Povezava na slovensko verzijo članka.
The American Lipovac family walks in the woods with Slovene cousins, the Pantars. This was the first time that the American and Slovene parts of the family had seen each other since my great grandfather, Josip Lipovac, left in 1914.
- Joseph Lipovac (my grandfather)
- Heidi Lipovac (my aunt)
- Franc Pantar (deceased)
- Renate Lipovac (my grandmother)
- Valentin Pantar (deceased)
In 1985, just a few years after my great-grandfather’s death, my mother, aunt, and grandparents all made the long flight from their home in Ohio to Europe for the summer. It was a busy trip; in addition to my grandmother attending an important rite-of-passage festival in her hometown in Germany, they were also taking a new, exciting step of visiting some of my great-grandfather’s long-lost relatives in Yugoslavia and France.
My great-grandfather’s name was Josip Lipovac, but in the US he went by Joseph Carl “Joe” Lipovac. He was born in 1896 in Kranjci, Prezid, Croatia. His father (who was also named Josip Lipovac) died of typhus only a few months after my great-grandfather was born, and in 1898 his mother remarried to Josip Kalič of Novi Kot. Kalič also spent time in the United States, but he ultimately returned to Notranjska. I’ve learned that it was very common for men to travel to the United States, work there for a few years, and then return home; in fact, it was probably more common than moving permanently to the US.
The story goes that one day my great-grandfather’s “father” (which must mean his step-father, Josip Kalič) told him that the only way to make a life for himself was to move to the US. And so it was. On 10 March 1914, my great-grandfather stepped aboard the Kronprinzessin Cecilie at Bremen, and that day was the last time he ever saw Europe. He arrived in New York on the 18th, and he lived in Pennsylvania with his step-father for a few years before moving to Barberton, Ohio, where there was a thriving Slovenian community. He lived and worked alongside Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Serbs, Croats, and many others in this tiny, industrial town. In 1925 he renounced his Yugoslavian citizenship and became an American citizen, and in 1933 he married Frances Pavlic, an American-born Slovene woman whose parents both came from Bloke to Barberton in the early 1900s.
It’s an understatement to say that my great-grandfather missed a lot after he left. Only a few months later, World War I broke out. His sister Marija and brother Franc married and settled down in Novi Kot. His other brothers, Anton and Valentin, moved to France in the 20s. Less than two decades later, World War II broke out, and the Italians came to Notranjska. They burned Novi Kot and deported the residents, including his mother and his other family members, to the concentration camp on Rab. Even though he couldn’t have known when he left that this would happen, it’s probably safe to say that the only reason he didn’t face that same fate is because he chose to leave. He made other sacrifices of course, though, including leaving behind his family and his homeland.
My grandfather said that when he was very small, his parents spoke Slovene at home, but they stopped around the time that he went to school. No one in the family speaks Slovene anymore, except for the few words my grandfather remembers, but on Easter we still eat želodec and potica. My great-grandfather died in 1981, and only a few years later my mother, aunt, and grandparents went to see the family that my great-grandfather left behind in 1914. My mom told me about how they went on a long, winding journey from the relatives’ home to see the ruins of Novi Kot 12, the house my great-grandfather grew up in. Somewhere, my grandfather has a brick he took from the foundation and a bottle of homemade liquor that our kind Slovene relatives gifted him.
I was born more than two decades after my great-grandfather died, so I never got to meet him, and I don’t have many photos of him. But researching his family history in Slovenia and Croatia and researching his community’s history in Barberton has helped me to better understand myself and my family. There’s often a lot of tragedy in migration stories, but more importantly there’s also a lot of hope. After all, decades after his death, we still remember my great-grandfather and his roots in small ways, and I hope my research will help us to continue to remember for decades to come.
Glossary:
- potica – A traditional Slovenian rolled pastry, typically filled with nuts (like walnuts), but also made with other fillings such as poppy seeds, tarragon, or honey. It is similar to a nut roll and is often served during holidays and special occasions.
- želodec – In Slovenian cuisine, “želodec” refers to a type of cured meat product made from stuffed and seasoned pork stomach. It is similar to certain traditional sausages or cold cuts found in Central European cuisine. The word itself also means “stomach” in general.
The article was written by: Joseph Egleston.
Place: Podpreska
Date: June 1985
Photographer: Michele Egleston
Text: Joseph Egleston
Scaned: February 2025