naba
Vol. 4 No. 3 Fall 2014
GOSPOD IVAN PLAZAR
Zlatomašnik Ivan Plazar je bil rojen 25.11.1936 v Dolu pri Hrastniku, leta 1944 pa je bila rojena še sestra Marija. Starša oče Ivan in mati Jožefa rojena Škerlj sta se poročila 2.2.1936. Družina je najprej živela v Hrastniku, nato pa v Ravnah na Koroškem, na Prevaljah, od leta 1947 pa v Brežicah.
Zlatomašnik je od 1947 do 1955 obiskoval gimnazijo v Brežicah, nato je nekaj časa študiral na fakulteti za kemijo in tri semestre ekonomijo... V tem času je tudi služil vojaški rok v Srbiji.
Leta 1959 je vstopil v Beogradu k lazaristom in s tem na pot duhovništva. Bogoslovje je študiral v letih 1960 do 1965 na teološki fakulteti v Zagrebu kot bogoslovec MD (Misijonske družbe).
Novomašnik Ivan Plazar - Maribor, 11. september 1964
V mašnika je bil posvečen v Mariboru v škofijski kapeli 11.09.1964. Kot duhovnik je služboval v različnih krajih v stari domovini.
Decembra 1969 je odšel v Kanado, kjer je še danes. Večino svojih duhovniških let je Ivan Plazar deloval med slovenskimi izseljenci v Kanadi začenši v Torontu, nato v Winnipegu pa zopet v Torontu.
Leta 2009 je doživel težjo prometno nesrečo, dalj časa je bil na okrevanju v sanatoriju, potem pa se je naselil v Domu LIPA v Torontu.
V Sloveniji je navada, da Božje ljudstvo z velikim veseljem in navdušenjem pozdravi v začetku svete maše tako novomašnika kakor tudi zlatomašnika:
»(Novomašnik) Zlatomašnik bod pozdravljen! Od Boga si nam poslan, za duhovnika postavljen, med pastirje zveste zbran. Vodil si zvesto ovčice, pasel jih z jedjo resnice, opominjal in učil, srčno prosil in svaril.«
Profesor dr. Janžekovič je ob svoji zlati maši rekel: »Vsaka maša je zlata maša!« Zanimivo je, da Slovenci duhovniku običajno rečemo mašnik. V bogoslužju, pri obhajanju zakramentov, zlasti pa pri sveti maši so duhovniki služabniki Kristusove ljubezni do njegove Cerkve in tudi delujejo »v Kristusovi osebi.« Pravzaprav je v Katoliški Cerkvi edini duhovnik Jezus Kristus, vsi duhovniki pa so samo Njegovi služabniki.
Sveta maša - evharistija je srce duhovniškega življenja. Brez nje bi bilo duhovnikovo življenje brez smisla, brez središča. Najprej so duhovniki za evharistijo in evharistija je merilo, žarišče in vir duhovniškega služenja. Kristus je naročil apostolom, naj jo obhajajo, živijo in dajejo: »To delajte v moj spomin.« Cerkev je to naročilo iz zadnje večerje razumela kot postavitev novozaveznega duhovništva. Ko je Jezus izrekel te besede, jih je postavil za duhovnike Nove Zaveze.
Sveti arški župnik Janez M. Vianney je rekel: »Šele v nebesih bomo razumeli srečo tega, da smemo maševati.«
»Poglejte duhovnikovo moč: duhovnikov jezik kos kruha spremeni v Boga; to je več kakor ustvariti svet.«
»Vsa dobra dela skupaj ne odtehtajo mašne daritve, ker so človeška dela, sveta maša pa je Božje delo.«
Priče nam govorijo, da je bil enkratni trenutek, ko je sveti župnik gledal v hostijo po spremenjenju; njegov srečni nasmeh je bil neopisljiv.
Naj dobri Bog zlatomašnika Ivana in vse druge duhovnike ohrani zdrave in krepke v njihovi duhovniški službi!
