Hi,

My mother-in-law was a HURTA from around Dewitt county, any connection?

Mollie Charles Pawlik
Texas
-----Original Message-----
From: Franklin Hurta <fhurta@...>
To: texasczechs@egroups.com <texasczechs@egroups.com>
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2000 8:11 PM
Subject: [TexasCzechs] Sylvia's Question


>Sylvia, as you know, I have asked the same question.  This is a
>public
>site for good questions or information expecting good answers....not
>insulting remarks.
>
>Charlene Hurta
>
>
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>
>

-----Original Message-----
From: epereira@... [mailto:epereira@...]
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 11:40 PM
To: texasczechs@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [TexasCzechs] Is This Site Like an Extended Czech Family?

Kure is chicken I think, heard of the second one but don't remember what it was and the third one is a mystery.......Lois Petter Pereira

richardgarza1@... wrote:

OK, Dewey,
      Now that you've intrigued us with words like fried "kure," "kobliska"
and "soudoufka" will you let us beginners know what some of these words
mean?
      Inquiring minds want to know.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER, STOPFER,
HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs
 

On Tue, 25 Apr 2000 10:26:26 -0500 "Dewey W. Elsik" <dewey@...>
writes:
> After the meeting we would have a nice meal,
> consisting of kolach, buchta,kobliska, sodoufka, oblozeny
> chleb, homemade chleb, fried kure, klobasaq, and much more.
 
 
 

________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
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---

---

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com
 

Hey folks, when your family got together, did they "shoot off the anvil".
Nothing vulgar in this...just good, clean (but slightly dangerous) fun.  Let
me know if you did, I'd like to collect the stories.  Will you share with all
of us?

Susan Rektorik Henley

Can someone translate the following phrase for me?

"Srdečně pozdravuji (česky)"

I have made contact with a very distant relative who lives in Brno, Moravia,
in the Czech Republic.  He and I have exchanged several e-mails and he closed
his last one with this salutation.  As I neither read nor speak Czech, I need
help fully understanding what he said; and, if possible, how to properly
respond.

It is a great joy for me to have made contact with this fellow.  I found him
by doing a name search on an international search engine.  As he is attached
to a major university, his name and e-mail address was listed in one of the
University's web pages.  As the sports saying goes, "Better lucky than good!"
(But what about those Astros...neither lucky nor good this year, it would
seem!)

My gentleman correspondent from Brno translates my messages and then responds
in English.  He has made visits to obtain documents and has traced the family
name back to 1743.  He is now working on finding out from whence my family
branched.  He has even suggested that I buy a map of the Czech Republic
(which I have had for several years) so that he can point out to me the
places from which we came.  I trade him my family stories for his
information.  I am so glad to have found him.  He will always be my cousin in
Europe.

Can someone help me with the translation and an appropriate response?

Susan Rektorik Henley

Dobry Den to you, too, Dewey,
	 Thanks for the explanation on the words.  Guess I'll have to get in the
kitchen and fry up some Kobliska, now.
	 There is something called multi-language support in Windows 95 & 98.  In
DOS and Win 3.1 you needed to set up a code page to take advantage of the
characters in foreign languages.
	 In Win 98 you click on the <Start> button, click <Settings>, click
<Control Panel>, click on <Keyboard>, then select the <Language> tab.  At
the language tab, click <Add> and then select <Czech>.
	 At the bottom left corner be sure that "enable indicator on taskbar" has
a check mark.  Then just finish setting up.
	 Next time you are writing a letter, you will see in the bottom right of
your task bar a small icon with either "Cz" or "En".  Clicking here will
allow you to choose the language of the keyboard.  Most of the hacky and
carky you will find on your keyboard are in the top row of keys, the
number keys.
	 Unfortunately, unless others have multi-language support enabled they
may not see the haceks and carkas in their email.  They will see
something like %#200; for the C with a hacek.  Microsoft has
multi-language support packages (Pan-Slavic) available for download from
their web site for those who need it.  (C, e, c, r)
	 If any listers want more information on this topic, write to me
privately at
	  richardgarza1@...
	 Dewey, hope this is of some help.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER, STOPFER,
HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs


On Wed, 26 Apr 2000 08:23:59 -0500 "Dewey W. Elsik" <dewey@...>
writes:
> Dobry Den.    Jak Se Mate,    (Good morning. How are you?)   Kobliska
> means
> (doughnut), sodovka means (soda , soft drink) and you were right,
> kure is
> (chicken).  Someone needs to come up with a Czech keyboard to type
> the Czech
> language.  Thanks for the reply. Dewey Elsik
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: epereira@... [mailto:epereira@...]
>     Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 11:40 PM
>     To: texasczechs@egroups.com
>     Subject: Re: [TexasCzechs] Is This Site Like an Extended Czech
> Family?
>
>
>     Kure is chicken I think, heard of the second one but don't
> remember what
> it was and the third one is a mystery.......Lois Petter Pereira
>     richardgarza1@... wrote:
>
>         OK, Dewey,
>               Now that you've intrigued us with words like fried
> "kure,"
> "kobliska"
>         and "soudoufka" will you let us beginners know what some of
> these
> words
>         mean?
>               Inquiring minds want to know.
>         Sharing. It's What It's All About!
>         Rick Garza
>         http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
>         NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER,
> STOPFER,
>         HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
>         http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs
>
>
>         On Tue, 25 Apr 2000 10:26:26 -0500 "Dewey W. Elsik"
> <dewey@...>
>         writes:
>         > After the meeting we would have a nice meal,
>         > consisting of kolach, buchta,kobliska, sodoufka, oblozeny
>         > chleb, homemade chleb, fried kure, klobasaq, and much
> more.
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________
>         YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
>         Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
>         Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software,
> visit:
>         http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>         To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>         texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>

________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagh.

Dobry Den to you, too, Dewey,
      Thanks for the explanation on the words.  Guess I'll have to get in the
kitchen and fry up some Kobliska, now.

 

O K, Richard,

 

Cook up enough for us within 100 miles of your home base and let us know before you Start,

Will take me about 1˝ hours to get there. I'll bring my own coffee mug!

 

Folks, ain't Richard Great inviting us?  Just like in the old days - really didn't need an invitation....

 

Sir John, Earl of Berkshire
ICQ 48955956
What good is information if not shared with others?

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: SRektorik@... [mailto:SRektorik@...]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 9:25 AM
To: texasczechs@egroups.com
Subject: [TexasCzechs] "Srdeènì pozdravuji (èesky)," translation please!

Can someone translate the following phrase for me?

"Srdeènì pozdravuji (èesky)"

I have made contact with a very distant relative who lives in Brno, Moravia,
in the Czech Republic.  He and I have exchanged several e-mails and he closed
his last one with this salutation.  As I neither read nor speak Czech, I need
help fully understanding what he said; and, if possible, how to properly
respond.

