Introduction
Louisiana, like most American states, has attracted immigrants from all over the world. Two groups
that have been here since near the beginning of European settlement yet have been overlooked are
the Czechs and Slovaks. The first Czechs in Louisiana were recorded in the 1720s. The first Slovaks
well before the Civil War. Starting with the earliest and continuing through 1950, this book,
encyclopedic in scope, presents the history of just about 575 families and individuals from these
ancient lands in Central Europe who came to settle in Louisiana. This makes them two of Louisiana’s
smallest ethnic groups. They have, however, been making an impact on Louisiana for nearly 300
years. Even today just some 5,000 people in the state claim Czech or Slovak heritage out of a
population of nearly 4½ million people. But given the numbers of children these immigrants had,
Americanizations of their surnames and marriages of their daughters into other ethnic groups there is
every likelihood that there are far more Louisiana citizens with some Czech or Slovak heritage than
are currently identified.
This book includes both Czechs and Slovaks for two simple reasons. The first is that while Czechs
and Slovaks now reside in two separate countries, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia,
to the average Louisianian these two nations are known by their former name as one country:
Czechoslovakia. In both languages the name literally means “the Czechs and the Slovaks.” The
second is that Czechs and Slovaks share a connected ancient history, a common culture and similar
languages. That is one of the major reasons why they were joined together in one nation. I will not
endeavor here to explain how this came to be for the history of this region of Europe is long, complex
and confusing. There is ample information on this subject in many a Louisiana (and for that matter any
other,) library. I will, though, broadly and briefly in this introduction layout who is included in this book
and why for those who are unfamiliar with this region of Europe.
Czechoslovakia was a political construct created from the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at
the end of the First World War. It did not exist prior to 1918. The Republic of Czechoslovakia existed
until the Germans invaded in 1938-39. Hitler divided the country into three Protectorates, or “sub-
nations” of the German Reich: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. He was merely using the ancient
names of these places. In 1945 Czechoslovakia reconstituted itself as one nation. From 1949 to 1989
it was essentially a colony of the Soviet Union. In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR,
Czechoslovakia became a free nation once again. Thus, for nearly 70 years Czechs and Slovaks
once again were subjected to oppression by more powerful neighbors.
In 1992 Slovaks asked the Czechs for a “divorce.” This is the actual word Czechs and Slovaks use to
describe the division of the country into two independent republics. The Czechs agreed. In what is
probably the world's only peaceful division of a country the two sides effected the “Velvet Divorce” on
January 1st, 1993. They fairly, equitably and in complete agreement divided the land, the assets, the
military and every other aspect of Czechoslovakia. The only “shots” fired were toasts made with the
local fiery plum brandy called Slivovice to congratulate each other on a job well done. Both countries
cooperate closely with each other in virtually every area of human endeavor. They think of
themselves as cousins; closely related but from different families.
An oddity of the Czechs is that there is no geographical place called “Czech.” Their lands have been
called Bohemia and Moravia since Roman times. Bohemians comprise a little more than one half of the
Czech people and live in Bohemia. Moravians comprise a little less than one half of the Czech people
and live in Moravia. Both together or individually have been called Czechs, Bohemians or Moravians
for more than 1,500 years; the terms are virtually mutually inclusive. Czech is thus the name of the
people who live in Bohemia and Moravia and the name of their language. This is why uniquely among
European nations the country must be called the “Czech Republic” -- and cannot be called the
“Republic of Czech” or just plain “Czech” as compared to, say, Spain.
Slovakia, on the other hand, is the name of a distinct land, a geographical place – much as Spain and
France are distinct lands. Likewise, as the French live in France and the Spanish in Spain, Slovaks
live in and on a land called Slovakia. For its entire history Slovakia was a province of the many nations
that surround it. It was never independent until 1993. Slovakian is a distinct language from Czech. It
is not considered a dialect of Czech, nor vice versa. But it is very similar to Czech and they can speak
to each other with relative ease. The best comparison is the way Americans and British people can
speak to each other in English. Both languages have one letter in their alphabets that represents a
sound that the other does not have: ř for the Czechs and l' for the Slovaks. Both languages are
written in the Latin alphabet, as this book is, plus a few extra letters that look like they have a little “v”
on top of the regular letters.
The Czech and Slovak people had lived on these lands for more than 1,500 years by the time of the
creation of Czechoslovakia. First among their ancient nations was the Margravate of Moravia. This
was formed in the late 600s AD. It survived as an independent principality until the mid 1300s.
Moravians were the basic ethnic group which lived here, along with what are now considered Poles,
Silesians, Germans and others. Its ancient capital is the city of Brno. The second entity was the
Dukedom of Bohemia. This country's creation was authorized by a series of popes in the second half
of the 900s AD; later it evolved into the Kingdom of Bohemia. Its demise can be pin-pointed to the
Battle of the While Mountain in 1620 when the Austrians overran the Czech people and began nearly
250 years of subjugation. Prague was its first and only capital city. Bohemians were the predominate
ethnic group in this nation.
In the 1300s Bohemia and Moravia were joined through royal marriages. Over the centuries Bohemia
either conquered or joined together through royal marriages with substantial parts of southern Poland,
southeastern Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and northern Austria (all of which were small and
independent principalities and kingdoms and not the nation-states we know today.) Its borders shifted
frequently as wars were fought, won and lost. There was no great nation building in this region of
Europe as occurred in France or England. On the other hand, Prague was the capital of the Holy
Roman Empire (a supposed successor to the Roman Empire) for nearly 600 years. During these
centuries it was a far bigger and more important city than London, Paris, Rome, Vienna or Berlin.
The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of more than a hundred mini-states. It dominated
a vast portion of continental Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire in 500 AD until Napoleon
removed it from the political scene in 1806. Its politics were very convoluted, complicated and
confusing. But the reason that Prague was its capital was that ½ of all the silver and gold mined in
Europe during the Middle Ages was from the area right around Prague. Because the Holy Roman
Emperors wanted to be near the source of their wealth they chose Prague as their capital. Because
Prague was so cosmopolitan the word “bohemian” with a little 'b' entered the English language
meaning just that – a cosmopolitan person.
Some immigrants from these lands to American and Louisiana self-identified themselves. That is,
they called themselves “Bohemians” or “Moravians” and not Czechs at all. Though others did call
themselves Czechs. Slovaks almost always refered to themselves as Slovaks. It was always a very
personal decision. It was American authorities who had conflicts with this self-identification. Confusing
the issue is the bewildering array of cultural and national labels that were used by American and
Louisiana census takers, historians and other record keepers to define the Czechs and Slovaks.
