Poznámky:

JUDr August ZÁTKA - první předseda - Národní Jednota Pošumavská (České Budějovice) založena 31.8.1884 a zrušena 1948.
«b»August Zátka«/b», plným jménem «b»August Pantaleon Zátka«/b» («u»27. července «/u» «u»1847 «/u» «u»České Budějovice [1]«/u» '96 «u»31. ledna «/u» «u»1935 «/u» «u»České Budějovice [2][3]«/u»), byl «u»rakouský «/u» a «u»český «/u» advokát a politik z vlivného českobudějovického «u»rodu Zátkových «/u», na přelomu 19. a 20. století poslanec «u»Českého zemského sněmu «/u», předák českojazyčné komunity v Budějovicích, po vzniku Československa krátce «u»předseda správní komise Českých Budějovic «/u».
WIKIPEDIE:
Chodil na piaristickou obecnou školu, pak od roku 1857 na gymnázium v Jindřichově Hradci, kde bydlel u strýce Jana. Zůstal zde až do roku 1861, i po strýcově odchodu, teprve toho roku přešel na německé piaristické gymnázium v Českých Budějovicích, ovšem v oktávě opět studoval v Jindřichově Hradci, kde i maturoval. Následně vystudoval práva a v červenci 1869 promoval. Roku 1870 získal titul doktora práv. Absolvoval vojenskou službu a soudní praxi v Štýrském Hradci. Ve věku 23 let se vrátil do Budějovic jako začínající advokát. Zároveň se po boku svého otce, podnikatele a politika «u»Hynka Zátky «/u» zapojil do veřejného života. Od března 1876 měl vlastní advokátní kancelář v Budějovicích.«u»[4][5]«/u»
V 70. letech 19. století se zapojil i do zemské politiky, v níž vystřídal otce Hynka Zátku. V «u»zemských volbách v Čechách v roce 1878 «/u» byl zvolen v «u»kurii «/u» venkovských obcí (volební obvod Budějovice '96 Lišov '96 Trhové Sviny '96 Hluboká '96 Týn n. Vltavou) do «u»Českého zemského sněmu «/u».«u»[6]«/u» Zvolen byl jako člen «u»Národní strany «/u» (staročeské).«u»[7]«/u» Mandát obhájil ve «u»volbách v roce 1883 «/u»,«u»[8]«/u» «u»volbách v roce 1889 «/u» i «u»volbách v roce 1895 «/u»,«u»[5]«/u» přičemž v roce 1889 i 1895 nadále kandidoval za staročechy.«u»[9][5]«/u» Ve «u»volbách v roce 1901 «/u» byl na sněm zvolen za kurii obchodních a živnostenských komor (obvod Budějovice).«u»[10]«/u» Mandát obhájil ve «u»volbách roku 1908 «/u», nyní za kurii městskou, obvod České Budějovice,«u»[11]«/u» přičemž byl společným kandidátem českých politických stran.«u»[12]«/u» Zemským poslancem byl nepřetržitě 35 let.«u»[4]«/u»
Kromě toho zasedal od roku 1872 do roku 1910 v okresním zastupitelstvu. Do obecního zastupitelstva v Budějovicích poprvé nastoupil roku 1876. Od roku 1885 působil jako starosta místní Občanské záložny. Podílel se na rozvoji českého hospodářského a společenského života a budování českého školství. V roce 1872 založil pobočku «u»Ústřední matice školské «/u» v Budějovicích. Roku 1883 patřil k první garnituře Čechů, která získala většinu v dosud převážně německé obchodní komoře v Českých Budějovicích.«u»[4][5][3]«/u» V roce 1906 vedl českou volební kampaň v komunálních volbách, jejímž výsledkem byla česká většina v třetím voličském sboru v obecním zastupitelstvu, čímž se český živel výrazně posunul k ovládnutí dosud převážně německé městské samosprávy.«u»[13]«/u»
27. října 1918 promluvil na manifestaci občanů Budějovic a ohlašoval brzkou národní samostatnost.«u»[13]«/u» Krátce se stal i nejvyšším představitelem města, protože v listopadu 1918 byl jmenován «u»předsedou správní komise Českých Budějovic «/u». Na postu setrval jen do následujícího roku, kdy byla ustavena řádná obecní samospráva a kdy Zátka neuspěl ve volbách. V roce 1922 nicméně získal jako první osoba po roce 1918 titul čestného občana Budějovic. Pro udělení titulu hlasovali i němečtí členové zastupitelstva, kteří ho ocenili jako čestného protivníka. Čestné občanství mu udělily i mnohé další obce v regionu.«u»[4]«/u»
Roku 1878 se oženil s «u»Janou Zátkovou «/u», rozenou Klavíkovou, vnučkou bývalého budějovického starosty «u»Františka Josefa Klavíka «/u». Jana Zátková byla rovněž aktivní ve veřejném životě, podílela se na organizování ženských spolků. August Zátka zemřel ve svém domě v roce 1935 na sešlost věkem. Pohřben byl na hřbitově u sv. Otýlie.«u»[4]«/u»

