relatives in Zagreb, Rijeka, and Gorski Kotar. He now visits every summer. In addition to his
work with the Croatian American Association, Dr. Brozovich is a lifetime member
of the Croatian Fraternal Union. He is also a proud member of the Croatian
Catholic Union. By MIA BROZOVICH
BROZOVICH, FRANK V. Doctor-Engineer
Frank
Vincent Brozovich holds both a Bachelor and a Master of Science degree in
Electrical Engineering. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree, as well as a
Ph.D. in Biophysics, from the University of Washington in 1986. He performed
his Internal Medicine residency while completing a Fellowship in Biophysics at
Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He then received his Certification in
Cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. For the past 5 years, he has
worked at Case Western in the Department of Cardiology and in the Intensive
Care Unit of the University's hospital. His wife, Angie, a tax attorney, has
her own law practice and has served as Secretary of the American Croatian
Business Association of Ohio. They have three children: Ava, Stefan, and Nik.
The children have studied Croatian folklore and tambura at the Cardinal
Stepinac Hrvatski Dom in Cleveland.
BROZOVICH, MIA Congressional
Aide-Consultant
Dr.
Brozovich!s daughter, Mia, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in
International Studies from the University of Washington, and pursued her Master
of Arts in Eastern European Studies at Indiana University's Russian and Eastern
European Institute. In 1988, she worked on staff for the George Bush
presidential campaign. During her career in Washington, D.C., she has worked as
a Foreign Affairs Legislative Aide to Congressman Wayne Owens of Utah. From
1993-1995, she was Executive Director of the Croatian American Association.
After leaving the Croatian American Association, she joined a political
consulting company where she performed direct marketing for the 1996 campaigns
of many Republicans--including Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and
Senator Mitch McConnell, Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee. This
year she will receive a Master of International Management degree from
Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, with a
specialization in marketing and brand management.
BROZOVICH, STANISLAV Coalminer
Stanislav
Brozovich (1891-1984), was born in
Mrkopalj, Gorski Kotar, Croatia. At the
age of 12, Stanislav came with his widowed mother and younger sister to the
United States through Ellis Island. Stanislav later found work in the coalmines
of New Mexico and then in eastern Washington, where he settled. Cle Elurn was a
small town, populated mainly by Central European immigrants-Italians and
Croatians, mostly from Gorski Kotar-and a handful of Poles, Serbs,
Montenegrins, Welsh, and Scots. In 1920, Stanislav Brozovich married Agata
Matkovic (1893-1969), who came to the U.S. by ship with a group of Croatian
women, in a trip paid for by her future husband and other local Croatian men
seeking brides from their homeland. Stanislav Brozovich was a fifty-year member
of United Mine Workers of America.
BROZOVICH, STANLEY Psychologist-Artist
Stanley
served in the U.S. Army during World War 11 and later became a psychologist.
Today, he is an artist and lives in southern California with his wife of over
50 years, Peg Brozovich. His father, Stanislav, emigrated from Croatia in 1903
and his mother, Agata Matkovic, in 1920 to become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Their first son, Stanley Marion Brozovich, was born in 1921.
BRUNEMAN, GUS Police Captain
One
of San Francisco’s top cops, Commander Gus Bruneman, is leaving the force for
another profession- teaching public administration. Name the key details in the
department and Bruneman, 50, has headed them over the years. As a captain, he served in district stations
and the headed the old Tactical Squad, the specially trained riot and crowd
control unit. In 1976, after Charles Gain became chief, Bruneman was assigned
to reorganize the old Tac Squad into the present Crime Specific Task
Force. It specializes in fighting street
crime and had taken over the bomb squad and mounted horse patrol. In February
1977, Bruneman was promoted from captain to commander of the patrol division,
second in command of the uniformed force, which is headed now by Deputy Chief
Jeremiah Taylor. On the force for 28 years, Bruneman is eligible for
retirement. Yesterday he filed his
papers with the city Retirement system, to be effective Jan 31. Bruneman has a
bachelor’s degree In the administration of justice from the Golden Gate
University in the City and a masters in public administration from the
University of Southern California. Starting next spring, he will teach public
administration at Golden Gate Univertisy. Despite his retirement, the name
Bruneman will continue on the police roster here. His son Mark, 24, is a patrolman, having joined
the force two years ago. His mother was Croatian.
BRYNAC-BRNJAC, RUDY Tamburitza Hall of
Fame
Rudy
was born of Croatian parents on December 13, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri. They
were from the selo of Bribir in Primorje, Croatia. Rudy was a man of simple
means but blessed with great gifts. He worked hard to perfect those gifts. In
the early 1930s Rudy and his three brothers, John, Frank and Pete learned to
play tarnburitza in several of the large tamburitza zbors which included 10
young men. They were taught by Frank and Tony Cernich. Rudy played bugarija.
One of those gifts he perfected,was, his beautiful voice. His first combo was
the original "Plavi Dunav" Orchestra of St. Louis. They were
comparable to the Skertich Brothers but not as famous. The members included
Rudy, Gregory Stippec, Bob Simac, Tom Mazar and John Crnkovich. Other members
were John Antonic, Nicholas Kovacich, John. Grbcic and John Lucic, Jr. When
tamburitza was needed, they played for almost all of the events at the Croatian
Hall and St. George. They inspired the next generation with the love of
tamburitza. Rudy was also on the road a lot. He attended many of the Croatian
Catholic Union and Croatian Fraternal Union bowling and-golf tournaments. He
was also a great golfer and bowler. Rudy also loved baseball and his early band
played a party for the St. Louis Cardinals "Gas-house Gang." Rudy
became a member of the Hall of Fame in 1979 in Minneapolis along with Matt
Gouze and Libby Fill. In Detroit, Rudy also received the 50-year award. Rudy
worked most of his life for the city of St. Louis and later for Anheuser-Busch,
where he retired. Rudy passed away on March 27, 2001. He left his only son,
Rudy and wife Ronnie and three grandchildren and four great grandchildren. This
includes four generations of "Rudy" Brynac. He had 86 great and
fruitful years. At his eulogy Fr. John Borcic traced the history of Rudy, also
the history of the immigrants, our parents and grandparents to America and how
Rudy entertained them. There wasn't a dry eye in church! Fr. Joe of St.
Joseph's Croatian Church concluded how Rudy and his number one biggest fan, his
wife, Nettie, would now be part of the Angelic Hosts welcoming us all to Heaven
with their songs. Rudy's songs will live forever in our hearts. Rudy was a
member of Anheuser Busch Local 6 Retiree's Club, Club Primorac, Croatian Sokol
Dalmacija, Vila Singing Society, CCU Lodge 33, Club Novi Vinodol and CFU Lodge
50 for 47 years.
BRZICA, MATO Restaurant Inn
Mato
Brzica lived in Terry, South Dakota. He was born in Maranovici, Island of Mljet, Croatia in
1878. He emigrated to the USA in 1893. In 1903 he married Marija Bakara, born
in 1876 through a power of attorney. They had five children: Annie, born on
June 11, 1904, Mary born on January 17, 1906, Rupert, born on June 5, 1908,
Paul, born on November 25, 1912 and Stephen, born on August 15, 1918. All of
these children were born in Terry. The family had a shop of general goods,
first in Terry and then in the nearby town of Lead. Thereafter they became co-owners
of a well known inn "Rialto". Their children completed higher
education and were very successful. Ivan Sekula from Maranovici who was of the
same age as Mato Brzica also lived in Terry for many years.
BUBALO, STEVE Construction-Bank
The
Croatian Scholarship Fund inducted Steve
Bubalo into its Hall of Fame in 1998. In the judgement of the CSF selection
committee and officers, Steve Bubalo has no peer to match his generosity and
kindness to people living in
Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia. He was born in Ljubuski, Bosnia-Hercegovina.
There he graduated from high school. His father and mother were also born in
Ljubuski; his mother's maiden name was Zelic. Steve focused his ambition, drive
and capabilities to develop one of the largest and most successful construction
firms in California. He has never forgotten or forsaken his roots. He gives
credibilty to his feelings by generously contributing significant financial and
material support to organizations and individuals who are devoted to improving
the standard of life in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.
BUBASH, GEORGE R.
Microbiologist-Military-Inventor
George
Bubash is a Microbiologist at Pennsylvania State University, Chemistry
Department, University Park, Pennsylvania. Born September 30, 1921 to Croatian
parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Education includes Pittsburgh University,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1939-1940; Pennsylvania State University, University
Park, Pennsylvania 1940-43; Pennsylvania
State University, B.S. 1953 with a major field in Microbiology,
Bacteriology-Mycology. Member of American Society for Microbiology; Phi
Sigma (Beta Alpha); Biological Honorary. Research Assistant to Dr. Jonas E.
Salk in virus research: poliomyelitis 1948-1950; U.S. Army Medical
Administration 1943-1946 ; Chief of Virus and Rickettsiae Diagnostic Laboratory
at Ft. Baker, California 1950-1952; First Lt. in U.S. Army Medical Service
corps; 1952-53 with the Sanitary Engineers Department. Invented Chemical
Sterilizer, British and Phillipine
patents issued, U.S. patents issued 1966. Pipettor Bacteriological inoculation
needle, Metal basket for storing, washing and drying test tubes.
BUBRIG, NICK Orange Grove-Oysterman
Nick
Bubrig has been interested in growing oranges since he was a lad and since 1925
has owned a seven-acre orange grove at Boothville in Plaquemines Parish where
he is producing the five principal varieties of this semitropical fruit. Mr.
Bubrig's trees are all well-developed and have attained their full bearing
capacity. Some years ago Mr. Bubrig added to his orange growing activities by
planting several thousand lily bulbs and now puts out around forty thousand
bulbs early each year for the Easter market. Nick Bubrig was born at South Pass
near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, a son
of John Bubrig, a native of Croatia, a former sailor and sea captain and who
after coming to this country engaged extensively in the oyster business, and
Julia (Purgley) Bubrig, both of whom are now deceased. When he was ten years old
Mr. Bubrig started gathering oysters and continued in this line of endeavor
until 1933. He has also grown oranges since his early boyhood and purchased the
place where he now lives at Boothville in 1925. On the thirty-first of
December, 1924, Mr. Bubrig was married in Boothville to Miss Mildred Buras,
member of a pioneer Boothville family. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Bubrig
are Leander Nicholas, born June 1, 1926, a student in the Buras High School;
Aubrey E., born April 3, 1928; Naomi, born July 31, 1929 and Karl Bubrig, born
June 16, 1938.
BUCHA, PAUL WILLIAM Medal of Honor
Rank
and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company D, 3d Battalion. 187th Infantry,
3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Phuoc Vinh, Binh
Duong Province, Republic of Vietnam, 16-19 March 1968. Entered service at.,
U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. Born:
I August 1943, Washington, D.C. Citation, For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.
Capt.
Bucha distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer, Company D, on
a reconnaissance-in force mission against enemy forces near Phuoc Vinh, The
company was inserted by helicopter into the suspected enemy stronghold to
locate and destroy the enemy, During this period Capt. Bucha aggressively and
courageously led his men in the destruction of enemy fortifications and base
areas and eliminated scattered resistance impeding the advance of the company.
On 18 March while advancing to contact, the lead elements of the company became
engaged by the heavy automatic weapon, heavy machinegun, rocket propelled
grenade, claymore mine and small-arms fire of an estimated battalion-size
force. Capt. Bucha, with complete disregard for his safety, moved to the
threatened area to direct the defense and ordered reinforcements to the aid of
the lead element. Seeing that his men were pinned down by heavy machinegun fire
from a concealed bunker located some 40 meters to the front of the positions,
Capt. Bucha crawled through the hail of fire to singlehandedly destroy the
bunker with grenades.
During
this heroic action Capt. Bucha received a painful shrapnel wound. Returning to
the perimeter, he observed that his unit could not hold its positions and repel
the human wave assaults launched by the determined enemy. Capt. Bucha ordered
the withdrawal of the unit elements and covered the withdrawal to positions of
a company perimeter from which he could direct fire upon the charging enemy.
When friendly element retrieving
casualties was ambushed and cut off from the perimeter, Capt. Bucha ordered
them to feign death and he directed artillery fire around them. During the
night Capt. Bucha moved throughout the position, distributing ammunition,
providing encouragement and insuring the integrity of the defense. He directed
artillery, gunship and Air Force gunship fire on the enemy strong points and
attacking forces, marking the positions with smokegrenades. Using flashlights
in complete view of enemy snipers, he directed the medical evacuation of 3
air-ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel and the helicopter supply of
his company. At daybreak Capt. Bucha led a rescue party to recover the dead and
wounded members of the ambushed element.
During
the period of intensive combat, Capt. Bucha, by his extraordinary heroism,
inspirational example, outstanding leadership and professional competence, led
his company in the decimation of a superior enemy force which left 156 dead on
the battlefield. His bravery and gallantry at the risk of his life are in the
highest traditions of the military service, Capt. Bucha has reflected great
credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
The
original name of Capt. Bucha was Buha. His people came from Slavonia. He is now
the President of the Medal of Honor
Society in America.
BUDESA-BUSSANICH, ANNIE Chicken Ranch
My
mothers father came to America in 1893, when he was 18 years old to Newport
News, Virginia. He worked on the ship and that paid his fare over. He got a job
in the shipyard and then sent for his girlfriend (that was arranged by his
cousin) and they were married in Virginia. My grandmother stayed a few years
and had three children. One died in the U.S. She then went back to Croatia
pregnant with my mother and the other two children died in Susak, Croatia. One
other child was born in Croatia. My grandmother had six children altogether.
The only two that survived were born in Croatia and are still living- that is
my mother and uncle in Watsonville.
My
grandfather traveled back and forth to the U.S. and the family lived fairly
well on the island of Susak in Istria. When my grandfather came back he decided
to move the family to Losin. They had several cows and sold the milk. My
grandfather heard that war was imminent so, he moved his family back to Susak
and he returned to the U.S.. For four years they had no letters or money from
him because of the war. When the First War came people were almost starving.
Flour, potatoes, cornmeal were rationed to three kilos a month. So they did not
have enough bread to eat. Gardens were planted of kale, bubba beans, peas and
swiss chard. Meat was served once a month-fish was plentiful.
Between
the island of Susak and Olib my mother and father recall seeing a blimp go down
in the sea with Croatian doctors and Italians. They think it was shot down by
Austrians in the early morning. For the next twenty-five years they lived under
the Italian occupation. This is called Istria.
After
the was in 1920 my grandfather sent for his family. This was my mothers first
trip and leaving the homeland. She recalls tasting her first ice cream (gelato)
in Rovinj. They arrived in Hayward, California and were automatically American
citizens, due to the fact that my grandfather obtained citizenship to the U.S. because he was a minor when he first entered
the country. They arrived in Hayward where my grandfather had bought three
acres and a little home. They had a chicken ranch and one cow that the family
tended while my grandfather was a foreman at Moore shipyard in Oakland. He
learned to speak and write English. My uncle went to school also. My mother was
sixteen years old and she was embarrassed to go to school- because she thought
she was too old. Later years she regretted this very much.
BUDESA, MATT Fisherman, Longshoreman-Merchant
There
were 6 children in my fathers family. He was born on the Island of Olib,
Dalmatia. My father’s grand parents were all dead before he was born. My
grandfather came to San Francisco in
1904. He was a dishwasher. After the earthquake he returned to Olib. Stayed a
few years and came back to San Francisco. His cousin opened a bar in
Watsonville and my grandfather worked for him. In 1913 he returned to Olib.
They heard the war was about to begin, so the oldest son Jack left on the last
ship to sail for America in 1913. The war started and my grandfather was the
first soldier drafted from from that island so, they called him Soldat Pochov!
That was the family Clan name and soldat means soldier. My father was in school
during the war for 4 years - he was young but remembers' the war and the
famine. They only had vegetables and fish. He tells many stories when he took
his mothers sugar bowl and ran out in the field to eat it. Also his sister was
sick and made soup - he took the pot from the stove and ran out of the house
with it. They only had vegetables and fish. Sometimes there was no bread for a
week at a time. The main source of work on the island of Olib was selling
oakwood to Zadar. Also the island has olive trees and they raised sheep for
cheese.
At
15 yrs of age my father went to Losinj and worked in the shipyard. From the
shipyard he went to Trieste to try to become a sailor to get to the U.S. He
went to the Union and was placed on a waiting list and about a month later he
sailed for the U.S. never to return to his native land again. However,the captain of the ship and lst officer
were paid off be forehand. They
knew my father would jump ship once it docked in New York. There were other men
hidden on the ship. When he landed in the U.S. he disembarked (this was in
November 1922.) He had several friends addresses. He was very homesick and
hungry. Not knowing the language a man
tried to help him. He pointed to a local policeman. However, my father was afraid to go to him for fear they would
catch him and put him back on the ship to Croatia. So he walked the streets not
knowing where his friends really lived. He found a man that directed him one
way, and another who would look at his address list and direct him another way.
Finally he met an Italian man, and this man took him to a little corner
grocerystore. The lady in the store recognized his accent because she was from
Olib also and knew his family. He was overwhelmed with joy! She took him
upstairs to his brother-in-law and friends. They gave him chuck steak and bread
(he remembers that to this day).
He
then got a job as a longshoreman for about 6 months. Saved every penny and came
to San Francisco to join his brother in 1923 and worked as a longshoreman
again. Left that job and went to Alaska to fish for salmon on a sailing vessel
called The Star of England. He came back after the season was over and went to
San Pedro to fish tuna. Came back to S.F. and worked as a longshoreman for a
while. In between this time his brother and brother-in-law had opened a store
on Rincon Hill. All the Croatians lived around this area. (They (Croatians)
started to move out when the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge was being built) My
father then became a partner in the business and was married in 1930 at the Croatian
Church of Nativity by Father Turk. I was then born and they opened another
store in Columbus Ave in 1932. They were starting to supply the fishing fleet
that would come to San Francisco. From the Columbus Ave. store they moved to
Jefferson Streeet next to Joe DeMaggio's Restaurant. They supplied all the
sardine fishing fleet. The brother-in-law continued the original retail store
on Rincon Hill, while my uncle and father kept the Bal Tabarin Food Shop. They
supplied the Croatians, Japanese, Norwegian and Swedish fishing purse seiners.
They sold the business in 1945 due to the lack of sardines on the west coast.
We then moved to Santa Clara Valley.
BUDROVICH, NIKOLA
Goldminer-Saloon-Coffee Saloon
Nikola
was born in Starigrad, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia. He had a coffee saloon at 27 Commercial
Street in 1852. He was an American
citizen. He had a saloon at 64 J Street
in Sacramento in 1861. He also mined
gold at Rocklin, Placer county.
BUDROVICH, PETER Fisherman
Peter
was a fisherman and fish-dealer in San Francisco. He married an Irish girl and had five
children. He died in 1882, far from his
birthplace in Starigrad, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia.
BUDROVICH, STEPHEN Priest
Father
Stephen Vatroslav Budrovich was born in Velo Grablje, on the island of Hvar,
Croatia, October 13, 1923, the son of Nikola Budrovich and Mandica Zaninovich.
His primary education was in the village school of Velo Grablje and for his
secondary schooling he attended the Dominican High School at Bol on the Island
of Brac. In 1943 he entered the Order at the Dominican Priory in Dubrovnik and
received the religious name of Vatroslav (Ignatius). He was professed there
October 1, 1944, and then pursued philosophical studies in Dubrovnik and
Zagreb. Father Budrovich studied theology in Zagreb, Olomouc in Czechoslovakia,
Nijmegen in Holland, the Saulchoir in France, and Oxford University in England.
Because of the political situation he could not return to his homeland to be
ordained, and so the Master of the Order permitted him to go to Oakland,
California, where a number of his relatives lived, and there he was ordained a
priest on September 6, 1949. He was then transferred to the Dominican House of
Studies, River Forest, Illinois, where he completed his theological studies,
earning the degrees of Lector in Sacred Theology and Master of Arts. During
this time he also served as an assistant pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish,
River Forest, Illinois.
In
1952 upon completion of his postgraduate studies, Father Budrovich was assigned
as an assistant to Holy Trinity Croatian Parish, Chicago, and in 1959 became a
citizen of the United States. In June, 1966, he succeded Father Innocent
Bojanic as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, a ministry in which he continued to
serve until his death. In addition to his parish duties he has served as State
Chaplain of the Catholic War Veterans of the State of Illinois, Chaplain of the
St. Procopius Post and Auxiliary of the Catholic War Veterans, Chaplain of the
32nd Division of the Red Arrow Club of Chicago, Chaplain of the Holy Name
Society, Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, Illinois Council, and was a
member of the Fourth Degree Joseph A. Powers Assembly of the Knights of
Columbus.
Two
days after celebrating his 45th anniversary of ordination Father Budrovich
entered the hospital for surgery and died at Mercy Hospital on September 25,
1994. He was waked at Holy Trinity Church by the parishioners whom he had
served for over forty-one years and the Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated
on September 28, 1994. He was buried in the Dominican plot at All Saints
Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.
BUTROVICH, JOHN Senator
Governor
Tony Knowles ordered state flags lowered to half staff through Monday, June 9,
1997 in memory of John Butrovich. The longtime Fairbanks, Alaska resident and
former legislative leader died Tuesday, June 3, at his home. He was 87. The son
of a Klondike gold miner, Butrovich was born March 22, 1910, in Fairbanks
Creek. He was one 13 students who graduated from Fairbanks High School in 1929.
Later, he attended what was then Washington State College on a basketball
scholarship. Butrovich returned to Alaska in 1936 and went to work as an
insurance salesman. He later bought the insurance business. Butrovich's
political career spanned three decades, beginning with a stint on the Fairbanks
city council in the early 40s. The Republican served three years as a
territorial senator at a critical juncture in Alaska's history. A strong
proponent of statehood, he reportedly once pounded the desk of President Dwight
Eisenhower to express opposition to a federal plan to divide the Alaska
territory. Butrovich was elected to the state Senate in 1962 and he served
through 1978. His colleagues named him Senate president in 1967. As a member of
the Fairbanks delegation, Butrovich was instrumental in winning support for the
formation of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The university later named one
of its buildings for Butrovich. A committee room in the state Capitol also
bears his name. Butrovich was preceded in death by his daughter, Jane, in 1985;
and his wife, Grace, in March of this year. He is survived by three
grandchildren and numerous other relatives. Funeral services are tentatively
set for Monday, June 9, in Fairbanks. In recognition of John Butrovich's
service to the State of Alaska, Governor Tony Knowles ordered state flags
lowered to half staff through sundown on Monday, June 9, 1997.
BUICH BROTHERS LUKO-VLAHO Restaurant
When
you turn from Van Ness onto Lombard in San Francisco, you can see Gelco’s Rendezvous on the right, with
signs in the window that read “Original House of Baby Lamb” and “The Buich
Brothers form Dubrovnik” and you get Luko Buich in a tuxedo, standing behind a
small bar, pleasant, friendly and willing to talk about Dalmatia until closing
time. Buich, 36, came to America 10 years ago in 1977 from Dubrovnik, a town on
the Adriatic Coast in Croatia built in the 13th century. His brother, Vlaho, had come to San Francisco
about 20 years before, but the family name goes further back than that. Buich
talks about his great-uncles coming to California during the Gold Rush, cutting
their lives short- one died when he was 40, another when he was 21- to try and
find gold nuggets in the streams around Jackson. He points with pride to his countymen’s
accomplishments in California across the years, and to the community of 35,000
Croatians who have settled in the Bay Area. Gelco’s Rendezvous is best known
for its lamb dishes, but it is also a small museum of Croatian artifacts. The walls are covered with cases of dolls and
bottles, hand-woven blankets and paintings of Dubrovnik. In addition, every third Friday of the month,
Gelco’s offers native Croatian tamburitza music. Buich finds himself missing
Dubrovnik from time to time- swimming in the warm sea, walking in the heat of
July and August, the slow days on the outer islands when you would see across
the Adriatic to the coast of Italy. He brought out tour books, thick with color
pictures of Dubrovnik, and reminisced about the inland villages, about the
houses along the River Trebisnica and the cafes sitting on the sea side of the
coast. Then he poured the Slivovitz, topped it with pear liquor, and held it up
to the light. “Zivili!” he said.
BUICH, LOUIE Restaurant
Born on the Croatian Coast of Dalmatia, in village of Grbovac, located in the
district of Postranje, in the area of Gornja
Zupa. In 1922, at age 25, Louie was sponsored to come to the United
States by his cousin Antone Ljubimir.
Upon his arrival in San Francisco, he began working as a dishwasher and
kitchen helper in Tadich Grill where his brother Mitch worked as a cook, His brother Tom was now working as a waiter
at John Sutich’s Cold Day Restaurant at 537 Sacramento street. He brought Louie there where he could now
train as and apprentice cook. In 1923, both brothers returned to Tadich Grill,
Louie as a cook and Tom as a waiter. In
1928, Louie’s brother Mitch and a Tadich
Grill waiter, Louie Milich, bought the restaurant from John Tadich for
$8,000--- $4,000 each. In 1933, Mitch
and Louie Milich’s partnership terminated.
The Three brothers became working owners. Mitch was the chef and Louie Became the night
chef and relief day chef for Mitch, while Tom became the “front man.” serving
as a host and bartender. Until this time, charcoal (mesquite) broilers were
traditionally used for meats and poultry.
Because Tadich Grill was predominantly a seafood house and the broiler
was not used to its fullest potential, Louie introduced the techniques of
cooking seafood over a charcoal (mesquite) broiler. This cooking technique immediately became
popular with the customers and added to the success of the restaurant. Louie
met Marija Nenad in 1927 in Oakland. She
was born in Zakula, Donja Zupa,
approximately 2 miles from his birthplace, but they had never met before. They married in February, 1929. Louie and Marija (Mary) had 3 children. Mary, Lucille, Steve, and Robert. In 1961,
Louie purchased Mitchel S. and Mitchell A. Buich’s shares of Tadich Grill and
Louie’s sons, Steve and Robert, took over the management of the restaurant and
later became partners. Steve, who had
originally worked at the restaurant as a bartender from 1956 to 1958, left to
become an officer of the San Francisco Police Department from 1958 to
1961. Robert had previously worked
part-time at Tadich Grill while attending college. Louie was the primary influence of Tadich
Grill until his death in 1965 at the age of 67; he had been in the restaurant
industry for 43 years.
BUICH, MITCHELL S. Restaurant
Born
on the Croatian Coast of Dalmatia in the
village of Grbovac, located in the district of Postranje, in the area of
Gornja Zupa. In 1906, at age 16, Mitch was sponsored to come to the United
States by his uncle Mise (Mitch) Buich.
He departed for America by steamer and arrived at Ellis Island in 14
days, thence a 5-day train trip from New York to Oakland. He began his working
career as a diswasher and kitchen helper
at the Potrero Cafe owned by Chris
Kristovich on Potrero and Third Streets.
In 1908, he worked as a cook at a restaurant owned by his uncle Mitch
and cousin Antone Ljubimir at 304 Pacific Street. When the restaurant failed and was forced to
close, their uncle bought another restaurant called the Evans, in the Evans Hotel at 89 Broadway, and they worked there
until it was sold in 1910. Mitch then
worked at the Ferry Cafe at Market and Sacramento Streets where he trained
under a prominent French chef. In 1913,
he went to work as a cook for Tom and Jack Kristovich at the Mission Grill on 24th and Mission
Streets, where his brother Tom had previously worked. In 1914, Mitch went to
work for Tadich Grill as a cook, and
in 1924, he became the chef. In 1928, he
returned to Croatia to marry Marija Miloslavich from Bosanka. Upon his return to the United States later
that year, he and Louie Milich, a waiter at Tadich Grill, bought the restaurant
from John Tadich for $8,000--- $4,000 each. In 1933, Mitch and Louie Milich’s
partnership terminated. Louie and Tom were able to buy him out in 1933 for
$3,000--- $1,500 each. The Three
brothers became working owners. Mitch
was the chef and Louie became the night chef and relief day chef for Mitch,
while Tom became the “front man.” serving as a host and bartender. Mitch and
Marija (Mary) Buich had 5 children: Stephan, Norma, Mary Ann, Mitchell A., and
Carol Jean. In 1958, Mitch brought his son, Mitchell A., into the
Partnership. In 1961, after 47 years at
Tadich Grill, Mitchell S. and his son sold their shares of Tadich Grill to
Louie Buich. They opened a lavish
restaurant called Buich’s at 401 Broadway.
Mitchell S. died in 1966 at the age of 76; he had been in the restaurant industry for 60
years.
BUICH, TOM Restaurant
Born on the Croatian Coast of Dalmatia in the
village of Grbovac, located in the district of Postranje, in the area of
Gornja Zupa. In 1907, at age 15, Tom was
sponsored to come to the United States by his uncle Mise (Mitch) Buich. He departed for America by steamer and
arrived at Ellis Island in 14 days, thence a 5-day train trip from New York to
Oakland. He began his working career as a dishwasher and kitchen helper at a
waterfront restaurant owned by his relatives, Steve Cesko and Antone
Ljubimir. After 6 months, he went to
another waterfront restaurant owned by Nikola Givanovich. In 1908, he worked as
a dishwasher and kitchen helper at a restaurant owned by his Uncle Mitch and
cousin Antone Ljubimir at 304 Pacific Street.
When the restaurant failed and was forced to close, their uncle bought
another restaurant called Evans, in
the Evans Hotel at 89 Broadway, and they worked there until it was sold in
1910. He worked as a kitchen helper for a short time for Nicholas Miloglav’s
restaurant at 51 Jackson Street cooking from 5:00 am to 2:00 pm and waiting
tables in the afternoons and evenings.
Tom then took a steamer to Eureka to work as a cook for Ilia and Martin
Tonkovich’s restaurant on Washington Street at the Embarcadero during the day,
and at night, he worked as a waiter for Tom and Jack Kristovich at Mission Grill on 24th and Mission
Streets. In 1923, Tom went to work as a waiter for Tadich Grill and also brought this brother Louie to apprentice as a
cook. In 1928, Tom’s brother Mitch and a Tadich Grill waiter, Louie Milich,
bought the restaurant from John Tadich for $8,000--- $4,000 each. In 1933, Mitch and Louie Milich’s partnership
terminated. The three brothers were
working owners: Tom became the “front man”, serving as a host and bartender, while
his brothers remained in the kitchen: Mitch was the Chef and Louie became the
night chef and relief day chef for Mitch. Tom Buich married Anne Hubner in
1928; they had no children. After Anne’s
death in 1946, he married Anfisca Jacovljeva and later adopted his nephew,
Steve J. Buich, from Croatia. He retired
to ranching in Orosi, Fresno County, Calfornia and later returned to San
Francisco where he managed his properties.
Tom died in 1982 at the age of 90; he had been in the restaurant
industry for 43 years.
BUJA, NIKOLA Restaurant-Saloon
Nikola
came to San Francisco via Cape Horn in 1850.
NIkola tried his luck with a saloon in 1860 at North San Juan, Nevada
County, California. He invested his gold
nuggets in a saloon at 605 Davis Street, San Francisco which he maintained for
many years. He was an American citizen.
He established himself in business, together with Marko Ljubetich. He was a charter member of the Slavonic
Illyric Mutual Benevolent Society, and also served as Vice-President of the
Society. He was a member of the
organization of Exempt Firemen of the early days in San Francisco. In 1864 he returned to his home, Starigrad,
Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia married there and brought his bride to San
Francisco, same year. From this marriage
there came a lovely family of several boys and girls; those living at this time
are Mrs. Cora Mareovich, mother of the well-known attorney in our colony, Ivan
Mareovich, and Nicholas Mareovich, established in business in San Anselmo; Mrs.
Virginia Belding, wife of the Superintendent of the Children’s Playground,
Golden Gate Park, and Andrew Buja, Custom House Broker.
BUJAN, ANDREW Goldmine
Andrew,
from Dalmatia, had a coffee saloon at 4 Broadway, San Francisco in 1867. He also organized the Illyrian Gold and
Silver Mine in Calaveras County in
1863. He was an American citizen.
BUJENOVICH, JOSEPH Owned the Town
Joseph
Bonjonos, or Bujenovich, an Austrian
(Croatian), who lived under the assumed name of Antoine Andriche, but who was
better known as "Quatre Escalins" (four bits) on account of his
miserly propensities acquired the property now known as the Ferdinand
Barrilleaux tract of (sic) and from the succession sale of Mrs. Elizabeth
Mills, widow of William Fields, which was held on January 26 and 27, 1816. He also owned most of the town
lots in Lockport, Louisiana except the front, but would never sell a lot,
keeping them, as he said, for a cattle pasture. He led a miserly life and died,
leaving no heirs, January 13, 1866. His estate, inventoried at $22,157.42, was
sold by the state. To the Barataria and Lafourche Canal and to the progressive
foresight of the oldest settler in this neighborhood is due the location of the
present village of Lockport. On the 14th day of January, 1833, William Fields
who was sole owner of all the land on both sides of Bayou Lafourche from the Georgia
plantation to several miles below Lockport, donated to the Barataria and
Lafourche Canal Company, a tract of land fronting five arpents on each side of
the bayou and extending back a considerable distance. This donation was
accepted by Charles Derbigny for the above named company as its president. The
site was donated to the company for a town on condition that the Company was to
complete the canal from New Orleans to Bayou Terrebonne. According to the "World Almanac and
Encyclopedia" for 1898, the canal was completed in 1847. The locks uniting
the New Orleans end of the canal with Bayou Lafourche were built in 1850.
BUKOVAC, FRANJO Spanish American War
On
July 23, 1899 Franjo Bukovac, from Braddock, Pennsylvania went to the
courthouse to seek a duplicate copy of his first citizenship paper. When asked
the whereabouts of the original, Bukovac answered.- I had it with me in Manila,
but it rained so hard that all of us soldiers were soaked to the skin and the
paper disintegrated, Last year it rained so hard there from June to November
that you couldn't see 4 feet in front of you. Bukovac, a member of U.S. Army's
Company B, 13th Regiment, had taken part in several major battles in the
Phillippines, had lost his right eye in the last battle and had been honorably
discharged from the army. Franjo is Croatian.
BUKOVAC, VLAHO Artist
The
first Croatian painter in America was Vlaho Bukovac, born in Cavtat near
Dubrovnik, Croatia on July 4, 1855. In 1866 his uncle brought him to Brooklyn;
after his uncle's sudden death, Bukovac returned to Croatia where he worked as
a sailor for a while. Then he emigrated to Callao, Peru, and then in 1875 came
to San Francisco, California. Gifted
with great talent for paintings, he started to paint portraits, saved some
money, and returned to Dubrovnik; in 1877 he went to study painting at the Art
Academy in Paris. By the time he died in Prague in 1922, he had acquired fame
as one of the greatest Croatian painters. In his recollections he described the
hard but interesting days of his two sojourns in America. His name is also
connected with the history of the National Croatian Society because in 1897 he
designed the Diploma that this organization granted its members.
BUKSA, ANTON Apple Farmer
Anton
Buksa was born in Pag, Dalmatia, Croatia.
He left his native land in 1913 to come to this country, settling in the
steel mills in Weirton, West Virginia until 1944, moving to the Pajaro Valley,
Watsonville the following year. He
raised apples for 40 years in the Calabassas Road area, where he also lived. He
received his 50-year Croatian Fraternal Union pin and was most active in all
meetings and socials until his illness.
Each year, his son, Mario, would bring him to the Central Committee
Picnics and it was a joy to see him. Surviving are his lovely wife, Gabrijela;
two sons, Mario and Anthony, both of Watsonville; two daughters, Virginia
Vukasovich and Marie Buksa, also both of Watsonville; six grandchildren, one
great-grandson; a brother in Weirton, WV and sister in Pag, Dalmatia.
BULLUM, TOMO J. Croatian Activities
Brother
Bullum was born on March 25, 1893 in Selo Dobrane, Croatia. He emigrated to America in 1910 at the age of
17. Tomo first became a member in the National Croatian Society of the USA in
1913, which later became the Croatian Fraternal Union of America. His wife of 67 years Anna Perak Bullum, who
survives him, became a member in 1919. Brother Bullum attended six national
conventions as an elected delegate in addition to serving as lodge secretary
for over 50 years. The members and officers of “Croatian American” CFU Lodge
701 were deeply saddened by the passing of its founding officer Tomo J. Bullum,
on Wednesday, May 10, 1987. He is survived by his wife Anna; daughter, Marie
Bullum Ozurovich; son, Ivan Bullum; seven grandsons, two granddaughters, and
six great-grandchildren, all of Los Angeles.
BUNTICH, MLADEN Construction
Founded
in 1975, Mladen Buntich Construction Company (MBC) has been a successful and
innovative General Engneering Contractor in Southern California for more than
22 years. MBC specializes in infrastructure projects including water,
stormwater, reclaimed water, and sanitary sewer pipelines, as well as pump
stations. The company's success has resulted from its goal of providing safe,
quality projects on time and under budget. It is this spirit of teamwork and
Partnering, as well as the personal and professional satisfaction of a job well
done, that enables Mladen Buntich Construction Company Inc. to reach its goals.
Mladen Buntich Construction Co., Inc. has successfully completed 37 projects
for the City of Los Angeles with no unresolved issues. The company has done
extensive work for Orange County Sanitation District, Orange County Water
District, Los Angeles County Sanitation District and Los Angeles County
Department of Public Works, as well as many other public agencies from Ventura
to San Diego County. Construction of reclaimed water pipeline projects has
become a major part of NIBC's business. In the past seven years, M`BC has
successfully completed reclaimed water distribution projects for Orange County
Water District, Central/West Basin Water District, Moulton Niguel Water
District, Capistrano Valley Water District and lrvine Ranch Water District. One
outstanding MBC project was the Orange County Water District’s Green Acres, a
$22 million project completed 'in 1992. This was the largest reclaimed water
system in California, consisting of more than 34 miles of reclaimed water
pipeline. In addition to the construction expertise of NIBC, our team also has
the design expertise of Brown and Caldwel. Brown and Caldwell has more than 50
years of expenence in the planning design, construction and start-up of
infrastructure projects. In addition, BC can provide environmental services Our
approach to design-build projects will be on a project-byproject basis.
project. However, we have discovered through our previous design-build
experience that all successful projects have some common features. 'Mese
include in-depth communication between the project owners and the project
delivery team. We will develop a specific proposal for each project.
BUNTICH, NADA Construction-Croatian
Mothers
Nada
Buntich, who resides in Sunland, California, was born in Nova Gradishka, in
Slovenia. She is the wife of Mladen Buntich of Buntich Construction Co. Ms.
Buntich is the president of NADA Pacific, a unique construction company which
conducts micro tunneling on the West Coast. Nada demonstrated excellence in
leadership as the founder of the Croatian Mothers in the 1990’s. The Croatian
Mothers had the first concert which raised $115,000 to help young Croatian
children who became orphaned and/or seriously injured as a result of the war.
The Croatian Mothers established a special home (Cardinal Stepinac's) for these
children. The Buntichs' serve the Croatian community in the church and other
community and civic activities including their role in helping to establish the
National Association of Croatian Americans.
BUNTICH, SIMON Restaurant
Simon
Buntich owns a pair of restaurants along Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake that
he calls “Inflation fighters.” One is Simon’s, a good place to eat more food
than you ever thought possible for a ridiculously low price. The other is Seafood Bay, where you can devour some exquisitly well prepared
fish dishes for prices that went the way of all flesh at least a decade ago.
The thing that really gets me about Seafood Bay is not how cheap it is, but how
good it is. There are lots of places around town where you can get large
quantities of food for very low prices. The problem is the food often
isn’t very good. This is anything but the case at Seafood Bay, where
protein is the name of the game. Bread
comes immediately, in quantities that are both generous and excessive when you
consider the amount of food that follows.
The seafood cocktails are the best outside of the Mexican seafood
houses. 1982. Los Angeles.
BUPICH, BALDO Boarding House-Grocery
The
Bupich boardinghouse at 69 Castelar St.
(now North HIll St) in Los Angeles. The photo was taken in 1905 or 1906.
Stella Bupich Metkovich, as a young girl, is seen on the left; to her
right wearing a hat is her father Baldo Bupich.
His wife Marija did the cooking, chopping, shopping and washing for the
boarders, mostly laborers from Konavle and Herzegovina, who found work by
digging ditches in Los Angeles. The Bupich Family rented the house at a
cost of about eighteen dollars per month.
Bupich later opened a grocery store in 1915 at the corner of Ord and
Castelar, in Los Angeles’s Croatian settlement.
BUSKO, JOHN South of Market
Boys-Longshoreman
Mass
will be held at St. James Church on July 6, 1978 for John “Johnny” Busko, a
founder of San Francisco’s colorful South of Market Boys. Busko, a native of
Ston, Dalmatia, Croatia and a retired longshoreman, I.L.W.U. Local No. 10.,
died here Tuesday. He was 88. Dear long time friend of Jane Jacobson. He
was a longtime friend of former San Francisco state Senator Thomas
Maloney. The night of the 1906 earthquake
they slept in the same room and Maloney often called Busko “the 19th member of
the Maloney family.” He is survived by a daughter, Florence Marie Ferre, Santa
Rosa, and a brother and sister in Croatia.
BUTALA-ELFMAN, JENNA Actress
Jenna
Elfman, the star of ABC's hit show, "Dharma & Greg," is a Croatian-American,
whose maiden name is Butala. Her uncle
is singer/performer Tony Butala of the Letterman. In August 0f 2001, Elfman,
along with several other famous actors, was on the cover of People Magazine
where the feature article was about "older" women being sexy. Dharma
& Greg are currently being shown on Croatian TV.
BUTALA, MARY Nurse-Croatian Activities
Sister
Mary Ference was born Feb. 17, 1910, and wed John Butala in 1927. After raising
her children, she continued her education and earned her high school diploma
and her certificate as a practical nurse. During WW 11, she worked at the
Westinghouse Electric Plant in Sharon, PA, from 1942-1952. After the family
moved west, she worked for San Fernando Lockheed Aeronautics from 1953 to1965.
Sister Butala was active in the Croatian Fraternal Union up to her death and played organ for
St. Anthony's Church in Los Angeles. She was a member of Stjepan Ante Radic
Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 177 in Los Angeles, as well as the Catholic
Daughters of America, the Altar Rosary Society, and the Odds and Ends Band.
Sister Mary Ference Butala, 89, mother of Tony Butala of the recording group
The Lettermen and grandmother of actress Jenna Butala Elfman (Dharma &
Greg), passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1999. She is preceded in death by her
parents, Joseph and Helen Ference, and her husband, John Butala. She has three daughters and four sons, Mary Ann
Cipriano of Hermitage, PA; Joan C. Butala of Arroyo Grande, CA; Jean Campbell
of San Luis Obispo, CA; William Butala of Ventura, CA; Richard Butala of
Northridge, CA; Michael Butala of Stanton, CA; Antony Butala of Manitowoc, WI;
27 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren.
BUTALA, TONY Singer-Vineyard
Tony Butala was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and
was one of eleven children. Today, Tony resides in Woodland Hills, California,
and is internationally recognized as the leader of the original Lettermen. The Lettermen originated 35
years ago and are still going strong today. They produced 13 gold albums, 25
hit records, sold over 50 million records and produced 66 different albums.
Tony Butala has a remarkable and most distinguished career and has worked with
many famous stars.
Recently,
Tony acquired a 40-acre vineyard in Napa Valley where he will produce grapes for
himself and for Stag's Leap Winery. He will produce a special wine, which he
has named Zivili, and as a testimony of his generosity, 100 percent of the
profits will go to Croatian charity benefits.
BUTIER, LOUIS Saloon
“Harpoon
Louie” Butier, the immigrant tavern owner whose hefty drinks pumped life into
the San Francisco Financial District for 55 years was born Louis Butier 77
years ago in Dubrovnik, Croatia. But
from the day a malevolent barroom pot enjoined him to “Give ‘em the harpoon,
Louie,” he’s never been called anything else. He came from Croatia as a
10-year-old boy, friendless, alone and unable to speak a word of English. He sailed from Dubrovnik with his older
brother, a physician. But the brother died aboard the ship before it reached
San Francisco. Harpoon Louie was
raised by an Oakland police captain but he went to work as a boy and never
attended school. He never learned to read or write but he did learn how to tend
bar- first at the old Eagle Cafe in
Oakland, then at the Idora amusement park. The first liquor license issued in
San Francisco after the 1906 fire went to Harpoon Louie and his Saddle Rock Cafe at Clay and Battery
streets. Louie stayed there through prohibition, depression and two wars. And
he never measured a drink. This was a policy that made the old Saddle Rock, a
ramshackle establishment even in its earliest days, the most popular saloon in
the Financial District. “I never lose a friend,” Harpoon Louis often bragged.
His half-century of service to thirsty financiers was abruptly halted last
March in 1962, when Redevelopment moved in.
The Saddle Rock stood squarely on the site of the Redevelopment Agency’s
Golden Gateway Project. Louie closed down his old bar last March 17. 1966 with
a drinking bout attended by his old friends and some newcomers who thought
Harpoon Louie was some kind of a shrimp cocktail. The bar was torn down last
month, only a few weeks before the death of its famed barkeep.
BUTIER, MICHAEL P. Rancher Packer
Goldminer
Michael
Peter Butier, one of the successful ranchers, apple buyers, packers and
shippers of the Watsonville area, proprietor of an extensive plant in the
Aromas neighborhood and one of the best known men in his line in this section.
Mr. Butier is from Dalmatia, Croatia, born April 13, 1879. He is a son of Peter
and Anna (Lettunich) Butier. Reared in his native place, Michael Peter Butier
acquired his education there and remained at home until he was fifteen years of
age, when he came to the United States, his objective being California, where
he had kinsfolk who had become well established. Along the way and before
leaving Europe he visited Alsatian kinsfolk and made a comprehensive trip to
Paris and than sailed for the port of New York. Upon his arrival in this
country he struck out for the west and was two years "working his
way" to California, working as a butcher, on which line he had home
training, and at other things his hands found to do, and in time he reached San
Francisco. He worked there awhile, acquiring a pretty good acquaintance with
the city, and then came to Watsonville, where he began working in the orchard
plants of his cousin, M. N. Lettunich, now the president of the Fruit Growers
National Bank of Watsonville. Not long afterward he was attracted to the mining
fields and went into Calaveras county, where he was for two years engaged in
the mines. With the money he there made Mr. Butier returned to Watsonville and
went into business on his own account, buying and packing fruits, and
continuing this until 1906, when he sold his plant and returned to San
Francisco, in which city he was for six years thereafter a fruit broker. In
1912 Mr. Butier returned to Watsonville and has since then been in the fruit
business here. He owns a fine orchard of thirty acres and plants in Aromas, but it burned down on
March 2, 1925. Mr. Butier began rebuilding facility in business and he had done
well, long having been recognized as one of the leading growers and shippers in
this section. In 1906, in Watsonville, Mr. Butier was united in marriage to
Miss Katherine Lettunich, who also had come to this country from Croatia and
who has been a valued helpmate to him in his operations. Mr. and Mrs. Butier
have two children. Peter and Anna. The Butiers reside at No. 165 Wall street,
Watsonville, and are very comfortably situated there. They are members of the
Roman Catholic church and Mr. Butier is affiliated with the council of the
Knights of Columbus in Watsonville.
BUTIGAN, STOJAN AND SALLY Croatian
Activities
Stojan and Sally Butigan were among the founding members
of the Croatian American Cultural Center and both sat on the Executive Board
for many years. They left behind a legacy to us all as their hard work
and love for their Croatian heritage contributed to the success of the CACC. Last year, the fountain that decorates the
front entrance of the hall was dedicated to them, a beautiful tribute from
their family and friends who will always remember Stojan and Sally lovingly.
BUTIRICH, MARTIN M Restaurant-Oysterman
Martin
was born 1886 in Trpanj, Dalmatia, Croatia. His father, Marko, was a fisherman
and mother Mary nee Barbic. He finished grammar school in his place of birth
and obtained a job as sales aid working for M. Markovic in Metkovic. He arrived
in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1902 and worked with his brother, Ivo, who was
cultivating oysters. He stayed with his
brother five years, then found a job as machinist on the ship
"Enterprise" where he worked two years.He then opened his own
restaurant in New Orleans, and stayed until 1920. The same year he moved to
Gretna, Louisiana. Due to his natural talent and hard work, Butirich built a
good size homestead. In the center of town he built a modern house where he
opened a restaurant. Through his hard work and integrity he became well known
with Americans as a very respected citizen. In 1924 he visited his homeland and
at that time he married Darinka Butiric. They had two sons, Marko and Nikola.
They are going to grammar school. Little Marko is an artist, at seven years old
he plays violin. Once a week you can hear him on the radio station WGBW. Martin Butirich is a member of the Slavonian
Society and several American societies.
BUTORAC, MICHAEL Stone Mason
Born
on August 29, 1892 in Sveti Jakov, Krnpoti, brother Butorac came to the United
States in 1909 at the age of 17. He
worked in the logging camps in Canada and the coal and ore mines in Arizona and
New Mexico. During the World War II, he was employed by the Kaiser
shipyard. After the war, he went to work
as a stone mason and worked in that field until he retired. Brother Butorac was
87 at the time of his death. Brother Butorac became a member of the Croatian
Fraternal Union, Lodge 177 in 1925, 54 years ago. He is survived by his wife, Josephine who is
a member of Lodge 177 also. The couple
were married 64 years. Other survivors include his daughter, Lucy Watson and
her four sons- Frank, John, Mike, and George.
Brother Butorac had one sister in Croatia, several nieces and nephews,
13 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
BUZDON, IVAN Croatian Activities
Born
in 1881 in Lanische, Istria. He came in America for the first time in 1906, and
the next time in 1913. He was engaged in social activities in Lodge No. 17 of the Croatian Union of the
Pacific, Fort Bragg, California.
Today (1932) he still performs the duty as a secretary of the Lodge.
CANKI, ROBERT Croatian Activities
Robert
Canki was very active in several cultural and civic organizations in Los
Angeles and San Pedro over several decades.
He was president of the Croatian Cultural Club, Croatian Soccer Club, a
member of the Croatian Home of San Pedro, the chairman of the Croatian Peasant
Party and the Croatian Radio Hour. He
was also a member of the Croatian Academy of America. He died July 30, 1976 on his 77th
birthday. Canki was survived by his wife
Danica, daughters Melita, Elvira, Norma, a brother, two sisters and other
relatives, including three grandchildren.
CAPITANICH, P. PETER Farm Shipper
Packer
An
experienced apple grower who has also become a successful packer and shipper,
is P. Peter Capitanich, of 61 Brennan street, Watsonville. He was born in Dalmatia, Croatia February 2,
1880, the son of Peter and Nellie Capitanich. P. Peter Capitanich attended
schools in the old country, and it was in June, 1903, that he reached the
United States. He came to California and began work as a packer. Later he was
foreman on the Del Monte ranch for nine years and then bought a tract of land,
planted to apricots. On selling that he came to Watsonville, where he engaged
in growing, packing and shipping fruit, in which he has been quite successful.
In religious faith he is a Catholic. Mr. Capitanich married Miss Clara Larkin,
a daughter of J.J. Larkin, of Watsonville. Her father came here at the age of
sixteen, with his uncle, James Larkin, after whom Larkin valley was named. Mrs.
Larkin crossed the plains in a train of six hundred wagons in 1861 and they met
here and were married. Mr. and Mrs. Capitanich have two children, Margaret and
Bobby.
CARATAN, MARIN AND ANTON Vineyard
Marin
Caratan was the first Croatian to settle in the Delano area. He came in 1923
and was followed by his brother Anton in 1926. After surveying the soil and
finding suitable climate and adequate water, the Caratans made a beginning.
They knew grape growing from the old country, and since table grapes were
growing in popularity, that is what they planted. Their first ranch was near
Columbine with a planting of 160 acres of Thompson Seedless. Marty Caratan, a
third generation, relates, "'My grandfather leveled the whole field by
himself with a mule team."'
CAREVICH, A. J. Fisherman-Grocery
A.
J. Carevich is the son of Ivan and Vinka Carevic. He was born 1880 on the island of Korcula, Dalmatia,
Croatia. He arrived to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1909. The first two years he
was an oyster fisherman, as were many of our people. After that he opened his
own grocery store at 818 Chartres Street, New Orleans and is still running it
to this date. He married Nikola's cousin, Marinovich, from Ston. They have a
son and daughter; they are attending a high school. He is the member of the
Slavonian Society and has been president since 1932. The meetings that the
president conducts are more of social gathering, where everything is operated
as it is in the Old Country. But to be the president of a 60 year old society
that has over three hundred members; different professions; outlooks on life
and ten thousand dollars in the bank, is a complex job for the president. A. J.
Carevich knows what is best for
society, and how to conduct the meetings, be respected by fellow
members, be of strong character, and see what is the best for the members and
the society.
CARNINCICH, THOMAS WHITE Service
Station
Thomas
White Carnincic, also know as Thomas White, was born in Dalmatia, Croatia, October
5, 1895 to George and Antonia Carnincic.
As a youth, Thomas relocated to Los Angeles in 1912. In 1917 he began his affiliation with the
automotive industry as a carpenter for the Los Angeles Auto Body Works. He seized the initiative in 1925 to start his
own business, with his half-brother Peter Yugovich, when he built a service
station at the corner of Ninth and Palos Verde, Los Angeles, California.
CARR, WALTER Fisherman-Shipbuilder
Walter
Carr senior was born in 1910 on the north Adriatic coast in Crikvenica,
Croatia. He came from a long line of fishermen who used to fish mostly tuna and
bottom fish with traps and other types of gear. The Carr family's tuna traps
were allocated through the heritage of the family. The family also fished for
bottom fish with small craft (barka's). At a young age of fourteen, Walter Carr
was noted for his great strength, perserverance, resourcefulness, and
leadership. At the tender age of fourteen he used to fish the traps, go
dragging for bottom fish and "pit lamp" with gas lanterns for
herring, using a small purse seine net. He was known as a good diver at a time
when there wasn't any diving equipment; when someone lost a lantern or anchor,
they called on Walter to retrieve it. As Walter Carr Jr. relates: "They used
to put cotton in their ears so they wouldn't hurt their ears, two or three wads
of cotton. Anyways he forgot one. For years it bothered him, when he came to
this country, irntation and headaches. He went to the doctor and he pulled out
this wad of cotton that had been in his ear for over ten years".
When
Walter was seventeen years old, in 1927, he immigrated to Canada, landing on
the east coast. He made his way from Montreal to Medicine Hat, then to
Vancouver, wearing a big overcoat and carrying a cardboard suitcase. His first
job in Vancouver, in 1928, was working for the public works department building
sidewalks, From there he went to heavy diesel mechanics school in Vancouver. He
left Vancouver in 1930 for Uculet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. His
first job there was working for the Nootka Packing Co. in the net loft where
his extraordinary capabilities as a net man demonstrated his worth.
But
that wasn't good enough for Walter Carr. One day, after working a shift in the
net loft, Walter saw men in a line-up with shovels. He joined them and began
shovelling herring. He was working double shifts, sometimes even triple, which
would lead eventually to severe back trouble. However, all this hard work would
pay off. He was hired by the Nootka Packing Co. to be engineer on the purse
seiner "Riyou 11", a Japanese owned boat. The boat was run down, its
gas engine unreliable, breaking down often, meaning it couldn't catch fish.
Walter had it running like clockwork in short order and was given a bonus of
$50 and a box of cigars.
The
following year he was on the deck of the purse seiner "Riyou 11"
which he would later skipper and own. From there he was allowed a chance to
fish the lucrative pilchard and herring
fisheries in Barclay Sound, and the rest, as they say, is history as the
self-made logging and fishing tycoon Gordon Gibson relates in his autobiography
"Bull of the Woods". "We had some wonderful skippers during our
fishing days, one of the leading was Walter Carr, a self-made man who had come
as a boy from a Croatian fishing village. When I first met him in 1931 he was
shovelling fish on contract out of a hold in a ship into an elevator. A year
later he had a crew together and was skipper of a very successful boat. It was
not long before he owned his own vessel and contracted with our North Shore
Packing Company. He became our top fisherman and was a great credit to both himself and our company".
Walter
then sold the "Riyou II" so that he could build himself a larger
vessel. He didn't require any financing whatsoever; the head manager of Nootka
Packing Co., Ken Rosenburg said to him, "Walter, you don't need
partners". The reason for this was the banks wouldn't loan the companies
any money unless they knew who was fishing for them. So at the company's
expense, the large outside table seiner, "Adriatic Star" was built in
exchange for Walter Carr's fishing expertise. Eventually Walter Carr became a partner of North Shore Packing of North
Vancouver,,B. C.
Walter'
s fishing expertise was also a factor in meeting Mrs. Carr. Walter was treated
to a trip to San Pedro, California by Nootka Packing where a fishermen's
benefit dance was taking place. There he met a Miss Marian Carr, no relation
whatsoever. Miss Marian Carr's family also were fishermen. Together they had
one son Walter Carr Jr., bom in 1941 and two daughters, Lorraine and Alice, bom
1945.
The
"Adriatic Star" was a large, triple-decked table seiner and Walter
Carr Sr. had it built to his specifications in 1937. However, there were deficiencies in its
design, as Walter Carr Jr. relates: "He learned by his mistakes. The
'Adriatic Star' when he built it was to be fuller in the bow, no flair, but
fuller. Well my dad thought if he tapered in more he would get more speed. He
did, but what happened was - and here's what's wrong with the 'Adriatic Star' -
fine - all modem - but soon as there is any rough weather, it starts knifing -
because there is nothing there... It's not a good bucking boat... he made one
mistake there". Anyway, Walter Sr. did well with the "Adriatic
Star" and he built another boat, the "Liberty". The
"Liberty" was different from the "Adriatic Star" in that it
had a fuller bow. Unfortunately, on November 4, 1941 the "Liberty"
sank while fishing in a storm with all
hands, except one, including Walter's brother, Augustine, the skipper whom
Walter Carr Sr. had brought to Canada in 1930.
The
next boat Walter Carr Sr. built was the "Wamala" in 1942 which
sported a design similar to the "Liberty". While fishing vessel design technology seemed
to be progressing, the gradual change towards additional weight in corklines
and leadline called for certain modifications of existing vessel designs. When
Wa1ter Carr Sr. laid the keel down for the "Waldero" in 1950 his
experience in experimenting with various designs helped. Also, Walter had
noticed what worked well. for certain other seiners on the coast. This meant
that the "Waldero" would be the culmination of many earlier
improvements in purse seine vessel design.
When
Walter Carr laid the keel down for the "Waldero" in 1950 his
experience in experimenting with various designs helped. The architect for the
boat was Mr. Bert Benson, of Benson Shipyard, with input from Walter Carr Sr.
The "Waldero" put many earlier innovations together on one package.
It had flared ribs which meant that the hull was flared and its diameter
increased as it came out of the water. This was incorporated into its design so
that the boat wouldn't plough when it was bucking waves. Also, when the sea is
pounding the vessel in the stem quarter, it causes the boat to sway from side
to side, or broach. The flared ribs of the "Waldero" stopped the boat
from kneeling over. This feature Walter Carr Sr. copied from the fish boat
"Trinity". One feature that
the 'Waldero" possessed that no other boat possesses, was its extremely
short deck-to water distance relative to its hull displacement.
As
Walter Carr Jr. told me in an interview... "I asked where did he get his
heights, because if you look at the Waldero' - the long inside of the fishhold
is not so deep. You can go on some other boats, the 'John Todd' or the 'Pacific
Raider' and they're really deep. They are two planks higher and my Dad didn't
want that..." They are two planks higher but not so good as sea boats.
"Ocean Star" turned over because of this design innovation. It also
meant that because of its lower profile it had an advantage in that working off
the boat stem, when pulling for example, the net and corks on the boat, it
would be easier.
These
unique design innovations would be complimented by a "full displacement
stem". The "Waldero" was one of the first vessels on the B.C.
coast to incorporate this innovation. Walter Sr. knew that the drum would
eventually overtake the power block and that a vessel with full displacement
stem was required. It provided the buoyancy and stability for the net and drum
that would eventually be placed in the stem when drumming technology would be
practical for the larger outside vessel. As Walter Carr Jr. explained in his
interview with me: "You know my dad was on the big boats, but everyone was
selling big boats. They were getting rid of those boats. They were too big. It
was at that point where the small drum seiner came in. My dad said one day "What do you think, we should build a
drum seiner and put a drum on?” I said "okay" "How do you figure
we'll do it ?” The "Waldero", in 1967, was the first large, outside
vessel to have a drum installed. The "Waldero" would set new
standards in terms of design and construction; combining the best features of
other boats Walter Sr. had built and elements of other seine vessels. These
unique design innovations enhanced the "Waldero's" performance as a
drum seiner. Those years when he was a fisherman on the B.C. coast gave him the
opportunity to steadily refine vessel design and the"'Waldero" was
the result. This can be seen in the way Walter Jr. affectionately talks about
her... "She was one of the first vessels of her displacement to pack over
100 tons; her hull displaced under a 100 tons. She's not a monstrosity of a
vessel. Nice lines, low, nice handling vessel." (Herman 1995)
CATANICH, PETER
Goldminer-Hotel-Restaurant
Peter
Catanich from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia, pioneer goldminer, settled
as hotel and restaurant proprietor at Livermore, California. His son, Peter Catanich, Jr. is living in San
Francisco and is associated with the McCarthy Bros. Coffee Company. Mrs. Peter Catanich, Jr. is at the present
President of the American Slav Women’s Club. 1932.
CENGIA, PETER Insurance-Croatian
Activities
Mr.
Cengia came to America in 1913 at the age of 17 from the Island of Lastovo,
Dalmatia, Croatia. In Trieste he
purchased a third class ticket for a 26 day trip for $25.00. He was still clad in his shabby field work
garb. He had no other possessions. He
arrived in New York with 30 cents and famished from having little to eat for
several days. He had no one to go to so
spent his first night sleeping in a field with the cows near 42nd street. The man tending the cows I discovered him in
the morning, felt sorry for him and gave him some bread and beans. The next
morning he was directed to the dock, where many immigrants worked and secured a
job rolling heavy filled barrels. This
difficult job paid $14.00 a month for 7 day work weeks or 16 to 18 hours a
day. He found a Croatian family with
whom he could board for $4.00 a month. In April of 1915 he went to Los Angeles
where he had heard that he could earn $10.00 a week working in a restaurant,
which he did until September of 1916 when he came to San Francisco and secured
a job working at the Palace Hotel as a bus boy earning $30.00 month plus tips
bringing his pay to an all time high of $50.00 a month for 7, 12 hour days. He
soon realized the disadvantage of his inadequate education. He had only one year of schooling in his
native Lastovo, because he was always need for helping with the farm work and
later fishing. He learned of private
classes being conducted at the Golden Gate Y.M.C.A. and enrolled for $10.00 a
month and attended school from 9:00 to 11:00 each morning before going to
work. He learned rapidly. He attended
Saint Jerome’s church near his work. One
day the Monsignor asked if anyone would serve as an alter boy. The Monsignor
was very grateful. One day several weeks
later he commended Peter to the congregation and because he felt Peter should
have an opportunity for a better job, asked if anyone had a better job to offer
this fine young lad. Fortunately, Mr.
Henley, the man in charge of the Palace
Hotel Restaurant, was in the congregation and asked Peter to report to his
office at the Hotel. Upon his first
arrival Mr. Henley praised him and offered to start training him that first day
as a waiter in the main dining room. He
remained a waiter for several years serving the many famous people who
frequented the hotel. He continued his education while working. He completed preparatory school and then
continued at Lincoln University in San Francisco in 1922. He married Katherine Domich from Lastovo, who
arrived in San Francisco in 1922. They
bought a home near lake Merritt in Oakland where they lived for 50 years. They had two children Mary Ann, a realtor and
Peter Jr. who became a teacher. Mr. Cengia established himself in a very
successful insurance business which he continued with until his
retirement. He was helpful to all of his
countrymen. Helping them in many
ways. Also he organized people to
collect and send badly needed clothing and other supplies to Croatia after
World War II. He and his wife sponsored
and paid for 14 young people to come to America from Croatia and established
them in jobs. Many people are grateful
for the helpful hand extended to them by the Cengias.
CEPERNICH, IVAN Florist
Ivan
was born on the Island of Brac and migrated to South America and then to San
Francisco in 1927. He worked in the restaurant trade and then for several
florists before he founded Ivan's Florist on Polk Street. He met and married
Katherine, a young lady from Mountain View in 1939 and they resided in the Polk
Gulch district until recent years when they moved to Belmont. Ivan was a
friendly and joyous man, who had a vast circle of friends. He was a member of
the Slavonic Society since January 4, 1940-52 plus years. Ivan died on November
29, 1992.
CERIN, VLADIMIR Horse Racing-Soccer-Kinesiology
Born
1960 in Croatia. Cerin's father directed
a large farm which
had a variety of domestic animals, including horses. So it’s no wonder Cerin has fashioned a
successful yet relatively obscure career as a thoroughbred trainer. He left his
native Croatia for Canada at age 14. In
1974 he moved to California where he received a athletic scholarship in soccer
at UCLA and was co-captain of the team.
After graduating with a degree in Kinesiology (The study of movement) He
worked for four years with professional athletes, including former tennis star
Tracy Austin and basketball greats Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes and Kiki
Vandeweghe, before taking out his trainer's license in 1981. Vladmir's experience in coaching ranges from
training professional stars to coaching club, high school and college soccer.
Always fascinated by the grace and power of thoroughbred horses, Vladimir knew
that the training principles he imparted to his professional athlete clients
could benefit these animal athletes, Some of his professional athletes
purchased some thoroughbred horses and asked Vladimir to train their horses
with the same zeal he brought to their training. Thus began the Vladimir Cerin Racing Stables. Vladimir's training techniques and
his creative ideas for thoroughbreds proved successful. He learned what worked as well as from what
didn't work and over the last 20 years developed Vladimir Cerin Racing Stables
into one of the best performing operations in the highly competitive southern
California racing circuit. Now
Vladimir’s horses win at tracks across the country. Over the years he is somewhere between 20 and
25 percent winner first time out after a trainer change. Cerin's best known
client is Frank Stronach, the owner of Santa Anita. It's rare to see trainers
at the races in the afternoon unless they have a horse entered that day. Cerin is usually at the races every
afternoon, whether he's running a horse or not. He believes training horses is
a 24-hour a day job. He is easy to
recognize as he always seem to be accompanied by his Golden Retriver Kayla
during morning workouts. His horses in 1999 were 31% winners second in the
standings behind Bob Baffert the number one trainer in the country. This story
is far from complete - Could there be a Kentucky Derby winner in the future or
perhaps the elusive triple crown. Contributed by John Mark.
CERREZIN, MICHAEL Attorney
In
the celebration of the observance of the 50th Anniversary in the practice of
law, Mr. Cerrizin was feted by the Cleveland Bar Association at a testimonial
luncheon given in his honor in Cleveland, Ohio. This luncheon was attended by
his family and friends and many men and women prominent in city of Cleveland. A
citation was presented in special services at the Georgetown University 167th
Annual Commencement program which was held in Washington, D. C. on June 7th.
Mr. Cerrizin attended the ceremonies with Mrs. Cerrezin and during their stay
in Washington they were housed at a University dormitory along with a score of
other guests - graduates of the Class of 1915. One citation which brought a
pleased expression from Mr. Cerrezin came from the city of New Orleans, the
place where he first set foot on American soil after leaving his native
Dalmatia, Croatia. The good fathers of the New Orleans sent him a beautifully
printed certificate attesting to the fact that - Michael S. Cerrezin was named
as an "Honorary Citizen of New
Orleans" and the proclamation was signed by the Mayor and the seven
members council of the city. Along with the citation, there was a "key to
the city" presented by the Mayor. In addition to this special honor from
the city of New Orleans he received, also, a citation and an appointment from
Orleans County, or Parish, as the subdivision is known in the state of Louisiana.
He came from a sea-faring family - in fact most of the people from the Peljesac
Peninsula in Dalmatia, where Michael Cerrezin was born, are engaged in the
fishing industry.Mr. Cerrezin's family, too, were people who made their living
from the sea, Mr. Cerrezin could trace his ancestry back to the 17th century,
and proof of this is recorded in the book titled " Peljeski
Jedrenjaci" by Stjepan Vekaric, which mentions a young seaman, Miho
Cerrezin by name, who completed his nautical science studies as a cadet seaman
back in the year 1664. Michael Cerrezin is a member of the Croatian Fraternal
Union.
CESAREO, KATARIN Fisherman
Katarin
Cesareo was born May 1, 1890 on the Island of Vis off the coast of
Dalmatia. He made his living as a
fishing boat captain plying the waters of the Pacific after relocating to San
Pedro in 1912. Katarin married Marija
(Mare), nee Marin Kovich and they had five children: John, Vinnifred, Jakotina,
Katarina, and Andro. Katarin was a
successful ship owner who owned several fishing boats and became a member of
the Moose Lodge.
CESAREO, LUKA
Fisherman-Mariner-Musician
Luka
was born in Komiza, Vis, Dalmatia, Croatia. He came to Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada in 1948. He was a professional musician, playing the bassoon,
clarinet, and saxophone. He finished music school in Croatia and played in the
live theaters in Split, Croatia. He was a warrant officer in the Royal Navy in
Croatia and when he came to Vancouver,
he worked in the fishing industry. After
a month, he was offered a job with the Vancouver Symphony playing the bassoon
for two seasons. He came to Bellingham, Washington in March of 1950 and made
his living fishing, cooking, and then playing in the Western Washington State
College orchestra for many years. He also worked at Georgia Pacific, Bell Boy
Boat Building Company, and the Bellingham Shipyard. Luka has been a member of
Sacred Heart Catholic Church for many years. Luka died on November 3, 2003 and
is survived by his wife Jerka (Todorovic), his daughter Mary (Mile) Ples and
-three grandchildren; step-daughter, Nevena of Bellingham and many other
relatives. He was preceded in death by his aunt and uncle, Frances and Matt
Kuseli who brought him to Vancouver. (Sleasman 2003)
CETINA, RAY R. Teacher
Ray
Cetina was born in Eureka,
California on Sept. 1, 1924. He was
educated and lived here until World War II, when he served with the 20th Air
Force in India and worked several years
with the State Highway Department. He graduated from Humboldt State University
in 1952, majoring in education. He began
teaching in Eureka City school system, where he remained for 28 years, serving
as principal for several elementary schools, and retired from the position of
district office coordinator in 1980.
After retirement from the school system, he worked part time and enjoyed
some traveling before his untimely death. He belonged to various educational
organizations, was a member of Croatian Fraternal Union most of his life, first
as a junior member and then transferring into St. Helena Lodge 249, and was
very proud to have been an active charter member of the Humboldt Bay Kiwanis
Club of Eureka. It is with deep regret that St. Helena CFU Lodge 249
reports the death of brother Ray Cetina, who passed away on June 29, 1984 in Eureka,
CA at the age of 59. Mass of Christian Burial was offered at Sacred Heart
Church, Eureka, with Father Gary Lombardi officiating. Internment followed at the Croatian Plot in St. Bernard’s Cemetery. The grave side reading was given by sister
Matilda Susich. Brother Cetina is survived by his wife of 37 years, Luella; his
son, Raymond James Cetina; two sisters, Mary Bertalla and Margary Bandy;
nephew, Walter Bertalla and brother-in-law, Paul Bandy, all of Eureka. He was preceded in death by his son, Michael
Allen Cetina, who passed away in 1976 and his parents Frank and Mary Cetina.
CETINICH, GEORGE Professor-CIA
I
was born in Blato, Island of Korcula, Croatia on May 27, 1929 and emigrated to
America in May of 1931. My early years were spent in Portland, Oregon where I
attended grade school and high school and in 1947 enrolled in the School of
Engineering at Portland University. After two years I transferred to the
University of Oregon in Eugene, where I received a Bachelor of Science Degree
in History in December of 1952. Then followed a 3 year stint in the Army in
Germany. I was stationed in Berlin and Oberammergau, where I attended a Russian
language school. From 1958 to 1962 1 studied in Germany at the University of
Heidelberg and in 1963 enrolled in the Germanics Department of, the University
of Washington in Seattle, receiving a Master of Arts degree in Germanics 1964.
1 again matriculated in the same
university in 1969 and was a candidate for a Doctor of Arts Degree in
1971, but never completed the disertation. In 1965 1 joined the faculty at
Seattle University as Assistant Professor for German Language and Literature
and taught there until 1971. We left for Munich, Germany in 1972, where I was
hired to teach German and English at the Staatliche Fachoberschule until my
retirement in 1995. 1 am married and have a son and two daughters, all of whom
still live in Germany. I fill my spare time with reading, writing, walking on
the beach, entertaining guests and listening to classical music.
CHARGIN, DON Boxing Promoter
Don
Chargin has the face of a successful man.
He has fine white hair, a friendly manner, and distinguished features.
He looks like he might be the mayor of Portland, but the 57-year-old
Chargin is a boxing promoter...the most prominent one on the west coast.
Chargin and his wife, Lorraine, live in the fashionable Bell Canyon district
outside of Los Angeles. It is an area with large homes with swimming
pools and big lawns. He knows the exact mileage from home to the Olympic
Auditorium. Since high school he has had
a fascination with promoting and boxing.
There were times when he promoted wrestling, wild west shows, rodeo,
motorcycle racing, and even tennis. But
he always came back to boxing. Now he
wouldn’t even try to count the fight cards he’s put on. Born in San Jose, his
parents would have liked him to become a lawyer, and if his father hadn’t taken
him to a few fight cards when he was a kid he might have ended up practicing
law. After years of working on shows
around the San Francisco area, Chargin backed an expensive boxing card only to
have the main-event fall apart days before it was to take place. Facing financial ruin, he desperately tried
to save the card, and in the kindness of fortune, he struck a deal with
famed Los Angeles promoter Eileen Eaton.
They made money as co-promoters and shortly afterwards Eaton offered
Chargin the job of matchmaker at the Olympic Auditorium. Without blinking
an eye, he accepted and moved to L.A. Though it was his baptism, he stayed for
19 years, in a swarm of comedy and drama. he survived so much that he
sees little difference between the two extremes. In Los Angeles he was
known as “War-A-Week” Chargin. What
is unique about Don Chargin is his knowledge of the sport. It pays the bills and it’s made his
reputation. Like a person gifted in
math, he isn’t troubled by complexity.
He can assess a match between two fighters in an uncanny manner. And despite all the failures and flaws of
prizefighters, Chargin has never lost his admiration for the way two fighters
acknowledge one another after the fight. Sometimes they embrace,
sometimes they just touch gloves. His wife Lorraine works as a real estate
agent. “There is one difference between
boxing and real estate,” she says. “You
can trust people more in boxing that real estate.” Don has no doubts or second
thought about his work. None of the
allure has worn off. “My wife and I have
made a lot of friends in boxing,” he says, gratefully, “and I don’t get upset
now when there’s problems. His people came to California during the gold rush
from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia.
CHARGIN, JOSEPH
Restaurant-Orchard-Goldminer
Joseph
A. Chargin, of San Jose, was born in
Mirca, Island Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia, on April 10, 1865, the son of Anthony
and Frances (Lebedina) Chargin, vineyardists in Dalmatia. He was educated in part in his native
country, and continued his studies in America, at night schools and through
private teachers. In 1881, he first came
to California, and goldmined in Amador County.
Then he removed to San Jose, but not until he had tried restaurant
management in San Francisco, and somewhat similar work in Hollister. For a quarter of a century he has been in San
Jose, and he is probably the oldest merchant in his line here, and Chargins Grill, through his enterprise
and affability became one of the most popular restaurants in the city. However, catering was not the limit of his
capabilities, for Mr. Chargin had become interested in farming and owned several
ranches, which began to take so much of his time that in 1920 he turned the
management and development of his orchards in which he is ably assisted by his
sons. Associated with his sons he owns
thirty acres in Evergreen district devoted to raising prunes and apricots and
with his son-in-law, another ranch of twenty-four acres in the Quito district,
where he grows prunes, and with his brother Jeremiah, he still owns another
eleven acres a short distance south of Morgan Hill. Mr. Chargin is also a member of the
California Walnut Growers Association of California. He was one of the organizers and has been a
director of the Growers Bank of San Jose since its incorporation, and is also
interested in other financial and manufacturing establishments. In 1890 Mr.
Chargin was married at Plymouth, Cal., to Miss Josephine Smith of Amador
County. A daughter, Frances, is a
graduate of both the San Jose Normal and Notre Dame College and is now the wife
of Dr. D. H. Lawrence of San Jose;
Victor A., a graduate of Santa Clara University is an attorey-at-law
practicing in this city; Joseph A., Jr., is also a graduate of Santa Clara
University as a civil engineer. He was
with the county surveyor and during the World War was commissioned a first
lieutenant in the U. S. Army and served overseas for two years. He is now engaged in ranching; Lawrence J., a
graduate of Santa Clara University, is now engaged as a horticulturist here;
the younger members of the family are Madeline J.,, Gerald J., Maryon and John M.,
Maryon passing away at the age of eight years.
Mr. Chargin resides with his family at his comfortable residence, 167
Vine Street, and they attend St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. He belongs to several fraternal orders and
civic organizations and was several years president of the Slavonian-American
Benevolent Society.
CHERBERG-CURBEG, JOHN Lt. Governor-Coach-Fisherman
John
Cherberg, son of Ive Curbeg, was a famous football coach in his youth at the
University of Washington. He later became Lt. Governor in the Washington State
Legislature, and is now retired. His brother, Frank, is one of the officials in
the Seattle Post Office. Ivo Curbeg fished in the waters off Florida, and came
to Seattle with a large family.
CHERSKOV, ANNA Sales
Anna
was born as Ana Jureskin in the village of Kastel Gomilica, one of the seven
romantically heralded Kastel villages on the Bay of Kastela just south of
Split, Dalmatia, Croatia. As the bride of Benedikt Cherskov, she traveled to
the United States with her husband in 1932, stopping briefly for a few months in
Chicago before continuing on to Seattle, Washington. In April of 1942, in order
to help pay for a newly purchased home, Anna quit her previous job (washing,
sorting, and packing vegetables for 17 cents per hour) to take a more lucrative
job working the sales counter for the Milwaukee Sausage Co. at the Pike Place
Market. "What a difference," recalls Anna. "Most of us spoke
Croatian in the vegetable plant, so I had no problems there. But I had to face
the public and speak English for Milwaukee. I was scared to death, but it was
probably the best thing that ever happened to me." Eventually Milwaukee
became the Pure Food Shop (with Barb's Deli as a side counter). Anna, although
she's down to two days a week now, has been there 44 consecutive years. She is
selling to the third generation of some families. When asked if much had
changed at the market during her
employrnent Anna respsonded. "Oh my God you wouldn't believe It. We used
to be so busy that we would be exhausted. But them were only a couple of stores
of that type then, and now there are eleven, And there are 27 restaurants.
Another thing, the oldtimers are gone. There used to be groups of old Greeks,
Italians, Croatians, etc, standing around talking. Lots of those old Lican
bachelors used to live in the old hotels around here and there wasn't a day
that went by when, I didn’t speak my own language with someone. Anna added that
our people have always been represented in the businesses in the market. In,
addition to Mary Medalia, the Stilnovich ProduceStand has come and gone, as
have the Tolmich Bakery. and Slavic Imports. Mary Medalia is still there at
least on Saturdays and John Sarich runs the year old Restauran Dalmacija. Anna,
a member of the Croatian Fratemal Union for 38 years, rarely misses an opportunity
to attend lodge functions or those staged by the Seattle Junior Tamburitzans.
Her husband died in 1948, but she enjoys the company of her two daughters, four
grandchildren, and four. great-grandchildren. She keeps In regular touch with
tier four brothers in Kastel Gomilica, but isn't sure that she'll return for
another visit. (the last, one having been, in 1978). "After all," she
says, "this place with Alki Point - Elliott. Bay, and all is just like the
Bay Kastela. I'm right at home here.".
CHESAREK, FERDINAND J General
Ferdinand
J. Chesarek, has been promoted, by President Johnson, to the lofty rank of
Lieutenant General, United States Army. This makes him the highest ranking
member of the Croatian Fraternal Union in the armed forces of our country. He
is a member of Charter Lodge 4 of Etna, Pennsylvania. This promotion in rank
came simultaneously with the assignment as Comptroller of the Army and, to have
come in peace time, and at the yet early age of 50, is testimonial to the fact
that he is a most competant and extraordinary military leader . . destined, we
are certain, for even higher honors though rank-wise there is but one more step
left. General Chesarek is a 1938 graduate of West Point and in his meteoric
rise has compiled an impressive record of service to the Army and his beloved
America. He commanded a field artillery unit in Europe during WWII; and was
wounded in action and received the Purple Heart. With the promotion to full
Colonel, after the war, he attended a special course at Stanford University and
at the National War College in Washington and at Harvard. He was then made 1st
Assistant to the U. S. Undersecretary of Defense. In that capacity he attended
NATO and SEATO meetings with the then Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and
later the Foreign Ministers Conference at Geneva with Secretary Christian
Herter. In 1959 he was trouble shooter for the U. S. in the Middle East,
Africa, Manila, Tokyo and Formosa. On July 1, 1961 he was upped to the rank of
Brigadier General and just a few years later he was promoted to Major General.
The proud parents of Gen. Chesarek, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Chesarek, live in the
Oakland section of Pittsburgh, near the old Croatian Fraternal Union Home
Office. The elder Chesarek, now retired, was for many years a clerk in that
Home Office and in addition to his clerical duties wrote many an interesting
and informative article for the Zajednicar . . on his own time. General
Chesarek is a resident of Los Altos, California.
CHEVESICH, CHARLES Saloon
Charles
operated a saloon with Nikola Barovich at the corner of Davis and Washington
Streets in San Francisco in 1856. He
later moved to Contra Costa County and opened a saloon.
CHIELOVICH, ELIA Wine House
Mr.
Elia Chielovich of Boka, Dalmatia was a very prominent San Francisco liquor
wholesaler. He married Jane Tewel from Ireland in 1858 in San Francisco. He
traveled to Virginia City in 1869 and again to Eureka, Nevada in 1878. He had
business interests with Marco Medin at Virginia City. He also owned the famed
Wine House in Reno during the 1870's. Most of his life was spent in San
Francisco and he died in 1901 at the age of 76 and was buried at the Holy Cross
Catholic Cemetery.
CHUVALO, GEORGE Boxing
When
Nat Loubet of The Ring used the word "courage" to sum up George
Chuvalo's career in 1970, he could not have known how much this description
applied to the entire life of one of Canada's boxing immortals. Chuvalo has been described as "the
finest prizefighter Canada has produced in this century. He fought in ninety-seven professional bouts
and had a record of seventy-nine wins, fifteen losses, two draws and one
disqualification. Seventy of his seventy-nine- victories were by knockout. He
gained an international reputation for his remarkable stamina, his imperviousness
to pain and for never having been knocked down. When Nat Fleischer, boxing
historian and founder of The Ring, published his fifty year review of the
sport, Chuvalo was the only heavyweight to be named among the three "most
durable" boxers in history. In 1964 boxing legend Rocky Marciano commented
that: 'If they still fought bare-knuckle, George would reign as champion for
the next twenty years. The same opinion
was held by Don Dunphy, boxing broadcaster and correspondent: In the 19th
century George [Chuvalo] would have been a shoo-in to win the title, and he
would have held it forever. In the old days of fights to the finish nobody
could have outlasted Chuvalo... Not even the great Joe Louis could have gone
toe-to-toe with Chuvalo in a fight to the finish. Nobody could.
George
Chuvalo was born on 12 September 1937 to Croatian immigrant parents in the
Junction, a tough working class neighbourhood in Toronto. His father Stipan
(Steve), like his uncles Jure and Ante, emigrated from Ljubuski, a predominantly
Croatian populated region of Herzegovia. At the age of twenty-three and married
to Kata Kordic for only seven months, Steve chose the difficult road of
emigration in 1926. Ahnost ten years later, during the Great Depression, his
wife joined him and the following year their son George was born. Chuvalo, was
the apple of his mother's eye and a self-described "mama's boy." On
the other hand, his relationship with his father can best be described as
distant. The pressures to assimilate into Canadian society for a
second-generation Croatian-Canadian, who grew up in the 1940s, could not have
been insignificant. Despite these pressures, awareness of his Croatian
ethnicity was important to Chuvalo. This he confirmed in a 1975 interview with
University of Calgary professor Anthony W. Rasporich, who was conducting
research for his book on the history of Croats in Canada: You know they say,
"Croatian-what the hell is that?"...not like you were Anglo-Saxon ...
right? So you are aware of your background in history ... So far as Croatian
goes, when I was a kid it all seemed pretty nebulous, very hazy, my folks were
Croatian and I really didn’t know very much about the history, except, I knew
the language and that, but I wouldn’t know where they came from originally, or
what happened in that part of the country. But when I went back, I find out a
little more about it. My folks there and the church, and a few other things,
but I really didn’t understand it that well. It was a chance to study it and to
find out the richness of the history and the romance to it, then you can get
some sense about it and you can feel it. This is what I want to do with my
kids. My kids are only half-Croatian, but they still feel Croatian...If they
can hear Croatian spoken they can master it a little and they can take pride in
being Croatian, and they can feel more Croatian, you have to feel more aligned
with the nationality that you are. By the age of ten Chuvalo had seen his share
of street fights and became increasingly interested in boxing, picking up the
basics from the magazine The Ring. The
primary motivating factor to enter the ring seems to have been his relationship
with his father, who worked at the slaughterhouse at Canada Packers. When his father
learned of Chuvalos interest in fighting, he tried to discourage the youngster
saying he would quit the first time his nose was bloodied. As Chuvalo would
explain: that's what motivated me to become a fighter. I wanted to show my pop,
who was a very tough guy, just how tough I could be. It was only many decades later that Chuvalo
gained some insight into what his father must have gone through as an immigrant
during the Great Depression and how this affected him. Although he never
remembered his father taking holidays, a 1990 chance encounter with someone who
knew his father during his Canada Packers days would bring Chuvalo closer to
his dad. This gentleman explained that during his yearly two week holidays,
Steve Chuvalo would nevertheless show up at work to sit and watch over the two
men who replaced him, fearful that his job would be taken away. As Chuvalo explains: When I heard that, I
did’nt know what to think. I was stunned. It almost made me ill to think how
ignorant I was ... and how paranoid he must have been about losing his job. It
must have been almost unbearable for him, how he struggled for his family and
worked so hard to keep things together .
At
fifteen, Chuvalo was six foot tall and weighed 195 pounds and two years later
was to win the Canadian national amateur championship. Although he was chosen
to the 1956 Canadian Olympic team, Chuvalo instead turned professional: I
didn’t know what the hell the Olympics were. We didn't have a TV set and unlike
today, they never made a big deal about being on the team. If you went, fine.
If you didn’t, that was okay too. His first four fights took place at the Jack
Dempsey Novice Tournament at Maple Leaf Garden. On 23 April 1956, at the age of
eighteen he knocked out four opponents in twelve minutes and thirty seconds,
and earned 500 dollars. Looking back on
his career Chuvalo, would recognize that he advanced too quickly as a
heavyweight fighter, entering eight and ten round main events fight away: 'I
was skipping too many grades ... They had me in against guys with thirty and
forty pro fights right away. I should’ve eased into it with four-rounders, then
sixes. In 1958, with thirteen professional bouts behind him, Chuvalo won the
Canadian heavyweight championship after knocking out James J. Parker. Later he
lost, recaptured and again lost the title to Bob Cleroux. By 1963 he was ranked
in the top ten heavyweights of the world and reached number two in an era that
was dominated by such fighters as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman,
and by contenders like ex-champion Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Ernie
Terrell, Oscar Bonavena and Jerry Quarry, all of whom Chuvalo faced. After
facing Chuvalo, in Madison Square Garden in a 1965 fight that he won on a close
decision, Patterson would explain that: Fighting Chuvalo was like trying to
chop down an oak tree.
Although
he entered the ring to make a living and to provide for himself, his wife Lynne
Sheppard and his children, the family struggled to make ends meet. In Shadow
Box, we learn how the American poet Marianne Moore, who came to the
Patterson-Chuvalo, fight cheering for Patterson, was moved by, and endeared to,
the Canadian boxer, almost to the point of changing allegiance after hearing
this story: Chuvalo was so incredibly poor at the start of his ring career that
on one occasion he drove across Canada with his wife in a car so decrepit that
the accelerator pedal had come off, and a part of the accelerator arm; Mrs.
Chuvalo, had had to crouch under the dashboard and at a signal from her husband
depress or raise what was 21 left of the accelerator by hand. Chuvalo's
earnings for his first fight with Ali was 25,000 dollars and after deductions,
he pocketed 8,000 dollars; the most he earned for a fight was 65,000 dollars,
before expenses, for his rernatch with Ali in 1972 . On 12 March 1966 Chuvalo
was offered a title shot against Muhammad Ali who was in the middle of his
battle with the United States government and public opinion over his failure to
report for military duty during the Vietnam War. The
George
Chuvalo fight, scheduled for 29 March at Maple Leaf Garden, gave Chuvalo a mere
seventeen days to prepare to face Ali who was physically at the peak of his
career. In the 1966 fight, his greatest
moment, and one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history, Chuvalo was the first to go the distance with
Ali. He did it again in 1972, when he faced Ali in Vancouver's Pacific
Coliseum. Although Ali won both fights by unanimous decisions, he would gain a
great deal of respect for Chuvalo: I don’t know of anyone who was ever tougher
on me physically than "Granite Jaw" George Chuvalo. He gave me two
tough distance fights for a total of 27 rounds, took everything I had to dish
out and kept coming for more. On only two occasions in his ninety-seven fights
career was Chuvalo stopped inside the distance, once when he faced Joe Frazier
in 1967 29 and the other when he fought George Foreman in 1970. Despite
sustaining serious injuries in'both fights, he never went down as the referee
stopped the fights. Recalling his battle with Chuvalo two decades later,
Foreman would say: If I hadn’t got lucky and cut his eye I don’t know what
would have happened. He hit me with a left hook early in the fight that I felt
all the way down to my toenails. Although Chuvalo thought of retiring after the
second Ali fight, nothing else provided "that same adrenaline rush, that
same sense that your fife can turn around with one fight, with one round, with
one punch."" For twenty years (1958 to 1961 and 1964 to 1979)
Chuvalo, held the Canadian heavyweight title and for eight years was ranked
among the worlds top ten heavyweights, until his second loss to Ali in
1972. Following his second loss to Ali,
Chuvalo continued to defend his Canadian title for eleven years until he
retired from the ring in 1979, he was forty-one. Chuvalo certainly enjoyed boxing to the end
and in later years when he looked back on the violent nature of his sport he
explained that: I never thought about inflicting pain during my fights. The
kick for me was the win. Once the final bell sounds, it's over. There’s a kind
of false emotion that comes over you once you sign a contract for a big fight
because you and your opponent want to inflict damage, but when it's over you
leave it there. What makes boxing different from baseball or football or hockey
is that there's so very little room at the top. In those other sports there's a
lot of opportunity to make a decent living without reaching the very top, but
that's not true in the fight game. When you're a world champion you're up there
by yourself. That's what makes it special. Like many professional athletes,
Chuvalo found it difficult to adjust and settle into a "normal" life
after retirement. While his wife worked as an electro-cardiogram technician,
Chuvalo was unable to find a niche. The routine working life just did not seem
to fit his personality. For a season he hosted his own television show, George
Chuvalo Presents Famous Knockouts, where he screened classic fight film footage
and conversed with his ex-sparring partner and co-host Chuck (Spider) Jones. He
also managed to appear in some commercials and eventually found his way into
movies with minor parts, such as in the 1986 remake of The Fly, Stone Cold Dead
and Prom Night . He also dabbled in the commodities market and did well in real
estate for a while. The regimented and disciplined fife he had as a boxer
seemed to disappear after his retirement from the sport and he appeared unable
to focus on any one area and
try
to make a go of it. For several years in the mid- I980s he was involved in
boxing as a promoter and as the trainer-manager of Donovan (Razor) Ruddock,
whom
Chuvalo managed successfully through several victories in 1986 and 1987.
Over
the years Chuvalo has received several awards and honors related to his boxing
career. When he arrived on the scene in the 1960s, the decade often described
as the period of Canada's national coming of age, and based on who he fought Ali, Frazier,
Foreman and Patterson--an opposition unsurpassed by any other Canadian [boxer],
he simply became larger than life. As Stephen Brunt underscored, in terms of
name recognition, "the only comparison is with hockey players: Gordie
Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Off, Bobby Hull." Despite his national and
international status, the Canadian sports establishment was slow to recognize
Chuvalo’s place in Canada's sport history. In response to this lack of
recognition, international and national boxing legends from Patterson to Ali
appeared at a 1988 tribute dinner organized in Chuvalo's honor in Toronto. Two
years later Chuvalo was finally inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
CIBILICH, DOMENICA Oysters
Domenica
Tesvich Cibilich was born in 1955 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, to parents who
were both born on the Dalmatian coast. Her father, Ante Tesvich, was raised in
the town of Donja Vrucica, but immigrated to Louisiana in 1931 at the age of 16
to fish oysters with his brother. On a visit back to Dalmatia in 1954, he met
and married Tereza Jurevic, from nearby Sucuraj. Domenica and her three
brothers spent much of their childhood at the family's camp at Bayou Robinson.
When the children reached school age, the family moved to Port Sulphur, but
continued to spend summers at the camp. In 1967, when Domenica was in the
seventh grade, the Tesvich family spent a year in Croatia. Although their
Croatian house had no running water and they had to wash their clothes by hand,
she says that she loved living there, because it was "such a free
life." Domenica is fluent in Croatian as well as English, and her four children
can also speak Croatian. Her husband, Luke Cibilich, is a Croatian born oyster
fisherman who has lived in Louisiana since 1969. Today her brother, John
Tesvich, and her husband are partners in their oyster business. Like many
Croatian and Croatian American women, Domenica raises many of her own
vegetables in her backyard garden. Her large yard also features a grape arbor
and several of the fig trees traditional to Croatian gardens. Her mother always
had gardens both at the camp and in Port Sulphur. Domenica also keeps a cow and
three goats, and from her goats' milk, she makes a traditional pressed goat's
milk cheese. Croatians usually make a hard goat's milk cheese which is aged for
months and has a strong taste, but Domenica says that her cheese never gets
that hard or strong tasting, because her family eats it before it can really
age. The cooking she does for her family is "just stuff that I learned
from my mother's way of cooking," she says, with "a lot of fish,
oysters," and collard greens, which her mother always raised in her
garden. Other staples include beans, cabbage, chicken soup, and beef soup. She
describes a dried codfish which the family traditionally served on Church days
when "you had to fast and only eat one meal a day." She helps to organize
the St. Anthony's Day celebration each year at St. Patrick's Church in Port
Sulphur. St. Anthony is the patron saint of her mother's village, Sucuraj. Her
mother and mother-in-law both do needlework, a traditional skill among Croatian
women. Domenica is interested in (and knowledgeable about) textiles, and has a
collection not only of her mother's and mother-in-law's work but also some
older linens from Croatia. Domenica herself is a self-taught quilter.
CIBILICH, LUKE and
DOMENICA Fisherman-Folk Arts
Domenica Tesvich Cibilich was born in 1955 in Port Sulphur,
Louisiana to parents who were both born on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. In
1931, at the age of sixteen, her father, Ante Tesvich immigrated to Louisiana
from Donja Vrucica. He became an oyster fisherman with his brother. On a return
trip to Dalmatia in 1954, he met and married Tereza Jurevic, from nearby
Sucuraj.
In 1967, when Domenica was in the seventh grade, the Tesvich
family spent a year in Croatia. Although their Croatian house had no running
water and they had to wash their clothes by hand, she says that she loved
living there, because it was such a free life. Her cousins in Kuzma taught them
to catch and prepare birds and snails for food.
Domenica is fluent in Croatian as well as English, and her four
children can also speak Croatian. Her husband, Luke Cibilich, is a Croatian
born oyster fisherman who has lived in Louisiana since 1969. Today her brother,
John Tesvich, and her husband are partners in their oyster business.
Like many Croatian and Croatian American women, Domenica raises
many of her own vegetables in her backyard garden. Her large yard also features
a grape arbor and several of the fig trees traditional to Croatian gardens. Her
mother always had gardens both at the camp and in Port Sulphur. Domenica also
keeps a cow and three goats, and from her goats' milk, she makes a traditional
pressed goat's milk cheese. Croatians usually make a hard goat's milk cheese
which is aged for months and has a strong taste, but Domenica says that her
cheese never gets that hard or strong tasting, because her family eats it
before it can really age. She says the meals she prepares for her family are,
"Just stuff that I learned from my mother's way of cooking, with a lot of
fish, oysters, and collard greens." Collard greens were always raised in
her garden. Other staple foods include beans, cabbage, chicken soup, and beef
soup. She describes a dried codfish meal, which the family traditionally served
on church days when, "You had to fast and only eat one meal a day."
Dominca is an active member of Louisiana Citizens for a Free
Croatia, a relief organization formed to aid children in Croatia. She helps to
organize the St. Anthony's Day Celebration each year at the St. Patrick's
Church in Port Sulphur. St. Anthony is the patron saint of her mother's
village, Sucuraj.
Her mother and mother-in-law both do needlework, a traditional
skill among Croatian women. Domenica is interested in textiles and has a
collection not only of her mother's and mother-in-law's work, but also some
older linens from Croatia.
CICAK, ASTRID Z. Teacher-Artist
Astrid
Cicak nee Frlic is an educator at Hobart Senior High School, Hobart, Indiana.
Born August 25, 1923 in Zagreb, Croatia; married with five children. Educated
at Gymnasium, St. Vincent De Paul; Stadtliche Schule fur Kunst und Gewerbe,
Saar, W. Germany; Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana M.A. 1959 with a major field in art. Member of American Association of University Women;
American Federation of Teachers.
CICAK, FEDOR I. Professor
Fedor
Cicak is Professor of Government and Chairman of the Department, Indiana University, Gary, Indiana. Born June
17, 1916 in Pozega, Croatia; married with five children. Education includes
Classical Gymnasium, Zagreb, 1935; University of Zagreb, Dr. of Law, 1940;
Indiana University, Bloomington, M.A., 1956; Indiana University, Bloomington,
Ph.D., 1965. with a major field in International Politics and Political
Parties. Thesis completed 1965 The Communist Party of Yugoslavia Between
1919-1934: An Analysis of its Formative Process. Published Catalog of Source
Materials; Part II, Printed Material; Bloomington, Indiana, 1952;
Collectivization as a Basic Vulnerability of Communist Yugoslavia in
colloboration with Prof. D.A. Tomasic, Bloomington, Ind., 1952. Member of
Croatian Academy of America; American Association of Political Science.
CIGANOVICH, JOSEPH F. Croatian
Activities
Joseph
was born October 3, 1914 in Kenosha, Wisconsin to John and Ann Ciganovich. With his wife Eleanor, Joseph raised a son,
Joseph Frank Jr., and a daughter, Martha.
Always proud of his heritage, he made several trips to visit the old
country and the relatives he still had there.
He also made sure his two children were aware of their heritage by
encouraging them to learn to play the tamburitza, and to perform in a
tamburitza orchestra that traveled all over Southern California. He also supported them in their desire to
learn the dances of his homeland. Joseph
served his country well as a member of the U.S. Third Armored Division in WW II
and after the war was an active member of the V.F.W, the Disabled American
Veterans and in the Croatian Fraternal Union Lodges 692 and 588. Joseph and Eleanor relocated to San Pedro in
1959, where he passed away March 24, 1989.
CIKLIC, PETER M. Priest-Professor
Peter
Ciklic was born February 25, 1911 in Dobropoljana (Dalmatia), Croatia. His field is philosophy and is a graduate of
the University of Zagreb. He received a Ph.D. from the Gregorian University,
Rome, in 1941. He is a professor and
chairman of the Psychology Department at Loyola University. He has published
“Caracterologia” and “El hombre y su personalidided.” He presently resides in Los Angeles,
California.
CIKO, ANTHONY Librarian
Anthony
Ciko is a Medical Librarian at E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital Buffalo, New York.
Born June 6, 1919 in Studenci, Dalmatia, Croatia; married with three children.
Education includes Franciscan Classical Gymnasium, Sinj, Croatia, Graduate
1939; Franciscan School of Philosophy, Theology, Makarska, Croatia 1939-41;
1941-43 and 1945-47, University of Zagreb, School of Law, Zagreb, Croatia;
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. M.S.L.S., 1959 with major field in
Library Science. Member of Special Libraries Association; Medical Library
Association; Croatian Academy of
America.
CIKUTH, LUKE Ranch Packer Businessman
One
of the senior members of the prominent Croatian-American community at
Watsonville, Luke Peter Cikuth, has been engaged in raising, packing, and
shipping apples, and in banking and building and loan connections.
Although now retired from his other activities, he still serves on the
board of the Bank of America and the Pajaro Valley Savings and Loan
Association. He also manages his downtown properties in Watsonville. A
native of Konavle, Dalmatia, Croatia, he was born on February 18, 1873, and is
a son of Peter and Nikoline (Sabadin) Cikuth.
Mr. Cikuth came to this country in 1889. He came directly to Watsonville, and there
Mr. Cikuth was first employed by M. N.
Lettunich. A rancher since 1897, Mr.
Cikuth developed forty-eight acres near
Watsonville, chiefly devoted to apple orchards.
He
also became a large-scale buyer of crops raised in this area. He organized a cold-storage firm in Los
Angeles under the name of Growers Cold Storage, and remained active in its
management until he sold it. Mr. Cikuth became a director of the Bank of Italy,
and later when the Bank of America was formed from it by the Gianini interests,
he continued on its local advisory board.
He has been chairman of this board since 1958. He took part in organizing the Parajo Valley
Building and Loan Association, and has since served on its board of directors.
In Watsonville, on December 6, 1903, Luke Peter Cikuth married Catherine
Scurich, who is also of a prominent Croatian family of Watsonville. Her parents, Antone and Anna (Stolich)
Scurich, were of Dalmatia. Mr. and Mrs.
Cikuth are the parents of four daughters: Rachel March, Anna Louise, Lucille
Agnes, and May Catherine. Rachel is a secretary, and now lives in San
Francisco. Anna, Lucille, and May
followed the teaching profession. Anna
married “Bud” A. Rowland, a teacher at the Watsonville High School and head of
the Social Studies Department. They have two children, Thomas A. and Mary
Catherine. Lucille married Joseph Sheaff, superintendant of schools in
Orinda. They have two children, Peter J. Sheaff, M.D. and Joseph L.
Sheaff. May married Millard A. Beckman, who has large ranching interests
in Lodi. Mr. and Mrs. Cikuth have one great-grand-daughter. She is
Catherine Sheaff, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Peter J. Sheaff, and was born on
July 21, 1961.
CINDRICH, JOSEPH Transportation
Admin-Cultural Activities
Joseph
Cindrich, the vice president of the National Federation of Croatian Americans
(NFCA), is an administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. This university professor is a close associate of the U. S.
president, and he is greatly involved in the activities of Croatian
organizations.
CIZMIC, IVAN Professor-Author-Croatian
Activities
Dr.
Ivan Cizmic graduated from the University of Zagreb in 1959 with a degree in
History and from its law school in 1963. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Faculty
of Arts in Zagreb in 1973. His scholarly research has been in the field of
emigration from Croatia. Four of his books on Croatians in the United States
and one on the history of Croatian settlements in New Zealand have been
published. Dr Cizmic is a scientific advisor at the Institute of Social
Sciences Ivo Pilar in Zagreb, Croatia.
COE, PETER (KNEGO) Actor
Peter,
son of parents from Dalmatia, was a character actor who appeared in numerous
films, including “Gung Ho!”, “Gypsy Wildcat”, “Alaska Seas”, “Smoke Signal”,
The Ten Commandments”, “Desert Legion”, “Snow White and the Three Stooges”,
“Tobruk”, and others.
COGNEVICH-KONJEVICH Clan
The
Cognevich-Konjevich family has the distinction of being one of the first and
largest families of Dalmatian descent in Plaquemines Parish. Though several
Cognevich-Konjevich’s came into the Greater New Orleans area during the
nineteenth century, Stephani (Steffano,Stephan) Cognevich-Konjevich seems to be
the only one to leave surviving descendants. His descendants number over one
thousand.
The
first record of Stephani found in Plaquemines Parish appears in the Plaquemines
Parish Court House conveyance book No. 10, Page 143, entry No. 1716 dated March
1844. This was a record of a purchase of land from Pierre Jean Pierre Buras to
Giavani (John) Vidacovich and Steaffano Chognevich (Cognevich). They were
purchasing land in Nairn for a citrus farm. 'Stephani was from the Konavle
Valley area of Croatia near Herceg-Novi.
Stephani
married Mercisse Alexandrine Huguenard before 1848 presumably in Louisiana.
Alexandrine, a french woman, was the daughter of Richard and Francoise Remy (or
Bremy) Huguenard of Courchaton, Haute Saone, France. Her family owned and
operated the village coffee house. Alexandrine left her home to come to America
in the service of a Baroness. Presumably Alexandrine's younger sister,
Virginie, either came in service of a noble or came to work for Alexandrine in
her home. Alexandrine and Virginie seemed to be the only members of the family
to come to the United States. Virginie married Philicien (Felix) Ragas of
Buras.
Stephan
and Alexandrine had at least six chilren. Simon, born about 1845, died
1850-1860; Jean Alexander, born 27 July 1848, died 1850-1860; Nicole, born
April 1851, died before 1920. He married Marcelline Victoria Buras on 24
February 1872 at Our Lady of Good Harbor Catholic Church in Buras. They had
twelve children; Phillip, born September
1853, died 3 July 1930. He married Elizabeth Sylve about 1875. They had five
children; Marc, born 10 March 1856, died 7 October 1935. He married Maria Rose
Pelas on 25 December 1875 at Our Lady of Good Harbor Catholic Church in Buras.
They had ten children; Constantine, born 1859, died about 1887, no issue.
On
October 18, 1860 Stephan died due in part to a long illness that caused severe
stomach pain. The pain would get so intense that he would go to the back of his
orange field beneath a large oak tree so the children could not hear his
crying. He died and was buried beneath this shade tree. As time went on other
family members and friends were buried beneath the oak. It became recognized as
the community cemetery - The Nairn
Cemetery. The big oak tree was killed during Hurricane Betsy, but its dead
trunk remains. Stephan's tomb still lies the stump of that ancient oak. The
inscription on Stephan's tomb is written in French, by his wife, Alexandhne.. .
The translated inscription reads:
"Here
lies the remains of my beloved husband Ettinne C. Cognevich New World born at
Cattarega Austria near B on
December 28, 1812 died on October 18, 1860. Father of Marc. -Alexandrine Cognevich"
Ettinne
is French for Stephan, Steven,,, Stephani, Steffano. Stephani's middle name was
Constantini. Cattarega is thought to mean Kotor region, since we know the
Cognevich-Konjevich family still lives in the area just west of Boka Kotorska.
Croatia was part of the Austrian Empire until World War 1. Since Alexandrine
was French and not Slavonian, she spelled Croatian words the way they sounded
in her in French. Thus the spelling on Stephani's tomb is very undependable.
COMAICH, FRANK J. Judge
San
Mateo County Municipal Court Judge Frank J. Comaich, served on the bench in the Southern District
for 13 years, died Sunday at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He was 79. Comaich, who lived on the
Peninsula for more than 30 years, retired from the judiciary on Feb. 1,
1973. He was appointed to the bench by
Gov. Edmund G. Brown in 1960, succeeding Judge Edward I. McAuliffe, who had
retired.
At
the time of his retirement, Comaich was the senior judge of the three-member
Southern District Municipal Court Judiciary. A 1930 law graduate of St.
Ignatius College, (now University of San Francisco), he was in private law
practice until his bench appointment.
During World War II, he was a lieutenant commander in the U. S. Navy. He was a member of the Native Sons of
the Golden West and the San Mateo County Bar Association. A native of San
Francisco, he and his wife, Audrey, lived in Redwood City for many years.
In recent years, he has made his home in Belmont and Capitola. In
addition to his wife survivors include three sisters, Grace O’Keefe of Redwood
City and Elizabeth Comaich and Sarah Kelly, both of San Francisco.
COMPLITA, CHRIS Fisherman
Chris
Complita, 87, a retired commercial fisherman, died in 1958 at his home in
Seattle Washington. Chris was born in Prijevor near Dubrovnik, Dalmatia in
Croatia. He married in Croatia and came to America and to Oregon on honeymoon
in 1905; moved to, California, 1906, and to Seattle's Ballard district in 1908,
remainIng in Ballard ever since; They celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary three years ago. His family included his wife, Vice; three sons,
Louis J., Eddie D., and Joe, G. Complita, all of Seattle; one daughter, Mrs.
Ann Milatich, Everett; one brother, Dan Complita, San Jose, California, and
four grandchildren.
COPRIVIZA, PETER Farm Grocery
Peter
George Copriviza’s major business interest has been the managment of George
Coprivizia and Son. His father founded this firm many years ago, as a
dealer in groceries, and the family has also operated ranching properties. A
native of Watsonville, Mr. Copriviza was born on January 14, 1904, and is
a son of George Peter and Anna (Veselich) Copriviza. Both parents were
born in Dalmatia, Croatia. The father
came to this country at the age of eighteen and immediatley settled in San
Francisco. He became a citizen, and
after some varied business activity in San Francisco, came to Watsonville and
opened a grocery store. In 1928 he began leasing ranch properties
which he operated. To combine his varied interests, he formed the George Copriviza and Son Company in that
year. Peter George Copriviza attended local public schools and Heald’s Business
College in San Francisco. he then joined
his father in business in 1928 and when the elder man reitred in 1938, became
fully responsible for operating the business.
His faher died in 1939. Peter
George (retired in 1946) managed his personal interests and the firms
properties and rentals. Mr. Copriviza is a member of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks and the Native Sons of the Golden West. Both he
and his wife attend the Catholic Church, and both are interested in civic
affairs. At Carmel Mission, Carmel, California, on June 4, 1933, Peter
George Copriviza married Thelma Henriette McHenry. her father, who came
from Missouri, became an orchardist in the San Joaquin Valley. Mrs.
McHenry was a native of Iowa. Mrs. Coproviza is an expert millinery
designer. Her birth date was
October 30, 1906, and she is a native of Santa Barbara. The couple are
the parents of two children: 1. Caroann Louise, born April 30, 1938. 2.
Patricia Ellen, Born on August 19, 1940
CORAK-CVITKOVICH, MATILDA
Restaurant-Saloon
Matilda
(Tillie) Corak was Seattle, Washington Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 439's oldest member--passing away the
day before her 99th birthday. Tillie was born March 14, 1902 in Prizna, Croatia
not far from Karlobag on the northern Adriatic coast. She was the daughter of
Juraj and Marija (Matijevic) Prpic. Because her mother died at childbirth and
her father left for America when she was only 5, Tillie was raised by her
paternal grandparents, Ivan and Eka Prpic. Tillie came to America in 1921,
joining her father in the coal-mining town of Roslyn, Washington. Following her
marriage to Croatian miner John Cvitkovich, the couple left Roslyn and moved to
Seattle. John and his brother Joe opened a restaurant in Pioneer Square (the
oldest part of Seattle) where Tillie cooked and served meals to mainly loggers
and seamen. It was there that she developed the "colorful" vocabulary
that was to remain one of her trademarks. On weekends these same customers,
mostly Croatians, would gather at the Cvitkovich home to feast, drink homemade
wine and enjoy the Cvitkovich family tamburitza orchestra made up of daughters
Mary and Helen, son Joe and nephew John. Tillie's husband John died in 1945 and
shortly thereafter she married Nick Corak. The couple, in turn, operated the
Sunset Tavern in the Pike Place Market area of Seattle for many years. Sister
Corak was always intensely proud of her Croatian origin so it followed that she
joined the Croatian Fraternal Union in 1923, shortly after her arrival in
America. She had thus been an adult member of the Society 78 years at the time
of her passing. Tillie Corak is survived by her daughters Helen (Rick) Richter,
Rose (Bob) Badda, five grandchildren, five great grandchildren and two great
great grandchildren. She was also survived by her sisters Mary Irby of Montana
(subse-quently deceased) and Dora Gibson of GoIdendale, Washington.
CORIC, KAT Artist
Artist,
activist/ extremist, Kat Coric never ceases to amaze. This young Croatian
Canadian phenomenon has effectively penetrated the Montreal art community with
intuitive, philanthropic works that address the most current issues at hand.
Racism, homophobia, AIDS and drug addiction are just some of the topics she has
tackled, with the ultimate goal of changing peoples' negative attitudes to the
subject(s). Born in the historic walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, she has
made Montreal her home since 1973. She speaks four languages, has a background
in archaeology and art history with many interests in the visual arts and
special multi media artistic fund raising events. Her interests have evolved
with over ten years of painting behind her. Her work is part of private
collections in Montreal, New York, Boston, Chicago, Palm Springs and Croatia.
She has published her work in Circuit Noize magazine, and the Black & Blue
souvenir programs of 1996-2000. Her creative drive has enabled her to create
art exhibitions and auctions for the benefit of the BBCM Foundation since 1997.
She founded and curates the annual Black & Blue Art Exhibition and Auction
which has included works from such artists as David Morgan (New York), Moody
Mustafa, Kevin Aviance, Susan Morabito, and Johanne Corno to name a few. She
has also tirelessly donated her works of art to raise money for AIDS and young
gay kids in trouble (LIGALY,). Her latest projects include working in
prevention and harm reduction with the Electric Dreams Foundation, and the BBCM
Foundation for which she is the Director of the Prevention Program. Some of her
duties include the publication of a brochure on the dangers of recreational
drug use and a comprehensive prevention program for the Foundation. Her art
will also be featured on the "'Virginie" televison program on Radio
Canada in September of 2002. Kat Coric can be reached at: Kat@arobas.net.
COSCINA, MARTIN Restaurant Police
Officer
Martin
Coschina, native of the Island of Brac, was a partner of the famed Delmonico
Restaurant in Treasure City, Nevada. Martin appeared on the Nevada State Census
of 1875 with a white wife, aged 16, born in Africa. He was in business with
Viscovich and Merlich at Pioche in 1870 and again in business with Gustianovich
at Pioche in 1876. Martin had two young men both named V. Coschina living with
him in 1875. In 1884 at San Jose, California
Martin Coschina was a police officer. He was a citizen. These two
fellows from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia came a long way to open their
Delmonico Restaurant at Treasure City, Nevada. At least they felt at home, Brac
is all rock and so is Treasure City.
COSOVICH, PETER Mayor-Mariner
If
Pilot Thomas Doig had not attempted to cross the Columbia River bar and enter
the river one night in April 1879, Astoria, Oregon would not have had Peter
Cosovich as mayor. The ship that Pilot Doig plowed straight into Sand Island
was the Great Republic. One of the seamen on board was Pete's father who was
only fourteen years old. Perhaps this was been enough adventure for the boy
who, after being rescued from the shipwreck, settled in the area. The genial
Cosovich was mayor of Astoria from 1951 to 1958 and a worthy recipient of the
George Award. (This award is given to those locally who are not afraid to act
when help is needed.) The river has been home to many families from the land we
have known for many years as Croatia. (Pincetich 1999)
COUPLES, FRED Golf Champion
Fred
Couples is one of Amenica's most successful and well known professional
golfers. Among the top performers during the 1980's and 1990's he has won many
prestigious tournaments and been recognized both in America and internationally
as one of golf's elite. What most golf officianados don't know is that Fred
Couples is a Croatian American. Fred was born on October 3, 1959 in Seattle,
Washington to Violet Sobich Couples and Tom Couples. Fred's father is of
Italian descent and changed the family name to Couples from Coppola. He worked
for the Seattle Park and Recreation Department and introduced young Fred to
golf at an early age. Fred participated in and won many youth golf tournaments
and refined his game in college at the University of Houston where he roomed
with fellow golfer Blamie McAllister and CBS-TV Broadcaster Jim Nantz. After
turning pro in 1980, Fred participated in 25 tournaments and won a modest
$78,939, ranking 53rd on the pro tour. By 1992,
Fred was the number one golfer in America, participating in 22
tournaments, winning three, including the prestigious Masters, and earning more
than $1,300,000. 1996 was another extraordinary year as Fred won nearly
$1,250,000. Fred was the PGA Tour Player of the year in both 1991 and 1992. His
12 PGA tour victories include the 1983 Kemper Open, the 1984 Tournament Players
Championship, the 1987 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, the 1990 Nissan Los Angeles
Open, the 1991 Federal Express St. Jude Classic, the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles
Open, the 1992 Nestle Invitational, the 1992 Masters, the 1993 Honda Classic,
the 1994 Buick Open and the 1996 The Players Championship. His International
Victories include the 1991 Johnnie Walker World Championship , the 1994 World
Cup, and the 1995 Dubal Desert Classic, Johnnie Walker Classic and Johnnie
Walker World Championship. Fred honors his late mother and his Croatian roots
having established a charity in her name, the Violet Sobich Couples Fund. The
Fund is supported by Fred's annual charity golf tournament. Fred is single and
still lives in Texas and resides in Dallas. His hobbles include all sports,
vintage cars and antiques.
COVICH, IVAN Croatian Editor
Native
of Makarska, Dalmatia. Moved in America as a young man and during almost the
entire stay in this country he has been engaged in cultural activities,
especially in the Croatian Sokol
organization. Volunteer in World War I.
Owner and editor of monthly magazine "Zora" "Dawn" during
the 1930’s in Sacramento, California. One of the most prominent pioneers in the
Croatian colony in Sacramento.
CRLENKOVICH, HELEN Swimming Champion
Former
National Amateur Athletic Union and World's
Diving Champion, Helen Crlenkovich is about to make a perfect entry into
the water after a dive from the highboard. Known popularly as
"Clenkie", Crlenkovich was National Outdoor Springboard Champion in
1939, 1941, and 1945; National Platform Champion in 1941 and 1945, and the
National Indoor Three Meter titleholder from 1939 to 1942. The former
University of California student and native of San Francisco died of cancer in
1955 only one week after learning that she had been named to the Helms
Foundation Diving Hall of Fame.
CRLJENICA, PAUL Music-Tambura
Paul
CrIjenica, the youngest brother of the CrIenica Brothers Orchestra (Continental
Five) died in July 2000. Paul started playing bugarija (rhythm) with the
CrIjenica family orchestra about 1930, and soon became one of the best. While
playing with the Crlenica Brothers Orchestra in the movies "Storm At
Daybreak" and "Balalaika," he had to attend school on the motion
picture set because he was still in high school. Of course, Paul did not mind
this, as there were several MGM starlets also attending. After high school,
Paul played saxophone and clarinet with the Carlos Molinas Orchestra. Later he
had his own jazz combo under the name of Paul Carson. He was the mainstay of
the CrIenica Brothers Orchestra well into the 1980s, when he moved from
southern California to northern California. Paul played clarinet with the
Redding Community Band and a jazz combo until just last year. His survivors,
wife Florence, daughter Loretta, brother Steve and his daughters, Linda and
Stephanie are all members of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 177 Los Angeles,
California.
CRNEKOVIC, STEVEN Engineer
Steven
Crnekovic is a Senior Structural Engineer for A. Epstein and Sons, Inc.,
Chicago,
Illinois. Born August 21, 1916 in Sarajevo, Bosnia; married with two children.
Education includes Male Real Gymnasium, Zagreb, 1935; Technical Faculty, University of Zagreb. C.E.
1942; Tech. Hochschule, Vienna, Austria 1942-43 with a major field in Civil
engineering-structural design and design of high rising buildings in reinforced
concrete and steel. Member of International
Association for Shell Structures; National Society of
ProfessionalEngineers; 'The American Society of Civil Engineers; American
Concrete Institute,
CRNIC, IVO D. Accountant-Editor
Ivo
Crnic is an Assistant Treasurer for the Near East College Association Inc. New
York, N.Y. Born October 22, 1906 in Svinjarevci-Vukovar, Srijem, Croatia;
married and an American citizen. Education includes Gymnasium, Sr. Karlovci,
Graduate 1925; Economic-Com. College, Zagreb,Econ., 1929; University of
Cologne, Germany, Dr. Rer. Pol., 1938; New York University, New York, N.Y.
M.A., 1959; New York University, N.Y. M.B.A. , 1959 with a major field in
Accounting and College Accounting. Thesis completed 1938 Die Jugoslavische
Eisenindustrie in Rahmen der Jugoslavischen Volkswirtschaft, Doctorate
University of Cologne; Accounting, M.A., New York University 1959. Editor of
monthly review Ekonomist, Zagreb 1935-38.
CRNOBORI, JOSIP Painter
Josip
Crnobori was born October 22, 1907 in Banjole, Istria, Croatia. His parents are
Ivan C. and Ursula nee Sebeglia and his wife is Marijana nee Golac. He attended
the Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Zagreb. His first individual
exhibition was in 1937; exhibited in Trieste (1946); went to Argentina (1947)
where he painted and exhibited (until 1978); went to the USA, lives in New York
where he portrayed Milka Trnina for the Metropolitan Opera (1985).
CUKELA, LOUIS (Army Medal of Honor)
Rank
and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 66th Company 5th Regiment. Place
and date: Near Villers-Cotterets, France, 18 July 1918. Entered service at:
Minneapolis, Minn. Born: I May 1888,
Sebenes, Austria(Sibenik, Croatia). G,O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919. (Also
received Navy Medal of Honor.) Citation: When his company, advancing through a
wood, met with strong resistance from an enemy strong point, Sgt. Cukela
crawled out from the flank and made his way toward the German lines in the face
of heavy fire, disregarding the warnings of his comrades. He succeeded in
getting behind the enemy position and rushed a machinegun emplacement, killing
or driving off the crew with his bayonet. With German handgrenades he then
bombed out the remaining portion of the strong point, capturing 4 men and 2
damaged machine guns. Sgt. Cukela was born in Sibenik, Dalmatia and the origins
of Cukela come from the Island of Solta. My good friend, Ante Jakovcevic, from
Solta proved that he is a Croatian Catholic with origins in Solta. He is one of
the few that received two Medals of
Honor.
CUKELA, LOUIS (Navy Medal of Honor)
Rank
and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 66th Company, 5th Regiment. Born: I May 1888, Sebenes, Austria
(Sibenik, Croatia). Accredited to: Minnesota. (Also received Army Medal of
Honor.) Citation: For extraordinary heroism while serving with the 66th
Company, 5th Regiment, dur ing action in the Forest de Retz, near
Viller-Cottertes, France, 18 July 1918. Sgt. Cukela advanced alone against an
enemy strong point that was holding up his line. Disregarding the warnings of
his comrades, he crawled out from the flank in the face of heavy fire and
worked his way to the rear of the enemy position. Rushing a machinegun
emplacement, he killed or drove off the crew with his bayonet, bombed out the
remaining part of the strong point with German hand grenades and captured 2
machineguns and 4 men.
CUKELJ, MIRKO Machine Tools
Mirko
Cukelj, born in the Croatian region of Zagorje, close to Zagreb, came to
Cleveland, Ohio to stay with his brother in 1959. In the beginning, he worked
as a carpenter and moved on to manufacturing in 1962. In 1983, he founded his
own company, 2M Manufacturing, and in 1989 he founded another company High
Quality Tools Inc. Both firms produce parts for machines and have their own
patents.
CULIC DRAGUN, M. Opera
Mateo
Culic Dragun was born in the coastal city of Split in Dalmatia situated on the
shores of the beautiful Adriatic sea In Croatia. After completing his studies under the
tutelage of the noted Italian Professor, Alessando Vezanni, of the conservatory
of music in Bologna, he graduated in 1914, making his debut at the Verdi Theatre in Trieste in the opera,
“I Pagliacci.” His European engagements have been made in practically every
music center of note on that continent, principally in Italy where he has
frequently appeared in the leading opera houses. He has sung in such famous theatres as the
Pergola Theatre in Florence; San Carlo Theatre, Naples; Messimo Theatre, Palermo;
Petruzalli Theatre, Bari; Verdi Theatre, Trieste and several times at the
Costanzi and the Adriano Theatre in Rome. While famed in Europe, he was yet to
make his first appearance before the American public. Soon after his arrival to the United States he
made his debut at the Carnegie Music Hall
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was greeted by critics as an artist of
rare talent. Following his engagement
there, he appeared in concerts in Detroit and Chicago, where he was acclaimed
for the beauty of his voice. His first concert in the West was given in Fresno
where hundreds of Croatians welcomed him with shouts of appreciation. His interpretation of the Croatian songs won
him special applause, and no doubt the demonstration of warm approval served to
bring back memories of Dalmatia, his home, and the home of many who had
gathered there to hear him sing. In 1929, he became a member of the Pacific Coast Opera Company of San
Francisco, scoring him immediate success on the part of Georgio Germontt in “La
Traviata.” Upon the close of the opera season,
M. Culic Dragun turned to the concert stage.
Any doubt as to whether he would meet the necessary requirements was
settled, when he gave a recital, assisted by Audry Farncroft, at the Scottish
Rite Auditorium in San Francisco. His performance surpassed the expectation of
the most optimistic of the concert goers. When the opera season opened again on
February 27, 1930, Mateo Culic Dragun was again a member of the Pacific Coast
Opera Company, scoring with great approval in his roles in the operas: “La
Traviata”, “Carmen”, “Cavalleria Rusticana”, “Rigoletto.”
CULJIS, NICHOLAS SR
Businessman-ViceMayor
Mr. Culjis founded the N.G. Culjis and Son Funeral Home in
1938. In November 1959 he conducted the
funeral for former world heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer. He served as a
city councilman from 1952 until 1960 and was vice mayor in 1959 and 1960. A
native Sacramentan, Mr. Culjis sponsored 20 years of night and winter league
baseball teams and served on the board of directors of the Sacramento Solons baseball
team in the 1950s. He has a son, Nicholas George Culjis Jr. of Sacramento;
daughter Jane of Laguna Beach; his mother, Millie Culjis, and brother, George.
CUMBELICH CLAN
Alex
Cumbelich reported storm damage from a hurricane at New Orleans, Louisiana in
1874 while H. Cumbelich from San Francisco and John Cumbelich were mining gold
in Placer County, California in 1879. John Cumbelich reported to the Census
taker in 1880 that he was hauling goldminers across the Sacramento River as a
boatman. John Cumbelich turned his bag of gold into the Morning Star Restaurant
in Oakland in the 1880’s. This started the rush of islanders from Mljet to
Oakland. Three brothers from Babino PoIje, Island of Mljet, Croatia Vicko,
Petar and Ivan Cumbelich-Regio, went to California in 1907. Petar Cumbelich,
born in Babino Polje in 1887, died in Oakland in 1909, and Ivan Cumbelich also
died in Oakland in 1920, also as a young man. P., P.J., and Vicko were members
of the Slavonic Society in San Francisco in the 1900’s. The Cumbelich Clan were
also members of the Croatian Fraternal Union. Catherine and Maria Cumbelich
were witnesses at the Croatian Church of nativity in San Francisco in the
1910’s and Maria Cumbelich-Novak baptized John, Lucretia, Maria and Nikola at
the church.
CUMBELICH, JOSEPH Community Activities
Joe
was the 60-year sweetheart and husband of Sophia Psihos Cumbelich. He was the
devoted father of children Bill, Chris, P.K. and John Cumbelich; and loving
grandfather of Jack, Will and Peter Wrensen & Joseph, Anna and William
Cumbelich. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other
family members both in the United States and in Croatia. Always proud of his
West Oakland upbringing, he was educated at Saint Patrick's Grammer School,
Prescott Junior High School and Oakland Technical High School, Class of 1941. A
lifetime Roman Catholic he was an alter boy at Saint Patrick's; he and his wife
sent their children to De La Salle and Carondelet High Schools and the
University of Notre Dame. A great sports enthusiast, in 1964 he was one of the
founders of the Clayton Valley little League, which still thrives. He coached
youth sports for many, many years positively influencing the lives of countless
young people and their families. He was also active in scouting, CYO basketball
and other youth activities. A big man with great generosity, humanity and love
he will be remembered for his dedication to his wife, children and
grandchildren and for the many friends whose lives he touched. Joseph William
Cumbelich passed away April 3, 2001 at
age 77years. Born November 6, 1923 inOakland, California the fifth child
of Vicko ('Bill') and Anna Cumbelich-Regio, natives of the island of Mljet,
Croatia. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Vincent and Leo and
sisters Christine and Anne.
SF
Chronicle April 7, 2001
CUMBELICH. PAUL J. Warehouseman
Paul
Cumbelich was a member of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 121 of Oakland,
California. He died on January 11, 1984. He was the only son of Mary and John
Cumbelich, the third of their four children, Paul was born in Oakland, CA on
Nov. 2, 1895. He lived here all his life
with the exception of one year in his early youth when the family visited
Croatia. Paul worked for the Bank of America, and as a warehouseman for over 25
years in Jaffe Brothers Tobacco and Candy wholesale house. Brother Cumbelich
was also a member of Native Sons of the Golden West for over 50 years; Croatian
Fraternal Union of America since 1925 and Dominican guild and Dominican
Associates. In 1926, Paul married Angela Strazicich of Watsonville,
California. They had two children, Ellen
Marie, who later became a Dominican Sister of Mission San Jose and John, who
was killed in the Korean War. He enjoyed reading and watching baseball on
TV. He loved to travel and visited many
places. A highlight of his
retirement years was a trip to Europe
and a visit to relatives on the Island of Mljet, Dalmatia, Croatia.
CUMBELICH, VICKO Railroad
Vicko
arrived in America in 1907 from the Island of Mljet, Croatia and lived in
Oakland where he worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. In 1909 he
married Ana Srsen-Boskovich, who was born in Babino Polje, Island of Mljet in
1891, They had five children: Vicko, born on April 28, 1911, Leo (Ilija), born on November 6, 1912, Kris
(Kril), born on October 21, 1914, Anne, born on June 10, 1917, and Joe (Jozo),
born on November 6, 1923. Their son Leo had a son Leo (Ilija), and a daughter
Kris (Kril) married Brugge and had daughters Carol and Callen and a son Calvin.
The daughter Anne, married Anthony and had a daughter Barbara. Joe Cumbelich
with his wife Sofia, of Greek origin, still live in Concord, California. They
have four children: William, born on January1,1954, Cristina, born on October
20, 1956, Patricia, born on June 26, 1959, and John, born on May 20, 1965.
Their sons and daughters all finished higher educations - universitiy. Joe
Cumbelich- visited Mljet and Dubrovnik with his wife in 1990, and their son
John was in Mljet in 1988.
CUMPANAS, WILLIAM L. Actor
Billy
was born in Gary, Indiana on May 2, 1946. Following the death of his
grandfather, Thomas Ante on February 2, 1949, the family moved in 1950 to
California were Violet and William J. Cumpanas raised their family. Imbued with
an athletic physique which would later serve him well in his chosen profession,
William was a standout football player for North Hollywood High School in the
early 1960 s. As talented and physical as he was on the field as an offensive
tackle, he exuded a caring and sensitive demeanor off of the field of play.
With his football career cut short by a serious head injury at the University
of Nevada, young William went on to begin a career in Hollywood first as a
stuntman and then as an actor. Among his
screen credits was the featured role of "Johnny Boz" in the movie
Basic Instinct which starred Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. Some of my
fondest memories of Billy were centered on interaction with family. How he
genuinely enjoyed family gatherings and opportunities to share in each others
company. While never having children of his own, Billy spent countless hours of time with crippled
children, providing a quick smile, sparkling eyes and generous heart. Billy's
life was changed and ultimately lost due to a tragic vehicular accident in
which he sustained massive injuries to his body including fractured vertebrae
in his neck leaving him paralyzed from the mid chest area down. His mother
Violet stayed by his side, at times alternatively, full of despair, hope,
resignation and faith. All through his convalescence she provided a sense of
stability and undying love for her son. I remember well her words to me in
which she described how Billy worried about her in spite of his own grave
condition and the attending pride in which she so often spoke of him, her
"little Dalmatinac." Billy succumbed to his injuries on March 7, 1998
passing peacefully to his eternal rest at the age of 51. The William L. Cumpanas Memorial Fund, with
an initial endowment sum of $10,000, joins the impressive list of thirty-six
funds previously established within the ranks of the Croatian Fraternal Union
Scholarship Foundation, Inc. This particular fund holds a special place in my
heart, as well as my family's, since it was established in loving memory of my
cousin Billy by his mother Violet Pazo Anderson, member of "Croatian
Sons" CFU Lodge 170, Merrillville, Indiana. Billy, as he was
affectionately known, was the grandchild of Thomas Ante and Katherine Pezo. His
grandfather became a member of the former Hrvatski Sinovi CFU Lodge 396 of
Gary, Indiana after his arrival from the village of Klenovac, near Imotski,
located in the region of Dalmacia, Croatia in 1914, serving for a time in the
early part of the century as its president. Uncle Tom and Aunt Katie instilled
in their four children, Ann, Violet, Thomas and Elizabeth, a strong sense of
family values and a will to succeed. This was imparted by Violet to her son
William.
CUPICH, BLASE Bishop-Priest-Professor
In
Rapid City, South Dakota, Msgr. Blase J. Cupich of Omaha, Nebraska was solemnly
ordained to the office of Bishop by Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul,
Minneapolis, with co-consecrating Bishop Elden Curtiss of Omaha, Nebraska, and
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, Colorado. Archbishop Chaput preceded Bishop
Cupich in Rapid City. Representing Pope John Paul 11 was the Apostolic
Pro-Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan. Among the
many family members, relatives, and friends at his ordination were several who
came from Croatia to support Bishop Blase Cupich on this momentous occasion. As
a bishop, he is successor to the apostles; a role that calls him to make the
words and life of Christ felt and understood in the world.
Blase
Cupich was born to Blase and Mary Mayhan on March 19, 1949 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Both parents are Croatian-Americans bom to Croatian immigrants, and both
families were members of the Sts. Peter and Paul Croatian Parish in Omaha. The
parents of Blase Cupich attended the grade school of Sts. Peter and Paul
Church, as did Blase and his eight brothers and sisters. They were an brought
up to respect their Catholic faith and Croatian heritage and participated in
organizations to promote these values. Blase's maternal great-grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Ivan Majhan, immigrated to Omaha at the turn of the 20th century from
the area near Karlovac, Croatia. They brought their small son Ivan, who would
later meet Barbara Bahun from Varazdin. The personal and family name Ivan
Majhan was later Anglicized to John Mayhan. John and Barbara were married in
Sts. Peter and Paul Church. Their daughter Mary would marry Blase Cupich in the
same church. Of this marriage came nine children, among them Blase, now Bishop
Cupich. The paternal grandparents of the Bishop Cupich were also Croatian and likewise
met in Omaha. In 1914 they were married and became life-long members ot Sts.
Feter and Faul Croatian Parish. Blaz Cupic originated from Donji Andrijevci
near Slavonski Brod, while his wife Ruza Gradicek came from Greda near
Varazdin.
Bishop
Cupich is proud of his Croatian heritage, and in fact has designated in his
official Coat-of-Arms a red-and-white checkered section modeled after the
centuries-old Croatian "grb." The most famous version of the
Coat-of-Arms is on the roof of St. Mark's Church in Zagreb. Blase Cupich
received his elementary education at Sts. Peter and Paul Croatian Parish School
in Omaha; he attended Bishop Ryan High School, also in Omaha. Upon graduation,
he enrolled in the College Seminary of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, where
he earned his degree in Philosophy. His theological studies were completed
through North American College and later the Gregorian University in Rome. He
returned to Omaha to be ordained to the Priesthood in Sts. Peter and Paul Church by Archbishop Daniel E. Sheehan on
August 16, 1975. He would celebrate his first solemn Mass there the next day.
After serving in various pastoral assignments and teaching high school in
Omaha, Father Cupich went to the Catholic University of America to earn the
S.T.L. degree in Sacramental Theology in 1979. His doctoral degree, S.T.D., was
conferred upon him in 1989. His doctoral dissertation was entitled Advent in
the Roman Tradition: An Examination and Comparison of the Lectionary Readings
as Hermeneutical Units in Three Periods. Fr. Cupich returned again to Omaha to
serve as Pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish. He became Chairman of the
Archdiocesan Office of Divine Worship, as well as Instructor at Creighton
University in the Department of Continuing Education for Priests. In 1981, he
was called to Washington to serve at the Apostolic Nunciature as Secretary. to
Cardinal Pio Laghi. This was the highest post a Croatian-American priest had
held. After six years of service to the Nuncio, Fr. Cupich returned to serve
for two years as Pastor at St. Mary's Church in Bellevue, Nebraska. In 1989,
Fr. Cupich was called upon by the Church to assume a role of great
responsibility and honor: President and Rector of the Pontifical College
Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He served in this capacity until 1996. As
President and Rector, he also created a chair for renowned visiting professors
of scripture and theology-another avenue to exchange. He was honored for these
and other achievements by being raised to the dignity of Domestic Prelate with
the title of Right Reverend Monsignor. He returned briefly to Omaha to serve as
Pastor of a large urban parish, St. Robert Bellarmine. After less than a year,
once more he was called to higher duties when Pope John Paul 11 named him to
become Bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota.
As
the new Bishop of a Diocese that includes 63 parishes of diverse membership and
covers almost half of South Dakota, Bishop Cupich introduced himself humbly and
warmly, again referring to culture and faith. At a press conference, tells The
Catholic Voice, Cupich said, I come to you from the Archdiocese of Omaha. Like
Rapid City, it is a western church blessed by the rich cultures of native and
immigrant peoples, blessed by urban and yet mostly rural parishes. That common
bond, plus the deep historical ties between the Churches of Omaha and Rapid
City, is a great source of encouragement to me as I make my home with
you."
CUPICH, MADELINE Catholic
Sister-Teacher
Sr.
Mary Blaise. Teacher at St. Bernard's School, Omaha, Nebraska. Born June 5,
1931, in Omaha, Nebraska. Attended College of St. Mary, Omaha, Nebraska
1951-64, B.S. in Education 1960. Taught at Holy Cross, Omaha, Nebraska.1955-56
; Taught at St. James Orphanage, Omaha, Nebraska.1956-1957; Taught at St.
Peters, Kansas City 1957-1959; Taught at St. Patrick's, Council Bluffs, Iowa
1959; Teaching at St. Ann's School, Independence, Missouri, 1964 to 1968;
Taught at St. Michael's Sch. in Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 1968-1969;
Teaching at St. Bernard's School, Omaha, Nebraska Sept. 1969 to present.
CUPIC, STEVE Fisherman-Longshoreman
Steve
Cupic was born in Komin, Dalmatia, Croatia near Metkovic in December, 1894. As
a 17 year old, he came to the America in 1911, going directly to Wilkeson,
Washington where he worked in the coal mines for four years. There was a strong
nucleus of Croatians in Wilkeson in those days, centered around Lodge 189 of
the old National Croatian Society. Steve Cupic joined the Society in 1914 and
remained with it although he later transferred to Seattle Lodge 439 until his
passing July 15, 1975, making him a 61year member. From Wilkeson, Steve Cupic
went to Everett, Washington in 1915 where he resided the most of his life. He
was a retired longshoreman and fisherman, having gone north to Alaska to fish,
for salmon 36 seasons. He refused to go north in 1934, bowever, because he
strongly supported his fellow longshoremen who were in the midst of a lengthy
and bitter strike. Brother Cupic,a strong union man just didn't think it would
be fair for him to go to Alaska to make money fishing while those left behind
suffered in their fight for better conditions. Steve Cupic returned to Croatia
in 1970 to visit his brothers and sister, of whom only his sister now survives.
In addition, brother Cupic leaves his wife Kata, two sons Martin and Steve
(Pete), a daughter, Helen Stone. and six grandchildren. Besides his membership
in the C.F.U, Steve Cupic was also a Golden Age Member of the Eagles, and a
member of the International Longshore Workers Union Pensioners.
CUSANOVICH, LOU State Senator
Lou
Cusanovich’s grandmother was a member of the first wagon train to reach
California after the tragic experience of the Donner Party. His grandfather reached California from the
Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia, via Cape Horn during the 1850s and settled
in Sutter Creek. He was born in Los
Angeles and attended Southwestern University prior to opening his own business
in the San Fernando Valley. He was
elected to the Sate Assembly in 1957 where he served until 1966. In that year he was elected to the State
Senate where he is now the fourth senior member. He is Vice-Chariman of the Finance Committee
and is well-known for his legislation concerning youth and education.
CUVALO, ANTE Professor-Author
Ante
Cuvalo came to the United States in the 1960s.
He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Francis College,
Burlington, Wisconsin; a master’s degree in history from John Carroll
University, Cleveland, Ohio, and a doctorate in history from the Ohio State
University, Columbus, Ohio. He is
presently teaching at Joliet Jr. College, Joliet, Illinois. He has written many articles dealing with
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the former Yugoslavia. He is the author of The Croatian National
Movement 1966-1972 (1990), and co-author and editor of Croatian and the
Croatians (1991). His Historical
Dictionary of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1997) was selected by Choice magazine as
an Outstanding Academic Book of 1998. His latest book is Removing the Mask -
Letters and Statements Concerning Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1989-2000
(2000). Presently, he is doing research on the history of Croatians in Greater
Chicago and Northwest Indiana. He is a member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), vice president of the Croatian
Academy of America (CAA), and president of the Association for Croatian Studies
(ACS).
CVETNIC, BILL Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Engineer-Military
Bill
Cvetnic started playing the tambura at the age of nine with East Pittsburgh
Sloboda Junior Tammies, under the directorship of the late George Beleg. He is
the son of the late Joe Cvetnic who played with the Sloboda Tamburitza
Orchestra of East Pittsburgh during the 1920's and 1930's. While attending
Turtle Creek High School, he joined the Nick Naglich orchestra, along with
Nicks son, Walt, a neighbor and schoolmate. Bill remained with this orchestra
until he was asked to join the Balkan Serenaders of Trafford. he was a regular
with this group until going into the Army in 1951. He was discharged from the
Army in 1953, after the Korean War, and attended engineering school until 1956
and then was employed as a mechanical engineer by the Aetna Standard
Engineering Company. Bill again rejoined the Balkan Serenaders and stayed with
the group through 1955. It was then that he left to play with the Danny Kukich
orchestra from 1955 until 1972. Bill also made recordings with this group. In
1972, Bill and Walt Naglich decided to form their own tamburitza orchestra.
They called the group The Balkan Four. Bill played Bugaria and was the lead
singer with this group. After Walt Naglich moved to California, Bill kept the
Balkan Four together until 1985. He then became a member of the Dunav Orchestra
of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania and played with this group until 1993. In 1994, Bill
became a member of the Novi Glas Orchestra, playing the Prim instead of the
Bugaria, which he played for many years. While playing with the different
groups, over the years, Bill has performed in many areas of western
Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Washington, DC and Las
Vegas, Nevada. He accompanied Vinka Ellison and other singers when they
performed in the Pittsburgh area with the Danny Kukich Orchestra. He also
played for a banquet with this group at the Roosevelt Hotel in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania for the late King Peter of Yugoslavia. His love of music and
Croatian heritage is apparent. He has been self-employed for the last few years
with his Mr. Bill's Home Remodeling business. He lives in East Pittsburgh with
his wife Sandy and their dog "'Freeway". His mother, Rose Cvetnic is
now 92 years young and he has a sister, Caroline (Cvetrdc) Polesnak. His son,
Dr. Bill Cvetnic also lives in the Pittsburgh area. Not only is Bill a musician,
but he also makes tamburitza instruments and most recently did his own sound on
sound recordings, playing all the instruments, which he made, and singing
three-part harmony. Bill would like to thank all of the musicians he has
performed with throughout the years and most especially all the people who came
to see these groups play.
CVITANIC, JAKSA Professor-Mathematics
He’s
one of the world’s leading experts on the sophisticated, probabilistic
financial-market techniques used by Wall Street arbitrageurs and investment
bankers. Even so, USC’s newest full professor of mathematics says students who
hope to learn to beat the market need to adjust their expectations. “The basic
models we use don’t teach you how to take advantage of the market, but that you
cannot take advantage of the market,”
explains Jaksa Cvitanic, who arrived at University of Southern California this
semester from Columbia University. Center for Applied Mathematics Director
Boris Rozovsky, a member of the search committee that recruited Cvitanic, calls
him “the best younger researcher in the field in the United States.”
Rozovsky
expects the new professor to become a nucleus, as early as the year 2000, for
an interdisciplinary group in computational finance involving mathematics,
economics and business, with a research laboratory in the College of Letters,
Arts and Sciences and a trading laboratory in the Marshall School of Business.
Cvitanic is already working with fellow Columbia University emigrés Fulvio Ortu
and Fernando Zapatero, both assistant professors in the Marshall School’s
department of finance and business economics, and with professor Michael Magill
of the department of economics.
The
field of computational finance is in high academic demand, and so are its
graduates. Cvitanic’s former graduate students are found at such firms as
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. Cvitanic’s research grows out of the work of
1997 Nobel laureates in economics Myron S. Scholes and Robert Merton, who
showed how (in a perfect, “frictionless” market without transaction costs)
money managers could insulate themselves from risk using sophisticated hedging
strategies. Scholes and Merton subsequently gained non-Nobel fame as principals
in Long Term Capital Management, the multibillion dollar hedge fund that almost
collapsed in 1998.
In
an influential paper, Cvitanic showed that if the market imposes any
transaction costs, however small, optimal strategy changes. A static, one-time,
one-transaction strategy, while expensive, works better than a dynamic one
involving multiple trades. (“There is No Non-Trivial Hedging Portfolio for
Option Pricing with Transaction Costs,” Annals of Applied Probability, vol. 5,
pp. 327-355.) Cvitanic is now co-editing a “Handbook on Mathematical Finance”
and serves as associate editor of three journals, the Annals of Applied
Probability, Asia-Pacific Financial Markets and the Mathematics of Operations
Research. A native of Croatia, Cvitanic received his B.A. in mathematics from
the University of Zagreb and his Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he
subsequently became an associate professor before moving to USC. He lives in
Manhattan Beach. “It’s different,” said Cvitanic, “but I like it better than
Manhattan.”
CVITANOVIC CLAN
Great-great
Grandfather Simun Cvitanovic, born in the 1800’s, was a fisherman all his life
in Croatia. Great Grandfather Jakov Cvitanovic married Tonka Skansi. He spent a better part of his time fishing
off of Gig Harbour in Washington. He came to Tacoma twice prior to WW I, first
time being approximately 1906, and fished onboard the fishing boat
"Confidence" to earn enough money to take back to Sumartin on the
island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia and help the family. He went back 5 times to
America. His voyages took him as far as Alaska for fishing. My Grandfather is
Josip Cvitanovic born in February 16th, 1915 in Sumartin, Brac. He did not do
much fishing on the larger boats but instead fished onboard many of his smaller
boats that he built himself. He finished his apprenticeship at the ship yard in
Sumartin "Lucica". After WW II
he worked for several years at the shipyards in Split. My grandparents had
three children....my dad Petar Cvitanovic born December 15, 1943, my aunt Inda born July 7th, 1946 and my uncle
Vinko Cvitanovic born September 24, 1947. My Grandparents immigrated to Canada
in 1972 and my grandfather worked at the
Serka shipyards along with a few other locations when needed. He did in fact
fish for one year here in British Columbia, Canada but preferred to work at the
shipyards. My Grandfather also had several brothers and sisters and the
following are their names: Simun, Vicko,
Petar, Marija and Kleme. I know some of his brothers were fishermen and fished
off the coast of British Columbia in the early 1900's. Petar Cvitanovic (my
dad) was born of course in Sumartin, Brac December 15th 1943. He finished his
apprenticeship "ship building / welding" also at the shipyard in Sumartin. He
immigrated to Canada in 1967 first finding work on the East Coast (Newfoundland
/ Nova Scotia) in 1968. He spent over three years fishing off the Grand Banks
onboard the seiner "Ocean Leader" and then moved on to the west coast
(Vancouver) in 1971. He would eventually meet his wife, my mom, Ruzica (Vujnic
maiden name) and in November of 1972, they would marry. My dad till the late
80's work as a fisherman on many of the larger seiners such as the Nordic
Queen, John Todd, Teresa I, Vanisle, to
name a few. In the early 1980's with the decline of the commercial fishing
industry, my dad Petar decided to work at the shipyards where he's been ever
since. Over the last 20 years, dad has
been working at the Vancouver dry-dock / shipyards. They had two children, my younger brother
Kresimir Cvitanovic born January 31, 1979 and myself Tom Cvitanovic, born July
3, 1974. Both my brother and I have been working in the healthcare industry
here in Vancouver. I've spent over 10 years working at the BC Transplant
Society, dealing with solid organ and tissue transplants. My brother Kreso has
worked for a pharmaceutical research company for the last 3 years doing
clinical studies on various types of drugs. Both Kreso and myself recent went
back to school to complete our computer engineering degree through Microsoft.
We plan to enter the IT field at Network administrators as well as opening our
own computer / Network consulting company in the not too distant future.
(Cvitanovic 2003)
CVITANOVICH, DRAGO Restaurant-King of
Mardi Gras-Oysterman
The
City of New Orleans is world famous for the annual Mardi Gras celebration which
draws millions oF people there for this grand pre-Lenten festivity. This year
has special significance for Croatians, not only in the Louisiana and
Mississippi areas but everywhere. For the first time ever, a Croatian, Drago
Cvitanovich, a prominent restaurantuer and businessman in that area was named
"King of Krewe of Argus" and in this role, led one of the major
parades on Mardi Gras day, and was accorded the highest honors of the community
throughout those festive days. For a person to be named "King of Argus"
as was Drago Cvitanovich, you have to be a well established and respected
citizen of the area. Also you need to be recognized for your contributions for
the welfare of others there and elsewhere. When Drago was selected this year,
there was universal rejoicing. I could not believe the great number of people
who showed up for the parade to cheer him on, but they also came to special
events honoring him, such as the gala and formal "King's Ball" at the
Hilton Hotel (more than 800 invited guests attended!) and the pleasant country
club brunch prior to the parade as well as the informal gathering, at the Drago
Restaurant afterwards. Drago and his wife Klara have been leaders in the
Louisiana area in promoting awareness of the Croatian cause and working with
Archbishop Hannan, they have been responsible for obtaining hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of humanitarian aid for our people in the homeland.
They are proud to be Croatian and speak fondly of their birthplaces there. They
as well as their sons and countless relatives who came from as far as
California for the celebration, all speak Croatian. Everyone knows who they are
and where they came from. While all of the Mardi Gras celebrations were taking
place, thanks to the leadership. of Drago Cvitanovich, another significant
thing happened for Croatians. One of the oldest organizations for our people in
the United States (125 years old) the Slavonian benevolent association in
Louisiana officially changed their name to "Croatian Benevolent
Association! Drago Cvitanovich is president of this great group and led them to
a recognition of their true identity as Croatians. Drago was born in Igrane
near Makarska on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. It was there that he learned
his skills as a fisherman and culinary artist, especially with the preparation
of oysters. He loves to tell that since his days on Adriatic until today he
must have shucked 10 million oysters. People still flock from far and near to
his restaurant for this specialty. If you are ever in Louisiana, a visit to Drago's
restaurant in Metairle is a must. He migrated to Canada in 1954 and in 1961
went to Louisiana. He married his lovely wife, Klara Buconic, who was born near
Dubrovnik in 1958 in Lousiana. They are the proud parents of two fine sons,
Tommy, who runs the Drago restaurant and Doctor Gerry who practices emergency
medicine at a large local hospital. They are likewise proud of their membership
in the Croatian Catholic Union.
