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TATRA AREA RESEARCH GROUP
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© TARG All rights reserved.
Newsletter for January 2002
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Hello TARG members! The big news to start this new year is to announce
that the new TARG website is up and running! Realize that this is our first
"baby step" and that much, much more is planned. Come visit at:
www.ancestral.net/Home.html and keep checking back as we add new features
and information.
We have a ton of mail to share with you since the new year started. So I
will here just briefly say "Thank you" to everyone who has sent
encouragement and donated time and money to help TARG along. All of these
efforts are much appreciated!
-- Paul K. Bingham
TARG Founder

WEBSITES__________
1) The new TARG website is up and running! Come visit at:
www.ancestral.net/Home.html.
2) "Vcera a dnes" means "Yesterday and today" in Slovak. This is the
quarterly journal I edit for the CSGSA. It is mailed all over the U.S. and
Canada. There are always TARG items in each issue. If you would like to
subscribe it's only $20 annually. Visit their web site for more info at
www.rootsweb.com/~azcsgsa/index.htm.
3) Helene Cincebeaux's Slovak Pride publication includes pictures, maps,
history and a huge database of surnames people have sent in over the course
of 13 years. This huge surname database is now available online on her
website at: www.helenezx.homestead.com. People can also contact Helene if
they want to contact another lister found in the database. Helene would like
more listings, so visit and add to her list. Her goal is 20,000 surnames.

LETTERS_______________
Dear Paul, This past week I received a nicely bound report from Vladimir
Flak, our Slovak genealogist I retained to do research on our family name.
He prepared excellent records and a chart showing my forefathers going all
the way back to 1745! It turns out my family lived in Kacwin and went to the
same church for over 250 years, can you imagine? He is now doing a similar
study for my grandmother's side of the family. Without you, your internet
site and Helene none of this would ever have happened, God bless you! - Ed
Starostovic
***Dear Ed, You are very, very welcome. So glad things have worked out so
well! Isn't Vlado wonderful? He does such good work. And family from Kacwin!
That is what I thought it would be! I must tell you that I ventured into
little Kacwin in 1999 and just loved it. It is tucked away off the beaten
path. Did you know there is a waterfall in the middle of town?
Congratulations on the treasured finds you have made! - Paul
Mr. Bingham, Helene Cincebeaux gave me your E-Mail concerning the
location of people bearing my family name: MICHINOK. My father told me that
his family came from a town close to the Polish border in Czechoslovakia.
All but my 90-year-old aunt have since passed on. She told me the name was
pronounced Miciniak. I really don't know where to turn. Perhaps you can
help. Thank You. - Andy
***Hello Andy, I have the surname spelled MICHNIAK as one of my family
lines. (It was not uncommon for Slavic names to be misspelled once they
reached America.) My MICHNIAKs are from just over the Slovak border in the
Polish villages of Chocholow, Witow and Dzianisz. I'm not sure, but the name
may also occur on the Slovak side. All of these villages on both sides of
the border here are Goral (Highlander) ethnically. They have their own
customs and language, too. (You can visit our TARG website at
www.ancestral.net/Home.html to learn more.) Do you know which village(s)
your MICHINOKs came from? Would your aunt remember if given a list of
possibilities? Would like to help. - Paul
Hi Paul, Happy New Year to you and thanks for the latest informational
newsletter. I read of your interest in having persons connected with
villages listed, and of including at least a photo or two. So I thought I
would help regarding the village of Podbiel, SK. I have relatives there and
much interest. I have photos which I've taken over the two trips there and a
link to an English translation of the history of the village done for their
400th anniversary. Would you be interested? - Angela Mikita Meady
***Hello Angela, Would we be interested? Absolutely! This would be
wonderful. Send anything you would be willing to share on the website. As
far as photos, can you send a few as .jpg or .gif files via e-mail? That
would be the best way. Maybe a good village shot and one of the church --
would be wonderful! Thank you for your willingness to help out! - Paul
Hi Paul, Thanks so much for the latest issue of the TARG newsletter. As
always, it's full of interesting tidbits I can use! I have a new website,
too at:www.honoringourancestors.com Thanks again! - Megan Smolenyak (Author
of "In Search of Our Ancestors" the companion book to PBS Ancestors series.)
