ZajednicÌŒar = Fraternalist. [volume] (Allegheny, Pa.) 1894-current, 1956-05-23
Enjoyable Visits Among Our Members
By V. I. Mandich, Supreme President

invite members of the Administration to their social affairs.
Personal acquaintance with lodge officers and members,
the exchange of thoughts and views on problems which con-
front us in our daily work in behalf of the Society, and PLAN
ming for the morrow, all of this tightens our direct relations
and contacts with the membership, creates new outooks and
gives us new strength and sharpens our enthusiasm for ever
increasing endeavors in the fraternal field.
We return to the Supreme Office, enriched by new ex-
periences, confirmed in the belief that our members, old and
young, are of the salt of the earth, proud Of their member
ship in the greatest Croatian beneficial, humanitarian and
cultural organization in the world.
In support of these assertions, l will give some impress
sions which l had during the past month, when l made
weekend visits to our members in Pennsylvania.
Our old Greensburg, Pa, Lodge No. 345 "Zora" held
a dance on April 7h in the Slovenian Hall. The advance
announcements in our official organ emphasized the fact
that this was the first dance in the last twenty years. My
curiosity was aroused over how our members would respond,
how many would attend and what their feelings would be
after so prolonged an interruption in social activities in their
city. The lodge officers, led by Brother Michael Bacan, lodge
president and delegate, gave us a cordial welcome when my
wife and | arrived, in company with Brother Paul Perisich,
Supreme Board Alternate, and his wife. We were introduced
to the members as they arrived, and when it was time for
my greetings during intermission, all the tables were occu-
pied. There were more younger people present, many of
whom were not members of the Union, but were there as
devotees of the popular "Blue Moon Tamburitza Orchestra.
I spoke in English, relating the familiar story of our
peoples early struggles in their lodge work, their present
lodge administration, and their hopes for the future. l was
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officers were satisfied and believe with me that this social
gathering would result in a renewal of interest in lodge work,
which had remained dormant all too long. | was assured that
other fraternals with lodges in that city, Jared no better. Of
course, l promised the assistance of all of us at the Su-
preme Office in their endeavors to revive interest and en-
thusiasm for the Society and everything it means and repre-
sents to our people.
The following weekend found me in Rankin, Pa, at the
dinner of our Lodge No. 6 in honor of it's 5O-year members.
There, 1 discovered that this lodge could boast of something
Iop;oI o~, o+Lor 1oIro 1oroo ~ cp,o1l pnpoo1v , 4 IfyiuO
members who proudly wear the 5O-year Membership pin of
the Croatian Fraternal Union. Among them the Nestor of
the Croatian clergy in America, Rev. Bosiljko Bekavac.
This is one of our oldest lodges in the Pittsburgh area.
1t is led, with few exceptions, by our old, reliable fraternalists,
but they also have a number of extremely active younger
members and anticipate no difficulties in election of lodge
officers when the older ones retire. The lodge owns it's own
Home, where all the social and lodge activities of our people
in that CFU stronghold, take place.
A week after that, I was in Benwood, ". Va, the home
of our Lodge No. 2, which was organized back in 1892, three
years before the first convention of the National Croatian
Society. They have no surviving founding MEMBERS, the
last Ljubc having died several years ago, but they do have
a goodly number of old MEMBERS, prominent among whom
is Brother Steve Vidonic, 88 years of age, who has a vivid
recollection of the 9Th convention of the National Croatian
Society held August 81 to September 2, 1900 in the Mozart
Park Hall in Wheeling, W.. Va. Brother Vidonic was chair
man of the welcoming committee for that convention, which
at that time was an important honor and carried much re-
sponsibilites.
The banquet was held in the lodges own home, and was
in honor of the opening of the Croatian Cultural Club, just
recently organized by members of our Lodges Nos. 2 and
745 in Benwood, No. 523 in Warwood, and No. 595 in Weir
ton, w Va.
For the first time, our members of Benwood and vicinity,
met in their own hall. Heretofore, during the entire existence
of our lodges, close to "a years, our lodges were compelled
to make use of strangers halls. So, this was a special occa-
sion for our people in that part of the country, and a special,
holiday spirit pervaded all present during the entire evening.
I received a particularly pleasing impression, which 1
will remember fondly for some time to come, when | noticed,
while the orchestra played polkas and waltzes, that only a
comparatively few couples danced, but as soon as the tam
buritzans struck up a koo, just about everybody, old and
young, joined hands, until there was not enough room on
the large dance floor for all kolo dancers. This again proves
the great popularity of our national kolo dancing with all
generations of our people.
1t was not difficult to speak to these members and
friends. They gave the Society it's first supreme president.
1t was they who led the first organizational convention of
the National Croatian Society in September, 1894, in the
Majdak Hall, in Old Allegheny.
This success of our younger people, with the help OF
their elders, in achieving their own Home, will bring good
results, and we feel justified in our expectations of continued
progress in fraternal activities in West Virginia.
Lastly, 1 was a guest and speaker at the Duck Pin Tour,
nament Banquet on April 29th. in Johnstown, Pa, home town
y e o"r old ND oo+J,o Indon M < This was the twentieth