Page 4 - CROSSROADS - October 1978
Alumnus Traces Roots
Editor’s Note: The following
article concerning John N.
Firca, class of 1974, is reprinted
from his diocesan newspaper,
“The Eastern Catholic Life.” It
was written by Rev. Orestes
Koman, John’s former parish
priest who is now 85 years old.
As the article explains so
well, John decided last spring to
“search his roots.’’ His
“European Roots Excursion”
turned out to be quite an ex
perience. “It was a rewarding
experience,” said John. “One
certainly appreciates this
country when seeing how the
people live in the small villages
of Czechoslovakia, and cer
tainly one must ponder all our
country offers when looking to
Austria from the other side of a
barbed wire fence. My cousin in
Czechoslovakia fold that the
government tells the people that
the Austrian government put
the fence up.
“I have learned so much
about my own family and
history and about the struggle
of people to survive in general
from this trip ... To see the
property where my ancestors
liv^ and where some still do, to
see my great-grandfather’s
grave and know his name, when
before he was just ‘great
grandfather,’ to see cousins tha*
no one had seen since my
grandparents immigrated here
in 1912... meant a great deal to
me r ad is an experience I shall
never forget.”
John visited the Abbey in
August and spent the weekend
here. He is currently living in
Elizabeth, New Jersey, where
he is a police officer with the
Union County Park Com
mission.
AS I REMEMBER IT
by Rev. Orestes Koman
John Firca is a fine second
generation American. His
grandfather, Stephen, was my
contemporary who came over
to this country in 1912, the year I
graduated from Gymnasium.
He started life here in the
mines of Indiana Co., Pa., but at
my arrival to Elizabeth in 1923
he already was a “rigger” in a
gang of four of his “krajani,” all
from Jakubjany. They worked
on the steel frameworks of the
New York skyscrapers.
His grandmother was Mary
Vitkovsky from Hodermark,
Spis County, at the foot of the
Tatra Mountains, and his father
is a fireman in Elizabeth. John
graduated from the local high
school and got his B.A. degree
from a Catholic College in North
Carolina.
But because of the tight
situation in the job market he
donned the uniform oFthCLSt^
troopers and is supervising
parks in Union County.
As an historian and resear
cher he became interested in his
past, tape-recorded stories
from his grandfather and
started to explore the “roots” of
his family tree. But as soon as
he started to dig into the past he _
was surprised to find out how
deep and spreadout those roots
were. He hardly scratched the
surface and already at his
maternal great grandfather,
Jan Vitkovsky, scores of
relatives surfaced spreading
out to the farthest borders of
Czechoslovakia, from the Tatra
to Bratislava, the capital of
Slovakia.
Reading in our articles about
the beauties of Slovakia, John
decided to visit the country of
his ancestry and as a competent
student he made detailed
preparation of his itinerary.
But there was a language
barrier to overcome since he
can pronounce only one word in
Slavish perfectly, the word
“rodina.” So he persuaded his
aunt, Mary Hubenschus, to
accompany him. She speaks
the language tolerably and
turned out a first class com
panion. His grandmother’s
sister, Anna Mitura Vitkovsky,
lived in Poprad near Hoder
mark where the Vitkovsky
family lived and great grand-
I i.'
‘'I'
. fit
hiiHTOTO I
Grave of great-grandfather
John Vitkovsky, Hodermark,
Czechoslovakia.
father, Jan Vitkovsky, is
buried. Aunt Ann had nine
children so the family consists
of a good many cousins, a big
“rodina.” The rodina from his
paternal grandfather has its
roots in Jakubjany, further
down at the bend of the lower
Poprad river.
John decided to cast his
anchor in the town of Poprad
and from there cover the places
of Slovakia tracing his roots as
far as Bratislava near Vienna.
But there was another im
portant angle in his visit. He
wanted to pay a tribute to the
grave of his uncle John
“Happy” Firca (Fircha), who
was buried in France. This
pilgrimage was for him a
boyhood pledge, a sacred
promise which he wanted to be
fulfilled.
