INFORMATION BULLETIN

Besides the love of and pride in their Romanian roots and heritage, the pioneer Romanian immigrants brought along with them articles of folk and religious art, some Romanian reading matter, such as the Bible, prayer books and selected Romanian literature. A few of the immigrants, especially among the females, arrived garbed in their distinctive national costumes, which they forwent for the apparel of the day at that time in this country.

Their Romanian language, customs, religion, dances and philosophy, plus the personal tangible mementos, were reminders of their heritage, which they wanted to preserve and perpetuate in this country. The cherished artifacts were not simply stored away. but found a prominent place in the homes they eventually set up.

In the early Romanian home in America, one could usually find a re­ligious and ethnic corner, consisting of an ikon on glass or wood draped with a hand embroidered Romanian scarf, before which hung a vigil light or a votive candle.

On a lower shelf or elsewhere, there might be a container of holy water, a censer, pussy willows or palms from previous Palm Sunday services, deco­rated Easter eggs. A wooden hand cross and other religious articles, such as candle stubs from past Easter Services, baptisms or weddings.

Nearby on other shelves or in a glass case, may be found a variety’ of other Romanian folk-art items, such as carved wooden objects, ceramics, possibly a reed flute (fluier), dolls dressed in Romanian costumes and other trinkets.

After some of these immigrants es­tablished themselves permanently, bought or built homes and had a more stable financial base, the more ambi­tious and dedicated among them, even went so far as to set aside a while room which was furnished with Ro­manian objects, curtains, drapes, carved furniture, paintings, coffee table with vases, ceramics. Some of these rooms, especially in later years, were quite elaborate and a veritable museum of Romanian folk art.

As the Romanians settled and formed ethnic communities, they built churches, social halls, schools and other facilities for their common use. Even­tually , items from private collections were donated to these Romanian in­stitutions, where they were worked into the existing facilities and displayed for public viewing. In some instances, Romanian scenes were painted on the walls or the backdrop on the stage. Such was the case in Youngstown, Ohio and Hermitage, Pennsylvania where Mrs. Sally Moga, a dedicated Romanian folklorist and painter, has done some murals. In time. when new buildings were built with more and better facilities, some of them became semi-museums of Romanian folk art.

As the pioneer Romanian immi­grants passed away and the succeed­ing generations replaced them, inter­est in displaying and promoting Ro­manian folk art waned accordingly. Many of the articles brought over so lovingly and displayed with such pride were stored away and some were even lost.

Those of the first generation of Romanians in America, who were still conscious of their ethnic background, showed some interest in their heritage and continued to display these inher­ited folk-art items, preserve and pro­mote its culture. Second, third and fourth generations showed less and less interest in these matters.

Besides practicing their religion, the early Romanian parishes and lately the newer ones became centers of Ro­manian culture. Services during these early years were held almost exclu­sively in the Romanian language. Most of the parishes and some of the mu­tual-aid and cultural societies had Romanian classes where the rudiments of the Romanian language were taught, usually by the priest or some volun­teer. Attendance was optional and of­ten erratic. With the exception of those pupils whose parents or some zealot teacher took a personal interest, these courses weren’t too effective. Notwith­standing, the pupils were exposed to the Romanian language and culture, which they carried in their hearts and mind, keeping them aware of their roots and giving them a certain incentive to further evaluate them.

The success of a parish in finding a happy medium to serve the religious and cultural needs of the congrega­tion was largely dependent on the dedi­cation, ingenuity and resourcefulness of the priest. It is difficult to qualify the success of the priest serving the parishes throughout the years, but some do stand out above others.

The Romanians in America were fortunate in having a few priests, who, though they were less than perfect, were the right persons for the job at that time.

The larger parishes, besides can­tors , also had a choir which gave the responses at the Liturgy. These choirs also learned Romanian secular folk music. which they sang at special oc­casions in the life of the parish or at some other non-parish event in the community at large.

Alongside the choir, some parishes and societies sponsored folk dancing groups, whose members dressed in Romanian costumes and performed the better-known Romanian folk dances.

In some cases, when Romanian cos­tumes could not be purchased in Ro­mania, the parents of the children, under the supervision and guidance of skilled seamstresses, sewed them them­selves. A few parishes, as for instance, in Youngstown, had special sewing classes under the direction of Preoteasa Victoria Stanila for the confection of Romanian blouses, embroidery and costumes.

