ANNOUNCEMENTS

>>>SMALL TOWNS is 8 years old now, in 2008. Participation in the projects of SMALL TOWNS is welcomed. Larger data bases will benefit more people. Your inclusion in GENEALOGISTS might cause someone to contact you with data that is new to you. ORIGINS data base has already been useful. At Czech heritage events in Oxford Jct. in late April and early December 2000, our data base was used to mark Oxford Jct. origins on maps of Europe. ASSOCIATION members are still not shown on the website as the candy FELLOW TRACERS which includes Suchdol Area Genealogists makes ASSOC. less important. Current participants may add and/or change data anytime. If you have a good photo of a scene in Oxford Jct. or the area south of Trebon and will mail or e-mail it to me, I will consider it for the website and return originals to you. I regret that I can't add new items more frequently. Requests for specific information will be considered.

>>>The candy items, Personal Names and Place Names will have diacritical marks added when I aquire the computer capability to add them easily. For future candy items, I am collecting questions, needs, and problems related to our specific places and to Czech genealogy. What are yours?

>>>The O.J. Genealogy Club published a book on the country schools of Oxford Township. They are delightful and only $15. Contact me if you want one and I’ll pass on your request. The club also purblished a book on the pioneers of Oxford Twp., see ad on the home page, or contact me re: A New Land, A New Life, Pioneers of Oxford Twp, Jones Co. IA, 1880 and Earlier.

>>> An associate is considering compiling a new, comprehensive history of Oxford Jct. Contact me if you have something significant that you believe was not included in previously published O.J. histories, and I’ll pass it on. There is a list of sources for O.J. history in Wregie Memorial Library, mostly newspaper issue dates, subjects noted (like railroad, Oxford Mills, etc.).

>>>The Rozmberk Society (linked to SMALL TOWNS) is an important affiliation for us. One of their projects is operating a Peasant Museum in an architecturally interesting old schoolhouse in Kojakovice (part of the municipality of Jilovice and near Suchdol nad Luznici) which depicts life as it was in the villages in South Bohemia in the 19th century, displays lineage of a few Kojakovice families including Vochozka who emigrated to Oxford Jct., and exhibits items from and about Oxford Junction, Iowa because many families from that part of South Bohemia emigrated to Oxford Jct. (See Sister City announcement). The official opening of the museum was June 2, 2001 and was attended by representatives from Oxford Jct. Rozmberk Society’s website is very interesting and informative. It includes instructions for making donations to their important projects.

Rozmberk Society can provide us with information about South Bohemia, answer our specific questions, and conduct genealogical research. One of their researschers was employed in the Trebon Archive for five years and is familiar with all source materials for the Trebon area. They prefer to work in 10 hour bouts at $16 per hour. Work begins when the scope of the research is agreed on, is completed in a few weeks (can be longer if archive is closed for the summer), and results are released when payment is received. This is a reasonable rate considering their expertise and that we are unable to get records directly from the Czech Archives now. They will consider small orders as well. To contact them, e mail to genealogy@czechfriends.org

Rozmberk Society wants to acquire historic items related to the Kojakovice community for inclusion in their exhibits in the Peasant Museum. They would consider items from surrounding villages if they are typical of the area. Some of these artifacts would need to “go home”, having been taken to America by emigrants. Should you have something (a physical item, photos taken in Kojakovice, data regarding former residents of same, etc.) that you are willing to donate to Rozmberk Society, contact them or me. See article on the home page.

>>>Sister City -- On 11 July 2000, the town council of Oxford Junction, Iowa voted to accept a proposal to establish a sister city alliance with the municipality of Jilovice which includes the village of Kojakovice (see Rozmberk Society announcement). A cluster emigration occurred -- many from the Jilovice and Suchdol nad Luznici area emigrated to Oxford Jct., making an appropriate alliance. The SMALL TOWNS projects played a small but proud part in forming this connection. Drs. Robert Dulfer and Olga Cerna, founders of the Rozmberk Society, represented Jilovice in their visit to Oxford Jct. in December 2000, and have returned every year since. Representatives from Oxford Jct. visited Jilovice and attended the grand opening of the Peasant Museum in Kojakovice on June 2, 2001. The opening was indeed a grand event. It included tours of the museum, interaction with local people, good food, horse-cart rides, demonstrations, sister city ceremony, live music, dancing, mass in the Kojakovice chapel, and more. The O.J. “contingency” toured area villages, fish ponds, and castles, researched in the Trebon Archives, enjoyed other activities including touring in Prague, and returned glowing with pleasure and full of their cultural heritage.

>>>Cluster Emigrations – Besides the cluster emigration of 30 to 40 families from the villages near Suchdol nad Luznici in South Bohemia to Oxford Jct. IA, there was one of at least 25 families from Dzbanov u Vysoke Myto in northeast Bohemia to O.Jct., a lesser number from Delaware County, Ohio, and an extensive one from the Husum area in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany to the Wyoming area in Jones County, Iowa. Please contact me if you have ancestry from Dzbanov or the Husum area as there are active projects relating to those cluster emigrations.

>>>Neighboring towns to Oxford Jct. have websites: Lost Nation to the east is www.LostNationIowa.com Select "About Lost Nation" for history. This site is hosted by my first college roommate! Wyoming to the north of O.J. is showcase.netins.net/web/wyomingia/

>>>Why me?! I have been asked to explain why a woman in Florida made a website about a town in Iowa. I grew up on a farm southeast of Oxford Jct., always interested in genealogy and history, and stayed in touch with friends and relatives there. Early in 2000 I realized that in my genealogical research I had learned the other-place origins of many families from O.J., and noticed that several of them came from the same part of Bohemia and further, there were others researching the lineage of Oxford Jct. Therein lay the seeds for the 3 projects of the website (and hardcopies). I’ve had great cooperation from so many people, that I consider this another one of O.J.’s community projects. I hope that it can continue to grow and be considered a helpful places-specific history and genealogical tool.

Judy Nelson, Project Coordinator for SMALL TOWNS