CVITANOVICH, PETER Oyster Beds-Orange
Grove
Peter
Cvitanovich spent a number of the best years of his, life in Plaquemines Parish
where he established an oyster business some twenty-six years ago and continued
to gradually expand his operations until
his untimely death as the result of being kicked by a mule on the twenty-eighth
of September, 1930. Mr. Cvitanovich started in the oyster business in New
Orleans and later removed to Triumph in Plaquemines Parish where he built a
home for his wife and children and lived there for a little more than a year
prior to his tragic death. Mrs. Cvitanovich has continued to live in the home
place and since the death of her husband has success fully operated a small
sized orange grove, raising principally navels and sweets with a few of the
other three leading varieties of oranges. She has five acres of land thoroughly developed with full bearing
trees and under an intensive state of cultivation. Peter Cvitanovich was born
in Croatia on the twenty-seventh of May, 1896, and was educated in the schools
of his native country. At the age of sixteen he came to the United States
settling in New Or leans where he started an oyster business that grew to
fairly extensive proportions. The last few years of his life the business was
operated as a community proposition in co-operation with others of his
nationality. Mr. Cvitanovich made one trip back to his native land and while
there was married on the second of August, 1926, to Miss Origa Sinivich, a
daughter of Thomas Sinivich, who is, still a resident of Croatia. Three
children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cvitanovich, John Thomas, born
the sixth of June, 1927; Frank, born September 14, 1929, and Ringa Ann, born
August 7, 1930. Each of the children are now in school at Buras. Mrs.
Cvitanovich who is a courageous and determined woman, has never recognized any
measure of defeat but has reared her children and made a home for them and
herself in a manner that has elicited the unstinted admiration of her friends
and neighbors. Mr. Cvitanovich was a hard working, industrious man, honest in
all his dealings and had a host of friends in the Triumph community of
Plaquemines Parish.
CVITANOVICH, TOMMY Restaurant
Croatian
Restaurateur, Tommy Cvitanovich, son of Drago and Klara was named Restaurateur
of the Year for 2001 by the Louisiana Restaurant Association. New Orleans is a
mecca of fine dining and home of the world's most fanious restaurants. It has
the second largest Restaurant Association in the USA. Drago's Seafood
Restaurant was opened by Drago and Klara Cvitanovich 32 years ago and very soon
became one of the finest seafood restaurants. Drago's is famous for serving the
best oysters anywhere. Oysters are a Croatian tradition in Louisiana. Croatian
Fisherman have been the best oyster cultivators for over 130 years. Because of
this connection with Croatian fisherman it is not a surprise that Drago's has
the best oysters around. Drago's signature dish is Charbroiled Oysters, which
is Tommy's brainchild. It has put Drago's --on Travel and Leisure, September
1996 list of the World's Best Restaurants. It is a great honor for all
Croatians in Louisiana that Tommy excelled:to be named the best. Louisiana's
Governor, Mike Foster, appointed Tommy to the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and
Marketing Board in the year 2000. He is working very hard in his business and
also in seafood industry for advancement for all. He is a director on Louisiana Restaurant Association State
Board. He is hundred percent Croatian American, born in Vancouver B.C. Canada
to Croatian immigrants. With his parents and brother he immigrated to the United
States to New Orleans at the age of three. He speaks Croatian and has Croatian
and American passports. Tommy has kept Croatia near his heart all his life. He
has visited Dalmatian Coast multiple times. During the war he assisted in
collecting and shipping over one hundred containers of relief supplies to
Croatia. Last summer he took his wife and four children to Croatia to visit his
grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. He plans to visit Croatia again this
summer. Tommy, congratulation and thanks for putting Drago's and Croatians on
the culinary map of the United States!
CVITANOVIC, VINKO Fisherman-Shipyard
Worker
Vinko
followed the footsteps of his forefathers, not to mention his dad and brother
and also completed his apprentiship in shipbuilding / welding. Vinko was born
in Sumartin, Brac on 24th of September, 1947 and eventually followed his
brother and sister to Vancouver, British Columbia. Vinko immigrated in 1971 and
also found work as a commercial fisherman. At one point, he owned his own Gill-netter
/ Troller by the name of "Ocean Rainbow" With the decline in the commercial fishing
industry in British Columbia, Vinko reluctantly sold his boat and also went to
work at the Vancouver Dry-dock / Shipyards in North Vancouver, where he works
to this day. Vinko married now Edita
Teresija and had two children, Ante Cvitanovic born June 13, 1979 and Martina
Cvitanovic born March 6th, 1982. (Cvitanovic 2003)
CVITKOVICH, ALEXANDER Priest
The
first cleric to become a member of the Redemptorist Order in America, Blessed
John Neumann professed his vows in St. James' Church, Baltimore, in 1842 to the
Very Reverend Alexander Czvitkovicz. Though the surname of Rev. Czvitkovicz is
Slavic in nature, the Redemptorist scholar, Rev. John F. Byrne, refers to Rev.
Czvitkovicz as a Hungarian who on March 11, 1841, arrived at Baltimore as
Superior of the American mission. It seems that the name Czvitkovicz might well
indicate one of the Slavic nationalities of Austria-Hungary and might not be
Hungarian per se. He is Croatian.
CVJETANOVIC, PERO Storekeeper
Pero
Cvjetanovic was born the oldest of five children to Vlaho and Mara (Marlais)
Cvjetanovic. His father (Clan name Knez)
was a farmer and trader of horses from neighboring Bosnia. Pero left Dalmatia, Croatia in 1906
emigrating to New York City. He worked
in various capacities including saloon owner (speakeasy) and later in the
grocery Business. He became an American
citizen in 1924. He married Frane Cvjetanovic, also from Parogovici, in 1929
following his only return trip to Dalmatia.
With Frane, he had three Chilren: Charles (Vlaho) born in March 1930;
Katherine (Kate) born in May 1932; and, Peter Born in January 1943. The family moved from the Croatian center of
New York City (10th Avenue) to the heavily Croatian city of West New York, New
Jersey in the late 30’s. Frane’s health
problems prompted a move to Fresno California in 1948. Fresno has many Dalmatian families and there
were former neighbors who convinced my parents to move west. Pero was employed as a storekeeper at the
county hospital. Pero died at the age of 70 (1960) of heart failure.
France was born the second of 16 children to Antun and Mare (Frankovic)
Vodupija. In 1929, she was 19, she first met and then married Pero
Cvjetanovic whose family lived about 200 yards from the Vodupija home in
Parogovici. In 1947, the entire family moved to Fresno California following a
brief visit with friends (the Lucich and Dubsich families) who has also
emigrated from Peljesac in the 1920’s. Frane lived in the same house in Fresno
for almost 35 years. Frane died in 1995,
at the age of 86 and is buried near her
husband, Pero, in Fresno, California.
DABELICH, NIKOLA Boxer
In
1909 Nikola Dabelich-Grmusko went to America. He spent his first 10 years in
Oakland. He was married to Ana Market-Pasa, with whom he had a son Nikola, who
to this day lives in Oakland. After their divorce he married Ana Milich-Kunich,
the widow of Karlo Kunich, while Ana married Fred Foster and had a son Mike.
From 1910 to 1920 Nikola was a professional boxer. He fought in Oakland, San
Francisco and other California cities under the name of "Papki". When
his boxing career ended he moved to Monterey, where he worked in a restaurant,
whose owners were Mljetan.
DABELICH, NIKOLA
Nikola
Dabelich-Gruje, born 1885 in Babino PoIje, Island of Mljet, Croatia went to
America in 1902. He married Kate Milich from Majkovi on March 22, 1922 in
Oakland, where he lived and worked. There they had two daughters, Annie and
Mary who both both died as children. After that the family moved to Monterey
where they had two more daughters, Olga born on March 24, 1927, and Zita, born
on October 12, 1932. Olga has married Nick Castelan and Zita married Tony
Ujdur.
DABELICH, PETER Restaurant-Hotel
Peter
Dabelich came to Oakland in 1906. He quickly acquired his own restaurant and an
additional two the following year. After that he became the owner of the hotel
"Sutters" in Oakland. His
first wife was Nike Hajdich of Babino Poije. He lived with her for five years.
They had a daughter Mary who died in 1987 in San Diego. His second wife Emilia
was of Portugese origin. In 1948 he sold all of his real estate, put the money
in the bank, freed himself of the daily responsiblities of work and then
travelled around the world. He also visited the island of Mljet.
DABOVICH, LOUIS Priest-Vatican Radio
Father
Louis Dabovich died at Mount Diablo
Hospital on March 24, 2001. Bishop John
Cummins, who delivered the homily at the March 28 funeral, said the Pittsburg
parish's name was an appropriate metaphor for its founding pastor. "He was
a strong shepherd, a good shepherdand sometimes a noisy shepherd" said the
bishop, with a chuckle. "He was a big, big personality, lively and very
intelligent" he added. "He was a man formed by great suffering. While
some people collapse under suffering, others grow through it. Home for Father
Dabovich was Kostanjica, Croatia, where he was born and grew up. He was sent to
Rome at age 16 to complete. his education. There he earned a doctorate in Church
history and was ordained a priest in 1946. But he could not retum to his
homeland because it had come under Communist control. He remained in Rome,
continuing his studies and landing a job as a broadcaster in the Croatian
language department of Vatican Radio. In 1948 he moved to the Bay Area and
lived year to year not khowing whether he would be able to return to Croatia,
Bishop Cummins said. Father Dabovich spent nine years as associate pastor at
San Francisco's Croatian Church of the Nativity, a parish for the Slavic
community. During that time he learned English. He later served as associate
pastor at St. Leander Parish, San Leandro; St. Bede Parish, Hayward, and Sacred
Heart Parish, Oakland, before being named founding pastor at Good Shepherd in
1965. In Pittsburg the priest, who had learned Italian during his years in
Rome, fit in well with the large Italian community there, Bishop Cummins said.
In a 1996 interview with The Voice, Father Dabovich Warmly recalled that the
community was ready for the challenge of forming a new parish. After setting up
a temporary chapel in a furniture store, 100 men spread out in the
neighborhoods to solicit pledges to build a new church. Even after 30 years the
priest foundly remembered the excitement of the men who returned to the parish
center with the pledges. "I'll never forget that'" he said. Father
Dabovich credited the parishloners for building the church in 1970 and a parish
hall 10 years later. He presided over the parish that grew into an
"international parish" of more than 2,500 families that included
Catholics of Filipino, Vietnamese, and Latino, descent. He retired from active
ministry in 1996 and continued to live on the parish grounds in an apartment
built for him by longtime parishioners. He will be missed, said Father Helmut
Richter, who succeeded Father Dabovich as pastor in 1997. "He made a
tremendous Impact in the community. He touched a lot of families through his
sacamental ministry and in the lives of numerous people over the years. In addition to his pastoral ministry, Father
Dabovich served as a judge of the diocesan marriage tribunal, member of the
Senate of Priests, chaplain to the Italian Catholic Federation, and moderator
of the National Council of Catholic Women, East Contra Costa Deanery. An 1985
he received the Benemerenti medal, established by Pope. Pius V111 for
"Outstanding service to the Church."
Catholic
Voice
Oakland,
California
April
9, 2001
DAIL, MARIJA (MILETIC) Animator
Marija,
a well-known film producer and animator, was born in Zagreb, Croatia on June 9,
1934. She earned a degree at the
University of Zagreb and a Master’s degree at UCLA. She worked at Zagreb Film starting in 1956. Moving to Canada, she found work as an
animator. Later, she settled in
Hollywood, freelanced for Disney Studios and did animation for Hanna-Barbera
Studios. She lectured briefly at UCLA,
Cal Arts and Los Angeles City College.
Marija won the “best of animation” award at an International film
Festival in Switzerland. A prolific
illustrator of books as well as an animator, Marija completed a feature film on
the legendary and mythical Pittsburgh steel worker “Joe Magarac-Man of
Steel”. She started her own studio,
“Animation Cottage”, producing several animated specials for the ABC
network. In 1995-96 she produced and
directed the series “Cave Kids” for Hanna-Barbera, which was acquired by
PBS. Marija’s recent endeavors include
the production and direction of a series of half hour shows of “Casper” for
Universal Studios.
DALEY, JOHN Music Song and Dance
John
Daley's grandfather, Ivan Matijevich, left Senj, Croatia as a stowaway in 1904.
Arriving in New York City, he worked his way down to Corinth, Mississippi, a
major railroad crossing. He set up a shoe repair business and bought a farm
nearby. Like many immigrants he anglicized his last name, choosing Benny. He
was joined in the USA, by his two brothers, Steve and Mike. Steve, his twin,
was a miner in Minnesota. Mike, his older brother, was a river pilot on the
lower Mississippi. Mike evidently returned to Croatia in later life. He married
August Maine Blankenship from an old Tennessee family and quickly had four
children. Carolina, John's mother, was the eldest child. After marrying Woodrow
Daley, they migrated to California in the 1950s. Carolina loved history, music,
and dance and shared her enthusiasms with John. Since her father, Ivan, died
when she was six, and many records were destroyed by fire in the family home,
Croatia was a special fascination for her. After moving to Berkeley,
California, Carolina joined the Slavonic Society in San Francisco and later
persuaded her son to join. John at the time was dancing with a Croatian dance
group in San Jose called Matija Gubec
Croatian Folklore Ensemble. Working with Adam Eterovich, John helped revive the
traditional festivals at the Slavonic Cultural center. In the Fall of 1987 the
first Marco Polo Festival was held
celebrating the Croatian heritage of the famous explorer from Korcula. Chinese
dance was performed with Croatian dance from Slavonia. John helped organize a
dance group to perform for the occasion, Slavonijo
Kolo Ensemble. In the Spring of 1988, the Poklada, or Croatian prelenten carnival, was revived. Aided by a
grant from the National Endowments for the Arts, traditional dances from Olib
Island, Korcula Island and Glamoc in present day Bosnia were revived. Slavonijo
Kolo Ensemble worked closely with the noted folklorist from UCLA, Elsie Dunin
to insure authenticity. Master musician, George Ruzich, also formed a
tamburitza orchestra to perform for the occasion, the Bay Area Tamburitza Orchestra. Slavonijo Kolo Ensemble went on to
perform Croatian dances from Dubrovnik, Istria, Bunjevacko, Krk, Korcula as
well as gypsy and Macedonian dances. The dance from Glamoc was chosen for
performance at San Francisco Ethnic dance festival. To provide music for
dancing, a musical ensemble was formed by John. It was soon called the Slavonian Traveling Band. John and
Betsy, his wife, learned the fundamentals of playing the tamburitza from George
Ruzich. Tamburitzas are long necked lutes, which come in different sizes,
shapes and numbers of strings. The Band also plays the instruments found on the
Dalmatian coast of Croatia, including the mandolin, mandola and guitar. As the
band's repertoire features Macedonian and Romany (gypsy) music, the often
include the sax, and the small drum or dumbek. The band began performing on
friday evenings at the Slavonic Cultural Center, and developed an extensive
repertoire. The Band also organizes multimedia performances under the title
"Ivo's Diaspora cabaret". These events are special programs which
encourage the participation of new immigrants. The band is in demand at
festivals, picnics and weddings throughout the Bay Area and has made three
recordings.
After
receiving a grant from the California Arts Council Traditional Arts programs,
John worked with ethnomusicologist, Rajna Klaser, to organize an ongoing music
series at the Slavonic Cultural Center featuring Master Artists of traditional
music and dance who lived in the USA featured among the master Artists were
Tommy Yeseta and the Yeseta Brothers
Orchestra as well as Alma Plancich and Binki Spahi with Ruze Dalmatinke. These Masters of
Croatian music were joined by Hungarian, Bosnian and Bulgarian artists in the
series. All of these performances have been digitally recorded with both audio
and video and will be made available on the webpage of the cultural committee
of the SMBS at www.slavonicweb.org.
DAMICH, EDWARD Federal Judge-Attorney-Professor
The
newly appointed judge of the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, Edward
Damich, was sworn in at a ceremony held last Friday ( January 1999). Judge
Damich, born in Pittsburgh fifty years ago, is of Croatian descent. His
parents, John and Josephine, provided him with the opportunity to study at
Columbia University, where he obtained his Ph. D. in law. In his inaugural
speech he said he was proud of his Croatian roots and thanked his parents and
family who taught him love and respect. The term of office of each of the 16
judges of the Federal Court of Appeals, one of the four federal courts directly
subordinate to the US Supreme Court, lasts 15 years. Edward Damich was an
advisor in the Senate's Judiciary Committee, a member of the US delegation to
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a university professor and
the first president of the National Federation of Croatian Americans (NFCA)
founded on January 2, 1994. At the official lunch held after the ceremony,
Judge Damich was congratulated by Miomir Zulul, the Croatian ambassador to the
United States, who was happy to wish him success in his future work as a
"representative of one of his two homelands." The celebration at the
Federal Court of Appeals was attended by, among others, George Radanovich, a congressman
of Croatian descent.
DAMJANOV, IVAN Professor-Doctor-Author
Ivan
Damjanov is a professor of pathology, Jefferson School of Medicine,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born March 31, 1941 in Subotica, Vojvodina; married
with three daughters, wife Andrea nee Zivanovic. Education includes Zagreb
School of Medicine 1964 with a specialty in pathology; Doctor of Sc in medical
sciences, Zagreb 1971; American Board of Pathology diploma 1975. Instructor at Department of Pathology, Zagreb
School of Medicine 1966-1974. Published Pathology of Infertility 1993;
Pathology of Human Germ Cell Neoplasia; more than 130 original articles and 85
clinical studies in the field of pathology, 32 review articles and 6
monographs. Member of American Association of Investigative Pathology;
US-Canadian Academy of Pathology; International Society of Differentiation.
DAMJANOV, ZVONIMIR Professor-Priest
Teacher
of Greek and Philosophy at the Diocesan Seminary, Immaculate Conception,
Springfield, Illinois. Born February 14, 1915 to Croatian parents in Chicago
Illinois. Education includes Classical Gymnasium, Split, Croatia, Graduate,
1933; School of Theology, Split, Croatia, Graduate, 1937; Croatian University,
Zagreb. S.T.L., 1940; Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, Ph.D., 1949. Major
field in Theology and Philosophy. Thesis: "Hervaei Natalis Doctrina de
Demons trab ilitate Infinitatis Dei in Perfectione et Vigore (Iuxtra
Quaestionem Hucusque Inediti iractatus de Cognitione Primi Principii) "
Gregorian University, Rome 1953.
DEDINSKY, ELEANORA Croatian Mother of California Wine
Agoston
Haraszthy in 1856 bought a vineyard in Sonoma and organized the Buena Vista
Winery. In 1861 he traveled to his homeland, Hungary, and other parts of Europe
and collected vines and trees for planting in California. His collection was
published by the State of California as a Catalogue of Vines and Trees.
Croatia
was a part of Austria and Hungary at that time. All cuttings were listed as
Hungary with a few from Illyria; others were listed by country. He was proclaimed
The Father of California Wine. Agoston Haraszthy was born on August 30, 1812 at
Futak, Backa, Vojvodina to a noble family. Vojvodina is not in Hungary, it was
a part of Austria and was ancient Croatian territory. In 1834 he married a
noblewoman, Eleonora Dedinsky, from Dedina. The Dedinsky coat of arms is
registered as Croatian arms. The
Haraszthy and Dedinsky arms are similar in design indicating relationship. A
genealogy Haraszathy shows related families of Horvat, Balasovich, Kubovich,
Burian, Halas; all found today in Croatia.
DEMARIA, PETER Sea Captain
Peter
Demaria was born on the Island of Vis, off the coast of Dalmatia in1876. The sea was his conduit to America and in
1905 Peter, who was an experienced sea captain, relocated to California. Peter’s heroic actions in saving his crew of
the Diamond in 1923 after a collision with the Indiana made him a respected
member of the community. The loss of the
Diamond occurred a year after his marriage to Lukra, nee Zankich in 1922. San
Pedro.
DEMEREC, MILISLAV Professor-Doctor
Dr.
Milislav Demerec, geneticist was born. on January 11, 1895 in Kostajnica. After
his education in Croatia he continued graduate studies in Grignon, France. He
arrived in America in 1919 and received his Ph.D. at Cornell University in
1923. Then he joined the research center of the Carnegie Institution at Cold
Springs Harbor, Long Island. From 1942 to 1960 Dr. Demerec was director of the
biological laboratories of the Long Island Biological Association in Cold
Springs Harbor and also taught at Columbia University. For years he did
research in antibiotics. He published many studies and scholarly articles in
the field of genetics. He was the editor of Advances in Genetics. In 1960 he
was appointed senior geneticist at Brookhaven National Laboratory at Upton,
Long Island. For his discoveries and contributions he received many awards and
honorary doctorates. He was also an honorary doctor of the University of Zagreb
and a member of the South Slav Academy in Zagreb. He died on April 12, 1966 in
Laurel Hollow, Long Island.
DEMETER, STEVEN Architect
Steven
Demeter has never been bored in his life, and that is not likely to change now
that he has retired from American Medicorp. Born in Croatia, Steve joined AHM
in 1981 and was vice president, facilities design and construction when he
retired in January. He directed all
hospital design related programs for AHM’s owned, leased and managed projects.
Steve received his advanced degree in architecture from the University of
Zagreb, Croatia in 1947. He was an assistant professor of the
university’s architecture department, and participated in the winning groups of
several national architectural competitions before emigrating to the United
States in 1954. During the 1950s and
1960s, Steve was a partner in leading architectural firms in Wisconsin and
California. While with these firms he
was responsible for all architectural phases of several multi-million dollar
projects, including apartment houses, schools, clinics, office buildings and
shopping centers. In 1970, he joined American Medicorp as project designer and
project architect for major hospital projects in four states. In January 1987,
the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects honored him with a
“Commendation” in recognition of his outstanding services to the profession of
architecture. As for Steve becoming bored in retirement, it isn’t likely. He enjoys music, having been an active
musician in his youth, camping, boating, horseback riding, skiing, hunting,
dancing and photography. AHM will miss steve’s daily presence, but he has left
a legacy of professionalism that will remain with the company for many years to
come. Better still, AHM will continue to benefit from his abilities in
construction managment in California, where he has set up shop in AHM’s Orange
office.
DEPOLO, ANTHONY Grocery Store
Anton
Depolo was born on March 7, 1892 on the island of Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia.
He had two brothers, Vincent and Jakov, and four sisters, Carmela, Rajka,
Vinca, and Frana. Korcula is considered to be the place where Marco Polo was
born, and it is believed that the Depolos, which lived on the island, are his
descendents. Prior to his death Anton and Brownie took two trips to Korcula. He
spent $2,500 to have a professional genealogist trace and connect the family to
Marco Polo who is supposed to have been born on the island. Shipbuilding was a major industry on the
island, and his father, Viko, was a blacksmith who worked in the shipbuilding
industry. According to Dusan Kalogjera, author of the book "Shipbuilding
in Korcula", Viko in the early 1900's
came to Tacoma, Washington to learn how to begin using more steel in the
construction of ships which up until that time were made mostly of wood. He
took one of his sons with him, Vincent, and left him in the United States.
Anton
went to Trieste to find work and eventually earned the money to take a ship to
the United States. He arrived in New York on Steamer ship "Carpathia of
Cunard Line" approximately Aug 22 1907, alien passport 910571/282. Anton
found his way to Oakland, California to join his brother Vincent, and got a job
washing dishes. Later he became a waiter at Louie's Mexican Grill. He then
bought a grocery store on 7th Street in Oakland with his partner, Milton Avila.
Later they sold that store and bought another on 71 st Street in Oakland just
off E. 14th Street. He later later
purchased a small store on Church Street at the end of Avenal in
Oakland. That was expanded, and he ran it for many years. He and his sons lived
in the small unit above the store. He
married Antoinette Ivaness in about 1913. She was also born on the Dalmatian
Coast in the Boka Kotor. She left Anton in about 1928 with the three younger
children: Frances, Mary, and Raymond. The four older children, Vincent,
Anthony, Eugene, and Milan, remained with Anton and were raised by him. Anton
was a small man, always well tanned, and always with a mustache. He raised
chickens on Lewelling Boulevard and sold eggs. His second wife
"Brownie" worked side by side with him from sun up until sun down
taking care of the chickens, gathering and sizing eggs. Brownie had a daughter
by her first husband whose name was Diane who lived with them. In the the
living room above the store he had hanging a flag with four blue stars, which
indicated how many of his sons were serving in the military during WW 11. Gold
stars were used for anyone who died in combat, and fortunately he had none of
those. On Thanksgiving Day feasts he and Brownie would prepare for the entire
family. The day usually started in the early afternoon with Anton and his sons
playing bocci, or sometimes horseshoes. It usually ended late in the same
evening with the same group playing poker or Pedro. Sometimes Frances's husband
Norm would join them for the card games. Anton had prepared the risotto, an old
country rice dish made with several whole chickens. After the salad course, we
would have the risotto, which was a meal in itself Then, Brownie would bring
out the turkey, always at least 30 pounds, Anton would carve it, and we were
ready for our second meal. Afierwards of course was pie, usually brought by the
daughters-in-law. Unfortunately, once the grandchildren started to come, and
Anton and Brownie got older, the annual Thanksgiving Day feasts came to an end.
That was a sad day in our household. Similar events were usually held on my
Anton’s birthday, March 7, and on Fathers Day. Anton was a member of the
Croatian Sokols of San Francisco in 1915 and a member of the Croatian Fraternal
Union 356 in Oakland in 1909. His brother, Vinko or Vincent, was also a
resident of Oakland and active in the Croatian Fraternal Union. Other members
of the Depolo clan from Korcula were up in the Amador mining gold and were
members of the Slavonian Society in San Francisco prior to 1900. He died on
October 9, 1971.
DEPOLO, GARY Corporate Vice President
Gary
Depolo was born on November 23, 1935 at Merrit Hospital in Oakland
California. His parents were Vincent and
Edith (Baldwin) Depolo both born and raised in Oakland. His grandfather was Anton Depolo who was born
on the Island of Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia, and came to the United States in
1907 when he was 15 years old. Gary was raised in Oakland until 1951 when he
and his family moved to San Lorenzo. He
attended San Lorenzo High when it first opened, and was a good student,
particularly in math and science. He was
also on the baseball anfootball team, and active in student government. He
received an athletic scholarship to play baseball at UCLA. He played there during his freshman and
sophomore years, but injured his kidney and had to give up his
scholarship. He enrolled in UCLA as an
engineering student, but didn't take to it and ended up majoring in business. He did well in accounting and business
classes, and actually passed the CPA exam while in his senior year. While at UCLA he met Carolyn Smyser, and
shortly after graduation and a six month tour with the Army they were
married. He entered UCLA in 1953,
graduated in June 1957, and was married in December 1957. Gary and Carolyn
immediately located to San Francisco where he went to work for Ernst &
Ernst, and she taught school. Carolyn's
career ended with the birth of their first son in 1959, followed by another in
1960 and a third in 1964. All three boys
later married and are presently located in the East Bay. They too have each had children, and today
Gary and Carolyn are the happy grandparents of five grandsons and one
granddaughter, ages ranging from one to ten. Gary worked for six years as a CPA
with Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young), and then left in 1963 to become
Assistant Treasurer of Transamerica Corporation. He had a very successful career there, and
retired in 1991 as Executive Vice President responsible for almost all of the
corporate staff. While at Transamerica, in addition to his staff
responsibilities, he was on the board of directors of all of Transamerica's
subsidiaries, and participated in almost all of Transamerica's acquisitions
that occurred while he was there. Since his retirement he has served as a board
member of Foster Farms Poultry Company, Crowley Maritime Company, Hexcel
Corporation, Standard Brands Paint Company, and Jones Sand Company. He has been involved as a volunteer with local hospitals for almost twenty years. Presently he is on the board directors and
chairman of the planning and development committee of Alta Bates Summit Medical
Center, which is the east bay acute care hospital of the Sutter Health
System. He also was on the board of directors
of Orinda Country Club, and served as President in 1994. Gary has a strong
Christian faith, and has served three terms as an Elder in the Presbyterian
Church. He meets regularly with
Christian men in small groups, and on many occasions has chaired fund raising
campaigns for his church. He is also a board member of the Lowell Berry
Foundation, a private foundation that benefits mainly other Christian
non-profit organizations.
DEPOLO, VINCENT Grocery Store-Sales
Vincent
was the oldest of seven, whose mother left the family when he was about eleven
years old leaving him to take care of his three
brothers while his Dad ran the store. His mother took his two sisters
and his youngest brother with her. At the time they lived above the store that
his father owned on 69th Avenue in Oakland, Californa. Vincent, married Edith
Baldwin on March 24, 1934. They had two
sons, Thomas Anthony, born September 7,
1937, and Gary. His family and older friends refer to him as Vinc. He was a
hard working man, who always provided for his family, and never was without a
days work. He began driving a milk wagon right out of high school for a man he
always referred to as "Pope", and later did the same thing for Golden
State Farms. He bought the grocery store from his father in about 1943 and did
that until he sold it in about 1954. Vincent took bookkeeping classes. He did
this so he would have a proper set of books for the store. He then ran a small store in Piedmont for a
year or two in about 1955, and then went to work for Arden Farms as a route
supervisor. Finally, he left there and went for to work for a friend at Quick
Stop Stores as a Vice President of Sales. Vincent loved sports, especially
golf. In high school he was a triple
threat single wing tailback with probably a pretty good arm and was called
"Bullet Arm Depolo". He golfed
almost every Wednesday and Sunday from the time he owned the store until he
retired. When he was young he played mostly at Chabot Municipal course in
Oakland, with occasional rounds at Alameda and the Hayward Muni courses. Since
retirement he has played 5-6 days a week, except for the year after his wife
died which left him uninterested for a while. He has had 15 hole-in-ones and
even at age 85 shot his age almost weekly. As mentioned above my he was one of
seven children. For a short time in 1994 all seven were in their 70's. He was catholic, and he says he was an altar
boy when he was young.
DERADO, IVAN Professor
Professor
Derado was born December 24, 1929 in Split, Dalmatia. His field is Physics, and is a graduate of
the University of Zagreb. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Munich in
1959. In 1970 he was a Associate Professor working at the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center, Stanford University. He has published in the areas of
physics and nuclear structure. He
presently resides in Stanford, California.
DERPICH, NICK Restaurant
A
cheerful and happy man, loved and respected by all who he ever met. He was born on the Island of Brac in
Dalmatia, Croatia and came to live in Watsonville at the age of 20 where he worked
with his brother on a ranch. He then moved to San Francisco, worked in
restaurants and joined the Slavonic Society July 3, 1921. He returned to Watsonville and with former
Slavonic member Peter Knego operated the Royal
Grill for 19 years. He then founded
and operated the Miramar Restaurant till
his retirement. Nick married Katie in 1928 and they were inseparable throughout
the years. They had a daughter Geri and
also raised a niece, Frannie Derpich Colendich.
Nick
was extremely proud of this Croatian roots and traditions and did his most to
promote our culture. Throughout the years he maintained close ties with his
native Brac and was active in helping others come to the US; sending money and
aid and tutoring them in English and helping them become US citizens. Nick was
a small man in stature but had a magnetic charm and personality always sporting
a great smile and sparkling eyes that set him apart from others.
DESPOL, ANTON Banker
Anton
Despol was born on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, in 1884. As a youth he migrated to the U.S. with his
father Ivo, son of one of the oldest Despalatovices of Split. They located in New York City. In 1899 Anton, leaving his father, temporarily,
returned to Dalmatia. He was immediately conscripted into the old Austrian
Navy, where he spent four years in the Engineering Deptartment. In 1901 he returned to America joining his
father who, in the meantime, had located in Southern California and San
Pedro where he engaged in the insurance business. Recently he became Slavic representative of
the Bank of America. He was organizing
Chairman of the Los Angeles Branch, Slavonic organizing chairman of the Los
Angeles Branch, Slavonic Alliance of California, and is an active member of
that and other Croatian organizations. He was president of the Dalmatian Club
of San Pedro, of which he is past president.
Anton Despol is a banker who makes chemistry his hobby. He is
married and the father of one son John, aged 21.
DEVCICH-DAVIS, JOHN
Goldminer-Saloon-Restaurant-Farm
John
Davis was born in the village of Sumartin on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia,
Croatia. September 20, 1825. There he
resided for the first eleven years of his life, when he took up the labors of a
sailor, proceeded to Trieste, and afterwards with an uncle, to
Constantinople. From the City of
Constantinople he found his way to Odessa, in the Black Sea, whence sailed down
the Mediterranean to Marseilles in France, where, taking on board a cargo of
wheat, a return to the Adriatic was made.
The next cruise was along the ports on the Northern Coast of Africa,
and, touching at the island of Cyprus, loaded with wine and sailed for Trieste,
whence he once more found himself in Turkey’s capital; and finally loading
wheat at Odessa for Liverpool. From this
last port our subject visited the Cove of Cork, in the south of Ireland, when
he went to Ardossan, Scotland, then back to the Black Sea; subsequently to
Naples, Genoa, the Black Sea, and Belfast. He shipped on board a British ship
bound for Rio de Janeiro. This was in
1837. He there left his ship, and, after
a month, proceeded to China and Liverpool returning to the Celestial Empire--
in short, he made eight voyages in all between China and England. He then shipped in Liverpool for New Orleans, in 1838, returning to
England in the Spring of 1840. He then
engaged in the China trade until the discovery of gold in California, when he
came to the Pacific Coast in the ship Antelope, arriving in San Francisco on June 16, 1849. Mr. Davis almost immediately proceeded to the
mines at Auburn, on the American River, Placer County, but at the end of three
months forsook the pick and rocker and established a pack-train between
Sacramento and the mines for the purpose of supplying the gold-seekers with
groceries. Ill-luck now commenced to
make itself felt. Our subject was
stricken with mountain fever; during his illness his mules were stolen, and on
final recovery, so disgusted was he, he gave a Mexican his packing fixtures,
and started to the Mariposa Mines, ultimately returning to Stockton and San
Jose, The Mission Dolores and San Francisco.
Between the last two points naught prevailed but a wild wilderness,
through which he passed on foot, his horse having been stolen. Here he met several wagons laden with victims
of cholera, which was an epidemic during the summer of 1850. After remaining three months in San
Francisco, he erected a house on what is now Commercial Street, and opened a
restaurant and lodging house, the Miner’s Exchange Saloon at 6 Commercial
Street in 1851. In 1851 he sold out and
came to his present residence in Contra Costa County where he owns four hundred
and forty-two acres of land. He marred a girl from Scotland and had a large
family. Married in Oakland, this being the first wedding of Westerns to take
place in that city, Anna Connor, a native of Scotland, and has six surviving
children, viz: Frank, John, Geovienia, Connor, Mary, and William. Mr. Davis, and his son John are members of
the Society of California Pioneers.
DEVLAHOVICH, ANTON Fisherman
Most
of the boats Anton owned on the Pacific Ocean carried the name of his own
hometown, Bol, on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia.
Born on March 15, 1884, as a child he was introduced to the hardship of
a fisherman’s life and the dangers of the sea.
From the Bering Sea, to Cape Flattery, then to California and Mexico
were Anton’s yearly routes. But his
greatest success was his family. In 1913
in Tacoma, Washington he asked for the hand of Kate, nee Pakusich. Five children were born to them: John,
Dobrila, Vicko, Jelka (Eleanor), and Zlatica (Goldy). San Pedro.
DIMTER, VJEKOSLAV Tamburitza Music-Song
Writer
A
native of Osijek, Croatia, Vjekoslav ('Vjeko') began studying music at an early
age. He was an active member of the Milica Krizan Folk Dance Ensemble of
Osijek. While touring North America with this group, Vjeko auditioned for and
was accepted by the Duquesne University Tamburitzans of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Vjeko has proven to be a great influence in our culture, helping
to improve the quality and diversity of our music. He has written approximately
50 songs, many of which are performed by tamburasi throughout the United
States. The Jerry Grcevich Orchestra, Boduli, Peter Kosovec, Sarmeri, Gazde,
and Slanina perform songs for which Vjeko contributed the lyrics. Vjeko is an
accomplished musician, exceptionally talented on bugarija and guitar. In
addition to writing and playing music, Vjeko has also helped many tamburasi
produce CDs and audio recordings, including Boduli's 'Ti dobro znas', Sianina's
'Vrijeme za spek' and Harmonia's 'Ciganska krcma: In a Gypsy Cafe'. While
living in Zagreb, Croatia, Vjeka achieved great success as a composer and
performer. In 1997, he was awarded the equivalent of a Grammy for his song 'U
snu i ljubavi', performed by the popular group Gazde. He also collaborated with
the Croatian pop band Sarmeri on two albums and was critically acclaimed for
his musical and lyrical talents. Vjeko currently lives in Philadelphia with his
wife Lisa and plays bugarija with the Jerry Grcevich Orchestra of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
DIOMARTICH, FELIX Priest
In
the 77-year existence of St. Anthony's Croatian parish in Los Angeles,
Monsignor Felix Diomartich has been its pastor for 36 years, half of his life
and longer than any previous pastor. During those long years, he dedicated his
outstanding capabilities to the spiritual and temporal growth of St. Anthony’s
parish and its parishioners. At the time of his retirement on August 18th,
1986, the parish was situated in an excellent financial condition as well as
the entire facilities: the Church, the parish haIl, the new rectory, a house
for the Sisters and two parking lots. St. Anthony's parishioners gratefully
acknowledge Monsignor Diomartich’s dedicated and unselfish service, and wish
him good health and a very active retirement. At the same time they express
their warm congratulations on the occassion of the 50th anniversary of his
ordination to the priesthood which will be celebrated in St. Anthony's Church
on Sunday, August 9th, 1986 with a Thanksgiving Mass at 10 O'clock followed by
a reception in the parish hall.
DIVANOVICH, PETER Restaurant
Peter
Djivanovich-Barisa went to California in 1905. He was the coowner of two
restaurants, the first with Baldo Haidich and the other with Nikola Lazo. He
was joined in 1910 by his brothers, Ilija-Zigerica and Nikola-Sarko. Ilija
Djivanovich-Zigrica first worked in Oakland, then moved to Monterey. In Monterey he lived with the family of Nikola
Dabelich-Gruje, worked with them in their restaurant and he never married.
Petar Djivanovich Barisa returned to live in Babino PoIje after the end of the
First World War. There he built a new house and got married.
DIVIZICH, PETER Vineyard-Fruit
This
is a testimonial to the American Dream. It is the story of a young Croatian
emigrant who came to America in the 20's and single-handedly parlayed a
passport and a few hard earned dollars into a multimillion dollar vineyard
empire of national and international. fame.
His
name is Peter John Divizich, a legendary figure in California's San Joaquin
Valley, one who turned a wasteland of sand and tumbleweed into a productive
farmland and left an indelible imprint on the progress of American agriculture.
Peter,
or Pete, as he is generally known, was born on June 16, 1897, in the small
village of Gruda in Konavle, east of Dubrovnik, in the Republic of
Croatia.
As
a boy, Peter Divizich had been the proud possessor of a subscription to four
Croatian newspapers, a gift of a generous uncle. Peter read avidly, acquainting
himself with the events happening in his homeland and in the world, in general.
From his youthful perspective, certain English speaking countries appealed to
him. Now, at home, the dream took shape. He would go, God willing, to either
Canada, New Zealand, Australia or America.
He
decided on America. Others of his nationality had gone there and had made out.
There had been letters.
In
such fashion did a 23 year old Croatian emigrant climb down the gangplank from
the steamer that slid past the Statue of Liberty on a cold November day and
docked in New York. There was a dream of vineyards ... and Westward was the
dream.
With
that train ticket, his savings and his passport, the man and his suitcase
arrived in Watsonville, California, in 1921. It was for awhile. Watsonville, at
that time, boasted a population of about ten thousand people. Of them,
thirty-seven hundred were Croatians. In
the few years that Peter worked there he was literally at home. Peter was
popular with his employer and Croatian friends. He became a member of the
Croatian Fraternal Union Branch 352. By modern standards, laboring pay was low
in Watsonville in the 20's. An indication of that was Peter's decision to leave
Watsonville in the Spring of 1923 to accept a job at the large Irvine Ranch in
Orange County in Southern California. He had read in the paper that one job as
tree surgeon at $3.50 was eventually available. Peter applied for the job; he
got it.
In
the fall of 1924, he journeyed to Porterville in the great Central San Joaquin
Valley. A year of earnings as foreman at the local Rosecrest Ranch, added to
what he had already saved, served as down payment on a thirty acre deciduous
orchard northwest of town. The expenditure was $1000 down payment. Peter
Divizich, the Croatian emigrant, had his land on which to anchor his dream, the
grapevines that would multiply until they would one day become one of the
largest vineyards in the world.
The
heartland of California is the Great Central Valley. Geographically, it is
divided into two great regions: the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.
Peter
Divizich's choice of that area for conquest is understandable. There was a
small colony of Croatians who were trying a hand at farming and who could make
him feel at home. On his thirty acres on the northwest side of town, Peter
Divizich, the immigrant, took his stand.
On the ten acres of the bare land he planted cantelopes, watermelons,
cotton and vegetables. He marketed the returns himself in the neighboring towns
along with the produce of other ranchers. He tore up the ten acres of
non-productive prune and peach trees and replaced them with a vineyard. The
planting of those first grapes was to signal a forty-two hundred acre spread of
table and wine grapes in time. Nonetheless, Peter's efforts began to pay off
gradually. He was marketing his dried fruit, prunes and raisins, in nearby
Fresno. He was selling his other produce, along with that of neighboring
ranchers, in Los Angeles. Others recognized that the Divizich knowledge of
marketing methods paid financial dividends. To meet transportation demands,
Peter bought trucks on credit.
From
1928 to 1929 the years were good to Peter Divizich. Aside from his own ranch
products, Peter leased land and sold fruit, prunes and raisins, dried in the
open air beneath the hot San Joaquin sun. He shipped the crops to Los Angeles
and Sacramento at good market prices.
Peter
Divizich was beginning to command attention by those with a stake in Valley
farming. With his ranching profits, Peter considered a new project. The volume
of business in produce and dried fruit that he was handling convinced him that
newer, quicker methods of drying were in order. He was looking forward to the
building of a dehydrator plant in the San Joaquin Valley. His reasoning was
right. The fruit drying process would be quicker, would profitably speed
delivery to markets. It was more sanitary than the old method of drying prunes
and raisins in the open fields.
His
proposal to build a dehydrator plant would have invited a few skeptics even in
good times. To attempt such a venture in the Depression would seem to most an
impossibility. Peter Divizich had three things going for him: his power of
persuasion, his friends and his past performance.
Peter
had become a well-liked member of the Porterville Chamber of Commerce. He was
also an active member of the local Farm Bureau. Peter Divizich turned to his
friends in Porterville with his idea of a dehydrator plant. He asked for
support, arguing the practical merits and the value of a fruit dehydrator in terms
of the Valley's future. People listened. Peter's friends came to his support in
the construction of his dehydrator project. The dehydrator for drying Valley
fruit successfully reached completion in the summer of 1930. At that time it
contained two tunnels, fed by electricity and gas, through which the fruit
passed in the drying process. Whereas it had taken twenty days to process
prunes and golden bleach raisins in the past, it would now take approximately
10 to 16 hours. Peter had demonstrated the latter qualities. He continued to
capitalize on them profitably. He moved his own fresh fruit to the markets in
Los Angles and San Francisco. He contracted to prune the local orchards, to
pick the fruit and to market it, along with his own. There were dividends from
his sale of fruit and of other produce. His golden bleached raisins found a
fair market in England. Rosenberg Brothers' Dry Fruit Company and Del Monte
Corporation in Fresno, California, were his dry fruit outlet. He delivered to
them prunes, raisins and peaches, dried in his Porterville dehydrating plant.
Rosenberg Brothers Dry Fruit Company in Fresno helped him in that direction.
They were in the business of processing dried fruit, crating it and delivering
it to national outlets and to such international markets as the United Kingdom
and the Scandinavian countries. They struck a bargain with Peter. They would
agree to a mortgage on his 400 tons of bleached raisins at $35-00 a ton.
However, there was a condition attached to the transaction. He had to purchase
a 160 acre ranch that they owned in Poplar, west of Porterville. They would
offer $3,500 as down payment.
On
May 18, 1934, Peter Divizich became a citizen of the United States. It was a
proud moment for him. The years of night school and study had paid off. The
independent Croatian emigrant farmer, Peter Divizich, now citizen in 1934,
would never lose his love of Croatia. No one ever does. He would, however, make
no mean contribution to the land that was now providing his living. It would be,
largely, a legacy of grapes that would boost American agricultural economy. In
1934 Peter bought another 42 acres, comprised of prunes, peaches and oranges.
He planted 24 acres in grapes.
Peter
constructed buildings along Porterville's Main Street during 1936 and 1937.
They still stand today, visible evidences of his foresight and of the profit
that they brought to himself personally and to the town. Peter's new building
put it squarely into the 20th century. If Peter Divizich was engaged in
building in 1937, he, assuredly, was not neglecting his primary occupation,
that of ranching. He purchased another 160 acres of land in Delano, located
some 25 miles southwest of Porterville in the vicinity of Tulare County. His
new acquistion added up to 60 acres of peach orchard and 100 acres of bareland.
He
purchased another 160 acres in Delano later in 1939. He planted that in grapes
also. So began the Delano chapter of Peter Divizich's ranching career. The
Delano area, along with ranch land in Ducor to the northeast, eventually were
to serve as the primary base for the operations of the P.J. Divizich Fruit
Corporation. The two initial parcels of grapeland planted in Delano became part
of the largest vineyard in the world which was owned and developed by one man.
As
Peter states it, with the growth of his Delano enterprise, by the late 60's he
had expended over a million dollars in just leveling land in the Delano Ducor
area. Further, he had laid approximately 70 miles of irrigation pipe line,
along with pumps, costing over a million dollars. In addition, he had
constructed over 70 miles of private roads.
At
any rate, the years 1938 and 1939 saw Peter launched into a vineyard career of
considerable magnitude. He would continue growing and marketing cotton and
deciduous fruit. His golden bleached raisins would be dried in his Porterville
dehydrator to which he added another drying tunnel by this time. If his
investment was to grow, as it did, to 3500 acres, that fact is understandable,
considering the nature of the man.
During the war years that ended with the surrender of Germany and Japan
in 1945, Peter worked his holdings, expanding his vineyards and shipping his
dried fruit to American markets and to the European war areas. The volume of
production from his acreages persuaded Peter to rent a packing house in Delano.
Following the construction of the Ducor Packing Plant, Peter built three
warehouses in which to store his fruit while awaiting transportation to major
markets. Meanwhile, his golden bleach raisins and dried prunes continued their
sales abroad in the United Kingdom and in the Scandinavian countries.
In
1947 Peter was supervising a ranching business that had grown to approximately
1200 acres, chiefly vineyard.
However,
in 1947 Peter was not thinking merely in terms of standard shipment of grapes.
He had another idea. He decided to build his own self-contained storage plant
in Ducor to service his grape territory. His motive was entirely practical.
Cold storage of grapes can provide two important benefits to the grower:
extension of the markeing period or relief of market congestion.
Peter
had the largest vineyard and orchard operation as an individual in California.
Peter was raising twenty commercial varieties of grapes and was experimenting
with fifteen other types. His Crystal grapes, an early, sturdy, white fruit,
which he had experimentally developed over seven years, were finding popular
markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. With the California Fruit Exchange acting
as his marketing agency, Peter was selling his grapes widely throughtout the
United States. The Divizich "Highland" brand was being shipped to
Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Manila, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Costa Rica and
other South and Central America countries.
The
P.J. Divizich vineyards are operated as a fully integrated enterprise involving
the growing, storing, shipment and marketing of a wide variety of grapes. The
vineyards are located on approximately 5500 acres of ground (4300 acres
presently planted to vineyards.) The operations are served by complete packing
house and cold storage facilities. A rural community consisting of dormitories,
multiple unit homes and single farm houses are all located on portions of the
property. An extensive maintenance shop to provide for all normal requirements,
including major mechanical overhauls of the extensive fleet of farm equipment,
including tractors, trucks and buses all owned and operated by the ranch, is
also owned and operated on the property. Twenty-seven major irrigation wells
with production averaging 100 gallons per minute each are available for service
of water through an extensive system of irrigation pipelines to allow service
of water to the total acreage. All lands are connected by the ranch pipe-lines
excepting a block of 260 acres located within and served by the Delano
-Earlimart Irrigation District.
DJUROVICH, KARLO Artist
Karlo Djurovich was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia in
1945. In 1969 he graduated from the National Academy of
Pedagogy for Graphic arts in Zagreb. In 1972 he established his own
atelier in Dubrovnik and began work on serographs and tapestries. Mr. Djurovich
is represented in public and private collections in Croatia, Greece, Italy,
France, West Germany, Switzerland, Holland, England, Finland, Israel, Canada,
Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Mexica, Australia and the United States. A
well-traveled, meticulously cultured gentleman, hand-weaver of Medieval and
Abstract tapestries, fresco-painter, cat-lover, cook, and gypsy, has come to
Sacramento looking for congeniality, new horizons and a saner, more
balanced lifestyle that he found in
San Francisco, his first American home. In October, 1983, Mr. Djurovich
established his own Atelier in Sacramento, California, where he is now a permanent
resident.
DOMANCICH, SAM Fisherman-Combat
Correspondent-Teacher
We've
been enjoying Sam Domancich's columns in the newspapers for six years. With
humor and love, he recalls the lives of friends, relatives and his particular
ethnic group, the Croatian community in San Pedro, California which arrived
here early in the last century, labored and often prospered in the fishing
industry. Sam, his brother Matty (Kuzma) and sister Nellie attended the local
schools, and, notably, Sam was elected president of the student body at Dana
Junior High School. He served in the Army during the Korean War as a combat
correspondent, returned to work in a variety of jobs, including longshoreman,
cannery worker and commercial fisherman, and graduated from Long Beach State
College in 1955 where he was captain of the track team. He taught high school
English and Journalism for eight years and was a Child Welfare, and Attendance
Counsellor for 21 years. Through all these years he participated
enthusiastically in sports and also wrote sports articles for the San Pedro
High School Fore 'n'Aft, the San Pedro News Pilot and the Long Beach Press
Telegram. In 1956 he married "wonderful, patient" Jackie Chutuk and
they have three children: Mike, Danny and Susanna; and three grandchildren:
Hayley, Holly and Hannah. He retired in 1987 and moved back to his hometown San
Pedro in 1996. (Baker 2002)
DOMICH, ANNA 101 Years Old
Mrs.
Anna Domich of Oakland, California will celebrate her 101st birthday on
February 11, 1956. She came to this country from the Island of Vis, Dalmatia,
Croatia in 1922 and has lived in Oakland since then with her youngest daughter,
Mrs. Peter Cengia. She has six other children still in Croatia. And there are 36 grandchildren, 23
great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren. The children are Mrs.
Domich’s greatest interest, her family reports, and she annually spends a few
weeks at the home of her granddaughter, Mrs. George E. Vance, 179 Arena St.,
San Lorenzo, to be near Kathy Vance, 3, and George, 5. Great numbers of picture
books overcome the language barrier between then youngsters and Mrs. Domich,
who speaks only her native Croatian. Her birthday will be celebrated quietly
tomorrow at the Vance home, with only immediate members of the family
attending.
DOMICH, DINKO Restaurant
Justice
Scotland is the grandson of Dinko Domic of the village of Lozisca on the island
of Brac and Anna Cervoni, also of Brac. Dinko Domic came to the United States
in1910 and his wife, Anna, followed him in 1913. He worked first as a miner in
Minnesota and in Colorado. Then he went to work in the kitchen of the Brown
Palace Hotel of Denver in 1914. Justice Scotland's mother, Matilda, was born in
Denver in 1914. In 1921 the family Domich moved to Lodi, California and later
to Sacramento. Dinko Domich worked as a chef in various restaurants and clubs
in Sacramento, and at one time owned and operated his own eating establishment,
The Market Cafe, located at 14th and J Streets, in Sacramento. Justice
Scotland's grandparents died in the 1960's. His mother resides in Sacramento.
DOMINIS, JOHN Sea Captain
John
Dominis, son of Captain Dominis-Gospodnetich, grew up in Hawaii in the 1840's
and 1850's. His father is said to be
from the Island of Brac in Dalmatia, or have originated from there. Captain Dominis was an early pioneer to the
Oregon and Washington Coast in the 1830's as a whaling ship captain. On September 16, 1862 the son, John, married
Miss Lydia K. Paki who became the last Queen of Hawaii, Oueen Liluiokalani. John became the prince Consort. There is a large boulevard named after
Dominis in Hawaii.
DOMINIS-GOSPODNETICH, JOHN
In
the 1830’s Dominis-Gospodnetich operating out of Hawaii barreled and shipped
the first salmon out of the state of Washington to the Eastern United States
and established the Salmon Trade. His son John Dominis-Gospodnetich married an
Hawaiian princess who became the last queen of Hawaii-Queen Lilioukalani and
Dominis-Gospodnetich became the King-Consort.
DOMITROVICH, STEPHANIE Judge
Stephanie
Domitrovich was born and raised in the Western Pennsylvania town of Aliquippa
in Beaver County. Her mother escaped Nazi occupation in Greece and immigrated
to the United States, where she met Stephen Domitrovich, a World War 11 veteran
and owner of a small grocery and soda shop. Stephanie and her younger brother
literally grew up in the store, waiting on customers and serving coffee. After
graduating from Quigley High School, Stephanie enrolled at Carlow College,
where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1976. Following graduation, she enrolled
at the Duquesne University School of Law, where she met her husband of 22
years, Attorney Ron Susmarski. After graduation from Duquesne in 1979,
Stephanie began practicing law in Erie. After practicing law for eight years
and serving as Assistant Co-unty Solicitor for Erie County, Stephanie heard the
call to public service and embarked on a campaign for judge of the Common Pleas
Court in Erie County. Judge Dpmitrovich shocked the establishment by going
door-to-door and person-to-person to win a huge upset. She was overwhelmingly
retained for another 10-year term in 1999. Judge Stephanie Domitrovich has
served both as a Family Court Judge of the Family/Orphan's Court Division of
Erie County. She is currently assigned to hear civil and criminal, cases as a
judge in the Trial Division of the Common Pleas Court. Stephanie Domitrovich is
the only judge in Pennsylvania to hold two masters degrees from the National
Judicial College, where she is also a faculty member. She also serves her
community as an educator at Penn State Behrend. Judge Stephanie Domitrovich and
her husband are the proud parents of two teenage boys. Her civic and community
involvement includes bringing school children to the courthouse to conduct mock
trials to learn more about how the courts work for them. She hosts "Meet
Your Judge" for citizens to understand how the courts serve their everyday
needs. Judge Domitrovich conducts reading programs in local elementary schools.
She serves on the Board of Directors at Gannon University and belongs to the
American Association of University Women, and she is a volunteer for the Girl
Scouts of America. "For 12 years as a Common Pleas Court Judge,"
Judge Domitrovich said, " I have worked to demonstrate that judges serve
as leaders. We work with our communities to set the standards for right and
wrong, to hold those who harm us accountable and to protect those who are
vulnerable. As Superior Court judge, I want to continue to serve
Pennsylvania."
DONICH, VICTOR Construction-Logger
Victor
Donich was born April 26, 1940 in Aberdeen to Victor "Mike" and Marie
(Gateson) Donich. As a youngster, he attended St. Mary's School in Aberdeen,
Washington and was an altar boy. He also attended Aberdeen High School. Victor
Donich was the owner of the Norwest Construction Co. on the Harbor. Before that
he worked in logging, including seven years in Alaska, and the house-moving
business. He was a member of the Croatian Fraternal Union Zrinski Frankopan
Lodge 271 in Aberdeen. He was known as an expert clam digger and a creative woodworker.
He had many projects and spent countless hours doing home remodeling. Victor
Cyril "Skip" Donich died on
October 24, 2001, in Aberdeen. He was 61. He is survived by his mother
Marie Yeary and Aunt Rosemary Gateson Barker and many cousins. A brother
Kenneth, died before him.
DORCICH, STEPHEN Farm-Real Estate
Stephen
Dorcich, beloved husband of the late Mary Dorcich; loving father of Stephen N.
Dorcich, Mrs. Lucille Tersigni, Mrs, Helen Pavicich and Mrs. Mary Ellen
Czarnecki, all of San Jose, California; dear brother of Louis Dorcich of
Saratoga, Mrs. Mary Amstutz of San Jose and the late Roy L.Dorcich; devoted
grandfather of 10 grandchildren; a
native of Croatia; aged 66; a member of the National Association of
Realtors a lifetime director of the California Association of Realtors, past
president of the San Jose Real Estate Board, past president of the National
Farm and Land Brokers, The Farm Bureau, Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara
Pear Growers Association. Stephen Dorcich died March 27, 1977 in a plane
accident in the Canary Islands.
DRAGICEVICH, MATT City
Councilman-Produce Business
On
the Island of Hvar, Dalmatia in the Adriatic, old men drink slivovitz by
salt-spackled driftwood fires. Bridging decades, they sometimes talk of the
Dragicevich family who were smugglers, mostly, but olive oil and grape people
too. They recall the Dragicevich boy who
sent across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to America. And how he, too, had
boys and one, Matthew, grew to own a fine business and good gun dogs and sits
high in the councils of a shining desert city.
They wonder how such things come to be in those fable States-from
breaking laws to making them in shot years. That boy Matthew is the produce magnet and a city councilman in
Palm Springs. he is flat-bellied and just over
middlesized. He has Popeye forearms and
a Coalshovel chin. He wears a neat but
not gaudy peper-and-salt mustache. he’s
a fine wing shot, a tireless hunter, and a man for a fish to reckon with. He has become the most discussed figure in
the city. As a topic of conversation, he’s head and head with the weather and
two lengths in from of whatever is third.
In the most recent impartial survey, he is shown to pull more words
daily than Sinatra, sex and one-way streets combined. “He’s a whirling
dervish.” There is much opinion but
little agreement concerning Matt. Except
that everyone calls him by his first name to keep from tripping on their own
uvulas. Some think him the the greatest advance since tree surgery. “He browbeat the council into zoning his own
land his way.” “He led us into
incorporation and out there and saved us from blighted environs.” “He has brilliance, sometimes genius.” “His story is really yet to be told-he hasn’t
come into his own yet.” His father, a Dalmatian of outsize strength and
proportion, landed in San Francisco in ‘98.
He moved on to Los Angeles after the fire and quake. Throughout his life in the States he was a
master painter for Southern Pacific railroad.
Matt
was born in 1916, the second youngest of three girls and two boys. He grew up in the Boyle Heights district
which, then, wasn’t such a strange place for a boy to become a gun and dog man.
He ranged the foothills winter and summer, usually with his kid sister as a
companion. Often, he cached his 15-cent
lunch allowances, walked five miles to the old Army and Navy store at Fifth and
Main, and blew his poke on shotgun shells.
They were a penny apiece, any gauge, and shot. Later, he invested in a
bike and, for awhile, held the sprint record at the Winter Garden. Telegrams came straight from the key then and
Matt delivered them-sometimes 10 or 15 miles per message. Graduation from
Roosevelt High coincided with the loud pop of the Stock market plug and the
gurgle of the economy going down the drain.
It was raining brokers on Spring street and Matt’s father went on a
two-day week at the shops. Like most
across the nation, the Dragicevich kids went to work or out on their own. To
Matt, it was a good time to see the elephant and eat his ears. He was of a good age to hear the owl hoot. For
four years, he bummed the world.
Alaska. The China Coast. South America. Europe.
Dockhand. Stowaway. From Boston to New York on a three-master
carrying potatoes. Apprentice gunner on
a whaler off the Pacific Coast. Come
quick periods of schooling around the Bay area, studying engineering. the Embarcadero picket lines during the
waterfront strikes. A lad called Ballbat
Brennan was banging out base hits on enemy skulls in those gentle days. (Come to think of it, with Juan Marical
playing Batman up there now, San Francisco has come full circle.) Next, a
quieter period, working steel in Los Angeles and San Francisco. When the war
came, Matt was working on dry docks in Chavez Ravine. He married Virgie Osa
Arnold about then, a railroad man’s daughter who grew up in the Indian Nation
of Oklahoma. They both went to China Lake at the inception of Cal Tech’s
rocket-testing installation there, Matt as a draftsman and Virgie, so help me,
in charge of the powder magazines.
Later, Matt was a project engineer on the final tests of the proximity
fuses for the atom bomb. “If a man ever had the help of a good wife, Matt
has.” “There’s a fine lady and a bright
one.” “For every pound of produce he’s thrown, she’s thrown a ton.” Matt is her
greatest admirer. No one knows more
surely, or speaks more often, of her strong an pleasant role. During the China
Lake period, he more or less backed into the produce business, pantering his brother-in-law
in the Redlands Produce Company. In
1947, he came to Palm Springs and, with Warren Coble, opened a branch. They worked out of a tin warehouse on Section
14, where the Spa Hotel now stands.
Shortly, Matt sold Redlands, bought our Coble, and opened a Tahoe
Branch. He worked his trade. Six nights a week, at midnight, he climbed
into his truck and pounded the road to the Los Altos produce market. Virgie kept the books and ran the dock. Matt did the selling then and sells now.
Prospering, he bought 40 acres in a cone just off Highway 111, burned the
warehouse by the Indian Springs, and moved headquarters. Matt and Virgie have
always lived in trailers. With no
children of their own, they helped raise two nephews and saw then to college. Both boys have since served in Viet Nam as Seabees.
Matt had energy left over. He parlayed
it into more businesses, civic endeavors, and politics. He’s a partner in 750 acres of prime Jackson
Hole hay land. He had a run at the
shrimp business in Mexico. He talked
Frank Bogart into running and managed his council campaign. He was the powder charge behind the
successful elections-at-large drive. In
the first such election, two and a half years ago, he bought a Stetson with a
pheasant band a leat in, in his own name.
He campaigned mightily and won one of the two seats open. He defeated, among others, well-entrenched
and popular Ten McKinney. Seated on the council, Matt exploded into
prominence. He became a gadfly and a
goad. He was sometimes bombastic,
sometimes effective. Mouths sagged or
wagged. Blood pressures rose into the
paint numbers. Bull churned. Matt talks
well, often and much. In turn, they talk
about Matt-his role, influence and future. “He’ll be our best asset of a
flop.” “He’s and instant expert on
everything.” “Matt has to be the center,
he can’t be left out.” “Where else can
we get drive and spirit like that” “He
never knows what he’s going to say until he hears himself.” So it’s love-hate. It’s rising interest in the promise of this
vitality and versatility. “He’s got guts
enough to go against the general public when he thinks they’re wrong.”
Recently, he was asked if he’s bucking for mayor. He said, “Absolutely not.” He
didn’t even smile.
DRAGICEVICH, NESAN J. Writer-Accountant
Of
Oakland and San Francisco, California, Public Accountant and writer, was born
in Trpanj, Dalmatia, Croatia, on September 6, 1894. Early in the year 1898 his parents moved to
San Francisco where he obtained his early education. Moving to Oakland to reside after the great
earthquake and fire in San Francisco in the the year 1906. He graduated for the
Polytechnic College of Oakland in the year 1917, and from the San Francisco
Institute of Accountancy in the year 1925.
His first articles on History, Sociology, and Economics were published
in many of the large American journals and magazines and recopied by reviewers
in America, Europe and South America. He has also contributed to many of the
greatest American publications on Accounting and Finance, and delivered many
lectures on a variety of economic and liberal subjects in all of the principal
cities of the Pacific Coast. In Croatia his biography is included in “Zasluzni
i Znameniti Hrvati, Godine 925 do 1925,” and in the “Narodna Enciklopedija” of
which the noted scholar Stanojevic was the chief editor, In the year 1932 he was honored with the
Order of the Crown of Jugoslavia.
DRAGICEVICH NESAN, MARY Croatian
Activities
Mrs.
Nesan, who lived at 512 Crofton Avenue, Oakland, California was a native of
Trpanj, Dalmatia, Croatia. She came to
San Francisco in 1898 and moved to Oakland in 1906. Her late husband, John, was
the son of Manda Kacich, member of the Croatian royal family. In 1932 Mrs.
Nesan’s son, James, Oakland accountant and writer, was honored by King
Alexander I of Yugoslavia with bestowal of the Order of the Crown for his
services as a writer on World War I topics. Mrs. Nesan was the sister of the
late Salvador Nesanovich, several times Mayor
of Lima, Peru. He was chairman of
the commission which welcomed General Pershing when he was sent to Peru during
the Hoover administration to arbitrate a historic boundary dispute between that
country and Chile. She was also the
sister of the late Vincent Mirko of Oakland.
Mrs. Nesan was a member of the Croatian Society Tomislav and was founder of the
Croatian Church of the Nativity in San Francisco.
DRAGICH, PETER Fisherman
Petar
was born in Crikvenica, Dalmatia 1873.
He followed his yearnings for the sea and fishing to the new world and
relocated in the United States in 1893. Dragich is credited for his innovations
in the San Pedro fishing industry, primarily the introduction of large boats in
the early Twentieth Century. His fishing
boats, which sailed as far as the Bering Sea, set the pattern for adventure
that Peter’s five sons, Nick, Pete, John, Josip, Mato and Raymond also pursued.
DRAGOLICH, JOHN
Fisherman-Restaurant-Goldminer
John
Dragolich, one of the oldest and best known pioneer fishermen of the Columbia
River, died last evening at a local hospital in Astoria, Oregon. Mr. Dragolich
was born in Boka Kotor, Dalmatia, January 13, 1850. He began fishing in the
Columbia River about 50 years ago. In
1897 he tried his luck in the Alaska gold fields; he ran a restaurant at
Skagway, Alaska for about a year, then returned to Astoria. About 35 years
later, he became the proprietor of a local restaurant and continued in active
business until recently when failing health caused him to retire from active
work. The decedent was a member of Concomly Tribe, No. 7, Improved Order of
Redmen. He is survived by four children: George Dragolich of Centralia, Spiro
Dragolich of Tacoma, Bella Dragolich of Astoria, and Mrs. Mary Pincetich of
Portland; a nephew Joseph Dragolich of Aberdeen. (Morning Astorian 1929)
DRASKOVIC, YUL B. Architect-Croatian
Activist
Yul
was born January 2, 1926 in Gruda, Konavle, Croatia. His parents were Bozo Draskovic and Luce
Paljetak Draskovic. He studied
architecture and civil engineering at the University of Zagreb where he
eventually earned the M.A. degree in architecture. Arriving in the United
States in 1957, he worked as an architecture employee, then associate. In 1978 he started his own practice,
specializing in architectural design, planning, construction, supervision and
investment. Yul has received many awards
and citations, among them the City of Long Beach Award in Architecture for the
design of Circle Motors Automobile Agency; the Western U.S.A. Golden Nugget
Award in architecture for the design of the Kirkwood Electric Building in the
City of Cerritos; a letter of commendation from U.S. Senator from California
George Murphy for U.S. Post Office buildings projects—the Laurel Canyon
Boulevard station in Studio City, the San Vicente Station in West Hollywood,
and the Barrington Station in Brentwood.
He also received the Concrete Industry Award of Excellence for the
“Metal-R-Us” project in Santa Fe Springs.
Draskovic is a board member of the National Federation of Croatian
Americans, President of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 1987 “Marko Marulic”,
executive board member of the Croatian National Association (Udruga) of Los
Angeles, board member of Konovosko Dobrotvorno Drustvo and present member and
past board member of the Croatian-American Club of San Pedro. Yul has been very active promoting Croatian
causes—he has received various citations from the late President of Croatia
Tudjman and others from his native Konavle for assistance to Croatia. Yul has published articles on Croatian causes
in the Zajednicar, Los Angeles Times, Vijesnik, Vecerni List, Slobodna Dalmacija
and Dubrovacki Vijesnik. Yul has two
children, Yadranka and Marina, both of whom completed graduate studies at
Loyola-Marymount University. Yul’s
brother Niko Draskovic, sadly perished October 2, 1991, during the
Serbo-Montenegrin assault on Konavle.
DREZGA, ANTONIA Librarian
Antonia
Drezga nee Palian was a Librarian at Alliance College, Cambridge Springs,
Pennsylvania. Born December 5, 1922 in Gorenci, Gorski Kotar, Croatia; She is
married and has been an American citizen since 1957. Education includes Real Gymnasium, Ogulin and
Karlovac; Gannon College, 1963-65; Alliance College, 1965-69, B.A. in Slavic
Studies. Membership in the Croatian Fraternal Union.
DREZGA, GRMISLAV Doctor of Medicine
Grmislav
Drezga is a doctor at New York University Medical Center, New York, New York.
Born August 14, 1936, Zagreb, Croatia; He is a permanent American resident.
Education includes Classical Gymnasium, Zagreb, Diploma, 1954; University of
Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, 1954-61, M.D., 1961 with a major field in
Medicine and a specialty in Obstetrics
- Gynecology.
DREZGA. LJERKA Doctor of Medicine
Ljerka
Drezga nee Balenovic is a doctor in Flushing, New York. Born January 18, 1941
in Zagreb, Croatia she is married and an
American citizen. Education includes Gymnasium, Zagreb, Diploma, 1960; University
of Zagreb, Medical School, 1960-67, M.D.,
with a major field in medicine.
DREZGA, TIHOMIL Professor-Attorney
Professor
of Comparative Slavic Literature at
Alliance College, Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. Born December 10, 1903 in
Sibenik, Dalmatia, Croatia; married with two children, children. U.S. citizen
since 1957. Education at Gymnasium, Sibenik, 1922; Law School of University of
Paris, Licence endroit, July, 1927; Law School of University of Paris, Etudes
Superieures de Droit Public, June, 1928 (Summa cum laude); Law School of
University of Paris, Docteur en Droit, titre d'Etat, May, 1931 with a major
field of Political Science - Literature and a specialty of International Law
Philosophy, Comparative Literature. Post doctorate work at Vatican Library
School, Diploma, June, 1949. Theses: Les ProbAmes Fondamentaux du Droit des
Genset la Cour Permanente de Justice Internatinale, Ph.D, dissertation, May,
1931, Paris. Essai Bibliographique sur la Genese Conceptuelle-du Droit
International, M.A. thesis. June, 1949, Vatican City. Books and Articles:
Medjunarodni Uori N.D.H. (International Treaties of the Independent State of
Croatia) 3 vols., Zagreb, 1941, 1942, 1943; editor, as Director of the Law
Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Pravni Polozai Hrvatske Drzave
u Medjunarodnoj Zajednici (Legal Position of the Croatian State in the
International Community). Spemnost, Zagreb, Christmas, 1944. Les Problemes
Fondamentaux du Droit des Gens et la Cour Permanente de Justice Internationale,
Sirey, Paris, 1931 "I Croati nel Sistema Internazionale di Grego"rio
VII'11 L'Osservatore Romano, Vatican City, Nov. 3, 1950, no. 258. "I
Croati nella Letteratura Italiana," L'Osservatore Romano, March 24, 1951,
no. 68. The South Slavic Epic, at the Sept., 1960 meeting of the Pennsylvania
State Modern Language Association held at Gannon College. King Agiello and
Prince Arjunal at the Polish Cultural Clubs Convention held at Alliance
College, August, 1965. Member American Association of International Law;
American Political Science Association; American Comparative Literature
Association; American Association of University
Professors. Practicing law 1941-1945 -Director of the Law Department of
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Independent State of Croatia; 1943-45
Professor of International Law at the University of Zagreb; 1955-56 Teaching at
Alliance College; 1956-1965 Teaching at Gannon College Erie, Pennsylvania; 1965
Teaching at Alliance College.
DRVARIC, EMIL J Doctor-Professor-Sports
Emil
Drvaric is a Physician - Obstetrician and Gynecologist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Born March 18, 1924 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; married with four children.
Education includes Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, B.S., 1949;
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, M.D., 1953 with a major field in
Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Member of the American Colllege of Obst. and Gyn; American Board of Obst. and
Gyn.; American Medical Association. Clinical Professor in OB-GYN, Marquette
University Medical School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All Eastern at guard while
playing football for Harvard University 1946.
DUGANDZICH, GEORGE AND VINKA Ranch
She
came to America as a young bride in 1923. She was born Vinka Popovich, in August 1905, in the
village of Gdinj on the Island of Hvar, Croatia. She married George Duganzich
just before her departure from Croatia.
They settled on a cherry orchard in Mountain View and after the death of
her husband, she continued with the orchard. Vinka was very active in the
Croatian Fraternal Union in many
capacities. She loved to travel and on
numerous occasions she and her two daughters, Vivian and Berry, traveled to
Croatia and lived there for some time.
She has numerous relatives in New Zealand and spent many a month with
them also. She loved to crochet and made exquisite tablecloths, and her
finished items are treasured by her children, grandchildren and friends.
Her garden was a show place and she spent many a blissful hour tending to
it. Besides her two daughters, Vivian Gerahart of Mountain View and Berry Evans
of Portland, OR, she is survived by seven grandchildren and six
great-grandchildren.
DUICH, MARY S. Catholic
Sister-Professor
Sister
Mary was born June 10, 1906 at Colfax, Iowa and educated at Creighton
University,1931-35, Omaha, Nebraska, and
St. Mary, Xavier, Kansas, with an A.B.,1937, Creighton University,
Omaha, Nebraska, A.M., 1946. She specialized in American literature and English.
Her experience includes: 1937-38 Principal, Holy Trinity School, Des Moines,
Iowa; 1938-44 Assistant Principal, Assumption High School, Granger, Iowa;
1944-52 Principal, Superior, Holy Family School, Council-Bluffs, Iowa; 1957-59
Assistant Professor of English, St. Mary, Omaha, Nebraska; 1959-60 Principal,
Mount Loretto High School.
DUJMOVICH CLAN
Sacramento
was the starting point to the California gold country. George Dujmovich owned
the pioneer Alabama Chop House restaurant and the Alabama Saloon in Sacrament
during the 1860’s. He probably came from Mobile Bay, Alabama where many
Croatians settled in the 1830’s. George Dujmovich up in the Amador goldmining
region was arrested by the sheriff for selling whiskey to Indians at his
saloon. This was reported in the Amador Independent news in 1873. George was
from the Island of Brac.
Another
Dujmovich had a boarding house in the Amador gold mining region in 1877 while
Luka Dujmovich was out in the foothills seeking his fortune in the gold fields.
Luka was a member of the Old Slavonian Society.
Jerry
Dujmovich, a patriotic Croatian Sokol, volunteered and went to the Balkan Wars to free his
Croatian homeland in 1915. Jerry lived in Sacramento, California and was from
the Island of Brac.
Los
Angeles’ oldest restaurant, the Goodfellows Grotto, will end the year next
Thursday, December 31, 1953 by locking its doors forever. “I guess we’ve been
here too long. The town has moved away
from us,” explained John L. Dujmovich yesterday. He is the son of Mateo C.
Dujmovich, born on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia who founded Good Fellows in
July, 1905. John Dujmovich assumed operation of the restaurant after the death
of his father, and with the assistance of Curley Arnerich and Mike Kovacevich,
ran the Grotto until it closed for good on December 31, 1953. Mateo owned a
restaurant, oyster saloon and saloon in pioneer San Francisco during the
1880’s. The elder Dujmovich ran a
gambling hall and variety show in Phoenix. He tried restaurant work again in
San Diego and returned to found Goodfellows Grotto in Los Angeles when Main St.
was the hub of the theatrical and sports world.
