In 1918, Frank Chmelka and Christina Mach were married in Wahoo. They lived on his father's farm near Plasi. Here, nine children were born: Frank, Joe, Clara, Raymond, Richard, Leonard, Helen, Gladys, and Darlene.
While some of the children were still in grade school, the family moved to a farm five and a half miles north of Malmo, Nebraska. A few years later they purchased a farm three and a half miles north of Malmo.
Frank passed away in January of 1963. Christina still lives on the farm and enjoys her 24 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren at different times of the year. Submitted by Leonard and Shirley Chmelka
JAN (JOHN) AND ANNA
|Jan (John) Chmelka Family. Back Row, L. to R.: Frank, John, August, Rose Chmelka Coufal, Mary Chmelka Consoli, and Anna Chmelka Polak; Front Row: Jan Chmelka and Anna Koza Chemlka.|
On August 1, 1871, Jan (John) applied for an eighty-acre homestead (East ½ of the SW quarter of Section 28, township 15, Range 56). Having placed 50 acres of land under cultivation and having erected a sodhouse, 12x14 with thatched roof, three windows and two doors, a fence, granary, corn crib, well and stable, the final certificate of ownership was granted on Nov. 19, 1877. Later, additional land was purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad.
Jan, Anna, and family lived in the dugout for several years. Here, the remainder of the children were born. Later, Jan built a wooden frame house (traveling to Lincoln by wagon and horses to get the lumber) which he insulated by placing soil or sod between the inner and outer walls.
Anna Koza Chmelka kept busy whitewashing the walls of the dugout and keeping the floor hardened, watching for animals which often burrowed their way through the roof. Here the family spent the blizzard of 1888. The children who were attending school were able to arrive home ahead of the brunt of the storm by following a fence, because the teacher had dismissed them when the snow first started to fall.
Indians had not been much of a bother to the family. Only once a small group stopped for food. The mother was alone with her youngsters so she permitted them to take food from the table where her men had recently completed a meal. The Indians took all the food, including bones, and left without harming anyone. Sometimes buffalo roamed close to the premises.
Anna had to work hard in this prairie home. She had been a doctor's helper in her homeland, but here she served as housewife, mother, and farmhand. When haying and grain harvesting arrived, everyone who was old enough and healthy enough took part in the labor. Anna worked with the men who used scythes to cut the grain and hay. She tied the grain into bundles and helped put the hay on piles which then were heaved to stackers on the hay stacks. Sometimes, if it were a rainy season, the grain bundles were stacked also.
August, the youngest son, lived with his parents when he first was married in 1902. In 1904, Anna Koza Chmelka and Jan Chmelka purchased a house in Prague where they lived until 1924. At this time their children, Mary Consoli, Anna Polak, Rose Coufal, John, Frank, and August decided that the couple was too old to live alone. Once again, they went to live with August in a special room built for them adjoining his farm house near Bee, (Seward County) Nebr. Here they were free to live alone but enjoy meals with the entire family. John died in 1928, and Anna, in 1930. Both are buried in the Bee Cemetery. Submitted by Rosalyn Chmelka
Leonard and I have always been residents of Saunders County. Leonard was born to Frank and Christina Mach Chmelka on a farm near Plasi which is south and west of Prague, Nebraska. This farm had belonged to his grandfather. He often looks at it now and wonders how there was room for them to play baseball in the yard.
Leonard is the sixth child of nine children. He attended school at Dist. #106 until his family moved to a farm five and a half miles north of Malmo, Nebraska. There the children attended Dist. #34. After grade school, he attended Prague High School first, and graduated from Malmo High School.
During the Korean War, he served two years in the Army. After returning home he farmed with his family and worked for Wolf Sand & Gravel Co. About 1953, he started working at the grain elevator in Malmo and has been manager in the Weston Elevator 28 years under different owners.
Leonard has always been a sports fan and spent many years playing first base for the town teams in Prague, Malmo and Weston.
In 1960, he married Shirley Ann Anderson of Weston. I had lived at Weston all my life and attended Weston Public School, both grade school and high school. I was the youngest of three children of Alf and Mary Kriz Anderson. After high school, I attended Luther Junior College, then in Wahoo, and the University of Nebraska. I taught school in Lincoln, Nebraska for three years.
