SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall 2014 Fall Edition 2014

Transcription

1 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall 2014 Fall Edition 2014 Sokol/Sokolice Milwaukee 17 Listopad 1989! 25th anniversary of the velvet revolution In this issue CALENDAR....2 PRESIDENT S CORNER...3 VELVET REVOLUTION TURNS GYM PROGRAM UPDATE...5 Rest in Peace Len Borkowski, Victor Green and Henry Tonar...6 MOVIE SERIES...7 GENEALOGY GROUP..7 DILL GRAVY RECEIPT...7 See page 4 for a few reflections on how Czechs and Slovaks view the Velvet Revolution after 25 years (can it really be that long?).

2 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall Executive Board President Sonia Riecan 1st Vice President John Kozlik 2nd Vice President Harold Kralik Secretary Sonka Tostrud Treasurer Ann Cramer Financial Secretary Gerald Novotny Education Director Mary Anne Gross Director of Women Jennifer Romine Director of Men Gerald Novotny To submit an item for the calendar or an article or letter for publication or to suggest a topic that you would like included in this newsletter please contact the editor: Gerald Novotny 1409 Iowa Drive Madison, WI Phone: (608) novotny01@sbcglobal.net Kalendář (Calendar) Monthly General Membership Meetings First Monday of the Month 7:00 to 9:00pm at the Norway House December 1, 2014 The theme for the December meeting is Holiday Traditions GYMNASTICS CLASS NOTE CHANGE TO WEDNESDAY EVENINGS Wednesdays 6:15 to 7:45 pm CZECH SLOVAK MOVIE SERIES 1:30 at the Norway House Sunday January 25, 2015 THE OLD BELIEVERS (PIEMULE), 1992 Sunday April 26, 2015 OBČAN HAVEL (CITIZEN HAVEL), 2008 BAKING SCHEDULE 8:30 am - 2 pm Wednesday November 19 Thursday November 20 Friday November 21 Monday November 24 SOKOL CHRISTMAS PARTY December 13, 2014 Serb Hall Note: We are back on the web at: Or follow us on Facebook.

3 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall PRESIDENT S CORNER Nazdar, Brothers and Sisters of Sokol/Sokolice Milwaukee, It s hard to believe it is already November and soon the Holiday Folk Fair will be upon us. This year s theme is Celebrate the Culture of the Artisan. The food of the year is soup. Donna Roeber is your Holiday Folk Fair Chair, and your area chairs are Ann Cramer, for the food booth, Joylyn Kralik, for the sales booth and Sonia Riecan and Sonka Tostrud for the Cultural Booth and Directors of the Czech-Slovak Dance Group. We are all looking forward to a successful, cultural, profitable and fun Folk Fair. The Sokol Gymnasts, who I have had the privilege to watch practice twice now (and they are looking like a good group of kids) will be performing, as well The Moja Vlast Czech - Slovak Dancers, who will be performing both on the main stage and in the Tanzhaus(the former Music Pavilion). The schedules can be found on the Holiday Folk Fair web site at folkfair.org. We hope everyone will attend and support Sokol. of fun. Please see or talk with an area chair if you are available or call me at the number above. If you ve never volunteered at our Folk Fair, now is the time. ****Save the Date alert****in December we have our exciting Holiday Party on December 13th at Serb Hall. The event is sure to be a fun time. Let s make this year a record breaking turn out year. If you have any questions about the Holiday Party, please contact Harold Kralik. As we move closer to Thanksgiving I as your President have a lot to be Thankful for. I am ever so thankful for each and every one of you and those who were members in the past and those who have passed on. Our organization would not be here today if each and every one of you had not contributed to it and going forward. Although it will be a challenge we your executive board are dedicated and working on ways to grow Sokol so someday Sokol Milwaukee will celebrate 200 years. Finally, on a personal note I am very thankful to be your President and hope to make you proud. Lastly, but certainly not least I would be remiss if I did not mention how thankful and blessed I feel to have a healthy, sweet baby boy, Tristan Milan who will be 4 months old already at the Holiday Folk Fair and who has brought me incredible joy and wonder and a lot less sleep. As you sit down with your families this Thanksgiving know that you are part of another very important family Sokol/ Sokolice Milwaukee and your family is very Thankful For you. We do have tickets that we are required to sell. They are $10 in advance. Please call me at (414) if you need tickets and I will make sure they get to you. Also, if you are interested in working at any of the booths, we need you and it is a lot Happy Fall Season and Happy Thanksgiving, Sonia Riecan President of Sokol Milwaukee Sonia Riecan, President of Sokol Milwaukee

