Věstník (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 34, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 4, 1996 Page: 4 of 24
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4/VESTNIK—Wednesday, September 4,1996
District Five Fall Meeting
Set for September 22
Ail District Five members are invited
to attend the Fall Meeting being heíd in
Danbury, Texas, at the city park.
Registration for the horseshoe pitch-
ing, needlework, and pastry contests will
begin at 11 a.m. The youth club will
háve the Chrstimas ornament contest.
Please pian to attend this fun-filled
day. A brief meeting will be heíd at
11:30 a.m. and lunch will be served from
12 until 1:30 p.m. We are looking for-
ward to a great day and i! can only be
possibíe with your presence. So come on
out for good clean fun.
Please notě rule changes for the
kolache contest as first plače winners
may compete the following year. Also,
changes in the quilt contest are first plače
winners may compete the following year,
but not by reentering the previously win-
ning item.
We look forward to seeing everyone.
Fratemally,
Fred C. Buri
District Five FAC
—SPJST—
District Five Family Fun Day
September 22 at Lodge 139, Danbury
Dear Members and Guests,
The District Five Family Fun Day will
be September 22, 1996, at Lodge 139,
Danbury. Registration for the contests—
kolache, needlework (handmade), horse-
shoes, and youth Christmas ornaments—
is at 11 a.m.
The youth will be selling items in their
booths. We will háve a short meeting at
11:30 a.m., followed by a sociál at noon
and a covered dish meal from 12 to 1
p.m. The meat and drinks will be fur-
nished by the district.
All you háve to bring is a covered
dish, pastry or dooř prize for the spin
wheel. Sister Clara Brož and John Brož
from Lodge 88 will be in charge of the
spin wheel. If you cannot make plans to
come, you can leave your items with her
at Lodge 88.
There will also be a watermelon con-
test to raise extra money for the youth for
the HEB camp. Each year, the youth go
there to camp and HEB camp does not
charge for the use of the facility. Any
lodge or person who wants to donate
towards the HEB camp may do so.
We will also háve dooř prizes during
the day.
So dress comfortably for a fun day.
Circíe the dáte—Sunday, September 22.
Come out and háve fun with your frater-
nal brothers and sisters and friends.
Watch the Vestnik for a map to Lodge
139, Danbury.
Invíte a friend and bring them out.
See you all at Lodge 139, Danbury on
September 22,1996, at 11 a.m. or so.
Fraternally yours,
Evelyn Mikeska, F.I.C.
District Five President
—SPJST—
State Volleyball Tournament Set for
November 16
The SPJST State Volleyball
Tournament is Saturday, November 16,
1996. The tournament begins at 9:30 a.m.
The categories are:
Category A: Adult—Spiking
Category B: Adult—Non-Spiking
Category A: Youth—Spiking
Category B: Youth—Non-Spiking
The youth division will consist of
members ages 14 to 17. However, young
people may also play in the adult divi-
sion, which will consist of members ages
14 to adult.
Prizes to be awarded in each category
are:
First Plače—$75 and trophy
Second Plače—$60 and trophy
Third Plače—$50 and trophy
For more information or for a registra-
tion form, please call Frank at 1-800-727-
7578 or write:
State Fraternal Activities Coordinator
P.O. Box 100
Temple, Texas 76503.
We encourage all lodges to participate
in this tournament.
Fraternally,
Frank Klinkovsky, State FAC
—SPJST—
Readers Write
Reader Encourages
Participation in
Czech Heritage Week
Children are our most precious trea-
sures and they are the key to revitaliza-
tion of our iníerest in the preservation of
our Czech cuiture in Texas and in the
nation. With the passage of the Czech
Heritage Week Resolution in 1995 by the
Texas State Legislature, we, as Czechs,
háve been given a window of opportunity
to preserve our Czech cuiture, history,
traditions, customs and language.
We must help our Czech children dis-
cover their Czech ethnicity and learn about
their history, cuiture, traditions and lan-
guage. We, as Czechs, need to také the ini-
tiative to encourage the teaching of Czech
history and cuiture in the schod curriculum
and being included in school textbooks.
We need to encourage cohesiveness
among Czechs with the centrál focus
being on Czech groups supporting Czech
groups. Czech groups, including frater-
nal organizations and church groups,
could unitě and together approach the
city fathers, school boards members and
administrators to proclaim Czech
Heritage Week on Ocíober 20-26, 1996,
in each community.
Czechs can unitě and pian programs
which include children and families with
the emphasis on children performing at
these programs which may include danc-
ing Czech folk dances and singing Czech
songs. Czech families. can enjoy socia^-
izing with each other in order to meet
other Czechs through such activities as
covered-dish dinners featuring Czech
food. Czechs can get Czech language
classes organized in their community,
where both parents and children attend,
resulting in children becoming interested
in the language.
Heiping children preserve their Czech
cuiture becomes the responsibility of the
parents, schooís and communities. The
best legacy grandparents and parents can
leave their children is to help them pre-
serve their ethnicity and be proud of
being Czech, having a Czech name, and
being a Czech-American.
