Less Known Points of Interest in the Functioning of Local Societies in the Grand Carniolian Slovenian Catholic Union (1894–1924)

The first Slovenian emigrants realized soon after their arrival to the USA that in the event of work accidents or disease they depended solely on themselves. For this reason they started to found their own benefit societies, following the example of other nationalities (e.g. the Czechs, the Finns). At first these were of a local character with a limited number of members, which did not guarantee enough financial safety. In order to decrease the possibility of a financial break down, they started to found benefit societies which united members of the same ethnical group throughout the whole country. The first Slovenian fraternal benefit society called the Carniolian Slovenian Catholic Society (“Kranjsko slovenska katoliška jednota” in Slovene, abbrev. KSKJ) was founded in Joliet (Illinois) in 1894. It was founded by Slovenian Catholic priests in the USA, who often encountered the misery and helplessness of victims of accidents and their families. The society functioned according to strict Catholic principles. Its ideological orientation was expressed in the name itself, and St. Joseph was chosen as its patron saint. All the local societies were also mostly named after saints. The basic aim of the fraternal benefit society was to help the members or their families in the event of death, while the additional activity was to provide health insurance. However, the organization also cultivated other important values, such as the Slovenian cultural tradition, the Slovenian language, and close contacts with “the old country”. The basis of fraternal benefit organizations was represented by local societies, which were active throughout all of the USA. The local society of the Carniolian Slovenian Catholic Society called St. Francis de Sales Society No. 29 was founded in Joliet (Illinois) on February 2, 1896. It was already the fourth local society of the KSKJ in the town of Joliet. The reasons for the setting up of a new society came from the dissatisfaction of important members of imigrant communities with the work of the existing societies in the town. In their opinion they were not represented high enough in the hierarchy of these societies. The fact was that the highest positions in local societies, expecially on the main board, brought not only respect, but also financial benefits. Thus it is not surprising that the presidency of the society was taken over by the undertaker Anton Nemanich, one of the town's wealthiest Slovenian imigrants and cofounder of the KSKJ. Nemanich's rise in the KSKJ started in 1896, the same year when he was, at the third convention, elected to the position of the chief president of the KSKJ. This started a period of more than 20 years in which the members of this local society held the most important positions in the KSKJ. The duties of the members of the KSKJ included the rules of both their local society and the rules of the main organization. They had to attend the society meetings, particularly when there were elections for the members of the board, and regularly pay assessment. According to the rules, the society had to provide for a respectable funeral of their members, including escort by men in uniform and society banners. In addition to this, their members had to visit their sick colleagues. An important way of raising money for the local societies was through the organization of dances. If the members failed to fulfill their duties, they were fined. The societies often recieved invitations to various ceremonies organized by Slovene imigrants, which they gladly accepted. The regular monthly meetings of the local societies started with a Mass, while the daily meetings were opened and closed by the presiding member with a prayer. The members of the KSKJ had to go to confession and receive Holy Communion at least once a year. The society was in general closely connected with the Slovenian parish of St. Joseph. Local societies had a very important charity function. They received pleas for help by various empoverished Slovenian imigrants, not rarely by other local societies. They were very successful in attaining new members, since their monthly meetings regularly brought the inclusion of new members. St. Francis de Sales Society No. 29 was among the most successful in this activity. The society was among the winners of the competition for attracting new members more than 10 times. St. Francis de Sales Society No. 29 was neither the oldest nor the largest local society of the KSKJ, but it was one of the most influential. Its members held the highest positions in the main organization. In this way they had a significant influence on the politics of the KSKJ in the most important phase of its existence, when it developed from a small and financially unstable fraternal benefit organization into a modern insurance company. The society has over a hundred years successfully continued to carry out its uniting mission in the areas of religion, politics and culture