Among there were such terms as Czechoslovakians, Czechs, Bohemians, Moravians, Slovaks,
Slovakland, Austro-Bohemia, Germano-Bohemia, Austro-Moravia, Hungary-Slovak, Austro-Hungary,
Austria and Hungary and many more. I've identified at least 50 different terms that were used at one
point or another. There is no consistency from census to census, or within censuses, or in any other
records that were maintained by the various levels of government in Louisiana. Neither the French,
Spanish or American governments which ruled Louisiana across her history were consistent at any
point in time or with any family. A family's ethnic and cultural designation could change from document
to document, year to year.
Unlike other European nations, the Czechs and Slovaks come from a large variety of religious
traditions and ethnic mixes. This mix stems directly from Bohemia's place in the forefront of the Holy
Roman Empire. The Czech lands, and to a lesser degree Slovakia, were among the world's first
melting pots. Just as all ethnic groups to America become American, ethnic groups that moved to the
Czech lands and Slovakia became Czech and Slovak. Thus to be Czech or Slovak can be either an
ethnic reality of blood or a mental or philosophical, even metaphysical, reality of thought. To sort them
out is impossible. The vast majority of people of any ethnicity or religion who came to the Czech and
Slovak lands soon began to consider themselves Czechs or Slovaks and adopted the Czech and
Slovak view of religion – and thus they are all included in this book.
Among the Christian believers were Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics, Presbyterians,
Lutherans, Methodists and many other denominations and sects. Who adhered to what religion varied
from town to town and from time to time – it all depended on to which religion the local ruler wanted his
subjects to adhere. Changes in religious adherence were frequent as the fortunes of war and ruling
families ebbed and flowed. Czechs today are considered the most non-religious people in Europe. In
fact, they are frequently religious in belief but adhere to no formal religion whatsoever. It is suggested
by some that Czechs simply gave up trying to belong to one religion or the other and simply became
believers without a formal religion.
There has always been a large number of Czech Jews. Jews have been part of the Czech religious
traditions since the dawn of recorded Czech history. Ethnically they consider themselves Czech.
Indeed, the oldest surviving operating synagogue in Europe is the oddly named “Old New Synagogue”
in Prague. For nearly 1,000 years this house of worship has functioned without interruption. Even the
Nazis did not interfere with this ancient house of worship. There are, even more oddly, an “old old”
synagogue even more ancient than the “old new” one and a “new new” synagogue from the 1600s.
Such is the history of Jews in the Czech lands that Czechs almost never had a problem with Jews.
Rather it was the Germanic neighbors who were forever invading and trying to subjugate the Czech
lands who had issues with Jews.
There were also many adherents to the four native religions of the Czechs: Hussites, the Moravian
Brethren, the Bohemian Brotherhood and Freethinkers. All four are known as anti-clerical and non-
liturgical religions. All four are pacifist by design. These four were unique to Czechs, though have
many non-Czech adherents today. These four religions are all practiced today within the Czech
Republic, as well as in neighboring countries and in many places around the world. Pennsylvania and
North Carolina in particular are centers of the Moravian Brethren today, as is Nicaragua in Central
America. The Bohemian Brotherhood has much in common with the Moravian Brethren as is obvious
by their names.
Hussism was Protestantism about 130 years before most people think Protestantism started with
Martin Luther. Jan Hus wanted to reform the Catholic Church as early as the 1370s. Alas, the Catholic
authorities burned him at the stake in 1415. This act started the Hussite Wars which raged for more
than 100 years. Basically this was a series of wars pitting the Czechs against invading Catholic and
Lutheran armies. Americans are aware of Hus peripherally in the phrase “his goose was cooked.”
“Husa” is the Czech word for a goose and Jan's last name is related to this word – after he was burned
at the stake the phrase entered the Czech language and eventually made its way into English.
Freethinkers just avoided anything to do with established religion whatsoever but are essentially
Christian in outlook and belief. All these religious beliefs are represented among the Czech and
Slovaks of Louisiana.
Because Austria had ruled the Czech lands for centuries there were Czechs with German names, and
Germans with Czech names. The many millions of neighboring Germans and Austrians have always
either trickled or poured (it depended on which century one looks at,) across the border over the
centuries into the less populated Czech lands. However, many did slowly become Czech in their minds
despite their heritage and names. It is not uncommon at all to find Czech speaking people with names
that look completely German. These families have been so long in the Czech lands that they became
Czech and lost all traces of their German heritage.
The Slovaks of Slovakia are very similar in culture and language to the Czechs but they are different
in significant ways. They are mostly Roman Catholic. There are fewer Jews among them. The Slovak
lands were ruled primarily by the Hungarians for nearly 10 centuries, though by others also. Many
Slovak names have Hungarian phonetic spelling but they are recognizably Slovak. Hungarians are not
a Slavic people like the Czechs and Slovaks. Indeed, they are unrelated ethnically and linguistically to
any other Europeans.
Besides these three main regions of the Czech and Slovak republics there are two smaller areas of
unique cultural heritage. Silesia was only once an independent principality, a long time ago. Its
people are variously referred to as Wends, Sorbians or Silesians. It has been nearly 1,000 years
since these people were any more than a subdivision of Germany, Poland and the Czech and Slovak
Republics. Ruthenians are also a somewhat distinct, though nearly extinct, group of people at the
eastern end of Slovakia. Ruthenian is a dying dialect of Slovak. They mostly adhere to Eastern Rite
Catholicism. Modern Silesians and Ruthenians consider themselves Slovak. The pop artist Andy
Warhol is perhaps the most famous of all Ruthenians in the United States; he considered himself to be
Slovak, however.
All these groups and subgroups are included in this book because they considered themselves first
and foremost as Czech and Slovaks and only secondarily as their former ethnic identity. I identify
them mostly as they wanted to be identified. Though I also use the terms Czech and Slovak to refer to
them generally. Where necessary I use the more descriptive Bohemian or Moravian or Slovak. I
never use the term “Czechoslovakian” for such people do not exist. Nor is there any such language as
“Czechoslovakian.” Again, this name is a just a political construct of nation building by United States
after World War I.
