American Serb History 101

    Perhaps you’ve seen that terrific ad from Electrolux ICON gas, suggesting that there is no limit to what YOU can bring to the table.  The message goes on to say:

“At my table I set a place for surprise, I serve opinion and sometimes fact; I simmer good conversation.” 

It ends by adding,
“In the well-lived home, more than just eating goes on at the table.  It’s a place for celebration, it’s a place for savoring; it’s a place where friendships are forged.”

Such a description would truly match the table in Sara Komljenovich’s home, where she lives with her sister, Zora Cheran (soon to be 92 on November 26), in the Swissvale part of Pittsburgh, PA, 15218. 

Mom Laura Mamula Karlo and I accepted an invitation to dinner, but found “the well-lived home,” where we savored renewed friendships, lots of Serbian surprises and many great things to celebrate.

From the time of our arrival at their home at 2013 Lafayette Street, we knew we were in for a real treat.  All the way out to the curb you could smell delicious aromas of the chicken and rice they were about to serve, along with the apple strudel dessert Sara had so lovingly prepared.  Warm hearts and extended hands of friendship helped make the climb up the stairs easier for Mom Laurie. 

Anyone who knows ANY of the Cherans knows they are super Serbs, super people!  At Sara’s and Zora’s, I learned that not only their father, Petar Cheran, was lucky, but so was the Serb National Federation!  You’ll soon learn why.

It seems that Petar had always dreamed of hitting the lottery, always telling everyone back in the old country that if he ever hit the jackpot, he would move to America.  Well, that’s exactly what happened!  He won big money in Europe, and used it to come to America.  Not long afterwards, the 30 year-old Petar of Yukon, Pennsylvania met the 14 year old Milka Basara, and they were soon married in Wilmerding’s old St. Nicholas Church in 1909.  (Monroeville -old Wilmerding-parish- celebrated its 100th Anniversary during Labor Day Weekend, 2005, honoring the memories of such early pioneers!)

I say the SNF is lucky too, because Petar and Milka had ten children, and they were all signed up in the SNF!  Look at this roster of Cheran siblings:  Alex, Steve, Mike and Roy Cheran, Zora Cheran, Dorothy Podbesek, Mildred Tishma, Ann Vranasevic, Sara Komljenovich, and Martha Simich. They are names familiar to most of the churches in the Pittsburgh area, where Cheran kindness and leadership skills greet visitors in Youngwood, Monroeville, McKeesport, Aliquippa and even St. Petersburg, Florida parishes.

Sara says her dad was a real businessman.  Not only did Petar work in the coal mines of Yukon, but he started buying up property, too.  He was one of the few who had a car or truck in those days, and so he rented himself out as a taxi, or hauled coal for people.  Zora and Sara share girlhood giggles when they add that in 1942 he was also good at making moonshine, and was very successful at it.

Petar made Serbian hay, too!  By that I mean, he let no grass grow under his feet.  As soon as a child was born, whether a member of his family or not, he was always out there signing them up to be members of the Savez, mainly for Yukon Lodge that later merged into the Irwin Lodge #64. 

“This was his life: his children, church and lodge.  He loved the Savez!” said daughter Sara.

I say, “We need more Petar Cherans!"

Petar’s grandson, Dr. Michael Vranasevic,  is Superintendent of the Apollo Ridge School District since 1997.  He adds that his grandfather, Petar, was an Elder for the SNF.  “He was very bright and knew the Insurance laws and Social Security laws well.  He would patiently explain them to the coal mining immigrants of Yukon and Madison in the late 1930’s.”

Mike talked about how his grandmother Milka would have a baby in the morning, then get up and start taking care of her huge family, tend her garden, or clean the house by the afternoon.

He says his grandparents’ home was right in the middle of town, which had a diverse population of Eastern Europeans—Slovenians, Italians, Slovaks, etc. who all got along very well.  He is proud of the fact that his Baba Milka was Godmother to Rudy Standish, known all over the world as “The Omelette King.”  Even though he is Catholic, he was baptized in the Youngwood Serbian church.  Rudy ran away from home when he was 14 or 15 and joined the circus.  In between then and now, Rudy became a World Class Chef, who worked for the Scaife, Mellon and Kennedy families.  About 10-15 years ago, Rudy came back to his hometown of Yukon.  Even at age 90, he will still fly to Houston, New York, or wherever the famous families who love him, need him.  Mike adds that Rudy has never let “his”Youngwood Ascension of our Lord Serbian Orthodox Church down.  He always finds time to make his famous omelettes as fund-raisers for the church.

Mike Vranasevic, who received his doctoral degree from Duquesne University in 1997, said his Uncle Steve took the lead in the family.  Steve left Yukon when he was eighteen to go work as a machinist in Detroit for the Ford Motor Company.  Laid off a few years later, he returned home, and married the wonderful Lillian Ciganovic.  Both of them were very active in the Youngwood Church where Steve served as Church President.  (The Ciganovics -Lillian, Katherine, Andja, Helen, and Marko/Nedele from Youngwood), were tremendous SNF supporters too.  At one time, Marko was English section editor for the SRBOBRAN, and more recently, Katherine worked extremely hard during the war against Serbia for the Relief Fund for years: collecting, labeling and sending care packages!  What good Serbs!

