Grandparents' Czech Love Letters-- 1917
By Jerry Becan, San Antonio Chapter
Originally published in the
Český hlas/The Czech Voice, Vol. 17, No. 3, August 2002
Josef Becan and Aloisie (Slovakova) Becan with
their son, Jaromir Becan Sr., Jerry Becan’s father
After my father died in July, 2001, I went through his possessions, mainly books and music, to see what I wanted to save. I was surprised to find some old letters, written in Czech, from the year 1917. It turned out that these were letters my grandparents (my father's parents) had written to each other, in March and April of 1917. They were married in August of that year, so these were letters from the latter days of their courtship.
My grandfather was Josef Becan. He was born January 3, 1893, in Zalesy (Ukraine). He came to the United States, from Ukraine, with his family in 1905. Although the Becans emigrated from Ukraine, they were ethnically Czech, and proud of it. They had moved to Ukraine in 1876, from the area around Kolin, in Bohemia. Once they were in America, the family settled in Rowena, Texas, about 30 miles northeast of San Angelo, and tried their hand at farming.
They did not try long. Once my grandfather told me that the first two years in Rowena, there was severe drought. Then the next year, the spring rains came so heavy that "cows and pigs were floating down the streets of the town." (Transporting Bohemians, with their vivid imaginations, into a region famous for tall tales, was a potentially dangerous proposition; the combination of the two cultures could at times be lethal).
After the drought-followed-by-flood experience, the family moved to Fort Worth, and its jobs in the meat packing houses. By 1917, when the letters were written, my grandfather was working at the Ford Motor Company plant in Dallas. He was 24 years old, having lived half his life in Europe and half in America.
My grandmother was born Aloisie Slovakova, in Sehradice, Moravia. Her date of birth was May 10, 1897. She left home at the age of twelve to work, and came to America, by herself, at the age of 16. She first lived in Ennis, then moved to Fort Worth, as a domestic servant. She was active in KJT, and was a correspondent for the Czech interest newspapers of Texas. At the time of the letters, she was 20, and had only lived in America for four years. I suppose that the letters were exchanged in the Czech language for her benefit.
Looking at letters written 85 years ago, there are obviously points of historical interest. Today if a resident of Fort Worth wants to communicate with someone in Dallas, they would talk on the phone or maybe even use email. The concept of writing a letter to someone 30 miles away is something lost to our age, not to mention the two cents postage, or that a letter addressed to someone at "Ford Motor Company; Dallas, Texas" could reach its destination without a zip code.
Then there is the matter of how my grandparents would visit each other, and carry on their courtship. In those days, you could take a train. Convenient train travel between Dallas and Fort Worth has only recently been resumed, after an absence of many years. In one of the letters, my grandfather says that his work hours are from 10 am to 6:30 pm (a half hour for lunch), and that he will take the train on Wednesday at 7:30, and meet his girlfriend at 9 or 9:30 on Third Street in Fort Worth. Apparently he could take another train back in time to be at work at 10:00 on Thursday morning.
Finally, the letters reveal the existence of support groups for Czech immigrants. My grandfather mentions that "the Sokol welcomed me cordially and I feel well among them," and that he will attend a performance of Czech theatre on Sunday. The envelope of one of my grandmother's letters is sealed with a stamp with the emblem of the two tailed Bohemian Lion, and the slogan "Pro Vlast/ Narodni Sdruzeni V Americe. (For the homeland - National Association of America.)”
But the letters of course have value beyond the historical insights they provide. More fascinating is the opportunity to see what my grandparents said to each other in their letters. After all, at the time of my earliest memories of my grandparents, they were 55 and 59 years old - far removed from the 20 and 24 year olds corresponding in the letters from 1917. The letters provide a look at Josef and Aloisie from a much different angle. As expected, the letters have the theme of love and longing for each other. Aloisie says that she is "floating in the air like a fairy in a fairy tale and you are my prince." She uses several lines of poetry in her letters, including the following:
It is not known whether this is a verse from a popular Czech poem of the day, or her original work. Not to be outdone, except perhaps in the poetic aspect, Josef states that "this is my only happiness, to think of you…I love my parents, but still I don't think of them all day long. However, I'm never without a thought of you."
Aloisie also has her mind on Josef often, and it gets her into trouble at one point. After reading a letter from Dallas, she relates an incident in the home where she was working:
The landlady decides to put fresh flowers on the table for lunch, and does not trust Aloisie with the task. However, the landlady ends up overfilling the vase and spills water all over the table. Aloisie chides the landlady, asking if the spilled water is her fault also.
Payback goes both ways, however. The letter describing this incident was written from 1424 South Adams. A month later, her letter to Josef comes from 222 1/2 West Exchange Avenue.
After they married, Josef and Aloisie lived in Dallas until 1930. Three of their children were born in Dallas: my father Jaromir, Lillian, and Robert. In 1930 they moved to Ft. Worth, where two more children, sons Alfred and Daniel were born. Another child, Francis, died after one day of life in Ft. Worth. Both of the grandparents died in Ft. Worth, Aloisie at the age of 78, Josef at the age of 91.
I am very grateful to Jaroslav Lapacek, an officer in the Czech army, for translating the letters for me. Jaroslav was attending the Defense Department Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base in the fall of 2001. I met Jaroslav at a Bexar County Czech Heritage Society meeting in San Antonio.