ADOLPH AND MARIE [UHLIR] HRBEK
Five years after Matej and Rosa Hrbek arrived in the Pischelville
area of Knox County, Adolph Abel was born May 5, 1875, in the log
cabin. He attended elementary School District No. 7 but since
attendance in school was not mandatory, he chose to quit after the
third grade. He spent his younger years on the farm and during that
time learned about building homes.
On March 10, 1894, at the age of 19, Adolph married Marie Uhlir,
also 19. One report states that John A. Uhlir gave them some
property about four miles south of Verdigre. Records show that
Adolph homesteaded forty acres of land located in the Northeast
Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 30 in Washington
Township. He received title to this property in 1901. In 1896,
Adolph bought the Southeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter and the
West Half of the Southwest Quarter and the Southeast Quarter of the
Southwest Quarter of Section 7, Township 30, which contained 151.38
acres. He purchased this from his father Matej Hrbek and wife,
Rosina, for $300. In a few years, Adolph, never completely happy
with farming, and Marie sold their land and moved to Verdigre
(1900-1910) where he became a builder.
Adolph built his brother-in-law Vaclav’s home, his own home which
stood until 1977, and many others in Verdigre and the vicinity.
Niece Martha Uhlir spoke highly of Adolph and Marie. She remembered
that the Hrbeks traveled many miles by horse and wagon through a
raging blizzard to Niobrara the night she lost her father, Vaclav,
in 1910 to be with her and her sister, Othelia.
Henry, the eldest of Adolph’s children, was born February 13, 1895,
and was one of Verdigre’s top baseball players. Changes during his
lifetime included being one of the first draftees of World War I,
attended Central Officer’s Training School at Camp Lee, Virginia, in
1918, serving in World War II in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on a
tugboat while in the U. S. Navy, and being married three times.
Henry had one son, Ronald Henry, before he and Goldie Scheinost, his
first wife, divorced. He died in Minneapolis on March 20, 1961, and
was buried with full naval honors at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota.
Rosa Hrbek, born September 16, 1896, was educated in Verdigre. Four
years after her marriage to Joseph Klappal on June 28, 1916, they
moved to Austin, Minnesota. She gave piano lessons in her home.
Berta (Bertha) Lillian Hrbek, born April 10, 1898, graduated from
Verdigre High School in 1916. She attended Wayne State Normal
School, taught in rural schools near Verdigre for two years, and
then took nurse’s training at the Lord Lister Hospital in Omaha.
Bertha worked in the Dr. Kucera Hospital in Verdigre while her
husband, Emil L. Klappal, whom she married in 1918, served in World
War I. She had one son, Theodore, while in Verdigre. Later they
lived in Colome, Witten, and Winner, South Dakota, where Emil
operated a hardware store and a heating and plumbing business. Emil
preceded Bertha in death. She then married John Cullen in Sioux
City, Iowa, and moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma. Bertha died in 1983
and is buried with Emil in Winner, South Dakota.
Albin was born in 1900 and died in infancy. He is buried in Verdigre.
Evelyn Herminia Hrbek’s education included attendance at Wayne State
Normal School and then after teaching two years in the rural schools
of Verdigre, she attended the Lord Lister Hospital nurse’s training
school. She and her husband Emil J. Cejda had four children: Marian
Laurie, Theresa Ann, Eleanor Mae, and Emil Jerome, Jr. They lived in
Omaha and then moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Sylvan Hrbek, born April 25, 1910, served in World War II and spent
part of his tour of duty in Indiana. He and Evelyn Chocholousek had
five children while living in Verdigre. After their divorce, Sylvan
moved to Winner, South Dakota, and then to Richmond, California. His
second wife, Erna Christensen, came from Norway. She arrived in this
country at the age of 16, not knowing a word of English. Sylvan very
proudly boasts about her high school education which was completed
just recently. Sylvan and Erna adopted a son Robert who lives in
Bend, Oregon.
Milton Hrbek, born November 21, 1913, remained in Verdigre where on
January 1, 1943, he took as his bride, Ellen Tichy, daughter of
Anton Tichy. “Herby” served in World War II in the European Theatre
Operations. He worked in highway construction as a crane operator.
He and Ellen had four children: Maxie Joe (deceased), Larry, Dale,
and Thomas.
Marie Uhlir, who died of cancer on January 31, 1943, preceded Adolph
in death. Adolph first lived with Bertha and then came back to
Verdigre to live with Milton. He succumbed to cancer in the
Creighton hospital at the age of 71 on December 14, 1956. Adolph and
Marie are buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Verdigre.
-Submitted by Hazel B. Devine
Pages
274, 275
