By Colleen Nelson
When I call the Red Star Inn to talk to Miljo “Serb” Krewasky and get the recorded “number no longer in service” message, my heart sinks. Serb has been hosting Serbian Christmas on January 7 at his Carmichaels establishment for the last 55 years and I was excited to write about his family friendly celebration of the Julian calendar’s date for the arrival of the Christ Child. A call to my friend Cheryl Block of Crucible puts my mind at ease. “He’s still around. I saw him last week in church.”
Serb and I had yet to meet, so I’m going in cold. Not being from Carmichaels I drive past the sedate maroon building with its small sign sitting along the edge of State Rt. 88 before you get to the turn off to Nemacolin and have to turn around.
Stepping into the Red Star Inn takes you back to the 1960s or maybe even earlier. You’re in one of those laid back, American Legion style family bars slash eateries that every working class town has at least one of. It makes me hungry for a fish sandwich and a draft. Turns out I’m the one that’s early. Serb will be in at three, I’m told, so I head up the road for some General Tso’s chicken at Main Moon and a chance to check my notes.
When Tara Kinsell wrote about her buddy Serb and his perennial Christmas party for local kids and their families in 2012, she mentioned pogasa – a flat bread Serb uses that gets a lucky coin baked into it. A highlight of the festivities is a straw pile on the floor spiked with candy, coins and cash for kids to rummage. This Christmas treasure hunt has a spiritual twist – the straw represents the manger, Tara explains.
When Serb comes in for his shift – “The phone? Oh I had that pay phone taken out years ago!” – we sit at a table and talk about the coal mining families we both know in Crucible and Nemacolin and yes, Serbian Christmas will be celebrated on January 7, not only here at the Red Star but at Dolfis in Masontown as well.
“Dolfis owner Stan Brozik is my kum, best buddy but that doesn’t mean we don’t give each other a hard time,” Serb says, with that kind of twinkle in his eye that tells you they’ve been best friends for a lifetime.
There will be the straw pile for the kids this year and a feast afterwards for the families that attend that includes lamb that Serb roasts up himself in the kitchen in back, along with cabbage rolls, the pogasa and more Serbian goodies. Serb introduces me to the hand carved wooden monkey that guards the money that patrons donate all year for the straw pile and I’m happy to donate two dollars for the upcoming scramble.
At Stan’s 80th birthday party at Dolfis the following Sunday afternoon, Serb – who also sings in the choir at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church – is there with his camera taking photos and hugging and being hugged by Stan and everyone else.
I meet Stan’s daughter Melissa Heider-Latin, who taught accounting at Waynesburg University for 15 years before relocating to Charlottesville, NC when her husband’s job took them there. Tired of teaching, she transformed herself into a first class blogger who is the star of Charlotte Fashion Plate, featuring style, beauty and food – the kind of food her Baba Mildred Brozik cooked while she was growing up in Crucible.
Melissa tells me her dad serves up Baba’s chicken soup for Christmas at Dolfis and she promises to send me Baba’s recipe for nut rolls as soon as she gets back to Charlottesville and bakes some.
She also sends me a great link to Barbara Rolek’s Serbian Christmas Tradition, which describes the celebration of Christ’s birth that begins 40 days earlier with a fast from animal products – meat, eggs, cheese, and milk – up to and including dinner with fish as the main course on Christmas Eve. A branch from an oak tree has been cut that morning for the Yule log and straw is scattered throughout the house to honor Christ’s humble birth. “Walnuts and wheat are strewn in the four corners of the dining room along with a prayer for health and prosperity.”
The first words heard on Christmas morning are “Mir Boziji! Hristos se Rodi!” Peace of God! Christ is born! and the first guest – polozajnik – to visit stirs the Yule log and makes the sparks fly- “the more sparks – God’s blessings – the better.”
Breakfast breaks the Advent fast with hymns and singing followed by sharing the communal česnica loaf that sits in the middle of the table along with a container of wheat grass that was planted on December 19, St. Nicolas Day. There is a coin in the česnica for one lucky soul and ribbons and a candle with the wheat grass. A toast of plum brandy comes next and wheat is sprinkled on the guests for good luck. “Only then does the feasting begin.”
But what about presents? They were traditionally given to children on December 19 at the Feast of St. Nicolas, that kindly saint with the knack for giving just the right present to those in need during his own lifetime.
A few days after the party, Melissa sends me the recipe for Baba Mildred’s nut rolls and a link to her blog that features it and other recipes you might want to try if you’re hungry for a Serbian feast on Christmas day – or any day you might want some delicious down home cooking like Baba used to make. (Link here: https://www.charlottefashionplate.com/recipes/nut-rolls/ )