So why a book on this small and obscure group of immigrants in Louisiana? Because despite their
minuscule number most Louisianians encounter the legacy of some of these Czechs or Slovaks every
day. From the emblematic St. Charles Avenue street car line and St. Louis Cathedral to the water
control system that protected them in New Orleans, to a theater in Shreveport, to historic structures in
the downtowns of Houma and Covington, to the state’s largest wholesale food company, to one of the
hippest restaurants in Lake Charles for decades, to many of the major government and civic buildings
in Baton Rouge, to knowing one of the many hundreds of descendants of one of Louisiana’s earliest
Czech families now scattered across Acadiana, to the many Bohemians involved in the life of Rapides
Parish, Czechs and Slovaks have a proud place in the history and current events of Louisiana.
Despite the many ethnicities, relgions and self-identifying names they fall under, they all considered
themselves, loosely, Czechs and Slovaks. They had what can only be called a hidden impact on
Louisiana.
In a twist on the usual American immigrant story just half of these immigrants wanted to assimilate and
become Americans. The other half very much wanted to preserve their Czech culture. Thus, there
are two parts to the story of Czech and Slovak immigration to Louisiana. This book is thus divided into
two halves to reflect these differing aspirations. I call the two parts, quite naturally, Assimilation and
Preservation.
Like other immigrants to Louisiana these families and individuals chronicled in the first part of this
book worked at becoming Americans as soon as they could. They Americanized their names as
necessary, learned English and French when necessary and did their best at fitting into the broader
social and economic currents that swirled around the state during and after their time of arrival. There
was, however, no great wave of Czech and Slovak immigrants as there were with the Cajuns, French,
Scots-Irish, Italians and Germans -- the major groups of immigrants to the state -- who came by the
tens of thousands in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nor did they come to Louisiana nearly as a whole
like the small number of Yugoslavs, Hungarians, Poles, Lebanese, Belgians, Russians and others
during that distinct period between 1890 and 1917 when America and Louisiana saw the greatest
influx of immigrants. Instead, Czechs and Slovaks came as a trickle, one here, one there, never more
than three dozen in any year, over nearly three centuries of Louisiana’s history. No one family
seemed to ever know or be aware that there were other families of the same heritage, except for the
Slovaks in Cameron Parish. They simply came as individuals.
Because they were so few, spread far and thin, we find no ethnic organizations, or grand buildings
holding ethnic societies, or Louisiana published old-language newspapers, or churches filled with
immigrants and their progeny. There are many examples of these among the Cajuns, Irish, Germans
and Italians. Neighborhoods were not teaming with Czechs and Slovaks as we find with the major
ethnic groups. Only a handful were well-known in their own time and place. Now they are mostly mere
footnotes in history. You will find no Czechs or Slovaks among the well known people of Louisiana’s
nearly three centuries of political and civic life. Of their known legacy virtually nothing has been
written of their Czech or Slovak connection.
Because there were so few we are able to look at every single family and individual who came from
the Czech and Slovak lands. In all there are only about 250 families and individuals chronicled in the
first part of this book. The story begins, however, at the dawn of the settlement of Louisiana, when it
was still a French colony in the wilderness in the early 1700s. They did, though, settle in every corner
of the state. Only a few of them stayed for a long time or even left descendants around the state;
though one of the earliest families now comprises nearly 2,000 descendants. For many we have only a
single record of their brief appearance on the scene. What became of those who were fleetingly in the
record can only be guessed at. Perhaps these succeeded so successfully at assimilation that we lose
all track of them in Louisiana; many obviously moved on after just a brief sojourn in the state. All of
these are presented here in four chapters in the first half of this book: The First Czechs, who came at
the founding of Louisiana; the Movers and Shakers who had a lasting if little recognized impact on New
Orleans; the nearly anonymous Big City Immigrants who lived throughout New Orleans; and finally, the
families and individuals who settled in many other parishes of the state as Farmers and Tradesmen.
Though, among this last group are several who had a larger-than-life impact on Louisiana. They are
presented in a roughly alphabetical order within each of the well recognized regions in the state, such
as Acadiana or the Florida Parishes.
I also give two other chapters in the first part of the book. One is on the commerical relations that
have long existed between the Czech lands, and to a lesser degree Slovakia, and Louisiana. Though
these commerical relations are little known, among them are Czechoslovakian-made beads thrown
from Mardi Gras parades for decades. Strands of these colorful glass trinkets are now a highly sought
after collectibles. There has also been an on-going relationship between Charles University in Prague
and the University of New Orleans. Oddly, the clean-up crews at Wal-Marts statewide during the 1990s
and first few years of the new millennium were comprised entirely of Czech immigrants. With
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita many new connections were made. Concluding Part One is a small
chapter that looks at the idea of name changes that Czech and Slovaks had to face as they entered
American life.
The second part of this book is a story of preservation. Beginning in 1908 a group of Bohemians,
never numbering more than 350 families total and just about 100 families at any given time,
endeavored to create a Bohemian colony in Rapides Parish. There were never more than about 450
individuals at a time. They are, however, unique in Louisiana’s history. Their goal was to keep their
Bohemian heritage alive -- and to keep separate from the surrounding American and French culture.
They wanted no part of assimilation, though they were not entirely successful in their goal. They did
not even want to include Moravians or Slovaks. They founded two Bohemian towns, Libuse and Kolin,
in the raw wilderness. Part Two of this book chronicles the founding and nearly 100 year history of
these communities and their attempt to create a slice of Bohemia in the New World. This history is
presented in six chapters organized in a chronological fashion. Of some families in these two town we
know a lot. We know other families only from a single property record in the Rapides Parish
Courthouse.
In both parts of this book I present every tidbit of information I could find: their names, birth and death
years, number of years married, dates of arrival and sometimes the name of the ship they traveled
on, from which towns in the Czech and Slovak Republics they hailed from, their ports of embarkation
and arrival, their occupations and economic conditions, as well as their addresses or locations in
Louisiana.
This information was found among more than 3,000 sources including census records, obituaries,
property records, newspaper articles, books, the Internet, magazines, professional journals and
personal or business papers. I traveled to or contacted people in nearly every parish of the state
looking for this information. If I was able to locate descendants I learned more anecdotes about these
families; I stop these stories about the 1950s because of a respect for the privacy of living people.
For some I found only a single reference from the distant past. In a broad bibliography I detail where
and how I was able to find this information.