DUJMOVICH, MATTEO Restaurant
Los
Angles’ oldest restaurant, the Goodfellows
Grotto, will end the year next Thursday, December 31, 1953 by locking its
doors forever. If its faded paintings, corroded metal chandeliers and crumbling
walls could speak to today’s throngs on Main St.. they would recall nostalgic
memories of famous guests. Long decades ago- the divine Sarah Bernhardt. Two weeks ago- Jack Dempsey at one table and
John Wayne’s wife, Esperanza, at another. And in between these years- every Los
Angeles Mayor, every District Attorney, every Governor, every Senator and
hundreds of other public officials have eaten in the steak, chop and seafood
house which has only a 20-foot frontage at 341 S Main Street. With them have
been stars of the sports world- Jim Flynn, the only man who ever knocked out
Jack Dempsey (Flynn ran bar at 3rd and Main) and Jim Jeffries (who ran a bar
right behind Good Fellows on Spring St., beside the old Empress Theater). And
in the little curtained booths behind the private door marked “Family Entrance”
have sat the stars of yesteryear who appeared in the Grand Opera house, two
blocks north on Main St., or in the Belasco, two doors north of Goodfellows, or
the Adolphus (later called the Hippodome) across the street.
“I
guess we’ve been here too long. The town
has moved away from us,” explained John
L. Dujmovich yesterday. He is the son of Matteo C. Dujmovich, born on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia who
founded Good Fellows in July, 1905. John Dujmovich assumed operation of the
restaurant after the death of his father, and with the assistance of Curley Arnerich and Mike Kovacevich, ran the Grotto until
it closed for good on December 31, 1953. The elder Dujmovich was second cook at
the old Baldwin in San Francisco before he ran a gambling hall and variety show
in Phoenix. He tried restaurant work again in San Diego and returned to
found Goodfellows Grotto in Los Angeles when Main St. was the hub of the
theatrical and sports world. Within two or three blocks, mostly on Main and
Spring, were the city’s great stores- the N.B. Blackstone Co., F. B.
Silverwood, Desmond’s, Hale’s, Hamburger’s (predecessor of the May Co.), the
J.W. Robinson Co., Harris & Frank and the Coulter Dry Goods Co. When
Goodfellows opened the Orpheum behind it had vaudeville, the Belasco had a
stock company playing “What Happened to Jones” and the Mason was boasting of
Nat. C. Goodwin “and an excellent supporting company.” (Only three decades ago the Mason was still
in its prime, with David Warfield playing Shylock in “Merchant of Venice.”)
The
older Dujmovich, a Croatian, proved a successful restaurateur from the start.
All his steaks were charcoal broiled.
His bouillabaisse, lobster thermador and boiled crab were quick
favorites. For luncheon, his filet of
sole and cracked crab remained popular to the end. Joseph Scott and the
criminal trial wizard, Earl Rogers, led parades of lawyers from courtrooms to
the restaurant. It survived competition from neighboring Mme. Zucca’s and the Victor Hugo. (Columnist McIntyre once pointed out that Los
Angeles’ most expensive and cheapest restaurants were next door to each other. One was the old Victor Hugo’s; the other was
a 5-cent hot dog stand.)
As
years passed, some customers died. But
the rest kept returning. George (Curly)
Arnerich, 68, who has been with Goodfellows for 42 years as a waiter,
recalls many. Lewis Stone and H.F. Sinclair used to come often,” he
said. Joe E. Brown, Zasu Pitts and Edward G. Robinson still come
in. I’ve served Clark Gable, Adolphe
Menjou, and Chiefs of Police all the way from Chief Sebastian to Chief
Parker. I remember Mayor Snyder and
Mayor Porter well. Mayor Cryer used to
come in almost every day. Mayor Poulson
hasn’t appeared so frequently. “Governors?
I remember Jim Rolph, Gov. Young and Gov. Merriam well. They always brought friends. “Movie
people? Louis B. Mayer has eaten here
many times- and still does.”
Catholics
like Joe Scott and Appellate Justice Thomas P. White have patronized the Grotto
often because it is near St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. Board Chairman Victor H. Rossetti and other
officers of the city’s oldest bank, the Farmers & Merchant, found it only a
few steps from their doors at 4th & Main.
Only
the Goodfellows’ walls know how many big business deals or lawsuits have been
settled at the tables seating a total of 75 in the main room or the booths
holding 75 more.
I
decided to tell my crew of 22 that we’ll have to close Dec. 31 I gave notice to the bank, which represents
an estate owning the building. “I suppose they’ll tear it down and make this
another auto park,” Dujmovich said wistfully.
“I’ll be sorry...I don’t have any plans to reopen anywhere else at
present.”
Los
Angeles Times, 1953
DUKAN, NATASHA Pianist-Professor
Dukan,
a native of Split, a city on Croatia's Adriatic coast, brought many in the
audience of more than 200 to their feet in rousing applause on Thursday
evening, August 23, 2001 in Washington, D.C. The Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB) invited the award-winning musician to perform on the stage at Andres
Bello Auditorium inside the bank's headquarters on New York Avenue. The concert
was part of a series of lectures and concerts organized by the IDB Cultural
Center. With great skill, and, at times, with commanding authority and, in
other moments, with only gentle touches upon the piano keys, Dukan took on the
selected works of the three composers and truly made them her own. "She
was fastastic," said Anne Vena, concert and lecture coordinator for the
Cultural Center at the IDB. "We don't often get to present Rachmaninoff
and Scriabin." "Over the nine years that we've been presenting
concerts, lectures and art exhibits, Croatia has never been represented,
because it's not easy to find a Croatian artist in the United States,"
Vena said. The series, she explained, represents the nations, which are members
of the IDB."There are 46 countries and Croatia is one of them," Vena
said. Croatia became a member around
1993. Vena said she was lucky enough to talk to some music colleagues who knew
of Dukan as a student at Johns
Hopkins
University's Peabody Institute in Baltimore. "When I talked to her a few
months ago, she said she'd be delighted to come." Vena said. In 1996,
Dukan left her post as an assistant professor of piano at the Art Academy in
Novi Sad in Vojvodina to study in the United States. She came to Peabody to
study under a full scholarship with faculty member Julian Martin. During her
university years in Novi Sad, Dukan appeared with national orchestras and in
recitals. After performing at the Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow in 1986,
she went on to win first prize in Stresa, Italy, and her appearance at the 1995
Chopin Competition in Warsaw led to numerous subsequent concert engagements throughout
Poland. Her festival appearances include the Split, Ohrid, Skopje and Hvar
summer festivals, and she has traveled to Germany, Spain, Poland and Russia to
give concerts in those countries. She has recorded for radio and television in
her native country and in Italy. Asked what she misses about Split and Croatia,
Dukan said, "Seafood, my parents, great weather and summers." After
earning a Graduate Performance Diploma in 1998 at Peabody, Dukan was admitted
(on full scholarship) to the prestigious Artist Diploma Program there. Her
North American appearances include the 1998 American Liszt Society Festival in
Hamilton, Canada, and the Texas Festival of Young Artists. After her first
appearance there in 1997, the organizers invited her to return in 1998. Currently,
in addition to her studies, Dukan teaches piano at the Academy of Music in
Gaithersburg, Maryland. Frank Mustac.
DULCICH, FRANK Pacific Seafood
The
West Coast seafood industry has long been the scene of comings and goings:
independent fishermen and small retailers, laborers, processors as powerful as
Mafia dons, labor unions and the fish themselves. In the late 1970s, Pacific
Seafood Group could have been one of the goings. But faced with a series of
setbacks, Frank Dulcich and family responded with a string of rapid
acquisitions--several on a "go for broke" basis that would either
position the company to survive future hard times or finish it off. Pacific
Seafood Group earned $220 million in 1996. It has 1,500 employees and distributes
a diverse product mix that includes--but will never again totally rely
on--crab, shrimp, groundfish, crawfish and razor clams. Dulcich, 41, now
company president, oversees the diverse operations from airy headquarters
offices on Southwest First Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon. Although he
says his purchases "weren't brain surgery," Pacific Seafood's
turnaround through acquisitions can serve as inspiration for small-business
owners in a jam.
Frank
Dulcich Sr., a Croatian immigrant, started Pacific Seafood in the 1920s. His
son Dominic joined the company in 1940, and by 1978 grandson Frank had returned
from a psychology internship at the State Hospital in Salem to join the family
business on Powell Street. Pacific Seafood had about 18 employees. In Frank it
had a new man on the floor and a new restroom attendant. Dominic surprised
Frank, who had graduated from the University of Portland with a degree in
clinical psychology, by handing him the scrub brush. At Pacific, Frank started
his own sales company, American International Food Co., consisting of little
more than a dream and a phone number. He also studied business at Portland
Community College at night. But the family business was floundering.
"Obstacles? Oh, you can't even imagine the obstacles," Frank recalls.
First, they faced "product flow and systems difficulties" in their
new 20,000-square-foot warehouse in Clackamas, "that darn near broke
us," Dulcich says.
Interest
rates, meanwhile, had climbed to 22 percent. Out on the Pacific Ocean, El Ni–o
created current and temperature havoc between 1981 and 1983 that ruined
fishermen and sent seafood processors into bankruptcy, quickly effecting a 37
percent drop in Pacific Seafood's supply of fish. Dominic's right-hand man was
hired away by a competitor. Two key suppliers, Ocean Beauty and California
Shellfish, decided not to supply Pacific Seafood but instead to compete as
distributors, a loss of another 50 percent of Pacific's supply. Then company
founder Frank Sr. died. The family business was moving about $15 million in
seafood and making less than $50,000 a year. It was time to shutter the store,
park the trucks and go home--or make radical changes. Frank Dulcich admits to
liking a good fight. His company's crisis sent adrenaline coursing through the
former international-level karate competitor, who by 1981 was serving as
general manager. He went into acquisition mode. In 1983, Pacific acquired its
first processing facility in Warrenton at the mouth of the Columbia River. El
Ni–o and subsequent mismanagement had put Sno-Mist on the block, according to
Dulcich, and Pacific was able to purchase it from U.S. Bank for $500,000 at
$5,000 a month. Although the Sno-Mist facility was in poor shape, Pacific had
secured a niche as a processor. The company's small fleet of gas delivery
trucks (called peddle trucks because the drivers were also salesmen who loaded
and then peddled the fish) were nonrefrigerated and expensive to operate. Since
1980, the fleet has been replaced twice, and now consists of more than 100
refrigerated diesel rigs. As the Warrenton plant underwent upgrades, Dulcich
concentrated on the distribution side. In 1985, he purchased a former Fircrest
poultry plant in Grants Pass. In 1986, he purchased the only razor clam
processing plant in the United States in Kenai, Alaska, ensuring that Pacific
would become the dominant producer and distributor of a seafood delicacy whose
price was sky high.
Next,
Dulcich looked southward, and found Lazio Fish Co. in Eureka, California, a
third-generation family fish-processing plant that had been losing a million
dollars a year. "We bet the company on that acquisition," Dulcich
says of what had been the largest family-owned fish company on the West Coast.
As in the Sno-Mist acquisition, the Dulciches found great support in their
bankers. "Banks are extremely important as financial partners," says
Dulcich, who took over banking relations for his companies in 1993 and admits
to having had less-than-optimal relationships with some of his father's
bankers. "They need to know the good as well as the bad on a timely basis.
They want you to do what you say, period." He recommends that
businesspeople take as long as a year to develop good relationships with loan
officers. "Find someone who has similar beliefs," he says. "And
tell them what's happening with your business before it occurs." As
Pacific grew dramatically, Dulcich worked to develop relationships with
fishermen, employees and banks.
"Every
business we've bought has been in pretty tough shape," he says, "in
attitudes as well as financially. You don't have much time. We usually have a
weekend for the transition and then 30 days, tops, to turn things around."
After
the crucial Lazio acquisition, Pacific started its own food service
distribution in June 1989 with Pacific Fresh Seafood, a company that has moved
from $1.5 million the first year to an estimated $50 million in sales this
year. In November 1989, Pacific took over Jake's Crawfish, the distribution,
air freight and international crawfish business that was a subsidiary of
McCormick and Schmick's of Portland. In January 1990, Pacific snatched Pacific
Choice in Charleston, Oregon, from bankruptcy, purchasing the processing
business once owned by Charter Oil Co. for $275,000. Then came Stuart Seafoods
in Washington state, Fitts Seafood in Salem, and Washington Crab Producers in
Westport, packers of the noted Sea Rock Dungeness crab. Dulcich continued
expanding markets and marrying processing and distribution in Pacific's growing
family of companies.
Pacific
built the $1.5 million Pacific Oyster Co. in Tillamook and opened another
distribution operation--this one in Fresno, California, a growing and largely
ignored market. It wasn't until the Pacific Group bought Pacific Fish Co. in
Seattle, Washington in 1995 that Dulcich could say he came pretty close to
stumbling. In fact, he says "It was the worst mistake I ever made."
Pacific Fish Co. had a 40 percent share of one of the strongest fish markets in
the country, and Dulcich's Pacific had 37 percent of the Seattle market through
other acquisitions. It looked like a sweet--though admittedly expensive--deal.
It soured as transition troubles plagued the companies, sales slipped, and
Dulcich had "the wrong managers in place." Since then, the Pacific
Fish acquisition has been made profitable, and Pacific Seafood Group companies
are positioned for future successes as Dulcich turns more attention to
marketing and brand development. Today, Dulcich has nothing but praise for his
father's insistence that he begin at the bottom, even with a scrub brush in his
hand. Through all the acquisitions, he's seen too many managers who didn't know
their businesses well enough to make them succeed. Although he says successful
acquisitions don't require a killer instinct or an obsessive drive, he admits:
"I'm driven. I can't stop. Not to be the biggest. That's never been
important to me. But to be the best."
DULCICH, J. B. Farm-Goldminer
Mr.
Dulcich is a native of California, born in Hunter's Valley, Mariposa County,
July 9, 1883, the youngest of two sons born to George and Adelaide (Spagnoli)
Dulcich. His brother, Jaciamore, died when eleven months old. His father was
born in Dalmatia, Croatia and died at his home at Merced, January 8, 1914. The
mother was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, and died in Hunter's Valley in
1903. The father left home at the age of twenty and went to sea and, after
traveling the seven seas of the world, left his ship at San Francisco in 1861,
went to Stockton on a river boat, and by stage from there to the home of his
cousin near Hornitos, crossing the ferry at Merced Falls. For twelve years he
worked in the Washington Mine. He became a naturalized citizen and a prominent
figure in mining circles. In 1873 he took up Government land in Hunter's
Valley, built a house there and engaged in stock and fruit production, planting
one of the earliest orchards in that section.
J.
B. Dulcich received a good education in the Hunter Valley school, then attended
by some twenty people. He was married at
Merced to Miss Eloise N. Wickham, born at West Point, Calaveras County. They have four children: Harold, Verna,
Orval, and Elma. Mr. Dulcich is a member of Merced Camp, W. O. W. he left the
home ranch to work for the Exchequer Mine and Power Company at Exchequer, and
three years later he went to the Barett ranch at Merced Falls, where he was
occupied until 1913. He then moved to Merced, and in 1915 came to his own ranch
property.
DULCICH, JELICA Boarding House Worker
Happy
or disenheartened, no immigrants to America found the imagined gold-paved
streets of trees leafed with money. "My first impression after greeting
relatives and then stepping on a board that threw one of my traveling
companions into the mud was, wood and more wood, mud and more mud, we came to a
wooden, muddy America," said Jelica Dulcich-Mullan of her arrival in Old
Town, Tacoma, Washington on December 25, 1906. When daylight arrived, she was
heartsick. In her beloved hometown of Starigrad, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia,
Croatia the streets were paved with cobblestones and wood was used only on the
doors and shutters of the stone houses. America seemed to have only wooden
houses, wooden buildings, wooden streets and sidewalks, that is, those that
were not mud!"
Jelica
Dulcich-Mullan was born in Starigrad, Dalmatia, in October, 1892. The family
farmed and raised horses. When she was six years of age, her father died, and a
brother and an uncle shouldered the responsibility of the mother and six
children. When she was young, a cousin, Perina Radonich, her godmother, had said,
"Don't worry about Jelica, I will bring her to America one day." The
years passed and she matured. One day the priest visited the family home and
said to her mother, "You have five daughters, why couldn't Jelica become a
nun?" Mother and daughter visited the convent and Jelica decided,
"This is no place for me." When the call to America came, she was
ready. Perina Radonich sent the fare. Jelica left Trieste in the company of
seven boys from the isle of Vis and five girls from her home town. "The
trip wasn't nice," she said of their Atlantic crossing. It took them a
month to reach their destination.
Jelica
Mullan recalled later in life, "America wasn't the way I expected it to
be." The people in Old Town lived in shacks, there was no water, no
lights. "There were about fifty cabins spread throughout the waterfront
area, these were barren and cold. There was not a Croatian who lived above 30th
Street." The boarding house where Jelica worked had been an Indian long
house and was located a few feet from the railroad tracks. "It had a large
dining room, kitchen, and one bedroom on the first floor. There were four large
bedrooms or dorms on the second floor." All the boarders were Dalmatians.
The boarding house was not very large, so the men slept in tents out in the
back of the house.
"The
washing and cleaning were well supervised and had to be just so," Jelica
related. "The floor boards were so warped and separated that when the
scrub water was thrown on the floor, it would seep through before Mrs. Radonich
could get the brush to it. It took four of them to scrub the floor, but they
kept it clean. There were beds to make, dishes to wash, and water to fetch from
a block away."
Jelica
daily cleaned the chimneys and baked bread. A forty nine pound sack of flour was
used for the bread baking every day, and on Saturdays this was doubled. She
would bake sixty loaves of bread each day and one hundred and twenty on
Saturdays. Some of these were sold to the neighbors as no bakeries existed.
Wine was also made and sold.
Cooking
for the boarders required stamina. Arms would be blistered when forty to fifty
pounds of smelt were fried on the logging camp stove which had to be warmed for
two hours prior to its use. Besides the fish, greens of kale, chard, and
spinach were served with olive oil. On Sundays, a leg of lamb, a leg of pork,
chicken, or chicken soup was served. "Whatever was on the table had to be
eaten because there wasn't a peanut butter sandwich after you were
through," jelica said.
The
women stayed home, sewed all of the clothes and knit stockings for the
children. Much of the clothing was made out of flour sacks and everything was
made over and over again, for money was scarce. Aprons and skirts were starched
and ironed by a hand iron that had been warmed on the stove. It was also
Jelica's responsibility to care for the six boys of the family and see that
they did not get run over by the train. No salary was paid for this work.
Passenger fare, food, and clothing were payment enough. Boarders were charged
fifteen dollars a month.
Need
of one another brought close relationships. The boarding houses were filled
with young men who were seeking their way in new surroundings. They were all by
themselves, single men who knew only the language of their birth. They were
brawny and used for hard labor for the least amount of pay. Being lonesome,
they congregated together, and the few women of their own nationality who were
running these boarding houses mothered them, nursed them, fed them, and saw
that they were clean and got to work on time. In the same way, the women also
congregated together. "The Croatian people were very close," Jelica
related. "We were always trying to help each other, we were like sisters
and right there if you needed help, we couldn't say no. 0h, she assisted in the
delivering of babies when she was fifteen years old.
In
spite of all this work, there seemed to be plenty of time for dancing, singing,
visiting, weddings, and holidays. Work, pains and aches, disappeared or were
danced away to the music of the accordian. All the boarding houses in that area
had what they called bowling alleys. These were about fifteen feet wide and
twenty feet long. They would use nine wooden balls, very much like bocce balls,
but not quite as large. These would be spaced in a certain pattern, then they
would go to the other end of the alley and throw one of the balls at the rest.
Somehow they scored this by the ball it hit. The loser would buy wine for the
rest, or sometimes they put money on each ball and the winner would take all.
A
new boarding house was built by the Radoniches by 1910, when the people in Old
Town began to build houses in front of the existing shacks. This dwelling had
twenty bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large dining room, kitchen, a wood stove,
running water, and could house forty boarders. It was here that Jelica, who was
engaged to marry Nick Mullan, fell down the stairs and heard of his affection
for her. Kate Radonich had asked Jelica to wash the clothes and starch her
apron, in preparation for a wedding that all were to attend in Seattle the
following day. "I made the starch and moved toward the yard to pick some
greens. I took a step and away I went. The woodpile saved me, but the pan of
starch hit my face, arms, and chest, and all were blistered. I hollered,"
Jelica told. Matt Vodanovich asked what was wrong and told her to take a towel
and dry herself. She did as he suggested, and blisters and skin all came off.
Mr. Radonich was on the back porch and wanted to know what all the hollering
was about. Matt said, "She fell down and burned herself." Mr.
Radonich answered, "Ah, that's 0. K., if she had half a face, Nick would
take her anyway!"
Jelica
(Helen) Dulcich and Nick Mullan were married in a ceremony at St. Patrick's
Church in Tacoma. A horse and buggy took them to the church and back to the
boarding house, where they were toasted at a reception of over one hundred
people. There was much to eat and drink, and this and the bride's clothing were
paid for by the bridegroom. The honeymoon began on a scow on which they
traveled as far as West Seattle when the bride said, "I can't take
it," so off to 14th they went to find a room. In 1911, their first child
was born.
DULCICH, JOHN Farmer
Lucia, his wife, was born in Velo Grablje, Island of Hvar,
on February 12, 1887. About 1905, Antone
brought his sister, Lucia, to America.
There was a colony of Hvarani in Sacramento, one being John Dulcich , a
native of Brusje, a village not too far distant from Grablje. John had
arrived in America in 1902 at the age of
24. Lucia and John were married in Sacramento in 1907. Three children were born of this union: Katy
1908; Mary 1911, and John 1912.
John and the children lost Lucia in 1914. The years ahead were difficult
for the family, as Papa John had to make many moves to find work. it
became necessary to place the children, for a time, in a Catholic Sisters’
Home, first in Los Angeles and then in San Francisco. It wasn’t too long before they were united as
a family. They then moved into the San
Joaquin Valley, living for short periods of time in the Strathmore, Cutler,
Dinuba, and Orosi areas. While living on a ranch near Dinuba, there was
outdoor field work for John, while the sisters tended to the housework. This family typified the struggles of many
Croatians in the farmland of California.
DULCICH, JOHN Silverminer-Farm Worker
There
was a colony of Hvarani in Sacramento, one being John Dulcich Blaine, a native
of Brusje, a village not too far distant from Grablje on the Island of Hvar.
John had arrived in America in 1902 at
the age of 24. Lucia and John were married in Sacramento in 1907. Lucia was
born in Velo Grablje, Island of Hvar, Croatia on February 12, 1887, to Ivan and
Marija Zoranich Zaninovich. About 1905,
Antone brought his sister, Lucia, to America.
Three children were born of this union: Katy (b. 1908); Mary (b.
1911), and John (b. 1912). John and the
children lost Lucia in 1914, who succumbed to an illness at the age of 26
years. The years ahead were difficult
for the family, as Papa John had to make many moves to find work. They
then moved into the San Joaquin Valley, living for short periods of time in the
Strathmore, Cutler, Dinuba, and Orosi areas. In the year 1924, their Papa went
to Globe, Arizona to work in the Old Dominion Silver mine, leaving the children
in Navelencia (Fresno County).
Their Uncle Vincent took them to Cutler, where he and his wife,
Bonica (native of Grablje), and 2 small children had their home. Soon they got word from their Papa to join
him in Phoenix. With their papa,
they journeyed by car to Globe by a steep and widening Apache Trail.
Shortly afterwards the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where an
unfortunate job-related accident to their “Papa John’s” life in 1928. “It was a
sad experince...we missed Papa, and we loved him.” They were alone again. Katy had a job with the telephone company
just a few days before her Papa died. Mary and John were students at the
Phoenix High School. Mary was a senior, graduating in 1929, and then
began to work for the Commercial Credit Corp., a job she held from 1929-1943.
Katy moved to Fresno, California, where she had requested and recieved a job
transfer to the Fresno telephone company. For a while, she lived with
Visko and Kate Tomicich. Kate Zaninovich Tomicich had been a first cousin
to their mother Lucia. In 1948, Katy
married George Zaninovich, who parents were from a small village, Selca, near
Starigrad, island of Hvar. George and
Katy live in Fresno. Mary, Lucia’s second daughter, married Estel Johnson
in 1932 in Phoenix, Arizona. They have 3
children: a son, Blaine; two daughters, Susie and Karen. In 1948 the
Johnsons moved to San Louis Obispo, where in 1950 Mary was employed at the
California State Polytechnical College. In 1935, John, Lucia’s youngest child,
married Gladys Pruitt. John experienced
a deep and lasting relationship with his lord after he and Gladys were baptized
in the Grace Baptist Church in Phoenix in 1938, where he later ordained as a
Deacon. With their 2 children, John and
Lora, the Blaines moved to Lemon Grove, California. Together, they organized a
new church. From the original 6 members,
the congregation eventually expanded into 600 members! We cannot but think of Lucia Zaninovich
Blaine, the immigrant girl from the village of Grablje, who dreams of her
little family, ended while in her 26th eyar. She would be proud of their
achievments as a family. In combined lives of Katy, Mary, and John, there
exists a living memorial to Lucia, a mother they barely knew except in spirit.
DUNATOV, THOMAS Fisherman-Mariner-Sea
Captain
Thomas
Dunatov was born in 1Z Mali on the Island of 1Z, Dalmatia, Croatia. Together
with his mother and two brothers he came to the United States in 1947 to join
his father who was already here, Following service in the U.S. Navy, Tom fished
commercially for a few years before taking a job as a seaman aboard the
government research vessel George B. Kelez. (The Kelez, as a point of interest,
was named after a prominent Croatian-American fishery scientist who lost his
life in an Alaskan plane crash.) While working as a seaman, Tom studied and
graduated from the esteemed Kildahl School of Navigation - obtaining his first
mate's and eventually his captain's papers. Tom retired from government service
in 1990 but worked another 12 years - skippering fishing tenders and processing
vessels in Alaska. Tom married Alenka Morovich from Zman, Dugi Otok, Dalmatia
in 1956. The couple has two children Paul, a commercial fisherman, and Valerie
who lives in Zman with her husband and three children.
DUPLANCIC, NENO Corporate President
President
and CEO of Locus Technologies, Neno Duplancic, seems to have achieved the
impossible: a vibrant company and $10,000,000 in sales in just one year of
business in the 1990’s. Locus Technologies is an environmental clean-up company
that specializes in treating contaminated groundwater at industrial sites. With
offices in Mountain View and Newark, it has operated at sites all over the US.
Presently it is handling the clean-up of an EPA Superfund site in San Jose
where a supermarket is to be built as well as the site of a former
semiconductor plant and future site of Netscape corporate headquarters. With a
highly trained and experienced staff, a market niche that is short on capital
requirements, and clients such as Xerox and PGE, Dr. Duplancic brings a
promising future to Locus Technologies.
DZEBA, IVAN Croatian Book Store
Croatian
Book, a bookstore in Cleveland, Ohio at 6313 St. Clair Avenue, is the life’s
work of its owner Ivan Dzeba, whose achievement is establishing the most
successful Croatian bookstore outside of Croatia anywhere in the world.
Ivan arrived in Cleveland in 1954 and
started to work in the Cleveland Twist Drill Co. as many of his compatriots
did. He remained in Twist Drill for 25 years. Before arriving in Cleveland, he
owned and managed a general store in Sarajevo, Bosnia and having business
experience he did not want to remain a factory worker for the rest of his life,
which would have probably been more profitable and less complicated. Ivan Dzeba
was aware that the Croatian community in America had a rich tradition of
publishing activity in the fifties. Many Croatian newspapers emphasized that
every American Croatian should be an ambassador of Croatia and her interests in
the new homeland. His initial idea was to start collecting everything that was
published among Croatian emigrants outside Croatia and in Croatia itself. He
started to collect books, periodicals, newspapers and other publications and
opened the Mail Order Bookshop in his own apartment. He advertised his bookshop
in the Croatian newspapers. He realized he could not conduct business out of
his apartment and decided to buy a house and open a Croatian bookstore where he
could work free of any constraints. The result was his store Croatian Book, in
the heart of the Croatian settlement on St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland. Ivan
Dzeba realized from the very beginning that Croatian Book would not fulfill its
mission if it did not stock books published in Croatia itself. Later, he started working with the Croatian
publisher Mladost and with other publishers in Croatia. As Ivan Dzeba often
states, all his earnings from his factory work were invested in the growth of
his bookstore business. American university and public libraries started
ordering Croatian books from his bookstore, which established a unique
reputation among libraries with large Slavic collections. Croatian Book
published a catalog of its holdings and sent it to university and public
libraries that have collections of foreign language books. This impressive 150
page catalog of Croatian books is updated with supplemental listings of the
newly acquired books. Croatian Book sold both Croatian works published outside
Croatia and books from Croatia. Books in stock number over 25,000 volumes and
some 3,000 different titles. Bookstore patrons can buy daily newspapers and
various magazines from Croatia one day after their publication. Croatian
language audiocassettes, videocassettes and compact discs with popular and folk
music attract younger clientele to the Croatian Book. The bookstore also
imports Croatian folk handicrafts, flags, coat of arms, chocolates and other
items. Croatian Book participated in several book exhibits in various cities
during the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Slavic
Studies, where thousands of visitors had an opportunity to see the rich
cultural heritage of Croatia presented by this unique store.
ELIAS, CHARLES Tamburitza Hall of Fame
Charles
Elias needs no introduction to the followers of tamburitza music, since the
name Elias and the tamburitza are practically synonymous. His grandfather and
his father were both tamburitza musicians, composers and writers of some of the
original folk songs. So Charles Elias is the third generation of tamburitza
musicians in the Elias family. Being the only son, his father started him on
the tamburitza at an early age. Besides the tamburitza, Charles took up the
study and playing of the violin, playing in the high school orchestra during
his school years and with the college symphony orchestra, while receiving his
education at the University of Wisconsin. During these years the family
tamburitza orchestra was organized, and the "Elias Tamburitza
Serenaders" became a reality. After many years of hard practice for
perfection, the family orchestra started out what was to be over twenty years
of continuous travel, presenting programs and educational school assemblies in
every state in the Union, Canada, and Mexico. Their affiliation with the
Extension Divisions of the Universities of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas,
Missouri, California, and Texas, took them to the higher Institutions of
learning, introducing the American people to the tamburitza. With the untimely
death of Father Dragutin Elias, young Charles took up the leadership of the
"Elias Serenaders". During the Second World War years, Charles, with
his group of musicians, entertained troops in various camps all over the U.S.,
under the auspices of the State Dept. U.S.O. After the war, Charles turned to
teaching, writing, and arranging music. The Elias Tamburitza Serenaders, with
new personnel kept the tamburitza popular in the Midwest, playing for dances,
weddings, social events, picnics, and concerts. In recent years, Charles has devoted
most of his time teaching junior groups and writing and arranging music. He
organized and founded the well known "Silver Strings Tammies" of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the past 24 years that he has directed the
"Silver Strings Tamburitzans", they have achieved many goals -
performances in various sections of the United States, Canada, and Croatia, and
yearly concerts in Milwaukie. They have also had appearances on many TV shows
and released two long play records. Ten years ago, he organized adult and
junior groups in Waukegan, North Chicago area. They have been active in
concerts and recordings - also having played around the United States and
Croatia. In 1969, he was chosen Guest Conductor of the "Junior Cultural
Federation Festival" held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then in 1973, he
was honored by the Milwaukie Croatian Civic Club, being chosen "Man of the
Year" for his contribution and dedication to further promoting our beloved
songs and music. His catalogue of fine tamburitza music, expertly arranged, has
brought responses from many of our fine orchestras around the globe. Charles
Elias has devoted his life to the preservation and advancement of the
tamburitza and is dedicated to the fine art of music.
ELICH, ANTON Croatian Activities
A
native of Utah, brother Elich was a 42 year resident of San Pedro, a 50 year
member of the Croatian Fraternal Union and also a member of the Dalmatian
American Club. He was an active member
of the Croatian Fraternal Union lodge and the San Pedro Community. He was survived by his wife, Margaret of
Rancho Palos Verdes; father, Dan Elich of Utah; daughters Janice and her
husband Mike Histon of Arizona and Nadihe and husband Jim Riley of Santa Ynez;
brothers, Martin and wife Mary and Joe and wife Carletta, all of Utah, Nick and
wife Vida of Lomita; sister, Helen Penok of Utah; grandchildren, Michael, Kathy
and Kevin Histon and Danny, Erin and Anton Riley; and niece, Jean Mogus of
Utah.
ETEROVICH, ADAM S. Publisher-Author
Recognized
as the leading historian and source of information regarding Croatians in the
USA. Adam has devoted nearly all of his
adult life to expounding Croatian culture whether through his writings,
publishing, leadership in sponsoring Croatian social events, and his sharing of
information whenever requested. His
father and mother were born on the Island of Brac; her maiden name was
Cvitanich. Adam was born in San Francisco and his wife, Danica, was born in
Zagreb. Adam and Danica Kralj married at St Mark’s Church in Zagreb in
1958 after attending the University of
Zagreb for one and one half years on a Matica scholarship. Adam graduated from
Balboa High School in San Francisco and from San Francisco State University
where he obtained the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and History. He was a
four year Korean War volunteer and served 41 months in the Army of Occupation,
Germany, Headquarters Southern Command, Sergeant First Class. His duties
included responsibility for top secret military records at Headquarters Command
and at Landsburg War Crimes Prison and other Posts. He worked with Croatian refugees and was
involved in transporting them to Italian and German ports for shipment to
Australia, Canada and America. He is the author of several books including
Croatian Pioneers in America, 1650-1900, Croatian Coats of Arms, Croatians in
the New World, 1492-1650, Croatian Popes and Saints and the Croatian Checkered
Arms including numerous articles on Croatian pioneers in America. He maintains a file of over 90,000 Croatian
pioneers in America. He has been active as a
leader in Croatian organizations, including the Croatian Fraternal Union
for 40 years; he organized the Croatian Genealogical and Heraldic Society and
the Ragusan Press. He is Vice-President of the Old Slavonian Society of San
Francisco,org 1857; a member Croatian
Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Church of Nativity in San Francisco. Adam
is a past member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the
California Historical Society. He was
active during the recent war, devoting many hours to organizing relief
supplies, mainly foods and clothes and public relations. Adam Eterovich is a
person who was and is proud of his heritage and one who has devoted his life
for the good of America, Croatia and Croatians wherever they may be.
ETEROVICH, ANA Investments
Ana
Eterovich was born March 23, 1900 in Nerezisca, Island of Brac, Dalmatia,
Croatia. Her parents were Frane Cvitanic and Ana Bezmalinovic. Her brothers and
sisters were Petar, Franka, Lucretia, Paulina and Andrija. Ana’s maiden name
was Cvitanic and her Clan name was Baka. The Bezmalinovic Clan name was
Grguricic. The Cvitanic and Bezmalinovic Clan settled on the Island of Brac in
the 1500’s and had come from the Poljica Republic in Dalmatia. Petar Cvitanic
was registered as Nobility in the 1600’s; others were Priests and District
Attorneys. From 1400 to 1800 the people of Brac were free citizens and subjects
of the Republic of Venice; from 1800 to 1920 subjects of the Austrian Empire;
from 1920 to 1991 subjects of Yugoslavia . In 1991 Croatia became a free,
democratic country. Ana is an ethnic Croatian. The family maintained vineyards,
olive groves, gardens and sheep for wool and meat. Their father died at an
early age and they had to fend for themselves. Ana was talented at sewing and
weaver of wool, she made the saddle blankets and other straps for their animals
and sold the rest to other townspeople. At the age of 14 Ana became sick with
typhus and did not grow beyond age 14. Ana did attend school for six years. Her
older brother Petar, or as we know him, Barba Pete, was sent to San Francisco,
sister Lucretia went to Argentina, Andrija and Paulina married on Brac, Franka
went to Watsonville and San Jose, California. Ana’s odyssey was to begin...she
was sent to her brother, Pete, in San Francisco. A friend of the family, Jimmy
Vlahovich, returned to Brac after WWI to marry, Jimmy accompanied 20 young
ladies (brides, girlfriends) to America. Ana left Brac by ferryboat to the city
of Split thence to Trieste and by train to the port of Le Harve in France. She
boarded the liner France to New York and then by train to San Francisco. Ana
arrived in San Francisco on December 12, 1920. Ana would attend Mass with her
brother, Pete, at the Croatian Catholic Church of Nativity and here she met her
future husband, Ivan Eterovich, a restaurant owner in San Francisco. They
married on March 24, 1921. Ana had five children, Winnie-1922, John-1923,
Kay-1924, Frances-1925 and Adam-1930. Ana and Ivan built their first house, two
apartments and a store in 1922 on Mission Street in the Excelsior District and
later built another store. Ana busied herself with sewing in and out of the
home to earn her spending money as she was extremely independent and self
reliant and Ivan made wine and tended to his gardens when not attending to his
restaurant. Ana was a very social person and belonged to many clubs and
associations through out her life...she saw to it that her children completed
all their Christian and scholastic obligations.
ETEROVICH, ANTHONY W. Teacher-Artist
Anthony
was born on April 2, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. He is married and has one child.
His parents emigrated from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia at the turn of
the century to Cleveland, ohio. He is head of the Art Department at James Ford
Rhodes High School in Cleveland. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art,
Cleveland, Ohio and graduated in 1938. He also has a B.S. from Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, Ohio in 1940. His art awards include: 1944 First Prize
Oil, Second Prize Watercolor, Florida Tri State Competition; 1951 Critical
Appraisal, Howard Degree, York Times, May 6, 1951; 1951 First Prize Purchase
Award, Butler Institute for American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; 1956 Second Prize,
Oil, Ohio State Fair. Received awards in figure portrait, etching, oil,
watercolor, chalk, in thirty years of exhibiting in Cleveland Museum May shows.
His exhibitions: 1951 Downtown Gallery, N.Y. Y.M.C.A., New York, N.Y.; 1955
Chatauqua, N.Y. Tri State; 1964 "30 Cleveland Painters."
ETEROVICH, FRANCIS
Priest-Professor-Author
On
October 29th, 1981 Father Francis H. Eterovich passed away. He died, as he
lived, working. Father Eterovich was born on October 4, 1913 at Pucisce, on the
island of Brac in his native Croatia. He graduated from the Dominican School of
Philosophy in Dubrovnik in 1937 and was ordained in 1938. He attended the
Dominican School of Theology at Louvain, Belgium in 1939 and took his Master's
degree at the Croatian University of Zagreb in 1944. He earned a Ph.D. from the
Dominican Theological University of Etiolles, France in 1948 and a licentiate
in theology from the State University of Olomouc, Czechoslovakia in the same
year. After coming to America, he earned a second Master's degree in Philosophy
from the University of Chicago with a specialization in social and political
philosophy.
Father
Eterovich taught at the University of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the College of
St. Catherine and-the College of St. Teresa prior to coming to DePaul
university in Chicago where he taught philosophy from 1962 until 1979 when, in
a manner of speaking, he retired. In fact, Father Eterovich did not know the
meaning of retirement or rest. Even after suffering heart attacks and the
implantation of a pacemaker, he continued to work, study and travel at an
almost unbelievable pace. It would be impossible to compile a list of all of
his works as an editor, writer or lecturer. It would be perhaps simpler to list
the fields in which he was a recognized scholar: Theology, Philosophy, Ethics,
Natural Law, Classical and Medieval Intellectualism, History, Sociology,
Ethnicity and Political Science. At the time of his death, he had at least a
half dozen major works in progress to be published in at least three languages.
It
is the dates and the degrees and the publications that a person leaves behind
that epitaphs, eulogies and memorials are made of. But mere facts and figures
do little to explain the depth of feeling that so many held for Father
Eterovich. If I may, I would like to share my own story concerning this great
man.
Some
dozen years ago, when I first undertook the study of the Croatian nation and
her people, I sought out books in the English language concerning Croatia and
the Croatians. In the library of the college I was attending, there were but
two books dealing with Croatia, both were titled Croatia Land, People, Culture,
volumes one and two, and both were edited by Father Eterovich. I read those
books and began my quest for further knowledge. I wrote to Father Eterovich and
he was the first Croatian with whom I had any contact. When I was invited to
speak in Chicago in 1974, 1 learned that Father was in the hospital with one of
his frequent bouts with a troublesome heart. But he insisted that I be brought
to his bedside. I found not a sick and frail man as I had expected, but a
fountain of energy, giving guidance, reading mail, writing and directing a
dozen activities from what was supposed to be a sanctuary of rest and recovery.
Croatia
Land, People, Culture, an eight volume history of the Croatian people and their
nation was a life's work for any mortal man; for Father Eterovich it was but
one of many. A year later I returned to Chicago for the opening of the Croatian
Cultural Center, a hall dedicated by Chicago's Croatian mayor Michael Bilandic,
but built only through the love and dedication of Father Eterovich. I saw him
more often, worked with him on several projects and came to know him as a
friend as well as an esteemed colleague. Only a month before his death, he flew
to California to attend a symposium on Croatians in the American West. As
always, his conversations were filled with plans for the future. The third
volume of Croatia Land, People, Culture was ready for final editing at the
University of Toronto he told me; the Croatian Information Service was ready to
begin publication of a manuscript for next Spring; the Biographical Index of
Croatians in North America has over two hundred entries as it goes to press he
pointed out; his latest philosophy book to be called American Paradox, a guide
for Croatian newcomers to America. It made the mind swim, to think of this man,
twice my age, balancing so many projects at once. As if his writings were not
enough, there was the Croatian Cultural Center and his parish, yet he looked
forward to working with other parishes in Nevada or New Mexico this winter.
Even though we knew the medical reality of his mortality, it is still difficult
to believe that this fountain of youth and energy has been silenced.
Father
Eterovich's contributions to the Croatian people and nation, as well as his
gifts to America and the scholastic world, will be heralded from every forum in
the coming months. The English speaking world has learned much about the
Croatian people through his dedication and energy. I add my praises to his
public record titles and honors for his unmatched service and scholarship. But
I also add my personal thanks for his dedication and love. Were it not for a
single book, published by that single individual, my life might have taken a
different course. It was his work that guided me in the exploration of Croatian
history. And, for better or worse, whatever contribution I have made or can
make is built on his foundations. And I am but one of houndreds, perhaps
thousands of students, friends, countrymen, who were touched in a very personal
way by this quiet and hard working gentle man.
We
will all try, in our own way, to build memorials to him, some chisled in stone,
some printed, some through the spoken word. And while these memorials may
satisfy our own needs to verbalize our sense of loss, it would not have
satisfied him. The only meaningful memorial to Father Francis H. Eterovich will
be the continuation of his work. We must see that each of his many undertakings
is completed and that his contributions go on to serve future generations as
they have served us. The only fitting memorial to the contribution of knowledge
is the continuation of the quest for knowledge in the many areas he pioneered.
Through
his work, he will live or as a philospher, a writer and a scholar. Even so, we
will miss his kindness, his keen wit and humor and his love, for he was also a
friend.
ETEROVICH, IVAN Restaurant
Ivan
Eterovich, clan name Faraun, was born on March 21, 1888 in the sea port town of
Pucisce on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. Being the oldest child of
Nikola and Vice Plastich followed by Mateo, Roko, Stipe, Nikola, Jure, Zamaria,
Maria, and Andria. At the age of 16 in 1905 Ivan went via Italy and the Suez
Canal to Australia. He went to the goldfields of West Australia and was in
Mount Magnet, Kalgoorlie near Perth for five years. After three years his
father, Nikola, joined him and encouraged him to return home. His father had
also been in Chile, Bolivia and Peru earlier. Ivan had been befriended by an
old Dalmatian who had been in California during the gold rush and told him to
go to California. Ivan did go to San Francisco, California. In 1910 he worked
in various Dalmatian restaurants and in 1913 went to the Arizona gold and
silver mines in Bisbee and Lowell. While in Arizona Ivan purchased land in
Texas at a land lottery. In 1918 he returned to San Francisco and opened the New Age Restaurant at Mission and
Steuart; had a short partnership with Pete Valerio at the Rosemont Grill in Sacramento; returned to San Francisco and opened
a restaurant on Market Street; and then opened his successful Maple Coffee House and Restaurant at
2601 24th Street. He later included his brother, Nikola, as a partner. It
wasn't long before Ana Cvitanich from the Island of Brac met young flamboyant
Ivan and soon thereafter they were joined together by Father Franjo Turk at the
Croatian Church of tie Nativity in 1922. Ivan then built a large apartment
house with a commercial store under at 4843 Mission Street. He also built a
commercial building at 5082 mission street. The post war I depression made
difficult times for the young couple, but they used their old country skills
growing vegetables and raising rabbits, chickens and making the most of life's
offerings. Soon there were John, Winnie, Frances, Katie, and Adam. Ivan tended
his garden and chickens. Like all
Dalmatians of that day Ivan made fine wine and had his own copper coil. Yes he
was known to have sold a little beverage in his time. His greatest pleasure was
outings with the family at Ocean Beach for swimming and preparing barbequed
lamb on a six foot stick. At least thirty Dalmatian “Bracani” would gather at
the sea shore each weekend. Ivan died in San Francisco, California on October
4, 1977 at the age of 89. The husband of Ana Eterovich; loving father of Winnie
Biocina, John Eterovich, Kay Biocina, Frances Bulanti, Adam Eterovich; beloved
father-in-law of George Biocina, Pete Biocina, Charles Bulanti, and Danica
Eterovich; loving brother of Nikola ; survived by three brothers in Brazil, two
brothers and one sister in Croatia, survived by 12 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild also survived by many nieces and nephews. Ivan had joined the
Slavonic Society in 1910 and was a devoted member and when the society wisely
accepted women, Ana, was one of the first to join. When the Slavonic Society
was to build the Cultural Center and were unable to acquire the institutional
financing, we turned to the members for financial commitments. I well recall
Ivan and Ana being the very first to rise and pledge $ 10,000. SMBS's largest
investor. The years have gone by and Ivan has gone ahead, buried at the
Croatian Slavonian Plot in between Father Vodusek and Father Turk.
ETEROVIC, IVO Photographer-Author
Ivo
Eterovich was born in Split, Croatia in 1935. He spent almost a year as a
special photographer attached to the United Nations forces in the Near East. On
his return to, he worked three years in the editorial offices of Front and
Narodna Armija. From 1961 to 1963 he worked for the review Globus published by
Vjesnik in Zagreb. Since 1963 he has been Vjesnik special photographer and
reporter, and has worked on the magazine Start, published by the same house,
since 1976. He has been a regular member of the Association of Pictorial
Artists of the Applied Arts since 1961 and has the highest rank of photographer
Master of Photography and the
international Hon. EFIAP. He has been involved in photography since 1950, and
professionally since 1956, when he published his first photographs in the
newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija in Split. He uses Leica and Hasselblad cameras. He
has exhibilted at a great number of exhibitions of artistic, newspaper and
applied photography in Croatia and abroad, on all continents, and has received
over 200 prizes, among which the most important are the Order of Labour with a
Silver Wreath of the President of the Republic 1971, the prize of the October
Salon of Painting, In 1974 he received
the prize of the editorial office Delo in Ljubljana and the Gold Plaque of the
Photographic Association for the best collection of photographs at the
exhibition of newspaper photography. He
was also awarded the annual prize of the
Photographic Association for 1977. He has arranged six one-man
exhibitions of photography to date, the exhibition The Cornati Islands in
Cologne (the Federal Republic of Germany) and the exhibition Women in Moscow
and Verbilka. He has participated in the illustration of several monographs
including: The Adriatic, Sea of Peace, Trogir, Makarska, Croatia, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, The Adriatic Islands and others
and his own monographs entitled Brac, Split, Their Days.
ETEROVICH, KAREN Actress
A
member of Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association, Karen has toured
extensively throughout the United States. She played Mariana in All's Well That
Ends Well with Theresa Wright, directed by Michael Kahn, and appeared in The
Merchant of Venice with Brian Bedford and Kelly McGillis, directed by Michael
Langham, both at the Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger in Washington, D.C. She
was named "Best Actress in a Comedy" for her performance as Babe in
Crimes of the Heart at the Phoenix Theatre and was twice a regional favorite
for the American College Theatre Festival's Irene Ryan Award. Some favorite regional
roles include Hero in Much Ado About Nothing and Anne Page in The Merry Wives
of Windsor (Indianapolis Shakespeare Festival); Miss Havisham in Great
Expectations (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Masha in The Three Sisters and Alma
in Summer and Smoke (both directed by Paul Giovanni). Other regional theatre
credits include appearances with the Cleveland Public Theatre and a national
tour with Art Reach Touring Theater. Karen was a member of the Resident
Professional Acting Company at Cornell University, where she first became
'acquainted' with Aphra Behn while playing Angelica Bianca in Behn's The Rover.
She began developing Love Arm'd in 1994 at the Womenkind Festival in TriBeCa.
Other New York City credits include her highly acclaimed portrayal of Viv in
Tom & Viv with Prufrock Productions, and Jane Austen in Innocent Diversions
by Lynn Marie Macy at Theater Ten Ten. With Kings County Shakespeare Company
she played Florinda in The Rover at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as
Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream; and her Fabienne in Twelfth Night was
praised as 'wonderfully funny' by The New York Times. Karen's film work
includes the part of Mirabel in Modern Love, directed by Robby Benson.
ETEROVICH, NICK Policeman
Policeman-Politics-Big Al’s , the Mayor, Nick Eterovich
and Law and Order
San
Francisco Examiner, March 5, 1977, Remember last week when the morning daily
reported KPIX’s Tim Findley taking a swing at news director Joe Russin? The item stated: “The Beef was over the
transfer of the popular North Beach cop,
Nick Eterovich, and Findley’s suspicion that this happened because Nick was
leaning too hard on encounter parlors owned by a gent with heavy City Hall
connections.”
Well,
yours truly and New West Magazine’s Phil Tracy were tracking the same story, bumped
heads and- in the best Jack Newfield tradition- joined forces to come up with
the unabridged version of the Eterovich transfer. Its not the type of story that will cause
anyone to resign in disgrace, but it does provide interesting insights into the
character of a few local politicians.
For
openers, the transfer was never effected.
A couple of days after the FIndley item appeared, the police brass
reversed itself, reassigned Eterovich to Central Station but banned him from
the Broadway beat he has walked for the past five years- all of which
accomplished the same thing as a transfer and seemed to indicate the fix really
was in. Taylor told me that by the time he heard the rumor the decision to
transfer Eterovich, along with five other Central Station patrolmen, had
already been the move was in keeping with Chief Charles Gain’s standing policy
to rotate officers with more than five years on the same beat. When Findley
heard the news he figured he had a big story and highlighted it to North Beach
to interview Eterovich, after which he ran into Brown and Conti at Enrico’s.
From
all accounts there was some unpleasantness.
Findley got up to call his cameraman and encountered Moscone and his
campaign manager, Don Bradely, on the sidewalk outside. Moscone denied he was there to meet with
Brown and Conti, or that he had any prior knowledge, in fact any knowledge, of
Eterovich. He also refused to restate
his denials on camera but finely called his cameraman anyway and waited outside
Vanessi’s, where Moscone dined, until the mayor
came our around midnight.
Moscone
again refused comment, Findley persisted, Moscone started shouting, the camera
began whirring, Bradley stepped in front of the camera and was jostled, voices
grew louder, a crowd gathered, and so on.
Two
days later, Taylor made the decision, and Gain approved, not to transfer
Eterovich, just keep him off Broadway, where Conti runs Big Al’s.
Brown
says he sees nothing wrong with his representation of Conti, who has directed
this week by the police permit review board to show cause why his licence
should not be revoked. Moscone
emphasized, ‘Willie has never, never asked me to assert any influence on
Conti’s behalf,” but he also admitted, “this is bad business, at least it looks
bad.” That it does.
Right
now, I have no evidence that WIllie Brown influenced George Moscone to
influence police brass to get Eterovich out of Conti’s hair. But neither am I 100 per cent certain that
something of the sort didn’t take place.
EVICH-IVCEVICH, MATTHEW Fisherman
Matthew
(Mote) Evich was in the US for a few years before going back to the island of
Vis, Croatia in about 1905 where he met and eventually married Barbara Borcich.
Then they migrated to Bellingham. On their trip over to America, he sympathized
with his wife's sea sickness, but added with a grin, "I did get to eat her
portion of the ship's-food." Before
they got married and Mote was courting Barbara one of her younger brothers
warned her - "Don't marry Mote - he didn't give us a pet solde (five cents
equivalent) like the other one did". (an earlier suitor)
When
Mote and Barbara left Komiza for the U.S., (Barbara was the oldest sibling in
the family and had taken over the household duties at age 11) she left an
ailing mother and seven brothers and sisters. She felt very sad about this, but
of course her husband and marriage came first. She did have some elementary
school education in Komiza and wrote to her brothers and sisters in Croatian.
She also learned to read and write in English. She sent used clothing and small
amounts of money to her family, they were very appreciative and corresponded
with Barbara by letters. Mitch and Mary never saw any of their grandparents,
but had three aunts and three uncles with many children as first cousins and
second cousins this helped fill any void.
A
brother and a sister of Mote remained in Komiza, but Mote and his two brothers
and sister brought two of their nephews to Bellingham in 1937 - John J. Evich
and Peter Tolich. These two lived with their uncles for a few years, then both
moved to San Pedro. Mitch said that one of the fondest memories of his
upbringing was the lovely home-made bread his mother used to bake. 'The aroma
is still with me, today." he said. "Then there was the home-made
Slavonian soup and the Hrustele, Pasurate, and anise flavored Christmas
cookies!"
Mitch
said, "Because of having asthma at an early age, I didn't always attend
Mass with my parents. As a result . I was in disbelief when one of my
classmates at Lowell School announced that he attended Sacred Heart Church. I
thought only people from Vis and Komiza were Catholic!" (His classmate was
of Irish descent).
Mote
had the purse seiner "Independence" and it was built in 1917. He
retired in 1952 and his son, Mitch, took over the boat in 1944. Mote also
fished as a crew member for 8 years for his son. He owned and/or partnered
three other purse seine boats. He said he didn't really like running a boat,
but preferred crewing. He did operate the "Lion" for six seasons in
Alaska (False Pass, Bering Sea, and Puget Sound). He was once praised by his
skipper Nick "Labot” Vitalic as "Moje Najbolje covik"
("He's my best man!") Mitch said he believed he changed his attitude
toward running a seiner after he first operated the "Independence".
Mote was a good man - overly serious, perhaps (an introvert), but insisted that
both Mary and Mitchell have a college education. Barbara whole-heartedly
endorsed this plan. Barbara was a petite person - very kind and friendly -
(more of an extrovert). The best tribute that Mitchell heard about his mother
was from a Mrs. Bakke (a neighbor from across the street) "Barbara is such
a nice neighbor that I'm jealous of Mrs. Bidwell who lives closer and visits
more often than I with Barbara." Mitch had the advantage of a "tutor'
to learn his English (his sister Mary) because Mary was three years older than
he. Both of them grew up speaking both Croatian and English (as all the
Croatian offspring did). Mitch recalls as a small child when he attended a
wedding with his parents, he gathered off the floor, pennies and jelly beans
the guests had showered on the bride and groom.
During
the period of about 1915 through the early 30's many of the Croatian women
worked at the Pacific American Fisheries (which was the largest salmon cannery
in the world at that time), and Bellingham Canning Company during the salmon
season. In the earlier days of commercial salmon fishing, Mary (Ive's wife) and
Barbara cooked for their husbands while they fished salmon at San Juan Island.
(The women didn't fish with their husbands, but cooked ashore).
A
quote from Mitchell Evich - "At one time there were about three hundred
purse seine boats in Puget Sound and I believe over 80% of them were owned
and/or operated by men of Croatian descent. The Bellingham fleet was operated
largely by men from Korniza and Vis. The reason for this large number is that
the cannery owners realized the experience, seamanship, etc. of the Croatians
and offered them boats (which they eventually paid for). Many of the
immigrants, after living in Bellingham for a few years, moved to San Pedro,
California where there was year-around fishing as opposed to only summer and
fall (salmon) fishing in our area. At one time during the thirties there were
more people from Komiza (and their children) living in San Pedro than there
were in Komiza itself!"
One
evening in the late 1930's there were 32 young Croatian-American men seated
around a large table at a local restaurant enjoying a few brews. Some of those
present were Mitchell D. Evich, Peter Pecarich, the Karuzas, the Zuanichs, the
Kinks, the Kuljis' and the Sarichs. Quite a group, don't you think? When Mitch
was in the eighth grade at Lowell Elementary, six of the five starters on their
football team were boys whose parents came from Komiza and Vis. They were:
Mitch Evich, Martin Stanovich, Mike Karuza, Emil Mardesich, Dominic Mustappa,
and Nick Mustappa. (Sleasman 1999)
FABIJANIC, NICK Priest-Editor
Father
Nick is a Pastor and Bishop's Secretary, St. Patrick's Church, Newburgh, New
York. Born June 1, 1913 in Omisalj, Island of Krk, Croatia. Ordained Priest in
1937; U.S. citizen since 1955. Educated
at Gymnasium, Visoko, Grad, 1932; State University, Ljubljana 1932-37; Fordham
University, New York, N.Y., A.M., 1955 with a major field of sociology,
philosophy and family. Editor of Krcki Kalendar - 1952-55.
FABRIS CLAN Fishermen-Music-Hotel
The
Fabris Clan came from the Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia. They emigrated to
San Francisco, California with the first coming in the 1870’s. Four brothers
came. Anton, born in 1860, was a cooper and died in Asti, California; Nikola,
born in 1861, married Margaret Vranizan in Fresno, he was a shoemaker and
businessman and died in 1942; Vincent, born in 1859, was a fisherman and a pioneer in Alaska. He had a
son named James. Vincent died in San Diego in 1949; Frank born in 1857 married
Cora Politeo and had four sons: Vincent, Ivan, Vladimir, Cyril, and a daughter
named Marie. Frank owned the Colombo
Hotel in San Francisco. He died in 1930 in San Francisco. Cousins of the
four brothers also came. Gerolomo had the Fabris Band in the 1890’s in San
Francisco; Geremiah was a dealer in hotel supplies; Dominic married Alice Tiret
of Paris, France and had a son, Vincent, and a daughter, Margaret.
FABRIS, IVAN M. Priest-Professor
Ivan
Fabris was born January 17, 1892 in San Francisco. His field is Philosophy and is a graduate of
Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington. He was ordained in 1924. He currently works as a Public Priestly
Counselor for the University of San Francisco. He speaks Croatian. he presently resides in San Francisco,
California.
FABRIS, NICK Property
Owner-Shoemaker-Vineyard
The
oldest businessman in Firebaugh is Nick Fabris who has been active in the
building up of and improving the place and a continual booster for Fresno
County. He was born at Starigrad, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia, February 14, 1867. His father, Vincent Fabris, was a
shoemaker, who died in his native country.
His widow survived him, coming to San Francisco where she resided until
her death. Nick Fabris learned the
shoemaker’s trade under his father and became an exceptional shoemaker. He came to San Francisco arriving April 22,
1885. Here he worked at the trade for a
time but it was not long before he had a shoe store of his own, his business
place being located on Broadway between Dupont and Stockton streets, San
Francisco until 1894. During this time
he took out his naturalization papers and became a citizen of the United
Staes. He came to Firebaugh in 1895 with
only fifteen cents in his pocket. He immediately found work on the Miller &
Lux ranch and a month later he bought a building only 8x10 and here he started
a shoe shop. His masterful workmanship
was appreciated and his business grew, making him so successful that a few
years later he purchased a liquor establishment- and still later he built a
store and started in the general merchandise business in which he has met with
success. He has prospered and invested in Firebaugh property where he
owns thirty-six lots and has built six residences. he also owns two
residences in Fresno and two acres on Milton Avenue, the same city, devoted to
raising Thompson seedless grapes. he also owns The Five Mile House in South San Francisco. In Fresno, in 1901, Mr.
Fabris was married to Miss Margareta Vragnizan who was born in his native
place, a woman of much business ability. Mr. Fabris was one of the
original trustees of the city of Firebaugh and is still serving in that
capacity having served as chairman of the Board two terms. He is an active member of the FIrebaugh
Merchants Association and aslo a member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
Fraternally he is a member of Mendota Lodge Knights of Puthias, the order of
Druids and the Foresters of America, having joined the latter order in San
Franicsco nearly thirty years ago.
FACCIOLLA, FRED Football
A
native of Dubrovnik, Croatia, he came to the Untied States at the age of 3, and
settled in Palo Alto, California. He was a contractor and designer of homes and
had resided at Incline Village, for the
past 12 years. He had played football at the University of Southern California
and subsequently played professional ball with the old Clippers in San
Francisco and with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1940’s. Fred Facciolla, 55,
of Incline Village, died following a
lengthy illness. Surviving are: his widow, Betty, of Incline; a daughter,
Elena, of San Francisco; sons, Bogie and Benjie, both of Incline; a sister,
Mary Guthoerol, of Stockton, Calif.; and a brother, Don, of Incline.
FARAC, WILLIAM Policeman-Military
William
N. Farac born April 1, 1928 in San Francisco, California. Father was Nicola Farac (Ban) born in 1888
and mother was Jerica (Anich) Farac born 1901.
Both parents were born in Blato, Island of Korcula, Dalmatia,
Croatia. Other siblings were: Elsie, Helen and Nickolas born in San
Francisco. Nicola Farac (ban) worked as
a blacksmith for the Southern Pacific Railroad during World War II, as did
Jerica. WIlliam served in the U.S. Navy as a Radio Operator on a destroyer in
the South Pacific. After the Navy,
William joined the San Francisco Police Deptartment in 1950. He began his career as a SF policeman,
detective and chose the Mounted Patrol in Golden Gate Park to work days and he
was promoted to Sgt. of Police. During
his career he received a 1st Class Meritorius Award for entering a burning
apartment building saving the lives of all the occupants. For apprehending a bank hold-up man,
murderors, and other felons, he received numerous citations. As his children were growing he volunteered
many years working with the S.F. youth in sports,
(PAL & CYO) Youth Fishing Programs, Counselor at Camp High
Sierra, Community Programs involving institutionized youth (Good Sheperd Home). After thirty-one years of service in the
Police Dept., he retired. In 1952, married Rosemany Cetinich, her parents Jura
and Palma were born in Blato, Korcula. There are five children: Stephen,
Robert, WIlliam, Karen and Lynda. There
are ten grandchildren. WIlliam and his family worked on fundraisers during the
Croatian war (1991-1994) for the
refugees. He has been affiliated with the Blato Club, Slavonic
Society, Croatian Fraternal Union and other clubs thoughout his career.
FATOVIC, JOHN Electronics Engineer
John
is an engineer for XCO Corporation in Englewood, New Jersey. He was born on
December 29, 1932, in Sestruni, Croatia. He completed his education at Stevens
Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, 1956-60, B.E. Degree, and
M.S.E.E. in 1964 with a specialization in computers and application of computer
techniques. His experience includes: Design and develop several projects for
the applications in airplanes such as solid state mode switching for the C-141
autopilot system; Digital design of correction for the compass systems; Weapons
release system; Digital guidance computer for Persian missile; Digital air data
computer. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers, Inc, Computer memories and applications. Military service included
American Army, Korea, 1955-56. He is also President of St. Cecilia's choir at
Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, New York and President of Croatian Folklore
Ensemble, New York.
FELANDA, ANDREW Fisherman
Andrija
Felanda and his wife Margarita was blessed on August 22, 1913 by the birth of a
son in Komiza on the Isle of Vis and they named the baby Andrew Felanda. Within
the next year, as World War One was approaching, they decided to leave for
America. Andrija left first and on April 19, 1914 Margarita and her son Andrew,
who was a very active young boy, were about to disembark, as passengers, to
Ellis Island, New York. At this moment, young Andrew got away, luckily
Margarita's friend Nina Demaria ran after the boy and caught him just in time,
saving Andrew from leaping off the boat's gang plank. After arriving in New
York the small party traveled on the train across the continent to Everett,
Washington where Margarita and her son Andrew would join her husband. By 1916,
the family grew with the birth of Katherine Felando on May 17, 1915 and then
John Felando on August 16,1916 in Bellingham, Washington. By 1920 the family
left the Pacific Northwest and arrived in San Pedro, California, joining Eve
Felando, Andrija's brother, who had previously arrived in the United States in 1891
at the age of eleven years when his parents visited and allowed him to stay
with the Petrich family on 1302 Centre Street, San Pedro. At age 20 Eve Felando
lived with Evich Family and was not only a fisherman but later became an
interpreter for foreign groups in the San Pedro Community since he was well
educated and spoke five languages. Andrija and Margarita Felanda's family
eventually settled and lived at 1411 Centre street and by March 9, 1920 their
fifth child, Nick Felando was born. On October 27, 1921 their last child,
daughter Pearl Felando, was born. While living in San Pedro, John remembered
his mother preparing to wash the family clothes, since there was no washing
machine, she had to heat a large galvanize tub outside on rocks with a fire in order
to have hot water. Then she carried the hot water into the house and placed it
in a wash tub attached to the wall where she washed the clothes by hand.
Katherine also remembered her dad Andrija who, while walking to work, was
standing on the corner at 14th and centre in San Pedro, when a car turned over
and the person inside the vehicle was pinned underneath. Immediately, Andrija
went over to help and began to lift the car while the surrounding people rushed
over and pulled the person out. From that day forward Katherine's father's back
bothered him but he continued to work as a longshoreman and later went fishing.
FELANDO, GERALD State Assemblyman
Born
December 29, 1934 San Pedro, California. Practiced dentistry in the South Bay
in October of 1977 but this was terminated due to spinal injury. Elected to the
California State Legislature and member of the Assembly. Held this position
till 1992. In June, 1993 Governor Wilson appointed Gerald Felando to the
"Youthful Offender Parole Board (1993-June 1995). Resigned this position
and became senior assistant to the Speaker of California Assembly. January 1,
1996 retired. On October 24, 1953 married Sonna Rae Murrey. Cynthia was born in
1954 and Nicholas in 1956 in San pedro, California.
FELANDO, NICHOLAS Fisherman-President
Born
April 25, 1909 San Pedro, California Died November 29, 1998 Palm Springs,
California at age 89 yrs. Fished as a young boy on his fathers boat
"Nightingale". Also, fished on the "Magellan, the "Western
Sky", and with Vince Cimitich. Part owner and Captain of the fishing
vessel the "Treasure Island", and President of the Fisherman
Cooperative Association. Became a buyer for Van Camp Seafood Co. and traveled
from Alaska to Panama and Central America.
Nicholas married Winifred Stanojevich, born in Astoria, Oregon, on March
19, 1931. Their sons Gerald a dentist, born 1934 and Wilfred born in 1937.
FELLER, WILLIAM Mathematician-Professor
William
Feller (1906-1970) is a well known name among mathematicians dealing with
probability theory. He was a Jew born and educated in Zagreb, where he started
his university study of mathematics, a professor at the University of Kiel,
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Lund, Providence, Princeton etc., a member of many
scientific organizations. Many important mathematical notions bear his name:
Feller's process, Feller's transition function, Feller's semigroup, Feller's
property.
FERICH, JOHN Skipper Inn
Born
near Slavonska Pozega, Croatia in 1900.
John arrived in Gary, Indiana in 1925 and found work at the Gary Steel
Mills. Moving to San Pedro in 1949 he
and his brother-in-law Charles Pavlich opened the Skipper Inn. For many years Ferich was a member of
Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 588, Dalmatinska Sloga. He died in 1982.
FILCICH CLAN Croatian Activities
Frances
Filcich died on June 29, 1998 at the age of 98 in Hayward, California. She was born Francika Blazic on May 14, 1900
to Dragica and Frane Blazic in Rijeka, Croatia.
She married Ivan Filcich in Rijeka in 1929 and then migrated to the
United States to Gary, Indiana in 1931.
In 1946 Francika, Ivan and their three children John, Rose and Tommy
Filcich moved to Oakland where they lived for 16 years. It was during
their first year in Oakland that the family became members of Croatian Fraternal Union Tomislav Lodge
121. That was 52 years ago this year.
Frances Filcich’s husband, Ivan passed away in 1953. Frances moved to San
Lorenzo, just outside of Oakland to be near her daughter Rose and son-in-law
Marko Skorup and her twin
granddaughters Karen and Sharen and little Francine Marie. “Francika’s life revolved around her family,
her Croatian heritage, social gatherings, faith in Our Lord and the Blessed
Mother, and her garden. First and
formost in her life was her family- John, her first son, his wife Kay and their
two children Jana and Mark Filcich.
Francika frequently visited them in Los Angeles and they visited
Francika several times a year. He had several record shops in Oakland, San
Francisco and Los Angeles where he sold Croatian music and all muticultural
music. Frances worked in his shops for
many years and participated in selling records at the Kolo Festivals and baked
oranaca and apple strudel for his festivals and workshops where he taught kolo
dancing. John’s wife, Kay printed a
recipe book entitled Mama Filcichs Recipes in honor of her mother-in-law who
had taught her so much about Croatian cooking. Frances’ daughter Rose and her
late husband Marko Skorup were her backbone in San Lorenzo during her last 30
years. She was so proud to have seen two
of her grandaughters marry and enjoy the lives to two great-grandchildren-
Brian and Stephanie Anderson. Grandma
and Great-Grandma were a big part of the Skorup children’s daily lives. Tommy,
her youngest son, frequented trips to Croatia with his mother numerous times,
and this was her greatest heartwarming- being with her many brothers and
sisters, nieces and nephews who all resided in Rijeka, Croatia. The Filcich family brought many nieces and
nephews to visit Francika on may occasions throughout her later years and these
were indeed treasured moments of her life. Besides her family, her Croatian
heritage was her fountain of life. Even
though she lived in the U.S.A. for 67 years, she never forgot her ethnic heritage.
Her daily life revolved around her Croatian language, Hrvatski prayers,
recipes and music. Whenever we would
visit Francika wou would hear records palying kolos, Frankie Yankovic Polkas,
waltzes, Istriani and Dalmatian songs- always singng along and tapping out the
music. Francika belonged to many social clubs: Oakland Tomislav Lodge 121,
Saint John’s Leisure and Bingo Clubs, Pinochle Card Parties and the San Lorenzo
Socialbles. She loved attending the CFU
picnics and Napredak Club functions in San Jose and always donated her
delicious cakes in behalf of our lodge.
FILKOVICH-FILL, JOHN T. Croatian Chorus
John
Fill was born in a small country town in upper Michigan, the son of Croatian
parents, Tom and Rosa Filkovich. The mother tongue and love for music was
deeply instilled in his early childhood. As a young boy he became an
accomplished pianist. In Detroit, as his father directed the Croatian Chorus,
John would accompany the group at the piano. Due to the illness of his father,
John, though only seventeen years of age, directed the Chorus at a public
appearance. From this successful performance he continued as his Father's
protege. (Tomo Filkovich was already world renowned as a great choral director,
organizer and propagator of Croatian music and culture.) At the age of nineteen
John was presented with the baton, and his father stepped back into the bass
section to sing under his son's direction. It should be noted that during his
senior year in high school, Mr. Fill was Student-Director of their 70-voice
Glee Club. Mr. Fill continued to teach and direct the Croatian Chorus, which
had from sixty to ninety voices, for another fourteen years. (During this
period he directed a combined Chorus of 500 voices as a part of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.) It was in 1943
that Mr. Fill and his family decided to make their home in Los Angeles,
California. In 1948 he collaborated with his distinguished father in the birth
and organization of the Croatian Chorus
of Los Angeles. He became the first Teacher-Director.
FILKOVICH-FILL, THOMAS Croatian Chorus
"Tom,"
as he was lovingly called, first set foot upon the shores of the new continent
in 1904 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, later Pittsburgh, and Monessen, Pa. He
finally settled down in Detroit, Michigan, where in 1923, he founded the
Detroit Croatian Singing Society "Nightingale", which will soon
celebrate its 45th anniversary. In 1943 he came to Los Angeles. He founded and
was the first President of the Los Angeles Croatian
Chorus "Slavulj" which is now celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Many of our Croatian Fraternal Union Lodges and cultural organizations have
much of gratitude to offer for the living presence of such one whose warmth and
understanding seems born of capacity of deep friendship which in fullest
measure could be felt, and transmitted only in part, to others, with words and
voices in tones and accents bordering on music. Whenever Tom went he could
dismiss an ever-present and consuming urge to plow dormant soil in his desire
to spread the growth of musical appreciation. His son John became the first
Director and obviously inherited the love for music as well as the desire to
propagate our treasured Croatian culture. On Saturday, December 6, 1952 his
"family" as he lovingly called the Los Angeles "Slavulj",
stood at his grave, with family and many friends to say "Rest in Peace in
your final resting place." Although gone from this earth, and his dynamic
personality stilled forever, we will carry on, as he wished. During the time of
his confinement Brother Filkovich never for a moment lost interest in what he
fondly called his "Second Family" - the Los Angeles Chorus
"Slavulj." All he asked is that we work diligently, in order that we
may promote our culture of the ages and preserve the qualities and
characteristics of ancient Croatian compositions and traditions. This is both
our duty and our privilege. With the help of his talented son John, our great
Director, we will never shy from our promise. Mary Milakovich Pickard.
FINDRIK, LOVRO, J. Artist-Professor
Lovro
Findrik is a professor of Fine Arts at Immaculata College and Rosemont College,
Rosemont, Pennsylvania. Born August 9, 1926 in Arilje; married with three
children, Education includes Real Gymnasium, in Petrinja, Croatia, Graduate
1943; Teacher's College Petrinja, 1943-47; School of Contemporary Art, Zagreb,
Croatia. 1947-48; Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, 1951- 1959; Diploma of Academic
Sculptor in February 1959 with a major field in Sculpture and Graphic, modern
and classic; all media; all techniques;
Portrait, Human figure (Miniature, oversize, relief). Monuments all
types, Art for churches, Mosaic, Grafitos, Intar8y, Fresco. Member of the
Croatian Academy of America.
Illustration
and Scenography for the Theatre in Petrinja, Sisak, Croatia 1959-1960; Art
Teacher in Teacher's College, Sisak, Croatia Large composition in metal, Sisak
1959-1963; Large Composition in plaster and copper "Defeat of Turks at
Sisak" for City Hall of Sisak 1962; Built modern puppet theatre in Zagreb.
Sculpture, "Benches" at Vienna, Austria 1963. Oversize figure for
Szrall Pavillion, N.Y., N.Y. Art decoration in the Church of Hamilton, Ontario
Canada; Nine feet Crucifixion for Immaculata Col., Immaculata, Pennsylvania;
Art Teacher in Fletcher Art Memorial, Philadelphia 1966-68. Exibitions: One Man Show. Sisak, Croatia 1961; Group
Show of Contemporary Croatian Art, Zagreb 1962; One Man Show, Vienna, Austria
1963; Group Show of Graphics, (1st Prize). Augsburg, W. Germany 1963; Group
Show, Chicgo. Illinois.1964; 19th and 20th Century Croatian Art, New York,
N.Y.1965; One Man Show, Burlingham, Pennsylvania 1967; One Man Show Broomall
1968. First Prize for Graphic Augsburg.
FORENCICH, FRANK Police
Inspector-Military
Retired
San Francisco Police Department inspector, 76 years of age, died at home in his
native San Francisco on May 26, 1999.
Devoted husband of Helen for 53 years: cherished father of Betty Hudak,
Frank Forencich Jr. and Lynne Quadrelli; loving father-in-law of Nobert, Paula
and Skip; proud grandfather of Norbert Jr.;, Kori, Jeffrey, Laura, Jason,
Andrea, Melissa and Katelynne; beloved brother of Madeline Huffman; adored son
to his late parents, Nicholas and Bepina Forencich born on the Island of Brac,
Dalmatia, Croatia; dear brother-in-law of Jim Huffman, Gladys and the late
Dominic Puizina, Catherine and John McCann, Martin and the late Mary Barbero.
