Croatian-Slavonic Day-Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915

By Adam S. Eterovich

1915 San Francisco: Staged to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, the Exposition stretched over 635 acres- from Fort Point to Van Ness Avenue and from Chestnut Street to the Bay. San Francisco was going to show the world how proudly it had risen from the ashes of the Great Fire and Earthquake of 1906.

The greater San Francisco Bay Area, including Northern California, boasted of approximately 20,000 Slavs, with the majority being Slavs from Croatia-Dalmatia, Hercegovina, Slovenia, and Montenegro. The Slavonic Illyric Mutual and Benevolent Society, along with fellow Slavs, organized Slavonic Day to express their ethnic pride and loyalty to America.

The San Francisco Chronicle, on September 21, 1915, described the Slavonic parade in detail as follows: Slavonic Day is Celebrated by Thousands. Assembled Slavs Show Their Loyalty to U.S. by Issuing Patriotic Proclamation

Gala Doings at Exposition close with Ball in the California Building. Queen Margaret I of United Slavonia, acclaimed by 20,000 Slavs, ruled over the exposition yesterday. No one knew that they were so many SLavs in Central California until they marched into the exposition yesterday morning to celebrate Slavonic day. They came from every city around the bay, from Sacramento, Stockton, Watsonville and San Jose, representing all the Slavic groups from Russia to Croatia. They filled Festival Hall for their formal exercises and overflowed all over the grounds. No less that thirty-four Slavonic societies, besides long lines of men and women unattached, were represented in the big parade that escorted Queen Margaret and her train from the Civic Center to the exposition.  With the sokols and societies in bright national constumes, the parade was the most colorful taht has passed through the exposition gates.

Queen Margaret rode in a triumphal car symbolizing United Slavonia and attended by her maids of honor and nine little girls representing the Slavic Division.  Grand Marshal J. A. Chargin, with his chief of staff, Frank Hospodarsky, and his aides, Anton Zec, V. D. Jugovich and M. Waniorek, led the parade. After the queen came Mayor Rolph, the official high priest at the coronation.

While employing the day to emphasize their love of race, the California Slavs made it also the occasion of a demonstration of thier patriotic regard for the United States.  Their speakers declared their allegiance to their adopted country, resolutions were passed expressing their willingess to serve in the defense of the Nation, and the general committee issued a proclamaiton declaring that the Slavs of this country statnd for the United States first of all.

Proud of Adopted Country The printed address said in part “The Slavonic citizens of California and of all the other part ot he the United States always have been, are and always will be, ready to do everything in therir power to be of use and help in their adopted country in any emergency.  no matter what foreign governments, their ambassadors or agents may say or do, the Slavs throughout America are ready and eager to offer their belongings, their strong arms and healthy bodies and if necesary, thier last drop of blood, for the integrity and safety of these glorius United States, anywhere and at any time.”

They further wish to emphasize that one Slavonic race loves the others, and that if the Austrian and German Government have offered the world the revolting spectacle in arraying brother against brother in revolting combats, the world must know that the poor, downtrodden Slavonic peoples, under the unjust and tyrannic governments of the Kaisers and Hapsburgs, have no other choice, and that prisons and gallows stifle at once any protesting voice. “The American people will have an opportunity to witness on this day that unity and harmony of the Slav residing in the United States, and view the falseness of the statements spread by the enemies of truth, who maintain that the Slavs, pressed into the uniforms of their opressors, are not fighting by choice, but because they are forced to do so by those same criminal goverments.” E. L. Chlopek, one of the orators of the day, declared that a Teutonic victory would leave the Slavs of Europe a people without a country. Samuel M. Shortridge called upon all the Slavs present, as loyal Americans by adoption, to exert effort to preserve the Nation’s neutrality.

Queen Margaret I, otherwise Miss M. Krsak, was crowned by Mayor Rolph on the stage of Festival Hall.  The Mayor was the first to salute the monarch, and then the audience cheered and sang “Oj Slaveni.” They sang “America” at the close.  Piano and violin solos were redered by Zdenka Euben, Josephine Holub, Helen Engelman and Julius Lister, and a recitation by Frances G. Chargin. Antone Pilcovich officiated as president of the day. In the afternoon a series of exhibition drills were staged in the court of the Universe, under the direction of Victor Vojvodich, who arganized the Southern Slavs into one body.  The teams were from the Croatian Sokols of Sacramento, the Bohemian and Croatian Sokols, both men and women, and the United Sokols.  In the evening the united slavonians gave a ball in the California building.