Czech Heritage Society of Texas

Bexar County Chapter

Dedicated to Preservation of our Czech Heritage

February 15, 1999

It is our hope that each and everyone of our members had a truly blessed and memorable holiday season. We closed out 1998 with an exceptionally well attended Christmas party/pot luck dinner on December 6th. All who came had a most enjoyable time.

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK: It is my pleasure to welcome 12 new members to the Bexar Co. Chapter. They are: Stephen F. Ackley, Jerry J. Becan, Dolores M. Bueche, June M. Chapko, Nicholas F. Chapko, Margaret Cyr-Provost, Mary A.Hansen, Rosalie A.Jenkins, Dennis G. Migl, Gladys A. Smoak, Georgia Sweezea, and Bishop Patrick A. Zurek. Vítáme Vás! Our current membership now totals 128. We would like to see our membership grow even more in 1999, to at least 150 by year's end.

Saturday, March 20, 1999 is an important date for the Bexar County Chapter and all members of the Czech Heritage Society of Texas. That is the date of the 1999 Spring State Meeting and we are the host Chapter. It will be held at the Boysville Campus, in Converse. There will be a catered lunch, and we are most honored to have as the guest speaker for this event our fellow Bexar Co. Chapter member, Col. JOHN BLAHA. From 1965 to 1980 John was a USAF fighter pilot, test pilot, analyst, and combat pilot. In 1980 he was selected as a NASA Astronaut, and logged 161 days in space on 5 space missions, including four and one-half months on the Russian Space Station MIR. His program will consist of video highlights of this trip, and other assignments in his career. John joined USAA in 1997, serving as the Assistant Vice President of Applied Research. All members, and their guests are cordially invited to attend this meeting. Advance reservations are needed for the luncheon.

At the General Meeting, November 15, 1998, the members present elected BEA JARZOMBEK to be Secretary; and BOB BISKUP and DONNEL MUZNY to the Board of Directors. Welcome aboard, and I look forward to working with you.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the members who have given their time as VOLUNTEERS: Our officers, committee chairmen, and those who helped them make our annual dance, heritage day celebration, and Christmas party the successes they were; the many dedicated members who turn out each August to assist with the Folklife Festival (thanks to their efforts this year we won a blue ribbon for display); those who make presentations at the ITC and in various schools and nursing homes; as well as those who donate items for raffles and door prizes; those who bake goodies or help in the kitchen--all of you make this an organization to be proud of. Thank you for all you do.

The Czech Heritage Society of the State of Texas, recently donated $3,000 to the ITC for improvements to the Czech display there. To date $5,000 have been received from the State. Your individual donations are still welcome. If you have not already donated, please consider doing so.

Ladislav Zezula

THE CHRISTMAS POTLUCK PARTY was great fun. There were 95 members and friends present.. The turn-out was so exceptional and the food so delicious, that we very nearly ran out! Thanks to all the members who brought so many varied dishes, including appetizers and desserts, from which to choose. Kay Vajdos and Bea Jarzombek gave us the lovely table decorations. We also wish to thank the many, many members who contributed door prizes. Among those in attendance were Czech and Slovak students from the Defense Language Institute at Lackland AFB. We hope we brought a little bit of "home" to those so far from their families at this holiday season.

To those of you who brought your friends to enjoy this happy time with us, why not invite them to become members of the Czech Heritage Society, too?

NEW VIDEO TAPES - CZECH GENEALOGY WORKSHOP. The State office of the CHS in Dallas has presented each local Chapter with one set of the 5 presentations made at the July 25, 1998 Genealogy Workshop in Richmond, TX. If you were unable to attend the workshop and would like to view these tapes, contact Kay Vajdos (210-657-4001) or Joan Meluch (210-945-0765). Subjects include: Immigration from German Ports; The Lay of the Land; Conducting Genealogical Studies in the Czech Republic; Documentation: Cite Your Sources; and How the Internet Can Help You in Your Czech and Slovak Genealogical Research. Tapes may be borrowed by members, and will be available at the General Meeting, February 28th.

