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Czech American
Čechoameričané

Notable Czech Americans: Louis Brandeis • George Halas Thomas Cech • Anton Cermak • Madeleine Albright Jim Lovell • Eugene Cernan
Total population
Czech or Czechoslovak 1,703,930 Americans [1] 0.6% of the US population
Regions with significant populations
Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, New York
Languages
American English, Czech
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Protestantism, Atheism
Related ethnic groups
Czechs, Poles, Slovaks

Czech Americans (Czech: Čechoameričané) are citizens of the United States who were born in, or who descended from, the territory of the historic Czech lands, (consisting of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic (however, the descendants of German-speakers from these lands might choose to identity themselves as German Americans). In the 19th century, they were frequently called Bohemians. According to the 2000 US census, there are 1,262,527 Americans of full or partial Czech descent, in addition to 441,403 persons listing their ancestry as Czechoslovak.

History[link]

The first documented case of the entry of Czechs to the North American shores is of Joachim Gans of Prague, who came to Roanoke, North Carolina in 1585 with an expedition of explorers organized by Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618).

Augustine Herman (1621–1686) was the first documented Czech settler. He was a surveyor and skilled draftsman, successful planter and developer of new lands, a shrewd and enterprising merchant, a bold politician and effective diplomat, fluent in several languages. After coming to New Amsterdam (present New York) he became one of the most influential people in the Dutch Province which led to his appointment to the Council of Nine to advise the New Amsterdam Governor Peter Stuyvesant. One of his greatest achievements was his celebrated map of Maryland and Virginia commissioned by Lord Baltimore on which he began working in earnest after removing to the English Province of Maryland. Lord Baltimore - Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore - was so pleased with the map that he rewarded Herman with a large estate, named by Herman "Bohemia Manor", and the hereditary title Lord.

There was another Bohemian living in New Amsterdam at that time, Frederick Philipse (1626–1720), who became equally famous. He was a successful merchant who, eventually, became the wealthiest person in the entire Dutch Province. Philipse was originally from Bohemia, from an aristocratic Protestant family who had to leave their native land to save their lives, after the Thirty Years' War.

The first significant wave of Czech colonists was of the Moravian Brethren who began arriving on the American shores in the first half of the 18th century. Moravian Brethren were the followers of the teachings of the Czech religious reformer and martyr Jan Hus (1370–1415) and Bishop John Amos Comenius (1592–1670). They were true heirs of the ancient "Unitas fratrum" - Unity of the Brethren bohemicorum, who found a temporary refuge in Herrnhut ("Ochranov," in Czech language) in Lusatia under the patronage of Count Nikolaus Zinzendorf (1700–1760). Because of the worsening political and religious situation in Saxony, the Moravian Brethren, as they began calling themselves, decided to emigrate to North America.

They started coming in 1735, when they first settled in Savannah, Georgia, and then in Pennsylvania, from which they spread to other states after the American Revolution, especially Ohio. They established a number of Moravian settlements, such as Bethlehem and Lititz in Pennsylvania and Salem in North Carolina. Moravians made great contributions to the growth and development of the US. Cultural contributions of Moravian Brethren from the Czech lands were distinctly notable in the realm of music. The trumpets and horns used by the Moravians in Georgia are the first evidence of Moravian instrumental music in America.

In 1776, at the time of the Declaration of Independence, more than two thousand Moravian Brethren lived in the colonies. The Moravian Brethren established a close relationship with President Thomas Jefferson, who designated special lands to the missionaries to civilize the Indians and promote Christianity.

The free uncultivated land in America encouraged immigration throughout the nineteenth century; most of the immigrants were farmers and settled in the Midwestern states. During the American Civil War, Czechs served in both the Confederate and Union army, but as with most immigrant groups, the majority fought for the Union. Immigration resumed and reached a peak in 1907, when 13,554 Czechs entered the eastern ports. Unlike previous immigration, new immigrants were predominantly Catholic. By 1910, the Czech population was 349,000, and by 1940 it was 1,764,000. The U.S. Bureau of the Census reported that nearly 800,000 Czechs were residing in the U.S. in 1970. Since this figure did not include Czechs who had been living in the U.S. for several generations, it is fair to assume that the actual number was much higher.