Member of the Slavonic Mutual Benevolent Society for over 50 years: Intl
Footprint Assn Chapter One; VFW #4103; DAV #144; Military Order of the Purple
Heart; American Legion Post #456; 2nd Marine Division Assn; SFPD Widows
and Orphans Assn; SF Police Officers Assn; Veteran SFPOA; SF Police Athletic
Club; Crocker Amazon Bocce Club. Veteran
of WWII, ‘Semper Fi.”
FRANCESKI, ANTHONY Oyster Beds
Anthony
Franceski, a well known resident of Triumph, has been associated with the
oyster industry in Plaquemine Parish for some forty-five years or more or ever
since he reached this country about 1895. Mr. Franceski started his oyster
business on a small scale and at that time had his headquarters at Empire and
still conducts his operations from there, maintaining his home at Triumph. With
his two sons, who are associated in the business with him, Mr. Franceski has
developed into a large scale operator and owns a splendid boat equipped with a
new thirty-six horse power engine. Their equipment includes the latest and most
up-to-date dredging devices which make for the greatest possible recovery from
their oyster beds located west of the Mississippi River in theGulf of Mexico.
Seed oysters are obtained outside of Quarantine Bay and are of the highest
quality obtainable. Mr. Franceski also has his own oyster buildings located in
the Gulf adjacent to his oyster beds. Mr. Franceski and his sons have made many
notably large hauls and one haul made in a period of fourteen hours by only two
men netted five hundred barrels or sacks of oysters, something of a record for
the Gulf area. Anthony Franceski was born at Dalmatia, Croatia on the
fourteenth of April, 1878, a son of John Franceski and Anne Franceski. He was
educated in the schools of his native country and came to the United States
when he was seventeen years of age, landing in New Orleans and settling
permanently soon afterward in Plaquemines Parish where he has, remained since.
On the fourteenth of December, 1903, Mr. Franceski was married to Miss Mary
Dominican, also a native of Dalmatia, and they are the parents of three
children, two sons, Sam and Andrew Franceski, both of whom are married, and a
daughter, now Mrs. Tony Grama. Mrs. Grama is the mother of three children and
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Franceski have one child. Mr. Franceski is well known in the
Croatian colony of Plaquemines Parish and enjoys the highest standing in the
community where he has lived for nearly fifty years. He is an exceptionally
capable oyster man and the superior quality of his oysters has made Mr.
Franceski a leading figure in the ranks of the local oyster producers.
FRANCIN, MICHAEL Fisherman
Michael
Francin (who was born on the island of
Vis, Croatia) and Maudie Cepernich married in 1931. He fished crab in the
winter, and fished salmon with the Martinis family for many years. They lived
in Anacortes, Washington until the family moved to Eureka, California in 1953.
Maudie's husband, Michael passed away in 1964. Maudie went back to school and
worked for the county tax office until the early 1980's. She traveled twice to
Croatia to visit the many cousins there and moved back to Anacortes, Washington
in 1989. Maudie was born on November 2, 1909 in Anacortes, Washington to Spiro
and Anna Cepernich. She died on June 5, 2003. Her parents were from the village
Splitska on the island of Brac, Croatia. She was a member of the Anacortes
Croatian Club and was also active in the Catholic church in California and
Anacortes. She is survived by her son Joseph of Folsom, California; and her
daughter Patricia of Nyack, New York She has three grand daughters and 4 great
grandchildren. (Sleasman 2003)
FRANCISCOVICH, F.M. Senator
Coming
from Astoria, Oregon in 1938 to San Francisco Croatian Day, Senator F. M.
Franciscovich, presiding officer of the Oregon Senate, delivered the speech on
“My Impression of the Croatian People” in the English language. After listening to Mr. Francisovich’s
masterful control of the English language, we are not surprised that he has
risen to such great heights in the political machinery of our neighboring
state. Croatians attending last Sunday’s Croatian Day in San Francisco have no
need for such exaggeration, because there certainly was a packed house for the
afternoon program, and twice as packed for the Grand Ball. A more enthusiastic
crowd of both young and old people is hard to find at any affair- certainly
it’s many a moon since such a crowd attended any Croatian function here on the
west coast. The afternoon program opened by M.J. Tudja chairman of the
committee, was excellent. Senator “Andy”
Pierovich’s treatment of the job as Master of Ceremonies for the entire day
deserves commendation. Starting off in
the Croatian language, he showed he had as good a command of our language as
any of our American born youngsters.
Most of the Senator’s speaking, however, was in English. John D.
Butkovich, National President of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America,
addressed the gathering in the Croatian language and Mr. Butkovich is certainly
a master of the oratorical art. Milan M. Petrak, editor of the Croatian
Fraternal Union official organ, also coming here with Mr. Butkovich from
Pittsburgh, spoke on some of the work accomplished by the powerful organization
of American Croatians.
FRANCISCOVICH, MITCHELL
Restaurant-Boardinghouse
Mitchell
Franciscovich ( wife Kirincich ) started a workingman's restaurant on Heron
Street in Aberdeen, Washington. In addition he built a large two story house in
East Aberdeen so that arriving county-man would have a place to stay while they
found work. It was his practice to take a horse and wagon to the railroad
station every day to greet the train and any Croatian immigrants aboard. If
they had a local address to find he would see they reached there. If not, it
was off to his home or a boarding house.
FRANCOVICH, ALBERT USS FRANCOVICH
Albert
Anthony Francovich, born 23 January 1920 at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, enlisted in
the Navy 8 March 1939. As an aviation
machinist’s mate first class with a patrol squadron in the Solomons Operation,
he was killed in action 6 September 1942.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his great heroism in
standing to his gun although mortally wounded in an engagement with a Japanese seaplane. A naval fighting ship was named
after him, USS FRANCOVICH Destroyer escort, APD-116, Displacement: 1,390 t., Length: 306’, Beam:
37’, Draft: 12’7”, Complement:
204, Armament: 1 5”, Class: CROSLEYM The first FRANCOVICH (APD-116) (ex-DE-606),
was reclassified 17 July 1944, launched 5 June 1945 by Bethlehem-Hingham
Shipyard, Hingham, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. Mary F. Edmunds, sister of Aviation
Machinist's Mate First Class Francovich; and commissioned 6 September 1945,
Lieutenant Commander M. Maclean, USNR, in command. After her shakedown training,
FRANCOVICH arrived at Green Cove Springs 18 November 1945 to give assistance in
the inactivation of ships being readied for reserve there. She was placed out of commission, in reserve,
at Green Cove Springs 29 April 1946. [Stricken from the Navy Register on 1
April 1964, the USS FRANCOVICH was sold in May 1965.
FRANCOVICH, ALLAN Film
On
April 17, 1997, as he was going through customs at the Houston airport,
documentary filmmaker Allan Francovich had a sudden heart attack. He died at
age 56 with no history of heart trouble.
I've been watching and researching the films of Allan Francovich for a
while now. After I first encountered his films I kept thinking to myself: “Why
is it that I never see his name or films listed in film histories?” Here was a
filmmaker who made these great films about the CIA and about U.S. intervention
in Central America. These pioneering films are heirs to the counter-cinéma vérité film tradition that began
in the '60s and '70s. They are very artfully crafted and ironic without being
pretentious, the death knell for anything involving art and politics these
days. Still, Francovich is virtually unknown in the art world circuit, and only
marginally known in the activist and documentary world. But his last film,
Maltese Double Cross (1994), about the 1988 terrorist attack on PanAm 103, has
probably given him more press than he's ever had. Two suspects in the case are
on trial now, after more than a decade of controversy and political
maneuvering. Maltese Double Cross has
been practically banned in the United States. It was denounced by the FBI, who
were ordered to investigate the film and filmmaker. Francovich was also
threatened with libel suits. The film makes the case that the two Libyan
suspects are possibly innocent and being used as part of a larger cover-up of a
drug running operation carried out by the CIA, the Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The operation involved, in
part, negotiations to free hostages in Lebanon and the monitoring of the
controlled shipment of drugs from Lebanon to the U.S. on airlines in order to
track the movement of the drug trade in the United States. According to the
film, this operation was infiltrated by a terrorist group in Syria, which was
paid by Iranians to retaliate against the U.S. Navy attack on an Iranian
passenger plane. President George Bush responded to criticism of the attack
with the now infamous reply: “I will never apologize for the United States of
America—I don't care what the facts are.”
Well, the fact is just a few months after the incident, PanAm 103
exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. And as any good sleuth knows, such
coincidences make for excellent clues. The United States and Great Britain
originally assumed it was Iranian retaliation, but switched the blame to two
Libyans in Malta after the Gulf War. The film argues that the West turned its
investigation in the direction of Libya because it needed the support of both
Syria and Iran in order to justify the intervention into, and subsequent
sanctions against, Iraq. Libya had been a convenient target for anti-terrorist
action on the part of the United States since Ronald Reagan came into office.
One of his CIA initiatives was a well-documented disinformation campaign, then
headed by the same CIA officer later in charge of investigating the Lockerbie
case.
FRANICEVICH, ANDY Restaurant
Over
a couple glasses of wine, Tony Markovich, Andy Franicevich, and Mike Stipic had
the idea of building a grand and elegant restaurant on the Wharf at Jack London
Square in Oakland. Having worked as a
trio for ten years at the Oakland
Seafood Grotto, they had acquired a food clientele. But rather than renovating the old site, they
decided to embark upon a new and challenging adventure, which was not only to
be costly, but would involve numerable plans- thus following their fathers’
footsteps. Andy’s father left the Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia. to settle
in Louisiana where he worked the oyster farms.
It was San Francisco, however here he ended up owning a chain of
restaurants, all but one fell victim to the Depression. Tony’s Markovich’s
father migrated from the Island of Brac in Dalmatia and settled in San
Francisco where he started as a dishwasher, waiter, and advanced to cook before
he owned four restaurants. Somehow they all seemed to end up working at Maye’s Oyster House where Mike’s father
was cook. Mike’s father came from
Montenegro and enlisted in the U.S. Army during W.W.I. when he met the sister
of Andy’s mother, he married her- all three families were very close over the
years. It was in 1955, when the sons of these immigrants became partners. The
Grotto finally became a reality in 1966.
Upon entering this famous establishment, you are greeted by your congenial
hosts (Andy, Tony, or Mike). The warmth
of their personalities, as well as the interesting decor makes on feel very
relaxed and welcomed. Sport memorabilia
fill the walls for all three partners participated in athletics. Tony was an outstanding pitcher for St.
Ignatius, and Andy and Mike played football for Mission. Their love and respect for sports is
reflected in the displays of autographed photos of famed athletics, such as Joe
Dimaggio and Croatian football star, George Blanda of the Oakland Raiders. A football and shoe belonging to Blanda are
enclosed in glass as tribute to him.
Also displayed are the golfclubs of Tony Lema, golf pro and a long time
friend of Andy’s, who died in a plane crash. As your eyes scan further, you
notice pictures of team members of the 49ers, Oakland A’s, and the Oakland
Raiders who frequently visit the Grotto. With a large fireplace in the center
of the room, the dining atmosphere is romantic as well as captivating. It gives pleasure to look out upon the water
at small luxury boats, and then to see tugboats guiding in a ship, while a
large container ship looms in the distance.
And as night falls, and lights dazzle on the blackened water, the
enchantment is total. Whether dining early or late, you’ll find the cuisine
exquisite, and the help as gracious as the owners. Rosemary Farac.
FRANICEVICH, BOBBY Fishing Marina
For
generations, southeast Louisiana has been synonymous with some of the best
fishing and hunting in the world. It is largely the result of the Mississippi
River, which drains more than 40 percent of the continental United States. This
powerful force disperses rich nutrients throughout the vast wetlands, making
the lower Mississippi River Delta one of the most prolific regions on the
planet. In the middle of it all, amid networks of meandering bayous, deep
canals and bays, is the town of Buras. Here, nestled along State Hwy. 23 on the
west side of the river, is Joshua’s Marina. Often referred to as the crown
jewel of all marinas in Plaquemines Parish, hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts from
across the southeastern United States are making a new home at Joshua’s Marina.
Even before Bobby Franicevich purchased the property in 1982, Joshua’s has been
long regarded as the gateway to the most productive fishing areas in the
southern United States. From veterans, to professional guides, to "weekend
warriors," Buras, and nearby Empire and Venice, are known as some of the
best areas there are for saltwater, coastal fishing. Trophy speckled trout and
tackle-busting bull reds literally swarm in spring and summer, and then invade
the upper interior estuaries in the fall and winter months. So it’s easy to see
why Joshua’s has become so popular. But one of the biggest reasons why so many
have "discovered" Joshua’s Marina is that some of the best areas to
fish are within a few minutes of the hoist. Through the 1960s and 1970s, many
locals fished and hunted in this undeveloped area. One of the first people to
realize the potential of this part of Buras was local businessman Bobby
Franicevich, who purchased the property in 1982. At the time, Joshua’s was only
a dirt road, a small hoist and a trailer. But Franicevich had big plans. And
soon those plans were put into action.
FRANICEVIC, FRANE Sunce Winery
Sunce
Winery (pronounced "sun-say', meaning "sun' in Croatian) originally
One World Winery, was founded by Dr. Frane Franicevic. A native of the island
of Hvar, Dalmatia, Croatia Frane was born into a family with a centuries-old
winemaking tradition. Frane, Janae, and their two daughters, Zora and Sunce,
invite you to a down-to-earth, unpressured, and serene experience at their
winery. Don't be afraid to bring the kids! Frane Franicevic has spent over
eleven years in the wine industry and currently is owner and winemaker of Sunce
Winery in Santa Rosa, California. After earning, a Ph.D in psychology, Frane
turned to his love and passion which was winemaking. He developed this passion
while growing up in Croatia because his parents and grandparents made wine and
still do. Frane's wife, Janae, is in charge of marketing their wines. Sunce is
located in Santa Rosa at 1839 Olivet Road. Their tasting room is open 10:30 to
5 every day. Sunce is the perfect small winery as you can meet the winemaker.)
It might seem strange that the first thing Frane Franicevic wants to show a
visitor to Sunce winery is an empty plot of land dotted with a scattering of
little yellow stakes marking out a new addition to their existing 40'x6O'
space. What he sees when he looks at the stakes is his brand new winery, where
all operations will be under one roof: crushing, fermentation, barrel storage,
bottling and case storage. Although the heavy rains have delayed
groundbreaking, Frane says, with confidence, "the building will be
completed by May."
Next
he shares his excitement about the tidy four-acre home vineyard, planted with
Pinot Noir in June 2001. Because the vines have been planted with tight
spacing, Frane feels that the vineyard will furnish enough top-quality grapes
for him to make about 1,000 cases of wine, which will be about half the total
production of this tiny family winery. For ten years the winery has remained at
about the 2,000 case level - making 14 different wines, each, obviously very
limited - about 150 cases of each. Three white wines - a Russian River
Sauvignon. Blanc, a Chardonnay and a blend of Lake County grapes called Mistral
are made each year, and they usually sell out by the first weekend of March, at
the Russian River Wine Road barrel tasting event. Sunce offers a diverse menu
of unusual varietals and unique blends, such as Chardonnay, Symphony,
Valdiquie, Mistral (a blend of 50% Chardonnay 40% Chenin Blanc, and 10%
Sauvignon Blanc) and Mariage (a red Vintner's Blend). Frane produced two Pinot
Noirs from the 2000 vintage. One, under the Nobility Franicevic label with the
coat of arms of his family, granted in 800 A.D, was made from grapes drawn from
a neighboring Piner Road vineyard. "It's a big, ruby red Pinot with a lot
of character," Frane says. "We left a third of the berries whole, and
fermented the wine for 26 days with extended maturation. There is a lot of
spice in the nose and in the flavor.
"It's
a lot of work for Frane," comments Janae, Frane's wife and partner,
"but this wine started winning medals almost immediately." Awards are
common for the Sunce wines which win gold medals and best of class rankings in
almost every competition into which they are entered. Frane, who tends to be
very philosophical credits the soil, climate, clones and Mother Nature with
producing the wines which are constantly evolving into something more exciting.
"You can't eliminate the intervention of the winemaker," he admits,
“and it is my place to look at the barrel of wine, taste and recognize what it
needs to bring it to its ultimate excellence." The bungalow neatness of
the tasting room provides an instant feeling of being welcomed as part of the
family, and when Janae is behind the tasting bar, her sparkling enthusiasm for
the wines, the winery and her visitors is contagious. Early in the winery's
life the Franicevics followed the route of most new wineries, trying to attract
distributors to handle their wines, but they soon took a step backward and now
all marketing is through direct sales. "By meeting the customers in
person, or having contact with them through our club," says Janae,
"we learn what it is they are looking for in the wines they select.
FRANICEVICH, MATO AND SOPHIE Restaurant
Mato
and Sophie Franicevich opened the first restaurant in what is now Oakland’s
Jack London Square. She was married in 1914 to the late Mato (Franicevich, who
operated the historic Maye’s Oyster
houses in San Francisco until 1936, when he opened the Oakland Seafood Grotto on the Estuary. Mrs. Franicevich remained active in the
operation of that family owned restaurant until shortly before her death. She
was a charter member and past president of the American Slavic Women’s Club; a
board member of the International Institute of the East bay, past president of
the Activities Council and a member of the California Club. Mrs. Franicevich,
81, was a native of Sucuraj, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia, who came to Oakland with
her parents when she was 11. She is
survived by three sons: Andrew of Oakland, Thomas of San Francisco and Robert
of Sacramento; a sister, Slavka Stipic; seven grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
FRANICEVICH, MATT Restaurant
It
was early morning several years ago.
Matt Franicevich, part owner of
Mayes Oyster House on Polk Street, hurried to the restaurant conscious of a
big day of the business ahead. He opened the door and found a customer
already seated, reading the morning paper.
It was the late Governor Rolph, himself, patiently waiting for his
favorite morning dish. Early though it
was, Matt hustled around after greeting the governor. Not only has Mayes Oyster
House been a rendezvous for the late Gov. Rolph and his official family and
friends but the hospitality and good food of this eating center has been a
land-mark in the San Francisco’s history since its opening in 1867. In the begining it was one with Maye’s Oyster
House in the California Market. There
were two partners, and they decided to divide the business. One remained in the California Market, where
it is operated today by Mrs. Stephen Millisich; the other moved on Polk Street
and Matt separated from it to operate at 1233 Polk Street, a few doors
from his former location. The three
partners of the grill today are Dalmatians and people of this same nationality
have been in control of Mayes’ for the past 30 years. President of the firm is Matt Franicevich,
secretary is John Vranjos and the
chef is Louis Jelecich. When Matt
Franicevich first came to the United States he was in the oyster business in
the South. Later he came to San
Francisco, for he had relatives here and believed the city offered him greater
opportunities. He opened a restaurant in
the commission district on Washington Street.
He has been connected with Mayes’ Oyster House since 1922. One of the
famous persons who consistently patronizes Matt and his sea food cuisine is
Gertrude Atherton Russell, and with friends who she has met on her numerous
trips abroad and to whom she recommends the place. Mrs. Atherton, as well as a number of society
women, like especially the Olympia oysters breaded for which Mayes is famous.
From automobile row come some of the important dealers to eat. From the Civic Center come judges, lawyers,
city, county and state officials and all these at the counter, at the open
tables, in the dining room and in the private booths, total from 300 to 400
meals daily, morning, noon and night.
Mr. Franicevich is survived by his wife, Sophie, of 4131 Lincoln avenue,
Oakland; by three sons, Andrew, Robert and Thomas, and by six grandchildren.
FRANICEVICH, TOM Brewery Manager
Tom
was the second son of Matt and Sophie Franicevich, and was raised on 28th
Street in the Mission District, attending Mission High in San Francisco. After
graduation, he worked at the family restaurant, The Oakland Seafood Grotto.
With the advent of WW11, he enlisted in the Army and attained the rank of Captain.
Upon his discharge, he married his sweetheart, Kathyrn, and worked for the
Board of Equalization and subsequently as the Industrial Relations Manager for
Burgermeister Brewery until its closure. He was then associated with Sapunar
Realty until his recent retirement. Tom was a gracious gentleman, quiet, yet
the kind of friend we all seek. He was a member of the Slavonic Society of San
Francisco. Tom died on November 23, 1992. He leaves his loving wife Kathyrn,
his children, John, Joann, James, Robert, four grandchildren and brothers, Andy
and Robert.
FRANICEVICH, ZELJKO Oysters
Franks
was born in Sucuraj on the Island of Hvar, Croatia on December 26, 1917 and
came to Louisiana in January, 1935. Upon arrival here he entered the oyster
cultivating business with his father, Joseph Franks and his father's partner
George Vujnovic. In 1941 he, his father and his brother Zvonko formed their own
oyster company. During the years 1941 to 1969 that Franks was an oyster
cultivator he actively promoted the preservation and improvement of the
Louisiana oyster industry. He was a charter member of the Louisiana Oyster
Dealers and Growers Association, served as its president 1958-1959, and as a
member of the Board of Directors until 1969. He was also a member of the National
Shellfish Association. Franks is also involved with other types of businesses.
During the 1950s he organized, and served on the Board of Directors and as
Vice-President of, a finance company. In the 1970s he helped organize a
stevedoring company where he presently serves as a member of its Board of
Directors and its Vice-President. He is very active in civic and social
organization. The following are a few of the organizations to which he belongs.
He held various offices in many of them: Chamber of Commerce of the Greater New
Orleans Area, Apartment Association' of New Orleans, United Slavonian
Benevolent Association, Slavonian Pleasure Club and Laca Club, a Carnival
Organization. In 1941 Franks married Helen Pausina whose forebears came from
the Peljesac Penninsula. The have two children a daughter, Mrs. Sidney F.
Raymond, nee Helen Ann Franks, and a son Joseph V. Franks II, and seven
grandchildren. New Orleans is one of the busiest ports in the United States
(second only to New York) and as such is visited annually by hundreds of
ocean-going vessels. Among those are many of Yugoslav registry. Recently a
prominent Croatian immigrant in New Orleans Zeliko Franks (Franicevic) has been
pointed an Honorary Consul of SFR Yugoslavia in New Orleans for the State of
Louisiana.
FRANICH CLAN
Another
early immigrant was Frank Franich (wife, Katie Vlatkovich). A carpenter by
trade, Franich wasted no time putting his tools to work and built many homes
and buildings in South Aberdeen, Washington. Among the larger structures were
the Liberty Pool Hall and Grocery, the Bay City Pool Hall and Grocery, the
Zrinski-Frankopan lodge hall and the Croatian Workingman's Company Store. When
Frank's brother, Andy Franich and brother-in-law, Steve Vlatkovich, came he put
them to work as carpenters. A third brother, Steve Franich was a successful
photographer. Three man who plied the same trade to Chehalis County in its
infancy and did their part to help grow.
FRANICH, MARTIN Auto Dealer - Apple
Grower Shipper
Mr.
Franich is a native of Watsonville, and was born on March 17, 1912, the son of
Martin, Sr., and Lucy (Brailo) Franich. Both of his parents came to this
country form Dubrovnik, Croatia. The
public schools of Watsonville provided the younger Martin C. Franich with his early
education. He graduated from the
University of California at Berkeley, where he took his degree of Bachelor of
Science in 1933. He has been in the automobile retailing filed since 1938, when
he became a partner in the firm of Secondo Mignola at Watsonville. He
secured his own franchise as a dealer in Lincoln and Mercury cars in 1948, and
operates his sales agency under the name of Marty Franich. Since 1946, Mr.
Franich has also been a partner in Martin Franich and Sons, apple growers and
shippers. The senior Martin Franich has been in the apple business since the
early 1900’s. He is a veteran of service in the United States Coast Guard in
World War II. From 1942 to 1944 he was
an instructor and security officer at the Coast Guard Academy at New London,
Connecticut. He held a commission as
lieutenant at the time he received his honorable discharge in 1945. A roman
Catholic, Mr. Franich holds the Fourth degree in the Knights of Columbus. he is also a member of the lodge of the
Benevolent and Protective order of Elks.
He is a founder-member of both the Elkhorn Yacht CLub and the Pajaro
Valley Rod and Gun CLub, and is a past president of his Rotary Club. He belongs to the St. Francis Yacht CLub, the
Olympic Club, the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, the San Francisco Grid
Club, and the Family Club. He served
the two terms as councilor of the
University of California Alumni Council at Berkeley. At New London,
Connecticut, Martin Charles Franich, Jr., married Mary Margaret Corcoran,
daughter of Joseph and Katherine (Fleming) Corcoran. Mr. and Mrs. Franich are the parents of five
children: 1. Mark, born November 13, 1943.
2. Steven, born May 11, 1946. 3.
Joan born April 2, 1951. 4. Jill, born
June 27, 1953. 5. Joy, born February 8,
1959.
FRANKOVICH, MIKE Hollywood Studios
Mike
Frankovich, son of parents from Dubrovnik, was born in Bisbee, Arizona. He received a B.A. from UCLA and served as a
flyer for the United States in World War II.
He had worked in the film industry for the entirety of his life, serving
in numerous capacities, including manager, screen writer, and producer. As a child he starred in “Rosita”. Later he independently produced various films
including, “Footsteps in the Fog”, “Joe Macbeth”, “Fire Over Africa”,
“Decameron Nights”, and “Lucky Nick Kane”.
In 1955 Mike became a Vice President of Columbia Pictures International
Corporation and was later elected as Chairman of the Board of Columbia Pictures
Corporation Ltd. By 1964, Mike had risen
to the position of Vice-President of Columbia Pictures Corporation in
Hollywood, gaining him world-wide responsibility for Columbia’s production
activities. Mike later owned his own
production company, Frankovich Studios, and became one of the most active
producers of films, some of which include “Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice”,
“Marooned”, “Cactus Flower”, “The Looking Glass War”, “Doctors’ Wives”, and
“There’s a Girl in My Soup”. Mike was
also an active fund raiser for charitable causes. He was a member and Chief Barker of the Variety
Club of Great Britain, tent 36. He
participated in the Royal Film performance, a motion picture industry fund
raiser for the Cinematography Trade Benevolent Fund, and was active in the
British Empire Cancer Campaign’s annual film premieres. Mike was married to Binnie Barnes and is
succeeded by his two sons and one daughter.
FRANULOVICH,GEORGE
Fisherman-Military-Sea Captain
George
Franulovich was born August 17,1914 in Vela Luka, Island of Korcula, Croatia, to a seafaring family. His father
was Pavao Franulovic-Njalo and mother, Marija Marinovic. George Franulovich was
a master mariner, receiving his matriculation from the Royal Yugoslav Maritime
Academy as the youngest graduate to command sailing ships. He served in the
Royal Yugoslav Navy and upon finishing his tour of duty, returned to the
500-year-old family maritime shipping and wine business. During World War 11,
he served as captain in the Yugoslav Navy and saw much action alongside allied
forces. He saved the lives of many downed allied aviators from behind enemy
lines. He and his family came to the United States in 1949, after a five-year
odyssey through Italy, Ellis Island, Santo Domingo, and Venezuela. He joined
relatives in Anacortes, Washington and turned to commercial fishing. His
relatives, led by Rudolph Franulovich were already well established in salmon
seining. His first seining vessel "Violet F" was named for his
youngest daughter, Binki. He also owned the seiner, "Brigadier," the
crabber "Flounder", the king crabber "Nautilius," and his
present vessel the seiner "St. Peter". He was a pioneer in the king
crab industry as well as local dungeness crabbing. He did considerable
rudimentary work on the power block which was later perfected and known as the
Puratic Block which revolutionized net seining. He had an early interest in the
conservation of the anadromous fishery, advocating strict environmental respect
of local rivers and habitat. He was a founder of the American Croatian Club of
Anacortes, and a member of the Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 1021. He was the
"father" of the Vela Luka Croatian Dancers, teaching its founders
their-first dance steps. He was the subject of three documentaries; two films,
and one text book. He was a supporter of Immaculate Heart of 'Mary Croatian
Parish In Vancouver, B.C., Canada and a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in
Anacortes, since 1949. He was a leader in the local Croatian community. George
Franulovich died December 4, 1986. George Franulovich was preceded in death by
an infant son who died in Italy in 1944, sisters Vica and Jaka in Vela Luka,
and a brother Tony also of Vela Luka. Surviving are his brother, Paul, of Arica
Chile; sister Agnes Hrepich of Elk Grove, California; sister-in-law, Frana
Franulovich of Vela Luka and Anacortes; his wife, Marija; children, Maria
Petrish of Anacortes, Alma Plancich of Lake Forest Park, Binki Spahi of Mercer
Island, and Anthony George Franulovich of Anacortes; sons-in-law, Nick Petrish,
John Plancich, and Nader Spahi; grandchildren, Nick Petrish 111, Michael J.
Petrish, Matthew Plancich and Maria Plancich; brother and sister-in-law, Bob
and Ljubica Separovich and their children, Robert Separovich and Carmen Hardy.
He was a great Croatian and American patriot, and a humanitarian.
FRANUSICH, JOHN Restaurant
From 1935 to 1939, Mr. Franusich operated the Marine
Garden Fish Grotto at Polk and California streets in San Francisco and for the
ensuing 17 years, until he retired, he operated a restaurant of the same name
in Sacramento. He is married to Angela of Sacramento, brother of Luce Baca of
Croatia and the late Antone Franusich. He is the uncle of Jack Franusich of
Sacramento, Danny Franusich and Rina Miklausic, both of Canada; cousin of Frank
Franusich of Sacramento and the late J. F. Franusich of San Francisco; a native
of Ston, Luka, Dalmatia, Croatia.
FRIEDEL (CUPIC), CAROL Croatian
Activities
Carol
(Cupich) Friedel was born in Oakland of
Croatian parents. Her father came from Konavle and her mother from Frankfurt.
She attended local schools. She obtained her B.S. Degree in Business
Administration from St. Mary's College. Recently, due to the birth of her two
sons (one is now nearly 3 and the other is 11 months old), she has temporanly
interrupted her career. Carol has had several years of experience working in
financial institutions. Her knowledge well equips her to serve as Croatian
Scholarship Fund Treasurer.
FUCICH, SIMEONE Oyster Business-Fucich
Bayou-Mariner
Simeone,
the son of Simeone Anthony Fucich and one of 14 children, was born on the
island of Losinj in northern Dalmatia on June 15, 1852. He died on August 27,
1914. He was educated in the marine academies of Dalmatia where he was trained
to serve as an officer in the merchant marine.
He left his native country at age 14
to come to America to live with his
Uncle Antonio Fucich in
Hazelhurst, Mississippi. Sam, as he was
known, worked with his uncle in the produce business where he learned the
principals of doing business with the public.
In
1869, he and his Uncle Antonio moved to New Orleans where they joined forces
with M. Popovich and opened a corner
grocery store at the corner of Ursuline and Gallatin Streets. Seeing a need for fresh seafood and a good
source of supply he traveled to Donaldsonville where he later met Marie Caliste
Martinez. They were married in the
Catholic Church in Donaldsonville on August 18, 1874. He decided that there was a need for a good
seafood shop in New Orleans, so he opened his first shop in 1875,
on Calliope Street between Magnolia and Clara Streets. His Uncle Antonio
and his brother Blazich ran the day to day business while he continued to
search for a constant supply of fresh
seafood. He soon found
that a better source of seafood could be obtained in Pointe a la Hache
in Plaquimine Parish. Business flourished
and in 1883, he moved his seafood shop to a larger building located at # 4 N. Front Street in New Orleans. Business continued to grow; therefore, in
1885 he moved to an even larger building located at # 8 Dumaine Street.
With
the increase in business and the constant need for even more fresh oysters, he
purchased land in Plaquimine Parish, leased oyster beds, and constructed camps
where the oyster fishermen could live.
He also went into partnership with Mr. Alvin Lee in a General Mercantile
Store and Post Office in order to supply the oystermen with food, tools, and
housing; and in turn they would sell their oysters to him. He formed what is known today as the first
oyster co-op, previously none had
operated in this manner or on such a large scale.
In
1892, to facilitate the deliverery and insure an ample supply of oysters, he
had the Nestor Canal at Nestor Louisiana dug so that the fishermen could bring
the oysters to the Mississippi River where the luggers S. S. Grover Cleveland,
the M. V. Reliance, and other vessels could pick up the oysters and deliver
them to the Picayune Wharf in New Orleans. Business continued to grow; he was
shipping oysters, seafood, and produce throughout the area. In August 1901 he purchased 532-36 Dumaine
Street for his new shop which extended all the way to Madison Street. It was
large enough to handle the volume of business he had established. He had many employees, including his three
sons. The business was known as,
"Crescent City Oyster And Fish Depot," later it became, "S. M.
Fucich & Sons."Business was good and still growing, he began to slow
down; and in 1914, while at his summer home in Lake Shore Mississippi, he died
of acute indigestion. He was an innovator
in the fish and oyster industry.
Simeone
M. Fucich joined the United Slavonian Benevolent Association in May of 1875, he
served as its vice-president from 1895 to 1897.
He was president from 1901 to 1903, and again from 1909 to 1910.
Fucich
Bayou near Pointe a la Hache was named in his honor. Other family contributions
in southern Louisiana came from Sam and his father. In the early 1880's, the
Catholics in Donaldsonville planned on building a new church. They needed marble columns for inside the new
church. S. M. Fucich contacted his
father living in Losinj Mali, Croatia who bid on the project, won the bid and
proceeded to carve the columns. It was
reported in the Donaldsonville Chief newspaper
of September 17, 1881, that they were being carved by Simeone Anthony
Fucich, father of the recent townsman, Simeone M. Fucich. In the May 5, 1883,
issue of the Chief, it was reported that the twenty marble columns consisting
of sixty-two pieces were in New Orleans waiting to be shipped to Donaldsonville
by barge and delivered to a make shift dock across from the site of the new
church. These columns are in the church
which still stands today.
FULGOSI, BERISLAV A. Doctor-Professor
Berislav
Fulgosi is a Physician and Surgeon in Chicago, Illinois. Born June 1, 1922 in
Livno, Bosnia, Croatia, Education includes Classical Gymnasium, Split and
Zagreb, 1942; University of Zagreb, 1943-45; University of Granada, 1947-52,
M.S. 1952. with a major field in Neurology and Surgery. Professor in Surgical
Clinic, 1952-54, Granada, Spain; Fellowship Neurosurgery and Neurology,
1954-57, Madrid, Spain; Internship - Jackson Park. Hospital, Chicgo. Illinois,
1958; Residency in Surgery Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, Chicgo, Illinois
1959. Psysiological and
Pathological Studies Following an Experimental Hemispherectomy Spain; Member of
Colegio Medico, Spain; American Medical Association.
GABAY, ELIAS King of Knishes
Elias
Gabay, former president of a major knish bakery and designer of machinery to
make knishes, died Wednesday in Miami Beach. He was 82. Gabay was president of
Gabila and Sons of Brooklyn until 1966, and served as a consultant to the firm
after his retirement. The Company produced more than I million knishes a day -
about half sold t h r o u g h delicatessens and the rest frozen for nationwide
distribution. Knishes are a mixture of potatoe and spices with a light brown
crust and are eaten hot. Gabay a Yugoslav immigrant opened a restaurant in
1921, but soon went into the wholesale knish business. He invented a machine to
make knishes in 1932. Gabaj is found in great numbers throughout Croatia.
GABELICH, GARY Auto Racing-Boat
Racing-Sky Diving
Gary
Gamelich, born in San Pedro, California, set a world land speed record of
622.287 mph in the rocket-powered Blue Flame.
The record was set over a measured mile at Bonneville Salt Flats in
Utah, on October 23, 1970 and stood for thirteen years. The record was also listed in the Guiness
Book of Records. In his initial competition at age sixteen, Gabelich won first
place in the stock eliminator drag racing class at Santa Ana, California. In 1959, when he was only seventeen, Gabelich
won world’s first side-by-side jet dragster race, topping 250 mph. Other accomplishments included his winning
the first United Drag Racing Association in 1963 and being first man to break
into drag racing’s seven second bracket, driving a Double A Fuel dragster at
7.05 seconds, in 1967. In 1969, he drove
the Beac City Chevrolet Corvette funny car to speeds over 200 mph, a first for
a Chevrolet funny car. Gabelich also
took second place in Mickey Thompson’s off-road race at Riverside, California
in 1975; first place in the Toyota Charity Slalom at the Rose Bowl in 1979 and
second place in the Toyota Pro Challenge Race at the Michigan International
Speedway in July, 1980. Twice narrowly
escaping death in dragster and boat accidents, Gabelich ironically died in an
automobile accident in Long Beach, California in January, 1984. In 1985 the Long Beach City Council named a
park in his memory, Gabelich Park.
In 1975 at Turlock Lake in California, the drag boat piloted by Gary Gabelich
disintegrated at 180 mph. Although he
was best known for his land speed exploits, Gabelich won both the American
Power Boat Association Blown Fuel and Gas National Drag Boat championship. He was also the first person to win them both
in the same year. In 1969 Gabelich was
the first man to surpass 200 mph in a quarter mile drag boat. A lover of high speeds and dangerous
challenges, Gabelich was working for North American Aviation in the early 1960s
when he volunteered to do some sky diving from a 30,000 foot altitude to film
some of the early Apollo space capsule drops.
GABRICH, JULIA Croatian Activities
Julia
Gabrich came to Southern California area from Uniontown, Pennsylvania at the
age of 19 to live with her aunt and uncle. This is where she met Mike Gabrich,
married and had two daughters and now has five grandchildren. Mike and Julia
were one of the first couples married in St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic
Church. From the start of their marriage Julia has always helped her husband.
She has worked with him in his business, keeping his books and all that this
entails. In the middle forties, the Croatian colony, through 15 member lodges,
formed the Croatian National Association and purchased a parcel of land located
at 11626 South Budlong Avenue in Los Angeles. Subsequently there was built the
Croatian recreation center. In order to help raise money for the Croatian
national Association, Julia helped Mike with the first Croatian Day Queen
contests in the early 1950's. This was held on the grounds before the
construction of the main hall. In this queen contest there were 10 young ladies
in competition for the title. All the girls raised approximately $13,000 on
this first event. Julia also helped in two additional queen contests which
helped reduce this debt for a total amount of $36,000. All this culminated in
the pay-off of the mortgage in October of 1956. For many years after this,
Julia worked for days at a time in preparation for these annual picnics. Julia
had been a member of the Croatian Women's Club, a member of the lodge of the
Croatian Republic Club for the past 50 years, also giving her time and efforts
towards many picnics and other functions of the club to help preserve the
traditions and culture of our people. She has been and still is a tribute to
her fellow Croatian Americans and her family.
GAL, MIRO Travel Agency
President
of Affiliated Certified Travel Agencies General Manager of Eastern Travel
International, New York City, New York.
Born August 26, 1921 in Zagreb, Croatia; married with three children. Educated
at Commercial Academy and State Gymnasium, Osijek,1939; High Economic
Commercial School, 1939-42; L'Institute dle'tude Commerciale, Bordeaux,
1945-46; Haute etude Commerciale, Paris, 1946-47. Major field Business
administration and organization. Member of Croatian Academy of America.
GALANTIC, IVAN Professor of Art
Ivan
Galantic is a professor of art at Case Western Reserve University, Deptartment
of History of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. He was born 1921 in St. Vid on the Island
of Krk, Croatia. Education includes Gymnasium, Krk, Croatia, 1940; Academy of
Art in Florence and Rome, Italy, Diploma 1945; Gregorian University, Rome, and
University of Rome, Philosophy; Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan,
M.A.; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusets, M.A., Ph.D., June 1968. His
major field has been History of Art and Art of the Italian Renaissance.
Occupation and professional: 1953-60 Instructor of art, Marygrove College,
Detroit; 1957-60 Lecturer in art, Wayne State University, Detroit; 1961
Emmanuel College, Boston.
GALE, MARTA (MITROVICH) Actress
Marta
Gale, as she is known on stage and screen, was born Marta Mitrovic, in
Dubrovnik, Croatia. At a very early age, she went to England with her parents.
She received her education there. She showed great promise in her painting and
dancing; her art teacher predicted a brilliant career as an artist for her,
while her dancing teacher vowed it was the ballet in which she would startle
the world. Fate had other plans for her however, and the death of her father
compelled his beautiful and cultured widow to take her children to South
America to look after his business interests. They lived in Chile but a few
years, when the youthful Marta decided marriage and motherhood would be her
career. She had an innate flair for drama that made the theatre a logical goal.
Her theatrical career began in the Municipal Theatre in Valparaiso where she
played the part of Elizabeth in "The Circle" by Somerset Maughan. This
was followed by roles in " Pygmalion" by Shaw and "Discord"
by H. Young. She won wide praise for her dramatic performances as well as for
the fine bits of writing she was doing.
In nineteen thirty-five, her marriage annulled, she took her little
daughter to England with her. There she planned to continue her theatrical
career. She had little difficulty finding parts. Her performances were so
outstanding that she won one coveted role after another. In London she will be
best remembered in such parts as "The Chrysalis!' in the 1936 production
of "The Insect Play" by the Czechoslovak writer Karel Capek, and as
"Clytie"'in the later production of the same. She won the critics' praise also in the role of
"Azorah" in "Tobias and The Angel" at the Regent's Park
Open-Air Theatre, and as "Therese Raquin" in "Thou Shalt
Not." In this play, adapted from Emile Zola's novel, Marta Gale Mitrovic
had the distinction of taking over the lead from Kathleen Nesbitt in 1938.
However strong the lure of the theatre had been, the brutal encounters with
life in a war-torn world made a peaceful home life the most desirable of
things, She sailed to Chile with her daughter, fully determined to give up all
thoughts of a career, all her time and efforts to be devoted to making happy
the man who would father her child and secure her future happiness. Eventually
she made her way to Hollywood and there attempted to pick up the scattered
threads of her work. Her work in pictures, her talks and broadcasts during the
two years she has been here, have finally dented -the hard surface of the film
capital. Although alone and not backed by anyone influential, she so impressed
Hollywood, that she is being considered for the most coveted role of the year,
namely, the part of "Maria" in "For Whom The Bells Toll."
She will be competing with Hollywood's brightest stars. Those who have
witnessed her performances say that the role was made for her. She fits it
physically, being as slender and sun-tanned as Maria. She also fits it
spiritually, and emotionally, for she, too, has lived in a war-torn world. The
precise, clipped English Marta Gale speaks, seems to be a barrier in convincing
directors of the fluency and perfection of the other languages she speaks. This
intangible quality will make success here instantaneous, if she is given the
chance to play roles fitted to her.
GALETOVICH, JUSTO Contractor-Stonemason
Justo
Galetovic came to the U.S. in 1919 from Pucisca on the island of Brac,
Dalmatia, Croatia where he was born (1901) to a family which had 17 children.
In 1921 he worked as a marble worker on several buildings in downtown
Cleveland, Ohio including the Terminal, the Federal Reserve and the Cleveland
Public Library buildings. He eventually became a successful builder and
developer, building hundreds of homes in Parma and Seven Hills, acquiring an
excellent reputation as a general contractor. He retired from building in 1964
when his son Allen Gale took over the business.
GARDENAL, JOHN P. Attorney-Trial Lawyer
San
Francisco John P. Gardenal, prominent San Francisco trial attorney and citizen,
died in San Francisco. Mr. Gardenal, the 1982 president of the state's trial
bar, was 64 years old. Mr. Gardenal had been actively engaged in the practice
of law. He was universally recognized as one of the most accomplished trial
lawyers in America and was listed in The Best Lawyers in America in 1999-2000.
Mr. Gardenal was one of the pioneers in the field of products liabilty law. He
widely regarded in the Bay Area as a 'lawyer's lawyer'. He was unstinting in
service to the seeking vindication of their legal rights. He was the recipient
of a 'life achievement award' from the Consumer Attorneys of California in
recognition of his many contributions back to his profession. Mr Gardenal was a
member and officer of many professional organizations during his long career as
a trial attorney. He was a past president of the San Francisco Bar Association,
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association and the California Trial Lawyers
Association. He was a member of The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a
Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a member of the
American Board of Trial Advocates. John P. Gardenal, the son of Croatian immigrants, was born in Jersey
City, New Jersey, on February 24. 1935. He received his undergraduate degree
from the University of Denver and attended the University of Denver Law School.
He was admitted to the practice of law in 1961 in all State and Federal Courts
in the State of California. Mr. Gardenal is survived by his wife Ursula
Gardenal; his daughter Shawn Adams; his grandson Kyler Adams; his niece Carrie
Shuman; his nephews Erin Gardenal: his brother Tony Gardenal: and his mother
Volka Moore.
GARICA, MARIN M.
Shipyard-Oysterman-Farm-Hunter
Some
eighty miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana on the right side of the
Mississippi River is a small fishing village named Olga. Earlier Olga was named Salina, that's the
name the fisherman christened this small village some eighty years ago. The
residents are all Croatians of about sixty families and they are economically
independent. Coming to Olga, one would think they came to some Dalmatian
village, because all you hear is Croatian among children and grownups. There is
one big difference. One of the prominent
people in this area is Marin Gerica. Gerica was born in Ston, Dalmatia,
Croatia in 1894. He came to New Orleans 1904 at the age of ten. At that time he
worked in oysters beds, grocery store and also in his uncle's Marko Gerica's
shipyard. In 1917 he bought the Olga Shipyard Company from his uncle and
continued to work and fix small fishing boats. He employs about ten of people. He owns oyster beds, has several
acres of land growing oranges and cattle. He is a hunter in the area of
Olga which has an abundance of wild
life. He sells the furs in the New York market. He was married in 1918 and has
one daughter. In Dalmatia he has his mother, brother and two sisters. He is a
member of the Slavonian Society and very active among our fisherman in
Louisiana.
GASPAR, ANTON Restaurant-Fisherman
Anton
Gaspar was born 1889 on the Island of Dugi Otok, Dalmatia, Croatia. His father
was Josip and mother Maria. He arrived to America in 1907. He owns the Sea Side Restaurant, well known in Biloxi,
Mississippi and the greater area. He was married in 1925, and has two sons. He
is a member of Slavonian Society in Biloxi.
GAZI, STJEPAN Professor-Author
Stjepan
Gazi is a Professor in History at Black Hills State College, Spearfish, South
Dakota. Born August 9, 1914 in Peteranec, Croatia; married with four children.
Educated at State Real Gymnasium, Koprivnica., Diploma 1934; University of Zagreb, Law School. Croatia.,
M.L.L. 1939; Institut des Hautes Etudes Initernationales, Geneva, Switzerland
1942-1944; Georgetown University, Wash. D.-C., Ph.D. 1962 with a major field in
Modern European History and Diplomatic History of Europe, Slavic Europe,
Croatian History. Thesis completed in 1962 "Stjepan Radic and Croatian
Question," Georgetown University, Ph.D. Published Croatian Immigration to
Allegheny County. Pittsburgh: C.F.U. 1956; "The Beginning of the Croatian
Peasant Party," Journal of Croatian Studies. November 4. 1964. Member of
American Historical Association; American Academy of Social Science;
Organization of American Honor Society of History; Organization of American
Historians.
GECAN, VILKO Artist
Another
Croatian painter who visited America and created here some of his best works is
Vilko Gecan. He exhibited in November 1930 at the Art Center on 56th Street in
New York. Many of his oils, now in private possession and in several galleries
of Croatia, depict scenes from American life, landscapes and people of urban
and rural America.
GEKIC, KEMAL Pianist
The
other pianists of the 'younger generation will simply have to move over to make
room. for Kemal Gekic. The Croatian born artist, now 38, offered his
underheralded and often incendiary San Francisco recital debut Saturday
evening, December 9, 2000, at the Herbst
Theatre, under the auspices of Four Seasons Concerts; his is a name and talent
to remember. The ponytail and casual outfit suggested a contemporary
sensibility, but make no mistake: This is a virtuoso of the old school. Like
Ivo Pogorelich before him, Gekic earned his reputation by losing, rather than
winning, a prestigious competition - in his case, two, the Chopin International
in Warsaw in 1985 and the Montreal International in 1988. His recordings are
still few, though a live Croatian recital on VAI Audio and his contribution to
'Naxos' continuing Liszt pro)ect are worth exploring.
GELCICH, VINCENT Doctor of
Medicine-Civil War-Oil
One
of the better known figures in Los Angeles in the latter part of the nineteenth
centurey was Vincent Gelcich, a surgeon born in Starigrad, on the island of
Hvar. Gelcich studied medicine in Venice and Vienna before participating in
Garibaldi’s unsucessful revolution of 1848.
Shortly thereafter he sailed for San Francisco, where he practiced
medicine and became active in the affairs of the growing Croatian community.
Gelcich was one of the chief organizers of the first Croatian society in
America, the Slavonic Illyric Mutual and Benevolent Society of San Francisco
which was founded in 1857. Serving as
Surgeon to the Fourth California Infantry, which was stationed at Wilmington
during the Civil War, Gelcich was mustered out of the army there and settled in
Los Angeles, where he became one of the city’s pioneer druggists and also its
first coroner. Not content to confine
his activities to medicine, Gelcich soon became involved in the search for oil
in the Newhall-Saugus area. Knowledge of
crude oil in the canyons in the western rim of the Newhall Basin dated back to
at least 1842 when Francisco Lopez discovered gold in Placeritas Canyon, and
“seep-skimmers” were active in the same canyons during the 1860s. Therefore, Gelcich was reasonably optimistic
about the oil potential when he organized the Los Angeles Petroleum Refining
Company on July 30, 1873. He was joined in this ventury by some of Los
Angeles’s most prominent figures, and together they set up a primitive refinery
at Lyons Station, about two miles south of Newhall. The attempts to refine the crude oil ended in
failure. Nonetheless, Gelcich was correct in his belief that the ground
underneath Los Angeles was rich in oil deposits. In 1877 the Los Angeles
Petroleum Refining Company was purchased by the California Star Oil Works which
became the Pacific Coast ancestor of Standard Oil Company of California. In 1871, Gelcich published an article in the
California Mailbag extrolling the economic potential of Los Angeles, part of
which reads: “Happy, indeed, will be the time when the brilliant sparks of fire
will fly from the smokestack of the railroad engine as it passes over these
luxurious valleys and through these rich mountains, carrying along the great
treasure which has for ages been awaiting the arrival of industry and
progress.” Gelcich married Petra Pico, a
daughter of Captain Antonio Maria Pico, a member of the old and wealthy Pico
family of California. There used to exist in downtown Los Angeles, on the
west side of Pearl Street near the end of SIxth, a building known as Gelcich
Place.” Gelcich died on June 5th 1895.
GELCICH, VINCENT King of Petroleum
Croatian-born,
Dr. Vincent Gelcich had studied
medicine in Venice and Vienna before joining Garibaldi's abortive revolt in
1848, wherefore he sought the healthier climate of San Francisco. Practicing
there and in San Jose for the next eleven years, he took unto himself a wife in
the person of Senorita Petra Pico, daughter of Don Antonio Maria Pico, head of
the northern branch of that prolific and puissant clan. The Civil War rekindled
his marital ardor; he served as a surgeon to a California regiment at
Wilmington where he was mustered out and settled in Los Angeles, serving the
still compact hamlet as coroner and becoming active in its affairs. Gelcich had
been involved in the oil boom of the 1860's without success and he succumbed
again in 1873 to the lure of the canyons that seamed the western rim of the
Newhall Basin.
These
canyons, unnamed and unimportant until the first oil boom, spread from Pico,
Moore and DeWitt southeasterly through Lyons, Towsley, Wiley, Leaming, Rice and
East, all within a space of five miles. Within the canyons, shallow,
oil-bearing sandstones gave rise to numerous oil springs and seeps that had
been known at least since the discovery of gold by Francisco Lopez in
Placeritas Canyon in 1842, and had been dismissed as of no value for watering
either livestock or humans. During the oil excitement of the 1860's,
"seep-skimmers" had been active in these canyons and perhaps a
half-dozen shallow, "spring-pole" wells had been drilled and some
tunnels run to augment the natural flows. These manifestations made the source
of crude that Mr. Gelcich had in mind when he organized the Los Angeles Petroleum Refining Company
on July 30, 1873.
This
pioneer southern California refinery soon proved notable for its failure to
solve the mysteries of California crude. Kerosene was the only commercial
product worth making then, but the stuff that came out of the still at Lyons
Station burned with a reddish flame, charred and caked lamp wicks, and gave off
a stench like the mouth of the Pit. By July, the best that the Express could
find to say about this substance was that it was "non-explosive," and
even that seemed open to question. Moreover, forty barrels of this kerosene
were returned by Los Angeles merchants in disgust. Just when it seemed that all
was lost, the hearts of Dr. Gelcich and his associates were gladdened by the fortuitous
appearance of Senor Rudolfo Carreras, origin and antecedents unknown, who
possessed a winning personality and a miraculous, if somewhat bizarre, refining
process which he was willing, nay eager, to demonstrate.
The
directors of the Los Angeles petroleum refining Company gathered in Dr.
Gelcich's rooms to witness the great event. Imagination conjures up the vision
of serious, bearded and frock-coated man, the more affluent of them sporting
miniature log chains of gold, bedecked with fobs and seals, across their
waistcoats. Using more elaborate equipment, so 'tis said, Carreras repeated his
experiment several weeks later before an audience of fifty solid citizens, each
of whom was given a vial of the clear product to test for themselves. The "Temple
Well, named for the president of the company, was spudded-in a Towsley Canyon,
using a fifty-foot derrick at the first steam drilling equipment in the Newhall
Basin. William H. Spangler, a veteran of the Pennsylvania fields, was the
"tool pusher" on this rig, and soon found his life plagued by the
faulted, fractured, twisted earth formation-teaming with "sand
crevasses"-that was so unlike anything he had encountered in his previous
experience. Cave-ins, lost tools, "fishing" jobs, all delayed his
progress, Carreras became restive and spoke of taking himself and his process
to the eastern fields where there would be proper scope for his remunerative
application. Why he was not kept busy in the meantime by refining what could be
skimmed from the seeps and dipped from the springs is an unanswered question.
The prospective beneficiaries of his skills then sought to enlist additional
financial support that would keep Carreras soothed until the well could produce
enough to keep his mind off his lack of income. The man they approached was
Thomas R. Bard of Hueneme in Ventura Country, from whom they had purchased the
steam engine and other equipment for the Temple Well.
"Carreras
has a very romantic story to tell of how he came into possession of his secret
and says that the discoverer is dead and he alone knows his secret, which is
very Spanish and fishy. He claims to do entirely too much, like the miller who
promised to give 105 ponds of meal for each 100 pounds of grain... the Carreras
Process is probably a swindle or on a large scale the chemicals will be so
expensive that the discovery will be practically valueless."
On
this note, Rudolfo Carreras effectively disappears into the limbo of petroleum
industry. The Temple Well was abandoned
early in 1875 after pumping an alleged ten barrels a day, and the little
refinery at Lyons Station became part of the natural habitat for the animal,
insect and reptile life of the Newhall Basin. Despite the costs of its failure,
the Los Angeles petroleum Refining Company nonetheless was the root of a
distinguished petroleum family tree. Within two years, its refinery and other
assets were acquired by the California Star Oil Works which made the Newhall
Basin the true cradle of California's petroleum industry and which provided the
Pacific Coast ancestry of the Standard
Oil Company of California.
GENTILICH, JOHN Restaurant
John
P. Gentilich is the son of Anton and Kristina Gentilich and nephew of John
Gentilich, one of the oldest Croatian pioneers from New Orleans, Louisiana.He
was born in the village of Mulato, Dalmatia, Croatia in 1905. He finished
grammar school in his hometown and he
attended three years of high school in Zadar. When he arrived to New Orleans he
went to business college and after graduation he took over running his
uncle's restaurant business. The
Gentiliche's restaurant is situated near City Hall and is over sixty years old.
The restaurant is known throughout New Orleans. He is married and has a son. He
is the member of the Slavonian Society of New Orleans.
GENTILICH, JOHN P. Saloon-Restaurant
An era ended here Friday night. With the
casual-but final-locking of a door, John P. Gentilich closed forever (1985) the
Marble Hall Restaurant at 720
Lafayette St. New Orleans, Louisiana, a tradition-packet establishment which
has hosted the great and the lowly who passed through its portals. When the
lights were finally doused at the Marble Hall, a bit of history faded into the
Crescent City's fabled past. For it was there that past New Orleans mayors and
unnumbered other local politicos met and discussed issues of the day. Although
the exact opening date has been lost to the ages, an 1856 edition of The Daily
Piccayne records that gourmet fare was to be had at the Marble Hall. Since the
early 20th Century, the bar, adjacent to the restaurant section, has been
operated by the Gentilich family. Even during famine years of Prohibition, the
business managed to thrive. Among its customers during the "Roaring
20's" was the Bambino himself-Babe Ruth. Called Sultan of Swat, Ruth and
the rest of the New York Yankee squad were training in New Orleans at the
time. Although it is legend that
multitudinous containers of moonshine whiskey changed hands in and about the Marble Hall Saloon during Prohibition,
it is equally well known that no contraband was ever found there (legal dockets
indicate). The list of those who dined and supped within the confines of Marble
Hall is worthy of note - they include, to mention only a few: Mayors deLesseps
S. Morrison, Robert S. Maestri, John Fitzpatrick (1892-96), W. C. Flower
(1896-1900), Paul Capdeville (1900-04), Martin Behrman (1904-20), Arthur J.
O'Keefe (1926-30), T. Semmers Walmsley (1930-36), Victor H. Schiro, Governor
Huey, P. Long, Governor Earl K. Long, Governor Jimmie H. Davis, Governor Robert
F. Kennon and Governor John J. McKeithen. Among other long-known attractions,
the Marble Hall boasted what has been termed as the most imposing bar in the
city. The mahogany structure-complete with huge mirror-has been there for some
90 years, having been-acquired from the old Flanders Bar at 3 Carondelet
shortly after the Civil War.
GIKOVICH, HELEN Church Organist
Sister
Helen Gikovich, who was honored last November as a 50-year Member of the
Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 677, recently was honored as the “Woman of the
Year” by St. Benedict’s Church. Today, and this week, we celebrated the 50th
Anniversary of Service to St. Benedict ‘s Church by our beloved Helen. The
Altar Society membership has also named her the 1978 St. Benedict Woman of the
year. Literally, the Church has been
part of her life. Weekly practice, the
Tuesday Novena, funerals, weddings, First Communions, Confirmations, Holy Week
Services, extra holiday celebrations- all are a part of her day. It all started when Mrs. Lucy Burke, former
choir director, encouraged Helen to take organ lessons. In 1927 Helen became organist for the St.
Benedict Ladies Choir. When Mrs. Burke
retired in 1954, Helen was asked to assume the role of organist-choir
director. Mrs. Burke’s student was well
prepared. On Friday, December 15, at the Altar Society’s Annual
Past-Presidents’ Christmas Luncheon, Mrs. Gikovich will be honored for her
fifty years of service to St. Benedict’s Church. In recognition of her long
years of service, Mrs. Dolores Perez, Altar Society President, will also make a
presentation to Helen as the 1978 St. Benedict Woman of the Year. The
Scriptural quotation “No greater love is there than this- that a man lay down
his life for his friends” seems to apply to Mrs. Gikovich. May God grant her many more rewarding years
in His service.
GILICH, ANDRIA Fisherman
As
a young fisherman of 17 years, immediately upon his arrival in Vancouver,
British Columbia, Andria became the skipper of the fisher boat,
Renier. Though he was often seen in San Pedro with his purse-seine, the St.
Mary, he resided in Gig Harbor, Washington. He was born in 1882 on February 25
in Sumartin, Island of Brac, Dalmatia.
Gilich was one of the organizers of the Gig Harbor First National Bank
and Friday Harbor Canning Co.
GILICH, TONY-DON
Fishermen
Tony Gilich came to America in 1915. He was just 20 years old
and a stranger in a new land. Tony immediately went out fishing with his cousin
and pioneer fisherman, top skipper Andrew Gilich, aboard the 50-foot Babare-built
seiner Traveler. Tony paid attention and learned very quickly. Just two years
later in 1917, he purchased an interest in the 62-foot Skansie-built seiner
Commander, and he was officially in the fishing business.
Tony operated the Commander at the Salmon Banks in the San Juan
Islands for two seasons. He did well right from the start, and in 1919, decided
to sell his interest in the vessel and build a new fishing boat, the Victory.
Because of a small run of salmon in the Puget Sound that season,
Tony headed the Victory straight for Kodiak, Alaska, and had an extremely
successful season there. He returned to Puget Sound in time to fish the 1919
fall opening. We can only imagine what a challenge this undertaking must have
been for Tony - a young man with just two years of experience in the fishing
business taking his brand new boat to a far away fishing ground that he had
never seen before.
Tony did extremely well at Kodiak, and paid his share in the
Victory off that very first year. Tony didn't venture to Alaska to fish salmon
again, and he concentrated his efforts almost exclusively in the Puget Sound.
In just a few short years, it became universally accepted throughout the
fishing community that Tony Gilich was one of the top skippers to ever fish the
Salmon Banks.
Tony's son Don began his career in the fishing industry in 1935
when he was 15 years old. He went out with skipper Tony Novak on the Harmony,
in which his father held part interest. The next year, when he was 16 years
old, Don became a member of the crew on his father's boat, the Victory, and
received a full share. He would go on to spend the next 58 seasons on the
Victory as a crewman, and eventually as her skipper.
"I had always been interested in working on the net, and
even at 16 years old, I was as accomplished a net-man as anyone else on my
dad's crew," Don said.
During WWII, Tony chartered the Victory to the US Coast Guard as
a patrol vessel. As part of the arrangement, Don would enter the Coast Guard
Reserve and serve as the Victory's skipper. The Victory was stationed at Port
Angeles. Don said, "We went out looking for enemy submarines or planes,
and we also ran errands which kept us pretty busy." The Victory was back
in the fishing business in 1943 after the Coast Guard acquired another patrol
boat.
Don began running the Victory on a part-time basis in the 1940s.
When Tony retired in 1971, Don began operating the boat on a full-time basis.
Since that time, many improvements and additions have taken place aboard the
Victory.
GIVANOVICH, MARCO Plantation
While
reviewing the 1860 United States Census of Population for Natchitoches,
Louisiana, a place not known as a Croatian Center, four Croatians were listed
for the whole County. A. Marinovich, age 27, was a merchant worth $1000; F.
Radisich, age 40, was worth $6200; Mattia Baziza, age 46, was worth $100; and
Marco Givanovich, age 34 was listed as a planter with $150,000 in real estate
and a personal worth of $250,000. This included slaves. One could easily come
to the conclusion that this was undoubtedly the richest Croatian Colony for any
county in America if you divided the $400,000 by four lone Croatians, making a
per capita worth of $100,000 at least! Nicolas Gracich built the place in 1820
and called it the "Home Place." Its name was changed to "Marco
Plantation Home" when it was purchased by his nephew, Marco Givanovich, in
1863, for the sum of $325,000. Marco Givanovich, a bachelor not nearly the
cultivated gentleman that his uncle had been, led a free rollicking life with
the result that many in the vicinity claimed to be his descendants. He had made
a fortune and also, in his spare time, raised a family of quadroon children.
The Plantation, located on the Cane River, was a going concern until his death
in 1896. The will showed that the entire estate was left to a nephew in
Dalmatia with the nephew dying in 1926 and leaving the estate to seven
children. The will of Marco Givanovich was probated February 24, 1896. W.
Hyams, Clerk at Natchitoches, La., No. 22918, Book 94, page 52 dated Feb. 24,
1896. The Marco House was of the high basement type plantation home, with very
wide central hallways on both floors, the one on the ground floor being paved
with brick, similar to the ones in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It was a
splendidly constructed old house with large rooms and French windows, with
transoms and shutters, with a typical outside stairway on the right as one
faced the building. The house was extremely attractive and held great allure
for those interested in good architecture of an earlier date. Today his
descendants own much land along Cane River. It is good to hear that a Croatian
"made it" in America and "enjoyed it." Perhaps one or two
of his descendants along the Cane River can still give us a "dobar
dan" or "kako si" if we ever pass through. I have run across
Croatian- Indians in the 1860's in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Colored Croatians are unique, especially with French blood.
GIVINS-GIVULINOVICH, STEVE Business
Steve
was born in Seattle, Washington on May 28, 1903, the son of Lovro and Mara Givulinovic who hailed from the
Dubrovnik area of Croatia. When he died December 15, 1999 he was 95 years old.
He was a retired printing pressman from the University of Washington. Earlier,
he had his own printing business. Steve was a member of Croatian Fraternal
Union Lodge 439 (Sinovi Hrvatske Domovine) in 1927 and then transferring to the
English-speaking Lodge 764 (Harmony) as a charter member and treasurer when the
lodge was formed in 1931. He came back to Lodge, 439 when the two lodges merged
in 1965. He enjoyed Croatian culture and at age 87 was among the enthusiasts
who attended the Society's Junior Tamburitza Festival in 1990. Brother Givins
and, his wife (the former Frances Manzoni) were married in Seattle's St.
Margaret's Church in 1930, a few short years after her arrival from her
birthplace -- the village of Punat on the Island of Krk. The Givins marked
their 68th wedding anniversary in 1998., Inaddition to his wife, Steve Givins
is survived by daughters Shirley Bergh and Laureen Young and many grandchildren
and great-grandchildren.
GIVULINOVICH CLAN
Restaurants-Goldmining
Very
few were able to emigrate with their immediate families in the early part of
the century. An exception to this was made by Lawrence, Martin, Ann, and Mary
Givulinovich, four of the five children of a family of restauranteurs from the
village of Rozat near Dubrovnik, who came to America between the years of 1903
and 1905. Lawrence was the first to leave. He came to San Francisco in 1897. He
was followed by brother Martin. Both worked in restaurants in that city and in
Oakland before coming to Seattle in 1898. They traveled to Alaska to search for
gold and then returned to Rozat. In 1903, Lawrence returned to Seattle with a
wife and two children. In 1904, Martin secretly fled Rozat where he was about
to be conscripted into the army, and returned to Seattle to work and await the
arrival of his sisters and his future bride, Luce. Luce Antica Givins is the
one hundred-year-old matriarch of the Givulinovich family. (The name had been
shortened in the 1920s.) Luce, who had been educated in Dubrovnik as a school
teacher, was twenty years old when she emigrated to Seattle. She married Martin
in St. Mary's Church upon her arrival in 1905.
The brothers worked in restaurants in and about Seattle and in 1912
founded their own establishment, The Delmonico Oyster House, on First Avenue
and James Street. Luce remembered: "There were so many oysters here, the
men worked all day shucking sacks full of oysters around Washington
Street." The brothers began to work independently. Lawrence had a series
of restaurants. He operated one in the Bush Hotel in 1920 and another, the
Fairfield Cafe, on Madison Street. He was forced to move from the Olympic
Oyster House on Fourth Avenue when this was torn down to build the Bon Marche
Building. Together they speculated in land purchases on the Denny Regrade where
the Seattle Center now stands.
GIZDICH, NITA Farm-Women of the Year
Nita
Gizdich will be honored January 19, 2002 by the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce
as Woman of the Year. Gizdich is a native of Watsonville, California successful
farmer and is recognized as a businesswoman who remembers and preserves the
good things in the community. Gizdich runs an apple farm on land owned by the
Gizdich family for four generations. Gizdich said she moved to the farm with
her husband when their children were small. Now-a-days her 47-year-old son
works on the farm; her grandson runs underfoot picking apples and finding
fallen bird nests, and Nita sets her own-hours to arrange the store's antiques,
bake a pie, or give a farm tour. "I don't have one job here," said
Gizdich. Gizdich said she lives on the ranch and often accommodates visitors
coming in right up to closing time. She credits her friendliness for making
visitors feel like family. Regular customers often offer to buy her a piece of
pie, so they can share her company. Gizdich said she began the upick farm with
her husband 39 years ago. The Gizdich Farm, tucked off the road from Highway
156, just east of the fairgrounds is not a quick stop stand. The extra mile and
gentle turns in the road make it an adventurous trip to the farm. People come
for the day to pick apples and berries, have a picnic, and relax for awhile. "There
is a haystack tunnel and picnic area," said Gizdich. "We want people
to come out and enjoy the farm." Gizdich said she and her husband had the
good business sense to listen to customers' needs and change with the times.
There were 18 u-pick farms in Watsonville at the time Gizdich Farm opened for
business, now only two of those farms are still open. Gizdich said she
accommodated the change of homemakers buying berries to make preserves and bake
pies to women in the work force buying readymade foods. "We saw change and
kept changing," said Gizdich. "We listened to the customers and are
still listening." Adding a pie shop and picnic area, along with other new
ideas allowed the business to expand. Taking time to talk with customers is her
favorite part of the job said Gizdich. She shared that she enjoys asking
newcomers where they are from and hearing regular customers retell familiar
stories of their last visit to the farm. Generations of families return year
after year to pick apples and berries and enjoy the farm. Gizdich said she is
active in local politics and attends and voices her opinions at local meetings.
Her vision and leadership have led to her election asFarm Bureau President and
State Delegate to the California Farm Bureau Federation. Gizdich said she has
the political advantage of knowing the history of the area. She shared that she
recognizes the need to change with the times and also values what should be
preserved. “I was born and raised in Watsonville," said Gizdich. I have
seen changes that are sometimes disturbing." Gizdich said she supports
collaboration and encourages local farmers to voice their opinions,at public
meetings and honor each other's success.
GIZDICH, VINCE AND NITA Berry and Apple
Ranch
Watsonville’s
Nita Gizdich, a Pajaro Valley, native, was named farmer of the year last
night by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, becoming the first woman to win the
annual award. Gizdich and her husband, Vince, run the 68-acre Gizdich berry and
apple ranch in Peckham Road, property the family has owned for nearly 50 years.
The
couple was one of the first in the Pajaro Valley to have customers pick their
own produce. More recently, the ranch
has become famous locally for its seasonal pies and apple ciders. After 24
years of “U-pick” operations, the Gizdich Ranch is one of the most successful
roadside businesses in the county, Farm Bureau Manager Jess Brown said. It’s also made Mrs. Gizdich a national figure
in the directmarketing techniques for farming, he said. But the talk of last
night’s award ceremony was the Gizdich pies, which Mrs. Gizdich began baking
seven years ago using seasonal berries and apples at the request of visitors to
her ranch. Gizdich, whose farmer father immigrated from Croatia, received her
award at the Farm Bureau’s 54th annual meeting before 125 farmers, farming
families and politicians at the Chaminade Whitney Conference Center
in Santa Cruz. The Gizdich Ranch, which devotes about on-third of its land
to seasonal “U-pick” operations, is run by the Gizdiches and their sons, Vince
and Mitch.
GLASINOVICH, GILDA Doctor
Gilda
Alercon Glasinovich joined Croatian World Congress to support its aims in the
United Nations- ECOSOC. Dr. Gilda Alercon-G1asinovich was born in Lima, Peru,
and graduated from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and Columbia University. Her
extensive Iraining and education in the fields of medicine, psychology and
public health have enabled he to contribute to our communities at the local and
international levels. Dr. Glasinovich's work in the field of women’s health is
widely known in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the United States. Since
residing in New York, her work has focused on immigrant women with particular
interest in domestic violence and health care access. She is considered one of
the most influential health professionals and an active member at government,
private and non-goveinmental organizations. At the local level, Dr. Glasinovich
contributes with the Office for the Pmvention of Domestic Violence, the
Arnerican Cancer Society, the AIDS Institute and civil organizations. In 1998,
she founded the Council on the Status of Latin-American Women, a
multidisciplinary. group that works towards forwarding human rights gender
equality, and development for migrant populations. As UN Representative her
work is commissioned on women's health and' educational programs. She is an
active member of the Commission. on Human Rights. and the Commission on the
Status of Women, and a world speaker on behaIf of women. She has become a
strong candidate for the Women Building Peace, forwarded by many
community-based organizations she serves. On a personal level, Dr. Alercon
Glasinovich credits the influence of her two grandmothers and godmother for her
dedication to women and their families. She is married for fifteen years to
Emiliano Cadenilas and they have twin boys, Rafael and Rodrigo. Her strong
spititual and social commitment makes her one of the most fascinating woman of
our times in spite, of her youth.
GLAVICIC, OTTO M. Engineer
Otto
Glavicic is a Design Engineer at Reeves Division, Reliance Elecrical &
Engineering Company, Columbus, Indiana. Born July 2, 1941 in Zagreb, Croatia.
Education includes XII Kuslan's Gymnasium, Zagreb, 1958; Technical School,
Zagreb, 1958-62, Designer B.S. 1962; Naval Engineer, Faculty, Zagreb, 1962-64; Mechanical Faculty,
University of Beograd, 1964-66, Diploma, M.S. 1966 with a major field of
Mechanical Engineering.
GLAVINA, MARTIN C. Professor
Martin
C. Glavina was a professor of foreign languages at University of Santa Clara.
He left his native country, Croatia, in 1909 for Peru. He came to the
United States in 1916 to study at the University of California where he
received a master’s degree. Then he
moved to Santa Clara County where he lived for half a century. Mr. Glavina is
survived by his wife, May, of Saratoga; four stepchildren and two sisters.
GLENOVICH, ANTONE Fisherman
In
1896, Antone Glenovich, a Dalmatian, became a United States citizen and the
owner of a fishing boat. Glenovich had emigrated from the town of Komiza on the
island of Vis, Dalmatia, Croatia. Letters were sent by him to relatives and
friends, and this influenced many to come to Bellingham, Washington. Others
from the islands of Korcula, Brac, Bisevo, and Solta also settled here. Bellingham
was the haven of a great number of Croatian fishermen from 1900 to 1920 when
the purse seiners sailed from Bellingham to Alaska, the Fraser River, the
Bering Sea, and the far north." By 1923, less than half of the Croatians
remained in the city of Bellingham. Seeking richer fishing grounds, many moved
to fish for sardines and tuna out of San Pedro, California.
GLOVER-LJUBICH, ANDREW First policeman
Andrew,
known as Andrew Glover, was the official Croatian-Slavonian interpreter in San
Francisco. He was also the first
policeman in the colony and resided at 428 Vallejo Street. He died in 1920 at age eighty-two. His wife
was a native of Ireland. Andrew
Ljubich-Glover, who was born in Croatia, has been for forty-three years
official interpreter of languages in the criminal courts of San Francisco
having been for five years before that time a police officer. His son, Dr. Glover, graduated from the
University of California Medical Dept in 1894.
For five years he was a surgeon in the Emergency Hospital Service and is
now autopsy surgeon to Coroner Walsh.
GLOVER, COSMOS A. Medical Doctor
Dr.
Cosmos A. Glover is one of the most widely known of Native Sons. He was born in S.F. on June 5, 1873. His mother was a native of Ireland, while his
father, Andrew Ljubich-Glover, who was born in Croatia, has been for
forty-three years official interpreter of languages in the criminal courts of
San Francisco having been for five years before that time a police
officer. Dr. Glover graduated from the
University of California Medical Dept in 1894.
For five years he was a surgeon in the Emergency Hospital Service and is
now autopsy surgeon to Coroner Walsh. He
is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Native Sons, Young Men’s
Institute, Red Men, Druids and Eagles, besides being a physician for each of
these fraternities, he was married in 1897 to Lottie L. Bralica and has two
children a boy aged 11 and a girl aged 9.
GLUMAC CLAN Farm
My
father, Stijepan Nikola Glumac, or Steve Nick Glumac as he called himself in
America, was born in Lisac, a selo (village) near Dubrovnik, of peasant people.
His fathers name was Stijepan Glumac, and his mothers name was Ane Maric. He
was born on December 16, 1875. I know very little of his life in Dalmatia, or
of his family there, but I did find out at one time long after he passed away
that he had a sister there who died at age 90.
His parents died when he was very young.
