[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE FIFTY YEAR MEMBERS OF THE SERB NATIONAL FEDERATION 
                              LODGE NO. 64

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KLINK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 26, 1999

  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Serb National 
Federation Lodge No. 64 ``Napredak'' in Biddle, Pennsylvania which will 
be honoring its fifty year members on Sunday, October 31st, 1999.
  Founded in 1907 by Yugoslav immigrants who came to Biddle to work in 
the coal mines, the lodge became an important way for these new 
Americans to support and help one another to overcome social obstacles 
and improve their quality of life. Named ``Napredak'', meaning 
``progressive'', the members of the lodge strived not only to establish 
themselves and their families in the community while maintaining their 
heritage but to create fair and safe working conditions in the mines 
that employed them. In Biddle, this tie between culture and coal is 
still represented by the Biddle Serbian Club. Originally a Westmoreland 
Coal `company store', lodge members have been meeting and holding 
picnics there for decades. They eventually purchased the building and 
turned it into the Biddle Serbian Club, preserving not only their 
history but that of the coal company.
  Like many ethnic groups, American Serbs found security in maintaining 
their culture by building Serbian Orthodox Churches, establishing dance 
groups and choirs, and hosting picnics that featured traditional foods. 
The SNF also gave them the opportunity to purchase insurance policies 
to protect their families long before employers offered this benefit.
  The SNF and the Biddle Serbian Club remain strong foundations for 
preserving the unique and wonderful culture and history of the Serbian 
people generations later.
  Today, we honor the founders who built and maintain SNF Lodge No. 64. 
They are the very essence of the story of America. They came to the 
United States looking for opportunity, freedom, and prosperity. They 
often struggled to realize these dreams, but they never wavered from 
the belief that by working hard and living right that they would 
succeed. American Serbs proudly joined the millions of other immigrants 
from around the world that make the United States the amazingly diverse 
and culturally rich nation that it has become.
  I salute the fifty year members of the SNF Lodge No. 64 ``Napredak'' 
in Biddle, Pennsylvania and congratulate them for their half century 
commitment to family, community, and tradition.

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