 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Czech independence celebration demonstrates a pride in heritage
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT
© St. Petersburg Times, MASARYKTOWN -- Nearly 300 gathered in Masaryktown on Sunday to celebrate 83 years of Czechoslovakian independence. The annual event, which began the year after Masaryktown was founded in 1924, is somewhat of a homecoming for those of Czech heritage. A national holiday in Czechoslovakia, the day commemorates the founding of a free and democratic republic in 1918 from the ashes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Masaryktown took its name from Thomas Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of the newly created and now fragmented Czechoslovakia. Many of the town's original settlers were Czechoslovakian immigrants from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York who made a living in the citrus industry. When hard freezes brought hard times, many settlers went north. Those who stayed found work in the poultry industry. In recent decades, the Masaryktown celebration has served as somewhat of a homecoming for people of Czech descent, said Pauline Chorvat,Masaryktown's honorary mayor. "I know we have 18 coming up from Miami to be here," she said as she sold tickets for an authentic Slavic dinner at the entrance of the Masaryktown Community Center. "People make the trip here year after year," she said. Millie Otruba, who came to Masaryktown from Connecticut in 1973, helped serve the nearly 300 people who came for the traditional fare like chicken, kielbasa sausage, potatoes, sauerkraut, applesauce and pastries. "We don't have as many people here as we used to have," said Otruba, who remembers a time when the celebration drew about 800 people. "All the children have grown and there is no one who wants to take over now. It is very sad." For Irene Alexuk, who came to Masaryktown in 1929, the music, dancing and food bring back fond memories despite the country's current political climate. "We try to have the same celebration we always have," said Alexuk, who sold Buchta, traditional Slavic desserts like those her own mother used to make. "Things here are very much the same." "This is a good community fellowship type of event," said Bob Fowle, retired minister of Masaryktown Baptist Church. "There are a lot of good people here."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