For the first seven years of married life, we lived in Weston. In 1967, we moved to a farm we had purchased a mile north of Malmo.
We have four children: James, Nancy, Thomas and Barbara. Jim started school in Weston and, from first grade on, he and the other three children have attended school in Malmo, District #36. After grade school, our children attend Wahoo High School.
Our family is active in the First Baptist Church in Weston and we both hold offices. We also belong to the Legion and Auxiliary. Leonard has served on the school board in Weston, and is presently secretary of the school board in Malmo.
We have always been thankful that we were so close to our families. Submitted by Shirley Anderson Chmelka
Matej Chmelka and his wife, Teresia Slavik, left their farm in Slavetice, Moravia (Czechoslovakia) and arrived in the state of Nebraska in 1871. Their family included two sons and a daughter. The oldest son, Jan (John), was married and had a small child, Mary.
Matej selected a site for his homestead in Elk Township, Saunders County, Nebraska. On Febr. 9, 1872, he filed an application to obtain an 80-acre tract. Final approval was given on July 24, 1877. Mr. Chmelka had placed under cultivation 60 acres of that land, had erected a 14x16 foot house, built a stable, corn crib, and granary, and found a spring for water. This homestead site was inherited by his son, Anton, after Matej's death in 1902.
Both Matej and Teresia are buried in the Plasi Cemetery. However, each is buried in a different area.
|Matej and Teresia Chmelka|
Many years ago it was the policy of the Cemetery Board to bury the people according to their time of death and not according to family. Teresia died Nov. 22, 1894, having suffered many years of diabetes. Matej died in 1902 and is buried in the center of the old cemetery under an evergreen tree. His wife is buried in the first row near the road which runs south of the cemetery and church.
Matej and Teresia's children were John, Caroline (Matej) Rerucha, and Anton, married to Anna Chernohlavek. John's children were Mary, Anna, John, Frank, Rose, August. Caroline's children were Victoria, Adolf, Teresia, Emil, and Kristina. Anton had no children.
Julius Christensen migrated from Langeland, Denmark soon after the Civil War. He was first a lumberjack in Wisconsin, making railroad ties. Later, he came to Omaha where he was employed by the Union Pacific railroad as a bridge carpenter. His first assignment was helping to build the bridge over the Missouri River in 1872. He continued with the railroad, moving west, building bridges. He endured Indian raids, grasshopper plagues, heat, cold and drought. He wanted to purchase farm land and realized the soil of western Nebraska was not good for farming, so he returned to Saunders County.
|The Andrew Christensen Family. Front Row: Anna, Eugene, Dr. J.B. and Andrew; Back Row: Evelyn Reid, Leona Langhorst, and Alice James.|
In 1868 Julius claimed land six miles south of Fremont in the Pohocco precinct. The original certificate of ownership signed by the United States President, Ulysses S. Grant, is still in the family. Julius also purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad forty acres of land across the road from his original property. The government had given ten miles of alternating sections on either side of the railroad to the Union Pacific. After establishing his farm, Julius sent for his fiance in Denmark. He met Christina in Omaha where they were married. She passed away in 1875 at twenty-five years of age. She was survived by Julius, who never remarried, and Andrew W., a son, who was born in 1871. Julius donated two acres of his land for a church and cemetery. The Pohocco Lutheran church has been open continuously since then. Julius passed away at 88 years, 1845-1933.
Andrew continued to live on the farm during his lifetime. In 1900, he married Anna Nielsen. They had five children, Leona, Evelyn, Julius, Alice and Eugene. The youngest, Eugene, lost his life during
W.W. II. Andrew and Anna were pioneers in developing their community.
The church was dear to their hearts, and they had a special interest in its success. Andrew was one of the instigators in planning a local insurance company. He promoted two cooperative elevators, one at Leshara, the other at Woodcliff, which included a Lumber Yard. He was on the board of the Leshara State Bank, the District #46 School Board, and the Church board. Andrew was very interested in telephone service for the community. There were no phones at that time, so he purchased two phones, placed one in his home and the other across the road in his fathers home. The first call made was answered by Anna and her father-in-law said, "Come over for coffee." Soon the neighbors wished to be included, so Andrew strung telephone lines and was the main trouble shooter for years. Andrew's life span was 1871-1944, 73 years. Anna lived 91 years, 1874-1965.
