SNPJ is an acronym for the native language version of Slovene National Benefit Society, which apparently had too many consonants even for Slovenians.

The Slovene National Benefit Society is an insurance and financial services company created to help Slovenian immigrants in 1904. Membership in the 40,000 (US) member society is one of the percs included in the purchase of a permanent or term life insurance policy.

The SNPJ Recreation Center, near Enon Valley, Pa., was created in 1965 by the society’s national board members Michael and Max Kumer, father and uncle to the center’s current manager, Craig. It was officially designated as the Borough of SNPJ, Pa. in 1967.

The 500 acre center on rolling hills in Lawrence County — the society’s only recreational facility — is strategically located between the main Slovenian populations in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, where immigrants settled to work in steel mills. A family vacation destination, it offers camping, 117 RV hookups and 60 cabins overlooking a 20 acre lake built in the image of Slovenia’s Bled Lake (“…but without the famous chapel on the island,” Kumer explains).

Although the banquet hall is available for winter bookings (at reduced rates), most facilities are open to members and the public only from April through mid-October, hosting weddings, prom banquets, the Mohawk HS football camp, and other special events. There are pools, courts and playgrounds, and a recently completed Heritage Center with a collection of traditional costumes, household items, artwork and crafts.

Of most interest to JamBrain are the frequent weekend concerts and dances at SNPJ. A recent performance in the 6,500 square foot Alpine Banquet Hall by Bob Turcola’s Polka band saw hundreds of (mostly) senior citizens jump to their feet at the first sound of music to fill the enormous hardwood dance floor for gliding Slovenian polkas.

Slovenefest, an annual celebration of ethnic food, culture and music brings 8,000 people to the grounds for three days, the second weekend in July. In its 28th year, July 10-12, 2009, Slovenefest will have 25 bands in four venues: the air-conditioned Alpine Room, an outside stage for polkas, the International Pavilion for traditional Slovenian musicians and visiting performers, and Gostilna, the club room, where button box bands hold sway. Frequent jam sessions also mark the daily noon til late night festival.

The SNPJ Recreation Center offers music in a beautiful bucolic setting in the best Slovenian tradition.