five cents in his pocket, while his fellow famous Serbi- an-American scientist, Nikola Tesla, arrived penniless. It was while at the port of New York that Tesla spotted a man who was unable to repair a machine in his store. Tesla offered his assistance to repair the machine and earned himself his first $20 in the U.S. Although many immigrants had no money, they brought with them some- thing more valuable: a heart filled with the will to work and the readiness to sacrifice. Many Serbian immigrants were young, unmarried men who lived with their compatriots in boarding hous- es where rent and meals were cheap. As immigrant num- bers grew, they began organising themselves into organi- sations, cultural societies, fraternal associations, churches and schools, in an effort to preserve their ethnic and re- ligious identity. In 1892, Father John Dabovich found- ed the first Serbian Orthodox Diocese, and in 1894, the Church of St. Sava became the first Serbian Orthodox church in North America, in Jackson, California. Many immigrants lacked any specific job skills and didn’t speak English. As such, they were only able to find work in mines and the steel industry, or travelling throughout the country building railroads. Only a small minority of them could afford to own businesses, such as grocery stores, restaurants and saloons. Work in the mines and the steel industry was very arduous and inse- cure, as they laboured under very difficult working con- ditions and had shifts lasting 12 hours per day. Mining accidents were very common and resulted in many work- ers losing their lives. The American Srbobran publication reported these accidents in the mines and steel industry. In one of many articles, it was reported that 1,500 miners Čak 11 američkih Beograda Marinel Madreš u studiji Srpski toponimi u Sever- noj Americi tvrdi da postoji više od 53.000 srp- skih obeležja u Americi. Najčešće korišćen to- ponim je Beograd, koji se pojavljuje u čak 11 američkih država: Ilinoisu, Mejnu, Montani, Mine- soti, Misuriju, Teksasu, Nebraski, Severnoj Karoli- ni, Masačutetsu, Koloradu i Virdžiniji. U Kaliforniji je u čast velikog naučnika osnovan grad Nikola Te- sla, koji je bio poznat po proizvodnji uglja. 11 American Belgrades Writing in the paper “Serbian Toponyms in North America”, Marinel Mandres states that there are more than 53,000 Serbian toponyms in the U.S. The most common Serbian name in the country is Belgrade, which appears in 11 states: Illinois, Maine, Montana, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Virginia. California even has a coal town called Nikola Tesla, in honour of the great scientist and inventor.
Osvećivanje prve srpske pravoslavne crkve Sveti Sava, Džekson, Kalfornija, 1894. The consecrating of the Church of Saint Sava, the first Serbian Orthodox church in the U.S., in Jackson, California, 1894
had been killed in accidents in just one month in Penn- sylvania. One accident, which occurred on St. Nicholas Day, resulted in the deaths of 400 miners. Fortunately for the Serbian miners, they were not among the dead that day because they were at home celebrating the ‘Sla- va’, i.e., patron saint’s day, of St Nicholas. World War I (1914 – 1918) provided an excellent ex- ample of how many Serbian immigrants were ready to sacrifice their lives for America, but also to defend their Mother Land from Austro-Hungarian invasion. Serbian immigrants helped their Mother Land through political engagement, collecting aid for civilians and sending Ser- bian volunteers to the Serbian army, and later by joining the American army. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson rec- ognised the Serbian sacrifice and loyalty to freedom and justice demonstrated in World War I, and on 28 th July, 1918, the Serbian flag was raised over the White House and all public buildings in Washington D.C. At the beginning of World War II, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt mentioned a few courageous na- tions who were bravely fighting against Nazi Germany, with Serbia among them. A great number of Serbian immi- grants never returned from the war, while some of those that did were decorated by the American Government. “If I am fortunate enough to fulfil at least some of my ideals, that will do good for the whole mankind,” said Serbian-American scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943)
History » Istorija | 75
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