Page:Czecho-Slovak Student Life, Volume 18.djvu/514

During the past year his office has written insurance amounting to over $100,000.

On Nov. 14, 1904, Mr. Hricko married Miss Mary Barilko of Olyphant. They have four children: Mary, a graduate of Olyphant High School and Scranton Lackawanna Business College, married Daniel Mezick, and lives at Olyphant; Cecelia, a graduate of Olyphant High School, attends Pennsylvania State College; George A. Jr. and Josephine are both at home.

Mr. Hricko is president of the First Catholic Slovak Union of America, being the first American born citizen elected to this important position. The First Catholic Slovak Union was organized 37 years ago when Rev. Stephen Furdek first conceived the idea of organizing a union of the Catholic Slovaks in America. Today it is the strongest and most influential Slovak body, whether considered in point of membership, assets, or in direct influence on the Slovaks in America. The organization comprises a membership of over 1,000,000. Its total assets amount to six million dollars. As president of this organization, Mr. Hricko called a special meeting, which was held at Washington, D. C., Dec. 6, 1927, of all the fraternal Slovak organizations of the United States, for the purpose of merging such organizations.

He proposed a plan that each state be divided into six or more districts, each district to operate independently in holding district conventions, electing their own officers and delegates to a National Convention. The representatives of the different organizations which made up the convention at Washington, D. C., unanimously agreed to report the foregoing plan at their annual meeting, at which three representatives shall be named to sit as a committee with the other organizations for the purpose of completing the merger plan of the organizations as planned by Mr. Hricko. The temporary officers who were named at the convention will call a national meeting in the near future for the purpose of carrying out this plan.

Mr. Hricko is a Republican and for many years has taken active part in political affairs. He is now serving his second term as member of the State Legislature, having been elected to that office in 1924, and holds the distinction of being the first American of Slovak ancestry to be elected member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature. He is a director of the Miners Saving’s Bank, at Olyphant, and also a director of the Mid-Valley Hospital. He is a member of the Holy Ghost Slovak Catholic Church at Olyphant, and belongs to the Elks Lodge at Scranton.

Dr. G. R. Noyes, chairman of the Department of Slavic Languages at the University of California, taught elementary Bohemian there during the past year. He informs us that the only man on the faculty of the University of California who is of Czecho-Slovak ancestry is Dr. Edward Z. Rowell, whose mother’s name was Mareš. He received his PH.D. degree at the University of Chicago in 1922. Another interesting person at the University of California is Dr. Livingstone Porter, who will begin work as assistant professor of history in the University of Illinois next September. He was born and educated in Prague and later was graduated at Harvard. His main subject of instruction at the Illinois University will be Slavic History.

Again we have heard of the flying expertness of Miss Aurelia Plavková, of Garfield, N. J. She is proud of her. Slovak descent, likes aviation, wrote a novel called “Return of Ján”, and is a good sport.

Mr. F. W. Sotak, a prominent lawyer of Slovak ancestry living in Cleveland, has received the degree of Master of Laws from the John Marshall School of Law in Cleveland. Formerly he was on the editorial staff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Congratulations.