Farewell to the Norway House?

Transcription

1 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER 2017 SUMMER 2017 Edition Sokol/Sokolice Milwaukee Farewell to the Norway House? In this issue CALENDAR...2 Milwaukee Sokol Rocks Naperville PRESIDENT S CORNER...3. SOKOL GYM NASTICS UPDATE MILWAUKEE SOKOL AT NAPERVILLE...5 SPRING FLING & RECOGNITION DIN- NER...6 BAKING SESSIONS SCHED- ULED...7 A VISIT TO SOKOL PARK PHILIPS...8 FAREWELL TO THE NORWAY HOUSE?...9

2 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER Executive Board Kalendář (Calendar) President Sonia Riecan 1st Vice President John Kozlik 2nd Vice President Jaroslav Novotny Secretary Sonka Tostrud Treasurer Ann Cramer Financial Secretary Jenni Miller 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 NEXT MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY (NOT MONDAY) SEPTEMBER 12, :00 pm at the Norway House Regular Membership Meetings First Monday of the Month 7:00 pm at the Norway House FOLK FAIR BAKING SESSIONS SEE PAGE 7. GENEALOGY GROUP SESSIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED CHECK OUR WEB SITE FOR UPDATES We are on the web at: Or follow us on Facebook.

3 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER THE PRESIDENT S CORNER Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope that this newsletter finds all of you well and enjoying the last bits of your summer. I am writing this from Slovakia where I have had the opportunity to spend my summer and have enjoyed it greatly. It will be hard to come back to the United States after such an amazing time. I have been to both the Slovak and Czech Republics and to several Folk Festivals and spent alot of time in the mountains, hills and generally outside and of course with great friends and family. There is so much beauty here and it is truly an amazing place. Tristan Milan, even at 3 years of age has had an absolute blast and it has been fun to see him so happy and experiencing something new. Through my time here I also did visit the Detsky Domov (Orphange) that we as a Sokol donated to. It was an eye opening day and was very sad to see kids in so much need for basic survival items. At some point soon, my mom and I will be doing a presentation with pictures of this orphanage. It was heartbreaking. As most of you know, The Norway House is for sale, and initially we thought we would have to be somewhere else by now because the Norway House had an offer, however the offer ended up not happening. So, as of now we are at the Norway House until the end of 2017 unless, something else changes. Please come to our meetings for more information and to hear about our exciting Season ahead. Respectfully, Your Sister and President For more pictures from Sonia see pages 5 and back cover. Sonia Riecan

4 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER Gymnastics Update MILWAUKEE SOKOL GYMNASTICS CLASS Annika Romine performs at 149th Exhibition. GYMNASTS FINISH A GREAT SEASON Our gymnasts topped off a very successful season with our 149th Annual Exhibition and Awards Ceremony on May 31st. The event was well attended by parents and members. The opening ceremony consisted of the presentation of the colors, followed by an exhibition of marching and playing of the US, Czech and Slovak national anthems. WFLA LODGE 48 DISHES IN OUT! Gymnasts in each age and skill level demonstrated some of their routines prior to awards being presented in each level. Our ten representatives at the Central District Artist Gymnastics Competition were also recognized. The closing act was a calisthenics routine with the entire class participating.

5 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER MILWAUKEE SOKOL AT NAPERVILLE Milwaukee Sokol was well represented at the Central District Female Artistic Gymnastics Meet, May 20th at Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois. We had ten gymnasts competing in 6 age and skill levels and in all three sessions starting at 7:30 am and stretching into the early evening. This made for a very long, but rewarding, day for coaches In the 6 to 7-year-old Bronze Level, Annalise Romine placed 1st and Juliana Hoeck placed 5th. In the 8 to 9-year-old Bronze Level, Riana Hoeck placed 1st, Deven Baszler place 3rd, and Isabella Jamel laced 21st. I n the 10 to 11-year-old Bronze Level, Savita Baszler placed 7th. In the 10 to 11-year-old Silver Level, Annika Romine placed 9th. I In the 12 to 14-year-old Gold Level, Xelena Morad placed 6th. AND in the Women s Silver Level, Jennifer Romine IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHY THERE ARE TWO GROUP PICTURES - IT IS BECAUSE XELENA MORAD (LOWER RIGHT SIDE ON THE FRONT COVER) HAD TO LEAVE AFTER THE EARLY SESSION BEFORE SOME OF THE GIRLS ARRIVED FOR THE LATER SESSIONS. placed 1st. Jennifer Romine and Lisa Hoeck. Our ten competitors included Coach Jennifer Romine and a very tough young gymnast, Isabelle Jamal, who removed a foot brace before competing on each event. We can all be proud how they represented Milwaukee, both as athletes and as young women. They exemplified the best of the Sokol Spirit in both striving to do your best and practicing good sportsmanship. And from the results below they did do well athletically. In the 6 to 7-year-old Novice Level, Ella Rasvong placed 1st. Mountains of Slovakia - Sonia Riecan.