Evelyn, the second daughter of Andrew and Anna, now has the title to the original farm which has been in the family for 107 years. Submitted by Evelyn B. Reid
Richard and Rose Murphy Christensen and son, Michael, took up residence in Valparaiso, Saunders County, Nebraska on Nov. 6, 1953. They parked their 26x8-foot trailer house on land owned by G.W. Hyatt on Spruce Street between 5th and 6th. Mr. Christensen had been assigned to Valparaiso by Union Pacific Railroad Co. as section foreman to replace Tom Gatos who had retired.
A daughter, Susan, was born in 1954 and a son, David, in 1956. In May, 1958, the family purchased the Etna -- Hayden -- Geib home at 345 west 7th Street and moved in shortly before the birth of their son, Terence, in Nov., 1958. A daughter, Peggy, was born in 1960.
In 1960, Union Pacific abolished over half of their section crews, including Weston and Valparaiso. Mr. Christensen then went to work on a Union Pacific communications crew, working over the Nebraska division until May, 1961 when he entered the employ of American Stores Packing Company in Lincoln, Nebr., as assistant sanitation supervisor. A daughter, Jeanne, was born in 1965.
Mr. Christensen held several positions with American Stores, including night superintendent and, currently, cured meats superintendent. He was the leader of Boy Scout Troop 144 of Valparaiso from 1957-1960.
Mrs. Christensen entered the employ of Valparaiso Elementary School as a teachers' aide in 1973, a position she still maintains. She is a member of the Valparaiso Women's Club, St. Mary and Joseph Altar Society, and has served on the Community Improvement Council and Village Planning Commission.
The family are members of Ss. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church (formed by merging the parishes of St. Mary's of Valparaiso and St. Joseph's of Agnew in 1975) and moved into their new church at 637 Iver in 1977. (The old St. Mary's church was located at 5th and Oak) where the youngest 4 children were baptized. Mrs. Christensen has been a religious education teacher for the parish since 1971, and Peggy is a lector/reader.
Richard Alden Christensen was born in Fargo, North Dakota on April 6, 1932, and attended grade schools in Fargo, and Ralston, Nebraska, and graduated from Benson High School in Omaha in 1949. He then moved to Columbus, Nebr. where he met and married Rose Marie Murphy at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church on April 19, 1952. Rose Marie was born in Columbus on June 29, 1932 and graduated from Columbus High School in 1950. She was employed in the news department of "The Columbus Daily Telegram" before her marriage. The family lived in Columbus, Omaha, and Ogallala before moving to Valparaiso.
Michael graduated from Neumann High School in Wahoo, Nebraska where Jeanne is now a senior student. Susan, David, Terry and Peggy graduated from Raymond Central High School, located 7 miles southeast of Valparaiso on the former Agnew missile base. Michael was ordained a priest for the Lincoln Diocese in 1979 and is currently stationed in Lincoln. Susan resides in Lincoln with her husband, J. William Brown Jr., and their son, Ryan. She is a special education teacher.
In June, 1963, the western part of Valparaiso was flooded including the Christensen home. After the flood, the cellar was filled in, foundation replaced and front and back porches built in as part of the house. The family took shelter with neighbors "uphill to the east of Hwy. 79" until the water went down.
In 1979, the Nebraska State Highway Department "appropriated a strip of land off the west side of the Christensen property (District Court case in Wahoo Dec., 1979) for an access street to connect Valparaiso with the then newly-located Hwy. 66 from 5th Street to south of town. A basement was dug to the east of the house and the house moved onto it, and a new garage built south of the house to replace the old one displaced by the state.
