SILVER LAKE: A HISTORY IN PICTURES, By Tony Kadlec
By the mid-19th century, the first wave of white settlers arrived on the north shore of an unnamed lake, situated on the fertile plains of the Minnesota territory. Primarily English-speaking immigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland, many of these settlers were descendants of families who had already lived for generations in America; transplants from the East coast who came to lay claim to the land and to seek their fortunes on the edge of the ‘Big Woods’ of Minnesota. These ‘wheeler-dealers’, who bought low and sold high, would eventually name the settlement and its body of water, “Silver Lake”.
Then the lure of cheap farmland brought the foreign-language speaking Czech and Polish immigrants; hardworking stock who established their own churches, cemeteries, schools, cultural halls, saloons, farms, and the vibrant downtown business community of Silver Lake. Proud of their community these pioneers captured their history with wonderful photographs, which have been preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
Click the book to learn more about SILVER LAKE: A HISTORY IN PICTURES and to order your copy.
Silver Lake, McLeod County History
1912 Parcel Map of Hale Township, McLeod County, Minnesota
Bohemian Reading and Educational Society Press Release, May 2009
Joseph Barton (Born in Velké Tresné, CZ in 1849, Died in Silver Lake, Minnesota USA in 1934)
Autobiography of Joseph Barton
Esther Jerabek
Esther Jerabek, teacher and librarian, was born October 15, 1897 in Silver
Lake, Minnesota, the daughter of Czech immigrants John and Julia (Bren) Jerabek.
She graduated (1918) magna cum laude from Macalester College, St. Paul, and
received an M.A. degree from the University of Minnesota (1924). She taught
school (1918-1923) in Goodhue and Sibley counties and in Fergus Falls,
Minnesota, and later (1925-1928) in Rawlins, Wyoming. In 1929 she joined the
library technical services staff of the Minnesota Historical Society, where she
served as cataloger until her retirement in 1963. She died in Columbia Heights,
Minnesota, October 16, 1979.
Jerabek authored many books and articles on Czechs in Minnesota and the
United States, and on library procedures. Her major publications were Czechs
and Slovaks in North America: A Bibliography (1972) and Check List of
Minnesota Public Documents, 1941-1950 (1952).
Transition to a New World Bohemia, by Esther Jerabek
WCAL - Thursday, April 7, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
WCAL - Thursday April 14, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
WCAL - Thursday April 21, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
Ondracek Family
Here are some excerpts from the family history book on Joseph Ondracek, John Tupa, Jan Drahos, and Charles Burich written by Ron Ondracek, regarding the local towns and institutions of McLeod County, Minnesota
McLeod County Towns and Institutions
Bear Creek-Church of the Assumption Catholic Cemetery
For more information on the Ondracek family please contact Ron at: r.ondracek@sbcglobal.net
Autobiography of Rev. František Pokorný
my_journey_through_life_-_the_autobiography_of_rev._francis_pokorny_d.d._translated_from_the_czech_by_j.t._pokorny.pdf
Silver Lake Presbyterian Church World War II Newsletter
November 1943 Issue
Then the lure of cheap farmland brought the foreign-language speaking Czech and Polish immigrants; hardworking stock who established their own churches, cemeteries, schools, cultural halls, saloons, farms, and the vibrant downtown business community of Silver Lake. Proud of their community these pioneers captured their history with wonderful photographs, which have been preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
Click the book to learn more about SILVER LAKE: A HISTORY IN PICTURES and to order your copy.
Silver Lake, McLeod County History
1912 Parcel Map of Hale Township, McLeod County, Minnesota
Bohemian Reading and Educational Society Press Release, May 2009
Joseph Barton (Born in Velké Tresné, CZ in 1849, Died in Silver Lake, Minnesota USA in 1934)
Autobiography of Joseph Barton
Esther Jerabek
Esther Jerabek, teacher and librarian, was born October 15, 1897 in Silver
Lake, Minnesota, the daughter of Czech immigrants John and Julia (Bren) Jerabek.
She graduated (1918) magna cum laude from Macalester College, St. Paul, and
received an M.A. degree from the University of Minnesota (1924). She taught
school (1918-1923) in Goodhue and Sibley counties and in Fergus Falls,
Minnesota, and later (1925-1928) in Rawlins, Wyoming. In 1929 she joined the
library technical services staff of the Minnesota Historical Society, where she
served as cataloger until her retirement in 1963. She died in Columbia Heights,
Minnesota, October 16, 1979.
Jerabek authored many books and articles on Czechs in Minnesota and the
United States, and on library procedures. Her major publications were Czechs
and Slovaks in North America: A Bibliography (1972) and Check List of
Minnesota Public Documents, 1941-1950 (1952).
Transition to a New World Bohemia, by Esther Jerabek
WCAL - Thursday, April 7, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
WCAL - Thursday April 14, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
WCAL - Thursday April 21, 1949, 9:00 A.M. Contributions of Czech Immigrant group to 'America in the Making'; by Esther Jerabek.
Ondracek Family
Here are some excerpts from the family history book on Joseph Ondracek, John Tupa, Jan Drahos, and Charles Burich written by Ron Ondracek, regarding the local towns and institutions of McLeod County, Minnesota
McLeod County Towns and Institutions
Bear Creek-Church of the Assumption Catholic Cemetery
For more information on the Ondracek family please contact Ron at: r.ondracek@sbcglobal.net
Autobiography of Rev. František Pokorný
my_journey_through_life_-_the_autobiography_of_rev._francis_pokorny_d.d._translated_from_the_czech_by_j.t._pokorny.pdf
Silver Lake Presbyterian Church World War II Newsletter
November 1943 Issue