It is a great joy for me to have made contact with this fellow.  I found him
by doing a name search on an international search engine.  As he is attached
to a major university, his name and e-mail address was listed in one of the
University's web pages.  As the sports saying goes, "Better lucky than good!"
(But what about those Astros...neither lucky nor good this year, it would
seem!)

My gentleman correspondent from Brno translates my messages and then responds
in English.  He has made visits to obtain documents and has traced the family
name back to 1743.  He is now working on finding out from whence my family
branched.  He has even suggested that I buy a map of the Czech Republic
(which I have had for several years) so that he can point out to me the
places from which we came.  I trade him my family stories for his
information.  I am so glad to have found him.  He will always be my cousin in
Europe.

Can someone help me with the translation and an appropriate response?

Susan Rektorik Henley

---

---

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com

This is the conclusion of Mr. Charba's life story.  It carries forward from
moving onto their first farm, through the grave illness of his wife,
spearheading a grain elevator and cooperative, and then the later years as a
farmer, the death of his wife, retirement, and his reflections on life.

The Years of Maturity (Continued)

We raised a good many hogs for the market.  We had some 300 laying hens from
which we sold eggs or swapped the eggs for groceries.  We milked several cows
and shipped sour cram by rail to Yoakum, Texas.  There was a supervisor and
home demonstration agent that would visit the farm every two weeks and they
wrote out a report on all of our activities.  At the beginning of January, we
were required to set up a budget.  We listed our sources of income, what we
expected to have and what expenses there would be such as groceries, clothes,
insurance, tractor fuel, and everything else.  We still had to have money to
make the payment on the loan that was at four percent interest.  (I think I
could help Congress to set a budget where income and expenses would balance
out ever!)  It was amazing how close the figures came out at the end of the
year.

Juanita was born on the farm in 1940.  All the rest of the children:
Theodore, Josephine, Thomas, and James were born at the old Robstown
Hospital--the room then was only $12.00.

One of the saddest days of my life was in 1944 when Agnes was stricken with
bacterial pneumonia.  She was very, very sick.  Dr. Frashuer prescribed
medication that had no effect.  I went to his office and begged him to find a
room in the hospital for her because she would never make it at the house.
He finally got a vacancy for her.  At the hospital, there was no progress
toward improvement for her condition.  Doctors Frashuer, Stone, and maybe
Gibson, consulted with each other.  The consensus was that the only way to
save her would be to administer penicillin that was not available to them.
The government had a monopoly on the drug that was used only for the army and
navy hospitals.  They called the naval base in Corpus Christi and asked them
to release the drug for emergency use.  They agreed, and the health officer
of the city of Robstown was selected to make the trip to get it.  He left
early Sunday morning, and it was dark when he returned.  He told me that he
had to sign his life away to enter the base--the security was so tight.
After the penicillin was injected, her high fever started to decrease in a
short time.  The next day it was apparent that she would recover.  I must say
here that it was the first time penicillin was used in the Robstown Hospital.
It was called the "wonder drug".  (It so happened that within a month or so
the drug was released for general use.)

Georgia was about two months old so Agnes' sister, Mary, took care of her at
the Hlavac's residence.  Joe and Rosie Hlavac cared for Ted at their house.
I had the rest of the kids at home.  Days after Agnes was discharged from the
hospital, we took Ted and Georgia home.  Then Mary Halboth got the pneumonia
bacteria and became badly ill.  By this time the government had released
penecillin to the hospitals, Mary soon recovered.  It took a long time for
Agnes to fully recover her normal strength.

These were the World War II years and demand for everything got better.  The
prices for farm product increased considerably.  We started to expand the
farming operation.  We paid off the Farmers Home Administration in five
years--the loan was for 40 years.  From 1940 to 1950, we made good progress.
I refer to it as the "Golden Decade".

[At this point Mr. Charba goes into considerable detail about the lives of
his mother and half-brothers.  I am going to skip this part for I have not
talked to any of that branch of the family to see if they mind having it
published here.]

In the late forties, The Banquete Grain and Elevator Cooperative was
organized.  To begin with, it was just a place to deliver grain that was load
in boxcars and shipped.  The market was so weak that there was a demand for
grain storage.  The community people got together and organized the Banquete
Grain and Elevator Cooperative.  The storage tanks were built.  I bought two
cars worth of storage space at $300.00.  When it was in the process of being
built, several of us wanted and needed more storage, so two additional tanks
were built.  We had to pay the full price of $900.00 for each car.  My total
coast was $2400.

[I am not sure how many of you have a south Texas farm background so I am
going to provide some background on the "grain" about which Mr. Charba
writes.  Although the black coastal prairie land is rich and good for
farming, the amount of the annual rainfall and the periods when it actually
falls makes growing some crops successfully in this area.  Cotton does well
because it thrives on heat and does well when there is not a great deal of
rainfall.  There needed to be a second cash crop for the area and that came
to be "milo maize" or "grain".  Milo originated in Africa was hybridized so
that it could be grown successfully here.  It requires less rain thatn most
other "grain" crops.  The plant is similar to that of corn but smaller.  Each
plant sprouts a head which is at first light green.  After pollination and as
the plant matures and many seeds are formed on the head.  The seeds ripen and
the head becomes heavy with round golden-red, round seeds.  When the moisture
content of the seeds is low, a machine called a "Combine" pulls in the
plants, severs the stalk, thrashes out the seeds, collects them, and discards
the leaves, stalk, and any other waste.  The lower the moisture content, the
greater the value of the crop.  The higher the moisture content, the more
likely it will go bad. Milo is used as mostly animal feed in the United
States while in Africa and other places it is a stable for humans.]

After expanding our farming operation with the Manshiem tract of 473 acres,
we needed a lot more storage.  There was a man named Russell that was selling
and building flat grain storage buildings on farms.  I squeezed all the
information I could get from him on how I could store wet grain, how much air
was needed to keep the grain in good quality, etc.  In 1957, I thought I had
enough knowledge as to how to handle grain drying.  We built an ironclad
building 40 feet by 80 feet by 12 feet on a concrete slab.  The walls were
lined with plywood.  When Mr. Russell saw what we did, he told everybody that
he told me how to store grain, etc., and then I built my own--quite true!

Meanwhile, my son, Peter, was a student at A & I College in Kingsville,
Texas.  He designed and built a grain elevator as a school project.  I must
say it worked very well.  A;; be;t buckets and main air ducts are homemade.
With sheer determination, we managed to store grain as high as 22 percent
moisture.  We had a system to spread the grain at levels that took care of
excess moisture.  The building had a capacity to hold 15 cars--which broke
down to one and one-half million pounds.  On the best year, we hauled out
$105,000.00 worth of grain--must acknowledge here that we seldom lost more
than a wheelbarrow full of grain at the doors.

Giving credit where credit is due, I must say the growing family was very
helpful--there was a lot of sweat going into building the barn.  During
construction of the barn Peter's friends, who were sailors at the Corpus
Christi Naval Base helped.  They were Wayne Conway, Frank Romano, and Clair
Comerford--all yankees!  These men would come over for the weekend and help;
their pay was home cooked meals.  Later Clair and my daughter, Bernice, were
married.

