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John Righetti is known in Butler County as the spokesman for Butler Memorial Hospital, but he is recognized throughout the country as the national president of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

Righetti, 45, will play host to the unveiling Saturday of the first-ever "Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture." The book launch will be in conjunction with the national conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, which is taking place through Sunday at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The 535-page encyclopedia will be unveiled at the CNG Tower on Liberty Avenue, at the site where, in 1918, documents were signed uniting Carpatho-Rusyns with the new state of Czechoslovakia.

"Pittsburgh is an appropriate place for this historic event as its region is the largest settlement of Carpatho-Rusyns in the United States," Righetti said. More than 60,000 people of Carpatho-Rusyn descent live in western Pennsylvania, Righetti said.

The unique encyclopedia features 626 biographies of Rusyn individuals, including pop artist Andy Warhol.

A small East Slavic group, the Carpatho-Rusyns inhabit much of the Carpathian Mountain chain of Eastern Europe. Because they never had a country they could claim as their own, they lived for more than 800 years in places ruled by nations such as Hungary and Poland. Today, their homeland is split between Slovakia, the Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Romania. About 600,000 Carpatho-Rusyns live in the United States, with Pittsburgh having one of the largest populations.

Growing up in Monessen, Westmoreland County, Righetti was immersed in the Carpatho-Rusyn culture. "Monessen has one of the largest Carpatho-Rusyn populations, and as a child growing up in the 1950s and'60s, the culture was very much a part of our family life," Righetti said. "I lived in a world that was heavily Slavic."

During his teen years, Righetti developed a "real interest" in his culture and heritage, and at age 17, he founded the Carpathian Youth Choir and Dancers, a Carpatho-Rusyn dance ensemble that performed at a variety of cultural events throughout western Pennsylvania.

In 1983, a cultural exchange program was started with the Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union. Righetti was one of two Americans chosen to attend the program and was selected to sit on the advisory board of the Carpathian-Rusyn Research Center. With the fall of Communism, leaders of Rusyn cultural organizations in Slovakia, Poland, the Ukraine, Yugoslavia and Hungary founded a world council, called the World Congress.

After his participation in 1993 at the World Congress in Poland, Righetti, along with several other young Rusyn-Americans in Pittsburgh, founded the Carpatho-Rusyn Society in 1994.

The society’s founding members knew they "were on to something," Righetti said, when more than 85 people attended the first meeting in April 1994 at the University of Pittsburgh. Today, the society boasts 1,500 members throughout the country, with 500 based in Pittsburgh.

The group provides education about Rusyns to its members through educational conferences, videotapes, a newsletter, a Web site and tours of the homeland. The Carpatho-Rusyn Society supports Rusyn cultural work in Europe through its Homeland Fund and it provides humanitarian aid in the Carpathians through its Humanitarian Aid Fund.

A member of the society since its’ inception, Cathy Silvestri of Ross, in Allegheny County, said the group "has a wonderful spirit" to it that attracts spouses, friends and others who aren’t Carpatho-Rusyns. Although he is Italian, Silvestri’s husband, Jim, enjoyed participating in the society’s cultural events, which include the Pittsburgh Folk Festival and Rusyn Day, which took place in September at the Croation Center in Millvale to celebrate the Rusyn culture.

Silvestri and her daughter Maria, 17, have participated in several of the society’s annual Tours of the Homeland, led by Righetti. "For two weeks, we take anywhere from 18 to 44 people and immerse them in the Rusyn culture," Righetti said. "They meet the Rusyn people, see dance groups and get to know relatives they never knew they had."

"John always has so much knowledge and stories to share," Silvestri said. "It’s always such an honor to visit these places. The people are so touched when Americans come. They pull out all the stops to make us feel welcome."

Maria Silvestri enjoys learning about her heritage. "I always enjoy the educational lectures where I can learn more about my culture," she said.

Righetti said the society helps young people learn about their heritage.

"It provides an outlet to really celebrate their culture. Kids identify as a Rusyn by the food, dances and the values built into their households," he said. "When you don’t have a country, culture is all you have, and you want to hold onto it."

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