The last place we visited in Wilber, Nebraska, was the Czech Cemetery. It's located about 1.5 mile to the west from the town centre.
One of the surprises for me was the fact that you drive into the cemetery. :) In the Czech Republic, cemeteries are small and usually surrounded by a wall, so it's impossible to drive in. Another surprise was that there is a list of all people buried in the cemetery available.
So I definitely had to check for my maiden name - and I found seven people with that (quite uncommon) surname buried there! But unfortunately this family wasn't originally Větrovec (or Vjetrovec) - they were Větrovský, so no relation to me. :(
You can find tombstones with tens of Czech surnames in this cemetery - no surprise when there live such many families with Czech roots in Wilber. We walked around the cemetery checking for any surname known to us. The cemeteries in the U.S. are so different from the Czech ones!
And this is the last post about Wilber, I promise. :)
So glad you were able to visit our great state of Nebraska!!
ReplyDeleteMy great grandparents are buried in this cemetery. It is because of their very large headstone with much information on it that we know g grandma came from Novy Jachimov. I've been to the cemetery a few times.
ReplyDeleteThat list of who is buried there? Wouldn't it be great if all cemeteries would get organized to help visitors in this way?
ReplyDeleteWith FindAGrave you can find a large amount of information on persons buried in cemeteries all over the United States.
ReplyDeleteAnother surprise is that everyone in this cemetary gets their own grave. In Czechia, they dig up the grave, shove bones to the side and bury a new member of the family is a grave that has up to a hundred family members in it, then replace the marble slab.
ReplyDeleteThe Wilber Czech Cemetery had already been established when a catholic priest wanted part of it set aside for catholics only. My great-great-grandfather Frank J. Sadilek argued "We live together in peace, so we should be able to rest together in peace." His argument carried the day.
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