THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE DONOR ATANAS BLIZNAKOV IN THE MONOGRAPHS BY SLAVE KATIN
Atanas Bliznakov was intensely active in one of the important associations of the Macedonians in Gary, Indiana – the Macedonian Mutual Aid Association, “Alexander the Great.” The initiative for establishing such an association was considered by the Macedonians earlier and Atanas was one of the initiators. It was established on September 25, 1937 and registered on February 23, 1938 when all the necessary stamps and signatures of those present were affixed. It was decided that the association would have regular and associate members to be elected at its annual meeting. It was an association of newcomers of Macedonian and Bulgarian origin and of their descendants living in Gary and its surrounding area.
The goal of the association “Alexander the Great”, among other things, was to develop Macedonian national awareness and to deepen unity, develop and encourage sympathy towards their second homeland, the United States; to strengthen mutual ties, direct the members to be friendly and united; to assist their spiritual growth and, in case of need, support its members financially and morally.
The association was managed by an eight-member board for a term of one year, elected at the annual assembly. At the assembly, a president, vice-president, treasurer, undersecretary and three members of the control panel were also elected. Election of the management board was carried out by secret ballot during the second week of January each year.
The Book of Rules was adopted at the first General Assembly held on May 15, 1938 in Gary, Indiana. According to Bliznakov, it was implemented until the establishment of the Macedonian Orthodox Church “Sts. Peter and Paul” in 1962.
Throughout the period of twenty years Atanas was a regular member of the Association and was elected as a member of the Board several times. His role was extremely important in establishing the guidelines and activities of the Association which, from the very beginning, supported Macedonians not only in the U.S. but also in partitioned Macedonia. In fact the members of this Macedonian Association were mainly inclined to the left and mostly belonged to MANS which was a mouthpiece for the freedom of Macedonia within a Balkan federation.
In addition, the association “Alexander the Great” initiated the establishment of the first Macedonian Orthodox church “Sts. Peter and Paul” in Gary, under the jurisdiction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church of St. Clement in the People’s Republic of Macedonia. It was actually a turning point in the spiritual and social lives of Macedonians in America. In the period between two world wars, it was mainly those from the Aegean part of Macedonia who belonged to the MPO and MANS that changed the direction of their activity and directed it to the liberated part of Macedonia assisting it financially, particularly the construction of a hospital, but also other facilities in Macedonia.
Atanas was a loyal and principled member of “Alexander the Great” and he assisted it both financially and with his progressive ideas. Therefore, it would be right to conclude that his role in this association as an honorable Macedonian was substantial. He always spoke about his activities with satisfaction.
In addition, the activity of Atanas in the U.S. was closely related to the activity of the D’mbeni association ‘Lazar Pop Trajkov’ in Madison. He talked about this association with great respect and admiration. In this context, he wrote that it seemed as if life itself had imposed the idea to organize Macedonians and establish Macedonian associations in the U.S. and Canada. Within the territory marked by the Anglo-Saxon sea the migrant workers felt lonely and therefore an idea spontaneously imposed itself for the Macedonians to organize themselves, to create their own cozy nook where they could have the opportunity to listen to their mother’s word, to sing in their mother language and a place where they could get advice or support in difficult moments.
Therefore, the idea of setting up associations for mutual aid and cultural associations began in the thoughts of Macedonians the moment they arrived in America. Such associations were established wherever Macedonians lived in large numbers. In the beginning, as a rule, migrant workers from the same village or the same region gathered together and organized one organization.
Mutual-aid associations were set up in all places where people from one Macedonian village had settled in the U.S. and Canada, while the headquarters of the associations were located in cities where Macedonians were in the highest concentration. However, branches of such associations were also located in other places.
For example, the Association of the settlers from the village D’mbeni, established in 1906, provided in its Statute that branches throughout America and Canada where more than five emigrants from this village lived could be established. Therefore, the association was named the “D’mbeni Mutual-Aid Association for America and Canada”. Its seat was in Gary (Indiana) and every year delegates from all branches gathered at the annual assemblies there. This form of connection was applied also for many other Macedonian associations all over America and Canada.
So in early 1906 in Madison, Illinois, after long deliberations and discussions, the general assembly laid the foundations of the D’mbeni Mutual-Aid Association, which was named after Lazar Pop Trajkov, the D’mbeni apostle and hero of the Macedonian people, for whom Atanas wrote and published numerous articles.
To be continued
By SLAVE KATIN
