Over a century of fraternalism has been achieved within the ranks of the Croatian Fraternal Union. The Croatian Fraternal Union is a fraternal benefit society which was organized on September 2, 1894 in old Allegheny City, now the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although many recognized the need for an insurance society which would provide coverage for our people and their families, it was Zdravko V. Muzina, a young journalist who came from Chicago to establish a newspaper in Allegheny City, who laid the foundation for the Society as we know it today. The first meeting to organize such a society was held on January 14, 1894. The meeting was attended by more than 300 people but only a few actually signed up as members and began payment of dues to provide life insurance protection along with accident and sickness insurance for themselves and their families. Undaunted by the low initial response, Muzina along with Petar Pavlinac and Franjo Sepic, succeeded in establishing The Croatian Association which bore that name until 1897, when the charter was issued in the name of the National Croatian Society. When in 1926, the National Croatian Society, the Croatian League of Illinois, the St. Joseph Society of Kansas City, KS, and the New Croatian Society of Whiting, Indiana merged, the present Croatian Fraternal Union of America came into existence. The Croatian Fraternal Union has grown into an organization with tens of thousands of members and is the largest Croatian organization outside of Croatia. At the headquarters in Pittsburgh, the Home Office houses a truly valuable Croatian Cultural room and museum. The CFU continues to offer many cultural and social activities to our members. Among the activities sponsored by our Society in recent history and of which we are justifiably proud was the establishment of the CFU Scholarship Foundation, Inc. Through this program we hope to continue to aid hundreds of students who are striving towards college educations. The CFU is also proud of our contribution toward the promotion of Croatian culture and music among the youngest members of our organization as well as our adult members. This was accomplished through the establishment of our Junior and Adult Cultural Federations. Each Federation separately sponsors an annual Tamburitza Festival bringing together Americans and Canadians to present performances through which they are sharing their love for Croatian music, song and folklore. The CFU has been among the first ethnic fraternals to launch an active sports promotion program. These sports promotions go back to the late 1920's and have been continued solidly over the years. The CFU sports program includes skiing, basketball, golf, softball, soccer, and bowling. Many lodges of the society throughout the United States and Canada have built Croatian Homes and Centers for their members and friends to meet in a fraternal atmosphere. While we are proud of our activities on the cultural side, our basic purpose from the beginning of the Society has been to provide our members and relatives with outstanding protection. In our second century of fraternalism, we dedicate our efforts to offering quality life insurance, annuity and IRA plans. We welcome all individuals who are interested in quality protection for themselves and their families to join the Croatian Fraternal Union. In 1994 our Society celebrated its 100th anniversary. Now with over one hundred years of notable history and outstanding accomplishments, we also look forward to prosperous and successful growth in the years ahead. The CFU, building upon the wonderful legacy of our founders, will continually strive towards an exceptional future for our Fraternal Society. Robert Jerin [email protected] wrote:Dr David Starcevic was a Croatian politician and elected representative in Croatian parliament (Sabor) in 19th century. Croatian Society NHZ in the US named a unit after him: http://www.interment.net/data/us/wa/kittitas/drstarc1/starcevic1.htm Here you can read the messages you deleted: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/croatia NHZ is Narodna Hrvatska Zajednica and Dr David Starcevic lodge #56 is I believe the same mentioned in the above note about the Roslyn cemetery. The surname is frequent in Croatia and it is not likely to establish family relation. Tatjana Interested in visting Croatia? Click on the link below to find out about a wonderful tour of Croatia! http://www.kollander-travel.com/