YOUNGSTOWN Croation club closes quarters Facing a dwindling membership, the American Croation Citizens Club, which has been around more than 70 years, is planning a final social event before selling

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Paul Mahin takes pride in his ethnic background. His Croatian family and neighbors worked hard to make lives for themselves in the Mahoning Valley and to bring part of their history and culture to their new home.
But now, after 57 years, a part of that history will be sold.
Increasing costs for maintenance and upkeep are forcing members of the American Croatian Citizens Club to sell the building that's served as a meeting hall and social club since 1945.
The structure, at 1639 Poland Ave., will change hands to new owners in July; the new owners plan to convert the building into a restaurant and nightclub called Latin Island.
"We are glad that this building will survive; it will not die" Mahin said as he and other club officers prepared for the final board meeting Monday in the bar area. "We just can't do it anymore. Our membership is not active enough, and you really need the bar business to survive, and we don't have that anymore. We needed to start dipping into our savings to pay for things like maintenance and insurance, and we just can't do that anymore."
Last event planned
The ACC will hold one final social event at the Poland Avenue structure beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $2, which includes food and dancing. The event is open to the public.
The ACC, which has existed in one form or another since 1930, is one of two major Croatian citizens clubs in the Mahoning Valley; the other is St. George Lodge 66 on Vestal Road. Mahin, who serves as president for the Poland Avenue club, said the goals of the ACC will remain the same, even though meetings will move to Sts. Peter and Paul Church.
"We will still work to support the culture throughout the Valley," he said. Support includes social gatherings for members, as well as charity work to benefit a number of local organizations. It also means preserving the Croatian heritage of members through food, dance, costumes and more.
"We are proud to be Croatian," said Millie Terihay, secretary for the club. "To be of a nationality, to be of an ethnic background means to follow its customs, eat its foods, know its language."
Looking back
The sale of the building, which sits on a hill at the corner of Poland and Frithian avenues, ends one chapter of history for the club. The building -- which originally served as a church for a black congregation -- was purchased in 1945 for $3,500 and renovated at a cost of $10,000. All money for the building came from club members.
"Members took out their own loans to give to the club at no interest," Mahin said. He said it was not uncommon for members to perform such acts, since the building was their social home.
In the early years, members met to help one another through the process of becoming American citizens. As the years rolled by, the focus changed to helping support the ethnic heritage, as well as supporting one another.
"They would help each other find employment," Mahin said. "It's just like it is today; it wasn't what you knew, but who you knew."
Often, club members would help neighbors find employment in the neighboring steel mills, explained George Vogrin, a past president of the ACC and current vice president.
"Then they would come here," he said. "Most of those people didn't have cars then, so this was their meeting place."
After work, the men would gather at the bar, and on weekends, families would use the club for weddings, funerals, parties and more.
ACC will continue with social gatherings, including the annual Founders Day celebration, which features a Mass, music, costumes, a banquet and other entertainment.
slshaulis@vindy.com