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Fr. Ziliak, Courier & Press article for Saturday, June 15, 2002
A crowd of several hundred, young and old, gathered at the Evansville
Museum for the inaugural showing of the film "Heroes Still Walk,"
last Sunday. The film tells the story of the lifelong work of a missionary
with local roots, Father Jerome Ziliak.
The film is the work of Caroline Nellis with the help of colleagues
working with sound and cinematography. There is no exciting story
with wild shooting and near-death escapes. It is a touchingly filmed
portrayal of the life changing impact the work of one man can be.
For a priest who wanted to go anywhere but India, the 50-years spent
in contact with Indian Tribals and Untouchables is impressive. As
Father Jerry tells it, he asked his superiors to send him to any country,
but not to India. He even wrote "not to India" in large
capital letters. He felt comfortable with that request since four
of his classmates specifically asked to go to India.
Now, where do you think his superiors sent him? You are right - to
India. Father Jerry said his assignment was one sentence long, "You
are appointed to India." He made the most of those 50-years.
Some 40 years were spent in the Madhya Pradesh state at Karpur, a
village of some 1,300 inhabitants.
His primary work was to speak to the spiritual needs of his people.
The practical nature of a German farmer from St. James, just south
of Haubstadt, says, "If a man is hungry, he is not interested
in hearing what you've got to say about God." So Father Jerry
set about putting food in hungry stomachs.
He purchased the first Massey-Ferguson tractor that came off the line
in India in 1958. The tractor is shown in the film still about its
business of tilling the soil. With the help of good and steady benefactors,
many from around our area, he purchased a Jeep and trucks as the years
moved forward. He built a road to facilitate the transportation of
harvested crops to market.
He dug wells and holding ponds for water retainage. He introduced
irrigation to water the crops during the dry months. The ponds were
a joyful refuge for the water buffalo. Kept happy and cool, the buffalo
produced rich milk, which in turn became a source of revenue. He developed
a stud practice for cattle and water buffalo to develop productive
offspring and extra income for the mission.
Experimenting with hybrid seed and fertilizer, the crops yielded up
to 600 percent more than was normally seen in that area. By experimentation
he found that teak trees flourished there. The trees could be planted
by creek beds and other areas not good for crop production. It takes
some 30-years for a teak tree to grow enough for harvesting. Social
security and 401K plans were not available to his people, but the
sale of teak trees can provide a very suitable income for retirement
years.
Girls didn't have much of a chance for anything but toil, early marriage,
and care of offspring and the family. Father Jerry provided schooling
for boys and girls. Some of the girls are now nurses and teachers,
capable of earning much higher salaries than men who farm. This, of
course, has lead to new social opportunities and difficulties.
I remember receiving letters at Christmastime detailing events of
recent months. They were typed on a manual typewriter. The film shows
Father Jerry typing on that typewriter. He said their village obtained
electricity in the 1980s. I have always had a light switch to bring
light and power to the house. I remember that some of my relatives
didn't get electricity until after World War II. But the 1980s! Father
Jerry worked some 32 years in India without electric power!
He developed methane gas for cooking by using cow dung. Clever. Creative.
But also gas for cooking saved trees and charcoal. Gas was far superior
than smoking coals for healthy human respiratory action.
Indeed, heroes still walk the land. My cousin, Father Jerry, is one
of them. Whether God puts us here at home or in a faraway land, we
can use our talents, skills and creative powers to make life better
for others. Others have been there for us. Will we be there for yet
other generations?
Father Joseph L. Ziliak is pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic
Church in Newburgh.