Kanonik Vinko Vegelj
SLOVENSKI PARK 1964 - 2014
Frank Majzelj, Denis Majzelj and Jožica Vegelj
1964 was an important year for SLOVENSKI PARK. On one beautiful Sunday afternoon in 1964, a few Slovenian families gathered together in the shade of a cypress forest on a piece of land, which was for sale. Upon inspecting the area, the group decided to buy it. This was followed by a longer discussion and those who were present decided to name this future piece of Slovenia land SLOVENSKI PARK. We are proud of this name, which has become the foundation for the joint participation of Slovenian families in this region.
The first annual General Assembly took place on July 16, 1964. The main committee was elected, which discussed the purpose and use of this piece of land and set the directives for future operations at the Park. It concluded that Slovenski Park should be an area of friendly entertainment and fun for all its members, especially for the youth. They also decided on the amount of the registration fee: $30.00 and an annual membership fee of $10.00.
In the spring of 1965, a "bocce ball" court was built with two lanes and shortly thereafter a dance floor. Picnics began to be organized with the accompaniment of music. Unfortunately, many enthusiastic dancers were forced to find shelter from rain showers, so the following year a roof was built over the dance floor.
A meandering creek flows through the plot of land, which floods almost a third of the land every spring. Hardworking members straightened, cleaned and deepened the creek; at the same time they dug out two swimming pools, one for children and a deeper one for adults.
For the solemn celebration of the tenth anniversary of SLOVENSKI PARK, a small chapel was built dedicated to the Holy Family, in which a statue of the Blessed Anton Martin Slomšek was placed, where Masses take place on Sundays during the summer months. Each year, there is also a procession, which starts and ends at the chapel. The first hall was also built, which burnt to the ground on September 5, 1977 and destroyed all other wooden floors.
This incident forced the club to immediately begin the construction of a new brick hall with a balcony decorated with flowers that would welcome all visitors. The hall is decorated with countryside motifs, which is the work of our artist Martin Polanič. The inauguration of the hall took place on July 8, 1978, which attracted the largest visit of Slovenians, representatives of the Canadian government and other nationalities. Among
the guests of honor at the opening were the folklore dance group "Soča" from Hamilton and the musical ensemble Henček from Slovenia.
A competition for young fishermen to see who would catch the most fish gave us the idea to dig out a large pond, where beautiful brown trout were soon in abundance. The excavated soil was then used to flatten the land and prepare the premises where members could park their campers. So far we have about a hundred spaces and almost all of them are occupied. As a result, members can spend their holidays in beautiful nature, especially on Saturday summer evenings, where they can reminisce about their youth sitting around bonfires and listening to music.
In 1983, approximately forty children camped out in tents under the leadership of four members who taught them "First Aid" in the event of an accident, besides playing games and swimming. The children were excited about helping to prepare wood for an evening bonfire and they were even more excited about looking forward to tasty food, which was prepared by a hardworking kitchen staff. It is exactly this generation youth which will be able to carry on the traditions of SLOVENSKI PARK and will be the only way for SLOVENSKI PARK to exist for many years to come.
A new era for SLOVENSKI PARK began in the spring of 1984. Once again, volunteers took to their shovels and helped flatten and prepare the soccer pitch, build an embankment along highway 401 to diffuse the noise created by the passing cars and planted four thousand trees. This was followed by building a handball court, a tennis court and a playground later on. Furthermore, a fireplace and washroom facilities with showers were added to the hall.
Sports organizations were revived and soccer, volleyball and baseball tournaments were organized. Of course, there are no shortages of parties and celebrations. Musical bands, choirs and folklore groups from Slovenia frequently visit SLOVENSKI PARK and perform. SLOVENSKI PARK also provides an opportunity for Slovenian bands from Canada and the United States to perform at picnics and other festivities. A performance by the folklore dance group "Ivan Navratil" from Metlika, Slovenia was well-organized. SLOVENSKI PARK is also a regular host of the "Slovenian Day" festivities, which is organized by the Slovenian Coordinating Committee for Niagara according to the Slovenian Societies located in the Niagara Peninsula. In addition to the fun and entertainment, the meetings and performances are a great opportunity for many friendships and contacts to develop not only in Canada but also in Slovenia. This is how SLOVENSKI PARK tries to maintain and preserve the Slovenian language, culture and traditions amongst Slovenians living in Canada.
