2. Reason for leaving to USA from the Czech Republic (concerning your or

Czechamericans questionnaire Dotazník pro Čechoameričany

Age Věk: 44

Sex Pohlaví: female

State Stát: Texas

1. What generation of Czech in the USA are you? Která generace Čechů žijící v USA jste? On my Matlock side, I am second generation born in the U.S. On the Hubacek side of the family, I am third generation born in the U.S. Mark was born in Madrid, Spain on a U.S. Airforce base. On Mark's Zmek side, he is also second generation natural-born American and third generation on the other brances of the family.

2. Reason for leaving to USA from the Czech Republic (concerning your or your ancestors), choose from the following: religious

social

political

Důvod odchodu z České republiky do USA (týkající se Vás nebo Vašich rodičů, prarodičů), vyberte z následujících: náboženský

sociální

politický

We are not sure why any of the families immigrated to the U.S. If you have any thoughts on the subject based on the towns, family names, and years, we would love to hear from you.

3. Are you interested in what is happening in Czech Republic? (e.g. on-line newspaper, on-line Czech tv) Zajímáte se o dění v České republice? (např.on-line tisk, zpravodajství ČT) I listen a little extra if I hear a news story that mentions the Czech Republic, but we do not seek out information through on-line newspapers or on-line Czech TV.

4. Do you have any family in Czech Republic who you are in contact with? Máte v České republice nějaké příbuzné, se kterými jste v kontaktu? Mark and I, along with our son, Jarrett, travelled to the Czech Republic in 2005 and met Matlocha relatives who still live there. We are in touch with them once or twice a year by mail.

5. Do you occasionally visit Czech Republic? Have you already been to Czech Republic since 1989? Jezdíváte do České republiky?Byla/byl jste už v České republice po roce 1989? Our trip in 2005 was our only visit to the Czech Republic. We plan to return again in a few years (maybe 2013 or 2014).

6. Did you feel like coming back to Czech Republic after 1989 events? Neměli jste chuť vrátit se do České republiky po událostech v roce 1989? Our trip in 2005 was really a dream come true. I had always wanted to travel to the Czech Republic because I was very close to my Matlock grandparents.

7. Are you in contact with other Czechs living in the USA? Do you have friends among them? Jste v kontaktu s jinými Čechy žijícími v USA? Máte mezi nimi přátele? Yes, we have LOTS of friends here in the U.S. who are of Czech descent. In fact, just being Czech creates an immediate bond when Czech meet here.

8. Are you a member of some Czech organisation or club? If so, which ones? Jste členem/členkou nějakého krajanského spolku či organizace? Pokud ano, uveďte. Mark is a member of the Illinois Czech Slovak Genealogical Society and I am a member of the Czech Heritage Society of Texas.

9. Do you attend some cultural activities organised by Czech organisations

or Czech cultural center? Navštěvujete kulturní akce organizované krajanskými spolky nebo Českým kulturním centrem? Yes, we frequently attend Czech cultural activities organized by Czech organizations or Czech cultural centers. Texas has a large Czech presence. In fact, at one time Czech was the 3rd most spoken language in the state. With all the international immigration, I am not sure if that is still true these days. Mostly Mark and I attend Czech Heritage Society meetings and events, or dances at the SPJST lodge or other local venues. We also visit Czech Heritage museums and archives here in Texas. We also frequently stop at various Czech bakeries in Texas for kolace.

10. Do you speak Czech? Do you use Czech with your family? Máte aktivní češtinu? Používáte češtinu doma? We do not speak Czech. We did attend several classes of Czech language through the Czech Heritage society prior to our 2005 trip. We also purchased a few phrase books and a beginner audio course on the Czech language. We learned a few Czech phrases that helped us on our trip. We still pick up a new word occasionally. Just this past week, I purchased a Czech Bible from the Czech Culture Center in LaGrange, Texas. Hopefully I will learn a few more new words.

11. Do you still celebrtate some of the Czech holidays? (e.g. Mikuláš, dušičky), Does Christmas mean Ježíšek or Santa Claus for you? Slavíte stále některé z českých svátků (např. Mikuláš, dušičky)? Slavíte Ježíška nebo Santa Claus? We do not celebrate any specific Czech holidays. We do celebrate American and Christian holidays. Christman is all about the birth of Christ, yet Santa Clause is always a part of the secular part of the celebration, too.

12. What Czech traditions or customs do you keep? Do you cook Czech cuisine? Jaké české tradice a zvyky dodržujete? Vaříte nějaká česká jídla? We "collect" rather than "keep" some Czech traditions. In our home, we have some of the Czech decorated eggs and quite a bit of Czech crystal. We even still have a bottle of slivovice in the liquor cabinet from our 2005 trip. Mark had a bad spell with slivovice while were were there and has not quite been up to partaking of it again too much yet. I have several Czech recipes, but I do not do a lot of any kind of cooking, much less Czech cooking. I would love to learn to make kolace. My sister does a fair job at it, so I will have to get her to teach me some day. We also have a few signs at our house and bumper stickers on our vehicles with Czech phrases on them.

13. Is it important for you to keep Czech traditions and customs in your family? Je pro Vás důležité zachovat české zvyky ve Vaší rodině? I really wish my family had maintained some of the Czech traditions and customs so I could continue them on. Of course, as other heritages have married in with the Czech families, many traditions and customs are lost. However, Mark and I are fairly active in dancing and keeping the Czech music alive. We do not dance the traditional folk dances, but do dance to Czech polkas and waltzes.

14. Is there any purely Czech aspect you would like to sustain in your family? Je nějaký ryze český aspekt, který byste chtěl/chtěla ve Vaší rodině zachovat? My fondest memories of my grandparents include the food, the music, and the language. These are the things I would most like to sustain although I have not done a great job of it just yet.

15. Do you feel at least partially Czech? Why? Cítíte se alespoň částečně Čech/Češka? Proč? I actually feel more Czech than my 3/8 Czech blood. Mark has similar feelings, too. My attachment to Czech is strictly through the relationship I had with my grandparents. Mark's connection to his Czech side is because he has been able to identify the Czech and German as specific to his hertiage. He does not know all the parts of his ancestry so has connected strongly to those parts that he has identified.

16. What is your current relation towards Czech Republic? Jaký je Váš současný vztah k České republice? Our current relation toward the Czech Republic is warm. We think of it very often.

17. Are you proud of a success of Czechs in the USA? Jste hrdí na úspěch Čechů v USA? Yes, there are many Czech who have made significant contributions to the U.S.

Space for comment: Místo pro další komentář: If you would like to contact us, please send email to [email protected] and [email protected]. It is important to send correspondence to both email addresses since some of the emails from the Czech Republic do not always get received. We hope you find this information valuable for your thesis. Good luck on your future ambitions. Please contact us if you ever travel to the U.S. We would welcome you to a visit to our home. Mark and Sandy Wilkerson

Thank you for helping me with this questionnaire, Ivana Stavařová. [email protected]