My
mother, Stane Gjurkovic Glumac, Gjurkovic being her maiden name, was born in
Konavle which is near Cavtat, a village not far from Dubrovnik. She was known
as Stella Glumac in America; her fathers name was Gjuro Gjurkovic and her
mothers name was Kate Selak. She told me that she came from a large family, 13
children, of which only 6 reached maturity. She was the oldest of the family,
and when she passed away there were only two children still living in Konavle,
a sister and a brother. The brother was the youngest of the family, and he was
two years old when she left for America. She never saw him again, but did
correspond with him through her lifetime.
Since
I was unable to find out when either of my parents reached America, as not
records exist, I can only guess. My father was in San Francisco in 1906 when
the earthquake struck there so he must have arrived a few years earlier. He had
been working in restaurants in San Francisco , however since the city was no
more, hw moved to Santa Clara Valley, and went into farming. At that time he
had no farm, and no money to buy one, but there was plenty of work to be had.
he helped plant many of the trees in this valley which of course do not exist
now except in somebody’s backyard. I don’t know who he worked for or where
during this time, but he was in the Mountain View area.
My
mother told me a lot more of her life than my father did, except I did not find
the date when she left home. If she told me, I forgot, however she did tell me
how she came to America. She was hired by a Czechoslovakian family as domestic.
She lived in Czechoslovakia for a number of years for this family. When this
family moved to America, she went along with them. They settled in Chicago, and
later moved to some place in Indiana. I cannot remember the city. Chicago and
Indiana did not suit my mother because of the severe winter there.She had been
having a correspondance going with a friend in California at this time, and she
told her what her plans were. I do not know the name of the friend. her friend
suggested that she come to California as the climate here was similiar to that
of Dalmatia. She did, and it was here she met my father and they were married.
I think the year was 1912. They were
married in a Roman Catholic Church, Saint Josephs, on Market Street, in San
Jose, California.
They
were living in Mountain View at the time my brother Steve was born on June 4,
1913. he still did not acquire a farm, and was working for others. Between the time of my birth, September 3, 1914, and
my brother’s birth, they moved to Cupertino. I was born in a house on Homestead
Road not far from Wolf street. That house was still standing around the early
1950’s, as I remember going there one day to take a photo of it. In 1918 my
father, and John Vidovich, bought a farm in Sunnyvale. It consisted of five
acres which was not very large compared to todays farm holdings. However there
was a woodframe house on the property, and we moved in. John Vidovich lived
somewhere else, but he was a good friend and visited often. Later he wanted to
go in the business of buying fruit on the trees, but my father did not want to
because he had a family to worry about, and was afraid to do any gambling in
fruit. He bought out John Vidovich, and worked the farm himself, 1918 turned to
be a bad year. A heavy downpour of rain ruined the prune crop that year. Then
the influenze epidemic came along. We survived this in spite of the tremendous
amount of deaths around the world at that time.
The
farm was too small to get rich from so my parents worked outside of the farm
for others. My father would prune trees in the winter, and worked as a foreman when fruit picking time came along. My mother
worked in the fruit cannery cutting fruit. As my brother and I grew older we
did as much as we could. Our prune dippers, where we dipped prunes into a caustic soda solution before
they were put out in the sun to dry, consistes of a bit cast iron tub, and a
basket attached to a long lever. It took my brother and I together to push down
on the lever, and dip the prunes, while my father would dump the prunes on the
tray. We had a horse and wagon, and used this to take the full trays out to
spread in the sun. All I can remember was that everything out on that farm was
hard work. We learned to cut apricots and pick prunes at a very early age. As
soon as we were old enough to carry ladders we went into the orchard to pick
cherries and apricots. We always made enough to buy our school clothes, and
what was left over went to help pay bills, etc. There were no vacation for us
at vacation time. We were lucky if someone who owned a car took us to the beach
or mountains.
After
the fruit season was over, there were still jobs to be done. We went to school
everyday, but after school there were animals to feed, and wood to cut for the
old wood stove. We raised two hogs every year, and slaughtered them in the
winter. My father salted down the meat and smoked it. We also made sausages,
“kobasica” (a pork sausage) and “djevenica” (blood-pudding sausage). This was a
fun time for us children. My father also made his own wine which is also a time
we enjoyed as we had plenty of grapes to eat before they got crushed. There was
also a large garden in which we grew many vegetables. So with chickens,
rabbits, pork, and vegetables we were self-sufficient. If there was not a lot
of money to be had, there certainly was plenty of food. We never suffered, even
during the great depression.
From
all that went on in my life on the farm, I can see why the Croatians came to
America. That four letter word “land” lured them here. Croatia is quite
mountainous, except for the flat land in the north, and does not have much
arable land. I could go on to tell you
more of my life with my Croatian parents, but this would take some time. During
war time I was in the Army. My brother was not because because he happened to be a farmer. In 1943
they bought a 20 acre fruit orchard on Fremont Avenue which was in Cupertino at
that time. I got back from the wars in late 1945 when the war ended. I did not
farm because I worked in the Sunnyvale Post Office, but I continued to garden,
and that I still do today, but I wish I had more land. My mother passed away in
1951 and my father in 1954, and with them the old Croatian way of life.
GLUMAC, ANTHONY Priest
The
first assistant attached to the Croatian
parish of the Nativity in San Francisco was the Reverend Anthony Glumac, a
priest from the diocese of Split, Dalmatia, who was on leave of absence from
his Bishop. He served from June 1, 1907
to May 1, 1908. He returned to his
diocese in Dalmatia After the World War,
during which he was interned in Italy by the Italian army authorities and kept
in prison for over a year, he returned to California in June, 1920 and was
appointed by Bishop John J. Cantwell pastor of St. Anthony’s Croatian Church in Los Angeles. He remained there until August, 1930, when he
retired to Cavtat, in Southern Dalmatia.
GLUSIC, JOSEPH Police Chief
Joe
was born January 28, 1924 in Waukegan, Illinois and lived in the North Chicago,
Illinois area until he moved to Henderson, Nevada six years ago. He was an army
veteran of World War 11 and a retired police officer. He was a past Police
Chief of the City of North Chicago. Joe was a long-time member of St. Joseph
Lodge 68 of the Croatian Catholic Union. Joe is survived by his sons, Joseph
(Carol) of Henderson, Nevada and Frank (Donna) of Mundelein, Illinois; two
grandsons, Christopher and Ryan; and brothers, Steve (Lorraine) of Waukegan and
John of Lake Forest, Illinois. He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances,
who died in 1993. Joseph P. Glusic, 76, died on December 23, 2000 at a Las
Vegas, Nevada.
GOIC, CEDOMIL Professor
Cedomil
Goic is a university professor at Michigan University and is married to
Margarita Kutulas Arzic with two daughters and three sons. He was born March 3,
1928 in Antofagasta, Chile. His parents
were Ivan Goic Kuscevic and Ivka Goic Kusanovic, originally from the Island of
Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. Education was at the Faculty of Philosophy at
Universidad de Chile (1953), DSc (1965). Head of the department, Universidad de
Chile, Valparaiso (1955-1975); director of Institute for Literature at
Universidad Catolica, Santiago; director at Institute for Historical-cultural
Research; founder and director of journal La Resesta Chilena de Literatura;
full university professor of literature; professor of Romance languages at Michigan
University (1976); head of Department of Latin American literature at the same
university (since 1982); chief of programme of University of Michigan and
University Sevilla, Spain; lectured at North American universities at Texas,
Wisconsin, California, Columbus, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland. Published: La
novela Chilena, La poesia de Vicente Huidobro, Historia de la novela
Hispanoamericana, Historia y critica. de la literatura Hispanoamericana,
articles in Chilean and international literary journals; published discussion
on participation of Dalmatians in discovery of America. Member of Chilean
academy of Lnguages (abroad), honorary member of Chilean Association for Study
and other national and foreign Latin American associations. Awards.: Award of
the Town Santiago, Award Pedro de Ona.
GOJNARIC, FRANJO Priest-Editor-Union
Father
Franjo Gojnaric was the second Croatian pastor at St. Nicholas Croatian parish
in Allegheny/Northside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in Pregrada in the
Hrvatsko Zagorje region of Croatia in 1864, he took the reins at St. Nicholas
December 28, 1898 -- a very contentious time in parish history. Although a
decision had been reached to build a new church, there was sharp division as to
whether the church should be built in Allegheny or Millvale (then Bennett) a
few miles away. Father Glojnaric favored the Millvale site and thus left St.
Nicholas after a stay of only one year -- moving to Millvale to set up a
fledgling parish there. He ultimately became the first pastor of a magnificent
new church (also St. Nicholas) completed there in 1900. In 1902 he also helped
found the Croatian Roman Catholic Workers' Union of America and edited the
organization's newspaper "Glas Istine/Voice of Truth." The shortlived
Workers' Union and its newspaper ceased operation in 1905. Father Glojnaric
subsequently served five years at the Croatian parish in Rankin, Pennsylvania
before passing away there January 3, 1911.
GOLIK, STANISLAUS Priest
Father
Stanislaus Golik is a Pastor at St. Charles Church, North Bend, Nebraska. Born
Novenber 13, 1915 in Mrkopalj, Croatia. Ordained for priesthood, June 25, 1939.
Education includes Gymnasium, Senj,
Croatian Littoral. Diploma 1935; Theology, Theological Seminary, Senj,
M.A., 1939. Assistant Director of Biskup Ozegovic Boarding School for Boys in
Senj, Croatian Littoral1939-44; Asst. Pastor of Assumption Cathedral in Senj
and Adm. of parish in Krivi Put, Croatian Littoral 1944-45; Appointed to the
spiritual needs of Croatian refugees in Trieste 1945-47; Asst. Pastor at Sts.
Peter and Paul Croatian Church, Omaha, Nebraska 1947-51; Asst. Pastor at St.
Philomenas Italian Church, Omaha, Nebr.1951-54; Asst. Pastor at St Francis
Polish Church, Omaha, Nebr. 1954-56; Asst. Pastor of St. Mary's Church, Omaha
1956,-1957; St. Stanislaus Polish Church., Omaha, Nebr. 1957-59; Adm. of St.
Patrick's Church of Clyde and Dublin, North Bend, Nebr. 1959-1963; Pastor, St.
Patrick's Church of Clyde and Dublin, North Bend, Nebr. 1963-1966; Pastor, St.
Frances Cabrini Italian Church, Omaha, Nebr.1966-1968.
GOLUBIC, THEODORE Sculptor-Professor
Theodore
Golubic is a Professor of Art, Department of Art, Central Missouri State
College, Warrensburg, Missouri. Born December 9, 1928 to Croatian parents in
Lorain, Ohio; married with four children. Educated at Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio, 1947-48; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, B.F.A., 1951; Art
Students' League, New York, N.Y. 1953; Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York,
1954-55; Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana, M.F.A., 1957 with a major
field in Sculpture and Painting and Sculpture, Fine Arts - Professional. Thesis
completed: 1957 Carving of "St. John the Baptist" - Master's. Member
of Delta Phi Delta Art Honorary; Croatian Academy of America; Contributing member
American Society for Aesthetics. Assistant to Ivan Mestrovic at his personal
invitaton in 1954 at Syracuse University, and later in 1955 at Notre Dame
University; Professional sculptor at Syracuse, N.Y., and South Bend, Indiana;
Taught at Notre Dame, 1959-Summer Session; On television: Guest Artist - five
one-hour lecture demonstrations (live) on the materials and methods of
sculpture for the "Art School of the Air" WSJV (ABC) 28 Elkhart,
Indiana; Sculptor-consultant to the Rock of Ages Corp., Barre, Vermont, 1965-1966.
Was graduated cum laude from Miami University, Miami University, Purchase Prize
Award. Honorable mention in sculpture, 18th Annual Natioal Exhibition, Museum
of Fine Arts, Springfield, Mass. Sculpture: Angel in Mourning two limestone
reliefs consisting of twelve over-life size angels for the altar of St.
Joseph's Croatian Catholic Church, Gary, Indiana; Crucifixion, over-life size
bronzed Christ crucified for the main altar, Little Flower Church, South Bend,
Indiana; St. Joseph the Worker, 10 ft. limestone sculpture for the facade of
St. Joseph Church, South Bend, Indiana; life-size relief in bronze for Mrs.
Frederick Willkie of Elwood, Indiana.
GOLUBIC, THOMAS Disc
Jockey-Movies
One of L.A.'s freshest nightlife events--a mix of classic films
and progressive tunes served up by DJ Thomas Golubic--was born of questionable
manners and small revenge. Thank goodness for bad behavior. Several months ago,
Golubic, one half of the music supervision team for HBO's "Six Feet
Under," was enjoying a quiet night at home when three friends dropped by.
Not only were they uninvited, Golubic recalls, "they were not in their
right minds." He didn't want his unexpected guests driving, however, so he
plopped them down in front of the TV. Darren Aronofsky's dark 2000 film,
"Requiem for a Dream," a favorite of his, was just beginning."I
thought I should turn the sound down and put some music on to freak them
out," Golubic says. He ended up DJ-ing through the final credits,
basically rescoring the film while his friends watched and listened. "The
next day one of my friends called and said, 'Dude, that was amazing.' So I
thought let me try this thing and see if there's any validity," he says.
The result is Synchronize, a free monthly--sometimes bimonthly--event in the
plush, spacious lounge at West Hollywood's Moomba. Unlike Golubic's impromptu
effort at home, these are musically scripted affairs; he spends hours
masterminding in advance. "Most of the creativity is in how I move from
one track to another," he says. The other difference is that in the club
he layers the dialogue over the music. Synchronize debuted quietly in March
with, appropriately enough, "Requiem for a Dream." Then came
"Blade Runner." Earlier this month, Golubic rescored Stanley Kubrick's
"2001: A Space Odyssey." About 100 people, most in their late 20s and
early 30s and mainly musicians, industry people, FOTs (friends of Thomas), or
some combination thereof, showed up. Among the "2001" audience
members who made it to the end of the often contemplative, nearly 21/2-hour
film was Vickie Curea, a psychotherapist who'd seen it several times before.
"I was totally surprised and pleasantly so," she said. "I
thought the way he interpreted many of the scenes in the film, he heightened
the sense of fun and absurdity." She also appreciated the comfy couch she
and her friend scored by arriving early. "I think that anybody that's a
fan of movies and eclectic music would groove on something like this. I don't
know if it would hit in Fargo, but it would in Chicago."
After many years of producing desperately romantic and
unsolicited mix tapes for a host of bewildered young women, Thomas has recently
parlayed that otherwise fruitless ability into a career as a radio and club DJ
and as a music supervisor for film and television. Thomas first cut his
teeth at eclectically-minded Los Angeles radio station KCRW (89.9 FM), where
since 1998 he hosts and programs "The Swing Shift", an ambitious
late-night radio show exploring the outer limits of new hip hop, funk, soul and
jazz. He also programs the electronic music backdrop for revered Los Angeles
spoken word artist Joe Frank and his KCRW radio program "The Other
Side". Following in the footsteps of fellow KCRW DJs turned music
supervisors Chris Douridas and Gary Calamar, Thomas began working with veteran
music supervisor G. Marq Roswell. This film & music boot-camp experience
yielded contributions as music coordinator on the rock-heavy "Varsity
Blues" (with a soundtrack certified Gold), the soul and r&b sound to
the Denzel Washington film "The Hurricane", and the contemporary pop
and country of the Kevin Costner film "For Love of the Game", among
others. Striking out on his own, Thomas music supervised "Shadow
Hours", collaborating with composer Brian Tyler to create a highly modern
dark electronic soundscape deeply blurring the lines between score and source
music. The film came and went with little fanfare, but the film soundtrack
garnered quite a bit of attention for both Thomas and Brian and the innovative
approach and compelling music has subsequently been used to temp a number of
new films. Seeing a strong collaboration potential with old mentor and friend
Gary Calamar, the two formed SuperMusicVision as a partnership in early 2000.
The duo worked together on a PBS documentary and an independent feature prior
to landing the coveted job of music supervisors on the celebrated HBO drama
"Six Feet Under". The show, created by Academy-Award winning
"American Beauty" scribe Alan Ball, has become an enormous ratings success,
comparable to the HBO hits "Sex and the City" and "The
Sopranos". The show garnered almost universal praise in the press and has
now been nominated for the Golden Globe "Best Drama", "Best
Actor" and "Best Supporting Actress" awards.
The show turned out to be the pair's most creatively rewarding
project, allowing them to bring the full breadth of their eclectic music tastes
and knowledge into the texture of the challenging and ambitious show. A
soundtrack deal was brokered with Universal Records, and remixes of Thomas Newman's
haunting title theme have been commissioned with some of the most exciting new
artists in hip hop and electronic music. The "Six Feet Under"
soundtrack album will be in stores in March 2002 to coincide with the start of
the second season. Thomas has held DJ residencies at several Hollywood clubs,
including the Knitting Factory, The Oxygen Bar, Café Luna Sol and Café Des
Artistes. He presently spins at various special events around town and hosts
SYNCHRONIZE, a live DJ re-scoring of feature films like "2001: A Space
Odyssey", old Hong Kong action pictures and even Bollywood musicals. He is
also a contributing feature music writer and reviewer for Lotus Magazine.
Thomas lives in a rooftop apartment in the Hollywood Hills where, on occasion,
he catches a few hours of sleep.
Tomica is from my own experience, very proud of his Croatian
heritage. He is warm, passionate, extremely intelligent and very talented man.
His understanding of music was very impressive and I wonder, when I met him,
why somebody like that kind of sensibility doesn't have an opportunity to
impact a boring scene of music in Hollywood. And here we go, as we announced
earlier on CROWN, Tomica is music supervisor for one of the most authentic show
on TV today "Six Feet Under". Working with Alan Ball, the best
filmmaker on a horizon.
GOMEZ (JURISICH), JEANNE Croatian
Activities
Born
in San Francisco of Croatian parents, Jeanne attended the city's schools in San
Francisco. She and her husband, Joseph, have two daughters. Recently, Jeanne
and Joseph moved to Santa Rosa from San Carlos. Jeanne owns and operates her
own typesetting business. Although residing some distance from the center of
CSF affairs, Jeanne continues to contribute valuable skills to help the
Croatian Scholarship Fund.
GORNICK, JOHN Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Music Teacher
John
Gornick was born on August 24, 1932 to John and Mae (Mitchell) Gornick in South
Chicago, Illinois. By the age of 11, he was orphaned and sent to live at the
Croatian Fraternal Union’s Children's Home in Des Plaines, Illinois. Although
these traumatic circumstances altered John's life completely, it also marked
the introduction of tamburitza music to him. This beginning opened up a
life-long source of great joy and satisfaction. John's first tambura teacher
was the late Professor Rozgaj, who taught him to play bass. Later at the Home,
he taught himself to play bugarija. His first kolo dancing lessons were given
by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Stefancich. The children were privileged to be taught
choral singing by the late Stephen Pepich. All of these instructors were highly
regarded in musical circles around Chicago. The children performed for many
local functions and they also travelled to Detroit, Pittsburgh (Croatian Day at
Kennywood Park), Milwaukee, and other cities. This was quite an experience for
them. During his years at Maine Township High School he played in the
orchestra. He remembers special help given to him by the orchestra director,
Alexander Harley, who allowed him to take the bass home to practice. This orchestra
was invited to play for many civic funtions. One special memory is the annual
performance of the Messiah, with professional opera singers hired for the
occasion. John played both bass and cello with the Sloboda Orchestra from 1951
through May, 1957 with the exception of a two-year period in which he served in
the U.S. Navy. This orchestra was made up of young adults under the management
of Mrs. Anna Kirin. The Kirin brothers, Joe and Steve, Mark Sarich, John
Ivicek, Bill Novosel, Bob Pazulinec, and Ray Yankovich were the other members
of the group. Even while John served in the Navy he managed to fit in time for
music. At boot camp he played bass drum in the marching band and later he
enjoyed some time on ship playing with a bluegrass group. He's never missed an
opportunity to pursue his big love in life.
In
1957, John joined the Continental Orchestra under the leadership of Tony
Muselin. He has continued to be a member'of the combo since then. With the
Continentals, he has had many years of pleasurable performing, many miles 9f
travel, and has recorded four albums. The group played with four members during
the early years and always seemed to lose their "bugarija" man, so
John was elected to move from playing cello to be the permanent bugarija player.
They have been the only three-man group in the Chicago area during this time.
The early members of the Continentals included Sam Cuzella and Ed Vucinic.
Later additions were Tom Zakula, Ed Franciscovich, Dick Burick and John
Miksich, who presently plays bass with them. John has also been a
"fill-in" musician with other groups through the years on bass,
bugarija and cello. In 1969 John started to teach tamburitza. His first group
was the Sacred Heart Jr. Tamburitzans (1967-1971). He joined the teaching staff
of the Sloboda Junior Tammies in 1971. These years of working with his youthful
beginner students has been very gratifying to John. He's known as "Uncle
John" to many of them even now. Another source of satisfaction and
happiness to John has been to teach his fellow Children's Home friends to play
tambura. This group called themselves the "Friday Night Guys". When
this group slowly disbanded, John began to teach his adult tambura group,
Prijate1ji. Some of the "Friday Night Guys" are also now in Prijatelji.
Teaching of adults has enabled John to develop as an instructor and music
arranger. He constantly challenges his students to perform more difficult music
and occasionally he gives them music he has arranged himself. One of John's
biggest accomplishments was teaching all six of his children to play tambura.
They have inherited from him the strong love and appreciation of tamburitza
music. John can take pride in knowing his music will live on through his family
for many years to come.
GORSHIN, FRANK Actor
Frank
Gorshin is the complete entertainer. His title includes impressionist, singer,
comedian, stage, motion picture and television comedy and dramatic star, as
well as night club and concert performance star. Although most people think of
Gorshin primarily as an impressionist, he looks upon himself as a performer who
does impressions, in addition to a vast array of other things. "I do not
do hundreds of impressions", says Gorshin. "My entire repertoire of
impressions numbers less than 50. I never set out to do an impression of a
person. However, when something a star does suddenly sparks my imagination, I
find myself doing an impression of him- first for my own amusement, later for
my repertoire." What distinguishes the Gorshin impressions are their totality.
Not only does he capture the voice, but literally seems to take on the facial
and body characteristics of his subjects- no mean feat when they range from the
young cocky Brando to the older Brando of Godfather fame, to the wacky and
incredible physical transformation into Ed Sullivan. With a dimming of the
lights and a mere expression of the face Gorshin can set chills up your spine
as Anthony Hopkins’ eerie and frightening "Hannibal Lechter". When
portraying Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Jack Nicholson Rodney Dangerfield and
many others, the audience recognizes the characterizations even before he
utters a word. Gorshin was the first to "break through" as a
headliner in Las Vegas’ main showrooms with an act that emphasized impressions,
but he also acted in literally hundreds of television and motion picture dramas
and comedies. He has acted on Broadway and throughout the country on road
company stages, and has received rave reviews for not only his theatrical
finesse, but also for his superlative work as a singer. He recently told an
interviewer, "I like to do all things, and hopefully do them well. I love
to act, I love to sing, and I love doing impressions. I’m happiest when I’m on
stage working, giving the audience my all."
The
road to success for Gorshin for began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was
born on April 5, 1934. His father and mother (who still reside there) were a
railroad worker and seamstress, respectively. At age 12, Gorshin discovered an
interest in performing, and began to school himself as an actor. While in high
school, he worked as an usher at the Sheridan Square Theatre, and for fun began
doing impressions of some of his screen heroes-Al Jolson, James Cagney, Cary
Grant and Edward C. Robinson. Then, at 17, he won a talent contest in
Pittsburgh, his prize being a one-week engagement at Jackie Heller’s Carousel
nightclub, where Alan King was headlining. It was Gorshin’s first paid job as
an entertainer. Two nights before Gorshin opened at the Carousel, his 15 year
old brother was hit and killed by a car. At the insistence of his family, Frank
went through with the engagement, which launched his show business career.
After graduation from high school, Gorshin attended the Carnage Tech (now
Carnegie-Mellon Tech) School of Drama, and during off-hours worked in plays and
in nightclubs in the Pittsburgh area. Then in 1953, he entered the US Army.
During almost two years in the armed forces during the Korean conflict, Gorshin
served in Special Services as an entertainer. In the Army he met a Maurice
Bergman who, when Gorshin returned to civilian life, introduced Frank to a
Hollywood agent who quickly got him a job in the Paramount motion picture,
"The Proud and The Profane". Roles in television dramas quickly
followed.
In
1957, while visiting his folks in Pittsburgh, Gorshin was phoned by his agent
to rush back to California to screen test for the Clark Cable film, "Run
Silent, Run Deep". Gorshin drove 39 consecutive hours, fell asleep at the
wheel, crashed, suffered a fractured skull, and woke up in the hospital four
days later. He later discovered that the role went to Don Rickles, and
considerably boost Rickles’ career. Gorshin also discovered that one of the Los
Angeles newspapers had erroneously reported him killed. Although fate prevented
him from landing that role, Gorshin subsequently appeared in the motion picture
"The Bells Are Ringing" (which starred the late Judy Holiday and Dean
Martin), in the part of a Brando-like method actor. This led to a role as
myopic bass player in "Where The Boys Are", which led to co-starring
with David Janssen in "Ring Of Fire"- all for MCM.
In
1958 Gorshin made his first Hollywood nightclub appearance at The Purple Onion.
He was then signed for five appearances on "The Steve Alien Show" and
subsequently, twelve appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". In turn,
this led to his landing the recurring role of a shore patrol sailor in the
Jackie Cooper series, "Hennessy". Several years later, Gorshin was
signed for his first Las Vegas engagement, at The Flamingo, opening for Bobby
Darin. It was during the 60’s that a major breakthrough in his career occurred.
He was signed for the role of The Riddler
on the "Batman" television series, and received an Emmy
nomination. "I could feel the impact overnight," Gorshin recalls. On
the nation’s streets, youngsters began impersonating The Riddler. Gorshin found
himself being hailed by strangers as well as friends. As a result of the major
impact of Gorshin on television, he was given headliner status in Las Vegas at the
MCM Grand, The Sahara, The International and The Aladdin.
In
addition, Gorshin became the first impressionist to headline in the prestigious
Empire Room of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He has since starred in major
nightclubs and concert halls worldwide and has guested on numerous television
variety and dramatic series, and specials. In 1972, he starred on the unique
ABC- TV series "The KopyKats."
In
1970 Gorshin made his Broadway debut, as the star of "Jimmy", based
on the life of New York’s Mayor James J. Walker. Gorshin’s personal notices
were raves. He also starred in touring companies of "What Makes Sammy
Run?", "Promises, Promises", "Peter Pan",
"Prisoner of Second Avenue", "Death Trap", "Doubles",
"Ah Wilderness", "On The 20th Century", "Breaking
Legs" and "Guys and Dolls". His performance in "What Makes
Sammy Run?" in Los Angeles earned him recognition as an outstanding stage
performer in the Burns Mantle Yearbook.
In
1978, Gorshin, who achieved national recognition as The Riddler, re-enacted the
role in an NBC-TV special, "Legends of The Superheroes". In 1978
Gorshin also starred as Ocran in the NBC-TV miniseries, "Stories From The
Bible". In 1979 he starred in the CBS-TV motion picture, "Death Car
on The Freeway" and as the space villain in "Buck Rogers in The 25th
Century". In 1980, he starred in "Goliath Awaits" for NBC and
for BBC in "Treasure Island" and "Princess Ida". In 1978
and 1979, Gorshin was named one of the "Ten Best Dressed Men in America"
by the Custom Tailors’ Guild, and in 1979 he was named as one of the
"World’s Most Desirable Men", by the International Bachelor Women’s
Society. During 1980 Gorshin served as Honorary Chairman, Entertainment
Division, for the American Heart Association. Gorshin is still hailed for his
thought provoking Emmy nominated performance In the classic Star -Trek episode,
"Let This Be Your Last Battlefield", a statement on modern day
prejudice. He has guest starred on "Lois and Clark", and the
Nickolodean series "Are You Afraid of The Dark?" Gorshins’ recent
movie roles include "Meteor Man", "12 Monkeys" with Bruce
Willis and the soon to be released "Twilight of The Ice Nymphs" with
Shelly Duvall. Among his prized possessions is a review from the Hollywood
Reporter: "Frank Gorshin is so talented, he has to be one of the greatest
entertainers today. He is an actor- a line actor. He is a singer- a fine
singer. He is a comic- a splendid comic".
GOSS, VLADIMIR Professor-Author
Vladimir
Goss-Gvozdanovic is an art historian and publicist. Born January 3, 1942 in
Zagreb, Croatia. Married Anne F.
Parks-Goss. Education includes: history of art and English at Faculty of
Philosophy, University of Zagreb; MA in history of art; PhD in history of art
at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Professor of history of art at
University of Michigan 1972-1982; senior research associate for East European
and Russian studies, University of Michigan 1981-1982; guest professor at
University of Tel-Aviv, Israel 1979-1980. Published Early Croatian
Architecture, London, 1987; Antigone's Diary, novel, Zagreb, 1992. Member of
College Art Association of America; International Society of Fine Art
Appraisers; Croatian Academy of America; Croatian Fraternal Union.
GOVIC, VLADO Teacher
Vlado
Govic is a teacher in Union City, New Jersey. Born August 29, 1937 in Krapanj (near Sibenik); parents: Svetin
G. and Zorka (nee Tanfara); married Meri G. (nee Bokun) with two daughters.
Educated at Montclair State College BSc; MSc in education, Seaton Hall
University. Awarded as Man of the Year
Croatian Business Association New York in1990. Member of AMA Croatica, Croatian
Fraternal Union.
GOVORCHIN, GERALD G Professor-Author
A
university professor, born August 12, 1912 on the Island of Mali Iz, Croatia.
He graduated from the University of Southern California (1940); MA at
University of Chicago (1942); PhD at Northwestern University (1946). He was an
interpreter in U.S. Immigration Service (1944); lecturer at Northwestern
University (194519-46); professor of history at University of Miami, Coral Gables
(1964-1978); Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida (1978-1991). Most
important books published :Americans from Yugoslavia (1961); From Russia to
America with Love (1993); studies: The Little Entente (1947); The Struggle for
Trieste (1955); Croatian Nationalism and the Revolution of 1848 (1976). He is
married to Lillian and has a son and daughter. His parents were Christ and Lucy.
GRACICH, NICOLAS Plantation
While
reviewing the 1860 United States Census of Population for Natchitoches,
Louisiana, a place not known as a Croatian Center, four Croatians were listed
for the whole County. A. Marinovich, age 27, was a merchant worth $1000; F.
Radisich, age 40, was worth $6200; Mattia Baziza, age 46, was worth $100; and
Marco Givanovich, age 34 was listed as a planter with $150,000 in real estate
and a personal worth of $250,000. This included slaves. Nicolas Gracich built the place in 1820 and
called it the "Home Place." Its name was changed to "Marco
Plantation Home" when it was purchased by his nephew, Marco Givanovich, in
1863, for the sum of $325,000. The
Plantation, located on the Cane River, was a going concern until his death in
1896. The will showed that the entire estate was left to a nephew in Dalmatia
with the nephew dying in 1926 and leaving the estate to seven children. The
will of Marco Givanovich was probated February 24, 1896. W. Hyams, Clerk at
Natchitoches, La., No. 22918, Book 94, page 52 dated Feb. 24, 1896. The Marco
House was of the high basement type plantation home, with very wide central
hallways on both floors, the one on the ground floor being paved with brick,
similar to the ones in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It was a splendidly
constructed old house with large rooms and French windows, with transoms and
shutters, with a typical outside stairway on the right as one faced the
building. The house was extremely attractive and held great allure for those
interested in good architecture of an earlier date. Today his descendants own
much land along Cane River. It is good to hear that a Croatian "made
it" in America and "enjoyed it." Perhaps one or two of his
descendants along the Cane River can still give us a "dobar dan" or
"kako si" if we ever pass through. I have run across Croatian- Indians
in the 1860's in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Colored Croatians
are unique, especially with French blood.
GRBAC, ELVIS Football
Another
Cleveland, Ohio native, son of Croatian immigrants Ivan and Cecilia, is Elvis
Grbac, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. He was born in 1970 and was a scholastic
star at St. Joseph High School, excelling in football and basketball. He was
the most successful quarterback in the history of the University of Michigan,
leading the Wolverines to victories in the 1991 Gator Bowl and the 1993 Rose
Bowl. His NFL career started with San Francisco 49ers in 1993. In 1997, he was
signed by Kansas City Chiefs to a five-year $20 million contract. As Elvis
often stated, he learned the value of hard work and dedication from his
immigrant parents: I’m Croatian. My dad is from the old country. He came over
in 1968 and didn’t know how to speak the English language and maybe had $10
bucks to their name. My father is a very hard working man. I remember times
when I was a kid when he would be out of the door before I even got up for
school and when I was going to bed he was just getting home from his second
job. He has such dedication to his friends. He’s one of those people who has
given me something that will stick with me always. I will teach my kids the
same thing.
Free-agent
quarterback Elvis Grbac agreed to terms of a five-year, $30 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens football team on
March 7, 2001. The deal includes an $11
million signing bonus. Steiner said the Ravens' Super Bowl championship
last season was the determining factor for Grbac. "Winning is the only
thing on his agenda - playing in a Super Bowl and winning a Super Bowl,"
Steiner said. The Ravens were the only team negotiating with the former Kansas
City quarterback after Cincinnati dropped-out of the bidding Monday. Grbac, who
threw for 28 touchdowns and 4,169 yards with the Chiefs last season and earned
a spot in the Pro Bowl was one of two highly sought free-agent quarterbacks,
along with Brad Johnson. Grbac initiated the talks with Baltimore by visiting
the Ravens on Friday and meeting with coach Brian Billick. Is Billick a Croatian American? When Croatian American
Grbac was asked about his first name, he said that when his father was in
Croatia he liked Elvis Presley.
GRBAC, PETER Croatian Activities
Born
in 1901 in Lanisce, Istria. Migrated in America in 1921 and settled in Fort Bragg, California. He was an
accountant of Lodge No. 17 of Croatian
Union of the Pacific in 1932.
GRBAVAC, ANTHONY Metal Working
Anthony
Grbavac left Croatia in 1965 and emigrated to the United States in 1966 via
Paris. Settling in the Cleveland, Ohio area, Grbavac was intent on utilizing
his adroitness in the field of machine rebuilding to his advantage. Opening his
first facility in 1977, he has managed to successfully increase operations. His
firm, Associated Press Repairs Inc. specializes in the repair and rebuilding of
metal working equipment.
GRBICH (GRBITCH), RADE Medal of Honor
Rank
and organization: Seaman, U.S, Navy. Born:
24 December 1870, Austria. Accredited to: Illinois. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January
1906. Citation: On board the U.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism
displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego,
Calif., 21 July 1905. Grbitch is Grbic and his origins are in Dalmatia,
Croatia. He is buried at the Presidio Military Cemetery in San Francisco.
GRCEVICH, JOE Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Military-Saloon
Joe
Grcevich was, almost literally, born with a tambura in his hand. Shortly before
he was born, Joe's father and mother were evicted from their company home
because of Joe's father's union organizing activity in the coal mines. On
November 4, 1922 Joe was born in a tent in Luxor, Pennsylvania. The most
important of the few items the Grceviches were able to keep with them, in the
close confines of the tent was, of course, a tambura. The tambura became Joe's
plaything until his father gave him a tambura of his own, on Joe's fourth
birthday. Joe hasn't put it down yet. In 1932 Joe began playing regularly with
the Jutarnja Zvezda orchestra made up of Joe, his brother Marko, his father
Josip, Matt Marovich and Peter Mamula. They played for many weddings and other
social gatherings but were probably best known for their Sunday morning
programs on radio station WHJB, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Tambura orchestra
Zora was formed in 1935 with Joe, his brother Marko, George and Nick Puskarich,
Andy Capan and Paul Delivuk. Their 8 a.m. Sunday morning radio program was very
popular in the listening area of WMBS, Uniontown, Pa. Joe traveled to Oakmont,
Pa. in 1941 and formed the famous tambura orchestra Sloboda with his brother
Marko, Joe Kucinic, Tony Cvetnich, Marko Sumrak, John Bozic and John Turcic.
From 1941 to 1947 Sloboda played almost every Sunday on radio station WLOA,
Braddock, Pa. Joe missed some of these performances during the time he spent
overseas during World War 11. Prior to entering the Army in 1941, Joe attended
Duquesne University where he was the First Brac player for the Duquesne
Tamburitzans. During the war Joe was seldom without an instrument, even if he
had to borrow a guitar from time to time. In 1945 Joe returned from the service
to marry Rose Sumrak and take up where he left off with Sloboda. It was during
the post-war years that Sloboda, with Joe and his brother Marko forming the
nucleus, became one of the finest tambura orchestras in America. The excellent
recordings Sloboda made during this period are still popular today. They played
for literally thousands of social affairs and, on a regular schedule, at the Tropics
Lounge in Braddock, Pa., and at the Grcevich brother's own place in East
Pittsburgh, Pa., the Hilltop Cafe. Joe never does anything halfway, he always
does his best. With typical enthusiasm, in 1963. Joe became the Director of the
St. George Junior Tamburitzans in Cokeburg, Pa. The outstanding achievements of
the St. George Junior Tamburitzans are testimony to Joe's dedication to
teaching and preserving his cultural heritage. Joe taught many fine musicians
including his son Djeri who is an outstanding recording artist. Joe no longer
plays with any orchestra on a regular basis, but he never says no when asked to
perform for charitable affairs or to participate in fraternal and civic
functions. His home in North Huntingdon, Pa. has become a mecca for tamburasi
from all over America as well as many from the old country. Joe's career as a
tambura player and director is far from over, but he has already made his
indelible mark on the history of tambura music in America.
GREDEL, ZDENKA Professor
Zdenka
Gredel is a professor at the Department of History, Niagara University, New
York. Born November 2, 1941 in Zagreb, Croatia. Education includes State
Women's Real Gymnasium, Bamberg, Germany; D'Youville College, Buffalo, New
York, 1958-62, B.A., June, 1962; State University of New York at Buffalo, MA.,
1964; University of Munich, Germany, 1964-65; State University of N.Y. at
Buffalo, Ph.D., 1969 with a major field
in History and Modern European History with emphasis on German History. Thesis
completed in 1964, The Reaction to the German Unification Movement, 1867-1871.
Buffalo Mirrors the Nation, M.A. thesis. The Problem of Continuity in German
History as seen by West German Historians Between 1945-1953, Ph.D. thesis.
Member of the American Historical Association.
GREGO, GEORGE Opera
Nikola
Grego, from the Island of Brac,
Dalmatia, Croatia and his brother George were successful apple packers in San
Francisco. George had a fine bass voice
and was under contract for several seasons in the chorus of the old Tivoli Opera House in the 1880’s.
GREGORIC, MICHAEL T. Theatre-Professor
Michael
Gregoric is teaching at University. of Connecticut. Born March 27, 1933 to
Croatian parents in Port Huron, Michigan; married with two children. Education
includes University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, A.B., 1955; A.M., 1956;
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Ph.D., 1961 with a major field in Theatre
and Film; Aesthetics and Criticism. Thesis completed in 1956 "Swords on
Stage," University of Michigan; "Principles and Practice in Modern
Dramatic Criticism," Cornell University 1961. Member of American Association of University Professors, Speech
Association of America. Direction of plays in the U.S. and Germany, 1956-58
Germany - Residence U.S. Army.
GREGOV, JOHN Priest-Monsignor
Funeral
services will beheld Monday for Monsignor Joh Gregov, associate pastor for nine
years at St. Joachim;s Church in Hayward, who died July 6, 1980 while visiting
his family in Preko, Croatia. He was 79. A priest for 54 years,
Father Gregov came to the United States in 1955 after serving as a pastor in
Croatia and Argentina. Before his retirement in 1973, he served as an
associate pastor at churches in Martinez and Oakland as well as Hayward.
He was designated a monsignor by Pope Paul VI in 1976.
GREGURICH, JOHN Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Recording Artist Composer
Born
of Croatian parentage February 9, 1927 in Library, Pennsylvania. Both his
mother and father, who migrated to this country from Croatia, were tambura
players; his mother played the bugarija; his father the bass and prim. John was
the only child of five that survived beyond infancy. At age 6 he was already
studying the violin with private lessons. Not long thereafter he began to pick
up the tamburitza instruments that were available in the Gregurich household.
All 5 of the instruments that comprise the tamburitza family - brac, prim,
cello, bugarija, bass - were all eventually mastered through study. In addition
to his love of music and his "tamburas," John was an outstanding
athlete during his high school years. As a result, he was offered two football
scholarships - one at the University of Southern California and also at the
University of Maryland. Simultaneously, because of his versatility with the
tamburas, he was also being rushed with a scholarship to Duquesne University in
Pittsburgh, Pa., with the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, under the direction
of Matt Gouze. Following his high school. graduation in June of 1944, he
followed his heart and first love! He accepted the D.U. tamburitzan scholarship
and became the well-rounded, versatilc instrumentalist while majoring in
history and political science. A year of study at Duquesne University while
performing the Tamburitzans, was interrupted by Uncle Sam who also sought his services.
Following Gregurich's stint in the Air Force, he returned to his studies at
Duquesne University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1953.
He surged forward and began composing and arranging tamburitza music in the
early 1950's. In 1952, one of his original compositions, Tamburitza Sweetheart
was recorded on the 78 r.p.m. Then followed other original compositions
including: Gypsy Music, Tamburitza Waltz, Mala Jadranska Ruza, Od Srca . . .
all of which were recorded! Od Srca was so appealing and had made such a hit
that a major music company in New York City saw fit to purchase it. Tamburitza
Waltz became the beloved theme song for the Pittsburgh Tamburitzans and has
remained so to the present day. Croatian lyrics to such songs as Milica and
Tuzna Djeva were original inspirations of John Gregurich. As a musician,
composer-arranger in his own right, and recording artist, his talents and
enthusiasm spread. He became lead brac player for the Kossovo Tarnburitza
orchestra who also then recorded three different albums on the Greyko Recording
Label. Gregurich then formulated his own Greyko Tamburitza Recording Orchestra
who not only recorded but who performed throughout the U.S.A. and Canada for 20
years. They documented and recorded for posterity some of the finest tamburitza
music ever. In 1953, Gregurich became the assistant director of the
All-University Tamburitzans, a collegiate 30-piece ensemble, under the capable
direction of Matt Gouze. His tamburitza teaching and conducting of the Pittsburgh
Tamburitzans is legend. With that group alone, his musical concert tours have
taken him throughout the entire U.S.A., coast to coast; Canada from coast to
coast; Europe on four different concert tours; New Zealand. Greyko Recording
Company, under John Gregurich's direction, has become the largest manufacturer
of Croatian L.P.'s, tapes and cassettes in the U.S.A., which includes
tamburitza and polka music.
GRENKO, JULIAN Coal Mine Company
The
death of this giant was a sad shock to all of us in the Croatian Catholic Union
and a great "loss to his dear wife Ljubica, daughter Marietta and
granddaughter Misty and family. The local newspaper in Gallup, New Mexico
dedicated on obituary pages a quarter of a page with a title: "Julian
Grenko The Last Independent Coal Miner". In many ways Julian was the last
of his generation, but in many more ways he was the first, the pioneer and
trail blazer. His spirit of optimism and faith, his enduring love for outdoors
echoed from the chambers of his soul his love for fellow man, and his love of
God. For all the good that he and Ljubica did whether for the CCU or for any
other worthwhile cause Julian will remain first in our hearts and in our
memories. Julian was born at the family's small ranch just south of Gallup. Although
there were seven children by the time Julian was born there were only two
brothers left. Together with their father they opened the Grenko Coal Company
in 1924. It was coal which kept Julian out of the Second World War. Coal was
badly needed to run the coal trains. He was kept from the draft because he was
the only one that could run the underground equipment. One hot day during World
War 11 he took time out from coal mining and went and bought a welding machine
and welding books and set out to make an air conditioner and that he did.
Julian later hired on with the city and became the foreman of the welding
department; here is where he would retire from at the age of 70. After his many
years of hard work he took on his hardest job yet, he set out to learn how to
dance for his lovely wife Ljubica. He even took swimming lessons at 72.
Julian
enjoyed weekends at McGaffy and chewing Copenhagen for 74 years of his life. He
enjoyed traveling with Ljubica in their 66 years of marriage. The family came
from Fuzine, Croatia.
GREY, GLORIA (DRAGOMANOVICH) Actress
Gloria
was born in 1909 and died in 1947. An
actress during the silent movie era, Gloria was a 1924 Wampas Baby Star and was
seen in silent films such as “Dante’s Inferno”, “The Millionaire Cowboy”, “The
Ghetto Shamrock”, “Little Robinson Crusoe”, “Spirit of the U.S.A.”, and was the
leading lady in the 1927 “Blake of Scotland Yard”.
GRGAS, FRANE Fisherman
Frank
was born in 1873, in Zablance, near Sibenik, in Dalmatia and came to this
country in 1901 and to San Pedro in 1919.
In 1899 he married Marija, nee Grgas. Five children came of this
marriage: Stipe, Joso, Mary, Franka and Danica.
He was the owner of the 77 foot purse-seiner Costa Rica.
GRGICH, LUKA Restaurant
Luka
Grgich was a man among men and for men. He had his "Luka's Club Cafe" on 419 Alpine Street, Los Angeles for over
50 years. Any Croatian who found himself in dire straits could go to Luka's for
a meal. Several contractors used Luka's cafe as a place to choose day workers
for the sewer contracts they were working. For these men it was the only
contact of employment. There was no language barrier to overcome and dress was
not important. He has a bakery in the rear of the club. Here on holidays he
would bake whole lambs and at Christmas time whole pigs. If it had baked at
Luka's you knew it was right. He gave many down and outers jobs. Many a
Croatian would have been buried in potter's field if it were not for Luka. A
man of business with a heart of gold. Today the old haunt has disappeared. The
way that all the men who were the ones to come to a new bright land to seek and
find their fortunes.
GRGICH, MIKE Winemaker-Vineyard
Miljenko
Grgic experienced his first great victory on May 24, 1976 in Paris at the
history-making blind tasting of best French against best Californian wines.
Nine of the most qualified French wine experts and judges were assembled by
Steven Spurrier, a respected British
wine merchant living and working in France, to blind
taste six of California's best Chardonnays against four of France's most famous
white Burgundies. Blind tasting means that the identity and origin of the wines
are unknown to the judges. The white wine winner, defeating esteemed
centuries-old Burgundy properties, was 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Croatian
immigrant, MiIjenko Grgic, was the Montelena's winemaker. That was his
contribution for the American Bicentennial, and a great tribute to his native
Croatia where he was born and educated. Thousands of American newspapers and
magazines proclaimed and celebrated the Grgic victory announcing a new age of
American wine.
The
youngest of eleven children, Mi1jenko Grgic was born April 1, 1923 into a
winemaking family in the village of Desne, Croatia. The family, like most of
the villagers, owned a small vineyard and winery. "When I was two and a
half years old, I was getting wine whit some water in it, " Grgic says. At
the age of three, Mi1jenko was stomping grapes besides his father who was
already teaching him the skills of how to make wine of his own.
"Love
for fine wine brought me to the University of Zagreb, Croatia" recounts
Grgic. "I graduated in 1954, majoring in enology and
viticulture." When he needed only
to pass a final exam to earn his master's degree in 1954, Mi1jenko fled to
Germany without telling even his parents. From there, 18 months later he
immigrated to Canada, landing in Halifax in 1956. Knowing very little English
and almost penniless, he rode the train for five days to Vancouver, British
Columbia where relatives arranged to find a job for him. Finally, in 1958 he was granted an American
visa and joined his relatives in Aberdeen, Washington Grgic's dream was
California, vineyards, and winemaking. His relatives in Seattle and his
American-born nephew who was a Catholic priest, made some connections for him
in Napa Valley where he arrived in time for harvest, on August 15, 1958. He
went to work right away for Lee Stewart at Souverain Winery and six months
later for Christian Brothers in their Champagne-making operation.
In
1959 the first major step of his lifelong dream was realized when he joined
Andre Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyard. "He was doing very important
research into yeasts, into malolactic fermentation, into spoilage. At Beaulieu
Vineyard, Mike Grgich spent nine years as chief chemist in charge of quality
control, at that time a crucially important job to protect wines from bacterial
problems. He recalls that 1960's were exciting years in the progress of
California winemaking, and how at BV many new things were accomplished in the
winemaking process. Another important achievement was, Mike says, that "BV
wa's one of the first wineries to use millipore filtration for all wines, which
made the wines biologically stable forever. This was very important in the
development of great wine in Napa Valley." Mike and Andre also succeeded
in finding a special strain of yeast that worked well for the Beaulieu wines.
Through experimentation with American and French yeasts, they found the yeast
called "French White", which produced exceptional wines.
In
1968 Grgic was offered the position to be quality control chemist and winemaker
at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, just three miles down the road from BV.
His new salary was $1,000 a month. There, Mike had an opportunity to experiment
with the most modern winery equipment in California - from roto tanks and
centrifuge to vacuum filters. As chief enologist, Grgic was working together
with Michael Mondavi and supervised all winemaking. After almost fifteen years
of pioneering and mastering the technology of winemaking while working with and
for somebody else, in 1972 Grgic turned over a new page of his life. He started
the art of winemaking. He left Mondavi and accepted a challenging offer from
Los Angeles attorney James Barrett and partners Paschich and Hahn, to launch
the new Chateau Montelena winery. As a limited partner, winemaker, and
vineyardist, Mike's job was to redesign and refurbish the 90-years old and
neglected winery, and to install new equipment. His first wine at Montelena, a
1972 Johannisberg Riesling, earned the first prize at the Los Angeles Times
testing in 1974. "We have been producing four wines every year," Mike
recalls: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Johannisberg Riesling, and Chardonnay.
Our first desire was to become a house of Cabernet Sauvignon only. Surprise
came very soon when our Chardonnay won many first places in reputable tastings.
In a blind Bicentennial tasting in Paris in May of 1976 our Chardonnay took
first place over six California Chardonnays and four French Chardonnays."
His 1973 Chardonnay stormed Paris in 1976 and he has been winning first, best,
and gold medals and prizes ever since, especially after he established his own
cellar. He always wanted to have his own winery. This dream came through in 1977.
He sold back his limited partnership to the other owners of Chateau Montelena
and in 1977 broke ground for Grgich Hills Cellar. His business partner was
Austin Hills, a coffee taster and owner of vineyards in Napa Valley. The Hills
family once owned the Hills Brothers Coffee Company, which was founded in 1878
in San Francisco. He invested in Napa
Valley vineyards, and along with Mike also in Grgich Hills Cellar, located on
Highway 29 just north of Rutherford. Mi1jenko Grgic had the skill and expertise
to make great wines, and Hills, owner of established vineyard had a back ground
in business andfinance. Grgich Hills wines have been impressive since the very
first vintage of 1977. The 1977 Chardonnay was declared the best in the world
at the "Great Chicago Chardonnay Showdown". When it was over, the
winner and still champion was Mi1jenko "Mike" Grgich (Grgich Hills
1977 Chardonnay Sonoma). Columnist and wine expert James Laube reported in The
Wine Spectator (Dec. 31, 1992) how Mike Grgich uncorked 21 vintages of his
Chardonnay for a tasting at the 1992 California Wine Experience. "Few
California vintners can put on a show of more than 20 vintages of Chardonnay
and hope to smile when it's over", he remarks and reveals that out of 21
vintages eleven scored each 90 or more points (outstanding), and nine 85 or
more points each (very good). "Not only are his Chardonnays stylistically
unique and appealing, but they continue to amaze with their ability to age
gracefully, while many other California Chardonnays lose their zest within a
few years of release," Laube stated. The Grgich Hills' 1979 Chardonnay was
served at the White House on October 13, 1981, and 1978 Chardonnay was served
to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 at the White House in 1983. At various wine
competitions and exhibits in 1988-1989, the 1986 Chardonnay received six Gold
Medals. Grgich Hills Chardonnay has become a standard by which other
Chardonnays are judged. Mi1jenko Grgic is truly "The King of Chardonnay. " Among his staff members are his daughter
Violet, his nephew, Ivo Jaramaz, and several veteran employees. A luscious
dessert wine, Violetta, is named after Mi1jenko's daughter, Violet. Made from
grapes harvested very late in the season, and kissed by Botritis Cinerea (the
noble mold), this wine is reminiscent of fine Sauternes in the nose and has a
wonderful balance of sugar and acid.
When
Croatia regained its independence, Mi1jenko returned to Croatia in 1990 to
celebrate its Independence and to visit his relatives. "I always had a
dream to come back if Croatia ever gained independence," repeated Mi1jenko
to many friends he met again after 40 years. Mi1jenko made several post war
trips to Croatia, always looking and studying what he could do to help rebuild
his homeland. "I decided I had something to donate, and that is the
knowledge that I have picked up abroad over 44 years", he concluded. When
he decided to open a small model winery of his own in Croatia, he found and
purchased in 1995 a stone building in the village of Trstenik on the peninsula
Pe1jesac. Originally, the "karaula" was built by the military as a
border post and was later used as a resort. The building was completely
renovated in 1995 and outfitted as a modern winery. He purchased the best
equipment and shipped by boat to Croatia: stainless steel jacketed tanks (made
in Santa Rosa, California), an automatic bottling line, a micro-filter for
sterile bottling, a complete laboratory setup, and an air-conditioning system
for the entire winery to assure proper temperature control. New oak barrels
were also imported from France to stock the aging cellar. The winery was given
the name GRGIC VINA. Mi1jenko Grgic now intends to create the same world-class
wines in Croatia as Mike Grgich did in California. The first harvest took place
in 1996, producing a white wine called Posip (800 cases), and a red wine called
Plavac Mali (1400 cases). The wine Posip was made from famous grape of the name
Posip, which has been grown for centuries on the island of Korcula in the
Adriatic Sea. The 1998 Posip, with 13.0% alcohol and .70 total acid, earned
Gold Medal (Velika Zlatna Medalja) at GAST 2000 Sajam in Split, I March 2000.
The 1997 Plavac Mali, released I March 1999, with 13.8% alcohol and .65 acid,
has already captured many top prizes, including Gold Medal and Best Croatian
Wine Medal at Vinovita International Fair in Zagreb 10 May 2000.
Is
California Zinfandel originally Croatian Plavac Mali? In 1994, in celebration
of its silver jubilee year, the International Wine and Spirit Competition
inaugurated a new trophy award for Zinfandel. The 1989 Grgich Hills Zinfandel
was selected as "The- Best Worldwide". The JWSC competition is in
fact the Olympics of the wine and spirit industry, where the world's most
experienced tasters are judging the best entries from over thirty different
countries. When Mi1jenko Grgic came to California in 1958 and obtained his
first job in Napa Valley with Souverain Winery, he noticed a remarkable
resemblance between the Zinfandel grapes grown in California and the Plavac Mali
of his native Croatia. Thirty-five years later, when returning again to Croatia
in 1993, he took with him some samples of Zinfandel leaves, grape clusters, and
canes to compare them with Plavac Mali. He was convinced that the two were
actually the same grape. The University of California at Davis is being engaged
in research to verify the origin of the Zinfandel. "If there is any
significant difference between the flavor of Plavac Mali and California
Zinfandel, the Croatian version seems slightly more elegant," reported
Terry Robards from Croatia in his big discovery article "Zinfandel - the
mystery solved" (Wine Enthusiasts, August 1996). "Obscured by
history, politics and long-held misperceptions, the true origin of America's
Zinfandel grape remained hidden - until now", says Robards and opens the
mystery door of his and Grgic's discovery on Zinfandel. "Now the mystery
apparently has been solved. An array of newfound evidence indicates that
Zinfandel came from what is now Croatia." And MiIjenko "Mike" Grgic
shows: "This is the area where Zinfandel was born." Robards noted how
Mike Grgich, a native of Croatia who left in 1958 for California, uses the word
Zinfandel interchangeably with Plavac Mali, Mali Plavac. "Mali Plavac,
Plavac Mali, you can say it either way, it's Zinfandell. "..says'
Miljenko. Yes, Mike from California is again MiIjenko in Croatia, MiIjenko
Grgic from Croatia is Mike Grgich in California, Plavac Mali from Croatia is
Zinfandel in California, and Zinfandel from California is again Mali Plavac in
Croatia. MiIjenko Grgic (Mike Grgich) points out that the primary motive for
opening his small "hobby-sized" winery in Croatia was to bring modern
technology and winemaking skills with him from California back to his homeland
Croatia in order to make world-class wines again from local grape varieties.
GRGUREVICH, LUKE Fisherman-Sheep-Brooks
Island San Francisco Bay
Most
people in the San Francisco Bay Area are familiar with Yerba Buena, Treasure
Island, Angel Island and, of course, Alcatraz, but only a handful know about
the other islands-The Brothers, The Sisters, east and West Marin Islands, Brooks Island and red Rock. Tiny
outcroppings in the Bay, they range in size from Brooks Island, 45 acres of
forest, to West Sister, little more than a rock. Two are privately owned, one
is opened as a park this year. The rest are accessible by boat; in some cases
permission from the Coast Guard is necessary. South of The Brothers, three
quarters of a mile off Point Richmond, lies Brooks island a lush 45 acres with
two fresh-water springs. East Bay Regional Parks bought the land for $625,000
in 1968 and plans to open it to the public this summer.
The
island was the site of several Indian villages from about 3000 B.C. to 70 A.D.,
according to George Coles, an anthropologist at Contra Costa College who has
been excavating on the island for many years. The first piece of Indian rope
found in California was on Brooks. The fresh water has crated a marsh that is
the home for cormorants, mallards, Canadian geese and mourning doves. Mussels,
clams and oysters can still be gathered along some parts of the two miles of
shoreline.
Records
show a Mr. Brooks lived on the island in the middle of the 19th century. He
constructed a four-room house and raised goats, then left the Bay Area around
1870. A Croatian immigrant, Luccas
Gargurevich, and his wife moved in and raised sheep and 10 children. His
son Anton claimed, in a short history of the island he wrote in 1965, that his
father was cheated out of the land by one of the Big Four railroad companies.
The family then moved to Berkeley.
Luke
Gargurevich died in West Berkeley, November 30, 1919, Luke Gargurevich born in
1841, dearly beloved husband of the late Domencia Gargurevich, and loving
father of Antone, Mitchell, Luke and Victor Gargurevich, Mrs. Annie S. Illich
and Sophie E. Haiens, a native of the Island
of Lastovo, Dalmatia, Croatia, aged 80 years and 10 months. A member of Slavonic Illyric M. B. Society of
San Francisco. Friends and acquaintances respectfully invited to attend the
funeral tomorrow (Wednesday), Dec. 3, 1919, from the parlors of Ferrari &
Alison 1548 Stockton, at 1 p.m.; thence to K. P. Hall, 115 Valencia st., where
services will be held under Slavonic I. M. B. Society, commencing at 2 p.m.,
thence to Croatian Church of Nativity
for blessing. Internment, Holy Cross.
GRGURINOVICH-GRINICH, VICTOR Engineer-King of Silicon
Valley
Victor
Grinich, one of the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor, the Silicon Valley
company that helped start the computer revolution, died November 12, 2000 in
Mountain View, California at age 75. An electrical engineer by training,
Grinich went to work for Shockley Semiconductor in 1956. A year later, he and
seven colleagues founded Fairchild.
Other members of the group were Jean Hoenri, Eugene Kleiner, Jay Last,
Gordon Moore, Sheldon Roberts, Sherman Fairchild and Robert Noyce. Grinich
began at Fairchild as head of engineering and applications and then was second
in command of the research and development department, which was headed by
Moore. Fairchild produced the first commercially viable integrated circuit, a
forerunner of the modern computer chip. Fairchild has grown into a $786 billion
company with more than 8,000 employees. The company's chips power electronic
devices used in cars, computers and telecommunications equipment. Born Victor
Grgurinovich in Aberdeen, Washington, to Croatian immigrant parents, Grinich
served in the Navy during World War II. He changed his name after the war, to
avoid the difficult spelling and went off to college, earning bachelor's and
master's degrees from the University of Washington and a doctorate in
electrical engineering from Stanford. After leaving Fairchild in the late
1960s, Grinich taught at UC Berkeley and Stanford. He was coauthor of the
textbook, "Introduction to Integrated Circuits." He also headed some
smaller Silicon Valley firms. He is survived by his wife, Helen Hood Grinich;
two sons, a daughter and three grandchildren.
GRICH, BOBBY Baseball
Bobby
Grich played for the Baltimorre Orioles from 1970 to 1976 before joining the California Angeles in 1977. A talented baseball player, he excelled with
both the glove and the bat. A six time
all-star performer, Grich established a major league record for the most
putouts by a second baseman in one season with 484. From 1973 to 1975, he handeled more chances
and completed more double plays than any other second baseman. Grich tied a major league record for fewest
errors by a second baseman (800 or more chances) with only five, an amazing
statistic, considering he played in all 162 games. It is no wonder Grich a four time Gold Glove
Award winner. A lifetime .266 hitter, he
had his best year in 1979 when he hit .294 with 30 home runs and 101 RBIs. During the strike shortened season of 1981,
Grich batted a career high .304 with a league leading 22 home runs. He announced his retirement after California
lost the 1986 American League playoffs to the Boston Red Sox.
GRMEK, MIRKO
Professor-Author-Scientist-Doctor
Mirko
D. Grmek, born in Krapina, Croatia, was professor of history of medicine at the
University of Zagreb in Croatia. Since 1971 he has been full professor at the
Sorbonne in Paris, then associate professor of many European and American
universities ( Berkeley, Cambridge, Geneva, Lausanne, Rome), and finally
Direstor of Studies at the Ecole Practique des Hates Etudes, Sorbonne, Paris.
He was Director of International school for history
of science in Naples, president of European
center for history of medicine in Strasbourg, editor or editor-in-chief of
several professional international science lexicons, author of about thirty
books. Very important is Western medical thought from antiquity to the Middle
Ages, a landmark work edited by Mirko D. Grmek. His monograph History of AIDS:
Emergence and Origin of a Modern Pandemic, is winner of the George Sarton Medal
of the History of Science Society. For his scholary achievements he was awarded
with the order of the Knight of the
French Legion of Honour. He also obtained Laurea ad Honorem from Università di Bologna. In the early 1990s he
advocated Croatia's right to independence through several appearances on French
television, and was the first president of Almae
Mater Croaticae Alumni in Paris. With Louise Lambrichs he wrote a monograph
Les révoltés de Villefranche-de-Rouergue, and with Marc Gjidra and Neven Simac
Le Nettoyage ethnique. In 1996 the international scientific journal Eureka called him physician of the century. The journal portrayed him with the
following words: Mirko Grmek is as famous among scholars throughout the world
as he was unknown to the wider public. This Croatian lived supporting the
ideals to which he dedicated his entire life, namely that medicine must be
practiced with full sense of conscience, and that science is simply another
word if it is not accompanied by humanism.
GROHAR, STEPHEN G. Teacher
Stephen
Grohar is a principal at F. E. March School in Joliet, Illinois. He was born
December 15, 1912 in Joliet, Illinois and educated at the University of Illinois at Champaign, Illinois,
1932-1936. B.S., January, 1936. De Paul University, Chicago., Illinois,
1936-1944. M.A., June 1941. Major field of education was Social Science and
Education with a sprcialty in history and physical Education. His thesis was A
Study to Determine the Proper Sequence of Supplementary Reading on the Basis of
Introduction of New Words and Repetition of Old Words. M.A., June 1941. He is
married and has three children.
GROSETA, ANTHONY V. Ranch-Capitalist
Tucson
could boast of no more public spirited citizen than Anthony Vincent Grossetta
who had lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1880 and had been foremost in many
undertakings which had materially helped its growth as a tourist center, and as
a place to live. In political and social circles, the world of commerce, the
Grossetta family originated in Croatia. Some of that name crossed the Atlantic.
Matthew, the grandfather of A. V. Grossetta was a former stock raiser of
Dalmatia, Croatia, and Vincent, the father of the subject was born near Dubrovnik-Ragusa
where he was a shoe merchant. The only son who came to America was A. V.
Grossetta. Native of Dubrovnik, Croatia, born April 27, 1856, was trained in
public school, he learned German, Croatian and the Italian languages. When he
was 12 years old he shipped aboard a sailing vessel, and for six years cruised
the high seas. He crossed the Atlantic and worked on both English and American
Ships. In 1874 A. V. Grossetta came to America. He worked one year for the New
York Central Railroad. He went to Montreal, Canada, and connected himself with
the Italian consulate for two years. In 1877 he went to San Francisco, Los
Angeles, and drifted to Tucson in 1880. He worked for a grocer, then started
his own business in 1882. He had a small store near the railroad station which
was carried on until 1893. He was interested in the Tucson Grocery Company and
the Tucson Hardware Company. Grossetta was identified- with the Tucson Building
and Loan Association. He built several homes there. He owned much local property
and a well irrigated ranch 123 miles north of the city plus a thriving orchard.
He built the Tucson Electrical Light Power Company. He was influential in
organization of the Hall Association of the Ancient Order of the United
Workmen. He belonged to the Masons, Tucson Lodge'No. 4 F. & A. M. Tucson,
Shp. No. 3 R. A. M. Arizona Commandery No. 1 K.T. Also belonged to El Zaribah
Temple, N. M. S. at Phoenix. Both he his wife were members of the Eastern Star.
Grossetta was a leader in the Republican Party. He was a member of the County
Central Committee, and was a delegate to the territorial party convention. In
1900 he was the Republican nominee for the legislature, but he was defeated. He
was in the City Council, and represented
the first ward. He was an influential member of the Board of Trade. He was
approved by Governor Murphy a member of Board of Regents of the University of
Arizona.
GROSETA, MARTIN Virginia Saloon-Oyster
Saloon-Restaurant
Martin
Grossetta from Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia was proprietor of the Virginia
Saloon in Virginia City in 1860. This was one of the first of approximately
fifty businesses in Virginia City at the time. The Virginia Saloon was included
in a prominent panorama of Virginia City. Martin had been in Mobile, Alabama in
1849 and had voted in that city prior to coming to the Pacific Coast to seek
his fortune. He was one of many who had been established in the South prior to
coming West. In 1859 Martin had a coffee stand in San Francisco at the corner
of Sacramento and East Streets. He was in many business ventures during his
lifetime in Virginia City and San Francisco. Martin was a citizen in 1849 at
Mobile, Alabama and had voted in 1870 in San Francisco. He was Godfather to a
child of Vulicevich in 1876 at St. Mary's Church in San Francisco. He was also
a member of the Slavonic Illyric Society of San Francisco. Martin appeared on
the Census in 1880 in San Francisco with a wife named Maria, also from
Dalmatia. It is not known whether he had a family. Martin was typical of the
hearty Dalmatian pioneers who ventured into the gold and silver mining boom
towns as saloonkeepers or merchants. Martin had either brothers or relatives
inSan Francisco at the time because a John Grossetta with a large family in the
early 1860's and later a prominent commission merchant had a business on Kearny
Street in 1858. Another A. Grossetta had a fruit store at 311 Dupont Street in
San Francisco in 18S9. This A. Grossetta became a very prominent citizen of
Arizona.
GROSETA, PETER Jr. Ranch
He
was born October 22, 1917, in Jerome, Arizona, to Croatian immigrants Peter and
Antonia Groseta. His family moved from Jerome to a ranch in Middle Verde in
1922, where he attended school and graduated from Camp Verde High School in
1935. He was a member of the Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 978 in Cottonwood
and former member of CFU Lodge 138 in Jerome, Arizona where he served as vice
president for several years. In 1936 his family moved to a ranch in Bridgeport
and he started to work in Phelps Dodge Smelter until it shut down in 1953,
where he was shift boss and "pulled the plug" on the last pound of
ore that went through the concentrator. On September 18, 1946, he married
Katherine Maglich in St. Cecelia's Catholic Church in Clarkdale. His father raised
alfalfa hay and sold it to the local dairies, which provided milk to the entire
Verde Valley, including the miners in Jerome. They also did a lot of custom hay
bailing on farms and ranches throughout the Verde Valley. In addition, they
raised cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys, fruits and vegetables, of which they
sold to neighbors and to families in Jerome, Clarkdale and Cottonwood. In 1948
he purchased the W Dart cow outfit where they raised commercial cattle. Four
generations of the Groseta family have raised cattle in the Verde Valley from
Tapco, above Clarkdale, to Camp Verde. Also, during the time that he ranched,
he worked for Yavapai County Roads Department for several years Dad served on
the school board of Willard School in Bridgeport. In addition, he has served on
the board of directors of the Cottonwood Ditch Association where he was ditch
boss, vice president, and secretary/treasurer. Also, he served on the board of
directors of several agricultural organizations, including Farmers Home
Administration (FHA) and the Yavapai Cattle Growers Association. He was a member of the Arizona Cattle Growers
Association and served on the Grazing Advisory Committee, representing the
grazing permittees on the Prescott National Forest. He was involved in the
origination of the Verde Valley Fair in 1964 where he has supported 4-H and
Future Farmers of America youth for decades. He was also a member of the
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where he served on the Parish Council.
Also, he was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Peter Groseta Jr., 82, died
May 4, 2000. Surviving are his wife Katherine, of 53 years, and a sister, Anne
Mongini of Rohnert Park, California. He was preceded in death by brother Frank
of Phoenix. He is also survived by his son, Peter Andrew "Andy" and
wife Mary Beth and three grandchildren, Paul, Katy and Anna; George Stephen
Groseta and wife Bernadette and four nephews and two nieces.
GUDAZ, ANDREW Tailor
Andrew
Gudaz ( wife, Amelia Blazich ) had learned his tailoring trade as a boy in the
Old Country but the pay was poor and the hours long. So when his Godfather, Sam
Baretich, offered him a chance to came to Aberdeen, Washington, he accepted
with no questions asked. At first he worked for Baretich in his café, then in a
sawmill and shipyard before opening his tailor shop. Later his godfather was to
be his best man at his wedding with Amelia Blasich. Andy the Tailor operated
his shop until WWII when he closed it
because so many of his customers had entered the service.
GUGICH-SMITH, ANTON Fisherman
From
the Dalmatian island of Korcula, where he was born on October 11, 1893 in
Racisce, Anton came to this country in 1913 and to San Pedro in 1920. In spite of the fact that fishing claimed
most of his time he always made opportunity for national and social activities
and was a member of the Croatian Fraternal Union and the Dalmatian Club in both
Seattle and San Pedro. He owned several
fishing boats.
GUICH, ANDREW Sanitation
Inspector-Interpreter
Gig
Harbor also beckoned Andrew Guich in the early 1890's. Guich was born in Milna,
on the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. At the age of twelve, he became a
cabin boy on a sailing ship. Later, New York offered many job opportunities,
but he found that operating a barge that carried bulk grain across the Hudson
River to Hoboken was not any better than working as a saloon keeper. He tried
operating a grain elevator and then a grocery store, but none of these proved
to be suitable occupations. After a bout with pneumonia, Guich decided a warmer
climate was more desirable. San Francisco offered no jobs, so in 1891 a
four-day steamer voyage brought Guich, his wife, and four children to Tacoma.
Again there was no employment, so he took his family to Gig Harbor. He worked
in a mill long enough to earn lumber for a small home there. Andrew Guich moved
back to Old Tacoma where a fifth child was born. At this time Dr. Spiro
Sargentich established the Old Tacoma Emergency Hospital. Guich took the job of
cook and here formed an alliance with the doctor that was to last for years.
Dr. Sargentich and Guich were active in the election of Mayor John Linck in
1908. After taking office, the mayor named the doctor city health officer and
Guich became his deputy. Those were the days when sanitation was more theory
than practice, and Guich and the health department had their hands full ridding
the waterfront of rats and the city of "greasy spoon" restaurants.
With the advent of World War I, Guich was appointed as an interrogator for the
draftees at what was then Camp Lewis because of his knowledge of the Italian,
Croatian, and Greek languages. Following the war, he returned to his former job
as a sanitation inspector. Andrew Guich was an active member of the Slavonian
American Benevolent society and, in the years that the Tacoma Little Theater
rented the theater portion of the Society's hall, he was a great help to them.
In acknowledgment for his years of service to their group, Mrs. Erna Tilley,
author of the history of the Tacoma Little Theater, wrote of him: One of the pleasant
memories I am sure for all of us is that of Andrew Guich, the patriarch of Old
Tacoma. Sometimes when the fishing fleet was out, he would be about the only
man left in this Slavonian community. It was a part of their lodge hall and
community gathering place that we rented for our little playhouse. Frank
Carmody wrote: "He was a general favorite, always on hand to do a favor or
say a kind word. One can only hope if there are Little Theaters in Heaven that
he represents the owners as well as he did for us!" Mable Bergerson
remembered that because in those days the hostesses for our productions wore
formal clothes, Mr. Guich always appeared on opening nights wearing his best
brown derby hat. I am sure he really felt himself to be a part of all that took
place in the Old Town Theater. We were interesting people to him, he loved the
theater and we all loved him. Mr. Guich
was honored by his lodge and his many descendants and friends on February 20,
1954, with a party in celebration of his one
hundredth birthday. He had enjoyed good health for all those years, but a
few weeks later he slipped quietly away.
GULDESCU, STANKO Professor-Author
Stanko
Guldescu, born in Trieste (on an American ship) in 1908, is a historian. His
grandfather who was born in Istria fought as a young soldier for Emperor
Maximilian in Mexico and then made his way to Virginia. Stanko Guldescu earned
his doctorate from the University of Chicago. He is author of History of
Medieval Croatia (The Hague, 1964), contributor to the symposium Croatia
(edited by F. H. Eterovich and published by the Udiversity of Toronto Press,
1964 and 1970), and has written many articles and studies. He is intimately
acquainted with the history of the American Croatians. He has taught at several
American universities.
GUNOVICK, MATT Fisherman-Cultural
Activities
Brother
Gunovick arrived in Ruston, in the north end of Tacoma, Washington in August of
1913. In January of the following year, he joined the Croatian Fraternal Union.
The same year, he went to work at the local American Smelting and Refining
Plant. It was from there that he retired. During the intervening years, he also
worked as a commercial fisherman. Matt Gunovick was born Mate Grgurinovic in
Pasicina, Dalmatia, on November 2, 1894, and he died on August 29, 1987. In
1929, he was married to his beloved wife, Mary. They lived In the same house
for 56 of those 58 years. He was greatly saddened when his wife died
unexpectedly just five weeks before his own death. They were a very close and
loving couple so It was not at all surprising when, the week before his death,
he told his children, "Your Mother Is calling me and I am going."
Matt Gunovick derived a great deal of pleasure from working in his garden. The
bounty of his vegetables and flowers were always shared with his family,
friends and neighbors. Matt Gunovick’s devotion to the Croatian Fraternal Union
was legendary. He served as President for 17 years and as the president of the
sick committee for12 years. For many years as
representative on the Slavonlan Hall Committee. He was a participant in
all lodge affairs and was always willing to give a hand wherever, It was
needed. One of the highlights of his life was the two trips that he made to the
Old Country with his wife. He went In both 1955 and 1970. He was overjoyed to
once again be with his brothers and sisters and to be able to meet his nieces
and nephews. He was a proud son of Pasicina, and on his trip in 1955, he hosted
a lamb barbecue for the entire village. It was a proud moment indeed! Matt Gunovick's
survivors include his daughter, Marilyn Botts, of Tacoma and his son, Robert
Gunovick, of Kirkland; six grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren, plus many
nieces and nephews in Dalmatia.
GURICH, JOHN E.