***Hi Megan, Thanks! Doing it is a lot of fun. I'll put your new site's URL
in the next newsletter. - Paul
Hello Paul, My family and I wish you a Happy New Year. The TARG website
looks very good. Nice work. If you need some help I will try to help. I also
am trying to do something new with my webpage. For now it is only in Polish.
I added some simple midi files with Jurgow's music and some things about
Jurgow's folklore group. I think it will be in English by February or the
beginning of March. But you can take a look at it now at:
www.jurgow.pl/folklor/. The main page in English is at:
www.jurgow.pl/english/index.php. In February my girlfriend will be back from
Long Island. In Spisz right now we are having a nice winter. It is very
snowy this year. We had about 80 cm (five inches) of snow in Jurgow on New
Year's and the roads were very narrow and dangerous. On January 2nd the
weather turned into a bad blizzard. The trip from Zakopane to Krakow took 6
hours or more. Now the roads are clear. I hope this year to come visit you
in America. - Lucjan
***Hello Kuzyn, Yes, I hope you can come and visit, too. But if not this
year, maybe next year...or maybe both! Thanks for your offer to help. I may
need your programming skills for some things I am planning for the
website. - Paul
Hi Paul, That was a good December TARG newsletter. The 1869 census
sounds very interesting. I think I'll re-subscribe to CSGSA Vcera a dnes
journal, too. I've been to Nowa Biala twice now and have quite a few
pictures . I'll scan them into jpgs for you if would like them. Let me know.
Dajte mi vediet. - Bob Williams
***Hi Bob, Thanks for your e-mail. I have yet to check out the 1869 census,
but from what I've heard its pretty rich with info. Megan Smolenyak and her
Osturna group are organizing to each take pieces of the census and do
complete data extraction for that TARG village. About the Vcera a dnes: the
CSGSA will appreciate your membership renewal...and I have lots of good
Goral stuff to put in it during this new year! Just so you will know, I
would like to have any good village photos you care to send and I will put
them on our new web site. - Paul
Dear Paul, We want to thank you for the Dec TARG Newsletter. We wish you
a Happy New Year. We certainly appreciate all of your hard work. Without
dedicated people such as yourself, most of us would be at a loss as to how
to proceed. I correspond with several people who's ancestors come from
Piekielnik. I think having village information readily available for people
researching would be a tremendous help, as would be a list of contacts who
know the area. And being able to contact others who are researching the same
surname and same village should be a big help, too. - Mary Ann Swentek
***Hello Mary Ann, Thanks so much for the kind words. This is what keeps me
going. And thanks for your suggestion! - Paul
Dear Paul, My husband is not the family genealogist (he allows me the
honors). I would like to have contact with Andrej in Lipnica Wielka who has
Osisek family, too. Thanks. - Ann Osisek
***Hi Ann, I will put you in touch. Please let us know what comes of it.
Good luck! - Paul
Dear Paul, My daughter forwards the TARG Newsletter to me. I want to
thank you for all the hard work that you do. I read each issue and
appreciate the time involved in putting this all together. Have a great
holiday and hopefully 2002 will see many of your dreams for TARG come true.
As ever - Edna Gurney
***Hi Folks, Thank you much for the kind words. And we are already on the
right track: I've managed to get the beginnings of a TARG website up and
running! - Paul
Hi Paul, Happy New Year to you! As my expert on everything Slovak, can
you tell me if Plavnica (Plavniczs) SK and Palonca (Paloncza) Hungary are
per chance the same place? The Parana side of my family came from there.