POSTSCRIPT: American Stores closed Dec. 4, 1982 leaving Mr. Christensen unemployed after 22 years. He is currently trying out a job in Denver. If nothing turns up around here, we may have to move to Denver, but the children will live in and maintain our home here. By Rose Marie Christensen
THE ENOCH CHRITTON FAMILY
In the spring of 1864, Enoch Blackwell Chritton arrived on the north end of Saunders County after a 24-day trip from Illinois to find a homestead. He decided to settle just south of the Platte River, southwest of Fremont, where he saw young trees, ash, maple, hickory, elm, and oak; springs of clear water; and rich black soil. He stretched his full six-feet-two, and shouted for joy.
He went to Nebraska City and filed a claim for the land which he proved up in five years. Later, in September, he returned to Illinois where he worked through the winter to return with his family.
The family consisted of his invalid wife, Salome Snyder Chritton, and their children, Urah Jane who married Daniel Rensler Wells; Cynthy Ann who married Frank N. Moore; William George who married Elizabeth Hawke; Rachael Ellen who married Samuel Wellington Barrett; Sarah Elizabeth who married Bernard M. Carson; Mary Elmina "Mina" who married Samuel W. Beaver; and Bodessa May "Dessie" who married Charles J. Wollen. A son, John, died when young. Enoch came from a very large family whose parents were Cornelius Sanford Chritton and Urah Drake. Salome was the daughter of George Snyder.
The Chrittons returned with a caravan of seven families. Wagons were pulled by horses, oxen, and even milch cows. Salome was brought in a bed inside the wagon where the girls cared for her. Bags of feed and seed tucked beneath built-in bunks by day furnished sleeping pallets for the children at night. They all settled on adjoining claims, and thus a settlement of old neighbors in a new location was formed.
One of the daughters, Mrs. Carson, once related, "Father planted our garden on some old breakin' two miles from home, some was farther. We raised plenty of good garden stuff, but it was a long way to go to hoe and tend. After that our garden was on our own land".
Some corn was planted, but wheat was the main crop. A mill was at Ithaca, 20 miles southwest. To go there and exchange wheat and corn for flour and meal meant a two-day trip. Therefore, enough was taken to make a year's supply of those necessities.
Fremont lay four miles northeast, as the birds fly, across the Platte. The pioneers made their visits there for supplies and mail by raft or ford in the summer, and during the winter by crossing the ice, either on foot or by team and sled. Lady luck rode with them as casualties were few.
The invalid wife and mother never regained her health. She died in 1874, and Enoch buried her on two acres of land at the edge of the timber, on a sunny hillside, sloping west, as a family burial ground. The Pioneer Cemetery, as it was later called, was used by the community for about 25 years. In 1883, Enoch himself was called home, and kind relatives brought his body there and laid it beside Salome. Submitted by Terilee Freeman Roberts
BERNARD CHVATAL FAMILY
Bernard and Margaret (Sabatka) Chvatal, married June 9, 1942 at Weston, Nebraska, are farming one-half mile north of Malmo. Bernard, son of Martin and Mary (Ladenburger) Chvatal, born Dec. 9, 1919, attended School District 75 and graduated from Malmo High School in 1938. His sisters are Adeline (Mrs. Wm. Stuchlik) and Clayre (Mrs. Leo Sabatka), and his brother is Donald F. His grandparents are Anton and Mary (Mahlik) Chvatal and John and Anna (Herbacek) Ladenburger of Prague.
Margaret, daughter of George and Gabriela (Meduna) Sabatka, Swedeburg, born April 27, 1921, attended School Dist. 32 and graduated from Wahoo High School in 1938. Brothers are Edward and Ernest A. Sabatka and sisters are Georgianne (Mrs. Stanley Bouc) and Eleanor (Mrs. Edwin Swartz). Her grandparents are Frank and Mary (Hakel) Meduna and Anton and Mary (Krafka) Sabatka of Weston.
Martin Chvatal passed away Nov. 23, 1968, Mary Chvatal on May 21, 1951, and George Sabatka on July 2, 1970. Gabriela Sabatka, age 89 on March 4, 1983, is living in Wahoo.
