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To: All those attending the 2007 reunion

From: Leota Campbell Anderson

 

August 13, 2007

Dear Souhrada Family,

 

How time flies by!!! It’s hard to believe that this is our 27th Annual Souhrada Family Reunion. Milt and I are sorry that we cannot be with you today but please know our loving thoughts will be with all of you as you gather together to share the happenings in your lives with one another - bringing you closer together in this Souhrada Family.

My mind is going back 27 years ago to what brought about the very first reunion. I was attending my Aunt Anna Souhrada Rassman’s funeral in the latter part of May 1981 when my cousin Donna Souhrada Urman -- (whom I only knew from seeing her at occasions like this) approached me and said her brother Dalyn Souhrada was there and would like to meet me. That conversation with Dalyn resulted in his inviting all the Souhrada cousins present at our Aunt Anna’s funeral to come to his farm the next day. The cousins who gathered at Dalyn & his wife Phyllis’ farm home that day were Bill & Hazel Rassman, John & Donna Souhrada Urman, Marvin & Marlys Souhrada Gronwoldt, and my late husband George Campbell and myself. We were all in agreement that it was necessary to hold a first Souhrada Cousin Reunion in order to come to know all the many, many grandchildren of Vaclav & Katherine Souhrada. That reunion took place the following month, June 28, 1981 at my home in Bloomington, Minnesota. Twenty eight people attended, eight of these were first cousins - the others were their children and a very special guest - Libby Souhrada Prochaska, our aunt and only living child at that time of Vaclav & Katherine. Dalyn & Phyllis volunteered to host our second gathering at their farm home in rural Lime Springs, Iowa the next year.

Dalyn’s farm home is the original farmstead of our grandparents, Vaclav & Katherine Souhrada so it proved to be a wonderfully interesting place for us cousins, the grandchildren of Vaclav & Katherine to gather there. Dalyn has the original documents pertaining to this farmland - one document signed June 1, 1885 by Abraham Lincoln and the second signed August 1, 1885 by James Buchanan. This farm became a CENTURY FARM November 15, 1997.

The following year Emil Souhrada & his wife Ardis and their daughter, Jane hosted the third cousin reunion at their country farm home in rural Chester, Iowa. In sending the invitation for this they thought of reunions that had been held around Oxford Junction, Iowa that our parents and grandparents had attended - and invited relatives from that area too.

As a result the attendance included: Elizabeth Vanicek, who was my mother’s cousin from Oxford Junction, Gordon & Velma Vanicek & their daughter-in-law Barb and her daughter Anne from Davenport, Iowa and John & Nelda Vanicek and their daughter Elizabeth from the Muskego, Wisconsin. Little did we know that day that Elizabeth Vanicek Gotstein, a young child at this time, would be would be hosting this 27th reunion today. What a delightful addition these people made to our gatherings. From then on any one on our Souhrada Family Tree that we could find received an invitation making our reunions not just a Souhrada Cousin Reunion but a Souhrada Family Reunion.

 

Our records show that Frank & Dorothy Souhrada from Greeley, Colorado attended our sixth, eighth, and tenth reunions and their son Frank C. Souhrada III attended the tenth and brought with him the following year his wife Linda. Frank and Linda were a part of many of our family members who searched in the land of me Czech Republic for the roots of our Family Tree. In October 1990, Frank & Linda found Dolni Novosedly #2, the farm home of our ancestors that had been standing for 120 years at that time. This led to finding our cousin, Jiri Souhrada and his wife, Vera, their two sons, Tomas and Pavel and Anezka and Marie Souhrada. What a find this was!!!

Jiri and Vera have attended a couple of our reunions but most important they have started World Wide Souhrada Reunions in the Czech Republic. In August 2000 when we celebrated our 20th reunion here in the USA Jiri gathered Souhrada family members there and they celebrated their first Souhrada Family Reunion in the Czech Republic on September 9th. Souhrada’s attending from the USA were Velma Vanicek Flynn, John & Anton Vanicek, Dave & Janel Stephens, and Viola & La Vonne Noska. Five Souhrada World Wide Reunions in the Czech Republic have been celebrated since then!!! How wonderful!

How good to know that two members of our Souhrada family not only attended the first Souhrada Cousin Reunion in 1981 held at my home in Bloomington, Minnesota but also attended the first World Wide Souhrada Family Reunion in the Czech Republic. These people are Viola and La Vonne Noska. And the good Lord willing, Viola is also in attendance there with you at our 27th Souhrada Family Reunion today. I very much want to thank Elizabeth Vanicek Gotstein for hosting the reunion and a big thank you also to her parents who I’m sure supported and helped her in every way. It’s a BIG undertaking and I’m asking God to greatly bless Elizabeth and John & Nelda for doing this.

You all know these reunions have been a love of my life and I’m so thankful for all of you who have had a hand in keeping them going. I am asking for God’s special blessing to be on every one of you too.

God willing we will be at the 28th Souhrada Family Reunion next year.


                                                                    Leota Campbell Anderson

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