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ta (Crnsfir SrtbmtrFeb. 17, 1963Di-l RFI) Frb. 1«*5.. - - . - . - . . .y, .A.t ... V . . . . .'■1.* '.* ■-'.■** * - * ....a a a’ - *.... - •(La lt;MAdealepushremoin tiners i sell ’neigh Th( Trad' the lexerrthe t autoiMRS. RUTH TROPINcomfto qi impo den i ThWelcomes RefugeesMrs. Tropin WelcomesRefugees To Idlewildtax (ceptlegalallovIsists liverandsuchtheR\ WARD CANNEDL( told in ----Q--- I V *brought into this country under official U.S. auspices since the end plan|said. “But in 1953 I was released SuNEW YORK (NEA--According and began again to plot an es-j“ridto the dossier, the small, red- t'apecheeked man blinking in the ear- Ten years ago, when ICEM took tor ly morning sun was .Janus Pavel- place of IRO, Mrs. Tropin wasi^urka (Czech, truck driver, age 39, at work in Nov. 'Soik gieeting an ^ccmarried, two children*. Tentative- processing refugees. On moderate- ou lt;ly he began to descend the steps ly busy days, she had live plane from the giant transport plane to- arrivals in New ’loik, another five ward the snowy U.S. soil of the in New .Jersey and very likely aIdlewild Airport and the out- shipload as well,stretched hand of Ruth Tropin. Nothing seemed to work. Pa-,wiUFor almost all of the 800.000 velka said. It looked .is though inrefugees from European tyranny I eould never get out. Then sud-denlv, two vears ago I hit on a 0CC:V * ' ' II sent my brother-in-law. jbuyof World War II. Mrs. Tropin has v'bo was 13, to hang around the Rbeen the lady with the lamp. It airfield in our section of Bohemia P™is a by-product of her job as New Jo pose as being tremendously in- ^ York officer in charge of the In- tcrested in flying. tcrgovernmental Committee for If Mrs. Tropin has missed meet-European Migration that she can ing a tew of the retugees. it has e extend a welcome in almost every been for good reason. On the day • P language spoken in this country Chat she gave birth to her first today, child, she was scheduled to meetft ft two planes. On the ride to the“Good day,” Pavelka said, “I hospital, she briefed her husband speak a little English. I was in the on what had to he done at the RAF for part of the war.” airfield. While she was taken toWhile the great crush of Euro- the maternity ward, he went to pean migration is over, and most greet the refugee planes.of those leaving nowadays go cither to Australia or Latin Ameri- “Actually. Pavelka said, the ca. Mrs. Tropin still meets about bov was getting to know the air-400 refugees here each month, field guards and learning about people who still manage to escape what their routines were. Then,the grinding cruelty of their home- lust autumn, we got our break, lands. There was to be a big fair and all“I tried to get out of Czecho- the guards were going, leaving Slovakia in 1948,” Pavelka said, only the local police to watch over“Eleven of us were going to com- the field and the planes.Actually, Mrs. Tropin’s workhomandeer a plane. But somebodytold. I w-as sentenced to work in only begins at the airfield. Much the uranium mines for five of her time is taken with liaisonnudiiRlt;wlt;MCrnuheyears.*»a.seCiniwork among church and civic ref-Until the war broke out in 1941, ugee organizations, checking on Mrs. Tropin was working w?ith the sponsors lor migrants, conferring Emergency Rescue Committee with I N. refugee officials, and When it could no longer operate, making sure that the retugees she went to work in the War Ship- themselves move easily to their ping Administration. And as soon new homes. It is not unusual toi as peace was proclaimed, she Mrs. Tropin to he awakened at .5 signed on with the U N. Relief a.m. by the police who have found and Rehabilitation Agency, and on an ICEM refugee lost and unable ^ its dissolution with the Interna- to remember the name ot his hotel f| tional Refugee Organization. In or sponsoring agency.1948 she was sent to New York1lt;irnc“As soon as the guards were IE to greet the first ship of refugees, gone, Pavelka said, ‘ I took myIftthe General Black.ft ft“I don’t know how Iwork in those mines.”Creativitywife, two children and brother-in-law to the airfield and put them ^ survived Jin a single-engine, two-seat plane,11Pavelka started the engine and taxied down--.the runway, waving happily to thepolice who had no idea of whatFIs Subjectwas going on.ft ftffIOf LSC PanelIn the course of the years, Mrs. Tropin says, a few refugees have turned out to be trouble-makers. But she can count, she says, disillusionment s like them on the fin- [cFtiers of one hand. The hundreds The second in a series of three ^ , , ,.,,, , ft, ...in with whom she corresponds are“Conversations for Learning willmat,, without exception wonderful peo-4:15 Ple-“I had not counted on cloudybe held in the La Crosse College Student Union atp.m. Tuesday. More than 300 men ,, . , .j ,, lj ,i r .weather, Pavelka said. But itand women attended the first 'vcau,v'’meeting Feb. 5 '«s m lTc,10 ‘ h0f 'hc day“The Nature of Creativity will 1 was forced to crash-land, tnjur-be discussed by John Cleveland. “ft ah-'' s * dolng sonRoland Christiansen. Rale Kcnd- «“• dld ot f f-e cre rick, Norman Schetn. John Sw.ck- At«r» and safe, ard and Tom Wirkus. Theodora, »hy has Mrs Tropm stayed soRichter is moderator h’s 8 1 ,iT , kOn March 5 the final meeting,™51, of ,lhlt;' orld P3*' dbv'-w,U he held. The Nature ol Con ousl’ hwauf 0 . ,hu ,hr .formitv will hc discussed hv Kroclmg people wjth an eagernessand enthusiasm lor the U.S. Intrt(Robert Culp, David Hogue. Wilbam I.aus. Seoll McDonald and Pal'1' lt;».• '«ausc of the renew-Young isCarl Wimberly. B. .Jwmoderator.The public may attend. Tht t .. , , .meetings are sponsored by the «« hOT5clf 0’haned at * ***mg wonder of helping people discover they are free. But also in large part because Mrs. Tropinpsychology department and theStudent Union entertainment committee.Off icer Speaksof four.“It is a wonderful thing to be here,” Pavelka said, “after having tried to come for so long.“No, 1 do not have any friends or relatives here, except for Mrs.ONTARIO, Wis.—State Traffic Tropin. 1 once knew an AmericanOfficer Robert Scheller will speak sergeant from Chicago during theBut 1 don't think he wouldat a meeting of the PTA at 8 p.m warMonday. Feb. 18. in the school’s remember me. That was 20 yearseighth grade room. He will also ago and he has probably beenshow a film. * through a lot since then ’
Newspaper Details
La Crosse Sunday Tribune
La Crosse, Wisconsin, US
Sun, Feb 17, 1963
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Yannah P.
USA 19 Nov 2022
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