Some parishes, especially those in which there are a greater number of recent newcomers from Romania, still have Romanian classes, folk dancing groups, theatrical and artistic en­sembles and other Romanian oriented activities. As the members become more Americanized, these ethnic ori­ented activities gradually decreased.

Leafing through the collection of Romanian newspapers and almanacs published in America, you can run across news items describing events promoting Romanian culture and the public exhibit of Romanian artifacts. The annual almanacs have many group pictures of choirs, Romanian classes, folk dancing groups, etc.

Just before, during and right after World War I, visits of Romanian offi­cial delegations to America to enhance the cause of the union of all Roma­nian provinces into one country, were reported in the Romanian and Ameri­can press and helped to draw attention to Romanian matters. Wherever they went, the local Romanian community welcomed them and often set up ex­hibits of Romanian art for the benefit of their American neighbors. With the establishment of the Romanian Em­bassy in Washington D.C., which was housed in an elegant building with many facilities and lots of space, Ro­manian culture and folk art found a more permanent home, which eventu­ally expanded to other Romanian gov­ern— e~: facilities elsewhere in Arrjenci.

Though democratic in outlook and practice. Americans were always fas­cinated and excited by royal visits. Romanian royal visits were no excep­tion. In 1920, Prince Carol, who was to become King Carol II, visited America and helped found the Soci­ety of Friends of Romania by William Nelson Cromwell.

Besides publishing an excellent quarterly, “Roumania,” the Society initiated the collection of Romanian folk art in the mansion of Cromwell in New York City. The Society often participated in various ethnic cultural affairs throughout the city, especially in the well-known “America in the Making” exhibit in 1922. The activi­ties of the Society continued for 20 years, after which many of the folk-art items were donated by St. Dumitru’s Romanian Orthodox Church in Man­hattan, during the pastorate of Father Vasile Hategan. The visit of Queen Maria with her daughter Princess Ileana and son, Prince Nicholas in 1926 had a salutary and lasting effect upon cul­tural relations between America and Romania. Wherever she traveled in America, exhibits were started; some of which were perpetuated in local museums.

Of the other visits of Romanian dig­nitaries to America, that of Professor Nicolae Iorga in 1930 had an even greater lasting effect. Besides visiting a number of Romanian communities and lecturing at universities, he en­couraged the founding of Romanian schools and permanent exhibits. His experiences in America were written up in a book published with this occa­sion.

Throughout the years, a number of enthusiasts of Romanian folklore and art carne to America with their collec­tions, set up exhibits in various parts of the country, lectured and advised others to do likewise. Eventually, they donated their collections to establish institutions specializing in ethnic folk art.

Among the most extensive and rep­resentative collections to be brought to America was that of Anisoara Stan, who had collected Romanian folk art for many years before coming here in 1922. She crisscrossed the country exhjpi’icig xz collection and ±ecttix-uig on Romanian folk art in various cities, not only in Romanian commu­nities but also to a much larger Ameri­can audience. She wrote of her expe­rience in a hardcover book: “They Crossed Mountains and Oceans.” She was a dreamer and envisioned an eth­nographic museum to be built in America with the participation of many nationalities.

Unfortunately, this dream was never realized. After her death, her husband donated the extensive authentic col­lection to “St. Mary Romanian Ortho­dox Church Museum” in Cleveland, where k is one of the mainstays.

At about the same time, Angela Ionescu, a collector and producer of Romanian peasant art, exhibited her collection throughout America, begin­ning with the “Women’s Arts and In­dustries Fair,” in 1927. She introduced Romanian peasant art in American schools, wrote, lectured and exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Later, she also exhibited at the “Golden Gate Fair” in San Francisco. She sold or donated many of her creations, which are now in various collections.

A plan to establish a “Romanian Folk Art Museum” in the Chicago area was made by Rodica Perciali in the eighties.

Far away from the Romanian cen­ters in the country is a unique attempt to exhibit works of Romanian folk art at the “Maryhill Museum of Fine Arts” in Oregon State. The Romanian col­lection was started by Samuel Hill and was dedicated by Queen Maria of Romania during her visit in 1926. The collection consists of carved furniture, embroideries, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, costumes and glassware, to which were added many Romanian objects donated by Queen Maria.

