THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Christmas
Is... A Trail of Miracles through Unbelievable Circumstances
(or the Malac-Bartak Story)
Since this is my last column for
2011 in
this paper, I want to thank my faithful readers for staying with me yet
another
year. I have written about many “first
settlers” to our county, going back to study the 1834, 1840 and 1850
census
records to trace several of the brave people who hazarded the unknown
to settle
in the new and burgeoning county of Union.
If you missed any of these stories and have any interest in
them, you
may go online to GaGenWebProject, click on Union County, and when the
general
index emerges, click on “Through Mountain Mists.” There
you will find a complete listing by
title of my columns since I began writing for “The Union
Sentinel” in July, 2003.
Can it be it has been over eight years I have followed this
challenging
and satisfying pursuit of telling the stories of our brave ancestors
and true
stories of this section of our beautiful world?
But today’s column will take a
different turn. It is a true story,
coming at a pivotal time in the year here at Christmastime. I recently received a most wonderful
Christmas gift, a copy of Barry Forrest Malac’s book of remembrances
entitled “Through the Mountains, Valleys and Gloom…But
Never Alone.” Barry and Marian
Bartak Malac are fairly recent newcomers as residents of Union County,
coming
in 1986 to begin their Union County home, and moving here to live in
1989 after
Barry’s retirement. Mainly his story,
but interspersed with how he met Marian in his native Czechoslovakia,
and how
their lives became intertwined as husband and wife, reads like a novel. The reviewer, writer Arlene M. Gray of “An Ordinary Life…” rightly states of
Barry’s book: “The reader has no choice
but not to put the book down until the end is reached.”
And with her evaluation I heartily agree;
with many Christmas preparation jobs calling for my time, I could not
leave
Barry’s book alone until I had finished the last chapter.
His is a marvelous story of faith and
adventure, trust and persistence, following God’s leadership and acting
on
opportunities, many through grave dangers and escaping Communism That is why I entitle this review of Barry
Malac’s book, “Christmas Is…A Trail of Miracles through Unbelievable
Circumstances.” I recommend to my
readers that you find a copy of his book and read it.
It will inspire you, uplift you and make you
know that miracles still occur in the lives of people who sincerely
seek to
follow the Lord who came to earth at Christmastime.
Born in Vienna, Austria on December
12, 1923, the third child of the Rev. Gustav Josef Malac and Antonie
Malacova
Malac, the new baby lived in the home of his Methodist Episcopal
minister
father and mother. Later his father
would minister in Czechoslovakia where he became pastor of the
Methodist
Episcopal Church South in Bratislava, Slovakia on January 1, 1929, and
then on
to the area of Prague. Grave days lay ahead, as they would live through
the
perils of World War II, with Barry (his Americanized name) working at
Stalag
Erding in Bavaria to assist with keeping German warplanes repaired and
in the air. Barry’s story of close
encounters of the
dangerous kind, his bout in the military, and his college years are one
string
of miracles after another. Then he saw a picture of the daughter of an
American
United Methodist minister sent to his country as Superintendent of
Methodist
Missions. Barry told his mother, when
she tried to match him up with a young lady of her choosing, that he
planned to
marry the girl from America whose picture he saw on the Methodist
brochure. And
things came about that he was able to do just that.
But even after their wedding, held on
Easter Saturday, April 16, 1949, circumstances were not easy for the
young
couple—she an American citizen in that Czech country with her parents,
approved
missionaries, and the young Czech who had ambitions of becoming a
forester.
He
first took steps to escape the strict confines of the communist regime
and
border patrols. His story is full of
suspense, intrigue and danger. She was
to follow and they were to meet in Munich, Germany.
Timing and getting through tough check-points
allow the reader to see aspects of escape and holding securely to
dreams. The way Barry Malac gives God
credit for
opening up the way for both of them and getting them safely to America
is a
story worthy of any Christmas miracles we can imagine.
Even in America, life was not easy as
Marian’s aunt in Texas took them in for a while. Then they decided to
move east
to Duke University in North Carolina for Barry to get his Master’s
degree in
Forestry. Then came his first permanent
job in Savannah, Georgia as Barry was employed in management with the
Union Bag
and Paper Corporation.
Giving just the barest facts, as I am doing here, of a lifetime
of
dreams and their fulfillment may not sound very exciting.
But believe me, Barry’s narrative style, his
ability to remember significant events and how these were turned to
good (which
he terms miracles) make their true story fascinating reading. His frontispiece uses this quotation from the
noted Albert Einstein: “There are only
two ways to live one’s life: one is to
live as if everything is a miracle, and the other one is as if nothing
is a
miracle.” And what have Barry and Marian
done throughout their lives together:
They see and acknowledge the miracles that have occurred. They know to Whom to give credit, and the
Spirit of Christmas is evident throughout their long and eventful lives. Thank you, Barry Malac, for telling your
story for us to marvel at and admire.
And since I want to end this column
with a Christmas wish for all of you faithful readers, I offer you my
2011
Christmas poem. I hope its lines inspire
deep thought about the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas
Is…
Christmas
is God
with us,
Immanuel
His name.
In the
fullness of
time
The
Lord Jesus
came,
Fulfillment
of
prophecy
From
God’s plan
for mankind,
To
restore broken
kinship
And
bring peace of
mind
To all
who draw
near
With
faith deep in
the heart.
This
is the
message
That
Christmas
imparts.
Christmas
is Love
Incarnate,
The
Word made
flesh;
A
break through the
darkness
From
the sin that
enmeshed
Mankind
in bondage
For
multitudinous
years.
Angels
declared
the message:
“Rejoice! Have no fears,
For
behold we
bring you
This
message of
peace:
Christ
is born in
Bethlehem,
Now
your bondage
will cease!”
Think
how our
gratitude
Should
swell up in
praise:
Let us
serve
Christ the Lord
Throughout
all of
our days!
“Christmas
is the
day
That
holds all
time together.”*
Christmas
is
God-with-us!
No
power that bond
can sever!
-Ethelene Dyer
Jones
Christmas,
2011
(*”Christmas
is
the day that holds all time together” is a quotation by Alexander
Smith.)
[Ethelene Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net; phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA 31061-2411.]
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