[Most of the remainder of this chapter deals with acquiring more land, oil
and gas exploration and development, and investment.  I find it too recent
and too personal to relate here.  Let me just say that Mr. Charba's use of
judgment and hard work continued to be exceptional and the family prospered.]

Fourteen years ago, on December 29, 1984, my dear wife passed on to her
Eternal Reward.  That was the saddest day of my life when Agnes died.  Prior
to her death, she and I had decided to get out or retire from farming and
divide the land among our children.  The children gathered to visit when
Agnes was stricken with a stroke on December 26, 1984, which was fatal.
despite the sad event, legal counsel encouraged the family to proceed as
planned.  The land was surveyed.  Tracts were marked with numbers and there
was a drawing for the numbered tracts.  Then the land was deeded to each of
my children.

My Twilight Years

Because of aging and of depending to much on others to help me in my farming
operations, I had planned to quit in 1996.  However, that was a very dry year
and the grain made only about 50 percent of a normally productive crop.  Then
came the decision, "continue or quit in a bad year".  I chose to try again.

Overall the year 1997 was a fairly good year.  In the spring there were
floods which caused the milo crop to make a low yield in the low lands.  The
high ground made good, but just before harvest, a cloud came over and hail
beat out seed from the heads--at least 1000 pounds per acre loss.  Again the
decision, I couldn't quite farming in a bad year.

With a lot of rain during the winter, the planting moisture was excellent to
start the 1998 crop.  The seed was planted. On March 8, 1998, there was a
hailstorm and less that one inch of rain fell.  Seed emerged nicely and the
weather was warm.  Lo and behold, the nice looking crop began to suffer for
lack of moisture. On May First we got a shower of .20 of an inch which was
the last for the growing season.  In May we already had temperatures up to
100 degrees (for some 100 days the temperature was in the 98-108 degree
range) and no ran but we had smoke haze pollution caused by southern Mexico's
forest fires.  We harvested about 60 percent of a normal crop.  I called it
"the miracle crop".  I just don't see how we harvested as much as we did with
so little rain.  That probably won't happen again in the next 25 years.

Quitting?  Oh yes!  This old farmer in the blue striped overalls said,
"Enough is enough!"

Farming today is quite different from the days it was a half a century ago.
It used to be a way of life, a home, and a place where you raise a family.  A
farmer didn't rate high in society.  The farmer does not use titles such as
CEO, president, chairman of the board, supervisor, manager analyst, etc.  He
is all of that in one package, plus bug man mechanic, carpenter weatherman,
and survivor of all the elements of the weather, such as drought, flood,
hailstorm, which can and sometimes do bring his year's work for naught.
Nothing cheers him more that if it rains two inches at the right time of year
or if the market perks up.  Today with the high input on equipment,
fertilizer, seed, etc., he becomes a businessman trying to make every move
count.  If he is successful he does not have to take his hat off to anyone,
and he can stand tall.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1889.  We will have the
usual--turkey dinner with all the other goodies.  There usually is a crowd of
some 40 or more guests--the family.  Personally, I have many things to be
thankful for, especially my children and the grand and great-grandchildren.
They are always so nice to me.

I am also grateful for all the material things which pulled me out of
poverty.  It took a lot of effort and work.  There was some risk involved.
It;s like the old saying, "nothing ventured, nothing gained'.  The message I
want to leave is, "Think first before you shoot, or measure twice and cut
once".  It is not good to rely only on one's judgment.

There is the One above who rules over our destiny.  We take out insurance to
protect ourselves from the "unknown" whether it is life insurance or property
insurance.  So it is with our spiritual life, it too, is wise to have
insurance.  Sometimes we start thinking that we are being fed a lot of
baloney, but to be safe, it makes sense to take out spiritual insurance to
protect ourselves from the "unknown".  I was blessed in many ways to make
life fairly comfortable.

I'm glad I was brought up as a Christian from childhood through adulthood.
It pulled me through rough times.  I was always impressed with he prayer to
St. Francis of Assisi, so I will conclude the story of my life with this
prayer.

"Lord make me an instrument of thy peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is doubt, let me sow faith.
Where there is injury, Parden.
Where there is darkness, Light.
Where there is sadness, Love.
Where there is despair, Hope.
Not that I seek to be understood, but to understand.
Not that I seek to be consoled, but to console.
Not that I seek to be loved, but to love.
For it is the giving that we receive,
It is in the pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in the dying that we are rewarded."

And so ends the book of Mr. Charba's life.  To me, he is a remarkable man.

There were just a couple of foot notes I wanted to add.  First, Mr. Charba
still greatly misses his wife.  There is a tenderness which comes into his
eyes when he speaks of her. He says that he never thought she would die
before he did...given the hours he put in and how hard he worked.  Second, in
his home there is large stained glass window.  It is made in three parts.
There is a large "C" in the center.  On one side there is representation of
cotton, on the other, a representation of grain.  This window was crafted by
Olszewski Glass Studio of Corpus Christi.  The colors are robust and intense.
  This company crafted all the stain glass windows which were installed in the
1973 renovation of the Saint John Nupomucene Church is Robstown, Texas.  Mr.
Charba and his family paid for and sponsored one of those church windows.

All the above information was written by Mr. Charba and is contained in a
self published book titled, "The Story of My Life.  Joseph Louis Charba.
Authored 1998."  I truly appreciate his willingness to share his story and
would dearly like to hear from some of his relatives though the web site.

If you have positive feedback for Mr. Charba, I will be glad to forward it.

-----Original Message-----
From: richardgarza1@... [mailto:richardgarza1@...]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 9:38 AM
To: texasczechs@egroups.com
Subject: [TexasCzechs] Czech Language Keyboard

Dobry Den to you, too, Dewey,
      Thanks for the explanation on the words.  Guess I'll have to get in the
kitchen and fry up some Kobliska, now.
      There is something called multi-language support in Windows 95 & 98.  In
DOS and Win 3.1 you needed to set up a code page to take advantage of the
characters in foreign languages.
      In Win 98 you click on the <Start> button, click <Settings>, click
<Control Panel>, click on <Keyboard>, then select the <Language> tab.  At
the language tab, click <Add> and then select <Czech>.
      At the bottom left corner be sure that "enable indicator on taskbar" has
a check mark.  Then just finish setting up. 
      Next time you are writing a letter, you will see in the bottom right of
your task bar a small icon with either "Cz" or "En".  Clicking here will
allow you to choose the language of the keyboard.  Most of the hacky and
carky you will find on your keyboard are in the top row of keys, the
number keys.
      Unfortunately, unless others have multi-language support enabled they
may not see the haceks and carkas in their email.  They will see
something like %#200; for the C with a hacek.  Microsoft has
multi-language support packages (Pan-Slavic) available for download from
their web site for those who need it.  (C, e, c, r)
      If any listers want more information on this topic, write to me
privately at
      richardgarza1@...
      Dewey, hope this is of some help.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/ 
NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER, STOPFER,
HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs


On Wed, 26 Apr 2000 08:23:59 -0500 "Dewey W. Elsik" <dewey@...>
writes:
> Dobry Den.    Jak Se Mate,    (Good morning. How are you?)   Kobliska
> means
> (doughnut), sodovka means (soda , soft drink) and you were right,
> kure is
> (chicken).  Someone needs to come up with a Czech keyboard to type
> the Czech
> language.  Thanks for the reply. Dewey Elsik
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: epereira@... [mailto:epereira@...]
>     Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 11:40 PM
>     To: texasczechs@egroups.com
>     Subject: Re: [TexasCzechs] Is This Site Like an Extended Czech
> Family?
>
>
>     Kure is chicken I think, heard of the second one but don't
> remember what
> it was and the third one is a mystery.......Lois Petter Pereira
>     richardgarza1@... wrote:
>
>         OK, Dewey,
>               Now that you've intrigued us with words like fried
> "kure,"
> "kobliska"
>         and "soudoufka" will you let us beginners know what some of
> these
> words
>         mean?
>               Inquiring minds want to know.
>         Sharing. It's What It's All About!
>         Rick Garza
>         http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
>         NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER,
> STOPFER,
>         HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
>         http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs
>
>
>         On Tue, 25 Apr 2000 10:26:26 -0500 "Dewey W. Elsik"
> <dewey@...>
>         writes:
>         > After the meeting we would have a nice meal,
>         > consisting of kolach, buchta,kobliska, sodoufka, oblozeny
>         > chleb, homemade chleb, fried kure, klobasaq, and much
> more.
>
>
>
>
>        
> ________________________________________________________________
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>         Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software,
> visit:
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>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
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>         To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>         texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>

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Sir John,
	 Speaking of Robert Janak and Mikeska, Texas -- Mr. Janak has just
written a wonderful article for his "Czech Connections" column in the
"Cesky Hlas", newsletter of the Czech Heritage Society.  In it, he
mentions the first boatloads of Czechs to Texas and mentions the villages
of Zadverice, Cermna, Lipa, Nepomuky, Brezova, Lukovsky as well as family
names like Silar (Schiller), Nedbalek, Jezek, Bednar, Marek and, of
course, Mikeska and some others.
	 Since there isn't a chapter of the CHS in the Orange County, yet, you
can still join as a member-at-large to start receiving the Society's
newsletter.  Member-at-large dues are only $10 and can be sent to CHS,
d/o Membership Chairman Robert Roesner at 24814 Saddlespur Ln, Katy TX
77494.  You can e-mail him at genbob@... to request a full
application form.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs

Note to the listers:  You can join as a member-at-large without having to
join a chapter, but to join a chapter you must be a state member first.
If there is a chapter in your area, chapter dues usually run between
$3-5.
________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
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----- Original Message -----

From: richardgarza1@...

To: texasczechs@egroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 1:31 PM

Subject: [TexasCzechs] Czech Immigrants

Sir John,
      Speaking of Robert Janak and Mikeska, Texas -- Mr. Janak has just
written a wonderful article for his "Czech Connections" column in the
"Cesky Hlas", newsletter of the Czech Heritage Society.  In it, he
mentions the first boatloads of Czechs to Texas and mentions the villages
of Zadverice, Cermna, Lipa,

 

Where my kin emmigrated from, including Zelechovice.  These  4 towns appear to be about 4 miles apart and on the same road, and 4 miles from Zlin.  I will

be these towns in June.

 

names like Silar (Schiller), Nedbalek, Jezek, Bednar, Marek and, of
course, Mikeska and some others.

 

Silar/Schiller/Shillar - marriages with Mikeskas.  They have wonder reunions!!!!

Nedbalek = bet I have more Nedbaleks in my genealogy than others, than a Nedbalek genealogy page!!!  All in Oklahoma!

A Benar in Concho CO, near San Angelo, married a Mikeska daughter of my great uncle.

Marek name in the genealogy list frin around the Dime Box area.

The phrase means "I greet you cordially".
Jan Vaculik
-----Original Message-----
From: SRektorik@... <SRektorik@...>
To: texasczechs@egroups.com <texasczechs@egroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 9:21 AM
Subject: [TexasCzechs] "Srdečně pozdravuji (česky)," translation please!


Can someone translate the following phrase for me?

"Srdečně pozdravuji (česky)"

I have made contact with a very distant relative who lives in Brno, Moravia,
in the Czech Republic.  He and I have exchanged several e-mails and he
closed
his last one with this salutation.  As I neither read nor speak Czech, I
need
help fully understanding what he said; and, if possible, how to properly
respond.

It is a great joy for me to have made contact with this fellow.  I found him
by doing a name search on an international search engine.  As he is attached
to a major university, his name and e-mail address was listed in one of the
University's web pages.  As the sports saying goes, "Better lucky than
good!"
(But what about those Astros...neither lucky nor good this year, it would
seem!)

My gentleman correspondent from Brno translates my messages and then
responds
in English.  He has made visits to obtain documents and has traced the
family
name back to 1743.  He is now working on finding out from whence my family
branched.  He has even suggested that I buy a map of the Czech Republic
(which I have had for several years) so that he can point out to me the
places from which we came.  I trade him my family stories for his
information.  I am so glad to have found him.  He will always be my cousin
in
Europe.

Can someone help me with the translation and an appropriate response?

Susan Rektorik Henley

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Lois Petter Pereira

SRektorik@... wrote:

Can someone translate the following phrase for me?

"Srdeènì pozdravuji (èesky)"

I have made contact with a very distant relative who lives in Brno, Moravia,
in the Czech Republic.  He and I have exchanged several e-mails and he closed
his last one with this salutation.  As I neither read nor speak Czech, I need
help fully understanding what he said; and, if possible, how to properly
respond.

It is a great joy for me to have made contact with this fellow.  I found him
by doing a name search on an international search engine.  As he is attached
to a major university, his name and e-mail address was listed in one of the
University's web pages.  As the sports saying goes, "Better lucky than good!"
(But what about those Astros...neither lucky nor good this year, it would
seem!)

My gentleman correspondent from Brno translates my messages and then responds
in English.  He has made visits to obtain documents and has traced the family
name back to 1743.  He is now working on finding out from whence my family
branched.  He has even suggested that I buy a map of the Czech Republic
(which I have had for several years) so that he can point out to me the
places from which we came.  I trade him my family stories for his
information.  I am so glad to have found him.  He will always be my cousin in
Europe.

Can someone help me with the translation and an appropriate response?