August byl(a) sezdán(a) s Jana KLAVÍKOVÁ-ZÁTKOVÁ 27 Červenec 1878, České Budějovice, Czech Rep.. Jana (dcera od Jindřich KLAVÍK a Johanna SCHUSSER-KLAVÍKOVÁ) se narodil(a) 30 Duben 1859, České Budějovice, Czech Rep.; zemřel(a) 20 Září 1933, Libníč, Czech Rep.; byl(a) pohřben(a) Hřbitov sv. Otylie, České Budějovice, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

«b»Olga ZÁTKOVÁ-RYCHLÍKOVÁ-BALŠÁNKOVÁ
«/b»«i»(April 19, 1879 in eské Bud jovice - June7, 1960 of stroke in Praha)
«/i» The eldest Olga inherited her mother's disposition. She was an attractive, charming society lady, never lacking suitors and admirers. She was energetic, strong-willed, and held her opinions with uncompromising conviction regardless of their merits. Her happy childhood and youth bore no forewarning of the seemingly never-ending string of devastating events, haunting her adult life and her old age. On «i» April 30, 1898«/i» , at 19, she married a 15 years older «b»JUDr Jindřich Rychlík «/b»«i» (September 12, 1863 - October 9, 1909)«/i» , a handsome and elegant young lawyer with a sunny disposition. Jindřich was quickly accepted in the fold of the Zátka family and was liked by everyone. He loved company, sports - in many of which he excelled - and never spoiled fun. After the marriage the couple settled in Praha. The first blow came when their infant son «b»Vlastislav [II] «/b»«i» (July 1, 1899 «/i» - «i» August 30, 1899) «/i» died in infancy«i» . «/i»
In spite of countless medical consultations and courses of treatments in various sanatoria and spas Olga never conceived again. For her it was a real tragedy, as she saw the meaning of her life in motherhood. Then from about «i» 1906«/i» , Jindřich's personality started to change. He became argumentative, intolerant, and expansive. This gave way to relentless personality breakdown, and ultimately to frank psychosis in «i» May 1909. «/i» His condition required institutionalization in a Mental Hospital«i» , «/i» where he died on «i» October 9, 1909 «/i» at only 46.
Further comment on his disease jointly with that of «b»Julius [I] Kubert «/b»are in their respective files.«b»
«/b» After Jindřich's death Olga vowed never to remarry. She devoted her energies to, and
found some consolation and substitution for her unfulfilled maternal yearnings in the role of a
vice-president of an Orphanage. Also, she brought up her nephew from her husband's family,
and provided him with education culminating in a Law degree. She loved music and classical
Russian literature. Russian, which she fully mastered, was her favored foreign language. Her
compassionate nature and yearning for social justice, led to her sympathies for the intellectual
left. Nonetheless, these inclinations, which resulted in her disapproval of capitalism, were largely
emotional. She was unable to, or refused to realize, that her comfortable lifestyle, which she was
quite fond of, was made possible only because of successful capitalist ventures of her uncle Ferdinand.
Against her resolution not to remarry, she succumbed to sincere affection and advances of
«b»Antonín Balšánek «/b»«i» (April 6, 1865 - February 22, 1921). «/i» Antonín Balšánek was a gifted and
renowned architect, and professor of Architecture at the Czech Technical Institute in Praha. They
got married on «i» April 18, 1916«/i» . Sadly, the marriage lasted only 5 years. Antonín Balšánek, who
was already in his fifties, suffered of generalized arteriosclerosis already at the time of their
wedding. The disease, which also affected his brain, profoundly compromised his cognitive
faculties and changed his personality. Tragically, he ended his life on «i» February 22, 1921 «/i» in the
same Mental Institution as Olga's first husband Jindřich.
Architect Balšánek was an architect with vision. He was also an artist. Amongst many enduring monumental buildings and creations of lasting artistic value are notable Obecní Dům (Municipal House) in Praha, an Art Nouveau jewel counted amongst the best in Europe, theaters
in Plzeň and Pardubice, Bridge of the Legions over the river Vltava in Praha, and a bridge over
the river Neva in Petrograd (St Petersburg). He was generally believed to have amassed a large
fortune in realization of such large contracts. It then came as a big surprise and a shock to
everyone when his estate was found to be quite modest. Clearly, he was an artist and creator,
not a businessman.
At this point Vlastislav Zatka's «i»Narrative «/i»ends.Only little fragmentary information is available further about Olga's subsequent life and her old age from her grand niece, Diana Spickova-Petrik. The last blow to Olga came with the Communist rule. She lost her only income, which was from the family property. Her large apartment at Újezd in Praha was forcibly divided by the authorities, and she was left with a tiny nonfunctional remnant of the flat. Within it she had suffered the ignominy of a loss of privacy and even a modicum of comfort. Diana fondly remembers aunt Olga's regular weekly visits at Mrázovka. Aunt Olga read books and told stories to her grand-nephews and her grand-niece with endless patience, particularly during childhood illnesses. She regularly celebrated Christmas and other special days with the ka family, in which she finally found a substitute for her own family she always desired but was never granted. She died of stroke on «i» June 7, 1960 «/i» in Praha.