Population[link]

The top 50 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Czech ancestry[link]

The top 50 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Czech ancestry are:^[2]

1. West, TX 40.9%
2. Oak Creek NE 38.2%
3. Wilber, NE 37.3%
4. Shiner, TX 32.1%
5. Montgomery, MN (township) 30.9%
6. Lonsdale, MN 30.5%
7. Wheatland, MN 29.9%
8. Tyndall, SD 29.5%
9. David City, NE 28.0%
10. Montgomery, MN (city) 26.3%
11. Franklin, WI 26.1%
12. Lanesburgh, MN 25.2%
13. Granger, TX 25.1%
14. Port Costa, CA 24.0%
15. Schulenburg, TX 23.7%
16. New Prague, MN and Erin, MN 23.5%
17. Wahoo, NE 22.7%
18. Carlton, WI 22.4%
19. Wallis, TX 22.0%
20. Hallettsville, TX 21.5%
21. Hale, MN 20.8%
22. Montpelier, WI 19.7%
23. Flatonia, TX 19.5%
24. West Kewaunee, WI 19.2%
25. Schuyler, NE and Webster, NE 19.0%
26. Gibson, WI 18.9%
27. Hillsboro, WI 18.4%
28. Kossuth, WI 18.2%
29. Lexington, MN 18.1%
30. Mishicot, WI 16.9%
31. Kewaunee, WI and North Bend, NE 16.7%
32. Franklin, WI 15.9%
33. Oak Grove, WI and Caldwell, TX 15.7%
34. Lake Mary, MN 15.4%
35. Solon, IA 15.2%
36. Mishicot, WI 15.0%
37. Helena, MN 14.9%
38. Marietta, NE 14.7%
39. Stickney, IL 14.5%
40. Ord, NE and Weimar, TX 14.3
41. Crete, NE 14.2%
42. Park River, ND 14.1%
43. Ord, NE and La Grange, TX 14.0%
44. Wagner, SD 13.6%
45. Needville, TX 13.2%
46. Calmar, IA and Worcester, WI 13.0%
47. Webster, MN 12.9%
48. North Riverside, IL 12.4%
49. Belle Plaine, IA 12.3%
50. El Campo, TX 12.2%

U.S. communities with the most residents born in the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia)[link]

The top U.S. communities with the most residents born in the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia) are:^[3]

1. Masaryktown, FL 3.1%
2. Mifflinville, PA 2.2%
3. Gulf Shores, AL 2.1%
4. North Riverside, IL and Sharon Springs, NY 2.0%
5. Lyons, IL 1.6%
6. Rose, WI, North Lynbrook, NY and Anna Maria, FL 1.5%
7. Oakbrook Terrace, IL and Danville, AR 1.4%
8. Bee Ridge, FL, Cameron, TX, Lenox, MA, Verdigre, NE, and Willowbrook, IL 1.2%
9. Lower Grand Lagoon, FL, Beachwood, OH, Allamuchy-Panther Valley, NJ, Mahopac, NY, Black Diamond, FL, and Glenview, KY 1.1%
10. Key West, FL, Woodstock, NY, Madison Park, NJ, Belleair Beach, FL, South Amboy, NJ, Colver, PA, Herricks, NY, Horine, MO, Shelburne, MA, and Gang Mills, NY 1.0%

The states with the largest Czech American populations[link]

The states with the largest Czech American populations are:

The states with the top percentages of Czech Americans[link]

The states with the top percentages of Czech Americans are:

Notable Czech Americans[link]

See List of Czech Americans

Festivals[link]

Many cities in the United States hold festivals celebrating Czech culture and cuisine.

