John Kuharic Inducted - St. Louis 1981
	Born March 8, 1893, in Ludbreg, Yugoslavia, John Kuharic came to the United States at the age of 16.  He set his roots in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and found a wife in Julia Lonchar of Licka, Yugoslavia.
	He, like many other Croats of his time, went to work in the coal mines of Sykesville, Pennsylvania, and while there developed a new awareness of his love for tambura, for which there had never been time on the farm in Ludberg.
	John found a proficient teacher and learned all the instruments in the tambura family, becoming a master of the prim.  He formed his own orchestra and tambura became his life.
	Trouble in the mines caused John to return to Johnstown where he bought a house and immediately began teaching tambura in Johnstown and the surrounding towns of Comennaugh, Bon Aire, and Kelso.  He was instrumental in helping organize the Rodoljub Choir and was also a performing member of it.
	After a few years, John moved to Mather, Pennsylvania, where he ran a boarding house and tavern.  Here he taught anyone who wanted to learn his native music, including his wife and three sons.  He was a lifetime CFU member in the Mather Lodge and spent much time in fundraising events.  John saw to it that his boys had proper music training and they all became accomplished musicians in their own right.  If they weren't playing in their father's tavern, they were teaching in the backroom or playing for weddings and dances.  John may have left his wife home evenings, but never his blessed tambura.
	Around the year 1936, Professor Pierce and Matt Gouze came to visit John's home in search of talented tambura players to attend St. Edward's University to preserve the tambura culture.  They found to their surprise that John Kuharich, Jr., the eldest son, was an accomplished violinist and a supreme master of the tambura, and they persuaded him to attend St. Edwards, along with three other tamburasi from the area -- N. Bastacic, N. Puskar, and S. Kulcharic.
	The following spring, a telegram from Professor Pierce told John the group had an Easter booking open.  John replied "Easter booking okay -- bring the boys."  He started his mission to secure a place for this booking.  He obtained the services of a booking agent who traveled from Austin, Texas, to Chicago, Illinois, and after weeks of frustration, called Professor Pierce that the Croats were the most hard-headed group of individuals he had ever dealt with.  They had absolute NO intention of paying to hear a bunch of young college kids in concert.  They could go to a picnic, eat lamb, dance, and hear good tambura music for free, so John had his work cut out for himself.  After much, much persuasion, Lodge 633 decided to sponsor the concert.
	Two weeks prior to the concert, Professor Pierce and Director Matt Gouze arrived at Kuharic's with 12 tamburitzans, instruments, and costumes.  John thought he was in heaven with walls resounding day and night with the sound of tambura music.  Of course, the women could have lived without all the cooking and washing.
	On Easter afternoon, the concert was held at Ferncliff Dance Tavern and Roller Rink.  John advertised heavily in the area that there would be one of a kind, never heard of before, tambura concert.  People said it couldn't be done -- no one would pay to hear tambura.  Well they came by the hundreds, amazed, and finally convinced that there was more to their beloved tambura than they had ever imagined.
	Thanking John and telling him this was the break they were waiting for, Professor Pierce's group went to Pittsburgh.  There they performed a few concerts and played as guest artists on radio station KDKA -- they were on their way to being a success.  On their way back to Texas, they played numerous concerts and were guests on the Old Uncle Ezra Show in Chicago.  They realized they could only survive among their own ethnic group, so he spoke to Father Gallagher at Duquesne University and transferred the entire group there.  This was the birth of today's Duquesne University Tamburitzans.
	John Kuharic passed away this year but he will always be remembered as an outstanding musician, teacher, performer, and an instrumental part of today's Duquesne Tammies. Above all, John helped preserve his culture and put Croatian music up in the ranks where it belongs.
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