During the Depression, Mike says that his Uncle Steve had a bakery business in Smithton, PA, very close to where the famous movie star, Shirley Jones’ father owned a brewery.  Shirley would always come into the bakery store to shop when she was home visiting and would be treated to the traditional Cheran hospitality as well.  Several of Steve’s sisters worked in the store.

“Steve would bake bread at night and deliver it during the day, but he also hauled coal.  When Roy came back from the Marines, he and Steve opened a bar in Duquesne called the ‘Camp Grill,’ around 1947 and operated it until the late 70’s.  Around 1957-58, they also had a tire business,” reminisced Mike.

“My Uncle Roy was president of the McKeesport, Duquesne parish with Fr. Popovich for ten or twelve years.  That was in the late ‘80’s.  And my Aunt Millie Tishma was very active in Florida’s St. Pete’s parish, after she left Pennsylvania in 1965. 

(It’s worthy to note that sister Zora Cheran, just donated $1,000 to her old St. Petersburg, Florida church where she was a member for 36 years, and is so proud of the beautiful note she received in return from a grateful parish!  Zora says some of her favorite memories of Florida is when all of the ladies got together to make apple strudels to sell for the church’s treasury. They even had Polish and other ethnic neighbors help because it was so much fun being together.)

Mike says that his Uncle Steve collected old license plates and that his son, Steve, still pursues the hobby inherited from his Dad.  Some of them go back to the time when license plates were first made.

I remembered the older Steve’s passion for old cars.  Mike said that his uncle had a 1911 Maxwell that was written up several times in the Sunday section of the ROTO magazine section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Steve also had an old Hupmobile.  Mike thinks that the 1911 Maxwell was donated to the George Blanda (football star) Museum in Youngwood.  George Blanda’s brother, Paul Blanda, was married to Steve’s daughter, Dorothy.  “Dara’s whole wedding party drove to the reception at the Penn Albert Hotel in Greensburg in those old cars,” Mike recalled fond memories.  “The scene was hard to believe and those cars turned a lot of heads in that town!”

In my father’s Serbian research files, I found a Pittsburgh PRESS article saved by Kay Ciganovic, dated Sunday, July 13, 1958.  The title of the article written by David Kelly, Press Staff Writer was: “All Of Youngwood Goes To Wedding.” 

“They danced on Youngwood lawns and on the sidewalks and on the streets today at the wedding of Dorothy Cheran and Paul Blanda.  It was the biggest wedding hereabouts in 20 years.  The jangling chords of tamburitazan music became the beat for the score or more volunteers who cranked up the brides’s father’s 1914 Model T Ford and even the rays of the sun were lost in the smile of 23-year old Miss Cheran.

“The bridesmaids followed in a 1921 Studebaker.  There were 1000 guests from Chicago, California, Yukon and Yuma.  Dorothy is the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Cheran.  They have planned 23 years for this day.  They spared nothing to make it the greatest 72 hours in the town’s memory. “

I thought about the photos of those old cars my Dad, Milan Karlo, took when Helen Ciganovich married my mother’s second cousin, Bogdan Mamula.  Little sister Sandy (Alexandra--four years old at the time!) was a flower girl, while Rosie and I were up at Shadeland Camp. 

Talking about Shadeland, I can’t forget to mention how much work Mike Vranasevic’s sister, Joanne Vranasevic Vidnovic, and her late husband, Bert Vidnovic, did for Shadeland and the Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese. 

Or how Petar’s grandson, Roy Cheran, headed up the Publicity Committee for the SNF Centennial Celebration in 2001, using his talents so well on our behalf.   His mom and dad, Olga and Roy Cheran, Sr., worked very hard for the Serb Net and Istina chapters in Aliquippa for Serbian Relief before passing on.  It would be hard to find anyone nicer or kinder than Roy, Sr., and he was also a very faithful churchgoer.

Roy Cheran shared information about how his Dad, Roy Sr. and Djedo Petar were involved in a mine cave in, in Yukon and his Dad vowed never to go back in -which changed his path dramatically. 

"The SNF played a major relationship role as my Dad met Mom at an SNF Basketbal Tournament in Cleveland.  My Aunts Sarah and Martha, along with cousin JoAnne were the angelic Cherans in the Mckeesport choir for many years.  Aunt Martha was known by many as one of the sweetest ladies ever and blessed with a marvelous voice.  I remember many a Sunday and Holiday at Aunt Millie's in Duquesne when they would all sing.  The harmonies were mezmorizing.  We carried on the SNF tradition as our entire family are currently members. And the boys have performed at the SFF many times as member of the Beaver Valley Jr Tammies."

We are all so grateful to Petar and Milka for bequeathing us with such wonderful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren!  Just think about what they “brought to the table!”

Not only did we have great food at Sara and Zora’s “sto,” but just like Petar and Milka used to do at their farm, filling their visitors’ baskets with food or homemade wine, so, too, did daughters Sara and Zora fill us up with all remaining apple strudel!  Going home, the car smelled so good and cinnamony, and we felt warm all over.

God bless those Grandparents-Petar and Milka Cheran for raising such a beautiful family of great American Serbs, friendly, kind and so loving.  

Is it possible to ever recover those days ----or are they gone forever?  Who knows?  Maybe the SNF can hit the Lottery again.  Soon!!!!!