Real Estate-Library Commissioner
John
E. Gurich, a prominent Republican leader and former San Francisco Library and
Housing commissioner, died yesterday at Kaiser Hospital here after a brief
illness. He was 66. A native of San
Jose, Mr. Gurich attended the University of California at Berkeley. He was a founding member of the California
Young Republicans while a young man. Mr. Gurich was a real estate broker. He served as a Republican national
committeeman from California and was a friend and supporter of former Mayor
George Christopher. Christopher named him to the City Library Commission in
1959. In 1962, he was named to the
Housing Authority Commission on which he served until 1967. He is survived by
his wife, Virginia, of the family home at 1010 Pacific avenue in San Francisco.
GUSDON, JOHN P. Doctor-Professor
John
Gusdon is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Western Reserve
University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. Born Februaru 13, 1931 to
Croatian parents in Cleveland, Ohio; married with three children. Education
includes University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia B.A., 1952;
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, M.D., 1959 with a major
field in Medicine and Obstetrics and
Gynecology Immunology. Active duty in
the U.S. Navy.
GUTUNICH, MARTIN J. Winery-Vineyard-Restaurant
Parents,
Jack and Mary (Ostoja) Gutunich. Born,
Dalmatia, Croatia, August 29, 1893.
Married Josephine Kopatich (Born Eureka, Calif.) on January 19, 1920. Children , Mary and Josephine. Martin was a vineyardist, fruit buyer and President of Delano Growers Co-operative
Winery since 1940. He was in the restaurant business in San Francisco-
(1912-19) in Eureka, Calif. (1919-1923) and in Los Angeles (1923-32). He came to Delano and entered general
farming, fruit buying, and vineyard development in 1934. In 1939 he began the preliminary
organization of the Delano Growers Cooperative Winery and succeeded in bringing
together nine Delano area growers in 1940 and establishing the organization. He was elected as the first President in
1940. There were thirty-seven members
of the co-operative in 1940.
GVOZDANOVIC-CROWN, EMIL
Politics-Councilman
Emil
J. Crown held the position of Cleveland Director of Public Utilities for
fifteen years, until his retirement in 1958, longer then any other person in
the same office. He was first appointed to the position by Frank J. Lausche,
then Mayor of the city of Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of Crownís death Lausche
was U.S. Senator from Ohio. Crown served through several terms of Mayor Burke.
Later, Mayor Celebreeze retained him even though Crown had opposed his
candidacy for mayor. Before he took over as Director of the Public Utilities,
Crown served for eleven years on the City council. The city’s water department
and electric light plant were on the downgrade when Crown took over. He
completely revamped the two city Departments, bringing them up-to-date, after
many years of neglect. As a councilman, Crown was among the first to advocate
the lake port development and the completion of the Mall. Under his prompting,
the lake front boulevard was created and became the Memorial Shoreway. One of
the city’s largest water filtration plants opened in 1958 at Clague Road in
Westlake and was named after Crown, a part of a far-reaching expansion program
that he had initiated. On December 1, 1961, both Cleveland papers reported the
death of Emil J. Crown on November 30. Few people realized that he was the son
of Croatian immigrants and that his original family name was Gvozdanovic} (or
slightly changed: Gusdanovic). Crown’s father Krom Gvozdanovic} came to this
country from Zumberak, Croatia in 1889. After a brief stay in Steelton,
Pennsylvania, he moved to the west where he worked in the lead and silver mines
of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. After work in the iron mines of the
Mesabi range, he participated in the 1893 famous Oklahoma Land Rush when the
Cherokee Strip was opened for settlement. He staked out a claim, and the
Gvozdanovic family lived there until 1903. Emil Crown was born in Ponca City,
Oklahoma in 1898. In 1903, the family moved to Cleveland. Emil Crown belonged
to the Zumberak Lodge No. 859 of the Croatian Fraternal Union. He always
stressed his national origin. As his friend John Badovinac described him: Crown
was mild-mannered and soft spoken, but he was a fighter for what he believed
in. He was a life-long democrat of the New Deal variety and was a strong
advocate of public ownership of utility services. Perhaps, today in Cleveland,
these words sound like a timely comment.
HABAZIN, JOHN Tamburitza Hall of
Fame-Dairy-Boarding House
John
Habazin was born in Polanice, Croatia near Zagorje on September 6, 1895. He
came to America as a talented Brac player in the year 1913. John settled in the
town of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he immediately began playing with a
local tamburitza group. He then moved to Lodgetown, Alliquippa, Pennsylvania,
where he met and married a lovely young lady Ljuba Plodinetz. John and Ljuba
opened a dairy and boarding house. And, as was the custom of the day, most of
the tamburasi stayed at their boarding house. In addition to being a master of
the Brac, John played all the tambura instruments equally well. He kept all the
instruments hanging on the wall at his home, where all tamburasi of that day
would congregate to practice. Every day was practice day as many of the players
worked in the steel mills close by and would go directly to John's house after
work. Because of this, John was able to get the kids interested in Tambura
because they would come to his houso to listen to the old timers perform, and
thereby also take lessons in the tambura. John himself had two boys and three
girls all of whom played the tambura. John was a very accomplished song writer
and teacher. Among the tambura greats he played with were Tamburitza Giants,
Milan Verni, Pete Perez, Curly Celich, Matt Pregorac, Steve Pocevich, Big
Vinko, Jim Kovacevich, John Vidak and Frank Toplak. You will note that three of
the above mentioned are presently in the Hall of Fame. The groups that John played
with performed in Vaudeville, recorded on the Columbia Label in addition to
performing on radio station K.D.K.A., which was one of the top stations in the
country and the largest in the Pittsburg area. John's groups last recording was
"The Old Timers" in 1964. However, he passed away before this
recording was released. We here honor and salute this great musician and his
contribution to Tambura and Tamburasi. A deserving appointee to the Hall of
Fame.
HABERLE, EDWARD J. Spanish
Instructor-Military-Linguist
Edward
Haberle is a Spanish instructor at Lincoln Community College inSpringfield,
Illinois. Born August 25, 1923 in Springfield, Illinois of Croatian parents.
Education included Springfield College, Springfield, Illinois, 1941-42,
1946-47, A.A., June, 1947; St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1950-53,
B.A., (Spanish), June, 1953; Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1953-55,
M.A., (Spanish), June, 1955. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Indiana,1955, M.A.
(Slavic Studies), August, 1955. Major field was Foreign Languages. Experience
1955-57 Slavic Interpreter (Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian) U.S. Government,
Washington, D.C.; 1957-58 Latin Teacher, Bloomington, Indiana; 1958-59 Latin -
Spanish Teacher, Washington Jr. High School; 1959-63 Spanish - French Teacher,
Frariklin Jr. High School, Springfield, Illinois; 1963-69 Spanish - French
Teacher., Springfield High School, Springfield, Illinois. Member of Alliance
Francaise; Hispano - American Center. American Army in India 1943-46.
HAJDICH, BALDO Restaurant-Croatian
Activities
Baldo
Hajdich, son of Jozo, born on February 13, 1875 in Babino Polje, Island Of
Mljet, Croatia went to America toward the end of 1899. He first worked in
Oakland as a cook in a restaurant and then managed to get a restaurant of his
own in that town. Later on he moved to Monterey where he also owned a
restaurant. In America, on October 31 1912 he married Ana Kristina Hazdovac,
who was born on September 14, 1889 in Babino Polje. They had five children:
Mary Lucile, born on September 27 1913 (she died as a child), Nika Francis,
born on December 18, 1914 (died as a child), Mary Anna born on August 11, 1918
(died at the age of six), Joseph William born on March 2, 1916 and John
Mitchell, born on January 1, 1920. All these children were born in Oakland. Mr.
Baldo Hajdich had frequent correspondence with his brother and relatives in
Babino Polje and all his relatives in Mljet. He was interested in everything
that was going on there. He was a very prominent citizen of Oakland and Monterey
and an exemplary' husband and father as well. He worked diligently all his life
in order to ensure a good education for his children. When he died in July 1940
the news of his death was received with grief in his family and among his
numerous friends in Oakland, Monterey as well as among the Croatian Fraternal
Union members whose active supporter he was, and among his relatives and
acquaintances in Mljet.
HALLER, MARK Union Movement
Mark,
with his wife Frankie, were co-founders of the Midway Democratic Club in 1961
to function as an issues oriented Democratic Party Club. Since that time, the
Midway Club has met every month, and until recently, the Midway Newsletter has
featured his monthly columns. Mark was born on June 27, 1913 of a Croatian
immigrant mother newly arrived in Steelton, Pennsylvania. He was orphaned at
the age ot five when his mother died of the flu and was raised by a foster
mother in a boarding house with politically aware immigrant men from Croatia.
Mark left his foster home as a teenager and hitched-hiked to Seattle,
Washington, where he became active in grassroots politics. He was a
"family man" and all life on earth was his family. He was active in
the union movement the peace, civil rights and feminist movements of the '60s,
which continue today. For the last six years of his working life, he was union
representative for the members of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper
Workers at the Longview Fibre Company in Bell, California. Mark Haller died
October 10, 2000, in Bellflower,
California. He was a member of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 588 in San Pedro,
California. Surviving are his wife of 42 years, Frankie; sons, Michael and
Marko; granddaughter, Regina Allen; grandsons, Michael and Kenneth.
HALLER, TOM Baseball
Tom
Haller, Vice President of the San Francisco Giants Baseball Club, feels that
the cost of housing, feeding and transporting a top-to-bottom conference of 40
of the organization's executives, managers, coaches, instructors and scouts at
posh Scottsdale, Arizona is money well spent. The conclave was a
"first" for the Giants designed to present and discuss system-wide
philosophy, standard procedures and common goals. Says Haller, "We're
establishing a policy of complete teamwork", from the top levels of the
front office all the way down to the rookie club in Great Falls, Mont."
Tom has been a player and his people came from Croatia.
HAZDOVAC, JOHN Killed in Action
Petar
Hazdovac born on March 7, 1894 in the village of Blato, Island of Mljet,
Croatia went to America in 1912. He lived and worked in Monterey and on September 1, 1919 he married M. Nielsen born
in 1897 in Salinas. They had four children: son John Claudius born 1919, Paul
Peter born 1921, Peter Harold born 1923 and daughter Dorothy born 1925. The
eldest son John Claudius Hazdovac joined the NAVY in 1941. He was a sailor on
the warship "U.S.S. Arizona"
which the Japanese sank with the entire crew during the battle of Pearl Harbor
in Hawai, December 7, 1941. John Claudius died with more than 1000 sailors and
officers.
HAZDOVAC, MIKE Fisherman
In
1912 Mike Hazdovac, born 19 July 1895 in Babino PoIje, Island of Mljet, Croatia
sailed to America on the steamship "Argentina" from Trieste. The
journey from Trieste to New York lasted 15 days, from 14 to 29 of September.
Mike took a train straight from New York to Oakland and then to Monterey where he always lived. He
worked in the fish industry and later had his own company which sold fresh
fish. He married Catherine Sestich on 17 Nov. 1929. Catherine was born in New
York on 15 Apr. 1907. In their marriage they had two sons, John Mitchell, born
on 12 Nov. 1930 and Nicholas Matthew born on 24 Nov. 1935.
HAZDOVAC, NIKO Travel-Cultural
Activities
Niko
is a businessman in San Pedro, California. He was born on February 27, 1946 in
Blato, Island of Mljet, Dalmatia; parents Petar and Pavla Hazdovac. Married to
Luce Basor with two daughters and son. He attended Maritime school in
Dubrovnik. He has owned Adriatic Travel 1974 and coowner, since 1986, of
import-export firm Eurocal Inc; he is co-founder and president of Libertas
Foundation (1991) for aid to Croatia.
HAZDOVAC, NIKOLA Saloon
Nikola
Hazdovac, born on December 26 1886 in Babino Polje, Island of Mljet,
Croatia came to America in 1906. He
lived all the while in Oakland where he owned a saloon. Later on he also was a
supervisor of ship painting in the local shipyard. He was married to Nike
Kojich born in Babino PoIje in 1890. Their marriage lasted just a year and a
half, as Nike died toward the end of 1918 of the Spanish flu. They had no
children.
HAZDOVAC, PETER
Petar
Hazdovac born on March 7, 1894 in the village of Blato, Island of Mljet,
Croatia went to America in 1912. He lived and worked in Monterey and on September 1, 1919 he married M. Nielsen born
in 1897 in Salinas. They had four children: son John Claudius born 1919, Paul
Peter born 1921, Peter Harold born 1923 and daughter Dorothy born 1925. The
eldest son John Claudius Hazdovac joined the NAVY in 1941. He was a sailor on
the warship "U.S.S. Arizona"
which the Japanese sank with the entire crew during the battle of Pearl Harbor
in Hawai, December 7, 1941. John Claudius died with more than 1000 sailors and
officers.
HAZDOVAC, PETER Restaurant
Petar
Hazdovac-Piciko left for America in 1906 with his wife Maria, nee Radulj. They
settled in the town of Tacoma, in the state of Washington. There Petar worked on the railway, then in a mine. When
he saved some money, he opened his own restaurant. He and his wife both worked
in it. The most frequent guests of the restaurant were gold diggers and miners.
Petar would often play cards with them. There, in that distant land, Petar and
Marija had two daughters: Marija in 1909, and Nike in 1911. Soon he was joined
by his brother Vicko and Bozo. When the family of Petar Hazdovac saved enough
money they all decided to return to Mljet. So that in 1912 via Naples and
Dubrovnik they arrived in Mljet with their savings of 900 dollars. After their
arrival in Blato, Petar soon built a new house and cultivated vineyards. In Blato
they had another daughter Pave in 1913 and sons Petar in 1914 and Nikola in
1919.
HEMOVICH, MICHAEL A. Football
Coach-Military-CIA
Born
in1910 ln Bingham Canyon Utah, he moved at an early age to Miami, Arizona,
where he excelled In all sports during high school. He has been called one of
the finest athletes ever produced in the state of Arizona. After lettering for
three years In football at the University of San Francisco, Mike entered the US
Army and saw service In WWII. Immediately after the war he took a position as
head football coach and history teacherat Saint IgnatIus High School in San
Francisco. In 1952 he was recalled into military service, and for the next
fifteen years served at various posts overseas and in the United States, with
both the Army and the CIA. After service In Vietnam, he retired In 1967 as a
Lieutenant Colonel. For the next twenty years he taught and coached football at
Lincoln High School in San Francisco. Died at age 90, in Tucson, Arizona. Mike
Is survived by his son Mike (Diana) of Tucson, Arizona; brother Joe (Jenny). of
Tucson; sister Anne (Ralph) Gut of New York.
HERMAN, ANTHONY, Fisherman-Fish Dealer
For
24 years, Anthony Herman counted upon the surf for his survival, following in
the family tradition of being a vessel owning fisherman. Skippering a drum
seiner in British Columbia, Australia and Croatia, Herman found himself adrift
in the late 90's laid low by a blown disk and a changing political scene. In
1998, Herman parted with his vessel, but not with the surf. In fact, as
www.fishseller.com continues to grow, Herman is more involved with the surf
than ever before, both online and at sea. Herman recognized an opportunity stay
involved in the fish trade and in December 2000 he launched www.fishseller.com
with strong support from local seafood processors with whom he retained close
ties. As a result, Herman has no warehouse of his own, with orders being
handled directly by such processors as Lions Gate Fisheries Ltd. and Fjord
Pacific. This unique arrangement allows Herman to operate as a cyber-space
fishmonger, offering the freshest seafood available at the most competitive
prices. Better yet, the order is delivered directly to your door, residential
or commercial.
At
the moment, Herman delivers the majority of his first-time orders in person,
but this might not be possible for all of his customers, as fishseller.com gets
set to expand across Canada. Working with Eagle Global Logistics, Herman will
be able to guarantee 24-hour service across the country by the end of February.
"I don't expect the East Coast to buy much in the way of Digby Scallops,
but the Northern regions of BC and of course, the entirety of Alberta are very
exciting markets for me," said Herman who shipped a pair of large orders
to Dawson Creek over the holidays. "There are a lot of places in this
country where salt water varieties just are not available. Now they will
be."
By
keeping the shipping costs to the bare minimum and utilizing the internet for
publicity, Herman is keeping his costs low, while providing a high quality
product mainlined directly from the fisheries. "I fished for those
companies. Jack Waterfield, the president of Lions Gate Fisheries knew my
father and those kinds of associations have helped," said Herman.
"Since the fish plants are the starting point, I keep my overhead low and
the quality high."
"While
it might seem strange, the freshest fish you can buy is online. It comes out of
their holds flash frozen at -50 and then gets packaged in a container with gel
packs that hold it at -20. The fresh catch gets packed on ice. Either way, the
fish is as fresh as you can get it, without catching it yourself."
Herman
has watched the .com world boom then bust and knows that customer service is as
important as the product. Herman regularly delivers the first order to each
customer himself, a tactic which has won fishseller.com a return customer rate
of 95%.
That
approach to customer service is carried over to the site itself. Replete with
over 80 items ranging from deepwater catch such as halibut to specialty items
such as octopus, the site offers photos of each item, along with concise
information. One click and the customer has recipes to match.
Not
that all customers need recipes. Herman's fishseller.com has also attracted
wholesale attention and he currently wholesales under a different label to a
local delivery service Small Potatoes and quick.com. (Herman 2003)
HERMAN, VITOMIR and ANTHONY
Fisherman-Fish Dealer
Anthony
Herman was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1961. His father,
Vitomir Fredrik Herman was bom on the island of Ist on the Northern Adriatic
Coast of Croatia in 1924. Vitomir Herman purse-seined tuna on the Adriatic
coast before coming to Canada and the British Columbia coast to fish in 1957.
There he met and married Mary Lupis in Vancouver in 1960. Mary Lupis was bom in
Vancouver in 1931 and was from a fishing family. Both her parents came from the
Adriatic Coast. Her father, Milan Lupis, once owned and operated the
purse-seine "Splendour". Milan Lupis was bom in the town of Viganj in
Pe1jesac and her mother, Helenka Boskovic was born in the town of Selca, on the
Island of Brac. Milan and Helenka Lupis also had two sons, Anthony and Nick
Lupis, born in 1936 and 1944 who each own and run their own seiners the "Adriatic"
and "New Liverpool". Victor Herman purchased the purse seiner
"Lady V" in 1967 and ran the boat until1988 when his son Anthony
started running the vessel during the summer salmon fisheries. Anthony Herman
has been a commercial fisherman purse seining salmon for seventeen years and
herring seining and gillneting for nine years. He has seined herring aboard the
"St. Nicholas" run by Nick Jurinic and the "Waldero" run by
Walter Carr and the "Royal Bounty" run by Ross Aleksich all of whom
are of Croatian descent. From fishing on his father's boat the "Lady
V" which he was first brought on when he was thirteen years old and also
from fishing on other Croatian run and owned fishing vessels, he has been
exposed to many older Croatian fishermen and their fishing experience on the
B.C. coast. After eight years of commercial fishing, he enrolled at Simon
Fraser University in B.C. where he took mainly history and English courses. He
concentrated mainly on European history and occasionally the role of Croatians in
European history. When he was going to university during the autumn,
winterspring months, he still continued fishing salmon during the summer
months. Fishing passed the way and with his university education, he was able
to translate these fishing experience into writing. "Technological
Achievments by Croats on the B.C. Coast", is his first writing assignment
since he left university in 1988 to become a full-time commercial fisherman.
His report is a result of over two decades of exposure to the west coast purse
seine fisheries on the B.C. Coast, chronologically arranged with accounts from
the people and their descendents who built the boat skippered them, and
transformed the purse seining industry on the B.C. Coast of Canada.to what it
is to-day. (Herman 1995)
HERZO, ANTONE Saloon
Antone
(Tony) P. Herzo, was one of San Francisco’s most famous saloon keepers. Mr.
Herzo, who for years operated the Little
Shamrock at 807 Lincoln way, died in 1970.
He was 86. Mr. Herzo and his late mother and father were San Francisco institutions. His parents at
one time operated three bars- the Shamrock,
which was on Ocean avenue at the east end of Ingleside race track gate; the
Branch of the Little Shamrock, which was at Fulton street and fifth; and the
Little Shamrock. Mr. Herzo’s Irish mother named all three bars. The Little Shamrock was opened in 1893. The
bar became a sort of old-fashioned, unpretentious meeting place for San
Francisco’s municipal and Federal workers, post office customers and race track
goers. The old bay District track used
to be at Fulton and Arguello. Surviving are a son, Antone Herzo; a daughter,
Sister Anthony Marie Herzo, of the College of Notre Dame; five grandchildren
and one great grandchild.
HERZO, JOHN Capitalist
John
Herzo from Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia was consistently listed as in real
estate and a capitalist. He was an
American citizen. He maintained and
office at 32 Clay Street, San Francisco in 1859. he died in 1894 at age sixty-eight.
HERZOG, MILAN Business Executive-Attorney-Film Writer
Producer
Vice-President
Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. He was
born August 24, 1908, Vrbovec, Croatia and is married with two children; in
America since 1947. He graduated from the University of Zagreb, Croatia1925-27;
University of Paris, France 1929-30; University of Zagreb, J.D., degree in
International Law, 1932. As writer-producer and director of 400 motion pictures
in field of Education, exibited at all major festivals of the world such as
"Christmas Rhapsody," "Medieval Knight," "The
Crusades,11 "Art in the Western World," 1929-30, 1955, 1959-60
France; 1936, 1956, 1963 Germany; 1963 Mexico; 1966 Japan, Australia. He is a
member of American Science Film Producers Association; Chairman, Sub-committee
of Commercial Producers; Universal Film Producers Association; Society for
Motion Picture Engineers. Taught History of Communication at Northwestern
University, 1958-59, Evanston, Illinois; Audio Visual Fundamentals, Columbia
College, Chicago. Illinois,1968; Worked in field of government as Head of Yups
section, Office of War Information.
HIHAR, MARO Oysterman
I
am married to Maro Hihar from Mali Ston, Dalmatia, Croatia. His mother Jelka Franusic from Luka near Mali
Ston is still living in Mali Ston. His
brother is Ivo Hihar lives in Chalmette, Louisiana, a suburb of New
Orleans. My husband's Grandfather,
(Maro) and brother, (Rado), came to Buras to fish oysters. His Grandfather returned to Croatia and the
brother married here. His wife was
Catherine Jaspritza. They had three daughters and one son. Francis, Katie, Antoinette and Rado who is
Denise's grandfather. All except
Antoinette have passed away. Rado was
the youngest and first to die. Then
Francis and lastly, Katie in Jan. 2001. My husband, Maro came to America to
fish oysters for Katie's husband Baldo Pausina.
Francis married Matto J. Bilich (Duba near Trapanj), who was an oyster
dealer in New Orleans. Katie and Baldo
had a daughter, Domenica and a son, Ralph.
Antoinette married a Ragas from Buras.
They had 2 daughters and 4 sons, Philomena, Kenneth, Gary, Donald, John
and a daughter that died shortly after having a son. I cannot remember her name at this time. Rado had two sons, Ralph and Bill. They live in New Orleans. None of the children except Katie and Baldo
Pausina's children speak Croatian.
Domenica has no children, but Ralph Pausina has two sons Ralph and Randy
and a daughter named Rhonda. Ralph has
one son and two or three daughters.
Randy none yet, he married a short time ago. Rhonda has three sons. Maro and I have two
sons, Maro Thomas and Ivo Wayne and a daughter, Suzan Jelka. For the past 3
years we have made trips to Europe to spend time with Baba and have the kids
bond with their heritage. Suzan is
trying to obtain financial aid to travel to Zagreb and Dubrovnik to study
Croatian for 6 weeks. That is how I
found your web site. I was looking for Father Paul at the church in
Chicago. I cannot remember the name of
the church to save my life. However,
there is a picnic Sunday, held by the Croatian/American club and I will find
out then. I hope this information helps you.
We have a book about Croatians in Louisiana that is a wealth of
information and has photos inside.
HODNICK, HAROLD V. Engineer
Harold
Hodnick was born February 3, 1921 in Imperial, Pennsylvania. His field is Chemistry and he is a graduate
of Findlay College, at Findlay, Ohio. He received the 1963 Distinguished
Alumnus Award from Findlay College. he
is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, and National Fire
Protection Association. He has published 22 articles in safety and fire
prevention. he presently resides in San
Jose, California.
HOFFER, FRANK Tamburitza Music
Apparently
the very first introduction of tambura playing in America was linked with a man
named Frank Hoffer. Born in Karlovac, Croatia, he immigrated to the United
States in 1887 at the age of twenty-seven. He and his wife settled in
Philadelphia where they proceeded to raise a family of four daughters. Being
knowledgeable sornewhat in music and woodworking, he began making instruments
by hand. In 1891, he moved his family to Steelton, Pennsylvania, and in that
same year he and his troupe supposedly played in a vaudeville revue in
Harrisburg. In 1893, Mr. Hoffer and his group are reputed to have appeared at
the Chicago World's Fair. They also claim the distinction of performing at the
first Croatian Fraternal Union Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Paval
Kekic Hall. Mr. Hoffer taught the troup by rote; the group always played by
ear. The performers were: (1) Mr. Frank Hoffer - Director and bisernica player;
(2) Mr. Paval Pavlinac - berde; Miss Mima Hoffer - bugarija; Miss Katica
Hoffer, bugarija. Later, the two other daughters, Anna and Frances, joined the
group when they became old enough. Frances Hoffer placed a brac while sister
Anna Hoffer played a kontrasica. All instruments appear to be home-made. The
bisernica played by Mr. Hoffer is fretted Farkas-style in a series of whole and
half frets. It had four strings in two courses of double strings, all tuned to
the pitch of D. The berde, also home-made, consisted of four strings tuned in
Gg and Dd, also of the Farkas system. The quartet contained two rhythm
instruments in the form of three-toned bugarijas, one probably tuned D B G and
the other tuned G D B. Thus, it appears possible that the Hoffer Family
Tamburica group became the very first players of this Croatian National
Instrument in America.
HORVATH, LES Football-Dentist
Winner
of the Heisman Trophy in 1944, Horvath was elected to the Football Hall of Fame
in 1969. In 1942 he led the Ohio State
Buckeyes to the national championship.
Horvath missed the 1943 season because of military training but returned
in 1944 to lead the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and another national
championship. A great open-field runner,
Horvath was also a fine passer and receiver.
After coaching duties with the U.S. Marines, he played professionally
with the Los Angeles Rams (1947-48) and the Cleveland Browns (1949). Horvath retired early from football to
concentrate on his dental practice in Los Angeles. He was named to the National Football Hall of
Fame.
HRASCANEC, RUDOLF J. Priest-Professor
Professor
at Villanova University, Department of Theology, Villanova, Pennsylvania. Born
April 6, 1914 in Donja Dubrava, Medjumurje, Croatia. Ordained in 1938.
Education included Archbishop's Classical Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia, Diploma
1934; School of Theology, Zagreb. S.T.L., S.T.D., 1940; Georgetown University ,
M.A. , 1961 with a major field in Moral Theology, Social Ethics. Specialty in
Social Ethics.
HRGOVCIC, MARTIN
Doctor-Professor
Cancer specialist, physician, humanitarian, freedom promoter,
organizer, cancer researcher, family man, dedicated Catholic,
Croatian-American, Texan, Dr. Martin J. Hrgovcic has been many things during
the course of his life. Dr. Hrgovcic, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., consultant in
internal medicine and oncology, senior partner of the Diagnostic Clinic of
Houston, Texas, came to the United States in l969 at the age of 43. Dr. Hrgovic
is a former clinical associate internist in the Department of Internal
Medicine, the University of Texas System Cancer Center at the M. D. Anderson
Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, and a former clinical associate at the
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston. A
native of Dubrave, a small Croatian village, nestled halfway between the
towns of Tuzla and Brcko, in Bosnia, Dr. Hrgovcic was born June 22, 1926 to
Jozo and Janja Hrgovcic, a poor farming couple. After completing elementary
school, at the age of ten, he was sent to Franciscan Classical Gymnasium (High
School) in Visoko, near Sarajevo, where he studied to be a priest, he
reminisced. However, he completed Tuzla High School (matura) in l947. He
received his medical training at the University of Zagreb, where he was
awarded his M.D. degree in l953. He became a Diplomate at the Board of Internal
Medicine in 1961, earning his degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences from
the university in 1968 for his dissertation “Clinical Significance of
Serum Copper Levels in Hemoblastoses,” (cancers of the blood forming
organs).
Dr. Hrgovcic served as an instructor of medicine at the
University of Zagreb Medical School, l961-65. After a friend, Dr. Robert Lange,
a medical specialist of Knoxvillle, Tenn., helped him to get a scholarship with
the Institute For Tumors at the University of Texas, Dr. Hrgovcic arrived for
the first time in the United States in 1965. He said, at the time, his English
was rather limited, and with a “broken accent.” Shortly after his arrival in
Texas, he became a clinical fellow in the Department of Developmental
Therapeutics, University of Texas System Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital
and Tumor Institute, l965-67. From l967-69, he served as chairman of
Chemotherapy in the Institute for Malignant Diseases, Zagreb. Dr. Hrgovcic
decided to immigrate to the United States in l969. Shortly after coming to
Texas for the second time, from 1970-73, he was research and faculty associate
in the Department of Medicine, Hematology Section, University of Texas System
Cancer Center M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston. Since
1973, he has been in private practice, joining the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston
as a consultant in the fields of oncology/hematology and internal
medicine.
During the war years in Croatia and Bosnia, Dr. Hrgovcic and his family were at the forefront of
Croatian-American activity Houston, the largest Croatian-American community in
the Southwest. The Hrgovcic family, with the help of other Houston’s
Croatians collected food, clothing, medicines, medical supplies and money. They
also organized demonstrations, to inform world and national leaders, as well as
the local and national news media concerning the genocide against the people in
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In August 1991, Dr. Hrgovcic
established Croatian Fraternal Union Bluebonnet Lodge 1836 in Houston, the
first in Texas. He has served in various local and national Croatian-American
organizations in the U.S., and was on the advisory council of the Republic of
Croatia Embassy in Washington, D.C. For his contribution in public health,
social care and promotion of moral values, he was honored with the “Danica
Hrvatska” (Catherine Zrinski) Medal by the late Croatian President Franjo
Tudjman.
He holds membership in the American Society of Internal
Medicine, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of
Hematology, the Texas Society of Internal Medicine, the Texas Medical Association
and the Harris County Medical Society and the Houston Society of Internal
Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He received the
Mike Hogg Scientific Paper Award for his research in “Serum Copper Levels in
Hematologic Malignant Diseases” from the University of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences, Houston, l966. Dr. Hrgovcic is the author or co-author of
more than 30 publications and three chapters in medical text books, and one
book entitled, “Copper and Lymphomas.” His major research interests have been
in trace elements in patients with cancer with particular attention to copper.
He is happily married for 41 years to the former Ruzica “Seka”
Loncarec of Josipdol, near Ogulin, Croatia. The couple has been blessed with
three children and one grandson. Their older daughter, Dubravka Hrgovcic Romano
who lives in Austin, Texas, is the associate executive director for the Texas
Association of School Boards. Dubravka is the mother of their grandson, John
Joseph Romano. Their younger daughter, Mirjana Hrgovcic, also lives in Austin,
and has been employed by Southwest Airlines since l987 as a flight attendant.
Their son, Hrvoje J. Hrgovcic, has a doctorate in physics from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. He is employed by the Enron Corp., in Houston, as head
of its research of weather risk management. In his limited spare time,
Dr. Hrgovcic enjoys gardening and works on his ranch outside Houston. He also
frequently visits Croatia and his native village in the Posavina region of
northeast Bosnia, where a number of his relatives still remain at their
ancestral homes.
HUSNICK, FRED Tamburitza Hall of Fame
Fred
Husnick was born to Fred and Katy Husnick and grew up in Farrell, Pennsylvania.
Fred, joined by his brother Jim and sister Anne started playing with the local
Junior group "ARIA" under the direction of Paul Pearman: Fred (prim),
Anne (prim) and Jim (cello). As a teen-ager he played in Draganic Tamburitzan
Orchestra which was comprised of his brother Jim, Vinko Prezgay, John Krizancic
and Emmeric Bennett. Fred primarily played prim until his brother Jim bought
him a Pearman brac to audition for the Duquesne Tamrnies. Fred was a dancer and
musician with the Duquesne Tamburitzans from 1951-1955. He toured Europe with the
Tammies in 1951. He is remembered for his prim rendition of "Shiney
Moon." Fred met his wife Rose at Duquesne University where they were both
students on full scholarship with the Internationally famous Duquesne
Tamburitzans. Fred has a bachelor's degree in Education; they have been married
for 32 years. Their daughter Diane and son Mark both were members of the Sloga
Jr. Tamburitzans and the Duquesne University Tamburitzans. Rosie Husnick has
been Assistant Director of the Sloga Jr. Tamburitzans for about 20 years and is
currently director. Fred directs students in the Sloga Jr. Tammies. Together
with his wife, Rosie they organized an adult kolo group about 10 years ago.
They formed the Adult Tamburitzan Group (Veseljaci) about three years ago,
Twice this group has performed at the annual Adult Concerts. Fred formed the
famous Veseli Tamburitzans after his two-year tour in the Army. Veseli
Tamburitzans are working on their seventh recording. Rose's golden voice and
Fred's technical skills make their recordings a huge success. The Veseli
Tamburitzans have made two tours to Croatia. In 1972 and 1975 they toured and
were sponsored by Cleveland Radio host Eddie Buchar. Fred toured Europe with
the Sloga Jr. Tamburitzans in 1976.
IFKOV1C, EDWARD Professor-Author
Edward
Ifkovic has devoted his academic career to the study of the ethnic experience
in America, with particular emphasis on immigrant and ethnic literature. A
native of Connecticut, Dr. Ifkovic received a master's degree at the University
of North Carolina and a doctorate at the University of Massachusetts. In 1972,
he joined the staff of Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Connecticut,
where he is now assistant professor of English and head of the English
Department. Among Dr. Ifkovic's published works are an anthology of immigrant
and ethnic writings and a study of the American popular novel. He has also
written a novel of his own dealing with the lives of Croatian immigrants during
the Depression years. As a member of such organizations as the Society for the
Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, Dr. Ifkovic
continues to play an active role in the scholarly study of the American ethnic
experience.
ILIC, MIRKO Art
Director-Animator-Illustrator
Most
moviegoers have probably not even noticed that the imaginative two minute
computer animation for the opening title sequence of the hit movie You Have
Mail, directed by Nora Ephron, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, which is these
days being shown in Zagreb, was created by Mirko Ilic, Croatia's greatest
designer abroad, who has lived in New York since 1986. For this 43 year old
artist, film is only one in a number of creative steps into new genres which he
explores with playful curiosity, intellectual discipline and innate irony which
often blends into sarcasm. Although he is best known as a newspaper
illustrator, Mirko Ilic has also made a name as a comic strip artist, a
designer of LP covers, the art director of Time magazine, the production editor
of The New York Times, the graphic designer of a large number of books and
monographs and, recently, as the designer of the logo and entire iconography of
The Time Hotel and the New York restaurant Palladin. In the mid 80's, with his
modest savings, two suitcases and a firm belief in his own capabilities, he
arrived in the world metropolis of art, design and the latest cultural trends.
He made his career and became a world famous name in New York. His studio,
Mirko Ilic Corp., is on the fourth floor of the well-known 19th century
building situated between Second and Third Avenues. When he arrived in New York
as a thirty year old, Mirko Ilic already had a decade of very successful
artistic work behind him, for which he received a large number of domestic
awards. He also had some international references: for the first time in its
history, the Italian weekly Panorama published an Ilic illustration. His talent
and versatility have never been disputed, but in New York everybody starts from
scratch. The first New Yorker Ilic contacted in 1986 was Milton Glaser, a
famous designer, who immediately offered him a desk to work at in his studio.
Later, he recommended him to the editors of a number of magazines. Seven days
after his arrival in America, Mirko received the order to design the Time
cover, which was the beginning of a chain reaction. "In 1991 1 became the
art director of Time, in charge of all international editions and spent six
months in this position," says Mirko Ilic. It was the first permanent
position in my life. The second, which followed after a year break, was the
daily The New York Times." After a year and a half of working for The New
York Times, as the production editor of the pages written by renowned
columnists, so called opinion makers such as Kissinger, he ended, as he calls it,
"his long march through institutions." Then, as an already reputable
designer, he opened the design studio Oko&Mano, together with Mexican
artist Alex Arce. Mirko was oko (the eye) and Alex was mano (the hand). They
worked for Sony, MTV and a large number of respectable companies. In the
beginning of his work in America, Mirko Ilic made mostly black and white
newspaper illustrations with a political character. As his fame grew, he was
given more and more opportunities to choose his own engagements and design techniques.
"Sometimes, I must refuse important engagements, which happened in the
case of illustrations for The Washington Post, because I was too busy with
other obligations. Today, I can afford complete artistic freedom in my work and
design some entirely unknown magazines or create alternative projects and enjoy
new challenges. For example, I agreed to design a book on masturbation for a
German publisher. I am the graphic designer of the magazine Scenario which will
publish movie scripts. I am also editing a sociological book. The reason I came
to America was exactly to gain artistic freedom and not to lose it for
commercial reasons. I did not come here to make a fortune but to test my
capabilities and see what I am really able to do and what I really know. Of
course, my intention was to achieve it by comparing my work with the works of
"the right guys," in a top-class competition and under normal
conditions." Mirko Ilic has received an infinite number of awards. His
works are included in the permanent collection of the famous Smithsonian
Museum. Last year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its graphics
collection, the Museum included him among the twelve greatest American
designers and dedicated a page to him. Ilic is also a lecturer at the School of
Visual Arts and vice president and patron of the American Institute of Graphic
Arts. Croatia
ILLICH, JERRY Restaurant
Born
in 1850 on the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia, Jerry Illich sailed the seas
for seven years before leaving his ship at San Francisco. He then found
work in restaurants before heading south to Los Angeles, where in the late
1870s he opened a small chop-house on North Main Street. His business
grew rapidly to the point where he became proprietor of the largest restaurant
in the city. Illich’s ownership of the Old Maison Doree on North Main made that resort extremely popular
with politicians, businessman and club leaders. One of the several fine
restaurants owned and operated by Jerry Illich.
“Jerry’s” was headquarters for political and social banquets and was
celebrated for its elegant interior, oyster bar, “paste” and other foreign
dishes that were served at midday luncheon.
In 1896, Illich moved to Third Street opposite the Bradbury block, and
his customers enthusiastically followed. Illich died in 1902.
IVANAC, JOHN Restaurant
Where to Go if You're In the Mood for Croatian. The setting is a
Murray Hill townhouse. At the entrance is a long mahogany bar where a handful
of men in open-necked shirts are quietly watching a baseball game on TV with
the sound turned off. The strains of a piano playing "As Times Goes
By" drift down a short flight of stairs that leads up to the dining room:
a long room that feels like a first-class dining car on the Orient Express (except
it's twice as wide). It's done up with dark wood, brocade banquettes, heavy
beveled mirrors, candle-lit sconces, smoked-glass ceiling lamps and small
framed Impressionist prints. The tables, set with white cloths, are decorated
with brandy glasses stuffed to the brim with overblown red roses. Welcome to Trio, which claims to be the only
restaurant in Manhattan that serves Croatian cuisine. As the pianist struck up
"Fascination," we sat down in a booth under Monet's Water Lilies,
near a middle-aged couple having an animated conversation in Croatian and
drinking grappa. Trio is owned by a Croatian, John Ivanac, who is also the
proprietor of Villa Berulia-a popular Italian restaurant just a block away
that's been going strong for 21 years. His latest venture is a family affair:
His wife Silva is the pastry chef, and his son, John Jr., is the general
manager. Chef James Rich, who was formerly chef de cuisine at BrasserieBit and
executive sous chef at Palio, runs the kitchen-he's not a member of the family,
but his grandmother was from Croatia.
Croatia is a strip of land that runs along the Adriatic Coast.
Mr. Ivanac grew up in a small coastal village. He left his family at the age of
16 to work as a waiter on a luxury cruise liner and jumped ship in New York. In
Croatia, his family had produced wine and olive oil-not exactly a lucrative
business in those days-but now the farm supplies the restaurant with cured
meats, cheeses, olive oils and homemade grappas. There are also some impressive
Croatian wines on the list, priced between $25 and $48, that are well worth
trying. To get in the mood, we started off with a bottle of red Croatian wine,
Dingac, from the Peljesac region, and dalma, a platter of charcuterie and
cheeses from the coast.
"Let me explain you some dishes," said our charming
young waiter. who told us he was half-Croatian and half-Italian. He was smartly
dressed in a black shirt and dark striped tie. "That must be
prosciutto," I said, pointing at some dark pink slices on the plate.
"Great!" He looked surprised. "You like that! Are you
Croatian?" It was prosciutto, but made from lamb, not pig, and it came
from Mr. Ivanac's estate. It had a rich, meaty flavor, like duck prosciutto.
The platter also held smoked beef; a sausage similar to mortadella (also brought
in from his farm); a mild, creamy feta, manchego and sheep's-milk cheeses; and
black and green olives marinated in garlic and herbs. It was the kind of simple
dish you imagine ordering in a local cantina at sunset with a glass of the
house wine. But the food at Trio is more ambitious, and the chef casts his net
far
and wide. The grilled calamari took us back to the Adriatic
coast: It's a little tough, but nicely charred and served with a wonderful,
light balsamic sauce. The seafood salad is also fresh and clean-tasting, mixed
with potatoes and onions in a red-wine vinaigrette.
Mr. Rich has altered some Croatian dishes for American tastes,
such as the strukli, turnovers that are normally made with pastry. He uses a
pasta dough instead, to make large ravioli that he fills with a seductive
mixture of goat's-milk ricotta, salt cod, raisins and pine nuts, and serves
with a roasted-garlic beurre fondue. The ravioli were a bit leathery around the
edges, but the filling was wonderful. Just about every seafood dish seems to be
on target here. Roasted whole Atlantic sea bream stuffed with herbs comes
Croatian-style on a bed of melting braised cabbage. My favorite was the buzara,
a subtle seafood stew in a tomato white-wine broth laced with chunks of fish,
scallops, shrimp, potatoes and clams. On another night at Trio, we ordered a
mixed grill for two that consisted of kielbasa, a Croatian sausage called
cevapcici (a blend of pork, lamb and beef), lamb chops and steak. The dish was
garnished with artichoke chips and a bright-pink coleslaw made with red and
white cabbage marinated in a red-onion vinaigrette, and it came with three
different sauces. Desserts include a feathery strudel (the fillings change
daily) and rozata, a flan made with a purée of strawberries. The palacinka
(crêpes) come filled with a berry mousse and were served cold; they were
pleasant, but I prefer them hot. After dinner, Trio offers a digestif on the
house (one of the restaurant's many nice touches). Of the dozen or so
house-made grappas to choose from, we tasted the "fig," the
"home blend" and what our waiter described as "wild
grasses." They were all very good, but the fig was our favorite. Trio is a
charmer of a restaurant. It's different, comfortable anold-fashioned in a
thoroughly endearing way. When's the last time you said, "Let's go out for
Croatian"? Now's your chance.
IVANAC, MARCO Restaurant
The
owner and proprietor of Good Fellows’
Grotto, at 207 Vernon Street, Roseville,
California is Marco Ivanac. He has fitted up a modern grill, and held his grand
opening, with appropriate music by the Boys’ Band of Roseville, on September
17, 1924. It is one of the best of
Roseville’s many excellent eating places, being up-to-date in appointments; and
he serves the best in eatables that the market affords. Marco Ivanac was born at Zadar, Dalmatia,
Croatia April 13, 1884, a son of Sime and Helen Ivanac. Marco Ivanac grew up on
his father’s thirty-acre farm, and came to America in 1900, landing at Newport
News, Virginia, December 29, 1900. He
worked his way across the ocean as a deck-hand.
Upon arrival in the United States he found work in the shipyards at
Newport News for seven months, after which he came out to Hobart Mills,
California, in 1901, where his brother was then foreman for the Hobart Estate
Lumber Company. Marco went to work for
that company as swamper, serving as such for three years. In 1904 he went to San Francisco and for
several years worked as cook and waiter in various restaurants. he became the owner of the
Strand Grill, at 419 O’Farrell
Street, San Francisco, and ran it successfully for three years, when he
disposed of it and came to Roseville in 1919, and ran the P. F. E. Club Restaurant for three years. Mr. Ivanac was married at
San Francisco in 1914, to Miss Ellen Kovacich, who was also born in
Croatia. They are the parents of three
children: Annie, attending the Roseville Grammar School; and Clara and Helen.
Mr. Ivanac bought the residence property at 136 Clinton Street, and there
he and his family enjoy the comforts of a modern home.
IVANCICH-DUNIN, ELSIE Dance Ethnology
Professor
Emerita (Dance Ethnology), Department of World Arts and Cultures (former
Department of Dance), University of California at Los Angeles, 1994. Graduate of John C. Fremont High School in
Los Angeles, 1953; Master of Arts from UCLA, 1966. Primary research interests
are continuities and changes in dancing and dance events. Publications (books,
articles, presentations) have resulted from the following studies: Cross
cultural comparative study of dance change among Croatian/Americans in the
United States (California), in South America (Chile), and their source emigrant
communities in Croatia. (This is
on-going, long-term research.) Dance of the Gypsies (Roma) in Macedonia, United
States and Chile. Spontaneous participatory and organized performance dance in
Macedonia, 1988-1989. Comparative studies: sword dancing in ritual complex
extant in Adriatic coastal areas and among Sonora (Mexico) Indian
cultures. Selected professional
activities include: 1957 Professional
dancer with the Tanec Dance Ensemble in Skopje, Macedonia. 1984 Curator of museum exhibit: "Dance
occasions and festive dress in Yugoslavia" a multi-media exhibit with
costumes, slides and video showings, sponsored by the UCLA Museum of Cultural History,
held at UCLA. 1990-1992 Directed Dance
Database Project in coordination with Library of Congress (Washington DC),
University of Hawaii Library (Honolulu), and network of local and national
volunteers (dance students, dance faculty, alumni, dance scholars): to abstract
and index English language literature published in the United States for years
1989 and 1990. 1998 Accompanied by a catalog-monograph , an
exhibit of ethnographic photographs covering 30 years, 1967-1997 of the Gypsy
(Roma) St. George's DayóErdelezi, , held in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
1979-1993 Editorial advisor for UCLA
Dance Ethnology Journal. 1991
Director/editor of catalog: UCLA dance sources located in UCLA libraries
and archives. 1989, 1991, 1995 compiler/editor Dance research published or
publicly presented by members of the Study Group on Ethnochoreology. 1995 -
1999 Dance research associate with
Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research in Croatia. Born in Chicago, Illinois, 1935; married to
Stanley Dunin, 1958; two daughters and
grandchildren. Parents were born in the
Moslavina area of Croatia, and immigrated to the United States, 1920 (Ivancic)
and 1931 (Pazman).
IVANCICH, PAUL J. Restaurant-Military
Paul
Ivancich was born in Ely, Minnesota to Paul and Mary Ivancich on June 4, 1924
and attended school in Ely and graduated from Ely Memorial High School. He
joined the service before finishing high school and was a B17 radio bombardier
in the 8th Air Force, 493rd Bomb Group out of Debach and Ipswich, England and
flew numerous missions in the European campaign. Following the war Paul worked
for the Ely Moose Club as a bartender, for the U.S. Forest Service; was a
member of the construction crew that built Reserve Mining Company in Babbitt,
MN and then worked for Reserve for 32 years, the majority as a supervisor in
the tire shop. In 1962 Paul married Virginia Strukel of Ely and in 1967 they
purchased the Ely Dairy Queen and are in their 35th year as the owner
operators, currently with their son Paul. Paul was a member of St. Anthony's
Catholic Church, Ely, the Ely American Legion Post 248, Ely VFW Post 2717,
Disabled Veterans, 8th Air Force Historical Society, 493rd Bomb Group, Ely Area
Senior Citizens, former ADI chairman, Int. Dairy Queen, District 0328, Croatian
Fraternal Union Lodge 355 member and current president. Paul died on August 17,
2001. Paul is survived by his wife of 39 years, Virginia; sons Paul F. and
fiancee Casey Velcheff, and Frank P.; grandchildren Kelsey, Mychal and Steven
Ivancich all of Ely; his half brother, John (Savina) Vukelich, Babbitt; his
father-in-law, Frank V. Strukel, Ely; a niece, Patricia (Eugene) Mandler,
Little Canada, MN, a nephew, Dr. John (Linda) Vukelich, Inver Grove Heights,
MN, grandnieces, Jennifer (Derrick) Morgan, Woodbury, MN, Stephanie Mandler,
Little Canada, MN pnd great gran dnieces, Allison and Lindsey Morgan. Paul was
preceded in death by his parents, son Joey Ivancich and granddaughter, Nicole'.
IVANCIE, Francis J. Mayor
Francis
J. lvancie, mayor of Portland, Oregon, has become a member of "Porodjenje
lsusovo" Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 130 in that Pacific Northwest
city. Mayor Frank Ivancie began his
career in public service with the City of Portland In 1957- when he was named
Executive Assistant to former Mayor Terry Schrunk, a position that he held for
ten years. Mayor Ivancie was first elected to the City Council as a
Commissioner in 1966 and was re-elected to that position in 1970,1974 and 1978.
He won the May 1980 primary election for Mayor and assumed that office
officially on November 24, 1980. Mayor
Ivancie has made economic development and job creation the priority of his
administration. The trade missions that he has led to Alaska, Europe and Japan
have resulted in the attraction of new development dollars and new jobs for the
Portland area. Mayor lvancie's accomplishments include the city's first reduced
General Fund budget in thirty years; a streamlining of city bureaus and service
delivery; initiation of the construction of the award-winning Portland
Building; refurbishment of Portland's Civic Stadium; the building of a
successful hydroelectric project at Bull Run; the development of a
self-sufficient emergency groundwater source for the city; the nurturing of
downtown developments that have kept the city growing and provided many
construction jobs; the implementation of an effective crimefighting plan;
increased efficiency of city progress in. housing improvements and urban
renewal; and the creation of a new high-technology training and research center
for Portland State University to help attract more hightech industries to the
Portland area. During his service on the City Council, Mayor lvancie has been
Commissioner in charge of every major city bureau. His current
responsibilities' include: Office of Fiscal Administration,
Exposition-Recreation Commission, Portland Development Commission, Bureau of
Planning, Portland Housing, Authority, Bureau of Water Works, Bureau of
Hydroelectric Power, and Office of Emergency Services. He received his Bachelor
of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and his Master of
Arts in Education from the University of Oregon. The Mayor and his wife of
thirty-three years, the former Eileen O'Toole of Eastern Oregon, reside In
Northeast Portland and are the parents of ten children.
IVANCOVICH, G. Doctor of Medicine
G.
Ivancovich, M.D. resides at Grass Valley.
He was born in Croatia in 1848, and remained until 1866, attending college
during his youth at Dubrovnik. He then studied medicine in London until 1870,
when he came to California. He practiced his profession in Lake County until 1877, then to San Francisco until 1878, taking
the degree M.D. and then to Grass Valley, and continue his practice here. In
1876 he married Miss Nellie R. Jones, a native of Illinois, and has one son and
one daughter.
IVANCOVICH, GEORGE Organic Farmer
There
are many organic growers in Santa Cruz County, but only a few like George
Ivancovich make their living at it full-time. So Ivanovich decided not to
spray. The reasons were partly economic: his fruit is more expensive to produce
than non-organic apples, and he gets a good price for it. George Ivancovich is
fifty-one, tall and lean, with closely-cropped curly hair and a beard beginning
to turn iron gray. He grew up on an apple farm in the Pajaro Valley. Everyone knows Watsonville as the lettuce
capital of the World, but it is also apple country, producing 20 percent of the
nation's pippin crop. He never intended to be an apple farmer. He studied
acting in college and afterwards worked in New York professionally. Now he and
his wife and three daughters are planning a home near their new fifteen-acre
orchard in the foothills of the Pajaro Valley. Walking through his older
orchard, twenty-five acres tucked in a bend of the narrow Aptos Valley,
Ivancovich talks about what he does to produce good organic apples. By now,
Ivancovich has an orchard even an apple-grower's son can take pride in: healthy
trees, large green apples with little insect damage. Most consumers expect organic
fruits to be a little scarred, but these pippins could almost compete with the
pretty ones from Washington state. As for taste-well, he waits until October to
pick, late in the season, so the apples will be ripe and sweet, not hard and
sour like the pippins you often find in the supermarket.
IVANCOVICH, MATT at Discovery of Gold in California
Matt
Ivancovich was born in old Slavonia (Croatia) near the city of Trieste in the
year 1822. His father was Slavonian
(Croatian), his mother French or Italian.
His early schooling was obtained at Trieste, later at Milan. When he reached the age of eighteen he joined
the Italian navy, and while serving on a warship he was wounded while engaged
in a battle with pirates. As to the
outcome of the battle, Matt made the following remark to the writer, “We shot
them to pieces.” After his one year with
the navy, Matt continued the life of a sailor on merchant ships of Dutch,
Norwegian and British nationalities. He
advanced in rank to boatswain.
On
one of his voyages he was a sailor on board a British merchant vessel sailing
from Southhampton to Sydney Australia.
On this ship was a band of sheep.
While waiting for some repair work to be done on the ship, Matt assisted
in driving the sheep to the tableland, some hundred miles west of Sydney. He thus got to see the Blue Mountains of the
sparsley settled interior of Australia.
Matt
had an older brother by the name of John Ivancovich who was also a sailor. In the year 1842 John was a sailor on board a
whaling vessel, and during a storm on the pacific, he fell from the rigging, to
the deck, breaking a leg and also received other injuries. He was landed at San Francisco, and never
returned to the sea. His leg was
improperly set which left him permanently lame.
John wrote to his brother Matt, and urged him to come to California, and
take advantage of the higher wages then paid to workers in all lines. In the meantime Matt was a boatswain on board
a merchant ship on a long voyage. He did
not return to his home port until about three years later. In the summer of 1847 Matt was a deck officer
on a Dutch ship that sailed round the horn to San Francisco. Mr. Ivancovich
reported he had some difficulty with one
of the Dutch sailors. The sailor in question was both dull of understanding
and stubborn, and Matt threatened to clout him.
When the ship arrived at San Francisco Matt and one other left the
ship.
The
two sailors were later employed by Captain Sutter. Matt had made prior arrangements to leave the
ship at San Francisco. Matt soon met his
brother John, and through him found employment repairing boats and ships. While he was thus employed he had the
pleasure of meeting Captain Sutter. It
seams that one of Sutter’s launches had sprung a beam and was leaking
badly. Matt repaired the launch and
delivered it to Sutter in a first class sea-worthy condition. Matt returned to San Francisco and in company
with his brother they did boat repair work and other carpentering. Toward the latter part of December Sutter
wanted his ‘Sailor man’, to go up to the sawmill to help
him build the mill-dam. Matt arrived at
the sawmill a few days before Christmas, and began work before the first of the
year, getting things ready for building the dam, brush, rocks and foundation
timbers. Matt intended to stay only
until the dam was completed, but as things turned our he stayed there until the
13th of February, when he left for San Francisco to inform him brother of the gold discovery.
He
soon after returned to mine gold on Weber creek. Mr. Ivancovich has received a good education
in the Italian language. He kept a diary
in which he made entries at various times, while on the high seas, also at the
sawmill, and in Australia. Matt also had
a fair command of the English language, having been in contact with English
speaking people most of his life. He had
been a sailor on several British ships.
All his wring was in Italian.
From the time of the gold discovery in 1848, Matt did little else but
mine gold. He was a expert prospector
and miner, in both placer and quartz, and he made considerable money during his
life time.
In
the fifties, after he returned from Australia, Matt and his brother John mined
in partnership in Calaveras county. The
two brothers discovered a rich vein of quarts, which they later sold for a
rather large sum of money. The two them
dissolved partnership because a disagreement over the change of names. John decided to shorten his name of
Ivankovich to plain Evans, of Evens, not sure which. Matt refused to make the change. Said he,: I was born with the name
Ivancovich, which suits me well enough, and I will be known under that name to
the end. Matt was annoyed to think his
brother appeared to be ashamed of the name Ivankovich, and so they parted
company. With his half of the
proceeds from the mine, Matt went to San
Francisco, and spent a year enjoying the good things of life. Then having spent nearly all of his money he
returned to the golden hills of Calaveras to again engage in placer
mining. Matt could seemingly discover
gold in places where others searched in vain for the metal.
Matt
made considerable money in the Ballarat mines in Australia, and also in the
Caribou mines of British Columbia.
The
writer’s first meeting with Mr. Ivancovich, who was present when gold was
discovered in the tailrace at Coloma, California. On a bright sunny afternoon
in the early part of September 1895, the writer and his mining partner, who was
a veteran of the Civil War, were sitting on a log outside our cabin, resting in
the shade of the pines for a few minutes before proceeding up the canyon to our
placer mine. Glancing down the canyon we
could see in the distance a lone man plodding slowly up the trail. He appeared to be carrying a heavy pack, for
he stopped occasionally to rest. Being
that our cabin was at the end of the trail, my partner and I decided to wait
until he arrived in out midst. When the
stranger arrived, he first unloaded his huge pack, which contained his camp
outfit and mining tools, which totaled a weight of nearly a hundred
pounds. The man sat down on the log and
introduced himself, saying he had arrived on the creek the day before.
He
had recently sold his placer mine near Angles
Camp, where he had lived out most of the time since he returned from Australia
in 1852, and from British Columbia in 1860.
He had now purchased a placer mine a short distance down the stream from
our two placer claims. There had been a
log cabin on his placer claim, built in the early fifties, but it was burned
down the previous year during a raging forest fire. Being there was no cabin on his placer mine
in which he could stay, Mr. Ivancovich asked permission to stay until he could build a cabin, which
permission was readily granted. The
substance of the matter was, he camped with us for nearly two years. We found him to be a perfect gentleman, and a
man of education. During his seven years
before the mast, Matt had visited nearly every major port in the world. About the middle of January 1896, my partner
ad I were ground-sluicing though a mass of earth and rocks, that at some time
in the past had slid down the mountain into the creek, filling up the original
stream, and turning it to one side. We
dug a ditch through the mass of earth in line with the original channel, just
deep enough to start a stream of water through.
We groud-sluiced through the side until most of the earth had washed
away. The stones had been stacked to one
side. Early one morning, the writer went up the canyon as usual to close
the gate, to shut off the water and
allow the water to fill. While returning
by the slide area, considerable gold could be seen on the exposed bedrock. A large stream of waster had been slowing
through the slide during the night.
After eating a hurried breakfast, my partner and I prepared to go up to
the slide and gather what gold is now in sight.
Mr. Ivankovich was not feeling well on this morning, and said he would
not go to work in his mine, so he was asked to accompany us to the slide and
view the display of gold. He replied
that he would like to see it and compare it with the display of gold he had the
pleasure of seeing in the tailrace of Coloma.
In about twenty minutes we were standing on the bank gazing at the
bedrock which was covered with gold mostly in nuggets ranging in size from the
size of a pinhead to nuggets worth more than five dollars. Said Mr.
Ivankovich,; What a magnificent display of gold. That’s just how the gold looked in the
tailrace at the sawmill on that Friday morning after Marshall had picked up his
ounce of gold only here the pieces are larger.
This was the first we knew of his being present when gold was discovered
at Coloma, and my partner and I wanted to learn more about that famous
discovery, so Matt kindly conscented to give us the details, and he also drew a
rough sketch of the position of the gold in the tailrace from memory, and also
the whole sawmill setup. The sawmill
then under construction, the approximate size of the saw, about six feet in
length, the water wheel and the dam. He
had a diary written in Italian, giving it dates and other information. Some difficult was experienced in making our
translation into English, but a fairly accurate translation was finally
accomplished.
Mr.
Ivancovich was anything but a miser, he spent his money freely, and
considerable of it was exchanged for whiskey, wine and beer. Said he,: Money is made to be spent, not
hoarded, and no matter how much money you make, you can’t take any of it with
you. What folly it is for a man to store
up a fortune to leave for others to quarrel over and squander. Mr. Ivancovich spent the greater part of his
life in California, and to the writer he made the following remark,: California
is the best state in which to reside, to enjoy life and make money, and I want
to live in no other. They were his exact
words. As to the future of gold mining,
Matt expressed the opinion that much gold still remains in the ground in
California gold belt. the writer last
saw Mr. Ivancovich in the spring of 1898.
He was then hard at work in the placer mine.
IVANDIC, LOUIS A.
Priest-Chaplain-Professor
Father
Louis is a Chaplain at Mercy Hospital in
Grayling, Michigan. He was born June 18,
1913 in Brezici, Maglaj, Bosnia, Croatia. Education includes Franciscan
Classical Gymnasium, Visoko, Bosnia, Diploma Philosophy, 1934; Holy Scriptures,
History, Franciscan Theology, Sarajevo,
Bosnia, Diploma, 1937; 1937-38 Fribourg, Switzerland 1938-39; Univ. of Zagreb,
Croatia, S.T.D., 1943. Social and Economic Sciences, Fribourg, Switz. Baccalaureate
Degree 1946-47. Major field in Theology and
Moral Pastoral Theology. Thesis in1943 "Pucko Praznovjerje kod
Hrvata katolika, u Bosni" (Superstition Among Croatian Catholics in
Bosnia). Published in Madrid, 1965. Occupation as Professor, Franciscan
Classical Gymnasium, Visoko, Bosnia,
Croatia 1939-45. General Pedagogue at the same school 1942-45. Founder of the
first Croatian speaking Catholic parish in Canada on August 20, 1950.
IVANISEVIC, GORAN Tennis-Olympics
Goran
Ivanisevic was born on September 13, 1971, in Split, Croatia. He played tennis
for the Croatian national Davis Cup teams and was awarded an Olympic bronze
medal in 1992 in men's singles and doubles with partner G. Prpic. Goran won the
Wimbledon Men's Singles Title in 2001. He had previously been a finalist for
Wimbledon in 1992 anda semi-finalist in 1990. His best finish on the ATP Tour
was in 1992 when he finished 4th overall. Goran was awarded the Sportsman of
the Year of Croatia in 1992.
IVANKOVICH, JOHN Priest
John
Ivankovich, from Lopud, wholesale fruit merchant. Later he went to Dubrovnik, married into well
known Givovich family, returned to San Francisco, and had a large family of
children. One of his sons is Father Ivankovich, S.J., a member of
the Jesuit order of Santa Clara College.
John Ivancovich was President of the Slavonic Society for many
years. He was a man of high personality
and a leader in our community. He was
reputed to be a man of considerable wealth.
His residence was at the southwest corner of Sacramento Street an Van
Ness Avenvue, a very wealthy and select residential district before the fire of
1906.
IVANKOVICH, JOHN Fruit Merchant
John
Ivankovich, from Lopud, Dalmatia, Croatia, wholesale fruit merchant. Later he went to Dubrovnik, married into well
known Givovich family, returned to San Francisco, and had a large family of
children. One of his sons is Father
Ivankovich, S.J., a member of the Jesuit order of Santa Clara College. John
Ivancovich was President of the Slavonic Society in San Francisco for many
years. He was a man of high personality
and a leader in our community. He was
reputed to be a man of considerable wealth.
His residence was at the southwest corner of Sacramento Street an Van
Ness Avenvue, a very wealthy and select residential district before the fire of
1906.
IVANKOVICH, TINA Opera Singer
Tina
Ivankovic, a dramatic soprano, was born in San Pedro, California. Her father Marin Batina came from Kastela,
Dalmatia. He brought with him from the
old country not only know-how about fishing, but also love for Croatian songs
and folklore music. His daughter Tina
inherited this love from her father and after learning about singing first from
her teacher Miss Mansfield, and later from professor of opera singing Dr.
Sterlizer at UCLA. A singer of highly
professional quality, she performed all over the USA.
IVANUS, THEODORE B. Professor-Attorney
Professor
and Head of the Soviet and Eastern European Library, University of Notre Dame,
Department of Goverment and International Studies, Notre Dame, Indiana. Born
March 15, 1916 in Vilika Gorica, Croatia. Education includes lst Classical
Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia, Graduated, 1934; University of Zagreb, Doctor of
Jurisprudence, 1942; Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, A.M., 1957: M.S.L.S.,
1963; Major field in International Relations: Western Europe, East Central
Europe and the Soviet Union. Organization and administration of library
resources in the area programs, with a
specialty in Government and politics of East Central Europe.
IVEKOVIC, OTON Artist
In
1909 when Rev. M. D. Krmpotic wanted to decorate St. John the Baptist Church in
Kansas City, he invited Oton Ivekovic, a prominent Croatian painter from
Zagreb, to do the job. The painter arrived in the autumn of 1909. For six months
he painted huge frescoes on the walls of the church, creating works of enduring
value. One fresco depicting Croatian peasants and workers was 39 feet long.
This event, the artistic decoration of a Croatian immigrant church, attracted
wide interest, and people from far away came to view and admire Ivekovic's
work. In 1910 the artist returned to Croatia, where in 1911 he published his
American impressions in the literary review Vienac. It is a great loss that
almost all paintings in St. John's Church were later destroyed in a fire.
IVELICH, BERT Apple Grower
Bert
Ivelich came to this country from the Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia in
1905. He landed at New York’s Ellis
Island with throngs of other immigrants and then took a train across the U.S.
to San Francisco where his uncle ran a restaurant. At age 99, Ivelich realized
a life-long dream. He became a United States citizen in a naturalization
ceremony at the courthouse in Santa Cruz. According to his son John, Bert
Ivelich “just wanted to die a citizen.”
Not knowing English and working and raising a family, he was simply too
busy all these years to study for his citizenship. Ivelich went to work as a
dishwasher when he arrived in San Francisco 73 years ago. He was around for the great quake of 1906,
but “slept through it,” he says. After two years in the city he came to
Watsonville and got into the apple business from which he retired at age 85.
John Ivelich told a newsman at the ceremony he felt that his father’s easy
going nature and ready sense of humor regardless of the circumstances, probably
were responsible for his longevity. He said his father “saw Halley’s comet and
probably be around to see it twice.” Ivelich has five children, John, Tony and
Jim all live in Watsonville, Madeline lives at the family home on Freedom
Boulevard and Nina (Caldwell) lives in San Jose. Ivelich’s wife Barbara died in 1948. He has eight grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
IVICH-BAKULICH, VISCO Fisherman-Farmer
My
Uncle Visko, his sisters, and brothers, had the same upbringing and
consequently, had many of the same human characteristics that continued through
their adult years. They had little education; but they had a built in
stubbornness, toughness, good health, sharp minds, and welcomed hard work as
their path to success. In time, Visko was ready to leave home; and to start his
travels, he did so with the blessing of his mother and father. Uncle Visko was
born on the island of Vis, Croatia in
the year 1893. The island is located about 45 miles from Split off the
Dalmatian coast of Croatia. My uncle's
full name was Visko Ivicevich-Bakulich. It was then and is still common to have
two last names to show family ties and trace family history.
Visko
left Vis around the end of 1908 when he was 15 years old. His traveling
companion was a man older than himself by the name of "Moskovita,"
first name unknown. There are Moskovitas in Bellingham, Washington maybe
someone there can help trace this man's history. Their destination was New
Zealand or Australia. Both countries have, to this day, a large population of
Croatians. Both men hoped to find friends who could help or guide them to a new
start. Among the reasons the left Europe was (1) that most peasant males would
be taken for military duty in the Austrian army and this was not to their
liking; (2) to seek a better life than what Vis or Europe had to offer. In
Austria, once a peasant always a peasant, with very little opportunity for
improvement. From what port in Europe or which shipping line they sailed to New
Zealand is unknown. it must have taken over a year, because they arrived in
1910, working their way as cabin boys or deck hands. I don't know if they ever
went to Australia. Uncle Visko had a sister living in Perth. Her name was
Perina (Pearl); it is a question if he ever saw her again once they both left
home. I can only assume he stayed in New Zealand for a few years, but we have
no record of what he did there.
Around
the end of 1913, Visko left New Zealand and headed for America. This was
another long trip to the city of San Francisco, a port of emigration, arriving
in the latter part of 1914. From there Uncle Visko made his way up to
Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A. This time he was traveling alone in a strange
country unable to speak the language. However, in Bellingham he was greeted by
his sister, Yela Muliat, my aunt and the mother of Frank and Vince. Both men
are still living in Bellingham. Teta Yela was the guardian angel of all the
family who went to Bellingham and the American Pacific Northwest. Visko stayed
with his sister about one and a half years, worked in the fishing industry and
also in the local saw mill. He was interested in becoming an American citizen
when World War I broke out in 1914 in Europe. America -was also preparing for
war, and to become an American citizen, he had to join the army. In Europe when
he was facing the army, he left. He was now in a position of trading salt fish
and corn meal for beef jerky and hardtack, but either way it meant joining the
army and fighting and killing, to which he was vigorously opposed.
After
several months Of aggravation and deliberation, he made the decision to head
south and live in Mexico. Mexico was a neutral country during WW I and perhaps
he could make a life there. He left Bellingham around 1915, making his way
through Washington, Oregon, and California to Tijuana, Mexico. There he met
with nine other men. I don't know if these men were from Vis or he met them on
the way south. They made plans for crossing Baja, California to a point on the
other side of Baja called Santa Rosalia.
In
Tijuana they bought 21 mules, this was the only means of transportation besides
walking. The mules were also needed to carry food, water, and other provisions.
These ten young men had nothing but their inherited strong youth, guts, and a
desire for independence, freedom, and a better life. They started walking
across Baja over mountains and deserts of complete desolation. Because of the
heat, much of the crossing was in the cool of the night, navigating by the sun,
moon, and stars. This was also easier on the men and the mules. Can you imagine
- no maps, roads, or direction to help? This crossing took 40 days and the
estimated distance was over 500 miles, not as the crow flies but by walking.
They walked up to 15 miles per day. The provisions were running low and when a
mule looked like it was going to die, they would slaughter it for food and use
the meat until it was ready to spoil. Due to the rigorous crossing, all but one
of the mules died. In the last days of the trip, out of desperation, they were
forced to drink mule urine. The water was gone. This was a trip of adventure,
courage, stamina, and perseverance that defies the imagination but was not over
yet. When they reached Santa Rosalia they still had to cross the Gulf of
California, by boat, to the mainland and to the city of Guaymas. Once across
the gulf, my uncle had to work his way up to another city by the name of
Hermossillo. This was his final destination. From the time he started his
travels seven years had passed.
Waiting
for him was a good friend from Vis who worked for the Mexican counsel, Felipe
Pablovich, and helped him settle down. Felipe had two sons, Lucas and Felipe,
who still live in Hermosillo today. Visko went to work for a group of World War
I American draft dodgers. During this time, he was tutored by the Americans and
learned to speak English. His name was temporarily Vince, soon to be Vicente.
The name Visko, was in memory only. My father Petar always called him Brat
(brother). After living in Hermosillo for a few years, my uncle moved south to
the Yaqui Valley, a developing farming district, approximately 150 miles from
Hermosillo. This was during the latter part of 1916, and he worked for other
farmers in the Yaqui Valley. There was another little village called Pueblo
Yaqui where he met his future wife, Senorita Esperanza (Hope in English), in
1920. The name was perfect and so was she - now was his beginning. He would
have a new life, but he had to give up so much; his family, friends, and his
place of birth. Esperanza's father Pasqual Avon was a village blacksmith, which
gave my uncle plenty of cause to go there to get some ironwork done - and maybe
to have a little chat with the blacksmith's daughter. Esperanza's father was
also a revolutionary leader. Vicente and Esperanza were married in 1923 in the
little town of Bacum, Mexico. He was 30 and she was 20 years old. This village
was not far from Pueblo Yaqui. This was also a time of revolutionary days,
especially in northern Mexico and the state of Sonora. American companies had
large land holdings and owned most of the land after the Revolution. While
working for one of the companies, my uncle acquired from the American
Richardson Corporation, about 50 hectares. One hectare being equal to about 2
1/2 acres, and he started farming for himself.
He
was required to hire guards armed with rifles and place them around the
perimeter of the farm to protect the workers from marauding Yaqui Indians, who
sometimes ambushed the working farm hands, killing them. The Yaqui Indians are
brother to the American Apache, who roamed the southwestern states. Not only
was farming tough in the years 1924 and 1925, it was also very dangerous.
Vicente and Esperanza lived in the small town of Cajeme, also in the Yaqui Valley.
Sometime during the year of 1926 my uncle wanted to visit
his
friends in Hermosillo, Felipe'Pablovich and Stephen Brajcich who were both from
Vis. He went by train to spend the day visiting. Close to evening when he was
ready to take the train back home to Cajeme, his friends talked him into
staying for the night and making the return trip the next morning. That night somewhere along the track the
train was attacked by the Yaqui Indians and everyone on board was massacred.
Over 100 people were killed, and had my uncle taken this train he would have
also been killed; but God, again, looked after him.
Due
to the Indian uprisings and train massacre, the Mexican General, Alvaro
Obregon, was sent to Sonora and the Yaqui Valley to control the Indians. He placed
them on Indian reservations similar to the ones in the United States; and
because of the success of General Obregon, he was elected President of Mexico.
He purchased the farmland next to my uncle Vicente and became a large
landowner. Vicente and President Obregon became friends. In the 1930's my uncle
acquired more farmland and his holdings expanded to well over 1000 hectares.
The story of Vicente's life in Cajeme Mexico closely ties in with the state's
history in the early 1930's, he was truly a pioneer. President Obregon was
assassinated while he was in office. Out of respect for what he did for the
country and the Yaqui Valley, they renamed Cajeme the City of Obregon. To this
day, the family of President Obregon and my cousins are good friends.
In
1933 Uncle Vicent'e became a citizen of Mexico and, at the same time he changed
his name from Ivicevich-Bakulich to simply Ivich. The longer name, as you can
imagine, was confusing to Mexicans,- Americans, friends, and the family alike.
The
farm was hard work and he struggled for many years until the last part of 1940
to the early 1950's when roads were built in the farm areas and modem,
mechanized farm equipment became available. Not only did it simplify the work,
but it made farmin profitable. Tio and Tia (uncle and aunt) Vicente and Esperanza had six children:
three boys, Vicente, Pasqual, and Jose, and three girls; Ante, Kala, and
Esperanza, who was named after her mother. All have Mexican first names and the
Croatian last name of Ivich. Vicente was very fortunate that his father,
mother, brothers, Gorgo and Petar (my father); and his sisters, Yela and Antica
were all very close. Starting in the 1920's some lived in Mexico, San Pedro,
California and in Bellingham, Washington. His sister Perina. lived in Australia
and he never saw her again; however, they communicated often by mail. She was
bom in August 1900 and died October 1986. No other family members remained on
Vis or in Europe. Grandfather, Franje Ivicevic Bakulic, bom 1869 on Vis, died
1948 in Cuidad Obregon. Grandmother Antica Karusa Ivicevic-Bakulic born 1871,
died December 1950 in San Pedro. His youngest sister, Anticia Bracich, born on
Vis, died April 8, 2001 in San Pedro. Her husband John died in Bellingham in
August 1961, while on vacation with their daughter Margaret Gazija. Teta Yela
was born on Vis in 1896 and died in Bellingham in 1972. With the passing of
Antica this generation came to an end.
Barba
Vicente retired from farming in 1969 and died in 1981 at the age of 88, Tete
Esperanza died in 1991, also at the age of 88. In 1973, I along with most of
the families, attended my Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary in Ciudad
Obregon, and what a gala event it was! All the sons,- daughters, brothers,
sisters, nieces, and nephews came from Mexico, Bellingham, and San Pedro. With
friends, there were over 300 in attendance. The reception was held at a local
country club, but what was outstanding were the decorations. Because of their
success in farming, and the wealth produced by the wheat crop- throughout the
reception room, and on each table were large baskets of fresh-cut wheat stems.
They were painted gold to show everyone that from the land they received
everything. Truly Tio Vicente and Tia Esperanza were the salt of the earth.
