Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 30, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 28, 1965 Page: 1 of 32
thirty two pages : ill. ; page 11 x 9 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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HERALD ípggl
Ofřicial Organ Of The Sla vonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas. Founded 1807.
BENEVOLENCE
HUMANITY
B R O T II E R II O O D
VOLUME 53 — NO. 30
Postmaster: Pleasc Send Form 3579 with CTndelíverabie Co ples
to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P. O. Box 100, TEMPLE, TEXAS
JULY 28, 1965
FROM THE EDITOrS ÍMK
AND THEN THERE: WERE THREE . . .
From the Czech cover of this issue
our readers can see that we are paying
speciál tribute to the last three sur-
viving Charter Members of the SPJST.
A little further along in this column,
we will review briefly the lives of these
three es-teeraed members.
♦ ♦
When one starts going through the
old records, old issues of the Věstník,
and starts checking the various his-
torical dates relevant to the establish-
ment of our Order, we find that we ac-
tually háve our piek of about four
dates, depending on how you look at it,
and what dáte you regard as the true
beginning of the SPJST.
The first dáte we come across is 28
Decemfcer 1896, when 26 Czech settlers
met in a speciál meeting in the court
house in L.a Grange, for the expressed
purpose of breaking away from the
old northern-based CSPS and estab-
lishing a new and sepaťate fraternal
society in Texas. On that occasion a
three-member committee was elected
and empowered to write the first by-
laws of the “SPJST,” a name they
agreed upon in that first December
meeting.
The second dáte we might choose is
20 June 1897, when the First Conven-
tion of the new SPJST met in La
Grange. Twenty-two newly-estahlished
GROWÍNG OLD
There are advanta.ges and disadvant-
•ages to every stage of life. God has
work for us in old age as well as in
youth. James A. Garfield said, “If
wrinkles must be written upon your
brow, let tiiem not be written upon
your heart. The spirit should never
grow old.
Age is relative; not to the years we
háve lived, but to clreams, hopes, and
aspirations that we keep alive in our
hearts. Robert Browning wrote, “Grow
old along with me! The best is yet to
be — the last of life for which the first
was made. Our times are in His hand
who saith: ‘A whole I planned, Youth
shows but halí’.”
lodges were represented at that first
convention.
The third dáte could be that of 10
July 1897, v/hen the first Charter was
drawn up and signed by three mem-
bers, L. V. Vaněk, I. J. Gallia, and J. R.
Kuběna.
The last of the four clioices could
be 12 August 1897, when the new
Charter was presented to and accepted
by then Secretary of State, J. W. Mad~
den.
Somewhere, someone, along the line,
deeided that 1 July 1897 should be the
official ds.te of the establishment of
the SPJST. and thaťs the way iťs heen
fer a good many years, based probab-
ly upon the fact that July was the
month in which the new Charter was
drawn up and signed by the three men
mentioned. It might be a sinali matter,
and when the author of the history of
the SPJST gets around to the task
one of these days, he will háve to de-
cide just what dáte to choose.
In any čase, it has been the practice
for many years to designate those
members Charter Members who join-
ed the Order on or before 1 July 1897.
In the beginning, of course, there were
several hundred. Down through the
years, the nmnber of Charter Members
has dwindled. Time, as with al). things
mortal, has taken its toll. As of 1 June
1956 there were still 39 Charter Mem-
bers living. The latest of this dwindl-
ing group to pass away was Sister
Aloisie Wotipka, who passed away the
latter part of June of this year. That
leťt only three. These remaining three
are 'Sisters Terezie Valchar, Veronika
Bača, and Frances Zissa. (Pictures are
on the front cover, Czech section). We
bring you here an abbreviated account
of the lives of each of these three
members, taken from past issues of the
Vestnik, and in the čase of Sister Zissa,
we quote from a letter from her that
“CZECHOSLOVAK SPECTACULAR” AT LODGE 66. ELM MOTT — SEPT. I9th, 1965
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Morris, Nick. Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 30, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 28, 1965, newspaper, July 28, 1965; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth626612/m1/1/: accessed July 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.