Annual Croatian Day and Homecoming Picnic on Sunday, August 24, 2003

ST. JOSEPH CROATIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

For immediate release
Contact: Fr. Joseph Abramovic
314-771-0958

The St. Joseph Croatian Catholic Church will hold its annual Croatian
Day and Homecoming Picnic on Sunday, August 24, 2003,
from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., inside the two air-conditioned halls of
St. Joseph Croatian Church, 2112 South 12th Street. Dance
music (free admission) will begin at 12:00 p.m. and will be provided by
the St. Louis Croatian Junior Tamburitzans, the Croatian
Sons, the St. Louis Button Box Accordion Club, and the Larry Haller
Band. American and traditional Croatian food (roasted lamb,
goulash, chicken, cakes and pastries) will be served.

St. Joseph Croatian Church is the second oldest Croatian Church west of
the Mississippi (Kansas City, the oldest). St. Joseph’s
Church has existed since 1904 but Croatians first came to the St. Louis
area in the 1860s. Just a few of the many prominent
contributions Croatians have made to St. Louis include stonemasonry,
construction and other artistic work done on the old and
present St. Louis court buildings, the old and new St. Louis Cathedrals,
the St. Louis Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the St. Louis
Gateway Arch grounds, the Adams Mark Hotel, and the statue of the
fireman holding the child near City Hall. There are
approximately 50,000 Croatians and Americans of Croatian descent living
in the bi-state area.

Judy Feldworth
feldwoj2@SLU.EDU
Department of Surgery
Saint Louis University