Czech Heritage Society of Texas

Vítáme Vás!!!!

A very special welcome to our newest members: Jenifer Tepera Brown, and Dennis Schramek. We hope you all had a wonderful summer. the CHS calendar was busy, as many of you know. It was Hot, Hot, and Hot, but we had fun!

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK: - We are now on the World Wide Web. Our Web Page can be found at www.czechs.org. Check it out, I think you'll be pleased with what you find there. We hope you were able to attend the Folklife Festival at the ITC on July 31-Aug. 3. We had excellent participation by club members, and thanks to their efforts, it was a financial success for us. If you have any suggestions as to how we can make it even better next year, let's hear from you. The continuing project to upgrade the Czech display at the ITC, is beginning to get into high gear. We have nearly $10,000 collected to date, the goal is $40,000. Many thanks to those who have donated thus far, we would like to have 100% participation from all members. We really do have a lot going for our organization that can be showcased to the people of SA and the many out-of-town visitors to our City. The CR now draws much world-wide attention. It is not just a little country trying to survive in the present world. It is doing a find job recovering from 50 years of Socialism and Communism, and is close to being accepted into NATO. With an eye toward improving relations between Americans of Czech descent and the "old country", the Czech Embassy in the U.S. is holding a two-day conference at the Embassy in Washington, D.C., Oct. 18-19. The theme is "The Czech Republic and Czech Americans on their Way to the Common Future". Gene Labay and I will be attending this conference at the invitation of His Excellency Alexandr Vondra, the Czech Ambassador. A full report will be given all members at the next general meeting, Nov. 9^th, at 2 PM at Our Lady of Grace.

A SUMMARY OF OUR SUMMER EVENTS: On July 5th we were invited to participate in the annual Freedom Fest Parade in San Antonio. Our theme was "Czech Kolaches", which was brought to live by Olga "Granny" Janacek. Dressed in a bonnet and apron, she "made" kolaches in an authentic country kitchen display. Our float contained the "real thing"--mixing bowl, flour sifter, cookie sheets, flour container, and an antique stove (which contained homemade kolaches, provided by Olga). Those kolaches were yummy! Special thanks to C. J. Trenda, who provided the flatbed and drove the float. Can the Battle of Flowers be far behind?

On July 14th, Dr. Miroslav "Mirek" Koudelka spoke to our group, prior to going on to Richmond, Tx., where he addressed the Czech Genealogy Symposium. If you are researching family roots in Moravia, Mirek may be able to assist you. he is a free-lance historian, genealogist, translator, and teacher. He speaks very good English, and would help you research your family. If interested call Laddie Zezula, Bob Biskup, or Irene Mazoch for his address.

The next summertime event was the Folklife Festival at the ITC July 31-Aug.3. It was estimated that 70,000 plus visitors came to the Festival. You may be assured that many of them found their way to our Kolache booth. Special recognition is due Susie Tolman, and her daughter Noreen, for their outstanding display of painted eggs and cultural artifacts. Once again, it was a successful year of displaying our culture to those who came, from all of Texas, and beyond. The Bexar County Czech Heritage Society thanks all of you who worked so hard to make our booth attractive and successful. We couldn't have done it without YOU! A big Texas "Thank You" goes to Bob Biskup and Irene Mazoch for spear-heading this yearly event. We are sorry to report that our booth did not win an award this year, but Bob Biskup was given the honor of an interview with Amy Troy (special events reporter for KABB-TV), which was shown on the 9 PM News. We hope you saw it. Amy was particularly excited to meet our group, as she is also of Czech heritage.

YOU'RE INVITED to attend the fall STATE MEETING on Saturday, November 8, 1997, hosted by the Wharton County Chapter of the CHS, at St. Andrew's Parish Hall, Hillje, TX. The meeting will consist of exhibits, music, visiting, and items for sale. Registration is at 9 AM, a catered lunch ($5.50) will be served at 11 AM. The guest speaker is John Sharp, State Comptroller. Further information is available from Marie Matcek, President of the Wharton Co. chapter. Telephone: (409) 648-2303. Let Laddie Zezula know if you plan to attend, as advance planning is needed for the luncheon, and he can give you driving directions. Deadline for reservations is OCTOBER 30th.

As you have heard and read, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany were hit with heavy rains in July, resulting in devastating mud slides and floods. Several members made calls to check on their families, and fortunately all had good reports.

CZECH LANGUAGE CLASSES are once again in session Monday nights at 7 PM at Our Lady of Grace Church. Our instructor this year is Libor Cejka, who is a native of the Czech Republic. We are again using the book Modern Czech 1.

NOTE: There is a second classroom available for use at the same time as the language class. We could have a group meeting/discussion on history, sewing, travel tips, doing business in the Czech Republic, or ???? We have the space, so let's do something with it. C. J. Trenda is thinking about having a cooking class. Call him at 628-1332 about it. He and Lucille are traveling in the western US in their new motorhome for the next 6 weeks so any calls will have to wait until their return in early November. if you have any suggestions call Laddie Zezula at 826-8645l

CHRISTMAS ALREADY??? Make your plans to join us on the river for HOLIDAY CAROLING the weekend of Dec. 12-14. We will have a barge for one evening that weekend. Get in the holiday spirit, and enjoy our beautiful Riverwalk at the same time. Interested? Cal John Kuba at 695-8235 or Irene Mazoch at 699-8251 to sign up. We will be notified of the exact date soon, but it will be that weekend.

MARK YOUR CALANDARS: