A Forest in Slovenia

In 1970, as an eight year-old, I visited Slovenia (then Yugoslavia) with my Grandma Olga. I was vaguely aware that she was the eldest daughter of immigrant parents who had settled in Pennsylvania after arriving in the US in 1908.

Our trip took place right after Olga's father died, and the purpose was to try to come to a new agreement with family members who had been taking care of her father's land for over 60 years. For a number of years, it had been more and more difficult to communicate with the family in the old country. Maybe they felt it was so far and it had been so long that we couldn't possibly care about the property anymore. Maybe they just wanted us to forget about it and leave the land to them. We'll never know for sure.

What we do know from reading many old letters in both English and Slovenian, is that Olga and her parents tried in vain for at least thirty years to regain control of their land. We also know that they did not forget about it - their attachment to the land was strong and the children and grandchildren kept that land in their hearts out of loyalty to their grandparents. Over the years, "Grandpa's Forest" has become a family legend - the kind of story whose mystery deepens with every retelling, and with every subsequent generation.

Olga's parents were Andrej and Alojsija Urbas, and came from Planina pri Rakeku, Slovenia. Upon arriving in the US, they took American names, Andy and Louise, and that's how we grew up knowing them. They worked hard in the mining town of Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, and had five daughters: Olga, Christine, Louise, Martha and Sophia. Andy eventually became a barkeeper and restaurant owner, and the family periodically sent small amounts of money to family in the old country. In the 1940s they moved to Phoenix Arizona, where Olga had already been living for several years.

Both English and Slovenian were spoken in Andy & Louise's home, and the daughters all learned to speak to some degree, but only Olga learned to write in the old language. Years later it turned out to be a blessing, since it helped her stay in touch with the Urbas family back in Slovenia.

In 2007 I had an opportunity to return to Slovenia and had a wonderful time (you can read my blog about this trip here). It was a nostalgic trip for me - remembering my earlier visit with Olga, and trying to find some of the same people and places that I had visited before. I was remarkably successful, with the help of a few random, but curious Slovenian citizens! Another granddaughter of Andy and Louise, Joyce Lazok, who lives near San Diego California was particularly interested in my 2007 trip to Slovenia. She encouraged me to look for "Grandpa's Forest". Through a series of lucky encounters, I found the current caretaker and he took me to visit the forest.

Since that visit, Joyce and I have been working steadily to find out how to register the latest generation of heirs on the deed to the forest. In 2009 we were again fortunate enough to stumble upon a professional translator, a Slovenian gentleman named Janez Cerar, who was gracious and generous enough to agree to assist and guide us. Upon hearing our story, Janez declared that he was certain that we were distantly related, as he also has Urbas cousins! This last year has been a whirlwind of activity, all guided by Janez, with the goal of helping us achieve our goals (and Olga's dream) of recovering "Grandpa's Forest"!

Wish us luck, and please bookmark and visit this blog regularly during May and June 2010 for updates on this epic adventure!