The life story of Milomir Glavčić is material from which novels are written. In essence it is a personification of the Horatio Alger myth – an immigrant who for almost seventy years has been living out the “Canadian Dream“. Born in 1924 in a small village of Pope in the southern foothills of Mt. Kopaonik, Serbia, Glavčić was orphaned at an early age. He eventually found his way to Belgrade and like most propertyless lads began to learn a trade. WW II came along and with that a bloody civil war. In 1947, after the liberation, he found himself in uniform of the new communist Yugoslav Army. Unable to bear the injustices of the new regime he fled to Greece by rowing in a stollen boat across Lake Prespa, uniform and all, to become a denizen of a displaced persons’ camp. A short stopover in DP camps in Italy followed, and then, April 11th, 1949, Canada, the "promised land", which will become home for the remainder of his life.
Canada of the late 1940’s was anything but „land of milk and honey“ for someone fresh off the boat, who knew neither the language nor the customs of the new surroundings, and without a penny in his pocket. He completed the compulsory stint as a farm laborer – the price of admission to Canada that most new arrivals were expected to pay – then it was the mines. There he met Armelina, a young Italian signorina who will become his life-long companion. Where would a newly married couple seek to settle down if not Niagara Falls which was rapidly becoming the honeymooners’ capital of the world!
Canada of the late 1940’s was anything but „land of milk and honey“ for someone fresh off the boat, who knew neither the language nor the customs of the new surroundings, and without a penny in his pocket. He completed the compulsory stint as a farm laborer – the price of admission to Canada that most new arrivals were expected to pay – then it was the mines. There he met Armelina, a young Italian signorina who will become his life-long companion. Where would a newly married couple seek to settle down if not Niagara Falls which was rapidly becoming the honeymooners’ capital of the world!
With meager savings they brought with them from the North and some borrowed capital, they opened a small restaurant. With hard work, frugal living, and shrewd investment, their fortune began to multiply. Real Estate always has been workingman’s best venue for investment and Niagara Falls was rapidly growing into a tourist destination of worldly proportions. They eventually bought a small motel, then a 120-room hotel, then a 600-seat theatre and acres of vacant land, among other properties, whose value over the years continued to appreciate. By the time they retired they had amassed a sizable fortune. In 2004 he summarized his life’s sojourn in a 500-page autobiography Trn u Nozi na Dugčkom Putu (A Long Journey with a Thorn in the Foot).
Glavčić, however, never allowed his good fortune to cloud his humane instinct and he never forgot his humble origins. What good is wealth, afterall, if not shared with those less fortunate? He became a generous patron of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada and his generous donations helped the Serbs in Niagara Falls build the church dedicated to St. George. He paid for the reconstruction of several ruined churches in his native village and the surrounding area. His Holiness, Irinej, the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church decorated him during his visit to Canada in 2012 with the Order of St. Sava, 3rd Degree.
Glavčić, however, never allowed his good fortune to cloud his humane instinct and he never forgot his humble origins. What good is wealth, afterall, if not shared with those less fortunate? He became a generous patron of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada and his generous donations helped the Serbs in Niagara Falls build the church dedicated to St. George. He paid for the reconstruction of several ruined churches in his native village and the surrounding area. His Holiness, Irinej, the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church decorated him during his visit to Canada in 2012 with the Order of St. Sava, 3rd Degree.
Thanks to his generous contributions in 2006, the Serbs of Niagara Falls in concert with the municipal government erected within the Queen Victoria Park at the Falls an imposing monument to Nikola Tesla, the Serbian genius inventor, father of the AC current and numerous other futuristic inventions.
It is estimated that he has sent over €3,500,000 in aid to his relatives in Serbia, his fellow villagers, and the homeless of Kraljevo after the earthquake in 2010. He has built roads, generously gifted orphanages, schools and young peoples’ clubs, while other recipients of his benevolence and munificence are too numerous to mention. On September 5th, Tomislav Nikolić, President of the Republic of Serbia and Roman Waschuck, Canada’s Ambassador in Belgrade, officially opened to traffic the newly constructed Glavčić Bridge over the River Ibar in Kraljevo. Glavčić’s contribution toward the realization of this project was €1,000,000. In his address during the ceremony, Ambassador Waschuck stated:
It is estimated that he has sent over €3,500,000 in aid to his relatives in Serbia, his fellow villagers, and the homeless of Kraljevo after the earthquake in 2010. He has built roads, generously gifted orphanages, schools and young peoples’ clubs, while other recipients of his benevolence and munificence are too numerous to mention. On September 5th, Tomislav Nikolić, President of the Republic of Serbia and Roman Waschuck, Canada’s Ambassador in Belgrade, officially opened to traffic the newly constructed Glavčić Bridge over the River Ibar in Kraljevo. Glavčić’s contribution toward the realization of this project was €1,000,000. In his address during the ceremony, Ambassador Waschuck stated:
People like Milomir Glavčić have built my own country. They wove priceless fiber of their national identity and built Canada as a successful and rich country, whose greatest wealth is the multicultural richness and the presence of nationalities and talent from around the world. Milomir is an example of a hardworking man who for many years dedicated himself to creating a comfortable home life for his family, yet, even though thousands of miles away, he has never forgotten his birth place.
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