Nemecek Brothers
Nemechek Brothers Grocery and Dry Goods store was in Table Rock for about six years, according to a family history researcher, Frances Graham Blecha. The Nemechek Brothers who had the store were John O. and William Nemechek. They opened the store in about 1905, and sold it in 1911. They then moved to Indianola (Red Willow Counthy), Nebraska to take up farming. The family name was originally Nemecek, which has the same pronunciation in Bohemia.
Photos of the business
Here are two shots of Nemechek Brothers. One is outside, one is inside. The photo of the interior is annotated that the store was in the building that now houses the Argus; the annotation appears to be by Gordon Bethel, as his name appears after it, with Frank Goodenkauf being the apparent donor of the photo.
Some doubt has been raised about whether the shots are of the same store, with the comment that the ceiling appear too low to be in the Argus building, and that there are no windows, whereas the exterior shows windows on the west wall and the current building also has windows on the south wall. Either the store operated at two difference locations, or the interior shot is not of Nemechek Brothers.
Some doubt has been raised about whether the shots are of the same store, with the comment that the ceiling appear too low to be in the Argus building, and that there are no windows, whereas the exterior shows windows on the west wall and the current building also has windows on the south wall. Either the store operated at two difference locations, or the interior shot is not of Nemechek Brothers.
Photo 624, John Nemechek on the right, with unidentified man.
Photo 187, Interior of Nemechek Brothers. John Nemecek to the left. The barefoot boy is Roy Hanna, the seated man is Charlie McCourtney.
Back of Photo 187, interior of store
Enjoy some details of the interior shot
John Nemechek at the Hana brothers meat market
Yes, the photo is labeled Hana, not Hanna, Brothers.... John Nemechek is standing to the right, holding large ice tongs
Family history
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There were twelve Nemechek kids, including five Nemechek brothers, John, William, Frank, Jessie, and Rudolf (who died at age 6). Their parents were Katerina and Frantisek Nemechek. The family spelled the name Nemecek, but eventually the kids changed it to Nemechek, the pronunciation of the name in Bohemia.
John and William operated Nemechek Brothers. Family history researcher Frances Graham Blecha provides this information about them. (William Nemechek was married to Anna Karas, a sister to Frances's husband Bob Blecha's Grandfather Martin Karas.) John O. Nemechek was married briefly to Anna Vopata around 1900, but they were divorced and he never remarried. He was a farmer and, with his brother William, was co-owner of the Nemechek Brothers Grocery & Dry Goods Store in Table Rock, NE. He had a mustache and always wore a tie and dark vest. In 1911, he and William sold the store and bought a farm in Red Willow County, Nebraska. In the late 1930s, after living in various parts of Kansas where he operated dry goods and hardware stores, he returned to Table Rock where he opened a shoe repair shop. John died in the Gordon Home in Pawnee City at the age of 83 years, 7 months & 3 days. |
Photo 626. John O. Nemechek.
John Nemechek. Excerpt from Photo 157.
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William Nemechek was married twice. He was first married to Anna Karas on Apr 14,1896. He was a farmer, and they had five children, two of whom died shortly after birth. Then Anna died Apr 7, 1904, shortly after their youngest son, Benny, was born. William was left with three little boys to raise. He then married Mary Rebecca Hroch (from Marysville, KS) on Jul 17, 1905, and they had three children while the blended family lived at Table Rock. In 1913 William and Mary moved to Glen Flora, Texas, where their fourth child was born. In 1915 the family moved to Waterville, Kansas. William was a farmer there, and later owned a grocery store. He died there on June 24, 1950.
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William and Anna (Karas) Nemechek with sons Roy and Louis, circa 1902.
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