St. Anastasia Parish at 21 North Main Street, P.O. Box 942, Harriman, NY 10926 US - Part 37 - "...And on this Rock..."

When Jesus spoke thus to Simon Peter, He indicated that Peter and his successors would be the foundation of his Church until the end of time. The church though is not only represented by the leaders, rather, it is each faith community following those leaders, living the word of God, showing His love to tile world, that is the Church, together with all other such communities. At times, individual members of such a faith community rise above others in their devotion to God and in service to their fellow parish members. They become a mainstay of the community, often never receiving full ... if any ...recognition for what they do, but that never matters. They do what they do for the greater Glory of God. Such a man was John Martin Kopchak. He was born in 1876 in Czechoslovakia which at the, time, being a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. By profession, a stone mason, he most likely learned his trade in Wien Vienna), the capital of this multination state, which was very close to his homeland. This city was undergoing a metamorphosis during the last decades of the 19th century. The medieval fortifications were razed, the moat filled in, and the wide area surrounding the oldest party of Wien was being transformed into one of the most beautiful city streets in Europe. Here, along the Ringstrasse, the princes and nobles of the aristocratic families as well as the princes of the newly emerging industries built their palaces, and this brought about a very dense concentration of stone masons from Friaul, the Italian province of the Monarchy, which held a virtual monopoly in this profession in the country. Youngsters from many nearby provinces were brought to Vienna to be apprentices to these men. After becoming a journeyman, John Kopchak served his tour of duty in the army in an artillery unit. At the turn of the century, he left his native country in search of better opportunities with a group of his countrymen and Slovaks and came to the United States. He did not bring much with him besides the tools of his trade, but he brought a great treasure: his deep and abiding love of God and the devotion to the Church his parents instilled in him. This group of Slovaks settled in the East Village of Sloatsburg. John quickly found work as a stone mason and worked on many of the mansions being built in Orange County, such as the Harriman Estate (now known as Arden House), the Glenmere Estate, and as far south as the Louise Estate in Ringwood, now owned by the State of New Jersey. While working at a mansion in Tuxedo Park, he met a young countrywoman, Elizabeth Stecz. She had come to this country as a young girl with her parents, who now owned a big farm at the end of Post Road in Sloatsburg. She had found employment with a family in Tuxedo Park as a chambermaid and nursery helper. Now these two young Slovakians found each other in their new country, they fell in love and eventually got married in 1901. This marriage lasted well over fifty years. During the first few years of their life together, they lived with Elizabeth's parents on the farm. John rode his bicycle to his workplace at the Harriman Estates every day, while his wife helped with the work and started to raise the first four of their seven children. Prosperity was an attainable goal in a somewhat modest way. They both had learned English, their children attended the local school, and they were hoping to be able to buy their own home soon. But John and Elizabeth were not truly happy because they had not found a true home for their souls. They belonged to the Tuxedo parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, but John and Elizabeth craved something more, as did their fellow countrymen from Europe. So John Kopchak, together with three other men who belonged with him to the first Catholic Slovakian Society - Jednota - wrote a letter to Archbishop McFarley of New York. They asked for permission to build a little chapel in the East Village, since there were so many Slovaks living there, and also for the services of a Slovak-speaking priest, "...so we could hear the word of God in our mother tongue. We would greatly appreciate this, so we would be able to perform the duties required of every Catholic person." The pastor of Mt. Carmel supported this petition, calling the approximately 150 Slovak families living in the area "a devout group of people, being very tenacious of their native tongue and customs." Unfortunately, their request was not granted. (Maybe no Slovak priest was available -?) In 1912, John Kopchak moved his family to Turners - Harriman. There was enough property for Elizabeth to have a chicken yard, and to raise some vegetables to augment the growing family's food needs. Their five sons, as they grew older, became very skilled at hunting and fishing for the family. While digging for worms one day, one of them found their mother's wedding ring, which had slipped off her finger while she was feeding the chickens, and which could not be replaced because of the cost involved. Here in Harriman, at St. Anastasia's, John Kopchak found a multitude of ways to demonstrate his devotion to the Church. The newly founded cemetery provided endless work. Trees needed to be cut down, their roots dug up, shrubs removed...Then there was the ongoing work on the church. John put in the supports for the outside stairs when they needed to be replaced, and to this day we are walking on his work. John was not alone in the work. He would sit down to dinner after work and announce to his sons: "Hope you don't have any plans for tonight, because we are going up to the church to work." And with his sons, John Kopchak built the great altar in the cemetery. He designed and constructed the lovely grotto of Our Lady at the foot of the stairs leading up to the little White Church on the Hill, which to this day graces the grounds with its presence and over the years has been and still is a place of great devotion for many parishioners. Then he enclosed the well in the back of the old rectory and built the house around it. It is still a delight for us to see, because it is so well designed and perfectly suited to the place where it was erected. Over the years, John found many projects to keep his hands - and those of his sons - busy in service to his Church. He did all this work without being paid for any of it, often even bringing needed supplies. He also never sought recognition for his contributions to the parish. For him, this was a way to pray, to use his God-given talents to glorify the Lord. He implanted this deep and abiding love of God in his children, and although his sons did not always come willingly (teen-age boys do have at times other interests, usually female in nature) they always came, and their father's work still beautifies our parish grounds. Among other contributions of this family is also a stained glass window in the church donated by Mr. and Mrs. Kopchak. In later years, John worked for Nepera Chemical Company, where he build the laboratory. He was now in his eighties, but he still found things to do for St. Anastasia. On May 3, 1957, he came home after putting in a full day's work, ate dinner, then headed out the door - and died. He was 82 years old, had been a citizen of his chosen country for 43 years, and a parishioner for 45. His son, Frank, worked for St. Anastasia's Parish under Father Dougherty until the beginning of the Second World War. Nothing lasts forever. When the paint inside the grotto started to chip and flake, John's grandson, Bill Kopchak, together with his friend, Rick Kaisted, sandblasted the grotto and made some small repairs. Now this beautiful monument is again in need of repair. Loose mortar needs to be removed and replaced. There are several cracks running from the top of the ceiling to the bottom that must be repaired soon to keep the destructive work of the elements at bay. Willing and skilled hands are needed to preserve what John Martin Kopchak has wrought for the greater glory of God.

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