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New Jersey Chapter “An American in Presov” Saturday, April 23, 2005 2 - 4 PM Wayne Public Library 461 Valley Road Wayne, NJ 07470
Refreshments will be served. C-RS member, Dr. Walter J. Orange, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Pennsylvania will speak to members of the New Jersey Chapter on Saturday, April 23 beginning at two o’clock. The grandson of four Rusyn immigrants, Professor Orange was curious about the country from which they came having heard their language and stories from infancy. After the fall of communism, he began the study of the Slovak language at the University of Pittsburgh and made preparations to visit the country of his ancestors. After contacting distant relatives in Slovakia with the help of an aunt, Dr. Orange arrived in 1994 alone, but determined that “things would work out.” Not only did things go well, but also he met his future wife, Anna, in Presov where they maintain an apartment and return for yearly visits. Professor Orange participated in a campaign to prevent the creation of a reservoir that would have submerged his ancestral village of Torysky. He collected several hundreds of letters of protest in the United States, met with the Slovak ambassador the US and provided both radio and print interviews in Slovakia. In addition, Dr. Orange served as the European Liaison for the Carpatho-Rusyn Society when the Homeland Fund was established to assist fledgling Rusyn activists abroad. He has also served the C-RS as Humanitarian Aid Coordinator, as a member of its Board of Directors and as a representative to the World Congress of Rusyns held in Uzhorod. Dr. Orange’s presentation will be accompanied by video footage of Slovakia. For further information, send an e-mail to Joyce Barr or call (973) 540-0871. Directions: Take Route 46 to the Riverview Drive Exit in the direction of Wayne. Continue on Riverview Drive to the traffic light at Valley Road. Turn right onto Valley Road and proceed to the second traffic light at Nellis Drive at the Wayne Municipal Complex. Turn left and then right to access the Library and its parking lot. From Manhattan: Take New Jersey Transit bus number 197 from the Port Authority Bus Terminal at Eighth Avenue at 42nd Street to the Valley Road/Preakness Avenue stop in Wayne which is across the street from the Library. The bus departing Manhattan at 1:00 PM arrives at 1:47 PM: the round trip fare is approximately $10.
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