Thanks. - Ed Zadjura
***Hi Ed, Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence. Plavnica is a town just
outside of Stara Lubovna, Slovakia. And while Stara Lubovna is within TARG,
Plavnica is just outside of it. But I have been there, it's a wonderful
little town. As for Palonca, yes, this was one of the Hungarian names for
Plavnica. In fact, the complete list is as follows: 1773: Plavnicza,
Plawnicza, 1786: Plawnicza, 1808: Plavicza, 1863: Plavnic, 1873-1902:
Plavnica, 1907-1913: Palonca, 1920: Plavnica, Plavonica, 1927-to present:
Plavnica. - Paul
Dear Paul, I'm very grateful for all the work you've done! I made the
breakthrough on my Slovak side when I wrote to a manager at the Orava
Project in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia. She informed me that a Jan Mazalan managed
their building. You speak of the region in such superlatives that I am
anxious to see it myself. Recently I've located the microfilms on the LDS
online index and will have to get an LDS library order them for me. Thanks
again. - Scott, San Jose, CA
***Hello Scott, Thank you for the nice comments and for sending me your
surnames. I have been through the area -- it is stunningly beautiful with
lots of forests and near the mighty Orava river. In fact, Medzibrodie is
very near the amazing Orava Castle. I was there in August and walked the1000
plus steps to get to the top. A very impressive place. I would expect that
Medzibrodie nad Oravu's records are available on microfiche through the LDS
libraries...most of those in Slovakia now are. There should be lots of LDS
libraries for you to use up in the Bay Area...the biggest probably being in
Oakland next to their big temple on the hill. I did my own quick search
through a 1929 Catholic Society membership guide and the Slovak White pages
for Dolny Kubin, and Medzibrodie to see what I could find. Of the names you
gave me: several Kriziks and Mazalans occur in the modern phonebook. There
are also some Mackos in the area, but no Mackys. Endings are a funny thing
in the records and Macko may be the same surname as yours. Anyway, I'd say
you are on the right track...but looking on the microfilms is your next best
bet for finding actual family links. After that you can write potential
family over there and see if any relatives still exist. We can help you with
the letters when the time comes. - Paul
Dear Paul, What a wonderful beginning...the new TARG Website is great.
Last August I had Fr. Jan Stasiak from Zdair as a house guest for a few
days! He said Mass in Slovak at St. Peter's Slovak Church in Westfield. I
don't think Mass had been said in Slovak there for at least 20 years! We
took up a collection after Mass and sent $500 to the Zdiar Church for
renovations. We took him to the cemetery and drove around the Slovak
section. He couldn't get over the family names...Andras, Kriesak, Krissak,
Pitoniak, Bekes, Mochak, Swotchak, Blaschak, Peregrin, Oleksak, Kana,
Meyeros, Pavlovich, Antos, Knapik etc. Most of the village of Zdiar that
came to the USA in the late 1800's early 1900's settled in Westfield, MA. I
visited Zdiar last year and while in the rectory I asked Fr. if we could get
the new History of Zdiar book translated into English. I told him I would
pay to have it translated and published in English and would donate the
money from book sales to the church. I gave my cousin Lenka Soskova
Jendrusakova the right to represent me in book
decisions. All releases have now been made by the authors, etc. Also, my
19-year-old cousin from Liptovsky Mikulas came to the USA. We got her here
through Au Pair USA. She tried to get a visitors visa last summer but was
denied so we went this route. Lucia will live with us 13 months and help
with the grandchildren. If there is anything I can do to help you with your
website, please let me know. Research, typing, anything...just ask. - Carole
Saloomey
***Hello Carole, Your stories are wonderful. Do you mind if I use your
letter in our next TARG e-newsletter? I think the group would love hearing
them, too. I am so grateful to you for your willingness to help out. I think
the translation of the Zdiar book into English is a fabulous idea, too! May
God bless you all in the New Year. - Paul
Dear Paul, Wonderful website! Thanks for all of your hard work. I
haven't had time to do much research lately, but I am happy to know where to
go for help when I do. Thanks again. - Mary Taylor
***Thank you Mary. I hope the new year gives you more time to do research. -
Paul

CONTACTING TARG_____________________
To contact TARG the e-mail address is: TARG_NET@hotmail.com. Our mailing
address is: TARG, P.O. Box 3533, Escondido, CA 92033. Our new website is at:
www.ancestral.net/Home.html.
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