Postcard from the 1932 Všesokolský Slet

Anniversary of the birth of Miroslav Tyrš

The 9th all-Sokol festival in Prague celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miroslav Tyrš and included both winter and summer events. This postcard features a reproduction of a painting by Vénceslav Černý, a Czech illustrator and painter who lived from 1865 to 1936.The cancellation is dated July 8, 1932 and both stamps belong a series issued on the centenary of Miroslav Tyrš’ birth with 2 different poses. The postcard was addressed to Frank Bouda, who ran the Bohemian Hall on Gay and Preston Streets, along with his wife, Bessie [see article about her wonderful cookbook – February 2021]. It was tucked in the pages!

Postcard from Prague

The message reads: Greetings from Mama Prague! Slet was big success. Weather was so excellent, and it is hard to explain by words, how beautiful the event was! This is a great remembrance for the rest of our life. Many regards to your family. Sincerely yours Josef Vala. Goodby.[Thanks to Alex Vanicky for translation]

Slet Poster

It was customary to issue commemorative postcards and posters for the slets. Here is one of the posters for that year from the collection of William Senkus found at his website https://alphabetilately.org/Sokol , which includes a comprehensive description of the souvenirs relating to historical Sokol events. His initial focus was stamp collecting so he also had the stamp series that was specially issued in 1932 featuring Miroslav Tyrš, the founder of Sokol.

Sokol Memorabilia

During the Sokol Convention in Ennis, Texas this June, 2022, we were able to view a portion of the vast Sokol-related collection accumulated by Rome Milan, a life-long Sokol member and leader from Fort Worth, Texas. Rome was awarded the Tyrš Honor Award by American Sokol at a ceremony in Fort Worth, Southern District shortly before his untimely death from ALS on April 23, 2021. His family continues to share his extensive collection of commemorative pins, postcards, posters and other Sokol-related memorabilia. In addition to bringing a portion of the collection for the convention attendees to enjoy, the family shared a special recognition ceremony on Saturday, June 11th, of his father, Jerry Milan’s, contributions to American ASO, the broader international Sokol organization and gymnastics. Brother Milan is still active in Sokol Fort Worth.

Kate Ehrenberger.