The reason I present all this information is that I hope to uncover more about these immigrants.
Because they were mostly ignored or somehow mislabled or misfiled not one history book or journal or
article about Louisiana has a word about them. This book is simply the first time this information has
been compiled and presented to the public. I am fairly sure that there is a lot more information about
these families that I could not find. My purpose here is to provide a baseline for future research. The
extensive bibliography is from Louisiana and America-wide sources but I could never hope to list all
3,000 sources I looked at. Oddly, it was all surprisingly easy to locate, especially since so many Czech
and Slovak names just jumped off the page at me as I scoured the records.
This book, with its encyclopedic scope, is the first time that all these stories are brought together.
Perhaps some readers will feel that there are too many facts and dates and other information. But
since no one has ever written about these people before I felt compelled to provide as much detail as
possible just to prove the point that these immigrants had a remarkable impact on Louisiana. Some
professional historians will perhaps say the plethora of information is unnecessary. Some readers of
the manuscript prior to publication wondered at the rich details. Some keep looking for some
overarching theme or narrative. There is not one story. There are 575 individual stories.
This is a book about individuals who simply all showed up in the same place after having come from
the same place in Europe. There is not even one reason they left the Czech and Slovak lands. The
Irish mostly came because of the famine in that country. Germans came because of political
instability. Italians left because of the grinding poverty in that nation. Jews left Europe to avoid the
pogroms against them. Czechs and Slovaks each came for their own reason. There are as many
reasons as there are individuals. Some did come because of religious or political oppression, some to
obtain their own lands, some to avoid conscription into the Austrian army and some because of
poeverty. But there were also those who simply wanted to try something new. There is, though, simply
no one or two reasons that Czechs or Slovaks left Europe for America and wound up in Louisiana.
Without more concrete information on each of these families and individuals it is impossible to
determine why they left for America and came to Louisiana. However, this encyclopedic scope is also
precisely because it will likely be the only book on this subject for a while.
Then there is also perhaps the question of why I felt competent to write this book. After all, if not one
professional historian had bothered it is fair to ask why me. First off, I am not a professional or trained
historian. I am not a trained sociologist or some person involved in ethnographic studies. I am not
sure that one must be to write a history book. I do have a fine college education from New York
University which doubtless was training enough to research and compile the facts. I will leave for
those “professionals” in the various fields I mentioned to make any interpretations or suppositions
about the facts. But at least I have provided these facts to future writers. They are available in no
other place.
I am, however, completely of Czech heritage. While I am not of Slovak heritage I am well acquainted
with Slovakia. After all, for the vast majority of my life I had to say my family was from “Czechoslovakia”
for a lack of a better description. Three of my grandparents were born in what is now the Czech
Republic. One of my grandmothers was born just a few years after my great-grandparents arrived in
New York. Each, however, was the only member of their family to set out for the New World. They left
many brothers and sisters behind. My father's family is from Moravia, my mother's from Bohemia. My
forefathers have lived where they live today for time immemorial. These four branches have also
practiced the various different religious traditions of the Czech lands. We have no one religion in my
family, though perhaps we mostly adhere to the Hussite and Freethinking traditions.
When I was a child my great-grandparents and grandparents spoke to me in Czech and I answered in
English. I attended a Czech summer camp for 10 years. I belonged to the Czechoslovak Society of
America for many years. There were nearly 100 words in Czech that I did not know the English
equivalents to until I was in high school or older, so common at home were they. I even have a
reasonable command of the Czech language. In my childhood we ate Czech traditional cooking
regularly, and to this day I can cook these Czech national foods. Traditional Czech music was played
often in my house. Basically, it was a bilingual household with a very strong Czech cultural heritage.
Indeed, like many Czechs families in America, we were very slow at assimilating into the wider
American culture. I am thoroughly immersed in this culture. Plus, with a name like Hlavac I have been
compelled almost daily throughout my life to explain to others what Czechs and Slovaks are; during my
twenty years in Louisiana even more so. I am, after all, the only person with this surname out of more
than four and a half million residents in the state.
Furthermore, unlike many immigrants to America the American side of my family never lost contact
with our European side. We have stayed in constant contact (except during World War II) since the
moment my forefathers so recently set foot on these shores. Mine is not the case of wondering about
long lost relatives in unknown villages in a strange land. Mine is the situation of knowing exactly to
whom and where I have been writing in the Czech Republic for decades. I entertain my Czech born
relatives when they travel to America and I stay with them when I travel to the Czech Republic. Its is
not much different than a family in Louisiana visiting its relatives in Texas. To me, its just right over
there, so to speak. Czech culture and my Czech roots are not some alien past – it is the immediate
current for me.
Since the moment I became aware of the two Czech towns in Central Louisiana I have been intrigued
with what other Czechs and Slovaks came to Louisiana. Even though as I looked through Louisiana
history books and journals and found nothing substantial I knew there had to be more for there were
many odd references and footnotes and parenthetical remarks to these “unknown” people. So I set a
course to see what could be found. I scoured every source and locale in Louisiana to find this
information. As I said above, it was so easily found. Even when nearly every Louisiana archivist,
librarian, record keeper and historian I encountered in my research said there were no Czech and
Slovaks in Louisiana I persisted in looking. There was significant information in each repository. What
I found in total should astound many of them. It will at least, I hope, educate them about a part of
Louisiana history that has not been presented until this book.
I also set the course for the creation of the Louisiana Czech and Slovak Museum. I served as the first
president of this fledgling organization. What will comprise the exhibits and archives of this museum is
in this book. Indeed, without this book we would not know what to put in this museum. I believe I have
spoken to nearly every one of Czech and Slovak heritage in the state. My competence comes simply
from my Czech heritage combined with dogged research, the refusal to quit, the faith that there was
more than what was previously reported or was apparent and a persistence that any professional
historian should well appreciate.
Whether of Czech and Slovak heritage or not all readers of this book will surely be equally amazed at
what I found. Surely, the contribution of Czechs and Slovaks to Louisiana can no longer be ignored.
A Hidden Impact is the culmination of seven years of research. I sincerely hope that it opens the eyes
of many and spurs much greater research. In all, I hope that this book shows how a small group of
immigrants from a little known place in Central Europe has had a long and continuing impact on
Louisiana. Czechs and Slovaks, you will see, have a special place in the history of our state.
