Since his parents were first generation Slovak-Americans, George became fluent in the Slovak language as a child. He was enrolled in the St. Joseph's Catholic School for the first eight grades and went into Toronto High School in his freshman year. At that point, his father found employment with the Brockway Clay Company and moved his family to Pennsylvania on Sept. 1, 1940, when George Jr. was 15.
There were already four boys and two girls in the family at that time: George, Tom, Rich, Cornelius (Doc), Mary Catherine, and Andrea. Another brother, John, was born in 1945 and another sister, Barbara, in 1947. All eight of the children are still living in various parts of the United States with only George and Rich in Brockway.
George enrolled in the Brockway-Snyder High School as a sophomore and played football, becoming the starting center and linebacker in his junior year. His love for football continues today and he seldom misses a game. It's a real concern for his friends and co-workers because he will sit/stand out in all kinds of rain and sleet and snow just to watch the kids play.
After his junior year in Brockway, George transferred to St. Charles High School in Columbus, Ohio, - a preparatory school where he also played football. He graduated from that school in 1943 and enrolled at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1946. He went on to complete his theology studies at St. Marys of the West Seminary in Norwood, Ohio.
While attending college and seminary, George spent most of his summer breaks back in Brockway, working at the clay plant or the glass plant. While in town during those summers, he played baseball on the Brockway team in the Junior Circuit League. He became acquainted with many people from the Brockway area and continues to keep those friendships alive, as well as developing new friends wherever he goes. He is very much interested in people and knows the family history of most Brockway friends.
George graduated from seminary and was ordained into the priesthood on May 1, 1950, at St. Joseph Church in Bridgeport, Ohio, by Bishop John King Mussio of the Steubenville Catholic Diocese. He celebrated his first Solemn High Mass six days later at St. Tobias Church in Brockway. The Rev. Fr. Adams then returned to Ohio where he remained for the next 45 years serving as assistant pastor, administrator, teacher, chaplain, and eventually pastor of several different churches.
During a visit to Rome in 1959, Adams participated in a Vatican radio program beamed into Slovakia, which was then a part of Czechoslovakia, a communist country behind the Iron Curtain. The program was designed to broadcast "freedom announcements" to the Slovak people who were enslaved in their own country. Ten years later, he was able to visit Slovakia with two older cousins who had immigrated to the United States and had settled in Toronto, Ohio. Adams was appointed a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, with the title of monsignor in 1990.
Adams officially retired from the priesthood in February of 1995 and moved back to the family home on Broad Street in Brockway to live with his mother. He became her primary caregiver as her health deteriorated but he took good care of her and demonstrated his skills in the kitchen. He loves to cook and serve those authentic Slovak dishes from his past. Anna Adams died in November of 1998, more than 20 years after the death of her husband, George Adams Sr. in 1976.
The Rev. Msgr. Adams is an avid reader and is an almost-daily visitor to Mengle Memorial Library, one of his favorite places in town. He is also a member of the community book club. The Rev. Msgr. Charles Kaza of the St. Tobias parish reports that he often finds a pile of newspapers at his breakfast table with sections highlighted that Adams has found and designated as "important reading". There is no TV set in the Adams house.
Since moving back to Brockway, Adams has been dedicated to visiting the sick at hospitals and nursing homes within the area, gaining a reputation for making regular visits to both those people he knows, and to those he's gotten to know. He has also been active in various community affairs, including serving for several years as a co-chairman of the Brockway Old Fashioned 4th of July Committee.
He carefully lines up the speakers and the music for the various segments of the Patriotic Program and then serves as master of ceremonies to make sure everything proceeds in the proper order. He is well known for his jokes that he slips into the program and is a bit reckless with words such as the times he's referred to the musical instrument of the Village Voices as a "Casanova".
During the 15 years since his "retirement," Adams has remained active and diligent in continuing with priestly duties, being on call to substitute for pastors across the Dioceses of Erie and Steubenville, as well as assisting on a regular basis at his "home parish" of St. Tobias. He celebrates with masses on Sundays and weekdays - whenever he's not assisting at parishes out of town.
|
|
