American Sokol Convention - Fort Worth, Texas, June. 2009

This year the Sokol ”Slet” was a part of the International Cultural Festival organized in this city of cowboys and cattle. Sokol members traveled here from all parts of the United States, and also from Brazil,Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Holland, Switzerland, Germany and other countries. More than a hundred Sokols came from the Czech Republic. Altogether 400 gymnasts performed for the enthusiastic audience.

The festive mood in the Convention Center Arena was wonderful. While the original Czech Sokol organization had been proscribed at 4 different times in the Czech lands during the last 60 years, the American Sokol could develop and grow freely. It is no longer a club of Czech immigrants, but it became a truly American organization having members of various nationalities, races and skin colors.

Yet the Czech language could be heard everywhere and the leaders are mostly Americans with Czech or Moravian roots. The President of the Ennis Sokol is Larry Laznovsky, and Bob Podracky presides over Sokol Houston. We find many Czech names among the Sokol members such as: Placek, Kulhanek, Moravec, Seda, Stransky. Husak, Polashek, Klecka, Mlynar, Mikula, etc.

The Milan family of Sokol Fort Worth organized a wonderful exhibition about the Sokol history. In addition the participants could view the new film of Bruce Bendinger entitled “The Accidental Army.” It is a unique document about the Czech Foreign Legionnaires fighting their way through Siberia during WW I.