Czech Village & New Bohemia: History in the Heartland

by Dave Rasdal, Mark Stoffer Hunter (Foreword by)

Overview

Beginning in the 1870s, thousands of Bohemians flocked to Cedar Rapids in search of a better life. Czech immigrants courageously overcame the difficult conditions of the local packinghouse and the challenge of creating a new home. They maintained a strong cultural identity with Czech music, literature and an undying dedication to family. In the wake of a devastating flood in 2008, the people of Czech Village and New Bohemia re-imagined traditional principles to forge a remarkable resurgence toward a promising future. Author Dave Rasdal travels from the Charles Bridge to the Bridge of Lions in a celebration of Czech heritage and history in Cedar Rapids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467117616
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	03/14/2016
Series:	Brief History
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	680,307
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dave Rasdal is a retired newspaperman. For over two decades, he worked as a columnist at the Cedar Rapids Gazette. He also maintained the blog "Ramblin' with Rasdal." In 2011, the newspaper published Ramblin': Reflections of Hidden Iowa. Rasdal is a graduate of the University of South Dakota.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mark Stoffer Hunter 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction: Bridges 13

1 Into the 1870s: Immigration and the American Dream 17

2 2008: The Great Flood 36

3 The Early 1900s: The Next Generations 43

4 1918: The Great War-"Free at Last" 72

5 1930s: The Great Depression 83

6 1939: World War II 95

7 1960s: The Mall, Another Flood and Other Things 104

8 1980s: The Packinghouse Packs It In 113

9 1995: The Three Presidents 126

10 2000: Old Becomes New 135

11 Today: Resurgence 146

Appendix: Eat Like a Czech 173

Bibliography 179

Index 183

About the Author 191