UP town ‘blown away’ by Slovenia ambassador’s visit

TRAUNIK, Mich. – In a tiny Michigan town, they’re still talking about a high-profile visitor: an ambassador from Slovenia.

Bozo Cerar was in Traunik, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula on April 20. The Daily Press in Escanaba (http://bit.ly/2piJkoV ) says Traunik was settled by Slovenian immigrants in the early 1900s.

Elaine Debelak, president of the Slovenian Club, says residents “were totally blown away” when they learned that Cerar is Slovenia’s ambassador to the United States. She says he was happy to see “this little dot on the map,” 140 miles (225 kilometres) northwest of the Mackinac Bridge.

The club has more than 150 members but only a handful live in Traunik. The Slovenian Club purchased the town hall and turned it into a memorial to Slovenian settlers who built it more than a century ago.

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Information from: Daily Press, http://www.dailypress.net