Category: History
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A New Starting Place: Holland, Texas 1912
A continuation of Ján Švagera’s biography. Featuring his initial taste of life in America. A surprise taste of home and his coming of age.
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Journey to a New Land: An Unforgettable Experience
Part 3 of “Across Countries and Cultures: A Journeyer for Truth” Reality Takes Hold The first time seeing the ocean is a profound experience for everyone. For someone who comes from a completely landlocked country though, the experience is overwhelming. The act of boarding a ship and losing sight of any land mass whatsoever is…
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When Doctors Were Family: A Look Back
A tribute to a beloved doctor, Tom Heywood, a look back at when doctors were like family. A eulogy for a remarkable human and simpler time.
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When My Grandfather Cried Velvet Tears: A Story of Hope
A young boy’s recollection of the Velvet Revolution, November 17, 1989. Tears of hope and a personal family connection to history being made.
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Against All Odds: The Great Escape
Part 2 of Across Countries and Cultures: Journeyer for Truth A Man of Many Languages Unlike many of his fellow conscripted acquaintances, Ján was well educated. In particular, he was a master multi-linguist, able to proficiently speak Czech, Slovak, German, French and Italian. This would prove to be tremendously beneficial for him as tensions continued…
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Across Continents and Cultures: A Journeyer For Truth (Pt.1)
(What follows will be an ongoing series about the life and times of my Great Grandfather John Švagera. He truly had a remarkable life which included being a Czech Legionnaire during the First World War, working with the Borglum family and raising a family on the farm fields of Nebraska during the Great Depression.) He…
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When Magazines Were Used For More Than Reading
I am eternally grateful that I was afforded the opportunity to have an amazing relationship with both of my grandfathers. They were both born in the summer of 1923, within two weeks of each other. Both of them grew up on farms during the height of the Great Depression. They would both find their way…
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Victory of The Crucifix, Český Gulaš, Beer and Nazis
A wise person should know that it is never a good idea to come between a feisty Czech and their gulaš and beer. More inane yet is to mess with a feisty Czech nun and her Savior. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with common sense. Especially those affiliated with the Nazi party. Thus we get…
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For One Brief Shining Moment Perfection Was Grasped
Justice, Chivalry and the noble pursuit of Perfection. A trifold approach to achieving Plato’s idealized Utopian society. Those of us familiar with English history, or perhaps musical theater, will recognize these as the hallmarks on which the Court of Camelot stood. We recall Camelot today with heartrending emotion. A sort of unattainable, Garden of Eden…