Olga byl(a) sezdán(a) s JUDr Jindřich RYCHLÍK 30 Duben 1898. Jindřich se narodil(a) 12 Září 1863; zemřel(a) 9 Říjen 1909. [Schéma rodiny]

Olga byl(a) sezdán(a) s Prof. arch. Antonín BALŠÁNEK 18 Duben 1916. Antonín se narodil(a) 6 Duben 1865; zemřel(a) 22 Únor 1921. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

«b»Bohumila, «/b»"babuška" «b»Milka, «/b»never remarried after the premature death ofher husband«b» Julius (i) KUBERT«/b».
She devoted her life to her orphaned children. Her father August [I], who shared with her the guardianship of the children, was ever important in her life. Besides caring for her children, her greatest joy was continuous learning, which she never gave up. Her English and her French became so good that she won a contract for translation of Galsworthy's Forsyth Saga. She accomplished this literary success with a minimal commercial reward. Nonetheless, the income earned from her translation work helped her to buy a small house in Libnič which gave her independence and privacy she yearned for. For the sake of sparing others she kept her sorrows, pains and disappointments to herself. Thinking first of others and sparing them of worries appears to be a pattern throughout her life. This included her health problems. Neglect of her own health was a luxury she could hardly afford, as her health had never been robust. Typically, she kept mum about her troubles till advanced, causing in the end considerable worries for her daughter Eva and her husband MUDr Hilar [II] Špička, who literally saved her life on a number of occasions.
At this point the «i»Narrative «/i»ends. Because Bohumila ("bábuška") spent the rest of her life with her daughter's Eva family, she is well remembered by her grandchildren, who all keep fondest memories of her.
(«u»Source«/u»: «i»From Petr PETRIK: "«b»FAMILY CHRONICLE: Family of Diana Špičková«/b»":«/i»)

Bohumila byl(a) sezdán(a) s Julius KUBERT, - pražský setník 26 Červenec 1902, Praha, Czech Rep.. Julius (syn od KUBERT) se narodil(a) 4 Červen 1864; zemřel(a) 6 Prosinec 1907, Praha, Czech Rep.; byl(a) pohřben(a) Praha-Vyšehrad, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

«b»«i»Vlastislav Zátka«/i» «/b»(1887'971964), politický a společensko-kulturní činitel, syn Augusta Zátky.
V r. 1905 ukončil Jirsíkovo gymnasium v Č. Budějovicích.
V letech 1905-1909 studoval právnickou fakultu pražské Karlovy univerzity kde obdržel titul doktora práv 11. července 1910.
Po návratu do Českých Budějovic si otevřel advokátní kancelář.
Roku 1936 byl zvolen za «i»Národní sjednocení «/i»do obecního zastupitelstva.
Byl předsedou správní rady «i»Městského muzea«/i» a Besedy českobudějovické, od 1939 starostou «u»Záložny českobudějovické «/u».
Proslul též jako mecenáš umělecko-kulturních podniků, sám vlastnil rozsáhlou sbírku uměleckých předmětů a obrazů. Jeho první manželkou byla spisovatelka «b»«i»Marie Pujmanová«/b» «/i»(1893'971958).

