From Days Gone By

Letter taken from the February 5, 1927 Farmer Magazine. Letter postmarked December 26, 1926, by John Hrbacek of Portland, Oregon.

I was born in 1864 in the town of Zdechove by Valasku in Moravia, the son of Joseph and Rose Hrbacek (Konar). Konars came from the town of Horni Hovezi by Vestina. My family were very small farmers. I began attending school at the age of six and this was the first of my mishaps during life. I fell at school from a high place and I injured myself that blood was flowing from my wound, but it turned out alright, The next mishap was when my parents became divorced and I had to go live with my cousin, then I was inducted into the Army, but after six months, I ran away and headed for America where I landed on New York shores.

I eventually settled in Oregon near Portland in the year 1887 and received my citizenship papers in 1892. I homesteaded on 640 acres and then married.
We raised five children and they are all grown. After thirty four years of marriage my wife passed away and this was very difficult to accept. I finally decided to sell the land as only twenty acres of it could be used to make a living and we did make a living on it. After I sold it, I went to reside with my son and we purchased a moving picture theatre.

As I was retired, I decided to look up my genealogy and with assistance from historians there in Moravia, I traced my roots back to 1551. But I am very contended here in America and I love it here.

I must add that my roots actually go back to Romania in the Valsaka region and as far back the name of Dragomir Hrbacek appeared. The homes over the years was changed four times, but to this day the family still resides there, I with my older brother and two sisters were born in that house in Zdechove.