Since the beginning, SLOVENSKI PARK has
taken care of its youngest members. Each year, a special picnic dedicated to the younger generation is organized, where children compete against each other in different games and sports.
In 1994, SLOVENSKI PARK issued and published its own commemorative book, "30 Years of SLOVENSKI PARK" with its own budget. On this occasion the club's archive was also collected and organized. The club has archived the original documents and a copy has been handed over to the State Archives of the Republic of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Another copy has been given to the Canadian Slovenian Historical Society in Toronto.
When we look into the past, we can see just how much can be done by volunteering and mutual understanding. This has all been achieved by
SLOVENSKI PARK, which has 120 members today. The desire of its founding members that SLOVENSKI PARK should be a tiny piece of Slovenia has been fulfilled, where every guest is welcome, enjoy various forms of entertainment, have their personal "getaway" for their leisure time and enjoy the beauty of SLOVENSKI PARK with their family and friends.
We invite all Slovenians from near and far to join us so we can get to know each other and together in a friendly atmosphere enjoy the natural beauty of SLOVENSKI PARK. Bring plenty of goodwill and cheer, and we will do the rest! Visit us at our website and Facebook page: http://www.slovenskipark.com/ http://www.facebook.com/SlovenskiPark
How I Came To Be a Member of CSHS
Mary Ponikvar-Desanti
One day as I was conversing with my brother Jerry, he mentioned he was on his way to a CSHS meeting. Of course I had to ask him what CSHS meant and he told me Canadian Slovenian Historical Society. He explained its purpose to me and invited me to a meeting which I attended at Dom Lipa about a year ago and I am happy that I did.
I found the meeting very interesting and was impressed with the voluminous amount of work done by the directors and members of the Society and also with their enthusiasm in keeping with their mandate: "to coordinate, research, record and preserve the history of Slovenians in Canada". I was amazed to see all of the information that has already been researched, collected, catalogued and archived. Each of the members of the Society lived different Slovenian experiences because of their individual histories, yet, they are united in thought under one Slovenian umbrella and are working arduously to preserve our Slovenian culture in Canada. I was surprised and impressed to learn how many Slovenian Canadians have made significant contributions to our Canadian culture.
After attending a few more meetings, I felt a desire and a responsibility to contribute where I could to help to preserve and promote our Slovenian culture of which I am proud.
My parents practised and taught us many Slovenian traditions while we were growing up in Timmins, Ontario, of which my brothers Jerry, John, Fred and I still have very fond memories. We all participated in the various activities within the Slovenian community. My parents always supported us and encouraged our involvement.
I only wish that I had asked more questions and had asked my parents to write "their stories"of their lives of their earlier years which they pretty much kept to themselves as they began their new lives as Canadians. We do know that life was not easy for them, however they worked hard to provide for our education so that life would be easier for us.
In my career as a nurse, I met many Slovenian patients and always took the opportunity to recognize them and spend some extra time with them as I was interested in and enjoyed "their stories".
I have come to realize that each one of us with Slovenian roots has our own story and how we came to be the persons that we are. Slovenian Canadians have made significant contributions across Canada, however many of us know little about them. Only now, am I finding out more about them. I feel that our Slovenian heritage must be preserved and to that end stress the importance of parents, grandparents, and other relatives and friends to convey and share with the younger generations "their story". It is not too late for us to tell "our stories" now, to be preserved for and shared with future generations. There are so many "our stories" out there that we want to learn about and share. Knowledge is important and so it is important to share and keep our Slovenian culture alive within our families and our communities.
As well as knowledge, preservation of language is important. Recently, I heard in a radio interview that language is very important in preserving a culture. Once the language goes, so goes the culture. I urge everyone to take the opportunity to learn and to speak the Slovenian language when the opportunity arises.
