When people hear my last name, I'm often asked about my Slovak heritage. That story doesn't take long to tell since it comes down to the fact that I'm Irish and English. It's my husband who is Slovak and Polish.
I don't think it was until I moved here as a kid in 1960 that I even knew there were Slovak people. My new best friend was Slovak and I loved the fact that her parents would still speak the language and that they kept up special Slovak traditions that were new to me.
Of course, after years of living here, I've come to know the story of the early Slovak families who came to Whiting over 100 years ago. As a kid, we'd go to Ralph's Restaurant after school. Next door was my friend's uncle's shop. It was shoe repair store where the air was always smothered in the smell of leather and polish.
Little did I know at that time that both of those shops were housed in one of Whiting's most historical buildings, the Slovak Dom.
The Slovak Dom was THE place to hold your wedding reception. I've heard stories about my sister-in-law's wedding there where the dancing and stomping actually shook the floorboards.
As the Slovak people came to live here, they wanted a gathering place, a place to celebrate their culture Â… in other words, a "Slovensky Dom," translation Slovak Home. Now the Slovaks here were not just Roman Catholic. Many were Lutheran; others were members of the Byzantine Rite Catholics. But the Slovak Dom was for all Slovak countrymen to enjoy no matter what their religion.
At a cost of $50,000 work commenced on the building that would stand at the corner of 119th and Short Street. Short Street disappeared when the Community Center was later built.
Opening Day was April 15, 1917, and the Slovaks who worked so hard to make this dream come true could look with pride at what a Times article said was "the most beautiful building in Whiting."
To celebrate, a two-mile long parade marched to the Slovak Dom. Inside a thousand people gathered to gaze at the beautiful structure. The crowd was entertained with addresses by prominent Slovaks and the Dom was blessed by Father Benedict Rajcany who had been a leader of not only the Whiting Slovak community but the East Chicago one as well.
The three storied building contained lodge and office rooms, a main assembly hall, library, a smoking room, and a large hall on the second floor for social events as well as double storefronts for rent on the 119th Street side of the building.
At one point the second floor banquet room was demolished. Today the building is the home of the active American Slovak Club.
One can only imagine the pride these early immigrants felt when they established this special place for themselves and I know that ethnic pride is still here just as is the building's lovely stone cornice that reminds passers by that this is Whiting's "Slovak Home."
The opinions are solely those of the writer.
