It was exactly fifty-four years ago yesterday that General John A. Logan instituted the feast of Decoration Day during which the American nation piously recalled the memories of all its heroes who laid down their lives in the great internecine strife of 1861-1865. Since that day, May 30 has become one of the most significant national holidays, and although it was dedicated mainly to the memory of the fallen warriors, the American Republic adopted it as an 'all souls day,' and our cemeteries become the rendezvous of millions of sorrowing people who visit the graves of their dear departed ones to adorn them with flowers and to engage in melancholy thoughts. This beautiful custom was likewise adopted by the Bohemians of America, and the celebrations held in our Czech cemeteries are always the most beautiful and significant ones. Yesterday's celebration was indicative of this exalted 2piety expressed by the living toward their dead. The ideal weather brought everybody out of doors.

The Celebration at the Cesky Narodni Hrbitov (Bohemian National Cemetery)

This silent city of the dead, located in Irving Park, the resting place of almost 40,000 of our countrymen who sleep peacefully after having struggled with life, was a scene of buzzing activity through-out the day. The cemetery was literally flooded by humanity....Many thousands passed through the cemetery gate to decorate the graves of their dear ones and to honor those brave warriors who bled on the battlefields of freedom to liberate the black men. The extensive necropolis was changed as though a sorcerer's wand had touched it, changing it into a blossoming garden....and there was not a single grave which was bare. All this shows how our people gratefully remember those who lie below with hands crossed over their motionless breasts....

Within the green framework of the park and under the azure skies an annual 3celebration was held near the soldiers' monument. This year the program began somewhat earlier than usual. At about 10 A. M. there was a procession of our countrymen who previously assembled in the hall of the Cesko-Slovanske Podporujici Spolky (Czecho-Slavonic Benevolent Societies), 18th and May Streets, but who had to reassemble later in front of the buildings of the Utulna A Sirotcinec (Bohemian Old People's Home and Orphanage). In this procession there were Czech veterans of the Civil War headed by a Czech banker, Mr. Frantisek Stejskal, who, in spite of his eighty years, can still step very lively; a band under the leadership of Mr. Josef Kalaba; the representatives of the Cesky Narodni Hrbitov; Czech veterans of the Spanish-American War; soldiers of Bohemian extraction who took part in the World War; Czechoslovak Legionnaires accompanied by their own band, etc. These uniformed groups assembled around the soldiers' monument where the usual rites were held in honor of the fallen warriors who died while fighting under the Stars and Stripes. The ceremony consisted of several necrologues, the blowing of taps, and the firing of a salvo. The celebration itself then took place at the speaker's dais. In the meantime the crowds increased in such great numbers that the cemetery took on the 4appearance of a great encampment.

The program was opened by the vice-president of the Board of Delegates of the Hrbitov, Mr. Stanislav Simecek, who delivered a succinct but heart-felt speech of welcome. Mr. Simecek spoke very well; every word of his left a lasting impression upon his listeners. The band played a medley of American national songs; a recitation in English followed, and Miss Burian, an inmate of the Sirotcinec, acquitted herself well in this....The next item was a speech by County Judge F. S. Righeimer. Judge Righeimer is well known among our countrymen, having been raised in a Bohemian neighborhood....The Judge spoke briefly about the origin and the meaning of Decoration Day, touching upon the civic virtues of our Czech people. He waxed eloquent when mentioning the Republic of Czechoslovakia and its President Masaryk; he alluded to the great men of that country, and spoke appreciatively about the enthusiasm of the young men of Czechoslovak origin who, like their fathers in years past, rallied willingly under the Stars and Stripes whenever their threatened homeland issued a call to war. In conclusion, he pointed out the duties of the American people 5to them. All of our efforts should be concentrated in making it possible for these young brave men to get what is due them--recognition in the form of a bonus. It is not a question of a monetary compensation....for the sacrifices which were made by the American Army cannot be repaid, but behind the bonus there is a hidden judgment and an appreciation of these sacrifices, so that in reality it is a payment of a debt of honor. Enthusiastic applause rewarded the speaker....

The judge's speech was followed by another recitation in English delivered by an inmate of the Sirotcinec, Miss Harriet Stracek, and after the band played another number, the vice-president, Mr. Simecek, introduced the main speaker, Mr. Albert J. Havranek, a member of the editorial staff of the Denni Hlasatel and a foremost Bohemian-American bard. On this occasion Mr. Simecek touched upon the literary activities of Mr. Havranek, which is valued not only here in America, but also in the old homeland. Mr. Havranek's speech was characterized by a fluent and well articulated diction. It was as follows:

"As all other civilized nations of the world, the American nation, too, has set aside a number of days to commemorate significant milestones in its history. Of these days Decoration Day is one of the most important, for its purpose is to honor those who have passed away. The graves are being decorated on this day in every part of the United States, and there is no community in this great land of ours where the living do not honor their dead. In large metropolises such as Chicago, the pilgrimages to the cities of eternal repose and silence are very great....In humble and small communities these pilgrimages equal in sincerity, though not in number, the affection that the living hold for their dear departed ones.....