Jim Hlavac
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Louisiana, like most American states, has attracted immigrants from all over the world. Two groups
that have been here since near the beginning of European settlement yet have been overlooked are
the Czechs and Slovaks. The first Czechs in Louisiana were recorded in the 1720s. The first Slovaks
well before the Civil War. Starting with the earliest and continuing through 1950, this book,
encyclopedic in scope, presents the history of just about 575 families and individuals from these
ancient lands in Central Europe who came to settle in Louisiana. This makes them two of Louisiana’s
smallest ethnic groups. They have, however, been making an impact on Louisiana for nearly 300
years. Even today just some 5,000 people in the state claim Czech or Slovak heritage out of a
population of nearly 4½ million people. But given the numbers of children these immigrants had,
Americanizations of their surnames and marriages of their daughters into other ethnic groups there is
every likelihood that there are far more Louisiana citizens with some Czech or Slovak heritage than
are currently identified.
This book includes both Czechs and Slovaks for two simple reasons. The first is that while Czechs
and Slovaks now reside in two separate countries, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia,
to the average Louisianian these two nations are known by their former name as one country:
Czechoslovakia. In both languages the name literally means “the Czechs and the Slovaks.” The
second is that Czechs and Slovaks share a connected ancient history, a common culture and similar
languages. That is one of the major reasons why they were joined together in one nation. I will not
endeavor here to explain how this came to be for the history of this region of Europe is long, complex
and confusing. There is ample information on this subject in many a Louisiana (and for that matter any
other,) library. I will, though, broadly and briefly in this introduction layout who is included in this book
and why for those who are unfamiliar with this region of Europe.
Czechoslovakia was a political construct created from the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at
the end of the First World War. It did not exist prior to 1918. The Republic of Czechoslovakia existed
until the Germans invaded in 1938-39. Hitler divided the country into three Protectorates, or “sub-
nations” of the German Reich: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. He was merely using the ancient
names of these places. In 1945 Czechoslovakia reconstituted itself as one nation. From 1949 to 1989
it was essentially a colony of the Soviet Union. In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR,
Czechoslovakia became a free nation once again. Thus, for nearly 70 years Czechs and Slovaks
once again were subjected to oppression by more powerful neighbors.
In 1992 Slovaks asked the Czechs for a “divorce.” This is the actual word Czechs and Slovaks use to
describe the division of the country into two independent republics. The Czechs agreed. In what is
probably the world's only peaceful division of a country the two sides effected the “Velvet Divorce” on
January 1st, 1993. They fairly, equitably and in complete agreement divided the land, the assets, the
military and every other aspect of Czechoslovakia. The only “shots” fired were toasts made with the
local fiery plum brandy called Slivovice to congratulate each other on a job well done. Both countries
cooperate closely with each other in virtually every area of human endeavor. They think of
themselves as cousins; closely related but from different families.
An oddity of the Czechs is that there is no geographical place called “Czech.” Their lands have been
called Bohemia and Moravia since Roman times. Bohemians comprise a little more than one half of the
Czech people and live in Bohemia. Moravians comprise a little less than one half of the Czech people
and live in Moravia. Both together or individually have been called Czechs, Bohemians or Moravians
for more than 1,500 years; the terms are virtually mutually inclusive. Czech is thus the name of the
people who live in Bohemia and Moravia and the name of their language. This is why uniquely among
European nations the country must be called the “Czech Republic” -- and cannot be called the
“Republic of Czech” or just plain “Czech” as compared to, say, Spain.
Slovakia, on the other hand, is the name of a distinct land, a geographical place – much as Spain and
France are distinct lands. Likewise, as the French live in France and the Spanish in Spain, Slovaks
live in and on a land called Slovakia. For its entire history Slovakia was a province of the many nations
that surround it. It was never independent until 1993. Slovakian is a distinct language from Czech. It
is not considered a dialect of Czech, nor vice versa. But it is very similar to Czech and they can speak
to each other with relative ease. The best comparison is the way Americans and British people can
speak to each other in English. Both languages have one letter in their alphabets that represents a
sound that the other does not have: ř for the Czechs and l' for the Slovaks. Both languages are
written in the Latin alphabet, as this book is, plus a few extra letters that look like they have a little “v”
on top of the regular letters.
The Czech and Slovak people had lived on these lands for more than 1,500 years by the time of the
creation of Czechoslovakia. First among their ancient nations was the Margravate of Moravia. This
was formed in the late 600s AD. It survived as an independent principality until the mid 1300s.
Moravians were the basic ethnic group which lived here, along with what are now considered Poles,
Silesians, Germans and others. Its ancient capital is the city of Brno. The second entity was the
Dukedom of Bohemia. This country's creation was authorized by a series of popes in the second half
of the 900s AD; later it evolved into the Kingdom of Bohemia. Its demise can be pin-pointed to the
Battle of the While Mountain in 1620 when the Austrians overran the Czech people and began nearly
250 years of subjugation. Prague was its first and only capital city. Bohemians were the predominate
ethnic group in this nation.
In the 1300s Bohemia and Moravia were joined through royal marriages. Over the centuries Bohemia
either conquered or joined together through royal marriages with substantial parts of southern Poland,
southeastern Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and northern Austria (all of which were small and
independent principalities and kingdoms and not the nation-states we know today.) Its borders shifted
frequently as wars were fought, won and lost. There was no great nation building in this region of
Europe as occurred in France or England. On the other hand, Prague was the capital of the Holy
Roman Empire (a supposed successor to the Roman Empire) for nearly 600 years. During these
centuries it was a far bigger and more important city than London, Paris, Rome, Vienna or Berlin.
The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of more than a hundred mini-states. It dominated
a vast portion of continental Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire in 500 AD until Napoleon
removed it from the political scene in 1806. Its politics were very convoluted, complicated and
confusing. But the reason that Prague was its capital was that ½ of all the silver and gold mined in
Europe during the Middle Ages was from the area right around Prague. Because the Holy Roman
Emperors wanted to be near the source of their wealth they chose Prague as their capital. Because
Prague was so cosmopolitan the word “bohemian” with a little 'b' entered the English language
meaning just that – a cosmopolitan person.
Some immigrants from these lands to American and Louisiana self-identified themselves. That is,
they called themselves “Bohemians” or “Moravians” and not Czechs at all. Though others did call
themselves Czechs. Slovaks almost always refered to themselves as Slovaks. It was always a very
personal decision. It was American authorities who had conflicts with this self-identification. Confusing
the issue is the bewildering array of cultural and national labels that were used by American and
Louisiana census takers, historians and other record keepers to define the Czechs and Slovaks.
