[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                  IN RECOGNITION OF AMERISKA DOMOVINA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 11, 2008

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Ameriska 
Domovina, one of the oldest Slovenian papers in the world and Northeast 
Ohio's oldest ethnic newspaper, as it ceases publication this August 
after one-hundred and ten years in circulation.
  Ameriska Domovina was first published in Cleveland, Ohio in 1898, 
making it the Ohio's oldest ethnic newspaper. James V. Debevec 
inherited the newspaper from his father, James E. Debevec, who assumed 
responsibility of the paper in the 1930's with the intention of 
preparing new immigrants from Slovenia for their citizenship tests. 
James V. changed the content of the newspaper with the changing needs 
of the community, using it as a forum to teach and preserve Slovenian 
culture and traditions to the growing community of Slovenian-Americans. 
The paper, like all ethnic newspapers, has been vital in connecting the 
Slovenian community with their roots and as well as with other 
Slovenian communities in North America. Debevec printed news from 
Slovenian communities in the United States and Canada in the newspaper.
  Ameriska Domovina has over two-thousand subscribers; each newspaper 
is printed using Debevec's own printing press, at an office located on 
St. Claire Avenue in Downtown Cleveland. The last issue of Ameriska 
Domovina will be distributed to its subscribers on August 21, 2008, 
following the retirement of Debevec, his wife, and their colleague.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognition of 
Ameriska Domovina, Northeast Ohio's oldest ethnic newspaper, and in 
recognition of the contributions of the Slovenian-American community in 
the Greater Cleveland area.

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