Page:Czecho-Slovak Student Life, Volume 18.djvu/30
will receive his latest distinction and where he also expects to remeasure many of the famous prehistoric skulls, for he is convinced that much of our present data is erroneous.
Dr. Aleš Hrdlička has done an enormous amount of work for humanity, and holds the esteem of every scientist. We who are also of Czechoslovak ancestry cannot help being proud of him and offer him our sincere congratulations upon his latest distinction.
MICHAEL BOSAK, SLOVAK LEADER AND BANKER.
In the north central part of Slovakia, bounded on the north by the Polaninske Karpaty, lies the picturesque county of Saris. Three rivers, Torssa, Topla and Ondrava, which spring from the same Poloninske Karpaty, make their way thru it, emptying themselves at last into the mighty Danube.
One can still see the ruins of the medieval castle, and visualize the time when Slovakia’s “knighthood was in flower”.
Among these peaceful natural surroundings, M. Bosak was born on the 10th of December, 1869, in the town of Okruhlo.
He, no doubt, spent many a happy moment in those hills and valleys, and even now recalls them as the red letter days of his life.
In his 17th year, when youth is in its prime and nourishes many an ambition that is later fulfilled, Michael, full of new hopes and aspirations, left his native land to seek his fortune in America.
Like most of the Slovaks in this their adopted country, he began in a humble way. He was first slate picker in Stockton, Pa., earning 75 cents a day. Later he got 90c a day from the Pardie Coal Co., in Hazleton. From then on his life was a steady climb. Timekeeping was his next occupation, and a position in a general merchandise store followed.
In 1893, two years after his marriage, he moved to Olyphant, Pa., where within the short time of three years, he gained the confidence of all his countryman and, as a result, was elected to represent them in the city council.
At the tenth convention of the Katolická Jednota, he was elected treasurer, at which post he labored for twelve years.