1. září 1939, v den kdy vypukla 2. světová válka, byl v Českých Budějovicích zatčen a odvezen na Gestapo do Lince, odkud měl být deportován rovnou do koncentračního tábora. Nakonec byl propuštěn, zřejmě na zásah německých předáků z mlýna v Březí, kteřího znali jako slušného a velmi tolerantního člověka. Gestapo ho však nepřestalo sledovat a 6. února 1942, v den kdy zemřel jeho tchán Frantiřek Mareš, mu při domovní prohlídce zabavili jmění ve prospěch říše a byl vyhoštěn z města.
Tento scénář se opakoval i po únoru 1948, tentokrát proto, že neprojevil kladný poměr k lidově demokratickému režimu. Jako třídní nepřítel neměl nárok ani na t.zv. sociální důchod a zemřel ve velmi bídných poměrech 2. června 1964.


Křest:
Christened Vlastislav Hynek Ferdinand Maria bz Adolf Rodler.
Godfather - his uncle Ferdinand Zátka.

Vlastislav byl(a) sezdán(a) s Marie HENNEROVÁ-ZÁTKOVÁ-PUJMANOVÁ 8 Červen 1912, Praha, Czech Rep.. Marie (dcera od JUDr Kamil HENNER, sr., Profesor) se narodil(a) 8 Červen 1893, Praha, Czech Rep.; zemřel(a) 19 Květen 1958, Praha, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Vlastislav byl(a) sezdán(a) s Ludmila MAREŠOVÁ-ZÁTKOVÁ 2 Prosinec 1926, Praha, Czech Rep.. Ludmila (dcera od František MAREŠ) se narodil(a) 8 Září 1900, Praha, Czech Rep.; zemřel(a) 20 Listopad 1989. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

«b»MUDr Eva Kubertová
«/b»(«i»December 8, 1903 in Praha '96 April 16, 1979 in Praha)
«b»«/i»Eva «/b»and her younger brother «b»Julius [II]«/b» lost her father very early in their lives; she was four
years old, Julius [II] only seven months. Their loving mother Bohumila doted on the children.
Their grandfather August [I] Zátka, who was also their guardian, played an important role in their
lives. Eva had been involved in the Scout movement from her early youth. She put her heart and
soul in the Scouting and spent weekends and vacations of her adolescent years hiking, camping,
and sharing wonderful time with friends, many of whom remained friends for life.
«b»«i»A note on Czech Scouting
«/b»Dr A. B. Svojsík, professor at a secondary school, started his first experiments with
Scouting in Bohemia in 1911. The country was then still part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
He published Základy Junáctví (Foundations of Scouting), which differed in several important
aspects from the British model. Dr A. B. Svojsík put greater emphasis on the life in the nature and
life in harmony with the nature, thus directly building on the American Woodcraft. He did not
stress the military elements of the original Robert Baden Powell's model. Also, in contrast to a
number of other countries, the movement did not incorporate religious elements. Nonetheless,
since the Czech Scout movement took off immediately after the foundation of the independent
Czechoslovak state based on the principle of national identity (in 1918), unsurprisingly it included
ideals of patriotism.
Dr A. B. Svojsík's tomb with his bust happens to be located next to the Kubert's family
tomb in the illustrious cemetery at Vy in Praha.
Another direct link to Dr A. B. Svojsík is through my mother. She was a close friend of Dr
Svojsík's daughter, with whom she intensively participated in the Scouting activities as well.
«/i»Eva studied Medicine at the Karlova University in Praha, where she met her future
husband «b»MUDr Hilar [II] «/b». They got married on «i»July 4, 1931 «/i»in Praha«i». «/i»In Hilar [II] she
found an ideal companion for travels and many outdoor activities. The collection of family
photographs contains numerous pictures from skiing and mountaineering trips, canoeing trips
and motoring in the Alps. Well into her years Eva loved to swim in the river Sázava in Pikovice
until late autumn. Eva and Hilar [II] had three children, all born in Praha«b»:
a) Daniel«/b», born on «i»February 5, 1939«/i», «b»b) Diana«/b», born on «i»November 16, 1940 «/i»and «b»c) Hilar [III] ("Pli «/b»born on J«i»anuary 22,1943.
«b»«/i»Eva «/b»specialized in plastic surgery under Prof MUDr František Burian in Praha, and became his favored and promising assistant. Prof Burian was the founder of the Czech school of plastic surgery, and earned international recognition for his pioneering work on facial reconstructions. When Eva chose family over a promising academic career, Prof Burian was disappointed, as he foresaw a promising academic career for her. She opened a successful private practice in «i»1936. «/i»In the early «i»1950s«/i», like most of the physicians, she had to close it following fundamental reorganization of the Heath Care system by the Communist government.
She continued to work as a plastic surgeon in a Public Health Clinic at Klimentská ulice in Praha,
the same one in which her husband Hilar [II] and my father MUDr Karel Peyerl von Peyersfeld
worked as well. After her retirement she found great comfort and happiness in having around her
two grand-daughters. Eva visited us in Lausanne in«i»1967«/i». We fondly remember a memorable trip
with her across a glacier to the Monte Rosa Hut. In Canada she visited our family only once, in
mid-seventies, while we lived in Edmonton.
In the matters of her own health, her attitude of benign neglect was not unlike that of her
mother's. She suffered of hypertension, a condition with strong predisposition in the Zátka family,
and ultimately died of one of its complication, a stroke. Admittedly, efficient medical treatment of
hypertension had a lot to be desired then.
(«u»Source«/u»: «i»From Petr PETRIK: "«b»FAMILY CHRONICLE: Family of Diana Špičková«/b»" «/i»)

