Written in 1926.
CHAPTER 26
(Continued from last week.)
LODGES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
In union there is strength and Bohemians acknowledge this truism, for they have many lodges and clubs, fraternal with insurance, singing societies, dramatic, social, gymnastic, etc. For poor immigrants in a strange country, where they did not know the language or customs, especially in the hard pioneer days, it was not only agreeable but necessary to meet with their own kind and to do what they could in the way of entertainments, to gather courage and cheer. The fraternal orders are a great boon to them, for the officials do not have anywhere near the large salaries the officials of the large American insuring fraternal orders have, and so they can sell life insurance at a lower rate. These fraternal orders keep records as to membership, therefore we are able to give same here.
Mr. Joseph W. Zerzan founded in 1876 a reading society in Schuyler which was the nucleus of the present lodge Zapadni Jednota of the Bohemian Slavonian Benevolent Society. Bohemians brought to this country their love for music, dramatics, song and dance—all so much more common on the Continent than in this country, where Puritanism has left its traces. They organized dramatic clubs and gave plays, singing societies, etc. With the aid of plays, signing, speeches etc. they celebrated various events and anniversaries. The Liberals for many years commemorated annually the burning of Jan Hus (July 6, 1415) and the Battle of White Mountain (November 8, 1620) when Bohemia lost her kingdom to Austria. The younger generation knows nothing of the significance of these events and the commemorations have ceased. The Catholics celebrate and did celebrate, of course, various events connected with the church.
In Colfax county one of the first, if not the first, dramatic performances was given in the settlement Tabor, in 1874, by the members of the Bohemian reading society there, in the sod house of F. J. Jonas. Mr. Jos. B. Sindelar of Howells has furnished this data. The play was “Deaf and Dumb Frank” and the following participated: Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Jonas, George Jonas (still living, in Stuart, Nebraska), Miss Mary Sindelar (later Mrs. John Poledna) and Jos. B. Sindelar, who played the title role. Two sheets sewn together furnished the curtain. The only Bohemian band in the county at that time, that of Mr. Vaclav Svoboda, furnished music for dancing that followed the play. Mr. Svoboda is living in Omaha at date of writing. Later in that year the play, “Frank, the Prague Student,” was given with the same performers and with Jos. B. Sindelar again in the title role,
NEWSPAPERS
While the city of Omaha stands first as to the number of Bohemian newspapers and other printed matter is concerned, Colfax county comes next, for of all the counties settled by Bohemians it had, in its time, the largest number of papers. The future of foreign-language papers in this county is limited to the readers who have come as immigrants, their children and succeeding generations read English only.
In March 1887 a weekly, Nova Doba (New Era) was established, with Hugo Chotek and F. K. Ringsmuth as editors and The Literary Society, publishers. In 1892 a stock company, composed of Joseph Smatlan, J. A. Fiala, John Pekar, F. K. Ringsmuth and J. K. Sinkula, took over the paper, but it ceased existence June 7, 1892. It was published in Schuyler.
In January 1892 a Sunday supplement “Nove Doby Listy Svatecni” to the paper described above was founded by F. K. Ringsmuth, who was editor and publisher. It was suspended when the weekly was suspended.
In January 1892 the weekly Kotva (Anchor) was founded in Schuyler, J. E. Kroupa editor, Priborsky & Co., publishers. Suspended July 13, 1893.
In November 1893 the weekly Svit (The Gleam) was founded in Schuyler, F. K. Ringsmuth, editor, J. Priborsky and F. K. Ringsmuth, publishers. Moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1894 and there suspended in 1902.
In January 1901 F. H. Svoboda founded in Schuyler a monthly magazine for young people, Zlata Hvezda (Golden Star), being the only paper of its kind ever published in Nebraska. Mr. Svoboda was both editor and publisher. In 1902 he made a bi-monthly of it. Suspended in April 1903.
1889 F. K. Ringsmuth a gifted writer of poems and prose, published in Schuyler his novel “The black shadow of love.”
In December 1904 the weekly Domaci Noviny (Home News) was founded in Clarkson, Anton Odvarka Sr., editor and publisher. In 1910 his son, Anton Jr. and Otto, assumed ownership and in March 1924 sold the paper to the Narodni Pokrok in Omaha. During their time they published a separate edition of the paper for non-local readers, called the Ozvena Zapadu (Echo of the West.) They now publish The Colfax County Press, in English, founded in 1914.
Anton Odvarka, sr., was a pioneer resident of Colfax county and one of the best known lodge and newspaper men among the Bohemian people of this state. He was the founder of the “Domaci Noviny,” a Bohemian newspaper published in Clarkson for twenty years and besides his newspaper career he was for a number of years head organizer of the Z. C. B. J. order, the leading Bohemian fraternal society in America. It was this occupation that brought him into contact with his countrymen in diverse parts of the country and gained him wide acquaintance.
He was born in the picturesque hamlet, Ceska Heralec, Bohemia, on the 13th day of December, 1866, and died at Clarkson, Neb., on the 26th day of September 1929. He spent his boyhood days in the vicinity of his birth and upon completing his studies at the public school, he entered a university where he became a student of theology When almost through with the course he left his studies and departed for America. He came to Colfax county in 1886 and located in Clarkson which at that time had but a handful of shacks. Not being accustomed to hard work and there being nothing else here for him to do at the time of his arrival, he engaged in the shoemaker business and besides this took up correspondence work for various Bohemian periodicals. In 1888 he was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Teply, who died in 1892, two sons, Anton and Otto, having been born to their union. In 1894 he married Miss Agnes Kmoch. Two children were born to their union, Bessie and Vladislav, the daughter having died in Omaha in 1920. Vladislav is a graduate of the Creighton Dental College of Omaha and the University of Denver, Colo. He is located at Clarkson where he is practising dentistry.
Mr. Odvarka was a public-spirited man and was the first teacher of Bohemian school in Clarkson. He also was an ardent lodge worker and organized, a number of local societies. He was one of the founders of the national Z. C. B. J. society and became its first traveling organizer. He also served as secretary of the two first national conventions held by the association. He advocated what he believed was right and of best interest to the common classes. He believed that all people were created alike and always lived up to these convictions.
(To be continued.)