• Tabor, South Dakota - Czech Days, third Friday and Saturday in June - www.taborczechdays.com
• Prague, Oklahoma - Kolache Festival, First Saturday in May
• Yukon, Oklahoma - Yukon Czech Days
• Wilber, Nebraska - Wilber Czech Days
• Montgomery, Minnesota - 4th full weekend in July. Started in 1929.
• Phillips, Wisconsin - 3rd Full weekend in June. Started in 1988.
• St. Ludmila's Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa - June
• Protivin, Iowa - Czech Days. August
• Texas ^[4][5]

^[6]

• • Weimar
  • Hallettsville 4th weekend in March and last Saturday of September
  • Shiner Several lesser Czech and Kolache festivals are held in Shiner varying in size,occasion, and date, where Shiner's largest contribution to Kolache festivities conjoins with the Hallettsville Kolache Festival and the annual Bocktober festival.
  • Yoakum 2nd week of June as part of the annual Tom-Tom Festival
  • Missouri City
  • Corpus Christi 3rd Saturday in March
  • Houston 4th Sunday in March and 3rd Sunday in May
  • Rosenberg First full weekend in May
  • Ennis Memorial Day Weekend
  • San Antonio First weekend in June and Last Sunday in October
  • East Bernard Second Saturday in June
  • Ammannsville Father's Day
  • Dubina First Sunday in July
  • Praha August 15
  • Marak Last Sunday in August
  • West Labor Day Weekend
  • Caldwell Second Saturday in September
  • Pasadena 4th weekend in October
  • Crosby
  • Temple

See also[link]

• Czech Brazilian
• Czech Canadian
• Czech people
• Demographics of the Czech Republic
• European American

Further reading[link]

• Capek, Thomas, The Czechs (Bohemians) in America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920. 293 p. Reprinted New York: Arno Press, 1969.
• Epstein, Helen, Where She Came From: A Daughter's Search for her Mother's History, 1997, Holmes&Meier or Kindle.
• Habenicht, Jan, History of Czechs in America. St. Paul, MN: Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, 1996. 581 p.
• Rechcigl Miloslav, Jr., Czechs and Slovaks in America. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs and New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. 317 p.
• The Czech Texans, The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures
• Hampl, Patricia, A Romantic Education: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
• Grossman, Patricia, Radiant Daughter, a novel: Northwestern University Press, 2010

External links[link]

• The Bohemians of the United States- Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Notable Americans with Czech Roots
• Bohemian and Moravian Pioneers in Colonial America
• Augustine Herman Bohemiensis
• Early Jewish Emigrants in America from the Czech lands
• Gateway to America
• Czech Americans in Sports
• Czech Societies in the US
• Czechs and Slovaks Worldwide and their Culture
• Writings on Czech Americans
• Czech American Biography
• Kosmas - Czechoslovak and Central European Journal
• Euroamericans.net: Czechs in America
• Czech Law Firm: Stepanek Law Offices

References[link]

Karel Husa (born August 7, 1921 in Prague) is a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition. In 1954 he came to the United States and became an American citizen in 1959.

Overview [link]

Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood and, after passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941 where he studied in a class of Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.

After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. At the same time, he decided to continue his studies of composition and conducting in Paris. In 1947 he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting with Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens. After finishing his courses in conducting at École Normale de Musique de Paris and at Conservatoire de Paris he embarked on a career during which he has conducted the world's leading orchestras and participated in many major projects. He divided his time between composing and conducting, taking an ever more active part in Parisian and international musical life.

His First String Quartet marked a big step on the composer's path to the realm of international music: the Quartet received the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 award at the music festival in Bilthoven in the Netherlands. It has since also been performed on many other occasions, e.g., at the festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels (1950), festivals in Salzburg (1950), Darmstadt (1951), and the Netherlands (1952) as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his stay in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Janáček, Bartók and Stravinsky.

