1925 - The First Slovenians in Winnipeg

The first Slovenians, six in total, arrived in Winnipeg in 1925. They were all young, single men with ambitions. All six of them married women of Ukrainian descent and remained friends. Two of them opened and operated basket weaving shops, one on Notre Dame Avenue and the other on Sutherland Avenue with up to 30 employees at each location, but the depression and Japanese competition put them out of business. Another Slovenian operated a plastering firm that eventually donated his skills and services towards the renovation of the present Slovenian church. There is even a street named after one of the first Slovenian immigrants to Winnipeg, called Vesel Street.

1951 - Slovenian Club of Manitoba

With the influx of more Slovenians after the Second world war, with only about a dozen members, they helped establish the first Slovenian organization called “Slovenian Club of Manitoba” in 1951. Gradually membership increased as more Slovenians arrived. As they arrived, the single women were sent to work on a contract basis to hospitals and private homes as domestics. Single men were sent to work as unskilled labourers on farms, railways and forests. They were followed by families working on sugar beet farms in southern Manitoba.

There were very few of these first immigrants still living in Manitoba. After they completed the contracts, most of them moved on to in their friends in other parts of Canada, the majority moving to Toronto and southern Ontario. The majority of today’s members are the people who immigrated to Canada during the latter part of the 1950s and the early portion of the 1960s. Most of these people elf their homeland to escape bad economic conditions or to join their family and friends already settled in Winnipeg.

1963 - Our Lady of Lourdes parish

Efforts were made under the leadership of the Slovenian Club of Manitoba to establish a Slovenian church in Winnipeg. This was realized in 1963 when Father Kopač in Toronto agreed to send Father Jožef Mejač, as the first Slovenian priest in Winnipeg. Prior to his arrival, the Point Douglas United Church, built in 1905 at 95 McDonald Ave., was purchased in 1962. The abandoned church was completely rebuilt both inside and out, all by volunteers of the Slovenian community. Most of the Slovenian population in Winnipeg, around 200 families at the time, were newly arrived immigrants without the financial means to support the purchase or renovation of the church. The Slovenian Club and church committee turned to the Archdiocese of Winnipeg under the leadership of the most Reverend George Flahiff for some financial support.

After some negotiations they possessed the Archdiocese permission to go ahead with the purchase and renovation of the church. Still the Archdiocese could not bring themselves to believe that such a small group could support its own parish. They were, in fact, convinced that it was only a matter of time before the Slovenian church would close. With that in mind, they decided against financial support. So without collateral, no financial institution would get involved in the project. Once again the community approached the Archdiocese, this time asking to co-sign their mortgage, for which they very reluctantly agreed.

Not only did the church survive, but also the mortgage was paid off in half the time allotted. The consecration of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and church hall in 1963 is the most important and beneficial event for the Slovenian community to date. The building is not only a place of worship, but also a home to the priest, and a second home to most Slovenian immigrants and their families.

Prior to possessing this building, the Club members were meeting in private homes or in the Savoy Hotel, which was owned by a Slovenian. However, for the religious needs the Slovenians belonged to the Czech parish, Our Lady of Fatima on Main Street and Magnus Avenue. The new church hall gave the community the opportunity to gather, keep in touch, and preserve some of the old homeland traditions such as Masquerade, Vinska Trgatev, Prekmurske koline, and New Year’s Eve socials. The use and importance of the building was increasing with every passing day, as more and more of the young immigrants were starting their own families, and space for catechism classes and other activities were required. As the community grew, the parish purchased the house on the west side of the church and demolished it for extra parking. The Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society for future endeavours purchased the property adjacent to the church on the east side.

From the beginning, the majority of the building’s use were of a social or religious nature. Today the building is being occupied almost every day of the week. Among other things the hall and the adjacent rooms are being used for catechism, beginners and advanced Slovenian language classes, practice for four ethnic dance groups, the male singers, as well as meetings for the Church Council, Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society and the Catholic Women’s League.

Slovenian priests who have served at Our Lady of Lourdes parish:

Fr. Joseph Mejač — 1963-1966
Fr. Joseph Časl — 1966-1968
Fr. Joseph Mejač — 1968-1976
Fr. Ivan Plazar — 1976-1981
Fr. Frank Letonja — 1981-1983
Fr. Ciril Čarga — 1983-1994
Fr. Anton Ovtar — 1994-1997

For the first twenty years, most of the church services and activities were held in Slovenian. As more and more young parishioners either didn’t understand Slovenian or married non-Slovenians, one of the two Sunday masses was change to English, which was served by a local priest. As the last Slovenian priest, Father Ovtar, was being transferred to Toronto, most of the community believed that would be the end of the Slovenian parish in Winnipeg. Howeve, to everyone’s surprise, and thanks to Archbishop Leonard Wall of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, Father Paul Hancko, a young Slovakian bilingual priest, save the parish.

Father Paul started reading Slovenian prayers right from the start, but within six months managed to perform mass in both Slovenian and English equally. As Father Paul also celebrated mass for the Hungarian parish, the second Slovenian mass was no long viable, and by having bilingual service Sunday attendance has actually increased. By continually encouraging people to support, be proud of and preserve the Slovenian culture, Father Paul has motivated many Slovenian leaders and those within the community to be active members.

