American Serb History 101

A Classic book!  Don't pass up this opportunity to own this valuable piece of Serbian history while the few remaining copies are still available. 

Help yourself and help Orthodoxy!

 James B. of Illinois giving me $50 for 2 books he purchased at the SNF Convention in Windsor, Ontario in 2007.  A check for $1000 was given as my donation to help finish the church at Shadeland.

The book EARLY DAYS, Serbian Settlers in America: Their Life and Times was written by my late father, Milan M. Karlo and his 2nd wife, Helen V. Karlo, who also recently passed away 2/27/10.  Vjecnaja Pamjat. Memory Eternal.

This very precious piece of history documenting the FIRST Serbian Immigrants in the United States and Canada represents a tremendous amount of research work.  The couple traveled over 100,000 miles over a period of four years to collect the wonderful stories found in this incredible book. 

The book contains over a thousand of photos Milan took himself, then processed all by hand repeatedly until he had just the right sharpness. How much easier his work would have been now with the advent of the digital cameras and the ability to layout and print your work.

This book was published in 1984, but is considered a true classic portraying the western area Serbian immigrants and their successes.

Milan was the oldest of nine children, self-educated with correspondence courses from the University of Chicago and New York City due to his lack of hearing.

From 1938 to 1940, he was sports editor of the late Lou Christopher's  Yugoslav REFLECTOR magazine, then the English Section editor of the prestigious SRBOBRAN newspaper of the leading Serb National Fedeartion fraternal with a peak circulation of 14, 500.  In 1944 he joined the copy desk of the San Francisco CHRONICLE daily, returning to the SRBOBRAN in 1946. 

In 1948 he started up his own monthly American SERB LIFE magazine which was well-received, but lacked finances.  He returned to the SRBORAN in the 1950's and stayed there until 1965.  In the meantime, he had also graduated from the prestigious Rochester Institute of Photography in New York and operated his own studio while also doing custom negative and print processing for the leading Pittsburgh Photo Lab Co.

In 1965 he founded the weekly OBSERVER newspaper of the original Serbian Orthodox Diocese in Libertyville, IL and stayed there until retirement at age 65.  He and his wife Helen spent any spare time researching, traveling and gathering the materials found here in this book.

Helen Vukovich Karlo was educated at Temple University School for Nursing and served in the South Pacific with the Army in WWII with the rank of 1st Lieutenant.  Thereafter, she workerd for Veterans Hospitals in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Tucson for 32 years as head nurse.  She was Director of Nurse Education of the Condell Hospital in Libertyville for 10 years prior to retirement.

Helen was the "Ears" for her husband in their continuing quests.  They shared a burning desire to leave something for future generations of a Serbian pioneer history never recorded, and pay just due homage to the memory of their parents, Samojilo and Stana Karaljovich of Pittsburgh's South Side, and Dragic and Helen Vukovich of Johnstown, PA.

Help your own Churches, Halls, Serbian Clubs!

B There are many Serbian organizations that need your help.  Because of your job and other obligations, perhaps you're too busy to get involved yourself, but 

Both Milan & Helen Karlo, and all of Milan's progeny, loved their experiences at Shadeland. We deem this a most fitting way to utilize the love and effort put into this wonderful book documenting the lives of our earliest pioneers in America.