Among there were such terms as Czechoslovakians, Czechs, Bohemians, Moravians, Slovaks,
Slovakland, Austro-Bohemia, Germano-Bohemia, Austro-Moravia, Hungary-Slovak, Austro-Hungary,
Austria and Hungary and many more. I've identified at least 50 different terms that were used at one
point or another. There is no consistency from census to census, or within censuses, or in any other
records that were maintained by the various levels of government in Louisiana. Neither the French,
Spanish or American governments which ruled Louisiana across her history were consistent at any
point in time or with any family. A family's ethnic and cultural designation could change from document
to document, year to year.
Unlike other European nations, the Czechs and Slovaks come from a large variety of religious
traditions and ethnic mixes. This mix stems directly from Bohemia's place in the forefront of the Holy
Roman Empire. The Czech lands, and to a lesser degree Slovakia, were among the world's first
melting pots. Just as all ethnic groups to America become American, ethnic groups that moved to the
Czech lands and Slovakia became Czech and Slovak. Thus to be Czech or Slovak can be either an
ethnic reality of blood or a mental or philosophical, even metaphysical, reality of thought. To sort them
out is impossible. The vast majority of people of any ethnicity or religion who came to the Czech and
Slovak lands soon began to consider themselves Czechs or Slovaks and adopted the Czech and
Slovak view of religion – and thus they are all included in this book.
Among the Christian believers were Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics, Presbyterians,
Lutherans, Methodists and many other denominations and sects. Who adhered to what religion varied
from town to town and from time to time – it all depended on to which religion the local ruler wanted his
subjects to adhere. Changes in religious adherence were frequent as the fortunes of war and ruling
families ebbed and flowed. Czechs today are considered the most non-religious people in Europe. In
fact, they are frequently religious in belief but adhere to no formal religion whatsoever. It is suggested
by some that Czechs simply gave up trying to belong to one religion or the other and simply became
believers without a formal religion.
There has always been a large number of Czech Jews. Jews have been part of the Czech religious
traditions since the dawn of recorded Czech history. Ethnically they consider themselves Czech.
Indeed, the oldest surviving operating synagogue in Europe is the oddly named “Old New Synagogue”
in Prague. For nearly 1,000 years this house of worship has functioned without interruption. Even the
Nazis did not interfere with this ancient house of worship. There are, even more oddly, an “old old”
synagogue even more ancient than the “old new” one and a “new new” synagogue from the 1600s.
Such is the history of Jews in the Czech lands that Czechs almost never had a problem with Jews.
Rather it was the Germanic neighbors who were forever invading and trying to subjugate the Czech
lands who had issues with Jews.
There were also many adherents to the four native religions of the Czechs: Hussites, the Moravian
Brethren, the Bohemian Brotherhood and Freethinkers. All four are known as anti-clerical and non-
liturgical religions. All four are pacifist by design. These four were unique to Czechs, though have
many non-Czech adherents today. These four religions are all practiced today within the Czech
Republic, as well as in neighboring countries and in many places around the world. Pennsylvania and
North Carolina in particular are centers of the Moravian Brethren today, as is Nicaragua in Central
America. The Bohemian Brotherhood has much in common with the Moravian Brethren as is obvious
by their names.
Hussism was Protestantism about 130 years before most people think Protestantism started with
Martin Luther. Jan Hus wanted to reform the Catholic Church as early as the 1370s. Alas, the Catholic
authorities burned him at the stake in 1415. This act started the Hussite Wars which raged for more
than 100 years. Basically this was a series of wars pitting the Czechs against invading Catholic and
Lutheran armies. Americans are aware of Hus peripherally in the phrase “his goose was cooked.”
“Husa” is the Czech word for a goose and Jan's last name is related to this word – after he was burned
at the stake the phrase entered the Czech language and eventually made its way into English.
Freethinkers just avoided anything to do with established religion whatsoever but are essentially
Christian in outlook and belief. All these religious beliefs are represented among the Czech and
Slovaks of Louisiana.
Because Austria had ruled the Czech lands for centuries there were Czechs with German names, and
Germans with Czech names. The many millions of neighboring Germans and Austrians have always
either trickled or poured (it depended on which century one looks at,) across the border over the
centuries into the less populated Czech lands. However, many did slowly become Czech in their minds
despite their heritage and names. It is not uncommon at all to find Czech speaking people with names
that look completely German. These families have been so long in the Czech lands that they became
Czech and lost all traces of their German heritage.
The Slovaks of Slovakia are very similar in culture and language to the Czechs but they are different
in significant ways. They are mostly Roman Catholic. There are fewer Jews among them. The Slovak
lands were ruled primarily by the Hungarians for nearly 10 centuries, though by others also. Many
Slovak names have Hungarian phonetic spelling but they are recognizably Slovak. Hungarians are not
a Slavic people like the Czechs and Slovaks. Indeed, they are unrelated ethnically and linguistically to
any other Europeans.
Besides these three main regions of the Czech and Slovak republics there are two smaller areas of
unique cultural heritage. Silesia was only once an independent principality, a long time ago. Its
people are variously referred to as Wends, Sorbians or Silesians. It has been nearly 1,000 years
since these people were any more than a subdivision of Germany, Poland and the Czech and Slovak
Republics. Ruthenians are also a somewhat distinct, though nearly extinct, group of people at the
eastern end of Slovakia. Ruthenian is a dying dialect of Slovak. They mostly adhere to Eastern Rite
Catholicism. Modern Silesians and Ruthenians consider themselves Slovak. The pop artist Andy
Warhol is perhaps the most famous of all Ruthenians in the United States; he considered himself to be
Slovak, however.
All these groups and subgroups are included in this book because they considered themselves first
and foremost as Czech and Slovaks and only secondarily as their former ethnic identity. I identify
them mostly as they wanted to be identified. Though I also use the terms Czech and Slovak to refer to
them generally. Where necessary I use the more descriptive Bohemian or Moravian or Slovak. I
never use the term “Czechoslovakian” for such people do not exist. Nor is there any such language as
“Czechoslovakian.” Again, this name is a just a political construct of nation building by United States
after World War I.
