FAMILY STORIES

Bend, Nebr. There she spent three years and seven months.

   In September, 1977, she moved to David Place, David City, where she lived until her death on April 4, 1978 at the age of 92 years, one month and 21 days.

   John (Johan) Vanous was born in 1822 and wife, Mary (Tesar), born in 1824, came from ZNOJMO area of Moravia in 1868 to Elk Precinct. They owned the S½ of NW¼ of section 22 and SE¼ of NE½ of Section 22. They sold this land to Antonia Fuksa on August 27, 1880. Mary Vanous was a relative of Jakub Tesar.

   John Vanous Jr. married Mary Faytinger, daughter of Frank and Fanny (Vosicky) Faytinger, on September 30, 1891. His brother, Frank Vanous, married Mary Jelinek, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Pokorny) Jelinek on July 6, 1885. Their son, Adolph Vanous, married Gertrude Letty on May 1, 1918. Anna, daughter of John Vanous Jr., married Louis Styskal, son of Mike and Mary (Fradelick) Styskal, on Sept. 1, 1919.

   John Vanous Sr. helped Peter Kastl with many others to build the first SS. Cyril and Methodius Church at Plasi in 1877. He died in 1897 and his wife, Mary (Tesar) Vanous, died in 1916. They are buried in Sunrise Cemetery, Wahoo, Nebr.

   This writer never knew any of the Vanous family. He felt that he must write about Johan and Mary (Tesar) Vanous. They invited and helped his grandparents, Jakub and Marie Tesar, settle on a homestead three miles south and a quarter-mile east of Prague in 1870.

   Vencl Vanous, also using names of Wwncel Wanous and Wwncil Winous, was born in Moravia in 1831. He homesteaded the W½ of the SW¼ of section 24 Elk Precinct, located three and one-half miles south of Prague. He received the patent to the homestead on December 13, 1876. It was signed by Ulysses S. Grant, then U.S. President. He sold this land to Jakob Tesar on Feb. 18, 1886. He also owned other land.

   Vencl Vanous could not sign his name, using an X with witnesses to sign documents. That may account for his differently spelled names.

   Vencl Vanous died in 1908 and is buried in Sunrise Cemetery at Wahoo, Nebraska.

   Joseph Vanous was born at Dobronice, near Znojmo, Moravia about 1857. He came to America in 1877. He married Frances Kavan, daughter of Frank and Theresa (Veleba) Kavan. Children were Frantiska, July 27, 1880 to Sept 15, 1886; Marie, Aug. 18, 1883 to Sept. 22, 1886; and Caroline who lived to about age 24.

   Joseph died of pneumonia after fighting a barn fire to free his horses on March 27, 1894 at the age of 37. He is buried in Sunrise Cemetery at Wahoo, Nebr.

   Frank Vasa Sr. and wife, Anna, residing at present at the south edge of Weston, were both born in Czechoslovakia and came to America at the turn of the century; Frank, at age fourteen and Anna, at age six. It is interesting to note that Anna remembers the old country more vividly than Frank. In both cases, their fathers came first, a year or so in advance, sending for their families after having meagerly established themselves. Anna, daughter of the late John and Veronica Bartek, is the fifth of ten children, sisters: Josephine (Kassal), Regina (Novotny), Agnes (Janicek), Victoria (Furasek) and Frances (Divin); and brothers: Frank, John, Steven and Joe, all of whom are now deceased except Victoria and Anna. Frank Vasa Sr., son of the late Frank and Frances Vasa is the eldest of eight children, with brothers: John, Joe and James; and sisters: Mary (Polacek), Lillian (Grunt), Julie (Vatt), and Agnes (Caudy) all of whom are now deceased, except Agnes and Frank.

Frank and Anna Vasa Sr.

   Upon arrival from the old country, the families made their livings mainly by farm labor and as house maids. Anna's father worked on the Union Pacific railroad for many years and Anna worked as a house maid for George Masek's at Valparaiso and also other households in the area. Frank's father worked at various jobs, having difficulty making ends meet because of some of his personal problems. Frank worked for two years as a farm hand for Anton R. Benes near Valparaiso. The family then rented a farm near Prague which they farmed for four years. The family then obtained a homestead in the Sand Hills near Arthur, Nebraska. Frank's father and sister, Lillian, spent a year there establishing the homestead by building a sod house and some fencing. By 1920, the three older brothers were operating several sections of range land on and adjacent to the original homestead.

