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As early as 1904 Palleck objected to the Fort William Daily Times Journal newspaper making no distinctions in its crime reporting between East Europeans such as Hungarians and the rest of the Slavic community including Slovaks and he contacted the paper to voice his objection and seek correction. At that time Slovaks were generally described as Hungarians because in their homeland they fell under the Hungarian jurisdiction in the dual monarchy. By Dec. 1904, his economic stature was such that he was the only “foreigner” singled out as having constructed a building of note – a frame store and residence combined – at a cost of $ 1,800.00 where he owned and operated a general store at 500 McIntosh Avenue. Several years later he moved his store to 609 Simpson St. where he continued to operate a hardware store and branch post office for over 30 years. He had the distinction of being the first non-British person elected to the Fort William city council when he was elected to represent Ward 1 in 1911. Palleck was also actively involved in the Slovak community life. On Jan. 1, 1927 he was appointed Czechoslovak consular agent and served in this capacity for the next 15 years. In 1935 he received a medal honouring him for services rendered to Czechoslovak Republic. In addition he also served as a Fort William separate school board trustee for 25 years. He died in Port Arthur (sister city to Fort William) on Feb. 21, 1952 at the ripe old age of 82.
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