He is probably best known for his Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of the 1968 Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia. His String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Husa is the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition presented by the University of Louisville for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. From 1954 until 1992 he was a professor at Cornell University and lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986. Husa now resides in Apex, North Carolina.

He is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.^[1]

The University of Massachusetts Amherst held a Wind Ensemble at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall celebrating Karel Husa's 90th birthday on October 21, 2011. ^[2]

Compositions [link]

Ballet [link]

Orchestra [link]

Band [link]

Concertante [link]

Chamber [link]

Keyboard [link]

Vocal [link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Karel Husa interview by Bruce Duffie
• Karel Husa at G. Schirmer
• Karel Husa at Czech Music Information Centre
• Karel Husa at Sigma Alpha Iota
• Cornell Chronicle

Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime. He owned the San Diego Padres baseball team from 1974 until his death in 1984.^[4][5][6]Similar to another fast-food giant, KFC founder Harlan Sanders, Kroc's success came late in life when he was past his 50th birthday.

Early life and career[link]

Kroc was born to parents of Czech origin in Oak Park, near Chicago, on October 5, 1902. His father originated from the village Břasy near Plzeň, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). He grew up and spent most of his life in Oak Park, Illinois. During the First World War he lied about his age and became a Red Cross ambulance driver at 15.^[7][8][9] During the war, Kroc served in the same regiment as Walt Disney. Between the end of the war and the early 1950s he tried his hand at a number of trades including paper cup salesman, pianist, jazz musician, band member and radio DJ at Oak Park radio station WGES.^[10] At one time, Ray worked for room and board at one of Ray Dambaugh's restaurants in the midwest to learn the restaurant business. Years later, he returned the favor by coming to Ray Dambaugh's funeral in Evans City, Pennsylvania to pay his respects. He eventually became a multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman, traveling across the country.

McDonald's[link]

With Prince Castle Multi-Mixer sales plummeting because of competition from lower-priced Hamilton Beach products, Ray took note of the McDonald brothers who had purchased 8 of his Multi-Mixers. Immediately after visiting the San Bernardino store, Ray became convinced that he could sell mixers to every new franchise restaurant that they opened, and so he offered his services to the McDonald brothers who were looking for a new franchising agent following the departure of agent Bill Tansey due to health issues. Kroc eventually became frustrated with the brothers' willingness to accept their chain having only a handful of restaurants. In 1961, he bought the company for $2.7 million (enough to pay each brother $1 million each after taxes). (When negotiating the contract the McDonald brothers said that 2% sounded greedy; 1.9% was more attractive.)^[10]

The agreement was a handshake with split agreement between the parties because Kroc insisted that he could not show the royalty to the investors he had lined up to capitalize his purchase. At the closing table, Kroc became annoyed that the brothers would not transfer to him the real estate and rights to the original unit. The brothers had told Kroc that they were giving the operation, property and all, to the founding employees. Kroc closed the transaction, then refused to acknowledge the royalty portion of the agreement because it wasn't in writing. The McDonald brothers consistently told Kroc that he could make changes to things like the original blueprint (building codes were different in Illinois than in California), but despite Ray's pleas, the brothers never sent any formal letters which legally allowed the changes in the chain. Kroc also opened a new McDonald's restaurant near the McDonald's (now renamed "The Big M" as they had neglected to retain rights to the name) to force it out of business.^[11]

After finalizing the agreement with the McDonald Brothers, Kroc sent a letter to Walt Disney. (They had met as ambulance driver trainees at Sound Beach, Connecticut.) Kroc wrote, "I have very recently taken over the national franchise of the McDonald's system. I would like to inquire if there may be an opportunity for a McDonald's in your Disney Development." Disney agreed under stipulation to increase fries from ten cents to fifteen cents allowing himself the profit. Kroc refused to gouge his loyal customers leaving Disneyland to open without a McDonald's restaurant.^[8]