"We, too, have assembled today in this beautiful garden, which we may rightly consider one of the show places to which the Czechoslovaks of Chicago and of America may point with pride. And we have assembled here in order to gain an outlook into our own future [in this country]. We have also come here to plan for our future by reflecting upon that past in which we lost so many of our 7dear ones. We know very well that we owe the place which we now occupy in the great American unity to those who preceded us. And we would be thoroughly selfish if we did not remember them at least once a year, on a day when they should be remembered with respect, love, and gratitude. Those who have given their lives to make possible our ideals of freedom, liberty, and independence deserve special honors. Their blood flowed not only for their own age and generation, but for the freedom of all posterity....They abandoned all personal considerations, their homes and firesides, their wives, their children, and their parents, their relatives and friends to bring this supreme sacrifice.

"America has always had numberless thousands of such loyal sons in every period of her history. And we, as her sons and daughters, should be proud of that among those who thus have acted, who thus were ready to make the greatest sacrifice, there were immense numbers of immigrants, among these our own folk as is attested by the recorded history of the glories of this great Republic. That 8history reveals the fact that there was not a single instance in which our own people did not take part in a fight for freedom and liberty. And we are especially proud of the fact that in the last great wars in which the United States participated, there were many thousands of Czechoslovak people or people of Czechoslovak origin. They did not wait until they were called, but volunteered--indeed they were the first among the first--with love and enthusiasm to rally under the victorious Star-Spangled Banner. This they considered their duty, their greatest one. To them were later added many of our people who were drafted. And all of them fought as veritable lions to realize the great and beautiful ideals which later led to the creation of a Czechoslovak Republic upon the ruins of the Dual Monarchy. It was chiefly America that helped to build that [new] Republic. It was the American boys who, side by side with the rest of our Allies, shed their blood for the freedom, liberty, and democracy of all, and who upon the field of honor and glory laid down their lives not only under the gallantly streaming Star-Spangled Banner, 9but likewise under the Bohemian flag. Today we remember these great heroes with love and gratitude, and in the fullness of our hearts we think of them. In this cemetery some of them lie buried below the green sod.

"When we come to their graves to adorn them, let us pause in quiet thought. Let us pause not only above their graves, but above all the others. Let us realize also that they who lie buried here, though dead, are still alive and shall continue to live by their past deeds. Their heritage belongs not only to us, but to our children and to our children's children. They have left behind a challenge worthy of being followed. In whatever manner these men have lived, they have left good examples of their lives behind them.

"Of the lives of our dear departed ones whom we are honoring today, let us select for our own purposes the most beautiful and the most shining examples. If we do so, this annual pilgrimage to the cemeteries will have a meaning.

Instead of being a difficult and painful task, that pilgrimage will thus become an impetus to a better, more wholesome, more fruitful and more useful life.....And by that love, which we show them even after death, let us decide to keep our contact not only with the dead.... but also, and in a greater measure, with the living, with ourselves. Let us remember that we, too, will have to go soon enough, and that none of us will stay healthy very long. Therefore, as long as we are alive let us live in true brotherly and sisterly love; let us love one another; let us willingly and gladly bring sacrifices by which we may mutually support each other. Let us all work for the betterment and beautification of not only our own lives, but of the life of the whole, and after that is done we shall with a quiet mind and a clear conscience be able to visit these graves from year to year....."

After Mr. Havranek's address, which was greeted with a tremendous applause, Miss Vlasta Stipek, another inmate of our Sirotcinec, recited a poem in the Bohemian language. She gained the affections of everyone present by her 11recitation....The program ended with a musical number consisting of a medley of Bohemian national songs.....

The cemetery was really beautiful this year; it made a fine impression with its well-ordered decorations....All of these were finished in time for the celebration, and our cemetery resembled a great blossoming park. The delegates were congratulated by many who came here, and the tributes thus brought to them were well deserved.

The Celebration at Svaty Vojtech (Saint Adalbert's) Cemetery

The course of this celebration, held together with the Poles, was dignified, and was a continuation of our usual annual festivities....The great numbers that assembled here eagerly awaited the appearance of the Bohemian speakers, so that by listening to his words, they could immerse themselves in that sea of thoughts which is holy to everyone, and which has the same meaning for all irrespective of nationality and religion; in short, that the life which 12we are experiencing at present is different from that life which our departed dear ones have experienced. The gathering did not have to wait very long for the speaker, for Reverend F. W. Jedlicka soon appeared. With calm but impressive words, he opened the ceremony. He called attention to the purpose of Decoration Day, the honoring of the fallen warriors who gave their lives in order that liberty might live; but at the same time, said he, this day was set aside as a day of prayer, a sincere supplication for the eternal repose of the souls of friends, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Therefore this celebration is not only a civic one, but is also largely religious. The speaker then introduced the Reverend Placid Sasek, O. S. B. [Order of Saint Benedict] who, after having greeted the assembled, addressed them as follows:

"Dear friends! We have assembled here this day to honor the memory of those who are dear to us and who have passed into the Great Beyond. Wherever one's eye rests one may see a cross. At such a spectacle our heads bend down in deepest respect for that symbol which declares the endless love of God, Our 13Creator, a love which caused Him to descend among us to become a man; to redeem us from an eternal death by His most precious blood.