So why a book on this small and obscure group of immigrants in Louisiana? Because despite their
minuscule number most Louisianians encounter the legacy of some of these Czechs or Slovaks every
day. From the emblematic St. Charles Avenue street car line and St. Louis Cathedral to the water
control system that protected them in New Orleans, to a theater in Shreveport, to historic structures in
the downtowns of Houma and Covington, to the state’s largest wholesale food company, to one of the
hippest restaurants in Lake Charles for decades, to many of the major government and civic buildings
in Baton Rouge, to knowing one of the many hundreds of descendants of one of Louisiana’s earliest
Czech families now scattered across Acadiana, to the many Bohemians involved in the life of Rapides
Parish, Czechs and Slovaks have a proud place in the history and current events of Louisiana.
Despite the many ethnicities, relgions and self-identifying names they fall under, they all considered
themselves, loosely, Czechs and Slovaks. They had what can only be called a hidden impact on
Louisiana.
In a twist on the usual American immigrant story just half of these immigrants wanted to assimilate and
become Americans. The other half very much wanted to preserve their Czech culture. Thus, there
are two parts to the story of Czech and Slovak immigration to Louisiana. This book is thus divided into
two halves to reflect these differing aspirations. I call the two parts, quite naturally, Assimilation and
Preservation.
Like other immigrants to Louisiana these families and individuals chronicled in the first part of this
book worked at becoming Americans as soon as they could. They Americanized their names as
necessary, learned English and French when necessary and did their best at fitting into the broader
social and economic currents that swirled around the state during and after their time of arrival. There
was, however, no great wave of Czech and Slovak immigrants as there were with the Cajuns, French,
Scots-Irish, Italians and Germans -- the major groups of immigrants to the state -- who came by the
tens of thousands in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nor did they come to Louisiana nearly as a whole
like the small number of Yugoslavs, Hungarians, Poles, Lebanese, Belgians, Russians and others
during that distinct period between 1890 and 1917 when America and Louisiana saw the greatest
influx of immigrants. Instead, Czechs and Slovaks came as a trickle, one here, one there, never more
than three dozen in any year, over nearly three centuries of Louisiana’s history. No one family
seemed to ever know or be aware that there were other families of the same heritage, except for the
Slovaks in Cameron Parish. They simply came as individuals.
Because they were so few, spread far and thin, we find no ethnic organizations, or grand buildings
holding ethnic societies, or Louisiana published old-language newspapers, or churches filled with
immigrants and their progeny. There are many examples of these among the Cajuns, Irish, Germans
and Italians. Neighborhoods were not teaming with Czechs and Slovaks as we find with the major
ethnic groups. Only a handful were well-known in their own time and place. Now they are mostly mere
footnotes in history. You will find no Czechs or Slovaks among the well known people of Louisiana’s
nearly three centuries of political and civic life. Of their known legacy virtually nothing has been
written of their Czech or Slovak connection.
Because there were so few we are able to look at every single family and individual who came from
the Czech and Slovak lands. In all there are only about 250 families and individuals chronicled in the
first part of this book. The story begins, however, at the dawn of the settlement of Louisiana, when it
was still a French colony in the wilderness in the early 1700s. They did, though, settle in every corner
of the state. Only a few of them stayed for a long time or even left descendants around the state;
though one of the earliest families now comprises nearly 2,000 descendants. For many we have only a
single record of their brief appearance on the scene. What became of those who were fleetingly in the
record can only be guessed at. Perhaps these succeeded so successfully at assimilation that we lose
all track of them in Louisiana; many obviously moved on after just a brief sojourn in the state. All of
these are presented here in four chapters in the first half of this book: The First Czechs, who came at
the founding of Louisiana; the Movers and Shakers who had a lasting if little recognized impact on New
Orleans; the nearly anonymous Big City Immigrants who lived throughout New Orleans; and finally, the
families and individuals who settled in many other parishes of the state as Farmers and Tradesmen.
Though, among this last group are several who had a larger-than-life impact on Louisiana. They are
presented in a roughly alphabetical order within each of the well recognized regions in the state, such
as Acadiana or the Florida Parishes.
I also give two other chapters in the first part of the book. One is on the commerical relations that
have long existed between the Czech lands, and to a lesser degree Slovakia, and Louisiana. Though
these commerical relations are little known, among them are Czechoslovakian-made beads thrown
from Mardi Gras parades for decades. Strands of these colorful glass trinkets are now a highly sought
after collectibles. There has also been an on-going relationship between Charles University in Prague
and the University of New Orleans. Oddly, the clean-up crews at Wal-Marts statewide during the 1990s
and first few years of the new millennium were comprised entirely of Czech immigrants. With
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita many new connections were made. Concluding Part One is a small
chapter that looks at the idea of name changes that Czech and Slovaks had to face as they entered
American life.
The second part of this book is a story of preservation. Beginning in 1908 a group of Bohemians,
never numbering more than 350 families total and just about 100 families at any given time,
endeavored to create a Bohemian colony in Rapides Parish. There were never more than about 450
individuals at a time. They are, however, unique in Louisiana’s history. Their goal was to keep their
Bohemian heritage alive -- and to keep separate from the surrounding American and French culture.
They wanted no part of assimilation, though they were not entirely successful in their goal. They did
not even want to include Moravians or Slovaks. They founded two Bohemian towns, Libuse and Kolin,
in the raw wilderness. Part Two of this book chronicles the founding and nearly 100 year history of
these communities and their attempt to create a slice of Bohemia in the New World. This history is
presented in six chapters organized in a chronological fashion. Of some families in these two town we
know a lot. We know other families only from a single property record in the Rapides Parish
Courthouse.
In both parts of this book I present every tidbit of information I could find: their names, birth and death
years, number of years married, dates of arrival and sometimes the name of the ship they traveled
on, from which towns in the Czech and Slovak Republics they hailed from, their ports of embarkation
and arrival, their occupations and economic conditions, as well as their addresses or locations in
Louisiana.
This information was found among more than 3,000 sources including census records, obituaries,
property records, newspaper articles, books, the Internet, magazines, professional journals and
personal or business papers. I traveled to or contacted people in nearly every parish of the state
looking for this information. If I was able to locate descendants I learned more anecdotes about these
families; I stop these stories about the 1950s because of a respect for the privacy of living people.
For some I found only a single reference from the distant past. In a broad bibliography I detail where
and how I was able to find this information.
The reason I present all this information is that I hope to uncover more about these immigrants.