4 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall VELVET REVOLUTION TURNS TWENTY-FIVE November 17 th is a day of remembered by Czechs and Slovaks as the start of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall police violently put down a student protest in Prague. This touched off strikes and protests that saw hundreds of thousands people demonstrate against communist rule. By the end of the month the communists agreed to hold elections and in December Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia. President Zeman Pelted with Eggs at November 17 Velvet Revolution Event Security guards move in with umbrellas to protect President Zeman from tomatoes. Velvet Revolution Memorial in Prague. Twenty-five years later an opinion survey finds that 61 percent of Czechs viewed the Velvet Revolution as a positive development. While in Slovakia, only 58 percent of citizens viewed ending of communism in the same light. When considering the present state of the country 48 percent of Czechs say that they are satisfied as opposed to 47 percent who are dissatisfied. Seventeen percent say they would like to see a return to communism while 77 percent are opposed. Only 14 percent of Czechs are satisfied with the economic situation in the country however at the same time 68 percent consider their standard of living to be good. These articles are based on information from Radio Prague. A wide variety of commemorative events will be held in November. However President Miloš Zeman had a tough time of it at a ceremony marking the beginning of the student protest. Zeman was shouted down and pelted with eggs and tomatoes. The president of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska, was by contrast cheered. Demonstrators held signs complaining of Zeman and his predecessor Vaclav Klaus. Zeman has been criticized lately for remarks downplaying the police reaction to the 1989 demonstrations, what seemed to be pro-russian remarks concerning Ukraine and for using profanity in a taped interview. Appropriately, on January 25,2015, we will be showing the documentary film Občan Havel (Citizen Havel) which features scenes with Miloš Zeman and Vaclav Klaus as well as Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton.

5 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall Gym Program Update Our gym program has undergone a number of changes this year. Jennifer Romine has ably taken the lead in directing the program as our Women s Director. Her sister Lisa Hoeck (another of the fabulous Zeman Girls ) has also joined us a gymnastics instructor. Former student Tabitha Rasch has joined our teaching staff after attending a two-week American Sokol instructor s camp this summer in Cleveland. Outside of Sokol Tabitha is a student at Luther High School in Greendale. New Instructor - Tabitha Rasch We have moved our gym program to Wednesday evenings. Although we lost some gymnasts as a result of the change in day we have gained others and enrollment now stands at 28 boys and girls. HOLIDAY FOLK FAIR FLASH! We will be performing on the stage of the All Nations Theater for the 12:45 pm Young Peoples Showcase. Come out and cheer for our young Sokol gymnasts. Parents join in Halloween gymnastics activities Lisa Hoeck, Gerald Novotny, Jennifer Romine, Jamie Donald However much remains the same. Jamie Donald and Gerald Novotny return as instructors. And marching and calisthenics remain a focus of our program and we will be performing again in youth program at the Holiday Folk Fair.