   In 1919, after an ice cream cone and one date, Frank and Anna were married in St. John's Church at Prague. They made their home on the ranch at Arthur, where traveling distances were great and difficult, and hardships were many. Since there were no trees for firewood, cow chips were used as fuel for heating and cooking, winters were severe and everything was hand labor. Six children were born with only a midwife in attendance. Their firstborn, however, was lost at birth.

   In 1927, Frank and Anna decided to move back to eastern Nebraska. They purchased a farm near Weston, now part of the James Kellner farm, which they lost in 1934. For the next six years or so they rented farms near Prague, Cedar Bluffs and Weston, moving four different times. In 1944, they purchased a farm south of Weston (now the Joe Vasa farm); in 1950 they purchased the William Proffit farm northwest of Weston where they farmed until retiring in 1960. At that time, they purchased 40 acres at the south edge of Weston. On this they built a new home where they now reside.

   Frank and Anna are the parents of three sons; Joseph, Milo and Frank E. all of Weston, and two daughters; Mrs. Cyril (Rose) Sloop of Prague and Mrs. Donald G. (Helen) Shirley of Lincoln. Frank is now 89 years of age and Anna is 82. Anna recently suffered a stroke and died on February 10, 1983. By Joe Vasa

   Joe, eldest son of Frank and Anna (Bartek) Vasa Sr. of Weston, and Leona Egr, daughter of James and Mary (Polak) Egr of Prague, married in Plasi, April 9, 1947. They reside on a farm four and one-half miles southwest of Weston.

   Besides crops farming, dairying was, and still is, an operation on this farm. It is interesting to think back and relate to the children the progress in the dairy operation from hand milking to the very modern facilities they now have.

The Joe Vasa Family

   Joe and Leona are parents of seven children, five boys and two girls. All attended and graduated from St. John's School, Weston, and Bishop Neumann High School, Wahoo.

   Tom, the eldest, graduated from Kennedy College, spent 4 years in the U.S. Air Force, and is engaged in farming and dairying.

   James enlisted in the Navy after high school, serving 6 years, four of those years as an electrician on the nuclear submarine, USS Hawkbill. Married March 22, 1980 to Barbara Styskal, he has a daughter, Angela, 6 months old.

   Bob attended St. Thomas Seminary in Denver for 4 years, Holy Trinity College in Dallas 4 years, and was ordained a Catholic priest May 22, 1976. After assisting at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln for 2 years, he was sent to study Canon Law at the Gregorian College in Rome 2 years. Upon returning from Rome, he was appointed to the Chancery Office for the Diocese of Lincoln under Bishop Flavin.

   Joanne graduated from Kennedy College and entered the Marillac Provincial House in St. Louis, where she pronounced her vows as a Daughter of Charity. She is at present teaching at St. Louis, Mo.

   Gerald married the former Deborah Heinrichs on April 16, 1977. They reside in Weston. He works for U.P.S. and Debbie works part-time at Weston Co-op Bank.

   Joe Jr. is working as a farmer and dairyman.

   Kathleen, the youngest, is a junior at UNL, majoring in business.

   Joe and Leona have been operating a photography studio in Wahoo for the last 15 years. Joe is also engaged in plumbing, heating, and air conditioning, besides many other various interests. He is a WWII veteran, having served in the Pacific theater as a night fighter pilot. By Leona Vasa

   Milo was born in the Sand Hills of Arthur County on Nov. 3, 1925, the second son of Frank and Anna (Bartek) Vasa. He was four months old when the family moved to a farm near Weston in March, 1926. In 1936, they moved to a farm near Prague, and later moved to Cedar Bluffs and farmed there for four years. Then they moved to Weston on the Frank Vlcan farm, now owned by Ruby Murphy of Wahoo.

   Milo enlisted in the Navy in 1945 and served on the Carrier USS Cabot, in the Pacific and China Seas.

   In a double wedding ceremony April 9, 1947, Milo and brother Joe married Adeline and Leona Egr, daughters of James and Mary (Polak) Egr, at SS. Cyril and Methodius Church in Plasi.