There are five Chvatal children. Karen, born April 14, 1944, graduated from Wahoo High 1962 and married John Kometer, July 27, 1963 at Colon. Their children are Kevin, Pamela, Ryan, and Tim. They live in Palatine, Illinois. Jerome, born June 2, 1945, graduated from Wahoo High in 1963, and married Sharon Honaker on Nov. 27, 1969 at Colon. Their children are Michelle and Cindi. They live in Waverly, Nebr. Lene Jean, born Febr. 23, 1949, graduated from Wahoo Neumann in 1967 and married John Kirchmann at Colon on Oct. 25, 1969. Their children are Tricia, Julie, and Michael and they farm near Ashland.
Burneil, born July 25, 1951, graduated from Wahoo High in 1969. He married Linda Schmer at Colon on Sept. 27, 1969. Their children are Lisa, Amy, Tim, and they live at Colon. Martin, born Nov. 8, 1957, graduated from Wahoo Neumann in 1976. He plans to marry Jennifer Sprigg of Marshall, Missouri on April 9, 1983 at Colon. He farms near Malmo.
Bernard and Margaret are members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Choir, Colon, and the Saunders County Czech Club. Margaret is a member of the Altar Sodality, Catholic Daughters of America, Malmo Matrons Extension Club, and Malmo American Legion Auxiliary. Bernard is a member of Malmo Vol. Fire Dept., Knights of Columbus, and a 25-year member of the Livestock Feeders Association.
The year 1942 was during World War II. Many items were rationed and stamps were issued for gasoline, sugar, shoes, etc. In the 40's, Butler County Rural Power District furnished electric power to the Malmo area. Water systems, electric lights, and refrigeration were enjoyed for the first time. The Northeast Nebraska Telephone Co. installed dial telephones in 1961. Bernard and his father purchased the farm from Mrs. Bernard (Nettie) Wolters of West Liberty, Iowa in 1950.
Malmo rural mail route was extended to the farm on July 1, 1970. Mail was always picked up at the Malmo Post Office before. The last class graduated from Malmo High School in 1958. In August, 1980, the road was paved north of Malmo. The schoolhouse was torn down in May, 1981, and a new school house was built and opened in August. Under construction, August, 1982, is a dam adjoining the farm to the north. Bernard and Margaret celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary in June, 1982 with an open house. All of their family were present as well as many friends. These are a few of the events that happened during the 40 years we have lived near Malmo. Submitted by Bernard Chvatal
THE MARTIN CHVATAL
|Back, L. to R.: Donald and Bernard Chvatal; Front, L. to R.: Clayre Sabatka and Adeline Stuchlik.|
Albin and Cecilia Cihacek live on a farm in Bohemia Precinct, one and one-half miles west of Morse Bluff, Nebraska. The farm was purchased by his parents, John A. Cihacek and Eva (Votava) Cihacek, in 1910. His parents were born and raised in Butler County. Albin was born September 23, 1912 and raised on this farm. He attended District 15, a country school and Morse Bluff High School District 14. Albin had one older brother, Emil, of North Bend, Nebraska (now deceased). Albin's parents retired and moved to North Bend in 1948. His mother passed away July 18, 1964 and his father passed away February 3, 1971.
Albin and Cecilia (Sousek) were married April 29, 1947 in Sacred Heart Church, Cedar Hill. Cecilia is a daughter of Joseph Sousek and Josephine (Mach) Sousek. Her father was born in Czechoslovakia and her mother was born near Weston, Nebraska. They spent most of their lives in Saunders County, farming in the Malmo and Morse Bluff areas. Cecilia was born April 1, 1918 near Malmo, Nebraska. She attended Prague Parochial School for four years, Dist. 79, for 4 years, and Prague High School. She had two younger brothers and a sister: Joseph (deceased in infancy), Edward of Morse Bluff, and Mrs. Robert (Geraldine) Janousek of Omaha. Her parents retired from farming and moved to North Bend in 1952, where her mother still resides. Her father passed away August 16, 1962.
