ALBERT V. AND FRIEDA [SEDIVY] JECMINEK
Albert V. Jecminek was born March 16, 1865, in Bohemia and came with
his parents and sister Anna to the United States from Prague,
Bohemia, at the approximate age of seven years. They first came to
Virginia, then Chicago, Illinois, and migrated next to Iowa where
they were taken in by another Bohemian family by the name of Luhsan.
In about 1882 they came to Knox County and homesteaded just
southwest of Niobrara. Albert received his education here and became
a citizen on April 5, 1883. He married Frieda (Bedriska) Sedivy
(1864-1897), daughter of one of the very early settlers of Niobrara,
Joseph Sedivy. They moved to a farm near Richmond, Virginia, which
had been purchased for them by Joseph Sedivy. They remained here for
approximately three years as farmers and then returned to a farm
about 3 ˝ miles south and west of Verdigre which Albert purchased
from James and Elizabeth Bruce in 1898.
To the union of Albert and Frieda were born five children, two of
whom survived - son Charles and daughter Mary (Mrs. Herman Groeling,
Jr.). Frieda died at the age of 33 in 1897 and Albert married a
second time to Anna Tikalsky Stockl (1873-1918), who had a young son
by the name of George. Anna was the only daughter of John Tikalsky,
still another early settler of the area. George was killed at the
approximate age of 12 years while playing with a shotgun that
discharged accidentally. To the union of Anna and Albert were born
Sylvia (Mrs. Clayton Diez), Anna (Mrs. Ed Herbert-Mrs. Stanley
Raven), Velasta (Mrs. James Passick, Sr.) and Beatrice (Mrs. Laurel
Tallman).
Albert moved from the farm to Verdigre in 1910 and entered into the
implement business with his son, Charles, who was now married to
Lydia Pavlik. After a number of years, he turned the business over
to son Charles who then entered into the business with Edward
Jiracek, Sr., and it became known as Jecminek-Jiracek Hardware. This
business was located in that part of the Gambles Store on the west
side of the street just south of Sonder’s Sundries, known at that
time as “Bates” store.
Albert married a third time after the death of Anna, his second wife
also died at the young age of 45. He married Mary Nemec (Mrs. Frank
Drassl), who had a son George. In 1911 Albert and his new wife and
son George and daughter Bea moved to Portland, Oregon, but returned
to Verdigre in 1923 as Albert didn’t like the rainy climate of
Oregon.
In 1927 Albert purchased the Empress Theatre from Oscar Gross and
operated it until 1938. During this time it was his practice to hire
young folks around town to help with selling and taking tickets and
running the projectors. Besides his two grandsons, Leonard and Leo
Jecminek, other young men employed included Leonard Franek, and
Eddie and Joe Kulhanek. In 1938 he sold the Empress Theatre and
moved to Ovid, Colorado, to be with his son Charles and to operate a
theatre there with him until his death from cancer in 1940 after
surgery at Sioux City, Iowa. He is buried at the ZCBJ Cemetery (now
called Hillcrest) along with his first two wives.
“Grandpa” Jecminek, as many knew him, was a charter member of the
ZCBJ Bila Hora Lodge No. 5 and his family was active in their plays
and other activities. His sons and grandsons played in the local
bands. He was also a member of the AF&AM Ionic Lodge No. 87 at
Niobrara.
[ pg 280 PHOTO Albert and Anna [Tikalsky] [Stohol] Jecminek]
A note of interest, as told by his youngest daughter Beatrice, was
that during the winter of 1882 or 1883 in Iowa with the Luhsan
family, it was very cold and food was scarce. They had plenty of
corn and ground it for meal and mush and parched it for coffee. Then
they boiled it with any game they could trap or shoot. They had no
sugar, flour, salt or other staples. This was related to Bea by Joe
Luhsan, the son of the Luhsan family who was approximately the same
age as Albert, her father. The two young men became good friends
that winter of long ago but they lost track of each other. Then, by
some quirk of fate, Bea married Laurel Tallman whose sister, Pearl,
married Gene Luhsan, a son of Joe, so the two friends, Albert
Jecminek and Joe Luhsan, were brought together again after 50 years
only to die two years later within nine months of each other. Leo
Jecminek relates that his grandfather was involved with the selling
of buggies in Verdigre with a Lauschmann, but could not furnish
other details.
George, a son of Albert’s third wife, Mary, resides at Alpine
Village, Verdigre.
-Submitted by Jean Jiracek, granddaughter
Pages
280, 281
