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PBU History

It was in 1901 when the idea to organize a beneficial society among the Slovak Calvinists was born in the heart of the late Paul Durovchik, a member of the Slovak Calvinists Church in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania.  When he revealed his ambition to organize a beneficial brotherhood among the Slovak Calvinists to some of his friends, they not only encouraged him to proceed, but they joined him in the work.  On the first day of February, 1901, the Men's Lodge No. 1 in Mt. Carmel was organized of which the charter members were:

Sometime later, 13 more members were added to the lodge.

The primary purpose of this organization was merely to bury its deceased members, especially in cases where the deceased had no relatives in this country.  The lodge gave the deceased members a Christian burial and paid the funeral expenses which were collected in equal amounts from the living members.  In cases where the deceased had a family, the benefit was paid to them.

Later, however, as the Society grew, the aims were widened.  It became the mission of the Union:

1. To visit the sick and to assist them financially.

2. To aid the orphans in religious training.

3. To organize Slovak Calvinistic Presbyterian Churches where an opportunity offered itself.

4. To spread religious Slovak Calvinistic literature.

5. To encourage its members to become loyal United States citizens.

6. To spread and confirm pure Calvinistic faith among its youth, and in general, to help its members spiritually, socially and financially.

When the first lodge was organized, Paul Durovichik began to think of the Slovak Calvinists in other American towns and cities, and endeavored to organize similar lodges among them.  Hence, Lodge No. 2 in Pecksville, Pennsylvania was organized with 17 Charter members.

These two lodges held their First Convention in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1901, at which Paul Durovchik presided.  There were eight (8) delegates present, four (4) from Mt. Carmel Lodge and four (4) from Pecksville lodge.

This Convention adopted the name for the Brotherhood: SLOVAK CALVINISTIC PRESBYTERIAN UNION. Thus the Union became a reality on July 2, 1901. We will celebrate our 100^th year of existence next year. It was also adopted that numerical names for the lodges in the order in which they were organized. At this Convention, Brother John Bandy was elected its first President. Committees were formed and maximum death benefits were set: Funeral expenses - $200.00; Salaries, Secretary - $40.00, Treasurer - $20.00 and Clerk - $5.00 (what a comparison to today’s salaries for officers in the various societies). As the years went by and more lodges were organized, death benefits were increased, salaries also rose and even delegates started to receive a small compensation for attending the annual conventions.

Eventually, women’s lodges were organized, and also, juvenile lodges. The Union continued to grow at a somewhat fast pace as the years went by until it reached a zenith of membership in 1950 with 1775 members. The membership hovered around this figure for many years, husbands and wives would sign up their children who in turn, would do the same for their children which replaced the members who had passed on to their heavenly abode.

In 1956, the name of the Union was "Americanized" by changing it to THE PRESBYTERIAN BENEFICIAL UNION in an effort to attract young men and women to investigate the benefits offered by the Union whether they were Slovak or not. The only requirements to join was that they be Christians of good moral character. Further benefits were initiated such as Term Life Insurance, Term to age 16 (later changed to 18), Juvenile Life Insurance, Home Mortgages at lower than bank interest and loans on cash value of the certificates. Conventions were held every four years in the various cities where lodges were located. Lodges were instituted in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut and Indiana. Solvency was a great concern of our early officers and slowly rose from 100.1% in 1902 to over 170% when the merger with NSS occurred. Financial strength was certainly not a cause for alarm for the PBU, only the declining membership and wanting to serve our members with all the benefits to which they had become accustomed to, hence the merger.

The list of Presidents is as follows:

(Brother Henri Albert was President during the merger with the National Slovak Society of the USA on January 1, 1997. This merger was necessitated by declining membership and the inability of recruiting enough new members into the Union. Since the merger, Brother Albert has the title of Honorary President of the PBU.)

So ends this brief commentary of the life and times of the good Slovak Calvinistic members who saw the need to take care of themselves in a strange country by joining together and offering some protection against the financial burden of burying their loved ones. This Union performed that duty for 96 years and are still protecting their members and providing service to all of them by merger with a strong, financially secure beneficial society - The National Slovak Society of the USA. It was a good decision for both the PBU and NSS.