"There is yet another symbol which attracts our eyes. It is the flag that waves above our heads. When our eyes meet this symbol our thoughts invariably fly to that not far distant day when the bugles declared that a great war was to be waged in this wide land of ours. It was the call of the fatherland issued to her vigorous sons who were to defend not only their country, but the whole world against a common foe. It has now been more than five years since that trumpet call sounded, but how fresh is the memory of that day! For it was not only our new homeland that called us, a homeland which we learned to love so deeply, but our old homeland too, the land where our parents were born. It was that country that called us to arms, that called us to shake off the yoke, the enslaving shackles of a foreign usurper, which she bore and under which she had moaned for over three hundred years.

"Wherever a Czech heart beat, a sacrifice was brought; there was not a single 14Bohemian heart that would hesitate to make such sacrifice, be it even life itself....It was for that cause that we saw hundreds of our hopeful sons rallied under the flags and marching to the strains of [martial] music to meet the enemy on the battlefield. Hundreds, nay thousands, of our young men left for overseas. They were all in their full vigor, but alas, not all of them returned to their family hearths which they so enthusiastically abandoned when the call was issued. Not all of them returned, for it was the wish of the Almighty Father and the Author of the universe that they should lay down their lives as a burned sacrifice upon the altar of their fatherland. It was a great sacrifice, for it was the Son of God Himself who said: 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And these heroes, whose graves we decorate today, loved their homeland so much that they did not hesitate to make the supreme sacrifice--to shed their life's blood. It was love, an exalted love for their country, which led them over the battlefields to the premature grave. And it is love again which leads us today so that in our feeble way we could at least honor the 15memory of these men, thus showing that we value their great souls, and their patriotic ardor for the land of their birth.

"But here rest not only our war heroes, who, when the bugles sounded and guns roared, fell in mortal combat....but also the unsung heroes of everyday life. I say they were heroes, for even these, in the quiet of their domestic hearths, have bravely and with undaunted courage performed their duties. It was love, said I, which led the brave young men to the battlefields and to death, but it was love again, and a love equally great, which inspired the fathers, the mothers, the husbands, and the wives, men and women, to care without surcease for their beloved ones who were entrusted to their loving care by the Heavenly Father. And because of that love they have not let up, no matter how difficult or laborious their work may have been, to care for those who were dependent upon them. It behooves us, therefore, to decorate their graves also; it is quite fitting that their graves be adorned with a 16cross, for even they have fought a good fight and finished the course of their lives, finally attaining their reward from the eternally just and good Judge. 'And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity,' says the great Apostle [Paul]. It was love that bound us to them while they lived here on earth, and it is love that urges us now to offer an ardent prayer for them and thus remain united.

"Therefore, after having disbanded in order to visit the individual graves of our dear ones, and after having decorated their graves with blossoms, let us remember their beautiful virtues which adorned their souls, and them let us kneel, and in the fullness of our hearts let us pray to them to intercede for us at the throne of the Most High, that He may give us strength to follow in their footsteps, to love God above all else and to love our fellowmen as we love ourselves, so that when some day we shall rest here ourselves our friends and acquaintances will stop and say: 'Here rests a man--or a woman--of rare virtues.'"

The address of the Reverend Placid Sasek left a profound impression upon the assembled countrymen, which was evidence that that priest has not missed the mark at which he aimed.....

Celebration at the Cemetery of Vzkriseni Pane

(Resurrection of Our Lord)

Large crowds of our countrymen took part in the ceremonies at this cemetery. As usual the Bohemian organizations from the Parish of Svati Cyrill A Metodej (The Saints Cyrill and Methodius) paraded about the cemetery accompanied by their band....At 11 A. M. these organizations assembled at the main entrance to the cemetery and, headed by their band, proceeded to the speaker's dais. Here a festive program awaited them. The speakers were Reverend Tomas Bobal, parish priest of the above-named parish, who addresses a large Czechoslovak gathering every year in this, our newest Czechoslovak cemetery in Chicago, and Reverend Rehor Vaniscak. Both clergymen delivered lengthy addresses.....A field mass was then celebrated in a specially erected tent in the cemetery; this mass was 18celebrated here for the first time last year, and from the large attendance it became clear that our public greatly appreciated this innovation....