Kent State University in Ohio has one of the most extensive collections of books, manuscripts and photographs of the Romanian royal family and of Romanian history. It was originally started by Ray Baker Harris of Wash­ington, D.C. in 1925 and through the efforts of Professor John Popa Deleu was donated to the University. Pro­fessor Glee Wilson, coordinator of Ro­manian studies at the University, has been in charge of the Romanian col­lection since 1972. which is steadiiy expanded and properly evaluated. In 1991, a most successful exhibition of Romanian folk art was held at the University with the cooperation of the “Museum of History of Bucharest.” The extensive display concentrated mostly on Romanian peasant, military and ecclesiastical costumes. The Uni­versity provided space in its museum for a permanent display of Romanian costumes and artifacts.

Aside from individual initiatives of Romanian citizens and the official Romanian commissions and delega­tions, the Romanian government or­ganized a number of exhibits of Ro­manian art in America after World War I.

Romania’s participation in the 1939 World’s Fair was undoubtedly the most extensive and successful. Even through under communist domination, the Ro­manian government made an effort to promote Romanian folk art abroad. In 1976, with the occasion of the Bicen­tennial, in Detroit was arranged a large scale Romanian rug exhibit, which later moved to Chicago and Los Angeles.

Likewise, in the spring of 1980, a Romanian government exhibit of Folk An in cooperation with the Univer-i:ry of Michigan in Ann Arbor was r-eld there and in Philadelphia and Seattle, Washington. In 1991 was the exhibition at Kent State University.

At one time, the Romanian govern­ment with the cooperation of enter­prising businessmen, exported Roma­nian artifacts, Romanian foods and wines but has ceased to do that be­cause of the poor economic condition of the country.

New York City boasts one of the largest and most active Romanian com­munities in America, most of which members arrived after World War n. Having fled Communism, with the love of country and democracy, they are generally intent on preserving and pro­moting Romanian culture in me Greater New York City area.

The New York Library and Muse­ums house a number of Romanian books and works of art by famous Romanian artists and many folk-art items.

There is no doubt that the largest and most representative exhibit of vari­ous forms of Romanian culture in America was Romania’s participation in the 1939 World’s Far in New York City. With its lavish Pavilion, Roma­nian House and restaurant, the vari­ety, beauty and intricacy of the whole spectrum of Romanian art and culture awed everyone.

Built with Romanian marble and alabaster, the spacious building housed Romanian sculptures, paintings and mosaics of famous Romanian artists, plus many folk-art items. As elabo­rate as this Exhibit was, it lasted only two years, after which the buildings were dismantled and the contents dis­persed. The bulk of the building ma­terials and works of art ended up in Cleveland, Ohio, much of which was incorporated in the church complex built there in 1960. Other items were sent to St. Dumitru’s Romanian Or­thodox Church in Manhattan which were used to decorate and embellish the chapel, social hall, meeting rooms and offices, making it a jewel of Ro­manian religious and folk art. Some of the items were donated to the Ro­manian classroom in the “Cathedral of Learning of the University of Pitts­burgh” which was begun in 1929, thus making it one of the most original and representative nationality classrooms.

In cities with large Romanian com­munities, there were attempts not only to participate in activities of the Ameri­can community at large and of other ethnic groups, but also to establish permanent displays and exhibits of Romanian folk art.

Among the foremost Romanian communities to preserve and promote Romanian culture is the one in Cleve­land, Ohio, with its Romanian Ortho­dox, Greek Catholic and neo-Protes-tant churches, plus societies and other organizations.

As early as 1914, St. Mary’s parish participated in community affairs with its church choir, dance group and folk arts programs. The parish participated in international programs in the city throughout the years, setting up books, taking part in parades and other cul­tural manifestations. The Cleveland Library boasts of one of the largest collections of Romanian books. Espe­cially through the efforts of Theodore Andrica, there are permanent displays of Romanian costumes at the main branch of the library, the Museum of Art and the Western Reserve Histori­cal Society. There is a statue of George Enescu in the Romanian cultural gar­den. Through the “International Insti­tute and the Nationalities Services Cen­ter,” the Romanians periodically par­ticipated in ethnic cultural affairs.