I feel privileged to be a part of CSHS in helping it to continue to achieve its mandate. It is allowing me to appreciate and better understand the beauty and richness of our Slovenian Canadian culture and the importance of promoting and preserving it. I hope that I can make a difference.
Mary Ponikvar - Desanti
Just Picture It!
Anne Urbančič
Whether we own a smartphone or not, most of us know what a "selfie" is: a photograph which merges photographer and subject and which can be sent to friends and family instantly through cyberspace. In the not too distant future, archivists will have to devise protocols for conserving selfies; how to do this will become important, but also what to archive will become a question for archives around the world. Photography today is effortless, instantaneous, in vivid colour. It can also easily be manipulated, so pictures taken today won't be able to serve as faithful documents of an occasion or person, thanks to Photoshop and other similar programs. Now go back and look at photos you may have from years ago. We don't have to go back as far as 1838 to the first photos, the tin rectangles called daguerrotypes, after their inventor, Louis Daguerre. His work was soon improved including by a Slovenian priest from Kranj, Janez Puhar (1814-1864), who won awards at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1855 for his work, and was called upon by inventors in the US. By the time George Eastman marketed the little Brownie camera in 1901, photography had undergone enormous changes. When it was first invented, it was claimed by the new upper middle class who could not afford to have an artist paint their portrait, but who, if they sat very very still, could afford to have a photograph to memorialize their family. Because the exposure time was so long (at first many hours), early photographs could not show movement in the background. Today, with one click, everyone can be a photographer.
The CSHS has acquired numerous boxes of photos. While there are no daguerrotypes, the boxes do hold photos taken before the post-WW2 wave of emigration of Slovenians to Canada. You can tell which photos belong to this era: black and white, usually small, with wide white borders most often showing groups of people. All standing still, all staring right into the camera. Very serious expressions are on their faces: this was the tradition for photography. Once in Canada, Slovenians began documenting their new life. These photos are bigger, have deckled (wavy) edges and often come in booklets. While they are still black and white, they capture events, not only people. In particular, Slovenians took pictures of their children with great pride; in these the children are smiling and playing, often unaware of the camera. These photos are valuable because the white borders of the glossy paper are usually stamped with a date: month and year,
which helps archivists to identify them. By the 1960s, the edges of the photos became straight and the date disappeared. And slowly, photos began to be in colour. The colour is faded now in many pictures, but in my opinion, the early colour photos are of better quality than those of the 1970s which are easily identified by their faded look, as if someone had left them out in the sun. This is especially true of the photos that developed themselves in the camera as soon as they were taken. But along with photographic improvements, the photos lost the date until much later when full colour pictures with no white borders, now on traditional glossy paper or on matte paper, and bearing details of the date (day, month, year and time of photograph) became popular. Today, digital photographs also carry this information although it is stored in their meta-data, often on the web. However, even with this information, most photos have no indication of who is in the photo. OUR STORY regularly prints old photos of groups, asking people to identify who is in the picture. This is also part of the KDO SMO? Program of the CSHS.
The Archives of the CSHS welcome your photographs. You do not have to send originals; a good copy is sufficient. Whether you send to the Archivist, or choose to keep for your own family memories and archives, do mark on the back in light writing who the people are, or what the event, and the date of the photo. You'll help your children and grandchildren years from now as they wonder who "cela družina na našem vrtu"could be. Although you may know today, they certainly will not, and will really want to find out.
Photo:
the world's first "selfie": Anastasia Nikolaevna, 13 year old daughter of the Russian Czar took this photo of herself to send to a friend, 1914.
OUR STORY is published by:
Canadian Slovenian Historical Society
52 Neilson Drive,
Toronto, ON M9C 1V7
For more information contact:
Frank Brence
Telephone: 416-281-6794
E-mail: frankbrence@rogers.com
In this issue:
•	Zlatomašnik - Gospod Ivan Plazar
•	Slovenski Park 1964 - 2014
•	How I Came To Be a Member of CSHS
•	Just Picture it!