The book narrates the movement of thousands of Czechs to the United States from their home turfs in Bohemia and Moravia in the wake of the twentieth century. Many resided in major towns and cities while other moved to the rural areas where they could get some land for farming. The author reveals how the Czechs settled in Prague, Oklahoma, engaged in economic and cultural activities of the indigenous Americans but maintained purity with regards to their ethnic identity. Critical to note is that the author, Philip D. Smith intimates that the Czechs of Prague started as a small clan member practicing farming during the late 19th century and found a place to settle in east-central Oklahoma. However, following the incorporation of the town in 1902, settlers began flocking from different backgrounds, and after some time the Czechs were rendered a minority. The Czech Americans lived a dual life by embracing their culture and practicing that of the Americans. Therefore, in the book ‘'From Praha to Prague,'' the author attempts to compare and contrast the difficulty in preserving the ethnic identity experienced by the Czechs who remained in the cities with those who went to the rural settlements.
The author uses two different types of sources in developing the work. The sources include primary sources and secondary sources. Although both are used in abundance, the author shows more inclination towards the use of primary sources. Some of the notable primary sources utilized include church records, manuscripts, and interviews. The use of secondary sources follows with a majority falling under the category of articles and book chapters.
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The formation of Prague, Oklahoma was a culmination of many events that began with the construction of railroad tracks by The Fort Smith and Western Railroad Company (FS&W) in 1902. The company had noticed an opportunity to make huge amounts of profits and therefore decided to construct tracks that would connect Forts Smith and Oklahoma through the Indian Territory. Noteworthy to appreciate is the fact that the FS&W Company required a place along its line where it could add coal and water. Initially, the company had identified a place known as Lambdin as a potential refueling site, but this did not materialize because a local farmer rejected the monetary offer terming it too little. In its continued pursuit of a refueling site, the company identified farmland that belonged to a Czech immigrant community. Bohemian immigrants named Anton Simek and another called Vencl Kozak agreed to sell a section of the land holdings that they had recently acquired from Eva Barta and Frank her son. In a sign of goodwill, the company allowed Frank’s wife known as Josephine Barta to give the town a name. She settled on Praha which would see her honor her birthplace. However, an influential Czech merchant convinced her to Americanize the name of the town into Prague and hence caused the town to be known that way henceforth.
Religion was at the heart of the social activities of the early days of Prague. The efforts to reconstruct the church after the demolition of the St. Wenceslaus church showed how the inhabitant of Prague valued religion. For instance, some people wanted to see a bigger church created within the environs of the church which was already growing. Notable religious individuals such as Josef Lanik, a strong Catholic, decided to lead the initiative to collect money and labor that would see the reconstruction of the church. As such, a large church was reconstructed on the main street. Also important to appreciate that other than Catholicism, immigrants practiced their own religion and beliefs. With reference to the frontier farming town, religion did not only come with merits but also demerits. Despite it being regarded as a unifying factor, it also played a huge role in causing divisions. However, the only positive was that the divisions did not result in any form of hostility. The sides differing, especially the Catholics and the Protestants realized that there was a need to forge a working relationship together in the frontier village. On the positive note, the people in the frontier working town regarded religion as a tool that built on their identity. It further drew a path for them that they would use in expressing their ethnic heritage.
It is critical to note that the Prague Czechs did several things in an attempt to maintain their social, cultural, and linguistic heritage now that they were in the new environment. First, most of them did not embrace Catholicism as they found it confusing and rather remained strong in their religious tenets and beliefs. In preserving their identity, the Prague Czechs devoted towards speaking their ethnic language. Despite the fact that most of them were forced by the Americans to embrace their Western culture, a majority of them remained loyal to their roots and even practiced duality in an attempt to remain loyal to their ethnic identity. Living in clans or groups of people enabled them to forge a strong sense of communism that was easier for the Prague Czechs to enhance the purity of their identity. Also, the fact that a majority of them lived in the rural setting was an incentive in guaranteeing their original identity as this prevented them from many forces of assimilation and infiltration by the American practices.
After settling in America, the Czech of Prague actively participated in various facets of the local economy and other activities of the town. The author asserts that the fact that the Prague Czechs embraced duality ensured that they would succeed economically without getting into conflicts and tension with other communities. The author described that some of the activities undertaken by the Czech include “participating in every social, cultural, economic, and political” that occurred in Southeastern Oklahoma (28). 1 One notable economic activity in which they undertook was farming. Also, it is vital to note that those who lived in the cities acquired the much-needed skills to participate in economic activities such as vending as seen with those who ventured in magazine and newspaper vending. Other ventured into several small businesses in the town such as trade and transport with the help of Americans.
The book is a piece of a masterclass by the author who gives the historical view of the genesis of Prague as a town and the role played by the Czechs in shaping the history of the region. Smith further provides with the readers with critical insights regarding the social, political, and economic activities of this community in their new environment and how they remained determined to preserve cultural identity in the face of assimilation. The book is chronological easy to understand and accounts for every major event that occurs through logical explanations. The major thesis of the book is to understand the transformation of the Prague Czechs in both settings including the rural and urban settlements. The author does a great job drawing the two comparisons and giving the reader a scope of how various forces affected the acclimatization of these individuals into their new setting and how this played a role in their success.
Bibliography
Smith, Philip D. From Praha to Prague: Czechs in an Oklahoma Farm Town . University of Oklahoma Press, 2017.
1 Smith, Philip D. From Praha to Prague: Czechs in an Oklahoma Farm Town . University of Oklahoma Press, 2017.
