Leon Lysaght, grandson of Butte, Montana grocer, Jovan Vucanovich, Mim Bizic and Arthur Jibilian.

A grateful Leon co-jointly shared his Czar Dushan Award from the Serbian Bar Association headquartered in Chicago with his grandfather,  Jovan Vucanovich, "God's loyal servant, a Serb true to his culture and history."  Read Leon's speech found here below and be proud of who you are. THESE are the Serbs we know!   

(Leon Lysaght is a full-tenured law professor at Wayne State University Mercy where he lives in Detroit.  He is also on the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir's Seminary, and has been involved with the School of Theology in Libertyville.  He has worked on legal and philanthropic projects in the former Yugoslavia.  Leon's grandparents were Serbian immigrants from Hercegovina.)

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Lou Milicic proudly wrote from Belgrade 10/13/09: "At the time of these Awards (2005), Marya Savich was President of the Serbian Bar Association of America."

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Speech given by Leon Lysaght at the 16th Annual Scholarship Gala of the Serbian Bar Association of America,

2005 

It has been difficult to be a Serb for the past ten to fifteen years. In a book entitled Islam and Dhimmitude Where Civilizations Collide, Bat Ye'or, a Jewish historian who was born in Egypt, lives in Britain, and writes in French, made the following comment:

...A media campaign of generalized demonization of the Serbs aimed at neutralizing all opposition to NATO's anti-Serb war, was waged with terrifying cynicism. The war to annihilate Serbia was intended to punish the crimes of Milosevic and his regime, but the media campaigns endeavored to calm the anti-Westernism in the Muslim world, and of Muslim immigrants in Europe.

It also helped to gain forgiveness for the war in Iraq by a strong pro-Muslim counter balancing policy in the Balkans. (P.338)

She goes on to say that, on a far larger scale, NATO'S war against the Serbs repeated the propaganda tactics used against Jews in Europe and the Middle East. These tactics included control of the media on a world-wide scale; assuring that the information disseminated concerning the war, and its justifications was uniform; the collective demonization of the Serbs, and not just Milosevic' s criminal regime, and the pillaging of Serbian history.

As the propaganda campaign unfolded, I am sure that you, like me, could not identify who these people that the media kept referring to as Serbs really were. The behavior and motives attributed to them bore no relation to my experience and knowledge of Serb culture and history.

When Patriarch Pavle told us that the only way we could counter this indefensible attack was by confronting our own conduct to the moral teachings of the Orthodox Church, I could not help but reflect on my grandfather.

When he came to this country at the age of 20, he and the small community of Orthodox Serbs in Butte, Montana decided that their first priority was to build a church. He served as the chairman of the building committee and as the first president of the parish, a post he held for 37 years. He opened a small grocery store. During the Depression he sold food on credit to anyone who asked. Eventually he had to close the store because he had no money to keep it open. At the time the store closed, he had $30,000.00 in accounts receivable outstanding. He made no effort to collect from anyone.

He then found work as a janitor in the change house at the Mountain Consolidated Mine, a position he held until his retirement. During the Depression when transients came to his door seeking a handout, he invited them in to sit at his table, even when it forced him to feign lack of hunger in order to feed them. When some family members objected to his generosity, he simply responded that he would not deny Lazarus. Regrettably, those who objected did not recognize the reference. My grandfather taught by his actions, not by his words. He would say no more than, "It is wrong not to do good."

Is there a connection between the appeal of Patriarch Pavle, the life of a failed grocer in Montana, and the challenges that confront a lawyer in Chicago or Detroit?

Is there a connection between how we conduct our business and who we are, or at least, claim to be?

When I was admitted to the practice of law, one of my cynical relatives said, "Congratulations, now you have a license to steal." Without a doubt, the license to practice law presents enormous temptations. It also presents enormous opportunities to do good. But the obligation to do good does not begin and end with compliance with the letter of the law and the canons and codes that govern our profession. The canons and codes provide only a minimal standard. They do not provide a comprehensive guide to inform us of our moral obligations as lawyers, much less as spouses, parents, neighbors, colleagues, citizens, and friends.