Susan Rektorik Henley

---

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texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com
 
 

See how you get into trouble trying to be cute. I used the reply button
to add my acid wit to a personal email and it went out to the world. I
do apologize for embarassing anyone since I was just being stupid. I
apparently am not used to the new system since the reply and reply to
all goes to everyone. I apologize again and I will take my fifty licks
but remember I am old so don't be too tough on me.......Lois Petter
Pereira

Dear Listers,
	 Please forgive Lois P.  She was forwarding some messages with comments
for my private amusement and didn't realize the posts were also going to
the list.  They were meant for me alone and please don't take them to
heart as it was in jest.  Our archives are still secure.
	 Please delete the last nine messages.
	 Thank you.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER, STOPFER,
HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs

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Susan,

Translation is "A hearty greeting! (in Czech)"
Spelling is Srdecne (hacek over the c and last e) pozdravuji (Cesky) (hacek
over the c)
This is how it should be spelled. Sorry I do not have the program to add the
haceks.

Kathy Hanzelka

Susan, I would love to have your "novice's" recipe for kolaches.  I am 1/2
Czech and my husband is full-blooded Czech.  I made kolaches soon after we
were married, over 40 years ago, and never had the urge again, since they
were kinda like little rocks!  Now that I have retired, I am toying with the
idea of devoting a day to seeing if I can do it.  The simpler the recipe, the
better!  Thanks for sharing.
Nancy Machu
nmachu@...

Dear Czech members and listers:

Hehehe.   I'm sorry!  If I don't let out a snicker, I'm gonna POP!   Oh
gosh, I read and re-read, and couldn't believe it.  I went to the bat
mirror and told the guy in the mirror to be nice, as he remembered being in
the same circumstances.   How many times I said something in a kidding
manner and it backfires in my face!!!!!   Remember folks, we are Czechs; we
make mistakes, and lets laugh at ourselves (even if it hurts a little but
makes us feel better and others will think much more of you for laughing,
too!)  Heck, last time it happened to me, took three weeks or so before I
began to receive messages from the offended party.

O K, this is going to be a long lesson, so get a pencil, pad and cup of
coffee, tea, or whatever you partake!!!  But there is going to be a test at
the end of the class, and maybe a pop quiz in between times!   Our former
email list made it simple to reply to the originator of the message
(clicked on REPLY) or to the whole group (clicked on REPLY ALL)  The
eGroups does not have this ability to reply to the sender that easily.

If you want to reply to an individual person in the group and have their
email, you can place your Mouse cursor in the "TO" box of the message,
delete the address of the group and type in the individual person's email
address.  If you do not have their address, it can be found in the message,
but takes some peeking and looking!  I use Internet Explorer and the
following instructions apply to that browser.  Netscape users may find the
same info in their program.  If you use Eudora, sorry, I can't help you.
If I plowed a field, I would use a John Deere as I was lead to believe they
are simple to operate, use less fuel, have more power, etc.  Course, the
in-laws felt the same about their Farmalls!!  LOL

                           \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
\ \ \\ \ \ \ \ \ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

We will assume you received a message from sister Framtiska about how
tomatoe preserves were made and you want to reply to her privately, as
Momma did not want to share the recipe with everyone and you plan to tell
your favorite sister how Momma wouldn't like what she just did.!!!  Now
Czechs, this may be a little simple for some, and some may need a little
help.  Not everyone was born typing on a computer and we hollered at the
doc not to cut the cord until we saved our work!!!!

(1) You still have the message open and the message address is highlighted
above the message.  The message is a darker   color than rest of the
messages (Dark blue on my PC), and what we refer to as highlighted.

(2) Put your Mouse Cursor on the highlighted message and press the RIGHT
Mouse key.  (If you have your Mouse set up for left hand use, you will need
to reverse these instructions on what key to press).

(3)  What appears next is called a Menu.  This Menu has 6 sections
(Microsoft tries to give you more!) At  the bottom of this Menu is
<Properties>  (The brackets are used to indicate the words we are looking
for) Put your Mouse Cursor on <Properties> and click your LEFT Mouse
button.

(4)  Viola!  New Menu.  Note the two tabs at top of this menu - <GENERAL>
and <DETAILS>  The General tab is highlighted as the rectangle box is
around GENERAL - not colored as before.  See, we learned something else -
no extra charge!
   The GENERAL Menu gives subject name of the message and the next line
indicates where the message came from.   If it is an individual's name,
that person sent it to you.   If it shows or has eGroups anywhere in this
address, it came from the eGroups list of the TexasCzechs.   If you replied
to this message without making any changes in the "TO" box, it will be
posted to the TexasCzech@eGroups...  We don't want to do that (AGAIN) so
take a sip of whatever you have, a deep breath and relax a moment, if you
need to.  We are gonna switch from right to left and back more times than
you want to, but it will come easy after trying it a few times.  I can just
see someone hollering at me at a CHS meeting:  Hey, Right or Left, over
here!!  Again, don't give up - it's something new and the fear of the
unknown can set in!  However, it is HARD to damage your computer without
pouring fluid on the keyboard, a lightning strike, or backing over it with
the John Deere!

(5) Remember we are at the Menu with <GENERAL> and <DETAILS> at the top,
with the General Menu showing. O K,
place your Mouse Cursor on the <DETAILS> tab and click the LEFT Moue
button.  Another Menu appears, with words, letters, numeral, etc on many
lines. Appears as if a child might have been playing with the keyboard, but
each line means something and how the message is sent from one place to the
other, whether from one room to the other or to Praha, CZ. Start looking at
the top line and read down.  Look for a line that reads, in this case, From
"John L Mikeska"<jlmikeska@...>  There may be a "mail to" in front
of Jlmikeska.   Some of these lines are 4th from the top, to line 6 or 7.
This is the person that originated the message.

I think many might be confused by now.  If you have a printer, print out
this message, for I want you to go into this message, that is sent to
TexasCzech eGroups and pick out my name and reply to me, if you wish.  I
will reply with a grade of 100, down to a 75 for effort!  Those that make a
100 will have their name given to Rick for possible fresh donuts!!!!! (I;m
from Texas and do not know what doughnuts are!)   If no printer, made
simple notes on down and come back here,

Ready?  Again, lets start when the message is on screen.  Put the Mouse
Cursor on the highlighted message and left click the Mouse Button.  Then
put the Mouse cursor on the Properties name and RIGHT click the Mouse
button.  The <GENERAL> and <DETAIL> tabs will appear at top of the new menu
coming up.  NOW place the Mouse Cursor on the <DETAILS> tab and click the
RIGHT button.  Go down to the line that ready from "John L.
Mikeska"mailto:jlmikeska@...>  With a steady hand, place the mouse
cursor on the quotation mark < " > in front of John.  (We're almost
through, don't give up!)  With the Mouse cursor on the quotation mark, hold
the mouse steady and press the Left Mouse button.  DO NOT RELEASE the Left
Mouse Button.  While holding the button down, began moving the mouse to
your left. Notice you are highlighting my name and address.  Continue until
you have highlighted the bracket ' > " after .net.  Now, carefully release
the Left Mouse Button.  My name and address remains highlighted.   This may
take a little practice to steady you hand and highlight the name and
address.  Don't worry, I didn't do it at first, but faster than Richard
G.!!!
   O K, I lied above.  One more mouse button to do!   Place the Mouse Cursor
on my highlighted name (cursor may be just a vertical line and not an
arrow)  When the cursor is on my name and address, press the Left Mouse
button.  You will see a new menu with some words "grayed out", which means
they will not work in the menu at this point.  However, Copy and Select All
are in dark letters.  Place the Mouse Cursor on Copy and Click the RI:GHT
Mouse Button.  The Menu disappears and the email screen reappears.  What
did you do wrong?  Nothing!!!  BUT just don't press the right mouse button
until ready to use the email address you just saved.