FROM POPRAD, SLOVAKIA
TO EPIMAL, FRANCE
According to plan John and
Aunt Mary left from Kennedy
Airport May 15 flying to Prague
and then changing planes for
Poprad. His suitcase was
packed full with precious gifts
for the younger members of
rodina, recording albums and
many pairs of jeans which are
hard to get there. He received
detailed information from the
American Battle Monuments
Commission in Washington,
D.C. about the place of burial of
his uncle, Sgt. John Fircha, and
everything went according to
schedule. He informed me that
he will keep a journal and
record everything.
The “Rodina” received them,
with open arms and over
whelming hospitality. In his
two letters I received from him
he complained that time was
pressuring him and he had to
steal it to write and fill his
journal. Seventeen days
seemed inadequate to fill the
bill, see many scattered places
in Slovakia, then cross over to
Vienna and make the
pilgrimage to Epinal, the
American Cemetery in France.
According to his promise
John called me up as soon as he
arrived, and on June 8th paid us
a visit with his mother and aunt.
Their detailed information
was a delight to hear and since a
picture speaks more than many
words, we shall publish from
time to time some of his photos
to give you a hint of his trip and
experiences.
At this time we are starting
with the grave of his maternal
great grandfather in Hoder
mark and another of his uncle’s
The alumni above participated in the Second
Annual Alumni Soccer Game played Labor Day
weekend. 'The game was won by the varsity team
4-2. Pictured left to right are Roy Cross C68)„
Coach George Kennedy, Don Betts (’70), Bennie
Farmer (’67), Mike Daniels (’67), Bruce Martin
(’71), Paul Zambito (’74) and Alex Kozar (’74).
grave in France. The Bible
says that we are taken from
earth and return to it. Our roots
really are there! Did old Jan
Vitkovsky ever think that his
American grandson would be
buried in Epinal, France
waiting with him for the second
coming of Christ?! But the
great thing is that both of them
died as faithful Christian
soldiers, one toiling on the fields
and raising a good family, the
other helping to save mankind
of evil oppressors and tor
mentors of God’s children.
I don’t think that John thought
of this but actually his visit was
a pilgrimage to two graves
which speak to us of our
Christian vocation. They are
telling us that our mission on
earth is to do the will of God in
fulfilling, in whatever we can
do, mankind’s salvation. This is
the duty and vocation of every
faithful Christian.
It seems to me that if I un
derstood him well, this is what
Solzhenitsyn said in his latest
speech, misinterpreted by
many. The Russians and other
poor and oppressed people, do it
by suffering and we ought to do
it by bold and courageous
behavior, by professing our
faith openly and being ready to
die for it.
M
.if,, ”
John F'lrca at the grave of his Uncle John Firca, Epinal, trance.
FR. KENNETH
CELEBRATES
SILVER JUBILEE
Father Kenneth Geyer,
O.S. B,, a monk of Belmont
Abbey and a 1947 alumnus of
Belmont Abbey College,
celebrated his Silver Jubilee on
June 9.
In honor of the twenty-fifth
anniversary of his priestly
ordination. Father Kenneth
celebrated the sacrament of
Mass on that morning. He was
honored at a reception in the
Abbot Vincent Taylor Library
following the Mass.
In the evening, Mrs. Irene
Maddox, accompanied by Mrs.
Anita Bultman 'Tritt, presented
a concert of masterworks for
flute and piano in the Abbey
Church in honor of Father
Kenneth.
Chairman of the department
of music at Belmont Abbey
College, Father Kenneth is one
of the senior musicians among
Benedictine monks in this
country. He has been choir
master for the Benedictine
monks at the Abbey and church
organist for the past thirty
years.
Father Kenneth, who holds
the M.A. degree in music from
Catholic University,
Washington, D. C., is an ac
complished performer. He has
given numerous recitals, both
solo and duo, in the Abbey
Church and across the South.