This is before 1948. End of harvest. Small celebration to celebrate. Last freedom celebration.  Right before the Communist occupation.

1930 when you look at this building It is the building across the street. A long time since  your Grandfather left, but it is the closest picture we have. Also an end of harvest photo.
Everyone has to work in the field—even the children. Great parade. Short time to enjoy the life.

Photo of fire workers. Look at the equipment! Shovels

A CELEBRATION SHOWN IN THE PHOTOS:  A gathering of native people from Jezovy because of 750 years of the city. (1976). A lot of our common people met during that occasion. Our ancestors probably met during the celebration.

First was a movie, then a presentation, then someone read the “introduction”, then of course the pioneers (Communist Party pioneers). A song—a brass band. Lunch then dance and music (orchestra).

Everyone dancing and drinking. Drinking vodka and then Czech and Russian. The entrance is 30 crowns. Not expensive. I was born in 1976 so I don’t remember it. (Laurel: Do your family members remember?) Yes. Sent invitations to everybody who lived in Jezovy, even to Prague. Special stamp. Commemorative. My Grandmother received it.
Officials organized it. Not possible for the people to organize things in the Communist time.

FARMERS IN THE TOWN? Nobody farms now. Just a few people work in the farming. They own agriculture. Two or three. Have their own property and work on them as farmers. The others work somewhere.

A CAKE IS PRESENTED: This is a special cake. This is the only place (the area around) 16 of May. Is St. James (Jan says it’s his name) celebration for him! This is the only day of the year when the families bake these cakes. Fluffy.
You can buy a similar one in the shop. But the families make them. Every housekeeper has to make a different pattern on it from the others. If you were a good chef you will have several cakes with a different pattern on them.

NAMES: When we are talking 70 years back, which is the age of the women in the photo, it was a common name: Anna
When they have a child and the child dies, they name the next child the same name. Only when it gives you the birthday do you know which Anna it is.
Even in a small house. #31, three families together. Three Marias. So if you called the name you wouldn’t know who was called. Josef and his Father, his son has a newborn baby, as his Father has a son, who is the brother of Josef, and they give them the same name. Is it the Father’s son, or his Son’s son Josef
A lot of mistakes in these ancestor sites. I found other Kleisners in Moravia. Thinking it’s good, but it was a completely different Kleisner.

STREET NAMES:  In the Czech Region we change the names of the streets four times. When Communists come, we change them. When a republic, we change again. Nazis came, took out the Czech ones and put German. Then Russians come... After the revolution we changed them back to the historic name in 1945. Some streets you can’t find if you don’t know the time they were named. This is Europe. But lots of changes.

BRATISLAVA RELATIVES:
Here are the photos of the Bratislava people

Eva, her son, another son, Jana, Zdenka, Jetka, Psychiatrist Libor, his wife, (Ivan was not there. We talked with him on the phone). Jan’s Aunt knows Ivan

PETR KLEISNER’ Here is the cemetery with Petr Kleisner’s grave.
Here’s Petr Kleisner’s grave. Josef Beran told the story about Petr Kleisner’s service in the Czech Legion.

There are more sources about The Legion. Stories of the founding of the Czech Republic. (Laurel) I will send you a copy.

(Laurel) I wrote to the author who showed me where to go. I looked on the site but couldn’t find Petr’s name.

Jan: I know where to find these army files. He will be there. He was a prisoner of Soviet Union? Or Russia? If he was in Vladivloska he was fighting against the Russians. Fighting on the right side of power. Could be the reason he was a prisoner of war. All the records could have been completely lost. Again, there is another archive. Since the revolution, it’s a huge possibility there would be Petr at this site.

It must be 1920-something.  

Jan: How do you know that Petr saw the grave of Josef in America?

Laurel: Josef Beran told me the story here when I visited.

Jan: It doesn’t make sense.

When he was released as a POW there was no other reason for him to come to the US. Why would he have done that?

(Much discussion in Czech)

To Laurel: Her Father (Josef Beran) told you the story about the journey of Petr?

(Much more discussion in Czech)