Kroc maintained the assembly line "Speedee Service System" for hamburger preparation, which was introduced by the McDonald brothers in 1948. He standardized operations, ensuring every Big Mac would taste the same in New York or Tokyo. He set strict rules for franchisees on how the food was to be made, portion sizes, cooking methods and times, and packaging. Kroc also rejected cost-cutting measures like using soybean filler in the hamburger patties. These strict rules also were applied to customer service standards with such mandates that money be refunded to clients whose orders were not correct or to customers who had to wait more than 5 minutes for their food. However, Kroc let the franchisees decide their best approach to marketing the products. For example, Willard Scott created the figure now known internationally as Ronald McDonald to improve sales in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Quotes[link]

• Kroc defined salesmanship as “the gentle art of letting the customer have it your way."^{[citation needed]}
• "If you have time to lean, you have time to clean," was a common reproach to idle employees.^{[citation needed]}
• "I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night."^{[citation needed]}
• "The organization cannot trust the individual; the individual must trust the organization."^{[citation needed]}
• "It's easy to have principles when you're rich. The important thing is to have principles when you're poor."^{[citation needed]}
• "Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get."^{[citation needed]}
• "It isn't fast food if you have to wait. Wait more than 5 minutes, then the food should be free." (Fortune Magazine, July/1977)
• "Everyday, I go into a shop, try and catch someone doing something good, and I tell him."^{[citation needed]}
• Kroc popularised the mantra "In business for yourself, but not by yourself" and successfully balanced the need for central control over franchisees, ensuring that they followed a rigid, proven formula, with the need to empower restaurant owners to suggest improvements to the business model.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Kroc's foundation supported research and treatment of alcoholism, diabetes, and other diseases. He established the Ronald McDonald House foundation. He was a major donor to the Dartmouth Medical School.^[13]

In 1972 Senator Harrison A. Williams Jr. (Democrat - NJ) suggested Kroc's contributions of over $200,000 to Richard Nixon's re-election campaign influenced the White House's policy on wages for teenage workers.^[13]

In 1974, Kroc purchased the San Diego Padres, but once remarked "There's more future in hamburgers than baseball."

In 1979, the 77-year old Kroc suffered a stroke. He was required by doctors to take medication for his condition, and since it could not be used with alcohol, he had to enter AA rehab. He died of heart failure at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California, on January 14, 1984 at the age of 81. He left a widow, Joan. His previous marriages, to Ethel Fleming (1922–1961) and Jane Dobbins Green (1963–1968), ended in divorce.^[2][5]

In popular culture[link]

Kroc's purchase of McDonald's is the basis for Mark Knopfler's song "Boom, Like That", from his 2004 album Shangri-La.^[14]

See also[link]

• El Camino Memorial Park

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Boas, Max; Chain, Steve (1976). Big Mac: The Unauthorized Story of McDonald's. 
• Byers, Paula K., and Suzanne M. Bourgion, eds. Encyclopedia of World Biography. " Detroit: Gale Research, 1998, s.v. "Kroc, Raymond *Emerson, Robert L. The New Economics of Fast Food. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.
• Kincheloe, Joe L (2002). The sign of the burger: McDonald's and the culture of power. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-56639-931-9. OCLC 47140812. http://books.google.com/books?id=jo88ePT5m0UC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Love, John F. (1986). McDonald's: Behind the Arches. http://books.google.com/books?id=ujjPqahQ2F0C. Retrieved 2011-06-12. 
• Mattern, Joanne (2011). Ray Kroc: McDonald's Restaurants Builder. ABDO. ISBN 978-1-61613-559-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=3DWEZGzpymAC. Retrieved 2011-06-12. 
• Reiter, Ester. Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer. Buffalo: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991.
• Janice Claire Simpson, Ray Kroc: Big Mac Man (1978)
• Biography: Ray Kroc, Fast Food McMghghillionaire (1998) video

External links[link]

• Ray Kroc at Find a Grave
• TIME Magazine profile
• Forbes Greatest Business Stories excerpt
• Ray Kroc at the Notable Names Database

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