I
believe that uncle (Vince) (Visco) (Vicente) found what he as a young boy was
looking for, a peaceful, satisfying life; a good, loving wife and mother; and
hard, honest work with just rewards; a family much like his own in childhood of
three boys and three girls. Could any one of us ask or expect more? But nobody
could say it was an, easy task. Because of Vicent's respected position in the
community of Ciudad Obregon, and being the head of the Ivich family as was the
custom; he was given the prestigious title of Don, Don Vicent'e Ivich. During
his lifetime and after his death, his sons continued to acquire their own farm
land and become successfal farmers. The daughters have all raised talented,
loving children.
Story
by Nephew, Peter Bakulich with details provided by Vicente and Esperanza's sons
and daughters.
Footnote: Although our grandfather, grandmother,
fathers, mothers, aunts, and uncles have passed on, the second generation
continues. In our families we have many first, second, third, and soon to be
fourth cousins. We meet in Tucson, Arizona or in Ciudad Obregon, once a year
for a family reunion. You have never seen so much hugging, kissing, and story
telling. What a great time we have. We all look forward to each year and the
reunion, and perhaps to remember our loved ones. Go with God; Hodite is Bogon;
Vaya Con Dios. (Bakulich 2002)
JAGIELLO, BARBARA Attorney
Barbara
was bom in Philadelphia. Her father's parents came from Zagreb in 1914. She is
married to Robert K. Wilson and has practiced law in San Francisco for 20
years. Barbara is Croatian Scholarship Fund's Secretary. Her view of CSF is
expressed as follows, “I cannot think of a nobler goal than assisting young
people in obtaining an education. There is no better way to show appreciation to those whose sacrifices have enhanced our
lives than by helping those coming behind us to a better life. Education can't
guarantee opportunity, but the lack of education will guarantee limited
opportunities. Hopefully, through education the young will not only live fuller
lives, but also live in a better world."
JAKOVAC. JACK A. Chemical Engineer
Jack
Jakovac is of Manager Quality Control and chemical engineer at F. & M.
Schaefer Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Born July 25, 1922 in Kansas
City, Kansas; Married with one child. Education includes 4th Male Real
Gymnasium, Zagreb, Croatia, 1941. University of Zagreb, 1941-47,
Diploma-Chemical Engineer, 1947 with a major field in Chemistry and a specialty in Brewing Technology
and Packaging Supervision. Thesis on Minimum Fluidization Velocity and Minimum
Bubbling Velocity , 1967. Member of American Society of Brewing Chemists;
Master Brewers Association of America;The Institute of Brewing. Occupational
experience Control & Research Chemist 1948-61. Research Chemist, pilot
plant development, supervision of packaging quality control1961-66. Managing
quality control in the brewing and packaging operations, 1966 to date,
JAKOVCEVIC, ANTE Cultural
Activities-Electrical Engineer
Ante
was born in Split, Dalmatia, Croatia on December 23, 1945. His father was Ante,
deceased, mother Milena and brother
Drago. His parents were born on the Island of Solta. Ante attended primary
schools in Split and graduated from the University of Zagreb with a degree in
Electrical Engineering. After graduation
he came to San Jose, California.
Ante organized the Croatian American Cultural Association in 1983;
Croatian TV in California in 1992; Croatian radio in 1983; amd Croatian News
Service in 1991. He has contributed more to Croatian media and culture in
California than any other individual or group. Ante met his future wife, Vesna
Spadina, in San Jose and married on the Island of Solta in 1985. Vesna was born
in Dubrava near Sibenik, Dalmatia. The have four children: Ivan, Tomislav, Antonia
and Filip. Ante and his family returned to live in Split, Croatia in 1996.
JAKOVICH, PETE Farm
While
living with her brothers, Ljubica met her future husband, Pete Jakovich.
Ljubica was born March 3, 1903, in Velo Grablje, island of Hvar. Her
parents were Ivan (1857-1914) and Katica Tudor Zaninovich. (1863-1908) They
were married in Fresno on May 3, 1925. Pete and Ljubica bought their
first farm in Terra Bella. Their son John, and daughters Irene and Katherine
were born there. After a period of time they purchased land in Delano and
built their home there in 1938.
Marie was born on December 6, 1942. Pete was charming, fun
loving, kind, very courteous and generous. he loved the land and farming,
and his cigar. His grape labels were
“River Bend” and ‘White Rock”. When Pete
came to this country, he was a maitre’d for a restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf,
San Francisco for many years. It was there that he learned most of his
cooking skills. One of Ljubica’s proudest memories was when she became a U.S.
Citizaen. She studied hard to accomplish this feat. Pete and
Ljubica both loved being in America and were thankful for their blessings and
good fortune in this wonderful country. Other fond memories are of the family
get togethers with her brothers’ families and all the cousins. Both Pete and Ljubica were devout Catholics.
Pete passed away at 80 years of age on March 25, 1970. Ljubica moved
to Santa Monica after Dad’s death, to her beloved beach. Ljubica
passed away on June 30, 1990, at the age of 87.
They are buried next to each other at Delano Cemetery. They leave
a legacy of three children, seven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
JAKSA, LORETTA Sister
On
August 15, 1952, Matthew and Katherine Jaksa's daughter, Loretta was received into
the Order of the School Sisters of St. Francis of Christ the King. She took the
name, Sister Catherine, and her final vows in 1957. On Sunday, June 30, Sister
Catherine will be honored with other nuns who have reached so many years of
service to Our Lord. The celebration will be held at the Motherhouse, 13900
Main St., Lemont, Illinois 60439. She graduated from St. John the Baptist Grade
School, the Bishop Ward High School and received her B.S. in Education from St.
John's College in Cleveland, Ohio. She has taught primary grades with some
department teaching in higher grades in California, Ohio, Wisconsin and twelve
years at her home parish of St. John's on Strawberry Hill. Her present
assignment is at Our Lady of the Nativity, Joliet, Illinois. Sister will be in
Kansas City on vacation this summer. She is a 50-year member of our St. Martin
Lodge 14. We congratulate her on her anniversary and hope the Good Lord
continues to bless her with good health to keep doing His work.
JANCOVICH, GEORGE And LUCO Coffee
Saloon-Jancovich Troubles
San
Francisco Evening Bulletin, May 23, 1870: George and Luco Jancovich, who are
cousins, have gained much notoriety of late in the Courts and public
press. A short time ago, both appeared
in the Police Court, on counter charges of misdemeanor, about a matter that
took place in a coffee saloon on the corner of Clark and Davis streets in San
Francisco. In the trouble, Luco drove
George out of the saloon, and has since remained in possesion. George
claimed that his (George’s) money, to the anount of $1445.45 was expended in
the fitting up of the place, and Luco had no claim to open it. The latter, on the other hand, claimed that
he alone obtained the lease of the property, and also that he was not the poor
individual his cousin represented. He further alleged that George is a
very quarrelsome and boistrous man, and has endeavored by trickery to gain
possesion of the coffee saloon. Further
more, that George did not expend the amount of money on the refitting of the
place that he represents. Luco appeared
before the Nineteenth District Court and prayed for an unjunction and
restitution of the premisis. His prayer
was granted, and on the 15th instant an
order was served on George through his attorney, George W. Tyler, filed an
affidavit setting forth the conduct of George, and asked that he be brought
before the Court. The affidavit contained several very vulgar, indecent
and disgusting expressions, and immediately on reading it, William H. Rhodes,
attorney for George, filed a petition praying that Luco be punished for
contempt, and also that the injunction be dissolved.
The
case was set for this morning, and on the assembling of Court, quite a number
of persons were in attendence. Mr. Rhodes opened with a few remarks on the
affidavit, which had been prepared by the defendant, Luco, and hardly deemed it
necessary to read it to the Court, saying that it contents were too filthy to
be heard. He believed that his Honor had perused it, and therefore would
not shock the sensitive by reading it aloud. He then read a petition,
which alleged that the affidavit of the plaintiff contained certain scandalous,
impertinent and indecent matters, which tended to insult the defendant
wantonly, and also bring the administration into disrespectrul and repute
contempt. He prayed that the Court
impose costs in such an amount on the plaintiff or his attorney or both, and
after the same shape be paid to order, the said affidavit to be stricken from
the records of the Court, or to punish said plaintiff and hsi attorney for
contempt.
After
a few remarks, Judge Wheeler stated he had not only thought the affidavit
indecent, but several members of the Bar had spoken of its immorality. He thougth it would be to no avail to punish
either of the parties, but would cause it to be stricken form the record of the
Court. Judge Tyler whom the Court
severly censured for filing such an affidavit, endeavored to vindicate his
situation, but to no avail.
JANES, FRANK Barrel Maker-Organized
Janesville
The
department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism in Louisiana approved and
ordered five official state historic markers.
The second marker was for the Site of Janesville in West Carroll Parish.
It was erected about five miles, as the crow flies, northwest of Oak Grove.
Site of Janesville
“Frank Janes came here c. 1908,
followed by John Janes and other Croatians.
The Frank Janes Company, produced and exported barrel staves for use in French
claret production. Janesville flourished until company disbanded in 1928.
Erected by Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism."
Janesville
is no more. The community, as such, has vanished. There is little on the
terrain today along Highway 586 to suggest that the strip of land along the
highway was once a "little Croatia,"
with dozens of families living there, almost all came from Cabar (pronounced
Chahbar) in the Delnice district and Zupani and environs in the southern Julian
Alps of Croatia, some of the descendents of the original settlers, of course,
still live along the road in the northern part of West Carroll Parish. But
today they are engaged in farming, not making staves. The saga of the rise and
fall of Janesville is a considerable one. In fact, a grandson of Frank and
Brigita Janes has found enough material to write a 350-page book on the subject
- and it's not even near the end of the story.
Frank
Janes came to West Carroll parish because his good eye recognized that some of
the finest stands of white oak in the South were here, and in some of the
surrounding parishes. The earliest land
sale was in 1908; after that , the ledgers, over a three-year period or more,
show staggering land sales adding up to about 120,000 acres. Land was also
acquired in one or two other parishes. By, 1912 Janesville was well established.
A private railroad ran into the Janes domain. The title of the railroad was
almost as long as the railroad itself: it was called the "Janesville,
Terry, and Southern Railroad." It was a little over six miles long,
running almost to the Boeuf River. It was used for the logging operations
conducted there. Frank also drove his special motor-car over the tracks.
Janesville consisted of a large mill complex; a bakery whose cook, Stepko, made
fine bread and delightful special confections; a mess hall for the dozens of
stavemakers; a chapel; a schoolhouse; and many homes. This was near the
Crossing, as it was known. Not far away, on a slight knoll, was the large white
colonaded house where Brigita and Frank Janes lived (they were married in the
summer of 1912).
Life
was rosy. The stave makers made fine money for the time (up to $25.00 a
day).they would begin the work-day early, taking lanterns into the forest. Some
of the finest French claret staves in the nation were produced here for the
shipment to Marseilles, France, Tangiers, and other parts of Africa and Europe.
They fetched a handsome price. By now, about 150 men were working for the Frank
Janes Company, Ltd. Frank Janes had risen fast. He seemed to exude
invincibility. Success followed success. In addition to staves, the company
produced pilings, tiles, and other products.
The
Coatian community was close-knit. In the evenings they sang and danced; they
wanted only the slightest excuse to whip out their mandolins (Tambura),
accordions, and other instruments. (In 20's, in keeping with the times, at
Frank and Brigita's dances, the music was replaced with the sounds of Bud Scott
and his band.)
Then
came the First World War. Shipments of staves ceased. But the decision was made
to continue to make the staves and to stockpile them for sale after the war
when the price was sure to rise. Or so they thought. The war ended. Staves were
stacked up and down the parish, along the railroad sidetracks, waiting to be
shipped to New Orleans and then overseas. The company continued with
stave-making, holding out for an even spiraling price. Then, unexpectedly, the
bottom fell out of the market. The price fell to a disastrous low.
Frank
Janes was advised to declare bankruptcy, after waiting months for the price to
revive. Frank could not bring himself to take this option. He held on. His
brother, John, died of the heart attack in 1920; John was not only
vice-president of the company, he was someone on whom Frank could lean. Then a
trusted aide - a Frenchman who had acted as an interpreter in the early days
before becoming the third officer of the company - stole all the available cash
from the extent bank accounts. This was the final blow of "Act II" of
this financial drama. On February 8, 1923, Frank formally signed away the
company's shares in the staves to dozens of men: the Chops and Zagars and
Ozbolds (his cousins) and many others shared in this division of the staves.
Amazingly, operations continued. The mill continued to produce. Frank held on.
Things seemed to be recovering. Then there was a fire at the mill, causing
extensive damages. In the mid-20's the price-index of timber products fell. The
land sales of the worker-over lands were going badly. (Cotton was not doing as
well as before 1919 either.) There was too much to cope with. Finally, Frank Janes decided to move to
Wilmot, Arkansas, trading some of his lands and his home for a store-residence
that was in terrible condition. His family suffered the aftermath of those
golden Janesville years. (There were five children: Elizabeth, Dorothy, I. A.
"Buddy" Janes, Catherine and Acele.) In 1928 they made the move to
Wilmot, leaving Janesville and all it stood for behind them.
Gradually,
the families began to disperse. The buildings, one by one, over the years,
would begin to vanish. The white house that Frank and his men built remained
until 1965, when it was torn down. Today, "Tony" Janes and his family
live in the only original home in the Janesville area. All the others are gone.
The surprising thing is: there are a large number of people -Croatian and
non-Croatian alike - scattered throught Louisiana for whom memories of
Janesville bring back icicle-clear images of that time and place. It was for
this reason that a grandson, Antony Perot of Lafayette, requested this marker
after extensive research. Perot found ample documentation to justify
commemorating this colorful era..
JANKOVICH, NICHOLAS A. Accountant CPA
Nicholas
Jankovich is a Certified Public Accountant with his business in Chicago,
Illinois. Born January 7, 1924 in
Chicago, Illinois to Croatian parents; he is single. Education includes Loyola University, Chicago 1946-1947;
Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 1948-1953;
Major field in accounting with specialty in Federal Income Taxation. Received
certificate from State of Illinios as Certified Public Account. Member of
American Institute of Accountants.
JAREB, JERE Professor-Editor-Author
Jere
Jareb, university professor, was born in Sepurine, Dalmatia, Croatia on May 3,
1922. He is married to Olga (Zivkovic) and has a daughter and three sons.
Education includes a PhD in modern European history at Columbia University, New
York City in 1964 and he is the head of Department for History and Political
Science of St. Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania in 1966-1992. He edited
the Journal of Croatian Studies, New York since 1960 and published Half a
Century of Croatian Politics (1960); Political Memories and Work of Dr B. Jelic
(1982); contributions to Croatian Review and Journal of Croatian Studies. His affiliations
include American Historical Association, Washington; American Association for
the Advancement of Slavic Studies; The Croatian Academy of America.
JASPRIZA,VINCENT
OysterBeds-PoliceJury-Military-Superintendent Locks
Vincent
Jaspriza, superintendent of the Doullutts Locks and the canal at Empire and
also the Ostrica Locks on the Mississippi River, is also one of the best-known
figures in the political circles of Plaquemines Parish. First chosen as a
member of the Police Jury in 1932, Mr. Jaspriza has already served two full
terms in this important office and at the elections in 1940 was again chosen to
succeed himself for an additional four-year term. His devotion to the interests
of the parish as a whole and uniform fairness displayed in the distribution of
permanent improvements throughout the parish, has placed Mr. Jaspriza in a
position of being one of the leaders of the Parish. Vincent Jaspriza was born
in St. Charles, Louisiana, a son of the late Vincent Jaspriza, a native of
Croatia, a former widely known oyster man who died in 1893, and Antoinette
(Duprene) Jaspriza. The parents of Mr. Jaspriza removed to Plaquemines Parish
when he was an infant of eleven months. He grew up in this area, obtained his
education in the local schools and started life as an apprentice machinist in a
New Orleans machine shop where he was employed for a period of five years.
Returning to Empire, Mr. Jaspriza engaged in the oyster business and continued
in that activity until 1938 with the exception of a year spent in the United
States army during the World War when he was a member of the ordinance
department of the 27th division and saw eight months service in France where he
held the rank of Corporal. Following the conclusion of his period of military
service, Mr. Jaspriza again resumed the cultivation of oysters but gave up the
operation of his leased beds some two yelars or more ago to devote his entire
time to other duties. On the sixth of April, 1921, Mr. Jaspriza was married to
Miss Alva Despaux, a native of Empire and daughter of the late Leon Despaux.
Mr. and Mrs. Jaspriza are the parents of three children, Alva, born November
27, 1921, a student in Louisiana State University; Warren, born April 4, 1929,
and Melba Jaspriza, born the fifteenth of January, 1931. Also prominent in the civic life of Empire,
Mr. Jaspriza is a member of the Forty and Eight and American Legion,
organizations of World War veterans, and in religious life is a communicant of
the Catholic faith.
JELAVICH, WILLIAM Ranch-Farmer of the
Year
Willian
R. Jelavich, 32-year-old Mountain View farmer, was named “Farmer of the Year”
in 1959 by the Farmers Market advisory board. Jelavich, who operates a 50-acre
fruit and vegetable ranch in Santa Clara County, will be crowned with a garlic
wreath on Dec. 5 at the Farmers market.
JELCICH, JOSEPH Park Superintendent
Gold Miner
When
Jospeh Jelcick took over as Sunnyvale’s first park superintendent, that city’s
Washington Park was nothing but a 12-acre weed patch. Using cuttings from Stanford Stadium, where
he had worked as a maintenance man, Mr. Jelcick transformed the patch into a
place of verdant beauty, a feat that led his fellow residents to call him “the
Luther Burbank of Sunnyvale.”Mr. Jelcick came to the United States
from Croatia in 1914 and worked in the Arizona gold fields before coming
to the Bay Area. he was the first honorary member of the Sunnyvale
Chamber of Commerce and when he retired 20 years ago after 15 years as a city
employeee, the parks picnic area and playing filed were named in his honor. He
died at 84. he leaves his wife Mila: a daughter, Helen Swensen of
Sunnyvale: two sons, Evan and Gene, of Santa Cruz, and eight grandchildren.
JELETICH, NIKOLA Gold Miner-Farm
Nikola
Jeletich came to California in the early 50’s and immediately went to seek gold
in the foothills of California, In 1854 he bought 280 acres with fellow Croatians, Jordan and
Simcich, in Amador County. He
married Eliza Smith and had a son, John, born in 1860. Eliza died in 1867.
Nikola returned to Croatia to get a wife; all burned to death in a fire in
1881.
JELINCICH, TONY Real Estate-Contractor
Tony
was one of thirteen children born January 23, 1903 in the village of Postira on
the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. At the age 17 he migrated to America and
like so many of the old timers his first job was washing dishes. It wasn't long
before he was a cook at Coffee Dans a very popular place in the 20's in old San
Francisco. Four days before his twentieth birthday he married his childhood
sweetheart Mary Kalasich at the Croatian
Church of The Nativity. Incidentally, Tony has attended the 11a.m. mass at our
church regularly for over sixty years and has passed the collection basket
there for many years. In the 20's there was a great deal of construction going
on in San Francisco and Tony became interested in this line of work. His first
job was as a hod carrier and then as a cement finisher. Tony and his partner
Tony Bell installed many sidewalks, driveways and patios in Westwood Park and
in the Mission District of San Francisco. He was to work on the construction of
Balboa High School and many of the downtown office buildings and hotels that
were being built in the early 30's. After dinner Tony was to change into his
private patrol uniform and police the business and residential areas of the
Ingleside, Ocean View, and Crocker Amazon Districts. In the 40's Tony became a
carpenter and then a foreman carpenter and worked on housing developments in
what today is San Lorenzo. Between his various trades and lines of work he had
a time to join the Slavonic Society originally in January 1930 but he was to
drop out for several years. On February 20, 1941 he joined again and has been
very active the past 44 years. He served as the Sick Committee Chairman and for
twenty five years was the manager of the Slavonic plot at Holy Cross Cemetery.
This was a far more important and active position in those days requiring exact
record keeping and constant attention. In the 1950's Tony became interested in
the Real Estate Brokerage Business and found time to attend night school to
acquire his Real Estate Brokers License, his Casualty Insurance license and a
General Building Contractors license. He operated Geneva Realty across from his present home in a small unique
building that his son designed. There was just room enough for two desks, a
phone and a file. He operate this successful business for some 18 years. On his
65th birthday Tony retired from his little office to give full attention to
Mary his ailing wife and to spend more time with Lorraine his daughter and John
his son and their families. Mary was to pass on in 1974.
JELOVICH, STANLEY Judge
Judge
Stanley Jelovich-Yelovich was a native of Lomita, California and a twenty year
resident of San Pedro. he was a municipal judge in the Torrance and San Pedro
courts for 17 years. he was a member of the American Judicature Society and the
California Judges Association. He died June 2, 1987 with services held at Mary
Star of the Sea Catholic church in San Pedro.
JERISICH, SAM Fisherman-Jerisich Park
Gig
Harbour is a small, picturesque maritime community. Nestled in the heart of
Puget Sound in the state of Washington, near the major urban centers of Tacoma,
Seattle, Bremerton and Olympia, it commands a breathtaking view of the Olympic
and Cascade mountain ranges. For much of its century-old history, fishing and
boat building have been the lifeblood of this closely-knit coastal community.
At one time Gig Harbour had one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the
Pacific Northwest. At the foot of Rosedale Street, in this historic part of
town, is a small park - the Jerisich
Park. It had been named after a Croatian fisherman Sam Jerisich who, along
with his family and two fishing partners, rowed down from Vancouver Island some
hundred and thirty years ago, to become the first white settlers in Gig
Harbour. In 1976, city fathers placed a cairn at the entrance to the park. The
text, carved in stone, reads: In 1867 Samuel Jerisich and two Vancouver Island
fishing partners arrived in Gig Harbour. They had rowed a flat-bottomed skiff
from British Columbia and like men of the Wilkes expedition 26 years before,
found shelter from the storm in the Harbour. The bay was to their liking and
thus they became the first white settlers. Farragut and Goldsmith later moved
on, but Samuel, his wife Anna, and family remained. It was not until 1883 that
other pioneers came. The family lived in a cabin on the east side before
building on the west side near the bay entrance. Jerisich, a fisherman, also
rendered dog fish oil and smoked fish, rowing his products to Steilacoom or
Olympia to sell. The fishing industry begun by this Dalmatian native, continues
to today through his and the descendants of other pioneers who settled in Gig
Harbour.
Who
was Samuel Jerisich? And how did he come to settle in Gig Harbour, thousands of
miles away from his native Dalmatia? The most popular destination points were
North and South America, Africa and Australia Sime Jerisic:, a young Dalmatian
sailor, set his eyes on the gold-rich state of California. Jerisic: was born in
1833, in Dalmatia. When the cry of
'Gold! Gold! Gold! come echoing out of California in 1848, interest in
California's gold quickly spread beyond its borders and by the end of that year
reached a fever pitch. A long list of ships were available in New York to carry
people to the land of wealth. It was an Austrian ship, which was plying the
waters from Europe via New York, to California. Our great-grandfather sailed
from Dalmatia on a sailing ship - which would be a freighter of sort at that
time - to New York, then round the Horn. It was a long haul from New York. He
sailed this same route, round the Cape and into California, the second time a
long haul, a couple of three years. The second trip he made he stayed in San
Francisco, since his ship was only San Francisco bound. This was in 1854. 1
don't know how long he stayed in San Francisco and what he did there, before
moving up the coast on another ship. The San Francisco Dalmatians were found in
a variety of businesses ranging from coffee saloons, restaurants, to fruit and
vegetable vendors, and wine merchants. Dalmatian pilots, captains, and mates,
were known for their mastery of the treacherous waters of the San Francisco Bay
and Delta waterways. 'We don't known what our great-grandfather did during his
four-year stay in San Francisco. What we do know, however, is that during his
stay in the city he changed his name from Croatian Simun Jerisic" to the
more American sounding Sam Jerisich, and that he left San Francisco and moved
up the coast, to Canada, when the gold was discovered there, in the 1860's.
In
1858, throughout California, the word spread like a brush-fire of the possible
gold rush, this one to the north, on the Fraser River, in British Columbia.
Among the many boats which entered Victoria harbour in 1861, the British
Colonist recorded the arrival of a brig, the Ivich, from San Francisco.
Captained by one Vacorsovich, possibly a Croatian, the vessel plied the waters
between San Francisco and Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, hauling coal. The 260
ton Ivich was registered at the port of Trieste, and carried a crew of nine
men. It was on one such cargo vessel from San Francisco that my
great-grandfather Sime came to Nanaimo. As far as I know, he jumped the ship there
to become a fisherman in Canada. The sea, channels, bays, rivers, and coastal
waters of Vancouver Island teemed with fish and marine life in an endless
variety; halibut, smelt, haddock and whiting, herring and herring spawn,
shrimps and prawns, trout, rock and link cod, oysters, dog fish, seals and sea
lions. A person with good knowledge of and respect for the sea could make a
decent living extracting these sea bounties from the Island waters. Sam
Jerisich wasted no time in entering the lucrative fishing business. He bought
himself a boat and took in two fishing partners. The decision to become a
fisherman was probably the most important decision he had made in his life.
When my great-grandfather came to Nanaimo, aboard a cargo vessel out of San
Francisco, he decided to go into fishing. That decision would change his life
forever. He would remain a fisherman for the rest of his life. He would fish up
and down the coast of Vancouver Island, and the whole Puget Sound. He fished
for salmon and was harvesting dogfish for oil. He was making a good living.
While in British Columbia, he married and started a family. Soon after, he
rowed his boat from Vancouver Island down here, to Gig Harbour, where he
settled with his family for good. His first home, a cabin, was right here
across the Bay, above the sand spit; my home looks right at it.
Jerisich's
first boat was a long, flat-bottomed skiff, built of well-seasoned cedar boards
and powered by sixteen-foot oars. Until his death, in 1905, at age seventy two,
the Dalmatian sailor turned fisher never used motors in his boats. He powered
them in the old fashioned way - by pure 'muscle' power. He and his two fishing
partners Petar Zlatarich (In English, Peter Goldsmith), a Croatian, and John
Farragut (also known as John Farrague), a Portuguese, took turns at rowing and
pulling in the catch. The nets were drawn in by 'muscle power', too. The trio
fished either from the harbour shore, rowing out to corral the fish and
returning to the beach to draw the nets in by hand, or by trolling with
hook-and-line, a method of fishing which was practiced by native fishermen in
virtually all areas of the North Pacific coast.
It is known that they often traded with the Indians and were frequent
guests at their ceremonies and potlatches. In the Gulf Islands, on Kuper
Island, Jerisic met his future wife, Anna (dimin. Annie). She was a full
blooded Indian from Kuper Island. Due to lack of ecclesiastical, civil, or
native evidence, the exact date of marriage between Anna Willesh Henemat and Samuel
Jerisich, can only be estimated. It had probably taken place on Kuper Island in
late 1866 or early 1867, that'is before the birth of their first child,
Caroline, in Victoria, on May 12,1867. Less than six months following the birth
of their daughter, the Jerisichs abruptly left Kuper Island for Gig Harbour, in
the Washington Territory. They settled on the west side of the bay in a one
room split-cedar board cabin. She maintained good and peaceful relations with
all her neighbors; a small tribe of Puyallup-NisquaIly Indians, who lived at
the head of the bay, in a village complete with a long house, and the two new
Slavic arrivals, John Novak and Joe Dorotich, who with their Indian wives
settled in the nearby Millville, now a part of Gig Harbour. The Jerisichs
prospered and, in time, the family grew. In the Tenth Census of the United
States for the Washington Territory, 1880, Samuel and Annie Jeresich are listed
as having five children, three boys (John, Michael, and Samuel Jr.), and two
girls (Caroline and Melissa). In the next decade, three more children, all
girls (Catherine, Julia and Mary), were added to the pioneering Jerisich
family. Samuel Jerisich, formerly known as Sime Jerisic, died in Gig Harbour,
in 1905. He was seventy-two years old. His wife, Anna, died in 1926, at the age
of eighty-two. Both are buried in the Artondale Cemetery, in the city which
they helped found.
JERKOVICH, GEORGE C Professor-Author
George
Jerkovich was born July 13, 1926 in Zastrazisce, Island of Hvar, Dalmatia,
Croatia; Parents are Juraj and Nika;
married with a daughter and son. Education includes Faculty of Philosophy,
University of Zagreb (1956); Alliance Francaise, Paris (1957); MA at Indiana
University, Bloomington (1959); MA (1965) and PhD (1970) at University of Kansas,
Lawrence. More important books published: A Thousand Years of Russian
Christianity (1988); My Hvar (1993); studies: The Life of St Nicolas (1992);
The Library's Slavic Collection (1966); works on the Life and work of J.
Krizanic 1-11 (1981, 1983). His experience covers bibliographer, teacher of
Croatian and Serbian language at Indiana University (1959-1962); bibliographer
and assistant professor at University of Kansas (1962-1968); head of Slavic
Department of Watson Library (1969-1979); professor of Soviet and East European
studies, Slavic languages and literature at University of Kansas (1979). Member
of American Association for the Advance of Slavic Studies; American Association
of University Professors.
JERKOVICH, NICK Fisherman
Nick
Jerkovich Jr.'s family has been fishing out of Gig Harbor, Washington since
early this century, fighting bad weather, struggling with decreasing stocks of
fish, competing with other fishermen. Jerkovich, 46, learned the purse-seining
trade from his father, who learned the trade from his father before him. It's
probably too soon to tell whether 17-year-old Nick Jerkovich III will follow in
his dad's footsteps. But don't bet against it. Things have a way of pretty much
staying the same in this cozy community nestled in an uncommonly beautiful
northwest corner of Pierce County. Sure, the fishing has changed. The salmon
aren't as easy to come by, says Jerkovich, who lives in the 65-year-old house
once owned by his grandfather. The patriarch chose Gig Harbor as the place he
wanted to carve out a new life after emigrating from Croatia. "My dad and
grandfather did almost all of their fishing in Washington and around the San
Juan Islands," says Jerkovich. "Now we roam everywhere from San Diego
to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. We spend very little fishing time in the state of
Washington." Gig Harbor's purse-seiners have had to diversify, too. Salmon
no longer are their exclusive prey. They go after halibut, herring, tuna, cod,
mackerel and other species. "We're down to about 16 or 17 boats. It
has been as high as 25 in my lifetime," says Jerkovich, who spends about
180 days a year fishing on his 58-foot Pacific Raider.
But
those differences aside, things haven't changed all that much in Gig Harbor
since fishermen Sam Jerisich, Peter Goldsmith and John Farrago left their homes
in Dalmatia and Portugal and became the community's first white settlers in
1867. There has been significant growth, but Gig Harbor still has the look,
feel and fresh salt-air smell of a small fishing village. And residents still
enjoy one of the finest views in the Puget Sound area. The calm waters of their
tiny harbor, with Mount Rainier towering in the background, have inspired
hundreds of thousands of photographs and postcards over the years.
JERKOVICH, NICKOLAS J. Fisherman
Nicholas
John Jerkovich Sr., was a commercial fisherman and lifelong resident of Gig
Harbor, Washington. He was born on May, 20, 1927 and passed away peacefully at
this home, Sunday, November 16, 2003. Known to his friends as "Brud,"
Nick was an active member of the fishing community for over 60 years. Nick
started fishing at the young age of 14. He fished from Alaska to California for
mackerel, herring, anchovies, squid, sardines and salmon, as well as dragged
for bottom fish. He built three boats, the "Nicky Lynn" and two
"Pacific Knights," owned the seiner "Favorite" and
skippered the "Sierra Madre" and "Glacier Bay." Nick passed
his love for fishing on to his son Nick Jr. and his grandsons. He enjoyed
having his entire family working together to prepare the boats each year. As
Nick always said, "My life is my family and fishing." He was a life
long member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, a charter member of St. Nicholas
Knights of Columbus Council 9238, Eagles Aerie 2809 and past board member of
the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association, current board member of the Seine
Vessels' Reserve, past president of the Gig Harbor Fisherman's Civic Club and
of the CFU Lodge 695. Nick was preceded in death by his parents, John and Mary
Jerkovich, his daughter Jane Wilma Jerkovich and his brother Thomas Jerkovich.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Patricia M. Jerkovich, his son Nick
Jerkovich, Jr. and wife Nancy; daughters Nancy L. Jerkovich and Julie Dahl and
her husband Byron; grandchildren Jill, Nickolas III and Marc Jerkovich; Haldor,
Anders, Gunnar and Kjersti Dahl; brother John Jerkovich and his wife Pat;
sister Mary Ellen Gilmour and husband Mark; uncle and aunt, Nick and Olga
Castelan of Walnut Creek, CA, sister-in-law Elvy Jerkovich of San Pedro, CA and
numerous nieces and nephews. (Jerkovich, P. 2004)
JERKOVICH, TONI Vineyard-Fisherman
Toni
Jerkovich was born in the village of Zatrazische on the Island Hvar, Croatia.
He was only nine years old when he came to America. He lived with his father in Bellington,
Washington, and then he moved to San
Pedro where he was helping his uncle
fishing. There he met Mary Curin, a nice American girl whose parents
were also from Hvar, from the village Gdinje. They moved to Kerman in 1921. They live and work
there on a farm, surrounded by their children, grandchildren and friends. They told us that more than 200
families native of Hvar and other Dalmatian counties live in Fresno vicinity.
Their family names are: Mateljan, Dulcich, Viskovich, Zupanovich, Santich,
Hure. They often meet together to talk, sing and play bocci. They grow on their
145 acre large vineyard "Thomson
Seedless" grapes. The whole crop is used in production of high-quality dry
grapes.
JEZIC, ZDRAVKO
Waterpolo-Chemist-Inventor
Zdravko
Jezic was born in Nis on August 17, 1931; parents Nikola and Julija; wife
Bozena J. and daughter and 2 sons. Education includes Technological Faculty,
University of Zagreb, BSc 1958; DSc in organic technology 1962. Author of
thirteen American patents and nine research works; Member American Chemical
Society; resides in Midland, Michigan.
Two Olympic Silver Medals 1952, 1956; second place at EP twice 1950, 1958;
third place at EP (1954); played for
national team 113 times as member AVK Youth. Enlisted in International
Waterpolo Hall of Fame 1981.
JONCICH, GERALDINE M. Professor
Geraldine
Joncich is a Professor of Education at the University of California, Berkeley,
California. Born April 17, 1931 of Croatian parents in San Pedro, California.
Education includes University of California, Los Angeles, California, A.B.,
1954; M.Ed., 1957. Columbia University, New York, N.Y., Ed. D., 1961 with a
major field in History of American Education and Social and intellectual
history of American public education since the Civil War. Thesis completed 1961
"Science, Psychology, and Education: An Interpretive Study of Edward L.
Thorndike's Place in the Scientific Movement in American Education,"
Columbia University. Member of Phi Beta Kappa; American Historical Association;
American Studies Association; Comparative Education Society; History of
Education Society.
JONCICH, NICK Fisherman
My
grandfather, Andrew Lubetich was born in Sutivan, Brac, and island village not
far from the city of Split, Croatia. My grandmother, Tonino, was also born
there. They had four children; Jerry, Maria (my mother), Domina, and Cannan. My
grandfather came to the United States in the late 1890's by himself, leaving
his family in Croatia. He settled in a little village called Clifton, near Astoria,
Oregon. It was a village with many Croatians from the islands off of Split. All
of the men were gillnet fishermen. Everyone saved their money, what little they
made, so they could bring their families to America.
My
uncle Jerry was the first of the family come over. My mother Maria was next to
arrive at Ellis Island in March of 1911. She could not speak any English, so
she would use her hands to express herself She told of someone trying to feed
her a banana and she thought they were trying to poison her. At seventeen years
of age my mother arrived in Clifton, Oregon. My grandfather had already picked
out a husband for her by the name of Nick Mardesich; but my mother fell in love
with Nick Joncich, my father.
My
father was born in Komiza, island of Vis, Croatia. his father's name was John
and his mother's name was Vizanza. My father was from a family of six children.
Two of them died in childhood. My father along with his brother, Jack, came to
the United States when he was 14 years old. They settled in Clifton, Oregon and
"Bingo!" he met and married my mother. Mother and Father brought six
children into this world. Me, Winifred Rose: born August 17, 1912; Johny, born
March 6, 1914; Minnie Pearl, born November 2 1, 1916; and Andrew (Babe), born
August 18, 1919. We had two sisters that died in their first year of life. My
parents moved to Tacoma, Washington so my father could fish in Puget Sound. I
remember I was 12 years old, November 1924 at 2:00 a.m. our house caught fire
and if it wasn't for my brother Johnny calling out to my mother, we probably
would have all died in the fire. We moved to Everett, Washington on December 6,
1924. We moved there, with the few things we had saved from the fire, in my
father's fishing boat. We didn't have any furniture so we had to sleep on the
floor. I remember it being very cold and there was a snow storm. Growing up was
hard. There were a lot of times that we didn't have much food and only the
clothes on our backs. But Mom was a wonderful mother and took good care of us.
She was a wonderful cook and baker. She would get up early in the morning to
prepare meals for us kids, do the household chores and then wash clothes in a
tub. These were the depression years and my father would be gone most of the
time trying to make some money in the fishing industry. My father was the
strictest person I have ever known. For us kids, it was "do it his way or
else".
I
met my husband, Andrew Mardesich of Bellingham, in February of 1932. The first
time I ever saw him was when I spotted him at church. I went home and asked my
brothers who he was. He mysteriously showed up at our home that afternoon to
visit my brothers. We dated secretly for about six months because my father did
not approve of my dating. Then some fishermen sitting behind us spotted us in a
theater and the word got out. In August, while Andy was out fishing he heard
that another Croatian fisherman wanted to marry me. As soon as the boat got to
the cannery to unload in Port Townsend, he called me long distance and asked me
to many him. He told me he wanted an answer, yes or no, as soon as he got back
to the dock in Everett. I said yes and we were married on November 21, 1932. No
long engagements in those days - and that was the custom. I have a wonderful
daughter Jeanne, three super grandchildren, Andy, and Tish and two outstanding
greatgrandchildren Felicia and Alex. By: Winnie Joncich Mardesich. (Sleasman
2000)
JORDAN, ANDREW and JOSEPH Goldmine-Sheepherder-Grocery
Andrew
Jordan, a Los Angeles pioneer of 1869, was listed as being an Austrian. It is
known he was a partner with Nikola Bieladenovich and Andrew Bujan in the
Illyrian Gold and Silver Mining Company of 1863. This venture was organized in
the San Domingo District of Calaveras County with a capitalization of $60,000.
The writer could state with some certainty that he was a Dalmatian by virtue of
his association with Bieladenovich and Bujan and the use of Illyrian in the
mining title. The name Jordan is found in the district of Dubrovnik and in
Istria, Croatia. Andrew was a grocer in Los Angeles and married a South
American girl and had one daughter, Victoria. Joseph Jordan, probably his
brother, was a stock raiser of sheep in Los Angeles in 1870. He had a family of
three and his wife was an American from Kentucky. He was an American citizen
and mined gold in Amador County in 1859.
JOVANOVICH CLAN Fishing Supply-Teacher
JOHN
JOVANOVICH: John is Tony's brother so their background is the same except that
John was born in Centerville, Iowa (There are eight Jovanovich siblings it
should be mentioned. All are members of Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge 439 in
Seattle, Washington. Following service in Korea during the war, John worked
several years as a private building contractor. Thirty years ago he founded
"Jovanovich Supply" specializing in fishing nets and equipment. The
company made a monumental contribution to the Croatian relief effort during the
recent war by allowing the lodge to use their premises as a staging area for
the dispatch of 19 containers of provisions.
TONY
JOVANOVICH: Betty's husband Tony was also born in Roslyn -- again with both
parents immigrating from Mrkopalj, Croatia Tony’s father, Fred Jovanovich, also
worked some in the mines, but made his principal living as a baker. The family
moved to Seattle during World War 11. Following duty in Korea, Tony obtained
his teaching certificate and embarked on a career specializing in industrial
arts. After retirement he put his skills to work in constructing a beautiful
second home at Lake Cle Elum near Roslyn, Washington. Tony is a fifty year
member of the Croatian Fraternal Union.
BETTY
JOVANOVICH: Betty was born in Roslyn, WA where her father Mirko Pavlich, a
native of MrkopaIj, Croatia was a coal miner. Her mother Ann's family came from
Delnice. In 1935 Betty's family moved to the Earlington Hill district of
Renton, Washington which has been her primary area of residence ever since.
When she turned 18 she was encouraged by her uncle, lodge president Sam
Mikulich, "to get involved." Fifty years have passed but Betty is
still "involved" -working in the kitchen at our annual picnics. She
retired from the Renton School District where she worked as an instructional
aide. Betty is a 50 year member of the Croatian Fraternal Union.
JOVANOVICH, JOHN State Legislature-Fisherman-Business
The
name John Jovanovich received considerable public aclaim in the Seattle media
recently as a result of John's successful campaign for a seat in the Washington
State Legislature. But within a smaller circle, particularly those associated
with the Croatian community and the fishing industry, John's name and activity
have long been familiar. This familiarity stems from his work in the Croatian
Fraternal Union Lodge, in the Seattle Junior Tamburitzans" parent group
and as an independent businessman-first as a builder and since 1970, as the
proprietor of the Jovanovich Supply Co., an outlet for commercial fishing
equipment from California to Alaska.
John,
48, is the fourth of seven sons of Fred and Mary (Mataya) Jovanovich who hail
from Mrkopalj, Croatia. Preceding John in order were, Frank, P'red Jr. and Jack
while Tony, Joe and Larry came later-Larry with his twin sister. Mary Ann, the
only girl in the family. Mary Ann, now Mrs. Anthony Marinich, is presently
manager of Croatian Fraternal Union Nest 220. The travel of the senior
Jovanovichs is depicted by the birthplaces of their children-Frank was born in
Mrkopalj, Fred Jr. in Vancouver, B.C.; Jack in Missouri; John in Iowa and Tony,
Joe, Larry and Mary Ann in Roslyn, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jovanovich Sr.
celebrated their 55th Wedding Anniversary in 1978. They reside comfortably in
retirement in their South Seattle home.
John
Jovanovich moved from Roslyn to Seattle in 1943 and following his graduation
from Highline High School in 1948, he spent a couple of years in the Army,
including a 13-month stint in Korea during that war. Returning home, John
married his personable wife, Joanne and launched his career as a carpenter and
eventually as a builder. He pursued this livelihood for nearly 20 years,
acquiring a reputation as an excellent craftsman and a 100 per-cent honest
businessman. In 1969, looking for a little change of pace, he took a fling at
commercial fishing in Alaska. During this venture, he encountered what he
thought were questionable arrangements between the distributors of commercial
fishing gear. Determined to do something about it, John tracked down untapped
sources of supplies and set up the Jovanovich Supply Co. Today, the company is
a major supplier of netting materials, twine and related materials up and down
the West Coast. Brother Jovanovich's entry into the political arena is another
example of his determination to get things done. Unhappy with the local school
board's policies, he competed for a position on the board in 1976, only to be
defeated. Undaunted, however, he raised his sights this past year and ended up
being elected on the Democratic ticket as a state legislator from south
Seattle’s 31st District. Predicably, his primary interests are school funding
and natural resources management policies-particularly fisheries.
John
Jovanovich joined the Croatian Fraternal Union in 1950, being first affiliated
with Harmony Lodge 764 and then moving over to Lodge 439 when the two merged in
1965. He has always been active in Lodge work, particularly o n the
entertainment committee which he served as chairman for a year or two in in he
early 1970’s. You'd have to go back quite a few years to recall a Lodge picnic
when John wasn't cutting and dispensing barbecued lamb. The Jovanovichs have
four sons Steve, 23, Tim, 21, George, 18 and Tom, 15. Each, like their parents,
is a member of the Croatian Fraternal Union. Strapping lads to say the least,
each if the older three boys wrestled in the heavyweight or light -heavyweight
divisions in high school, Tom will most certainly follow, next year. Following
three years of specialized training in Baltimore, Maryland, Steve recently
obtained his papers as a marine engineer. Each of the older three boys is a
commercial fisherman. In concluding this profile. mention must be made that
John and Joanne are charter members of the Seattle Junior Tamburitzans' parents
group. dating back to 1970. There is rarely an event that goes by-concert,
fundraiser or a group party-but what the couple will be pitching in to help.
Here again, their activity relates to the involvement of their sons-Tim on the
bass, George, bugarija and Tom on the brac or bass. The boys have also
performed in the Group"s combo, "'Sasavi Becari" (Crazy
Playboys) and Tim has contributed tremendously with his accordions. and
excelling with the button box as well.
JOVIC, ANTHONY New York Fireman
In
those first weeks after Lt. Anthony Jovic disappeared with other members of
Engine Co. 279 at the World Trade Center,
his wife, Cynthia, concentrated on being strong for his two boys, Matthew, 10,
and Peter, 9. So she had a little psychological trick she played on herself to
keep going. I'd say, ‘He's working today. He's going to come home tonight,'”
she recalled. That night it would be, ‘OK, he's working tonight, he's going to
come home tomorrow.' Every day I'd tell myself the same thing.” It was because
Cynthia Jovic can't imagine morning coffee without her husband of 16 years, a
big kidder and hugger-and-kisser who never got through a day without several
times telling her and the boys he loved them. The son of a Croatian
longshoreman who grew up in Hell's Kitchen, Jovic, 39, impressed all his
friends as being smart enough to win the big one on “Jeopardy!” The couple met
in Manhattan, when he was working at a butcher shop on Ninth Avenue and she,
also a Croatian immigrant and longshoreman's daughter, was working at a deli
nearby. When a cousin suggested they all
go to an Irish pub in New Hyde Park, Jovic drove to pick her up in Manhattan in
the most formal manner, allowing plenty of time to chat first with her mother
and father at the house. For her old-fashioned European parents, his wife said,
“it was love at first sight.” For the couple, too. They married 2 1/2 years
later. Jovic joined the city fire department 12 years ago, about the time the
family moved from Elmhurst to Massapequa Park. He was aiming high, and once he
made lieutenant was already spending every free day he could find to prepare
for the captain's exam, which he would have taken in October. When not working
or studying, it was miniature golf, bowling, and lots of swimming with the
family in the backyard pool. They were so close, she could finish his sentences
for him. “We were the happiest when we were together,” she said. Cynthia Jovic
was watching CNN on Sept. 11; she knew it was bad, because her husband was
working with the company in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that day. “When that tower came
down, his soul went right through me. I knew it then, he just went through me
and I knew he was gone,” she said. His burned and mangled shield turned up in
the south tower in November, shortly before a memorial service was held, but no
remains have been identified. The memory of that moment has become a source of
warmth and comfort lately, now that it's no longer possible for her to pretend
her husband is coming home tonight, or tomorrow morning, or the next day. Now,
Cynthia Jovic knows, he's with her and the kids all the time. “He always told me, ‘Every time they take an
ID picture, I try to look nice, because you never know when they might be using
it for a memorial.' I'll be honest with you, I think he looks wonderful in the
picture that they have of him.”
JOVICK, ANTON Artist
Anton
Jovick was born Anton Jovanovich in Krasnica near Ledenice in Croatia on
December 23, 1896. His formal training as an artist began in 1957 when he
enrolled in black and white portraiture under Professor Ugo Graziotti, the
famous Italian sculptor and painter, formerly of San Francisco. Mr. Jovick's
training in oils came from Arthur Palmer, the San Francisco portrait artist.
Mr. Jovick works mostly from black and white and color photographs. His
favorite subjects are peasants and oldsters whom he considers to be superb
character studies. In the past years., he has had three one man shows and has
exhibited widely in the Bay Area. He has received several awards. Mr. Jovick is
a member of the Society of Western Artists and in December, 1974, received the
Society's highest honor. In February, 1975, Mr. Jovick's photos of his original
oil portraits, and his resume were accepted by the National Gallery of Fine
Arts, 8th and C Streets, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., 20012, Room
256, to be placed in the gallery's files for possible use of his originals in
future exhibits. In February, 1978, photos of Mr. Jovick's original oil
portraits were accepted by Governor Jerry Brown's office of the State of
California to be placed in a file of artists being considered to paint a
portrait of the governor in the future. Mr. Jovick received a Proclamation in
August, 1978, from the late Mayor George Moscone in recognition of his artistic
accomplishments and commending him for his splendid contributions to the City
of San Francisco. In January, 1981, he also received a Proclamation from Mayor
Dianne Finestein, City of San Francisco. In September of 1978, he received a
letter from Governor Jerry Brown commending him for his dedication to painting
and his contribution to the timeless body of art. Mr. Jovick's biographical
record appears in the Who's Who in the West Seventeenth Edition 1980/1981, and
also in Who's Who in Art - Nineteenth Edition, 1980, Great Britain. Among Mr.
Jovick's clients is the Bing Crosby family. A portrait of Bing Crosby by the
artist now hangs in the Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Crosby's
Alma Mater.
JUGOVICH, PETE
Mariner-Fisherman-Military
Typical
of the New York arrival was eighteen year old Pete Jugovich, who left his
native town of Bol, on the Dalmatian island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia where he
was born in 1895. He sailed around the world several times in ships which were
infested with cockroaches, harsh captains, indifferent men, and intolerable
living conditions. Approaching New York Harbor, he made a difficult decision.
Drawing upon all his courage, he silently dressed, carefully layering all the
clothingle owned on his lean 6-2" frame. With downcast eyes, so no one
could read the fear they held, he walked off the ship and into the night. The
year was 1913. He sought out men who had come from his home town in the local
boarding houses. Having secured a home base, he set out each morning to look
for work, a shovel over his shoulder and a smile on his face. The cities of the
East were built by men like Pete who were physically able, willing to work at
any job, and eager to please and prove themselves. When he had earned enough
money both to send home and to buy a train ticket, he traveled to Washington
State where fellow countrymen had gone before him.
He
sought shelter in a boarding house in Old Town, Tacoma. Fishing was the
livelihood of most of the Croatians in the area, so, after jobs in the local
sawmills, he looked toward the sea. When the First World War was declared, he
was one of the firstCroatians to be called to serve his adopted country. Upon
discharge from the army, Pete obtained his U.S. citizenship. Fishing was
reported to be more profitable in California, so San Pedro became his home for
three short years, where he fished and made many lifelong friends. He soon
discovered that there was only one place he wanted to live and that was the
Pacific Northwest.
There
were some parents who had opposed letting their sons leave home in Europe.
Those who ventured forth from such homes could not be of faint heart but men of
determination and purpose, for the fainting of mothers and the weeping of
fathers who felt they would never see their sons again was almost too much to
bear. The memory of those partings and the need to prove himself sustained many
an adventurer for years. Pete Jugovich had left such a family, and throughout
the years did what he could to ease their burden. Most European families did
not understand that it was practically impossible for immigrants to return
home, for they barely made a living wage. The desire to sponsor brothers,
sisters, relatives, and friends was there, but the funds were not. During the
Depression, although he himself had a wife and two small children, Pete still
managed to bring a nephew to America to live with him. Later two more nephews
were to come. He was the only member of his immediate family of parents, six
sisters, and one brother to emigrate to America. (Some eventually settled in
South America.) He never forgot them; he wrote, he sent funds, but, because of
financial and later physical impossibilities, he was never to see them or his
native land again. He never bemoaned the fact, for he knew that this was where
he belonged. Typical of those who become successful citizens, Pete Jugovich
became an exceptional fisherman, captain, boat owner, and a leader of his
people. His interests were diversified and his friends came from all walks of
life. An avid reader and a student of history, he taught himself the language
and instilled a love for learning in his children. Some Settled in Eatonville.
JURACH, JOHN Restaurant
Many features of life in the city of Sacramento contribute
to make the California capital an earthly paradise, but none gives greater
comfort than the Peacock Cafe, at 1020 Sixth Street, one of the best-appointed
and best conducted restaurants anywhere in the Golden State. Its proprietor is John Jurach, a native of
Islan of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia, who was born on May 22, 1878, the son a
captain of a sailing vessel. In 1901 he came to the United States and washed
dishes in a restaurant at Denver; and later he worked as both a waiter and a
cook. With two partners, he ran a cafe
in Denver, on Laurimer Street, for thirteen months; and in 1904 he came to
California. He worked in a cafe in San
Jose. After the big fire in 1906, he ran
a small cafe in a shanty at the corner of Kearny and California Streets, San
Francisco and later he conducted a restaurant opposite the Phelan Building, at
the corner of Grant Avenue and O’Farrel Street.
After that, he was proprietor of the Plaza Cafe, at Mason and O’Farrel
Streets. Going to Sacramento in 1910, he opened a small place on Third Street,
between J and K and Streets, originally called the Mississippi Kitchen and one
of the oldest places in the city, and later known as the Lounge Restaurant; and
in 1912 he removed to his present place on Sixth Street. At Sacramento on October 9, 1913, Mr. Jurach
was married to Miss Minnie Valerio of Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia a lady
with special gifts which have enabled her to become the best of helpmates and a
most invaluable companion to her ambitious husband.
JURACOVICH, A. G. Dentist-Professor
Doctor A. G. Juracovic was born in Zivogvosce,
Makarska, Croatia; father Joseph and mother Franka. He finished three years of
grammar school in his birthplace. Upon arriving to New Orleans, Louisiana he
continued his schooling. After he finished high school he enrolled in
Pharmaceutical School and graduated in
1915. He worked in the hospital and stayed there until 1920. The same year he enrolled in University
and graduated 1924. From 1924 to 1930 he was a professor at Loyola
University. He was married in 1924 to Dolly, the daughter of Bautovich, a very
prominent businessman. They had two children. In 1930 Dr. Juracovich opened a
dental office in New Orleans, and was very well known among Croatians in New
Orleans. He was the member of American Dental Association, Louisiana State
Pharmaceutical Association, Slavonian Society.
JURENOVICH, JEROME Sports News TV
Jerome
Jurenovich is a sports anchor for Headline News. Jurenovich is responsible for
reporting, producing and broadcasting sports segments at:20 and :50 after the
hour. He occasionally provides sports reports for CNN International (CNNI).
Jurenovich joined CNN in 1987. Before joining Headline News, CNN, Jurenovich
worked as a sports anchor at WSEE-TV, the CBS affiliate in Erie Pa. He began
his career in sports television as a videotape editor for WABC-TV in New York,
N.Y. In 1981, Jurenovich received a bachelor's degree in communication arts
from Gannon University in Erie, Penn.
JURICH, PETER Peace Corps-Teacher
At
the veterans' bar in Yurich's hometown of Oak Creek, Colorado, men his age line
up at the counter, griping about the stock market and their medical woes.
Yurich, a 66-year-old former fifth-grade teacher, has no time for either. He's
traveling and toiling in his 14th year in the Peace Corps, and overturning
perceptions of aging, gender roles and education. He's a child of Croatian
immigrants who has lived in eight countries and acutely understands America's
place in the world. He bakes Easter bread that he shares with neighbors, and in
his right bicep sports a tattoo of his initials which he got in the fifth
grade. His face flushes crimson when he laughs his playful laugh.
While
the Peace Corps is often associated with adventurers fresh out of college, many
older Americans also volunteer, bringing with them a lifetime of work and
wisdom. They're past retirement age and their children are grown. Healthier and
freer than seniors of earlier eras, they're too vigorous and curious to settle
for being old. Describing the scene at the VFW bar in Oak Creek, a small former
mining town in the mountains of northwestern Colorado, Yurich said, ''I just
couldn't handle that. I don't fit in there.''Instead, he's on his sixth Peace
Corps assignment, in this small former Soviet republic in the Caucasus
Mountains. Every morning, he walks to work at Vanevan University, a tiny
teachers' college that closes for the winter because it has no heat and retains
a gnawing chill well into April. He walks past a defunct lamp factory and
shuttered shops that testify to Armenia's economic decline over the past
decade, blamed on the collapse of Soviet-era infrastructure and a 1988-94 war
with neighboring Azerbaijan. He finds his name on the class schedule, a mass of
squiggly Armenian script, and sets to teaching several subjects in English.
Yurich may be the only man in Martuni who does his own laundry, washing it by
hand in the bathtub as his female neighbors do, in an apartment lucky to have
running water an hour a day. In a narrow kitchen lined with pictures of his
four children, he prepares vegetables and noodles from the farmers' market. On
a broken stove on his concrete balcony he's collecting empty vodka bottles for
crafts. His living arrangement in Armenia, he says, is more comfortable than
his previous Peace Corps stints: the Philippines in Southeast Asia, the Pacific
island nation of Kiribati, and Liberia, Namibia and Lesotho in Africa.
Psychologically, however, Armenia is tougher.
''In
Africa, they were very receptive to new technologies. But here they were used
to a higher level of education and financial security. It's very hard for them
to accept the deterioration,'' he said. The Armenian language barrier is also
formidable. His thick gray brows furrow when he gurgles out the guttural
consonants, which he has learned to read in his nine months here but still
struggles to pronounce. ''The younger volunteers pick up the language faster,''
he said. ''I'm trying not to let that bother me too much.'' Yurich is no stranger to languages. He was
born the fifth of six children to a Slovenian mother and Croatian father. His
father spoke only Croatian at home and in the Colorado coal mines where he
worked with other immigrants.
Yurich
then served in the U.S. Army in Augsburg, Germany, where he met and married his
sweetheart Rita. When they returned to Oak Creek in the 1960s, Yurich was so
concerned about their children's schooling, he said, ''Everyone told me to get
a teaching degree or shut up. So I did.'' In 1987, divorced and with grown
children, he saw an ad for the Peace Corps on late night television and called
the Denver recruiting office. He's now their star volunteer. His family has
cheered his adventurousness, but the last few months have highlighted the
hardship of living across the planet from loved ones. In February, his
10-year-old grandson Zachary died of leukemia. In March, his brother-in-law
died. And in April, his daughter Martina bore her first child, daughter Dakota.
Yurich learned of the birth several days later, when he journeyed to Armenia's
capital, Yerevan, to check his e-mail. ''I miss him. But I'm just thrilled for
him. He has so much to give,'' Martina Yurich said from her home in Anchorage,
Alaska. ''In Oak Creek people thought he was nuts,'' she said. ''Now they look
forward to his letters. He's very good at writing letters - you get the feeling
that you're there.''
JURISICH, LUKE King of
Oysters
Oyster fishing has long been the
traditional occupation among Dalmatian, Croatians in Plaquemines Parish,
particularly oyster fishing. Croatians are credited with developing the state's
commercial oyster industry, and Luke Jurisich, who settled at Bayou Creek in
1855, is often called the father of Croatian oyster fishing in Louisiana. In the mid 1840s, Dalmatian immigrants
moved to Louisiana and began fishing for oysters in the rich waters adjacent to
the Mississippi River below New Orleans. Through careful observation and years
of experience, the fishermen realized that an abundance of oysters grew on the
eastern side of the river. They also began moving oysters from overcrowded
reefs on the east side to areas on the west side where salinity was more
favorable, current more steady, and food was plentiful. These oysters grew to a
more round-oval shape, matured quicker, and developed tastier meat. The
oystermen gather the seed oysters, plant them in a favorable spot, allow the
seed to grow into mature, market-size oysters, and harvest the crop. Louisiana Croatians settled
in or near Plaquemines Parish fishing communities like Olga, Empire, Buras, and
Port Sulphur. Fishing families in Louisiana often spent much of the year in
camps, which were built on posts driven into the marsh. The women might move to
New Orleans or Empire so that their children could attend school. The oyster
industry has undergone many changes in the last sixty years. Some older men
like "Captain Pete" Vujnovich remember first-hand the life in the
oyster camps and describe the transition from tonging oysters to dredging and
the move from shovels to water pumps in seeding oyster beds. Fishing vessels
have changed from wooden boats to fiberglass or aluminum boats and have become
much more comfortable. Although fishing techniques and equipment have changed,
men still make and repair their dredge nets by hand; as one says, "We all
have to know it." Other occupational skills include building a reef,
seeding oysters, operating a dredge, and oyster shucking. Oysters are now
fished year-round, since they can be kept longer with refrigeration. Some
Plaquemines Parish fishermen like the Vujnovichs once brought their oysters to
market at the wharves in New Orleans, but today refrigerated trucks pick them
up at the dock. (Vujnovich 1974) (Pausina 1970)
JURISICH, JOSEPH M. Oyster Dealer
Joseph
M. Jurisich, for some years a prominent
and well-known factor in the oyster industry of New Orleans, is junior member
of the firm of Popich and Jurisich with general offices and headquarters at
1039 Toulouse Street. This large wholesale oyster house was established in 1932
and has grown to large proportions with quantities of oysters being shipped
throughout each season to all sections of the South. John Popich is the senior
member of the firm and both men are thoroughly experienced and practical oyster
men. The partners have a good sized oyster fleet, comprising one lugger and two
smaller craft, together with a number of smaller boats used in gathering
oysters from their beds in Grand Bayou, Plaquemines Parish. Joseph Mitchell Jurisich
was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the twentieth of January, 1909, a son of
the late John Jurisich, a native of Croatia who came to the United States, with
his three brothers at the age of fourteen, and Contecella (Fredercio) Jurisich,
who passed away in 1918. The father of Mr. Jurisich was also engaged in the
oyster business for some years and at the time of his death in 1924 was the
owner of a restaurant in New Orleans. Mr. Jurisich was, educated in the New
Orleans school, graduating from Warren Easton High School, and after completing
his studies worked as a tile setter for four years prior to the establishment
of his wholesale oyster business in 1932. On the eleventh of March. 1928. Mr.
Jurisich was married to Miss Leonie Eouver, a native of Oxford, England, who
came to the United States with her parents at the age of six months. Mr. and
Mrs. Jurisich have their home at 1457 Miro Street and are the parents of three
children, John Eugene, born the twenty seventh of January, 1929; Eugene Emile,
born May 11th, 1935, and Mildred Bettie, born the twenty-fifth of November,
1939. Mr. Jurisich is an active and aggressive young business man and is also
well-known in the civic circles of New Orleans. He is a member of the Slavonian
Benefit Society and for recreation enjoys hunting and boating.
JURJEVICH, ANTHONY S.
Postmaster-Mercantile Business-Military
Anthony
S. Jurjevich is a son of the first postmaster at Olga in Plaquemines Parish and
today is filling the place first occupied by his late father when the local
post office was established on the twenty-third of May, 1901. Mr. Jurjevich
also has a large mercantile es tablishment at Olga and is one of the best known
and most popular citizens of this thriving Plaquemines parish community.
Anthony S. Jurjevich was born in Plaquemines Parish on the twenty-fourth of
January, 1894, a son of Stephan Jurjevich, a native of Croatia. His father came
to the United States at the age of twenty one and settled in Louisiana where
for some years he fished for oysters, utilizing old fashioned methods which
frequently necessitated diving overboard to recover the oysters singly. In 1884
when he was around thirty-five years of age, the elder Jurjevich started in the
mercantile business which he continued to operate until a few years prior to
his death in 1933 at the age of eighty-four. Mr. Jurjevich was educated in the
local schools and worked for his father in the latter's store at Olga and in
1917 took over active management of the business and also served as postmaster
until his enlistment in the United States Army on the thirtieth of September,
1917. Mr. Jurjevich trained at Camp Beauregard and was assigned to the
thirty-ninth division and in May, 1918, sailed for Europe, landing in
Liverpool, England, on the twenty-third of June, 1918, later going to France
where he saw active service until the signing of the Armistice. Mr. Jurjevich
was selected to go with the army of occupation in Germany where he remained
until mid-summer of the following year. Returning to the United States Mr.
Jurjevich received his honorable discharge early in August and reached his home
at Olga after nearly two years service on the fifteenth of August, 1919. Mr.
Jurjevich immediately resumed his place in the mercantile business and was
again appointed postmaster at Olga on the twenty-fifth of September, 1920. On
the fourth of July, 1930, Mr. Jurjevich was married to Miss Louise Ruth Wagner
of New Orleans. Mr. and Mrs. Jurjevich are the parents of a daughter, Ruth Ama
Melba Jurjevich, born November 1, 1935. Mr. Jurjevich has long occupied a
prominent place in the civic life of Olga. He is a member. of the National
League of District Postmasters, is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars,
John Dibert Post No. 351 and is a communicant of the Catholic faith.
JURJEVICH, JOSEPH Mercantile
Business-Packet Boat-Police Jury
Joseph
Jurjevich, for more than a score of years an outstanding civic leader of
Plaquemines Parish, is also one of the most successful and widely known
businessmen of Olga where with his brother, Anthony Jurjevich, he owns the
grocery and general merchandise store established many years ago by their
father. This business was formerly operated by the father and sons jointly and
was taken over by the two brothers following the death of their father a few
years ago. During recent years Mr. Jurjevich also has been interested in the
construction of the new packet boat, "New Majestic," which was
launched on the fifteenth of June, 1940. The New Majestic plies between New
Orleans and Burwood and Port Eads, Louisiana, and carries a crew of six, not
including ten roustabouts or helpers. The boat is eighty-six feet in length,
twenty two feet and ten inches in width and has a gross tonnage of 101 and a
net tonnage of thirty-seven tons. Joseph Jurjevich was born in Plaquemine
Parish, Louisiana, on the ninth of August, 1898, a son of Stephen Jurjevich and
Martha (Purgley) Jurjevich, whose father was a native of Croatia. His father
came to the United States as a young man and worked in the rice fields and
oyster beds of southern Louisiana and also at Fort St. Philip and later owned
and operated the store at Olga now conducted by his sons. On the twenty-first
of August, 1918, Mr. JurJevich was married to Miss Ethel L. Flick, a native of
New Orleans and daughter of Emile Flick, a former well-known baker of the
Crescent City who died in 1940. Mr. and Mrs. Jurjevich have two children,
Leander, born the twenty-eighth of December, 1930, now attending the
Annunciation School in New Orleans, and Joseph E. Jurjevich, born
twenty-seventh of July, 1936. Mr. Jurjevich is a member of the United Slavonian
Benevolent Society and for four years served as president of the Grand Prairie
Levee District during the administration of Governor Parker. He has been a
member of the Plaquemine Police Jury for sixteen years and in the elections of
1940 was named to succeed himself for a four-year term beginning the
twenty-fifth of May, 1940. He also is president of the Grand Prairie Levee
Board and has filled this place continuously for twelve years or more.
JURJEVICH, LEANDER S. Levee
Inspector-Military
Born
in Olga, Louisiana, Leander S. Jurjevich was named after Leander Perez. He was
raised in Olga, and educated in New Orleans and Buras. He served two years in
the U.S. Army, during which time he was stationed in Fulda, Germany where he
met and married a German girl. A second generation American, he speaks English
and a little German which he learned from his wife. He has three daughters, one
of whom he adopted in Germany. He was 34 years old in 1965. He works for the
Parish as a levee inspector.
JURJEVIC,(VLAHOVIC), NINA Croatian
Activities-Real Estate
Nina
was born and educated in Zagreb, Croatia and completed higher education in
Oakland, California. She is married to
Ante Jurevic and has two children and three grandchildren. Nina has been
involved in the Croatian community since her arrival in the States in 1958, and
was the first speaker for the Croatian Radio Program in San Francisco. Nina has
been in the real estate business for 15 years and is a Certified Residential
Specialist. Nina has served the Croatian Scholarship Fund as an active Board
member for eight years and has been instrumental to CSF on many levels. Her
talents and energy are immeasurable.
JURKOVIC, JOHN Football
John
Jurkovic, signed in March 1999, by the Cleveland Browns to a three year
contract worth $3,45 million, is a son of Croatian immigrants. He was born in
West Germany in 1967 where his parents came after leaving Croatia. Their next
country was U.S. and John grew up in Illinois, playing football at Eastern
Illinois University. Prior to Cleveland Browns, his NFL playing experience was
with Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars where he had a devoted
following. His immigrant parents worked hard to create a life in this country
while John and his brother Mirko attended college on a football scholarship,
making their parents proud of their success.
JURKOVICH, BOB Concrete Business
Nina
Jurkovich was born to Visko and Kate
Tomicich Zaninovich. She married Bob Jurkovich, who was in the concrete pipe
business in Porterville, California.
Nina had three sons- George (b. 1925), Vincent (b. 1927) and Pete (b.
1934). Nina came to the United States when she was 24 years old and met and
married Bob Jurkovich a year or so later. One of the most memorable
events when we were growing up were the visits with Mother’s cousins- the
Mandicini, John & Dome Zaninovich (Reedley), Bob & Madica Papac (Del
Rey), and Mike and Pera Pavlovich (Fresno).
We would travel to their homes and spend the whole day and have lunch
and dinner. Mom and Dad would invite our cousins and friends for lunch
and dinner, and we would spend the whole day visiting and having a good time.
We did this about two times a month. My mother’s aunt Doma Zetz
(Sacramento), and her daughter Ann spent a week at our home every year. As a
young boy growning up, I remember that my folks always had a big vegetable
garden, a milk cow, and a goat that everyone was afraid of. We had lots of
chickens, rabbits and pigeons; it was our job to take care of the animals and
garden when we got home from school. My mother made sure my brothers and I went
to church every Sunday, and that we graduated from St. Ane’s School
in Porterville. I think the most memorable time, as a young boy growing
up, was the three weeks each summer by brothers, mother, and I spent in Morro
Bay. I remember my mother as being deeply religious and always having a happy
disposition. Nina was born on November 14, 1899, and passed away on April 29,
1956. Vincent Jurkovich, son.
JURKOVICH, GEORGE Military
George
Jurkovich, Rm3/c USN, Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941,
Eyewitness Report: This account of the events I recall of the morning of
December 7th, 1941 is presented without the benefit of any previous notes,
which could have provided a more detailed description. Only the events which
impacted me the most, remain in my memory after nearly six decades.
After
attending the Fleet Radio School at the 42nd St. Naval base in San Diego, I was
sent along with William Hughes and two others to the Battleship USS Utah as trainees (strikers) in the Communications
Division. On board from November 8th 1940 to December 7th 1941, Hughes and I
attained the rating of RM3/c.
The
mission of the Utah was to provide multiple training facilities for both
anti-aircraft gunnery and as a bombing target by aircraft. For the latter, it
was necessary to protect the exposed areas of the ship with large timbers on
the decks, and steel "dog-houses" over the guns. It was in this
configuration that the Utah found itself when it was assaulted by Japanese
aircraft on Sunday, December 7, 1941.
On
that morning, I was asleep in the compartment adjacent to the radio room, along
with several others who were off watch. When we were awakened by the
explosions, we were advised by the watch supervisor--RM1/c Berry to take
appropriate action, as we didn't yet know what had occurred.
When
the ship started to list, we decided to go up to the main deck to find out what
was happening. It was there that we first realized that we were under both
torpedo and machine gun attack by Japanese aircraft.
The
area of the main deck adjacent to the ladder from which we emerged was somewhat
sheltered by the superstructure above it. I remained there for a short while to
avoid the strafing by the aircraft, but it became apparent that the ship was
going to capsize, so I ventured out into the open area. As the ship continued
to list to the port side, I clambered to the starboard rail and finally walked
along the starboard side to a bulging structure that ran along the length of
the ship, normally below the waterline. I believe it was sometimes referred to
as a "blister".
As
the ship assumed a mast down position, I stood on the bottom of the blister,
until further settling of the ship forced me into the water. There was one of
the large pieces of timber that had come loose from the deck, and I clung to it
while pondering my next move. There was oil in the water, and I managed to get
enough of it to become slightly nauseated.
I
was on the side of the ship opposite Ford Island, and wasn't sure what to do,
when a motor launch appeared on the scene. The only one in it was the Coxwain,
who took me to Ford Island where many other of the Utah crew were assembled in
a somewhat sheltered area. While I was in the launch, I had observed a group of
planes passing over at a high altitude.
While
waiting in the sheltered area, we saw a destroyer drop an "ash-can"
on a Japanese mini-sub. I remember this vividly, because I had never seen a
ship moving that fast before in the channel.
Eventually
we were transported to the USS Argonne, the flagship of the Base Force, of
which the Utah was a member. Warren Upton RM3/c and myself were attached to the
radio group temporarily while awaiting further assignment.
The
night of December 7th was hectic. Late in the evening, we were awakened by the
sound of gunfire. We went to a clear area of the mess hall where a large group
had gathered, standing around waiting, and wondering what was happening.
Suddenly, a bullet came through the side of the ship that faced the channel and
hit a man standing to the left of me. I heard someone holler "get a medic
down here". But it seemed quite awhile before he got assistance. The
gunfire was from the USS California, located across the channel from the
Argonne. They were firing at some planes which were returning from the USS
Enterprise, thinking they were Japanese planes.
I
remember my last evening watch on the bridge of the Argonne. It was the night
of December 8, 1941. The Admiral of the Base Force was still there and he
looked very sad as he gazed across the channel at the still burning Arizona,
and made some comment about the fact that it was still burning.
The
next day, James Mills RM1/c and myself were transferred to a radio transmitter
station at Makalapa, which was located nearby, and was maintained by, NAS
Pearl. [Ed. note. More than sixty one years ago, on 11-08-1940, George
Jurkovich, Bill Hughes, Ernest Burhop and one other Radio Striker reported on
board Battleship Utah at Pearl.]
JURKOVICH, WILLIAM Contractor
William
Jurkovich was born in Sjekose, Croatia and once worked for Kovacevich in
Arvin. He was 16 when he came to the
U.S. to join his brother, John. They
worked on railroads and aqueducts in Southern California before coming to
Fresno. William married Lena, the
daughter of Louis and Lukra Suglian.
(Lukra was a Kovacevich.) Louis had a brother, John Suglian, who became
a big man in the cattle industry. In
fact, John Suglian was known as the dean of valley dairy cattle breeders for 30
years. A lot of champions carried his
brand. Lena and William Jurkovich had three sons, Louis, Joe and Jim. They were each star athletes but it was Jim
who was the best. He became a
triple-threat Fresno High School football player, stright-A student and was the
California Interscholastic Federation long jump record-holder (24 feet, 1/2
inch) for 10 years. As a senior, he won
an engineering scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley and everyone
was betting he would become an All-American for the Golden Bears, but two brain
concussions cut down on his playing time.
Among his collegiate highlights was selection to the East-West shrine
Game. The talented Jurkovich was destined for other honors as well. He took third place (worth $5,000) in a U.S.
Steel-sponsored highway-bridge-design contest in 1959. Seven years later he won the same
international competition plus $15,000 and he now works for Caltrans. Old-time
prep football fans consider Jurkovich as one of the best in valley history.
To substantiate the claim, Erwin Ginsburg, his FHS coach, recently
named Jurkovich (1937-38) to his all-time backfield with Ray Patterson (1939),
Leland Scott (1939), Mike Kershaw (1940) and Les Richter (1946-47).
JURLIN, DAN Restaurant
Dan
Jurlin, restaurateur and onetime chef at New Joe’s on Broadway, died
Sunday. He was 70. Mr. Jurlin, known to
thousands of San Franciscans as just Dan, was born in Dalmatia. He owned the Rainbow on Mason Street in the 1950’s, was proprietor of Dan’s in
the Alley in Maiden Lane, during the 1940s, and most recently owned Small Joe’s on Polk Street, which he
sold three years ago. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and a sister and
nephew.
JURSIC, BRANKO Professor-Chemist
Branko
Jursic is a professor of chemistry at University of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Born March 9, 1957 in Ceminac; parents
Stiepan and Minka; wife Brigita with one son. Education includes Faculty of
Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Zagreb, Croatia BSc and DSc 1984; postdoctorate
at Columbia University, New York 1988-1991. Published 42 scientific
papers in internationally recognized journals. Researcher in the field of
organic synthesis, mechanism of organic reactions, molecular modelling, design
and synthesis of anticarcinogenic compounds; co-author of patents from the
fields of cancer research. Member of American Chemical Society.