6 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall In Our Memory We need to recall three passed members. Our remembrance of Len Borkowski is sadly much delayed. However we can report that Sokol received a nice letter of thanks from the Wauwatosa Historical Society for our memorial gift. This obituary appeared was printed in the Milwaukee Journal- Sentinel. Borkowski, Leonard L. "Len" May 20, 2014, at the age of 89. Beloved husband of Frances. Loving father of Robert F. (Lisa) and Mary (Steven Jr.) Musinsky. Dear brother of Donald (Antoinette). Brother-in-law of James (Patricia) Vespalec, Patricia Armbruster and Frank Vespalec. Further survived by other relatives and friends. Visitation on Friday, May 23, 2014, at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 1500 Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa, from 10 AM until the time of Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM. Burial to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Memorials to St. Bernard Catholic Church or The Wauwatosa Historical Society ap- Victor Greene was only a member for a few short years. He had an idea to study the history of the Czech and Slovak folk costume designs, or kroje, as they were brought here by immigrants or modified in after arriving in America. Other commitments and illness prevented him from carrying out the project. The obituary below is from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. A longer memorial highlighting his teaching career, awards and publications can be found at the Organization of American Historians web site: Greene, Victor R. Passed away on September 5, 2014, at the age of 80. Beloved husband of Laura Greene (nee Offenhartz). Loving father of Jessica Greene and Geoffrey (Gayle) Greene. Cherished grandfather of Harrison, Emma and Alice Greene. Dear brother of Patricia (Herbert) Lesow Greene and the late Stanley (Virginia) Greene. Funeral service to be held on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 1:00 PM at Congregation Shalom, 7630 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point. Burial to follow at Mound Zion would be appreciated. We also note the passing of long time Sokol member Henry Tonar. Tonar, Henry "Hank" Age 84, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, at home with his family by his side. He was born on July 23, 1930, in Cudahy, WI, the son of Larry and Bessie Tonar. He married Constance Hass on Feb. 14, 1953, in Milwaukee. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Hank and Connie started Hallmark Drywall in 1972, in Madison, and together they were in business until their retirement. They spent their retirement years summering in Minocqua and wintering in Arizona and Florida. Hank enjoyed his hobbies of Bocce Ball, woodworking and golf. At his 50th high school reunion he told friends his greatest accomplishment in life was "surviving, raising five daughters". Hank is survived by his daughters, Karen (Rick) Grosse of Madison, Patti (Gary) Hellenbrand of Waunakee, Lori (Tim) Julson of Stoughton, Jayne (Bob) Lindauer of Verona, and Kathleen Tonar of Milwaukee; grandchildren, Adam (Emily) Grosse, Jason (Julie) Grosse, Ali (Curtis) Daggett, Megan (Kilby) Willenburg, Lindsey (Joe) Gilbert, Jamie and Kelsey Hellenbrand, Ashley, Andrew, and Katie Julson, and Danielle and Tyler Lindauer; and 14 greatgrandchildren. Hank is further survived by his brothers, Bob (Mary Ann) Tonar and Charles (Doris) Tonar; sisters Emily Landgraf and Betty Jane Kramer; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Connie, his parents and parents-in-law, Bill and Lee Hass; brother, Edward Tonar; sister, Alice Ross; and nephew, Dave Tonar. A memorial mass will be held at ST. JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1128 St. James Court, Madison, at 3 PM, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2014.

7 SOKOL/SOKOLICE Fall MOVIE SERIES AND GENEALOGY MEETING In the afternoon on October 26 th we presented the movie Everything is a Present about a survivor of Terezin Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia to 20 viewers which is about an average crowd for our movies. community of ethic Czechs, descendants of immigrants that came to the Romanian highlands in 1822 and have preserved their language, culture and national identity. Filmed over a ten year period, the movie documents the harsh lives of these isolated people. In the morning prior the genealogy group met and enjoyed a demonstration of strudel making by Ann Cramer. I did not attend the genealogy session but managed to snag a piece of strudel which was delicious! A similar number of people attended the morning session. Receipt for Dill Gravy Under the heading of news you can use here is a receipt for dill gravy submitted by Ann Cramer. Our next It would be nice if more people took advantage of the educational opportunities Sokol provides. Consider attending and inviting your friends to upcoming events on our calendar. movie will be shown on January 25, 2015 at 1:30 pm. Three documentary films by Czech director Jana Ševčíková are packaged under the title The Old Believers. We will be showing Piemule, about a 2 1/2-3 cups beef stock 1/2 dill chopped fine 1/2 c vinegar 1/2c sugar 1/2 c sour cream-maybe more corn starch and water for for thickening adjust to taste. Boil a 4# chuck roast with celery, onions, and carrots for the stock. Serve with boiled beef and dumplings.

8 Sokol/Sokolice Milwaukee 7507 W. Oklahoma Avenue Milwaukee, Wi (Located in the Norway House) A Sound Mind in a Sound Body Sokol Gymnastics is for Every body. This Milwaukee Sokolice Junior Girls team took a first place in 1940 at a meet in St. Louis.