GENERAL MEETING, SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY 1999

Our Lady of Grace Church, 2 PM

Located at the corner of Summit & McCollough

(between Hildebrand and Mulberry)

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

CZECH HERITAGE DANCE, MAR. 7, 1999 at Martinez Hall, Martinez, TX, 3 PM to 7PM. Music for dancing will be provided by the Leo Majek Orchestra of Corpus Christi. Leo has made this dance memorable for us before. Refreshments consisting of kolaches, cakes, and beverages will be available. For those wishing something more substantial, sausages and buns will also be for sale. Raffle tickets will be sold for prizes to be awarded periodically during the afternoon. The public is cordially invited to attend, and all family members and guests are welcome. Adult admission is $6.00per person. No charge for children under 12 yrs. of age. Individuals desiring to reserve a table (or tables), may call Bob Biskup at (210) 659-8158.

Members are requested to donate items for the raffle, and also desserts to be sold for refreshments. Volunteers are needed to help in the kitchen. Come join with us for a fun-filled afternoon. See you there.

SPRING STATE MTG, CHS, SATURDAY, MAR 20,1999 : To be held on the Campus of Boysville, Converse, TX. Boysville is located on E. Loop l604 (North) between IH-10 and IH-35, across from Randolph AFB. Registration begins at 9:30 am,with a catered lunch at 11:30 am. Keynote speaker, Col. John Blaha, will have a video presentation between Noon and 1 PM. Following the video there will be time for questions from the audience. A business meeting will follow at 1PM. There also will be items for sale, as well as informational displays.

We are the host Chapter for this meeting, and as such we will need to have your help in various ways. All members attending (and we urge all of you to make an effort to be on hand) are asked assume host/hostess duties and help out as needed. We also must provide the dessert items to be served. We expect to have more than 200 people, so this is no small request. Baked goods of all kinds are needed, particularly cakes and pies. If you have a kroj, it will add much to the spirit of our heritage if you would wear it.

You may invite your friends and neighbors to attend, particularly to hear Col. Blaha's presentation. If you and/or your guests are planning to have lunch with us, it will be necessary for you to let us know no later than MARCH 12, so that the caterer will have an accurate count. The cost for the meal is a nominal $6.00 per person, which includes drinks and dessert.

Reservations may be made with Laddie Zezula (210-826-8645) or Kay Vajdos (210-657-4001). Come on out, folks--we guarantee a most interesting day.

CZECH HERITAGE DISPLAY, SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY, APRIL, 1999: We have made arrangements with the Library to showcase our organization during the month of April, 1999. The display will be shown on the 8th floor of the Library in the area devoted to Texas and Genealogy Information. We think that this is a most appropriate location. It will now be necessary for us to assemble and place this display. Items that we will need to provide include: several (5 or 6) small tables (such as end tables), 2 clothes trees, on which to display clothing items, a straight backed chair or two, and other like items. We would like to include items such as embroidered tablecloths, old pictures (copies only), glassware, pottery, kroj, shawls, men's hats, pipes, jackets, and other items representative of the Czech culture, old and new. Items currently being produced are also welcome, we would like to show the transition from the past to the present. If you are willing to allow your items to be displayed in this manner, we need to hear from you by early March. This will give us time to plan our display. NOTE: All items will be in a locked, glass enclosure, and will not be subjected to handling by the public. Those members who can help us with this display in any way (set-up, donation of items, etc.), please call either Joan Meluch(210-945-0765) or Kay Vajdos (210-657-4001). This is your display, please help.

CZECH HERITAGE DAY, OCTOBER 24, 1999: Organizational meetings will be held in May/June. Many hands are needed for this event to continue to be a success. We have reserved the K of C hall on Rigsby and have booked Chris Rybak for 1999. A PUBLICITY CHAIRMAN is needed for this event. June is the month in which many advance publication notices must be sent out, so you can see that we need someone very soon. With your ideas, suggestions, and some time to spend on this project, we can make it a success. We urge you to take this opportunity to be involved in your organization. Our successes in the past can be attributed to those who have helped to make this event one that we all look forward to. Please be a part of this year's festivities. I cannot emphasize enough how important the Czech Heritage Day celebration is as a source of revenue for the Bexar County Chapter. Contact Mike Vajdos (210-657-4001) if you can help, or for further information.

CZECH LANGUAGE & HISTORY STUDY continue Monday evenings, 7 to 9PM at Our Lady of Grace classroom. Libor Cejka conducts the language studies, and Mike Synek has been discussing the past and present history of the Czech Republic. If you are interested in learning more, please join us. It is informative and enlightening

CONDOLENCES are extended to LOUIS BUCHTA on the recent loss of his mother.Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all your family at this time. We also extend our CONGRATULATIONS to LIBOR CEJKA who recently received his license to fly multi-engine aircraft.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Newsletter Editor: Joan C. Meluch (210-945-0765)