1970 - Folklorama

In the year 1970, the City of Winnipeg asked ethnic groups to organize a week-long ethnic festival called Folklorama. This was supposed to be a one-time event to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Province of Manitoba and to showcase the diver cultural heritage of the people who settled in Manitoba However, the popularity of Folklorama evolved from a one-time event of 21 ethnic pavilions with 75,000 visitors to an annual two-week multicultural extravaganza of 45 ethnic pavilions. The Slovenian pavilion is one of the few original groups that after 31 years are still part of the festival. Although the pavilion was represented very well from the beginning, with such things as displays, food, pastries and costumes, the only entertainment available were the Zvon singers and a locally hired German band with a limited knowledge of Slovenian music. Within a couple of years, a number of children and young adults were recruited, dressed in Gorenska ethnic costumes, and taught many Slovenian dances. As the festival got bigger and better, so did the Slovenian pavilion. Within a few years, the Slovenian pavilion was considered one of the better pavilions, with the ever so popular Zvon singers, a local Slovenian band called Polenta, and four dance groups: Zvoncek (the beginners), Rozmarin (the youths), Mladost (teen group) and Triglav, the most senior groups with multiple costumes from different regions of Slovenia. They performed and displayed Slovenian culture in many parts of Canada and the U.S. and made a cultural exchange trip with Slovenia in 2000.

Each year, either the first or second week of August, a tent of 60’ x 90’ is erected for entertainment, public dancing and bar on the church’s parking lot with a capacity of 400 people. Within the church hall a minimum of 3/4 of the floor is devoted to cultural displays. Strictly Slovenian food is divided into 3 sections: pastry, traditional Slovenian dishes which are prepared daily in our hall kitchen and whole barbecued pigs and chickens are prepared each day outside the tent. A minimum of 90 volunteers are needed each day to prepare, serve and entertain the average of 500 visitors to the Slovenian pavilion each day.

The last known number of Slovenians in the City of Winnipeg is about 750 people of which some do not participate, although support from non-Slovenians is prevalent, it takes a tremendous effort, talent and willingness of the remainder of the people to complete the 7-day event. Some of the inner circle sacrificed their annual vacations for the success of the festival. No other known event in Western Canada (possibly even Canada) ever got close to promoting Slovenia and its culture as does Folklorama in Winnipeg.

1974 - Slovensko Zbiralisce

Another significant event for the Slovenian community happened in 1974. Picnics were regular events for many years, but always on rented properties of Slovenian and non-Slovenian farms. In 1974, the Slovenian Club of Manitoba decided to purchase 7 acres of land from one of its members, use 30 kilometres outside of the city. The existing building was immediate renovated and converted into a kitchen and bar. Children’s play structures, basketball hoop and a baseball diamond among other things were constructed. In 1977, a brand new hall was built, and in 1999, new washrooms were added.

At present, the Slovenian community has to its disposal the church building and the hall within the city, as well as picnic grounds hall called “Slovensko Zbiralisce” just outside of the city, which enables the community to gather and socialize year round. As mentioned in the beginning the first Slovenias arrived to Winnipeg in 1925, but the first organization called the Slovenian Club of Manitoba was formed in 1951. Originally, for no known reason, the club consisted almost entire of male members. Wishing for this tradition to change, the members decided to start by changing the name to the Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society in 1996. The immediate results were seen as many women and youths started to join.

2001 - 50th Anniversary

On Sept. 29, 2001, a very successful gala event was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the organization’s existence. In addition to many local politicians, the Slovenian Ambassador to Canada and post Slovenian priests, three original members of the organization were among the honoured guests. In the fall of that same year, as an added service and more importantly as a communication vehicle to the community, a weekly Sunday afternoon bilingual radio program was created and hosted by Steve Casar. The program was an immediate success and the pride of the community as it reports news from Slovenia, community announcements and playing traditional Slovenian music.

The three organizations have worked together for man-years and are leading the Slovenian community in Winnipeg are: Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and the Catholic Women’s League.

Follow-up on “A Short History of the Slovenian Community” by Albert Casar

2003-2021

Since Albert Casar’s history, the CSCS has continued in its mandate to maintain and promote the Slovenian culture in Winnipeg. In 2019 we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Folklorama. The Slovenian community participated in 48 of them. Folklorama has provided a perfect motivation for the ongoing cultural expression for the Slovenian community in Winnipeg. It provides a venue for the Slovenian musicians, singers and dancers here in Winnipeg as well as performers from Slovenia.

We have welcomed bands from Slovenia: Alfi Nipic, Cuki, Slapovi, Sasha Avsenik to name a few. We continue to maintain good relations with other Slovenian communities in Canada as well as the Embassy in Ottawa. We have also been involved in cultural/historical projects through the Office of Slovenians Abroad, in particular the archive project of Slovenian communities throughout the world.

There have been changes because everything changes. As the demographics of the Slovenian community changed so did the needs of the community. The biggest change came in the selling of the picnic grounds by Lorette, MB. As the community became more prosperous and diverse the grounds no longer served the original purpose of providing a regular place for socializing, for having a family place to eat our famous whole hog and chicken barbeque. Attendance declined, revenue dropped and expenses continued to increase. The community voted to sell the property in 2020. It also sold the lot behind the church which served as a second parking. With a huge increase in property tax over the years it was no longer feasible to keep as it was. It was sold in 2019.

The past two years under the Covid threat have been difficult for everyone, especially our seniors who always enjoyed attending Folklorama, attending church with its after Mass fellowship and keeping in touch with the goings on the community in general.

This year is the 70th Anniversary of the Slovenski Klub/CSCS. Not every ethno-cultural club survives this long. Many in Winnipeg have come and gone. But in spite of our small number we continue on in our celebration of our Slovenian culture and heritage. Let us hope that for future generations we can continue to provide an opportunity for this expression.