Croatian Cemeteries in Roslyn, Washington

There are probably not many communities that refer to cemeteries in their chamber-of-commmerce-type advertising brochures. But Roslyn, Washington does, and judging from the number of tourists that view the cemeteries each year, the unusual advertising gImmIck is a successful one. Inasmuch as three of the cemeteries are Croatian, the present article Is being prepared as a matter of potential interest to the Croatian history buffs among our readers. Roslyn is a small town situated barely on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, a rugged range that bisects the State of Washington. The community is dispersed, with the main section lying In a rather elevated valley, over looking a broad panorama below, while the remaining sections ate situated on the surrounding hillsides. Forests pickup immediately at town's edge. By 1897, there were present in sufficient numbers of Croatians to have founded Lodge 56 of the old National Croatian Society the main, forerunner of the Croatian Fraternal Union.

1929 Documentary

As to the number of Croatians that eventually settled In Roslyn, we can best refer to the 70-page document Narodom u Americi" written by Ivan Lupis-Vukic in Split in 1929. The author, retiring as editor of the Chicago-based “Hrvatski Glasnik”, visited Roslyn in 1927 as part of a western tour before returning to Croatia. According to Lupis-Vukic, 2000 of the 4,000 people living In Roslyn at that time were "our people", a few Slovenians and Serbians, but mostly Croatians.

Roslyn was the main stop on Lupis-Vukic's tour as -he spent three weeks - there visiting his sister and her family. He described the Croatian community in detail, including the fraternal organizations,., job conditions In the mines, family life, the lives of the women, the evils of moonehine etc., and finally, the Croatian cemeteries, which he described with considerable emotion, concluding that there might have been more Croatians dead than alive in Roslyn. The present article based on the aforementioned work-Medju Nasim Narodom u Americi-and on the discussions that I had with John Butkovich, secretary of Lodge 56, during the course of my visit to Roslyn July 17, this year.

24 Cemeteries Altogether

First of all, It, must be pointed out that Roslyn's Croatian cemeteries are but three of the approximately 24 cemeteries there. Each major ethnic group has their own as well-the Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, Serbians (mostly Montenegrins), blacks etc., plus the non-ethnic fraternals such as the Masons, the Redmen etc. Then of course, there are the regular town cemeteries (a couple) and one for the veterans. There are a lot of Croatians buried in these latter cemeteries as well.

The first two cemeteries holding Croatians lie side by side at the highest point on the hill. They are the original graveyard of Lodge 56 (Dr. David Stardevic) and. that of St. Barbara Lodge 39, American Fraternal Union headquartered In Ely, Minnesota (formerly the J.S.K.J.).

Croatians, it should be said, made up almost all of the St. Barbara membership. They joined simply because It was wise in those days to belong to as many beneficial organizations as possible.

Judging from the oldest dates on the headstones, both cemeteries accepted, their first occupants In about 1905.

The third cemetery, lying at a sornewhat lower level, was in the beginning the property of a Croatian Society other than the the CFU-perhaps the old Croatian League of Illinois, but one in any case that became affiliated with the Croatian Fraternal Union In 1927. Known as Dr. David Stardevic No. 2, the lower cemetery became the burial place of most of Lodge 56's members once the upper cemetery was filled.

Most From Gorski Kotar

Gorski Kotar, the mountainous region lying inland from Rijeka, was the homeland of the vast majority, of Roslyn's Croatians. The communities of Delnice, Mrkopalj, Lic, Lokve, Fuzine, Brestova Draga and Sunger are particularly well represented although there are a few family names from Hrvatsko Primorie, Lika and Dalmatia as well. Common on the tombstones, therefore are names such as Starcevic, Majnaric, Radosevic, Mataya, Kauzlaric, Plese, Bruketta, Paskvan etc.

No one knows exactly how many Croatians are buried in Roslyn's cemeteries, but there must be a thousand or more.

One difficulty in trying to work up an estimate, according to brother Butkovich, is that the extremely poor members and the infants were often buried without headstones, and once the wooden crosses and fences that marked these graves yielded to time, the graves were often overlooked. Nonethe less, many of the childrens' graves are still identifiable as little mounds-row after row of little mounds in fact.

It Is difficult to imagine how many bitter tears were shed over the loss of these children. Or to imagine the tears that flowed over the loss of young husbands and sons in the mines-many, many, in the prime of their lives.

Take, for example, the tombstone which reads:

"Ovdje pociva Vinko Kucan, rodjen 22. lipnja, 1884, u Gorskorn Kotaru, selo Mrkopalj, Hrvatska, umro 21. srpnja u "'Roslyn, Washington- Pocivaj u miru."

One poor woman, pointed out brother Butkovich, married three times and three times lost husbands to the mines.

Of all the ethnic and fraternal cemeteries in Roslyn, those belonging to the Croatian Fraternal Union are among the best maintained and this is almost solely to the efforts of John Butkovich. "I've got the lower one in fairly good shape-with a new fence and sign and all", states John, "but next year I've got to get a little more help and do the upper one too". (it was this writees observation, by the way, that brother Butkovich has lots of other things to do as well. He is a schoolteacher for one thing and he and his family maintain a sizable "gentleman's farm" on the outskirts of Roslyn. All this in addition to being lodge secretary.

The Future

It's tough to guess about the future, according to John Butkovich.

Some members are growing apprehensive about the perpetual care aspect probably asking themselves who will maintain the cemeteries after the first generation of American-born, Croatians go the way of their immigrant parents. A few are even opting for town cemeteries rather than those of the Croatian Fraternal Union.

"But, on the other hand", continues, brother Butkovich, "one of your members over there in Seattle recently made; arrangements to be buried here, another fellow in California swears that he's going to join CFU Lodge 56 just so he can be buried amongst his fellow Croatians”.

Richard L. Major