   Milo and Adeline made their home on the Vlcan farm near Weston. Milo worked as a carpenter's apprentice in Millard in 1960 and also farmed. He started his own building business in 1964. Milo and Adeline are the parents of six sons and one daughter: Steve, Lori, Ed, Michael, Tim, Pat and Don. Steve and Tim are in the farming and livestock business. Ed married Sue Fidler of Wahoo and they live in Lincoln. They have two children, Aaron, six and Kristin, five years old. Ed is a building contractor in Lincoln. Lori is employed at the Newman Center at U.N.L. Michael married Barbara Wonka of Weston and has a one-month-old son, Paul Michael. Mike is a partner in his father's business. Patrick

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married Diane Koranda of Wahoo. They have two children, Megan, 1½ and Tyler, 7 mos. They live in Wahoo. He is presently working in construction. He previously worked at American Stores, Lincoln. Don is attending the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is a freshman this year.

   The Vasas attend St. John's Church in Weston. Milo is a choir member and an acolyte. Adeline is a member of the P.C.C.W. and Rosary Sodality.

   They also belong to the Saunders County Czech Club.

   All the children attended St. John's grade school in Weston and all graduated from Neumann High School in Wahoo.

   In 1976, Milon and Adeline built a new home south of Weston, the former Rudy Hronek farm, where they now, reside.

   Anton F. Vasina was born on September 16, 1894 in Prague, Nebraska, son of Anton Vasina, who emigrated from Znori, Czechoslovakia, and Anna Kaspar Vasina, born in Prague, Nebraska. He had two sisters, Christine Tichy and Libbie Shane. He attended Prague schools through 11 grades, and graduated from Wahoo High School in 1915. He attended University of Nebraska, enlisted in the Army and served in France with Base Hospital 49 in World War I.

Anton and Mary Vasina

   Upon return in 1919, he began working as bookkeeper and Assistant Cashier at the State Bank of Colon. When the bank was reorganized in 1930 he was elected Cashier, a position held until his death in Hot Springs, Arkansas, March 15, 1958. He helped organize the Commercial State Bank in Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska and served as President from the time of organization until his death.

   On October 2, 1922 he was married to Mary T. Vybiral. She was born in rural Colon, Nebraska, the oldest of 9 children, to Frank J. Vybiral and Marie Brabec Vybiral. Her father was born in Trebic, Moravia June 13, 1871, and came to this country in 1882 with his parents. Mary moved with her parents to Wahoo, where she attended school and worked until her marriage in 1922. There are four children, Dorothy Ann Warfield, Anthony F. Vasina, Jr., Howard R. Vasina, and Richard J. Vasina.

   Matej Vavak was born in 1817 in Osek near Podebrady, Czechoslovakia. He came to this country in 1868 at age 51 with his wife, Katherine, who was 41. Their children, Joseph, Frank, James, Matej Jr., and Elizabeth (Vavak) Hromas, were also born in Osek.

   They settled on a farm two and a half miles west of Prague, where they built a log cabin for a home. This was several years before the Village of Prague was platted. After a few years a house was built around the log cabin where they, and, afterwards, our grandfather's family lived for many years. This house burned down several years ago. After the fire the old logs were still visible.

   Matej's son, Frank, was my grandfather. He married Victoria Svoboda. They lived on the farm and raised eight children: Frank, Katherine, John, Thomas, Rose (Vavak) Kuncl, Peter, Agnes (Vavak) Vanek, and Victoria (Vavak) Chmelka.

   Grandpa Vavak and his sons farmed near Prague all his life. He also raised a lot of cattle and hogs. In later years he retired to Prague, Nebraska.

   Matej's son, Frank W., my father, married Frances Milacek on Nov. 1, 1910. They moved to a farm one mile north and five and one-half miles west of Weston. They lived and farmed there until 1942 when they retired and moved to Wahoo. During his retirement years, my father worked for Texel Implement, Dolezal Coal and Lumber, and later, for the Wahoo Hatchery where he worked for many years.

   My sister, Martha (Vavak) Hajek, and I were their only children. Martha married Clemm Hajek of Chicago. They had four children, Martha, Marie, David, and Daniel. In 1971, Martha passed away in Chicago.

   My great-grandparents, Matej and Katherine Vavak, are buried two and one-fourth miles west of Prague in a family plot along with two of their children.