Above all, St. Mary’s parish prides itself in building an ultramodern church in the style of the wooden churches of Transylvania. On the premises are to be found a large Romanian “troitza” (wayside cross), a statue by the fa­mous sculptor Oscar Hann and other Romanian works of art.

The parish houses one of the larg­est Romanian ethnic museums outside of Romania with a great variety of Romanian folk art items on display, including many from the Anisoara Stan, Gunther, Costa and Hategan col­lection. There are also many Roma­nian historical items on display and original paintings by Grigorescu, Luchian, Palade, Ressu and other well-known Romanian artists, plus mosa­ics by Steriade. The Church hall features a hand beaten cooper frieze de­picting the history of the Romanians. There are also paintings by contem­porary Romanian artists, ceramics, Ro­manian furniture and other items. The parish also has quite an extensive li­brary of Romanian books on various subjects. Truly, Cleveland lives up to its reputation of being one of the fore­most Romanian cultural centers of America. Much of the history of the parish during the last 50 years was chronicled and photographed by Louis Martin. An accomplished photogra­pher, he also traveled to Romania and photographed some of the more im­portant sites, specializing in the por­traits of typical Romanian peasants. In the autumn of 1998, he had an ex­hibit of many of these framed photos, many of which were purchased to be exhibited in homes and elsewhere.

Detroit, the home of a numerous Romanian community and the site of over ten active Romanian churches of various religious persuasions, has achieved a number of things through­out the years in preserving and pro­moting Romanian culture.

St. George Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, built in the style of the churches of Bucovina, has in the past promoted Romanian culture, includ­ing folk dance and cultural groups. The premises of the Cathedral are a depository of objects of folk art and a library which contains Romanian lan­guage and Romanian topic books from the collections of Deacon Victor Angelescu, Ph.D. Father John Mihut built a beautiful Romanian style church in Warren, Michigan with furniture sculptured in Romania and encourages a multilat­eral Romanian activity with Roma­nian folk-dance groups, Romanian classes, sports teams and areas for exhibiting Romanian works of folk art.

As a common effort, the Romanians of Detroit furnished one room at Wayne State University with Romanian ob­jects and had a fresco painted in 1977 by Father Felix Dubneac.

For many years, James Crucian had a Romanian radio program for the Detroit area. (As early as 1935, Michael Taylor-Croetoru started a radio pro­gram. Lately, George Roman and Aurel Trocea had a radio program, as did the Romanian Baptist church.) Chicago, with Romanians predomi­nantly from Banat, is keen in preserv­ing Romanian culture, participating annually in the Christmas program sponsored by the city, carrying on a Romanian radio program and build­ing up Romanian collections in the local museums and Romanian books in the libraries.

Aside from New York City, the Los Angeles area has one of the largest and most active Romanian communi­ties in the country. Made up largely of relative newcomers, immersed in the love of the old country and culture, they are carrying on a multifaceted program in promoting Romanian cul­ture, building churches, endowing li­braries with Romanian books, orga­nizing artistic and social programs, sponsoring Romanian classes and dis­seminating information about Roma­nia, her culture and people. The Ameri­can Romanian Academy of Arts and Science (ARA- was founded in Los Angeles, where it is still located. It publishes books about Romania, spon­sors seminars and symposiums throughout the country.

In Canada, the Romanian commu­nities in Montreal, Toronto and Hamilton are active in promoting Ro­manian culture. Organized in the “Ro­manian Association of Canada” in 1952, they participate in a number of Romanian cultural activities. In 1981, they founded a “Romanian Cultural Center” and a “Romanian Village” in 1970 at Val-David, where outings, camps, symposiums and other meet­ings are held, especially during the summer months. Besides the build­ings and pavilions, there are a number of “troitzas” and other Romanian works of folk art scattered throughout the village.

Another recreational and Romanian cultural facility in Canada is the Camp at Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan.

On July 24, 1998 the Romanian community of Boian, Alberta (Canada) celebrated its centenary. Besides reli­gious services, there was a cultural program and demonstrations of the early life of the Romanians in Canada. The Romanian Orthodox parish in Boian has a Romanian ethnic museum housed on its premises.