OK, If you want to try for a doughnut   :-) , send this message back to me.
With the message showing, press the reply or reply to all key.  Now, you
will see TexasCzech@egroups.com showing as the "to" address.  Put your
Mouse Cursor at the end of .Com in the "to" Field, press the Right Mouse
button .  You will see the Menu come up with the words Paste and Select All
in dark letters.  Put the Mouse Cursor on Paste and press the Left Mouse
Button.  My name and address appears on the line.  Just put your cursor at
the front of texasczechs and press the delete key, deleting the
texasczechs@... address.   The message will come to me.

The address you saved in this manner remains present to use.  If you send
this message back to me, I surged you delete the majority of it (you will
still have the original message you received on your computer).  Place your
Mouse cursor anywhere in the message and press the Left button, put the
cursor over Paste and press the Left Mouse button and my name and address
appears again.  It will stay there until you save another message, word, or
sentence, or turn off your PC.  Before you do that, try putting it on some
Lotto Tickets  :-)

Sorry for the length, but you can now find a senders message and
automatically place it in the message to send to an individual, or do it
manually.

Well, they say problems come in threes.  Whose next?  Probably me.   But I
will laugh about it, and hope you will, too.

Sir John, Earl of Berkshire
ICQ 48955956
What good is information if not shared with others?




(

----- Original Message -----

From: epereira@...

To: richardgarza1@...

Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 9:43 PM

Subject: [Fwd: [TexasCzechs] Moving from one page to another in database]

How much did you pay Steve?

---

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To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
texasczechs-unsubscribe@egroups.com

Oh come on folks, what did your family do to celebrate the new year?  Surely
someone with ancestors in Williamson County knew about this or did it?  No?

In the early part of the 1900s in Nueces County...there was not much
development.  Anyone within 25 miles was considered a close neighbor.  Almost
everything was brought in by trains which ran from San Antonio to Laredo and
then to Corpus Christi.  It was still pretty rough county even though the
"Nueces Strip" was considered to be tamed by then.  As recently as the 1870s,
Native Americans who took offense to a railroad crew and killed all but one
of them as they laid track around Banquete Creek in western Nueces County.

The early settlers down here still looked for entertaining ways to celebrate
the holidays.  There were no fireworks available for the celebration of the
new year.  So when our family gathered, they "shot off the anvil".
Seriously, two anvils were put together.  Black powder was placed inside,
contained, and then lit.  Subsequently, the anvil flew into the air with a
bang.

I will relate the detail here; however, no one should try this.  This really
does take skill and can maim or kill if not done properly.  I am also
relating this because most people nowadays do not have access to anvils and
black powder.

One anvil, weighing from 50 to 75 pounds, would be placed upside down in an
open field.  The "blind hole" in the body of the anvil was filled with black
powder and the upper surface was also coated with the black powder.  A second
anvil, weighing from 50 to 75 pounds was placed on top, face down.  A piece
of red hot steel was used to ignite the black powder on the surface of the
lower anvil.  As the powder burnt, it would drop the top anvil down onto the
bottom one.  The black powder in the blind hole would have been ignited
already.  The burning was now concentrated and an explosion would occur.
There would be a loud band and the top anvil would fly into the air up to
twelve feet high.  This was done at night.

As I said before, this can be dangerous and result in death if not done
correctly.  We know.  Once, a homemade anvil was used as the top anvil.  It
was made from a railroad tie and was much lighter than the other anvils used
before.  It was filled with black powder and the charge was set at night.
All of the men who stood around heard a whirring sound and knew that the
anvil was going up in the dark farther than one had ever done before.  They
also knew that this meant that the anvil would come down with greater force
and speed.  They all heard.  It must have seemed forever before that anvil
hit the ground about ten feet from one of the men.  They never shot that
anvil at night again.

The man who brought the shooting off of the anvil to south Texas was Tom
Mrazek, a Czech immigrant.  It is to this Texas Czechs List that I will start
writing about him.  Accounts of his contributions can be found in a book on
the history of Williamson County, books on Texas Czechs, and in Nueces County
Historical Bulletins.  He also turns up in old articles in the Robstown,
Texas newspaper.  He was a remarkable man with a genius for working iron as
well as designing and engineering machines.  He was also a remarkable
character.  I have been gathering information and tales about him for years.
My dad remembers him and passes on the tales.  Tom Mrazek was trained as a
wagon- and wheelwright, he designed and built steam-powered cotton gins, and
his root-plow design allowed the running mesquite to be cleared and the land
developed around Robstown, Texas.  Most of these things have been documented
but there is so much more.  He was a trickster, a drinker, and a genius.

Shooting the anvil was one of his tricks.  He seems to have loved black
powder, fire, and explosions.  We know he did it in Williamson County, Texas.
  The fun may have begun in Europe.

My Dad's eyesight is going now; however, he learned the art of being a
blacksmith in the Mrazek Machine Shop and Grubbing Plow Factory in Robstown,
Texas.  He can still tell you the composition of the iron by the color of the
sparks.  He makes knives which sell for over $100.00 at church auctions.  The
working of iron has played a great role in our family and I am sure it did in
the lives of other Czech families.  Perhaps your ancestors did not work the
iron but those who did so provided them with many of the items they needed
for daily life.

Please contact me if you had a smith in your family.  We still have a ringing
anvil, do you?

I will write more about Tom Mrazek soon.

Also, I will not be held accountable for what happens if someone tries to
"shoot the anvil".  It is dangerous and you have been warned.  The skill for
this, in most people, has been lost.

Susan Rektorik Henley

Maybe we have the third goof and these problems will now stop.  And sure
enough, it was yours truly!!!!

(1)When your are on the menu with tabs <GENERAL> and <DETAILS> at the top,
and you are on the General Menu, I had said if the word eGourps is not in
the senders name, the message was not posted to the complete group.  NO NO,
don't depend on this.  Go to the <DETAILS> tab and start down the lines one
by one until you see FROM and then senders message.  IF eGroups is in that
line, the message was posted to everyone in the group.

I went thru several messages last night and my original statement seemed
true.  However, I received one this morning that appeared to go private,
but was posted to the group!  Use the above to be sure.

(2)  When highlighting the senders name and address by holding he left
mouse button down and moving the mouse,  if you are on the left edge of the
message, move the mouse to the right instead of to the left.   IF you
placed the cursor on the right end of the address, you can move it to the
left.

Sorry about all this.

Sir John, Earl of Berkshire
ICQ 48955956
What good is information if not shared with others?

The following was forwarded to me.  Thought I'd share it with the others on the
list as I know some of you are members of a CHS chapter and might want to add to
the Chapter books.
Richard Rankin

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steve Conklin <sconklin@...>
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 14:14:36 -0500 (CDT)

I found a book on auction that may interest some subscribers of this
list. I have no connection with the seller. There is no photo, and the
description is as follows:

"Old Bohemian and Moravian Jewish Cemetaries - HARDCOVER, NEW CONDITION,
IMPORTED VOLUME FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 172 pages
of b/w photographs of Jewish cemetaries and cemetary art...dilapidated,
desolate, overgrown by weed, but enveloped in the tissue of an an
admirable mystic charming and preserving valuable information. Buyer pays
$ 4.30 priority post for this book anywhere in USA/elsewhere query by
email for shipping cost "

Current bidding is at $9.99 and the auction closes on April 29.

The item number is 315271281, and I think the following link will get you
there. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=315271281

I hope someone finds this useful.

Steve Conklin


________________________________________________________________
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Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
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------- End of forwarded message -------

_______________________________________________________________________

Why pay when you don't have to? Get AltaVista Free Internet Access now!
http://jump.altavista.com/freeaccess4.go

_______________________________________________________________________

Listers:
	 The following item entitled "MESSEAR" is a search engine which will
search
for your surnames taken from mailing lists, message boards, etc., and
notify you.  I use it only for my rare surnames and villages or origin so
I don't get swamped with e-mail. I usually get something about every 2 or
3 weeks.  If you enter more common names you may get more mail.
	 This system has been a valuable tool for my research and hopefully, if
you
decide to subscribe, will be for you, too.  I wanted to share it will all
the
TexasCzechs mail list.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza

Go to:      www.netusa1.net/~eddleman/messear.htm

or click on the next line if it is highlighted and underlined in your
message:
http://www.netusa1.net/~eddleman/messear.htm



.




.
________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

This is a folk tale, a story told to the kids before bed, which has been
handed down in our family.  Perhaps there is a version of it in your family
too?

The Eagle, the Man, and the Lions

(Based on a folk tale told by Uncle Tony Mrazek to his nephew, Julius
Rektorik,
who in turn told it to his children. One of whom, Susan Rektorik Henley (me),
now supplements and retells the old tale for you here.)

Once upon a time, along time ago, way back in the Old Country, far across the
Atlantic Ocean, and in Europe, there lived a man.  He was much like other men
of the time.  He was very strong man.  He was a very good man.  Yet, he was
also a very, very poor man who struggled to keep his family clothed and fed.

Each day, he and his family rose before there was a hint of dawn in the dark
east sky.  By the light of the fire in the hearth and, when they could afford
it, a tallow candle, they ate their breakfast of dark brown rye bread,
butter, milk, and sometimes eggs.  Along with her many, many other chores,
the man's wife cooked the meals, made the bread, and saw to it that the cow
was milked, the butter churned, and the eggs picked.  Everyone, from frail
and fragile Grandma down to the youngest daughter of four had chores to do,
tasks to undertake.  There were eleven in all who lived together in the
small, three-room cottage on the family farm and each and every one of them
toiled long and hard from before sunrise until after sunset.  There was no
stopping for a noon meal, no time to rest.  Too much to do, too little time
in a day.

It was only after the sun set behind the rugged mountains, when it was too
dark to see, that the family would rest.  For supper, there would be
vegetables from the garden, such as cabbage boiled with, if they had it, some
salted pork rind for added flavor and fat.  And again, there were the thick
slices of dark brown rye bread slathered with butter.  Sometimes there would
be a soup made with an old hen who no longer laid eggs or a stew from a
snared wild rabbit.  But these special meals did not come as often as they
had in the past.  In these hard times, so very much of what they raised or
made was sold at market instead of being used by the family.  These were hard
times indeed!

There was a time when there were many wild rabbits and game birds which could
be taken, if one were sly about it and the rich landowners did not catch you.
  But now those animals were scarce in the pastures and woods on the edges of
the large estates.  Too many hungry people, too long of a time, too much
poaching.

There was a time when it wasn't so hard to make an honest living.  The money
made from the sale of livestock such as hogs, goats, and even geese, along
with the sale of crops would pay for all that the family needed.  Sometimes
there was even a little left over...a new spinning wheel...a new plow.  Now
however, the farmer, the weaver, the basketmaker, and all other common folk
were paying each and every year almost seventy percent of all that they had
to the evil king who ruled over and tormented from afar.  This very high rate
of tax meant that for every ten goats or ten pounds of sugar beets sold, the
money from seven of the units went into the treasure chests of the foreign
king.  Only three of ten was left for their food, their clothes, their shoes,
their tools...for everything!  Year by year the great burden of the taxes
made the family grow poorer and poorer; and still they needed money, more and
more money, to pay new and higher taxes.  These were very hard times indeed.
How could these good and honest people live?  Was there no justice?

As his father had done before him, the man farmed every bit of tillable land
which belonged to the family.  His grandfather, then in his forties, had been
granted land as had many others after the uprising in the 1840s.  It was of
great importance and pride for a small farmer to own land in this vast
empire.  For, you see, until about the middle of the eighteenth century, all
the farm land, all the pastures, all the woods were either owned by the Crown
or by the novblemen who pledged their support and their weapons to the
foreign king,  Until 1848, even many of the common people, the wood cutter,
the washer woman, the sheep herd; thery were all owned by the wicked king or
those rich nobles who supported this foreign ruler.  The common people, the
good people...they were chattel...they were slaves in their own land...they
were called serfs.  Many were skilled artisans; the skilled basket weaver,
the blacksmith who could make the anvil ring and the iron obey, and the
carpenters.  These were good men, honest men, hardworking men; they were
still property of the state.  The man's grandfather had been a skilled and
gifted worker of the metals.  The man's grandmother a fine cook and precise
seamstress; yet they were owned by another and forced to work long and
grueling hours for a wealthy landowner.  No time, no energy left for the
children, the garden, the family.  Now, at least, the man and his family
owned land.

One day the man was plowing field in preparation for planting...too many
weeds, too many stones.  This crop was even more important than any other for
a drought the previous growing season caused the harvest to be poor, the
proceeds low.  Because the mule was old and the ground hard, progress was
slow.  Tired and sweating, the man watched as an elegantly dressed gentleman
came riding towards him on a shiny, high stepping black horse.  The man
looked at the highly polished silver ornaments on the saddle and the bridle
of the horse.  We could eat for more than a year on what that horse wears
thought the man.

"Deep trouble comes!" thought the man.  And he was right.  For, you see, it
was the Sheriff who approached and he was designated to collect the taxes.

"Good morning, Sir!" greeted the man in his native tongue.

"Speak in German or you will be flogged," growled the Sheriff.  "You know it
is the decree of the King that all business be conducted in German, the
language of the King!"

"I have come to collect the taxes you owe," continued the Sheriff as he
dismounted from his horse.  "You owe taxes which are now due as well as ones
from last year.  You are holding out on your King!" snarled the Sheriff.

"Sir," said the man.  "I have tried very, very hard to pay my taxes but I do
not have the money to pay.  I sold the pocket watch given to me by my father
to pay for the seed to plant this field and to buy a little food for my
family.  If, by the good graces of Heaven above and by the Blessed
Sacraments, this crop makes, I will be able to pay ALL of the taxes.  Please
Sir, grant me time."

The sheriff tapped his riding whip against his leg and gruffly said, "Listen,
the taxes must be paid now.  The King, The Empire need the money for the
army, for more horses, for more cannons.  We are at war.  The Empire must
endure!"

"But, gentle Sir," said the man, "I have no money. No longer to I own
anything but this land that is of value.  IF you will please allow me to grow
this crop and harvest it, I will turn over ALL the proceeds to you for the
king!"

"No!" snapped the Sheriff.  "You must pay the full amount or be thrown into
the great pit until you do!"

"Great and Powerful Sir," pleaded the man, "How can I earn the money if I am
in the bowels of the great pit?"  Please grant me time.  You know that I am a
good man, an honorable man!"

"Listen," hissed the Sheriff.  "I cannot give you anymore time.  There are
many others like you who also plead for time.  All of you, each of you, must
pay what is owed and in full amount.  The King cannot wait any longer.  If
you cannot pay right here, right now then you must come with me and suffer
the consequences!"

"But what of my family?" lamented the man.  "How will they survive, how will
they live?  They will not even know what has happened to me!"

"You should have thought of that before you cheated the King," harshly spoke
the Sheriff.  Come along nicely now or I will beat you until you do!"

And so the man could only leave the old mule hitched to the single-row plow
as he was taken away.  His hands were bound with a leather strap.  One end of
a long rope was tied to his wrist bonds and the other the polished pommel of
the Sheriff's saddle.  In this way, in this humbling way, the man was led
away to the nearby village.  He bowed his head low as he
walked...shamed...condemned...down the main path through the village.  Many a
person glances first at him and then quickly away as he passed.  "Would they
be next, when would their time come...so many taxes due...so little money!"
When the Sheriff finally stopped before the great and huge pit, the man knew
that it was useless to plead for his freedom.  He straightened his back.  He
looked directly into the eyes of the Sheriff.  He waited silently.

To be continued...

Susan Rektorik Henley

Hello folks, I really appreciate the help I received translating a phrase
written to me by a corespondent it Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic.

This time I need help in translating an adage from English to Czech, could
someone please help me?

The adage is:  "If you run with the wolves, then you must howl with the
wolves."

I have another application for this adage; however, I want to share the
family story on this one.  Although my mother's family was a farm family,
propriety, good manners, and a well-ordered life were their priorities.
Well, when my Dad met my Mother, he knew that she was the one great true love
of his life.  The feeling was mutual; however, my mother wanted a career of
her own before having a family so it took some courting by my Dad to convince
her that that they should be married right then.

Well, they were married and there was always a great, true, and special love
there.  However, my Mother then found that when she married my Dad, she also
became part of two close families. The Mrazek and the Rektoriks.  I've told
you about my Grandpa Tom Mrazek shooting the anvil off (so you can see this
side was not all that sedate) and the Rektoriks also enjoyed vigorous
lifestyles.  Mother found that she was expected to camp at the family fishing
place, then at the mouth of La Garta Creek and the Nueces River under the
huge spreading live oaks hung with Spanish moss.  My Grandmother, Jennie
Mrazek Rektorik, was always looking for adventure so she would persuade my
mother to look for the nests of wild turkeys along the river's edge or some
such thing.  Both sides of the family also hunted together and the deer camp
was always full of children, taroks, dominoes, and good food.  A love for big
camp fires came from both sides so we lit up the county many a night.

Again, this was all somewhat extreme for a young lady who had attend the
University of Texas and had previously moved with more sedate and cordial
groups.  Once she went to her father and explained that she did love my
father so dearly; however, all the outdoor activities and family outings was
somewhat more than she had bargained for.  Her father thought for a moment
and then told her:  "If you are going to run with the wolves, then you must
howl with the wolves!"

My mother did just fine. She brought refinements to camping and, in turn, my
Dad hosted many large, much more formal gatherings at our home.

There was never a doubt that my Mother and Father were destined for each
other.  My mother died over thirty years ago.  There has never sense been
another woman for my Dad.

Anyway, I would appreciate a translation, if someone can help me.

Susan Rektorik Henley

The translation to the adage is: KDO CHCE S VLKY BYTI, MUSI S VLKY VYTI.

Jana M. Vaculik
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

This is the Homemade Noodle Recipe I promised that is used by my mother,
Olga Susil Petter Jankowiak.
4 eggs, 2 Tbsp. water, 1/2 tsp. salt (optional) and 2 cups + flour

Mix eggs and water. Start with 2 cups of flour, add egg mixture and make
a fairly tough dough. Adding more flour as necessary. Knead until
elastic, adding more flour as you go. Put dough in an ungreased bowl,
covered, in warm place for 1/2 an hour. Turn out on a floured counter
and roll into an oval shape. Try to roll noodles almost paper thin. Then
place dough on cloth and place near window on table where air can dry
it. Turn over once. Cut dough n half and again in half. Stack dough and
cut into strips as you like.
Mom laughed when I said someone was going to use a branch and she said
yes she saw
this done before but she could never do that with all our animals
around. There wouldn't be any noodles to eat.

I received a notification that I was not a member.  I signed up last week
and now I guess I am not a member.

Jean
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Jean,
	 We all appreciate you input to the list.  Must have been a glitch in the
system.  Another lister tried to send me mail and the lister's program
told them there was no such address.  Let us know if you have any more
problems sending mail to the list and invite your friends to share with
us.  Have you checked out how the Immigrant and Genealogy databases are
growing?  I think we'll all benefit as it grows to include all the Czechs
in the US.

Sharing. It's What It's All About!
Rick Garza
http://www.garza-zattler.homepage.com/
NameSearch: GARZA, ZATTLER, REYNA, FOSTER, SCHACHTNER, STOPFER,
HOLLMAIER, VOGEL, VOGL, WEINZIERL, FINK
http://www.egroups.com/database/texasczechs
.

On Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:01:39 PDT "jean rademacher" <jeankab@...>
writes:
> I received a notification that I was not a member.  I signed up last
> week
> and now I guess I am not a member.
>
> Jean
>
________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
> http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
>
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