6 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER SPRING FLING Our Annual Spring Fling and Membership Recognition Dinner was head at Meyer s Darinka Kohl reminisced about her years in Sokol. Restaurant Sunday June 4th, The following members were recognized for their years of service to Sokol; 70 years - Frances Novotny 30 years - Lorraine Stanek 25 years - Darinka Kohl & Alan Rober 15 years - Karen Sundland 5 years - Elisabeth Odehnal

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8 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER Sokol Family History A visit to Sokol Park in Phillips, Price County, Wisconsin By Jenni Hynek Miller Growing up every summer I would visit my grandparents Jerry and Caroline Hynek for a few weeks in Phillips, Wisconsin. My great grandparents were born in Bohemia and brought my grandpa to America as an infant in When staying with them I would walk to visit my great Aunt Violet (Hynek) Hlavacek who lived in a small house across from a park with a swing set and also a concrete monument with the word Lidice at the top. At the time, I didn t give a thought as to what it meant. This summer I visited Phillips to do a little genealogy research and stopped by the park. It has new meaning now that I have learned the history of events that lead to the building of the monument. The below is taken from website research about the history and celebrating the anniversary of the horrific event. The story of the Lidice massacre begins in 1941, with a top-secret operation code-named Operation Anthropoid, planned by the British Special Operations Executive. The goal of the operation was to assassinate a high-level Nazi official to demonstrate the long arm of British special operations and to inspire resistance in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe. On May 27th, 1942, Heydrich was attacked by British-trained freedom fighters one born in the current Czech Republic and the other, Jozef Gabcik, born in Slovakia. A grenade attack on his car left him fatally wounded and he died on June 4th. Hitler ordered the small village of Lidice, 10 miles from Prague, to be wiped out as punishment because one of the men who assassinated Heydrich had ties to the village. Aunt Violet s house is visible to the right behind the memorial. June 10, 2017, marked the 75th anniversary since Nazis decimated the inhabitants of Lidice, and annihilated their village in what was then Czechoslovakia. Known as one of the worst single act atrocities of WWII, many special events were planned to remember and honor the village and its people in Lidice, Czech Republic. In Phillips, when news of Lidice was heard on the radio, friends met on the streets, in stores, and at Sokol Hall. They were sickened to hear about the inhumane events. Many of the victim s surnames were identical to their own. With mixed emotion of helplessness and despair, they made a plan to memorialize Lidice in their Continued on next page.

9 SOKOL/SOKOLICE SUMMER A Visit to Phillips continued from page 8 In 1944 the memorial was completed. Its silo-like pillar symbolizes the United Nations. Three rods in the pillar portray the Czech, Slovak, and Moravian people leaning on the United Nations for support. The evergreen spray on the monument s face symbolizes everlasting life for the people of Lidice. The molded circle represents the rising sun to indicate that the people of Lidice and Czechoslovakia would rise again. A small vault with soil The Phillips Czechoslovakian Community Festival began because of the re-dedication of the Lidice Monument after it was damaged during a wind storm and repaired in Such interest was shown that it seemed something more was in order. Original festival committee members were the children of Czech and Slovak immigrants who settled in Price County. They drew on memory to recreate traditions, foods, music, and song lyrics almost forgotten. They were the best advisors to preserve Czech and Slovak heritage and record the histories of the families who settled in the area, lest it be lost. Most of them still spoke the language learned at their mother s knee. Personal tales spilled out while they baked and cooked in the school kitchen to prepare for the events. Soon, the Czech/Slovak singers were organized and sang at community events around the area. Many things have changed since those summer visits, Aunt Violet and my grandparents have passed on. None of my family lives in town anymore but I still visit to attend the Czech Fest and drive by places that hold special memories, like SOKOL park. from Lidice was buried at the base following the end of the war. FAREWELL TO THE NORWAY HOUSE? Many of you, but perhaps not all of our members, are aware that the Norway House is up for sale. At the end of our season, when many of us take a break from Sokol for the summer, it appeared that we would have to leave the Norway House at the end of July, because of the pending sale of the building. This came at a particularly awkward time as our president, Sonia Riecan, was out of the country for an extended period. And so we began an on-going search for alternative locations for our activities. Keith and Ann Cramer should be recognized for their efforts to find us a new home for all our activities. They have made multiple visits to Milwaukee churches and other facilities looking for a new home. We are finding it is not easy to find a kitchen, dining room, meeting room and a gymna-

10 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. Photo of Folk Festival In Slovakia From Sonia Riecan