THE CZECHS OF CLEVELAND
Social Clubs.
“Damska Beseda,” which means “Ladies’ Party,” is the name of groups that meet socially at the homes of their members in five different parts of the city; while the “Ceska Narodna Beseda” is a Social club of men, owning a club house at 5334 Broadway.
The Bohemian Old Settlers’ association is another social organization which affords great pleasure to its members. Kamil Wiesenberger is president, and this organization with the co-operation of many others, is interested actively in the effort to establish a “Bohemian Old People’s Home.” This effort was in obeyance during the war, but is now being actively resumed.
Education.
In the matter of education, the Czech utilizes every opportunity for himself and tries to gain for his children more than he has had. Girls are considered quite as fit as boys for education, and the roster of the various high schools, particularly South, Lincoln, East Technical, and the High School of Commerce show very large proportion of Czech names. Many of the girls go to Normal school, and become teachers, the class of 1919 containing a large number of Czech names. A good proportion also go to college, and many young men take up the professions of law, medicine, and dentistry.
Dr. Joseph Sykora, who was graduated from the Cleveland Medical College and began practice in 1875, was the first Bohemian doctor. For many years he drove a yellow horse, which became familiar to all Czech Cleveland, and it was a common saying that as soon as the yellow horse appeared upon the street, the patient began to recover.
Joseph Jicha, a Cleveland young man of Czech parentage won the first prize at the Cleveland School of Art in 1919, and the second honors went to a Bohemian girl, Helen Srp, of Bedford.
During the last two winters, the Bohemian-Russian club consisting of about 50 persons, has met twice a week with a Russian teacher to study the Russian language. Their object is three fold; first cultural; second, to prepare themselves to further trade relations with Russia; and third, to assist in the development of fellowship throughout the Slav race.
The Broadway Library.
The love of books is a natural accompaniment of intelligence and education, therefore it is not surprising that as early as 1895, the Czechs of Cleveland requested the addition of Bohemian books to the public library. This request was granted soon after, and ever since Czech literature has been given place and consideration. When the present system of branch libraries was in its infancy, the Czechs of the Broadway district presented a petition, which resulted in the erection in 1906 of the Broadway Branch Library at Broadway and East 55th streets. The overwhelming nature of the first demands upon it are a permanent tradition in the library organization. Not a book was left in the childrens’ room at the end of the first day, and Bohemian books had to be purchased as emergency orders wherever they could be found, in order to satisfy what seemed to be an insatiable demand. After the first rush was over, a collection of 4,000 volumes was found to be adequate to the needs in the Bohemian language, the books being read most by the old people and the newcomers. The Broadway library has 11,000 active borrowers, of whom about sixty-five per cent are either Czech or of Czech
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