   Grandparents Frank and Victoria are on the National Cemetery at Prague, Nebraska. My parents, Frank and Frances, are buried at the Wahoo Sunrise Cemetery. Submitted by Wm. T. Vavak

   Our story began on April 29, 1939 when LaVerne Kubalek and I were married at the Wahoo Czech Presbyterian Church.

Wm. T. and LaVerne Vavak and Grandson -- Craig David Witte

   LaVerne is the daughter of Joseph and Agnes Kubalek of Weston. LaVerne was born about two miles northwest of Weston. She attended District 28 country school and Weston High School. LaVerne has two brothers and four sisters.

   I, William Vavak, was born six miles northwest of Weston, to Frank and Frances Vavak of Weston. I had one sister, Martha. I attended rural Districts #68 and #113, which several years ago has been moved to the Nebraska State Fair Grounds for preservation. My mother also attended District #113. I also attended Weston High School.

   La Verne and I both were confirmed at the Czech Presbyterian Church at Weston and attended there until we moved to near Mead. This church has been given and moved to the Saunders County Historical Society location. We lived near Weston for ten years where we farmed and did custom corn shelling. Our children, Valerie (Vavak) Witte and Garwood, were both born while living near Weston.

   We moved to a farm near Mead in 1949. Valerie and Garwood attended school at Mead. Valerie attended University of Nebraska and received her Master's Degree in Vocational Education. Later in years, she earned her other degree in elementary teaching. She is now in the Yutan Schools, teaching 3rd grade. She also taught Home Economics at Millard for 8 years.

   Garwood attended Milford School, majored in electronics, and also has one year at Opaka Flight School in Florida. He served this country in the National Guard at Louisiana.

   We farmed in the Mead community until our retirement in 1980.

   The boys, Garwood and Willard Witte (Valerie's husband), and I worked and helped each other out a lot during our farming years. I have enjoyed working with the boys. We worked together a lot in many ways and these are pleasant years to remember.

   LaVerne and I remained living on the farm. Garwood has moved to Tampa, Florida. Willard is farming near Yutan. He has a grain and livestock operation. I go out and help him during busy seasons, as it keeps me interested in farming, which I have enjoyed all my life.

   LaVerne and I have been active in community and civic affairs and still belong to several organizations. We head the Saunders County Czech Chapter.

   LaVerne is a board member of the Saunders County Porkettes. She has been a 4-H leader for nearly 15 years.

   In 1970, we worked with the Wahoo Centennial Committee on the "Historical Spectacular". It was a challenge, lots of work, worry and time for a lot of people. But when the last lights were turned off, the spectators or audience let us know that it was a great success. All of us that worked or took part knew. We came through with flying colors. We all gained friends, close relatives with our fellow worker. The memories linger on.

   Mrs. Lindquist said I should mention that for more than 20 years, I have portrayed the part of "Santa Claus" in the Mead Schools and Community Hall. I have visited Yutan Public Schools, Weston, and several country schools. I have made appearances at banquets, Christmas group parties, and many private homes. It's a wonderful world of make-believe to entertain our children, and also the elders.

   LaVerne loves flowers and a beautiful yard; our house has one room for her flowers to prove this. In summer our green lawn, roses, and other flowers are her great joy. I also enjoy all of this. I have some old farm power equipment that I enjoy restoring.

   Our greatest joy is our grandson, Master Craig David Witte, who is growing up real fast and soon will be a young man.

   It's a wonderful life; LaVerne and I are very grateful for good friends and neighbors. We hope to live here on the farm and enjoy all our blessings for a long time.

   Vaclav was born in Bohemia in 1840. His mother's maiden name was Katie Simanek. He and his wife, Frances (Thetman) Vavra, and two sons, James 10, and Frank 7, immigrated to the United States from Bohemia on Febr. 5, 1880. They settled on 80 acres they purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad for $407, one mile east and one mile south of Newton, Nebraska. Newton consisted of a post office and grocery store, which no longer exist.

Front Row: Josephine Cernolavek, Vaclav Vavra, Rose Cisek, Anna Vavra, and Frances Suchy; Back Row: Anna Frank, Emma Milacek, Jennie Kubik, Joe Vavra, Mary Svoboda, and James Vavra.

   Their daughter, Mary, was born June 10, 1882. Almost total lack of medical attention resulted in

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