Janice Lindemann Swope
—SPJST—
American Czech
Cuiture Society
Speciál Event Update
As you may or may not know, the for-
mation of the American Czech Cuiture
Society in the Metroplex area some 55
plus years ago had as its main objective
“To maintain and uphold the Czech her-
itage of our forefathers so that our future
generations will be able to enjoy and per-
petuate that heritage as a part of the
American way of life.” (Quoted from the
Constitution and By-Laws of the
American Czech Cuiture Society.)
To that end, the ACCS sought out the
State Fair of Texas as the plače to gather
as many people of Czech descent as pos-
sible on one day to celebrate what has
come to be known as “Czech Day at the
State Fair of Texas.” For 55 years this
has been a wonderful event with food,
music, dancing and entertainment offered
to our own communities as wel! as to all
Fair visitors.
Last February, rumors began to sur-
face that there would be no more “ethnic
days” at the Fair; then an article appeared
in the Dallas Morning News on February
19 which confirmed this rumor, None of
the ethnic groups who had formerly had
speciál days at the Fair would be allowed
a plače to gather.
At that time, our president, Bertha
Podhrasky, made contact with a group
from the German community, and made
arrangements for a meeting. The meet-
ing resulted in each groups’ decision to
write a letter to the Star Fair officials
seeking some information on the reason
for the cancellations. The letters were
ignored, but as a result, several other
groups were contacted and another meet-
ing was called for March 14. A letter
was drafted to ask for a meeting with
State Fair officials, and signed by repre-
sentatives of 25 ťraternal/cultural/ethnic
societies. This group, for lack of a better
name, became the “Texas Cultural
Partnership,” consisting of German,
Norwegian, Italian and Czech representa-
tives. The Partnership received a letter
from Errol McKoy, president of the State
Fair board, ignoring our request for a
meeting and emphasizing the courtesies
the Fair had extended to us in the past.
Decision was made to meet again on
May 16, but before that meeting took
plače, a reportér from the Dallas
Morning News (to whom we had sent a
copy of our letter) called several repre -
sentatives of the Partnership to find out
what was happening. After an article
appeared in the Dallas Morning News on
May 5 entitled “New coalition begins
pushing State Fair to restore ethnic days”
and sub-titled “Officials cite traditions’
cost; coalition considering next step.”
McKoy then asked for a meeting.
Larry Laznovsky, Justine Yeager,
Steve Ogden, Vincenza Biondi, and Ida
Schulz attended this meeting with
McKoy and Vice President Nancy Wiley
in which the Fair apologized for the lack
of communication the groups experi-
enced in not being notified of the Fair’s
decision to cancel events. (No letter had
been received by any of the groups until
after the February 19 article in the Dallas
Morning News. When notification was
made, it came in the form of a memo
with no ietterhead, no dáte and no signa-
tuře by any State Fair official.) At a later
dáte, each of the groups received a letter
of apology from the fair.
The Fair offered several venues for
our speciál performances. They suggest-
ed that we might want to hold a function
at the Halí of State, which the State Fair
has no control over. We would be deal-
ing directly with the Dallas Historicai
Society, who are caretakers for the Halí
of State. They stated that the Fair would
provide stages for activities, publicity
(which had not been provided in several
years), places on the calendar, etc. . .
basically everything except a tent as
before. We would háve to rent our
“home plače.” At the conclusion of the
meeting, we invited them to a meeting of
the Partnership on May 16, but they
declined.
A few days later, this smáli group plus
two other representatives met with Steve
Parker at the Halí of State and discussed
the possibíe use of the building and plaza
on October 6, a dáte previously agreed
upon by the Partnership. Renta! fees
were listed, rules and regulations regard-
ing use of the building, etc. were agreed
upon, and the dáte secured.
Síňce that time numerous meetings
háve taken plače, plans háve been made,
and all is proceeding at a fast páce, since
time is now growing short. The repre-
sentatives of the ACCS háve agreed to
participate with the other three groups,
and háve pledged up to $1,500 to be ušed
as our part of the presentation.
At this time, we are writing to you to
seek some fi nandal assistance, either in
the form of advertising in a printed pro-
gram, which will be distributed to hun-
dreds of people at the State Fair, or in the
form of a contribution, which will be
noted in this program. To advertise in the
program, please call (214) 321-3300.
If you wish to be a part of this event,
we encourage you to let us know your
wishes. The event will not be “Czech
Day” as we háve known it but will be a
day of gathering of cuitural/ethnic groups
who refuse to let their respective her-
itages die because of a decision by a few
people at the State Fair of Texas who do
not know how important our heritages
are to us.
This will be an outstanding panorama
of food, music, dancing, and displays . .„
a “mosaic” of nations rather than a “melt-
ing pot” of people.
We invite you to join tis, whether in a
monetary way or better still, with your
presence!
Ida Schulz, Secretary
—SPJST—
Make SPJST your first choice
for all of your life insurance
needs. Call a local sales repre-
sentative for more information
on the many programs which
are available to meet your needs.
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Vanicek, Brian. Věstník (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 34, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 4, 1996, newspaper, September 4, 1996; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth632645/m1/4/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.