No doubt, the most important Ro­manian cultural center is to be found at the VATRA Romanesca, the na­tional headquarters of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America. In the numerous buildings are treasures of Romanian folk art. On the grounds are also a number of Romanian way­sides (troitzas), monuments, and a cem­etery with a chapel. Besides offices and living quarters, there are facilities for national meetings, summer camps and other gatherings.

The Romanian-American Heritage Center, an independent entity open to all those of Romanian descent, was founded and built through the initia­tive of Archbishop Valerian D. Trifa in the Vatra’s immediate vicinity, and it houses the greatest collection of printed material on Romanian-Ameri­can history, open to researchers. An “Information Bulletin” presents the results of the research.

Ultimately, it is the individual Ro­manian who makes the preservation. displaying and promoting of Roma­nian culture in America possible. As far back as 1929 when Christine Galitzi wrote her book, “The Assimilation of Romanians in America,” she was let to know by the many Romanians she interviewed that they displayed cer­tain objects of Romanian folk art. Like­wise, Dr. Alexandra Roceric in her book: “Language Maintenance within an American Ethnic Community,” 1982, testifies that many of those in­terviewed were tied to their heritage by various artifacts of Romanian folk art. The same was noted by Joanne Bock in her book “Ethnic Vision,” 1997.

There were other individuals who had smaller collections of Romanian art and folk art, which eventually ended up in some museums or institutions for preservation and display. Mrs. Franklin Mott Gunther, the wife of the American ambassador to Romania in the 1930’s, while living in Roma­nia collected many paintings of Ro­manian artifacts, works of Romanian folk art and of historical value. She brought the collection to America and displayed it for many years in her lav­ish house in Washington D.C. Ulti­mately, she donated it to St. Mary’s Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. O.K. Costa, a Romanian doctor and avid collector of paintings by fa­mous Romanian artists, was allowed to bring his collection out of Romania after World War I. Aside from the paintings by famous non-Romanian artists, he donated those by Romanian artists (including Grigorescu, Luchian, Ressu, etc.) to St. Mary’s Museum of Cleveland. Dorothy Harkness, a col­lector of Romanian folk art and au­thor of the book: “Romanian Embroi­dery, A Dying Folk Art,” donated most of her collection to the “Iuliu Maniu Foundation” of New York City.

Mihai Marinescu, a collector of paintings by Romanian artists, donated some of them to St. Mary’s Museum in Cleveland and the Palm Beach Museum.

Hie Christo-Loveanu, aside from being a famous portraitist painter, taught Romanian at Columbia Uni­versity and published a Romanian grammar with reading lessons. Many of his paintings were sent to Roma-ma, with a few in St. Man’s Museum in Cleveland.

Lucia Kanchegian came to America in 1952 and married Vasile Rusu in 1968. After settling in Lemon Grove, California, they built a home in Ro­manian-style surrounded by a gate and fence with Romanian motifs. They displayed their collection in their home, which became a little museum of Ro­manian folk art.

Nicolae Petra, who immigrated to Cleveland and later moved to Mexico City, built a replica of a Romanian house for his vacation home nearby.

The parish of Caracas, Venezuela built a replica of a wooden Transylvanian church in 1999.

Theodore Andrica of Cleveland, a newspaper man, prolific writer on Romanian culture and a catalyst for others to emulate him, founded the “Cultural Association for Americans of Romanian Descent” in 1940, pub­lished “The New Pioneer” and later “The Romanian American Review,” in which he highlighted the achieve­ments of Romanians preserving Ro manian folk-art. He himself had a large collection of Romanian folk-art and documents pertaining to Ro­manian-American history, which he donated to the “‘Romanian-American Heritage Center.” Jackson. Michigan, the “Cleveland Public Library” and St. Mary’s Museum.

In her book “Ethnic Vision,’” Joanne Bock succeeded to identify many individuals with smaller col­lections of Romanian folk-art who not only display it in their homes, but also continue creating it here in America.

Though the number of Romanian-Americans interested in Romanian folk art will lose some of their fervor for creating it, preserving it and pro­moting it, there will also be new­comers interested in it; and, there will be centers, museums, libraries, and other institutions which will have Ro­manian folk art items on display so that future generations could appre­ciate and admire them.

V. REV. FR. VASILE HATEGAN