photo collection of
bob & frances blecha
part 1 - Vintage photos
"Table Rock" Bob (as opposed to "Pawnee" Bob) and his wife Fran have a huge collection of photographs of family and friends. They have shared many, treasures that we post here as time permits.
On Oct. 8, 1895, the wedding of Martin Karas and Aloisie Sebek (the couple on the right). Their attendants were Christina Hunzeker & John Blecha (the couple on the left); Christina and John themselves married on on September 26, 1899. Photo 4051. Fran adds some interesting twists and turns to the family history: "Christina was half-sister to Benjamin Hunzeker. Their father was John R. Hunzeker, who first married Mary Hana, Christina's mother. After Mary's death, John R. married Mary's younger sister, Josephine Hana, Benjamin's mother. The parents of the Hana sisters (Mary and Josephine) were Josef & Marie (Karas) Hana. There were 7 children in Joseph & Marie Hana's family Frank Hanna, of the Hanna Meat Market (changed the spelling of his name), was one of those seven Hana children. Another was Frank Hanna, father of Edd Hanna, father of Eddie Hanna, Table Rock's beloved maestro!"
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Aloisie Karas with her daughters, Ella & Josie (Josephine). Photo 4053.
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Wedding of Benjamin Hunzeker & Josephine Karas. Photo 4048.
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Wedding of Benjamin Hunzeker and Josephine Karas (seated), with attendants Jess Rist & Emma Hunzeker Flider. Photo 4052.
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Josephine (Karas) and Benjamin Hunzeker, Photo 4048. They are the parents of Historical Society member Dorothy Hunzeker Fritch, wife of Rudy Fritch, Jr.
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As an accompaniment to Bob and Fran's wedding pictures, here are Benjamin & Josephine Hunzeker in later years, shared by Megan Holes. Photo 4049.
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October 6, 1898: The wedding of Frank Blecha & Fannie Horalek Tenk; standing are attendants Andy Blecha and Bertha Blecha.
Photo 4044
On September 26, 1899, the wedding of John Blecha and Christine Hunzeker. Taped to the bottom right is a photo of their twins Viola and Oliva. Photo 4050.
Frank Jr., and Celestina Karas Fencl. They were married on September 20, 1886. This picture was shared on Findagrave by Anna Peterson, but it is a nice accompaniment to Fran and Bob's later picture of Frank and Celestina's large family. Fran reports that the birth records for Biskoupky, Drahonuv Ujezd, Czech Republic, record that Celestina Karas was born on July 5, 1870, at Biskoupky #10. Photo 4045.
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The Frank & Celestina Fencl Family: Charles, Albert, Harry, Celestina, Agnes, Frank, Barbara, Will, Bertha, Emma, Rosie, Mary. Undated. Photo 643.
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The family of Antonin and Josefa (Pesek) Strejc (seated in front). Their children: Jane Vondrasek, Frank, Joseph, Anton, Jr., and Anna Kovanda. Photo 635.
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As an accompaniment, photograph labeled "Grandma and Grandpa Strejc," in the Historical Society's collection. Photo 955.
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On April 14, 1896, the double wedding of Bohumil (or Bowman) Karas and Lizzie Holechek (the couple on the left) and William Nemecek and Anna Karas (the couple on the right). Bowman Karas and Anna Karas were first cousins. Standing in the middle rear of the photo is Anna's brother Martin Karas, Bob Blecha's grandfather. William Nemechek would have been 26 years old in this wedding picture; Anna 17 (almost 18); Bohumil 19; and Lizzie 20. Martin had gotten married at the age of 21, 6 months before this picture was taken. Photo 3171.
As as accompaniment to Fran & Bob's photographs, here is the extended Nemecek family from the Historical Society's collection. William is in the back row, fourth from the left. Undated. Photo 639.
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William & Anna Nemecek with sons Roy and Louis. Photo 625. Fran has provided some additional information: OK, Sharla, here's the history I can come up with regarding the Nemechek Brothers Grocery and Dry Goods store (The history includes William Nemechek, who was married to Anna Karas, a sister to Bob's Grandfather Martin Karas):
William was a farmer. He and Anna 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, Kansas) on Jul 17, 1905, and they had three children. The blended family lived at Table Rock for a while and during that time William and his brother, John O. Nemechek, opened the Nemechek Brothers Grocery and Dry Goods store. That was about 1905. They sold the store in 1911, and the brothers took up farming in Indianola, Nebraska.
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 on June 24, 1950. Both William and Mary (Hroch) Nemechek are buried at Waterville, KS; John O. Nemechek is buried at the Nat'l Czech Cemetery, rural Humboldt, NE.
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Hanna Brothers Meat Market. It was on the south side of the Square. You can see the tall brickyard chimney in the distance, to the left of the photo. Photo 1466.
On January 3, 1912 in Falls City, Nebraska: the wedding of Charlie Hana and Bessie Hrdlieka. In the back are Edd Hanna (the driver, a position of honor, was considered part of the wedding party back then), bridesmaid Gussie Hrdlieka, and best man Joe Karas. Photo 846, retouched by Fran, the original is in the Historical Society's collection. Fran adds some information about the spelling of Bessie’s name: “That is one of the names that were changed after the family came to America. Hrdlicka is the spelling in the old country; however, Bessie's father Wenzel, changed the spelling to an Americanized version, Herdlitchka (which reflects the correct pronunciation), as is evidenced on his headstone. I have been unable to locate the marriage certificate, (they were not married in Pawnee County) to see how Bessie spelled it.”
Photo 4046, Harry & Margaret Stewart Hanna wedding. Harry died of pneumonia at about age 30. He was from the Frank Hanna family, which included Charlie (wedding photo above), William (father of Willard Hanna) and Edd (father of Eddie Hanna).
Evelyn Hanna & Ella Karas. Evelyn was one of the three children of Edd & Anna Hanna (Evelyn, Elsie, and Eddie). Photo 1469.
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As an accompaniment to Fran & Bob's photos, here are Edd and Anna Hanna with their daughters Evelyn and Elsie. Son Eddie would come along later. Photo 1518.
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As an accompaniment to Fran and Bob's photos, here is baby Evelyn Hanna held by her aunt Mary Hanna Hubka, Photo 971, from the Historical Society's collection.
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