Eva byl(a) sezdán(a) s MUDr Hilar (ii) ŠPIČKA 4 Červenec 1931. Hilar (syn od Hilar (i) ŠPIČKA, MUDr a Milada HOLEČKOVÁ-ŠPIČKOVÁ) se narodil(a) 6 Červen 1903, Praha, Czech Rep.; zemřel(a) 8 Prosinec 1990, Praha, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Jiné události:

• Koncentrační tábor: 1941-1945, Mauthausen, Germany - koncentrační tábor; Přežil

Julius byl(a) sezdán(a) s Theodora HOLOUBKOVÁ-KUBERTOVÁ 30 Červen 1950. Theodora se narodil(a) 5 Listopad 1921, České Budějovice, Czech Rep.; zemřel(a) 27 Srpen 1998, Praha, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Jiné události:

• Emigrace / Emigration: 1968, Basel, Switzerland; Left Czechoslovakia for Switzerland

Poznámky:

ZATKA, August V., chemiker
Jacob Burckhardt-Strasse 27, 4052 Basel
Tel.: 4161 313 84 55

August byl(a) sezdán(a) s Růžena VONDRÁŠKOVÁ-ZÁTKOVÁ 14 Květen 1953, Praha, Czech Rep.. Růžena se narodil(a) 9 Březen 1929, Nymburk, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