Albin and Cecilia have four sons: Larry, born April 21, 1948; Dennis, February 9, 1952; Gene, July 8, 1955; and Kenneth, October 16, 1958. All four attended Morse Bluff Elementary School and North Bend Central High School. Larry was a graduate of the University of Nebraska with B.S. and M.S. degrees; he was also enrolled in the R.O.T.C. program there. He received his Ph.D. at Iowa State. Presently he is Area Research Agronomist and Plant Nutrition Specialist for New Mexico State University. He married Karen Fossler of Beatrice, Nebraska, November 23, 1973. Dennis was a graduate of University of Nebraska. Presently he is Technical Service Supervisor for Rhone-Poulenc Inc., Agro-Chemical Division. He lives in Omaha, Ne. Gene attended Milford Technical College at Milford, Nebraska. Presently he is employed by Omaha Public Power District. He married Linda Ludwig of Wisner, Ne., April 22, 1978. They have two daughters, Angela Marie and Jennifer Lynn. They live in Arlington, Nebraska. Kenneth is a graduate of University of Nebraska. He is presently employed with Cominco American Fertilizer Co. in Arlington, Texas.
Albin and Cecilia have been active in church and community functions. Albin served nine years on the Morse Bluff Public Grade School Board, the Watershed Board for Saunders County and the Advisory Board for the Natural Resources District. They were also honored as the Conservation Farm Family for 1968 by the Saunders County Soil and Water Conservation District. In 1982, they received an Honorary Membership Award from the University of Nebraska Agronomy Club. By Cecilia Cihacek
Albert (Vojtech) Cihal was born at Zasovice near Trebic, Moravia on April 20, 1890. His parents were Matej and Anna Jirovsky Cihal. He was the sixth born of ten children. His older brother, Frank, came to Nebraska in 1902. An older sister, Fanny Tesar, nee Frantiska Cihal, came to Wahoo in 1904. Albert came to Nebraska in 1908.
|Albert Cihal, Sr., 1947 -- Valparaiso, NE|
He left home quietly and secretly as he was eligible for draft in the Austrian army. He did not wish to serve for Emperor Franz Josef. He did not even want to tell his young brother, Rudolf, age 7, that he was going away. He sneaked away from him through the back yard orchard.
Here, in Saunders County, he worked on farm for a few years. His first job on the Frank Snitily farm was disappointing. He was lonesome and unhappy on this place away from close neighbors. Fun with his young friends in his home village was what he missed most. He said that, during the first few days, he would have returned to Moravia at once if he would have had the money for passage back. So he had to stay.
Eventually he became used to rural life. He made acquaintances. His cousin, Mike Dvorak, was very close to him as a companion. They went to dances and celebrations together as well as visiting relatives.
After a few years, Albert was able to start farming. He rented several different farms in Butler and Seward Counties. He married Albina Fiala on Febr. 18, 1918 at Dwight. They had three children who are Mrs. Albina Sisel, Dwight; Albert Cihal, Davey; and Mrs. Emma Greenwald of Oakland, California. In 1947, he bought an 80-acre farm one mile north of Valparaiso, described as E ½ of NW ¼, Section 23, Oak Creek Township. His wife, Albina, died in 1947.
Albert farmed alone until he retired to a house in Valparaiso in 1970. He lived just east of the Catholic Church. That was his home until health failed him. Finally, he went to the David Place in David City. He died there on Oct. 11, 1979 and is buried in the Dwight Assumption Church Cemetery.
Besides his three children, he was survived by ten grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. His brother, Rudolf, died in Moravia on Mar. 26, 1982, the last of that generation of the Cihal family. Submitted by Frank T. Tesar
My father, Ladislav Joseph Cihal, was born to Thomas and Josephine (Cihal) Cihal on February 8, 1896 in Mikulovice, Czechoslovakia.
In February of 1912, my dad came to the United States. He was about sixteen years old when his Uncle, Stanley F. Cihal (my grandmother's brother), returned to Czechoslovakia from the United States to bring my dad back to America with him. They intended to come to the United States on the Titanic, but the ship left about a month after they planned to leave. Instead they came on the German ship, the Kisor-Wilhelm.
They returned to the Midwest and Dad did work in the meat-packing plants in Omaha during the winter months, and the rest of the year spent working as a farm hand in Saunders County for farmers in the area. He did work a short time in Butler County too.
In June of 1923, he married Marie A. Musil at Weston, Nebraska. My parents farmed in Saunders County first in the Touhy area, and then, in about 1943, they rented a farm southwest of Wahoo.