How are we to know when we must do something that we really don't want to do, or to refrain from doing something that we really want to do? 

The Orthodox Christian Faith that has sustained and defined Serb culture for over a millennium is, in fact, our only source for guidance. From it we learn that evil can only be understood as the absence of good.

In The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn said that the line between good and evil does not run along the borders of countries, between social classes, political parties, but through every human heart.

And, as Dostoevsky said in The Brothers Karamazov, "without God, all things are permissible."

As lawyers, we wield enormous power in an increasingly secularized society. The notion of tolerance has been used, or I should say misused, to impose the false belief that all moral values are relative. This type of relativism tempts one to conclude that anything that you can get away with is acceptable and that the attainment of political power, wealth, or status are, in themselves, justifications. If we attain these things without committing a technical violation of the law, or of the codes or canons of the profession, is that sufficient to allow us to say, with certitude, that we have conducted our lives in a manner befitting a custodian of a legal tradition that claims to guarantee liberty and justice for all? More importantly, will it allow us to say that we have complied with Patriarch Pavle's instruction that we conform our conduct to the moral imperatives embodied in the Holy Orthodox Faith that has sustained and defined the Serbs as a people.

Unlike my friend, colleague, and brother in Christ, Alex Machaskee, who has used his power and prestige in the service of truth and justice for the Serbian people, I believe that I am not the appropriate recipient of the recognition that has been so generously provided this evening. There is another who is far more worthy than I.

So, with your permission, I will accept this recognition on behalf of Jovo Vucanovich, God's loyal servant, a Serb true to his culture and history: and my grandfather. Thank you.

From the Internet:

Leon Lysaght and Serbian Bar Assoc. Awards

Leon J. Lysaght, Jr

• J.D. University of Chicago '65
• B.A. Whitman College '62

Professor Lysaght began his law career in Montana in private practice. He taught philosophy for one year and served as a visiting lecturer of law and jurisprudence at Queen's University of Belfast. He came to the University of Detroit Mercy in 1973. From 1976 to 1980 he taught in Canada at the University of Windsor Law School.

Professor Lysaght has been instrumental in developing the Joint Canadian-U.S. Degree Program. His current interests are focused on issues of legal philosophy, commercial and oil and gas law.

http://www.law.udmercy.edu/faculty/fulltime/lysaghtleon.php 

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Serbia President Boris Tadic addresses full crowd at Cleveland's Marriott Hotel, Sept. 20, 2009

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Alex Machaskee and 2005 Merit Award Speech

In his acceptance speech at the Serbian Bar Association of America's Sixteenth Annual Scholarship Gala held on Saturday 11/19/05 at the University Club in Chicago,  Alex Machaskee was most grateful, felt proud and blessed not only because of the honor given him, but the fact that his wife Carol, and his 92 year old father, George Machaskee, were also in the audience.  "Carol and my dad, along with my children and grandchildren, are the most important people in my life and I appreciate their constant support."

Alex had been given many important awards over the years, but said earning the Merit Award was particularly meaningful as it recognized his commitment and support of his Serbian heritage.

"As Serbian-Americans we all share a special bond.  I believe we are all born with the love, respect and sensitivity for nurturing our cultural heritage. I feel very strongly about my roots and I've worked diligently through means avaiable to me to raise awareness about my Serbian Orthodox religion and to assist our motherland in becoming more democratic, stable and prosperous."

To name just a few, Alex and Carol have helped:

• raise $250,000 to build Monastery Marcha.
• raised several hundreds of thousands of dollars to help hospitals, orphanages and religious institutions in Serbia & Montenegro.
• raise over $20,000 for the Hilandar Monastery Restoration Fund.
• host a dinner at the Plain Dealer with Senator George Voinovich to mobilize the Serbian Americans in the Diaspora, requesting assistance with the difficult situations in Serbia and Montenegro.  He urged contact with Congressional Caucus members, and letters to the SRBOBRAN and local newspapers and suggested investment opportunities in Serbia.
• the Serbian Unity Congress host the First Serbian Business Conference and Trade Show ever held in the USA with Cedomir Vukic (VP of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce) and Vukman Krivokuca (Ministry for the Diaspora). Twenty Serbian companies exhibited their products and services for the US market.  Mr. Predrag Bubalo, Minister of Industry and Privatization from Serbia, and Dr. Milan Parivodic, Minister of International Economic Relations were guest speakers.  The latter two traveled to Washington and participated in a U.S./Serbia and Montenegro Business Council Trade and Investment Conference designed to promote two-way trade and investment and to strengthen the relationship between the US and Serbia.
• regularly publish articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (one million readers daily) and editorials on the state of affairs in Serbian and Montenegro.
• host a dinner for U.S. Ambassador Polt and his wife, Hallie, at the Hyatt Belgrade to help promote tourism in Serbia.  Youth exchanges were also discussed as a way for the Serbian Diaspora to invest in Serbia's future.  A state department initiative known as A-SMYLE is already underway where 115 young people from Serbia and Montenegro attend our High Schools for one year.  (Read more on the net about the American Council for International Education.)

Leon Lysaght, Mim Bizic and Arthur Jibilian, Radio man for Operation HALYARD, which led to the rescue of 512 American Airmen from behind German-occupied lines in Yugoslavia's Serbia.  The three are shown here at the Reception given by Mr. and Mrs. Alex Machaskee for Serbia's President, Boris Tadic, who visited Cleveland, OH on his way to a United Nations meeting in New York.

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Below..........

Our hosts: Mr. and Mrs. Alex Machaskee and the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic. Cleveland, OH, 9/20/09

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The same year Leon Lysaght was honored with the Czar Dushan Award, The Merit Award of 2005 was given to Alex Machaskee, past President and Publisher of The Cleveland Plain Dealer which during his long tenure has been the most fair and unbiased reporter of news related to the former Yugoslavia.

From the Serbian Bar Association of America website:

"Alex Machaskee is one of the most respected journalists in the United States, whose reputation as a great American and proud Serb is known both in the highest circles of the Bush administration and in every Serbian parish in Cleveland area. Born in Youngstown, Ohio and raised in Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church there, Mr. Machaskee (pre-Ellis Island Macesic) roots are in Kordun in the Serbian Krajina region. He is a member of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, the Serb National Federation, the Serbian Unity Congress and host of Cleveland, Ohio and US civic and fraternal organizations. The SBAA is honored to have a man of Mr. Machaskee's stature accept the SBAA Merit Award. "

Update: Dec.14, 2009. Genealogist  Robert Jerin pointed out this info:

"In fact Alex MACESIC arrived through the Port of Baltimore. Below is his arrival information. Not all immigrants arrived via Ellis Island, which served as an Immigrant Processing Station from 1892 to 1924. (after 1924 immigrants were processed at American Embassies or Consulates in their home countries and Ellis Island served only as a detention center from that time until it closed around 1954).  Baltimore was perhaps the second most common Port of Entry for immgrants from Croatia.

Name: Alex Macesic 

Arrival Date: Feb 1903 

Age: 23 Years 0 Months Years 

Estimated birth year: abt 1880 

Gender: Male 

Race: Servian (Serbian) 

Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany 

Ship Name: Breslau 

Port of Arrival: Baltimore, Maryland 

Destination: Johushown, PA 

Friend's Name: Marko Miogewooic 

Last Residence: Krstinja, Croatia  

"Of course he came from the old The Croatian-Slavonian Military Frontier (Militär Grenze), Vojna Krajina, which was populated by ethnic Serbs, Croats, Vlaci and Germans."

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While I am thankful and grateful to Robert Jerin for his information, I would like to point out my grandparents (4) and my husband's  (4) grandparents never considered themselves Croatians.  They were very proud of the Krajina areas they came from, but were always extremely defensive of their Serbian Orthodox heritage.  They guarded it in America as their ancestors once guarded the Vojna Krajina frontiers. 

Robert Jarin adds another interesting fact for which we are all again grateful:  "I have done some research of church records in the old military borderland... and the most striking thing was that every adult male had a status of Granicari (border guard).  I found no one listed as Seljaci as I would find in most villages." 

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Reception honoring

Boris Tadic, President of Serbia, in Cleveland, Ohio, September 20, 2009