Because they were mostly ignored or somehow mislabled or misfiled not one history book or journal or
article about Louisiana has a word about them. This book is simply the first time this information has
been compiled and presented to the public. I am fairly sure that there is a lot more information about
these families that I could not find. My purpose here is to provide a baseline for future research. The
extensive bibliography is from Louisiana and America-wide sources but I could never hope to list all
3,000 sources I looked at. Oddly, it was all surprisingly easy to locate, especially since so many Czech
and Slovak names just jumped off the page at me as I scoured the records.
This book, with its encyclopedic scope, is the first time that all these stories are brought together.
Perhaps some readers will feel that there are too many facts and dates and other information. But
since no one has ever written about these people before I felt compelled to provide as much detail as
possible just to prove the point that these immigrants had a remarkable impact on Louisiana. Some
professional historians will perhaps say the plethora of information is unnecessary. Some readers of
the manuscript prior to publication wondered at the rich details. Some keep looking for some
overarching theme or narrative. There is not one story. There are 575 individual stories.
This is a book about individuals who simply all showed up in the same place after having come from
the same place in Europe. There is not even one reason they left the Czech and Slovak lands. The
Irish mostly came because of the famine in that country. Germans came because of political
instability. Italians left because of the grinding poverty in that nation. Jews left Europe to avoid the
pogroms against them. Czechs and Slovaks each came for their own reason. There are as many
reasons as there are individuals. Some did come because of religious or political oppression, some to
obtain their own lands, some to avoid conscription into the Austrian army and some because of
poeverty. But there were also those who simply wanted to try something new. There is, though, simply
no one or two reasons that Czechs or Slovaks left Europe for America and wound up in Louisiana.
Without more concrete information on each of these families and individuals it is impossible to
determine why they left for America and came to Louisiana. However, this encyclopedic scope is also
precisely because it will likely be the only book on this subject for a while.
Then there is also perhaps the question of why I felt competent to write this book. After all, if not one
professional historian had bothered it is fair to ask why me. First off, I am not a professional or trained
historian. I am not a trained sociologist or some person involved in ethnographic studies. I am not
sure that one must be to write a history book. I do have a fine college education from New York
University which doubtless was training enough to research and compile the facts. I will leave for
those “professionals” in the various fields I mentioned to make any interpretations or suppositions
about the facts. But at least I have provided these facts to future writers. They are available in no
other place.
I am, however, completely of Czech heritage. While I am not of Slovak heritage I am well acquainted
with Slovakia. After all, for the vast majority of my life I had to say my family was from “Czechoslovakia”
for a lack of a better description. Three of my grandparents were born in what is now the Czech
Republic. One of my grandmothers was born just a few years after my great-grandparents arrived in
New York. Each, however, was the only member of their family to set out for the New World. They left
many brothers and sisters behind. My father's family is from Moravia, my mother's from Bohemia. My
forefathers have lived where they live today for time immemorial. These four branches have also
practiced the various different religious traditions of the Czech lands. We have no one religion in my
family, though perhaps we mostly adhere to the Hussite and Freethinking traditions.
When I was a child my great-grandparents and grandparents spoke to me in Czech and I answered in
English. I attended a Czech summer camp for 10 years. I belonged to the Czechoslovak Society of
America for many years. There were nearly 100 words in Czech that I did not know the English
equivalents to until I was in high school or older, so common at home were they. I even have a
reasonable command of the Czech language. In my childhood we ate Czech traditional cooking
regularly, and to this day I can cook these Czech national foods. Traditional Czech music was played
often in my house. Basically, it was a bilingual household with a very strong Czech cultural heritage.
Indeed, like many Czechs families in America, we were very slow at assimilating into the wider
American culture. I am thoroughly immersed in this culture. Plus, with a name like Hlavac I have been
compelled almost daily throughout my life to explain to others what Czechs and Slovaks are; during my
twenty years in Louisiana even more so. I am, after all, the only person with this surname out of more
than four and a half million residents in the state.
Furthermore, unlike many immigrants to America the American side of my family never lost contact
with our European side. We have stayed in constant contact (except during World War II) since the
moment my forefathers so recently set foot on these shores. Mine is not the case of wondering about
long lost relatives in unknown villages in a strange land. Mine is the situation of knowing exactly to
whom and where I have been writing in the Czech Republic for decades. I entertain my Czech born
relatives when they travel to America and I stay with them when I travel to the Czech Republic. Its is
not much different than a family in Louisiana visiting its relatives in Texas. To me, its just right over
there, so to speak. Czech culture and my Czech roots are not some alien past – it is the immediate
current for me.
Since the moment I became aware of the two Czech towns in Central Louisiana I have been intrigued
with what other Czechs and Slovaks came to Louisiana. Even though as I looked through Louisiana
history books and journals and found nothing substantial I knew there had to be more for there were
many odd references and footnotes and parenthetical remarks to these “unknown” people. So I set a
course to see what could be found. I scoured every source and locale in Louisiana to find this
information. As I said above, it was so easily found. Even when nearly every Louisiana archivist,
librarian, record keeper and historian I encountered in my research said there were no Czech and
Slovaks in Louisiana I persisted in looking. There was significant information in each repository. What
I found in total should astound many of them. It will at least, I hope, educate them about a part of
Louisiana history that has not been presented until this book.
I also set the course for the creation of the Louisiana Czech and Slovak Museum. I served as the first
president of this fledgling organization. What will comprise the exhibits and archives of this museum is
in this book. Indeed, without this book we would not know what to put in this museum. I believe I have
spoken to nearly every one of Czech and Slovak heritage in the state. My competence comes simply
from my Czech heritage combined with dogged research, the refusal to quit, the faith that there was
more than what was previously reported or was apparent and a persistence that any professional
historian should well appreciate.
Whether of Czech and Slovak heritage or not all readers of this book will surely be equally amazed at
what I found. Surely, the contribution of Czechs and Slovaks to Louisiana can no longer be ignored.
A Hidden Impact is the culmination of seven years of research. I sincerely hope that it opens the eyes
of many and spurs much greater research. In all, I hope that this book shows how a small group of
immigrants from a little known place in Central Europe has had a long and continuing impact on
Louisiana. Czechs and Slovaks, you will see, have a special place in the history of our state.
Jim Hlavac
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
| A Hidden Impact The Czechs & Slovaks of Louisiana From the 1720s to Today. Introduction to the Book |