From Petr PETRIK: "«b»FAMILY CHRONICLE: Family of Diana Špičková«/b»"«b»
Ing Arch Daniel Špička«/b» -
Daniel, his sister Diana and brother Hilar [III] spent the end of the Nazi occupation in South Bohemian country house in Libnic, where their parents believed them sheltered from the expected bombardment of Praha (their Prague flat was actually hit by a German bomb on the very last day of the war, May 8th,1945 !)
Daniel started elementary school at the English School in Praha, which was reopened in 1945 . Unfortunately the school, as well as all other educational institutions modeled on western schools were closed immediately after the Communist takeover in 1948.
Daniel was also a Boy Scout until Communists abolished the Scout movement in 1949. He loved to draw and paint; yet the passion of his life became music, which he first discovered through private piano lessons. As he grew up and matured the list of musical instruments he played continued to expand, as well as the range of music he performed. Besides piano and other keyboard instruments he played guitar and viola da gamba, renaissance woodwinds and brass instruments. Nonetheless, he chose to study Architecture at the Technical University in Praha. While still at the University Daniel reminisces how instead of attending his lectures at the University, he spent hours in the Archives of the Library of the National Museum in Praha copying scores of otherwise unavailable music. Later, in 1977 he founded Capella Renesex, a group of professional musicians with a mission to perform renaissance and early baroque music on authentic instruments.
As a young boy he was deeply impressed by Alexander Dumas' Three Musketeers and vowed to master the three skills of his hero swashbuckling d'Artagnan: horse riding, fencing and shooting. Although he accomplished all three, it was horse riding he pursued with greatest passion. Since the Communist ideologists considered this activity as a decadent aristocratic pastime, it had been somewhat difficult to get into it. The riding school in Praha, which had a long tradition, and which I also attended, survived only thanks to disguising itself as a paramilitary organization. I believe it was there I met him for the first time. Subsequently Daniel used every opportunity to ride horses. During summer holidays he worked hard in breeding stables, which gave him an almost unlimited riding time, and in the Barrandov Film Studios, where he used to play extras requiring horse riding skills in historical movies.
In 1970 he met Victoria Wentworth Reilly in Praha. Victoria was born on July 30, 1941 in Clewer, Windsor. Her father Paul Reilly was born in Liverpool and her mother Pamela Wentworth Foster in London, England. In 1957 Victoria moved with her mother to Canada, and studied at the Toronto Collegiate Institute. Subsequently she went on to study General English at Trinity College, University of Toronto, graduating in 1962 . Victoria was sent in 1970 to Praha by The Sunday Telegraph to write about the Czech glass industry. The meeting turned out to be momentous, and Daniel and Victoria married on January 13, 1973 in London, England. Victoria's move to Praha at the height of the Communist repression following the aborted "Prague Spring " of 1968 was very courageous indeed. It was the time when all hopes of regaining lost political and personal freedom were crushed. The couple continued to live with Daniel's parents in the family house U Mrázovky.
Victoria and Daniel have two daughters: A) Katherine (Kateřina) Wentworth Špičková-Demelová, born on May 14, 1974 in London, England, and B) Lucie (Lucy) Wentworth Špičková-Thorpe, born on February 18, 1977 in Praha. (And five grandsons, now).
As an architect Daniel devoted his career mostly to interior and furniture design, as well as the restoration of historical buildings and interiors. Daniel built up a private collection of historical musical instruments, which he restored and even built himself. The ongoing practice of music remains an important constant of his life. One of his the most notable achievements has been the founding of an annual Festival of Baroque Music in Valtice Castle in Moravia. The Festival, of which he had been an artistic director from its inception in 1989, became a cultural event with an established tradition until 2006. The result of his long involvement with Valtice has been the reconstructed Valtice Castle Baroque Theatre, designed by him and his partner Mikulas Hulec and completed in 2015.
At the time of this writing he is as busy as ever, with many plans in both architectural restoration and music, never thinking of retirement.

Daniel byl(a) sezdán(a) s Victoria WENTWORTH-REILLY-ŠPIČKOVÁ 13 Leden 1973, London, England. Victoria (dcera od Sir Paul REILLY a Pamela WENTWORTH-FOSTER) se narodil(a) 30 Červenec 1941, Windsor, UK. [Schéma rodiny]

Poznámky:

«b»MUDr Diana ŠPIČKOVÁ-PETŘÍKOVÁ
«/b»Diana recalls her happy childhood in the family house U Mrázovky 7 and the summer vacations at the summerhouse with a large garden in Pikovice, a small village and recreational community at the bank of the river Sázava south of Praha. Amongst her cherished childhood memories are those of her aunt (really grandaunt) Olga (roz. ZÁTKOVÁ), and her beloved grandmother Bohumila
("bábu"). This affectionate nickname meaning "grandmother" or "old woman" in Russian dates
back to the time when her grandchildren started to learn Russian in school. She gracefully
accepted it, and in fact probably liked it.
Diana' childhood was sheltered, protected from the shocks of political and social events.
The children looked forward to grandaunt Olga's regular visits. Childless Olga loved her grandnephews and her grandniece like her own children, who particularly enjoyed her readings of
fairytales. Their grandmother "bábu" was a kind, selfless and utterly modest person. Her
health was anything but robust and she would hide her ailments to avoid others to worry about
her, achieving just the opposite. Ultimately it was always her doctor son-in-law Hilar [II], who
pulled her back to health.
Diana learned to play piano, but did not persevere like her brother Daniel. She enjoyed
horse riding in the same riding school as Daniel and myself. She graduated from the secondary
school in «i» 1957«/i», at an incredibly young age of sixteen. Our school year was the first one to be hit
by the reforms of the notorious Dr Zdeněk Nejedlý the first communist minister of education.
Nejedlý introduced a unified system of education, which used as a guiding principle the lowest
common denominator. All curricula were rewritten and history was remade. Undoubtedly, the
worst hit by the reform was the secondary level. In the same year Diana was accepted at the
Faculty of Medicine at the Karlova University, School of Dentistry. The first two pre-clinical years
were common for both the Dentistry and the General Medicine programs. This is when and where
we met and started to date in the fall «i» 1959«/i».
From there on our live stories have intertwined. The Dentistry program was one year shorter than the General Medicine program. Diana obtained her diploma in «i» 1962, «/i»at a time when the graduates had virtually no say in job selection. She had to accept a job in a town of Chomutov near the border with Eastern Germany. By the ancient king's invitation the town and the whole region had been settled by German colonists, mostly during 14th and 15th centuries. Prior to that, the region had been sparsely populated. Archeological evidence shows succession and intermingling of both German and Slavic cultures.
At the founding of the independent Czechoslovak state in «i» 1918«/i», and for the duration of the "First republic", the region was ethnically overwhelmingly German, and had been known as "Sudeten" (Sudety). On weekends «b»D«/b»iana used to come to Praha, and in turn I went to Chomutov to visit her, though less frequently. Although the mountainous, wooded country of Krušné Hory surrounding the town is beautiful, it is a region of large superficial deposits of bituminous ("brown") coal with large content of sulphur. The deposits extend across the border into the Germany. To satisfy the hunger for energy the whole area had been turned into a moonscape of strip-mines. The process was ruthless, with no respect for, and no consideration of historical and existing social structures and cultural heritage. Environment and nature had not been even considered an issue. More than 80 villages (true historically documented figure) had been razed and people with century-old roots in the countryside were mercilessly and forcefully relocated. In order to increase the efficiency, the coal was burned on site in several power plants. It became probably the worst environmental nightmare in the Central Europe of «i» 1950s. «/i»Acid rain destroyed forests not only in the Czechoslovakia, but also in several neighboring countries. The incidence of respiratory illnesses competed with those in the worst polluted areas in the world. The public health warnings of not opening windows did not stop a layer of fine ash to get in the houses and cover everything. I remember one cross-country skiing trip with Diana in then still beautiful nearby mountains, when the snow felt gritty like sandpaper. In spite of the shortage of doctors and dentists in the whole region, the system did not bother to provide them with decent living accommodations. Diana worked in Chomutov until our wedding in «i»1966«/i», when she married myself, «b»MUDr Petr PETŘÍK «/b»on «i» February 11, 1966 «/i»in Praha.
Thanks to social networking rife in all Soviet client Communist countries, her mother «b»Eva «/b»secured her a position of a dentist in a small town of Suchdol at the outskirts of Praha. With no hope to find an apartment we moved in with my mother at Jungmannova street. This temporary solution thankfully lasted barely six months. On «i» September 30, 1966 «/i»I was permitted to leave the
country to start a scholarship at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Incredibly, my permit
allowed me to stay in Switzerland for 2 full years. Diana had to wait two months for the permission granting her a short visit. Finally, in «i» November 1966 «/i»she rejoined me in Lausanne. We
never went back.
Our two and half years in Lausanne had been one extended honeymoon. In spite of having very little, we were exalted by the beauty of the country, the neatness and order, abundance of everything, and a newly found freedom. We were in love and we could finally start our own life. At the beginning we lived very modestly, our only source of income having been my scholarship stipend. However, as soon as Diana passed a practical examination in Dentistry, she
was allowed to work in the Swiss Public Dental system. She got a job in the Lausanne School
Dental program. Our economical situation immediately and markedly improved. With Diana
working, we bought an ancient VW beetle and went for simple vacations to France and to Italy.
On weekends we went skiing and hiking in the nearby Jura Mountains and Alps. Of course, all
this was at a very low budget, but for us it was something beyond imagination until then. Diana
really enjoyed the work and the work environment, and met there a good friend. Also, her French
had dramatically improved. She would have been happy to stay in Switzerland.
As the end of my scholarship was approaching I was offered a permanent staff position at
the Department of Histology and Embryology at the University of Lausanne, with a good prospect
of advancement. Yet the situation in the department was such that I could not imagine staying
there. Another issue was that of a language. Although my French was excellent, virtually all the
scientific interactions in Switzerland were conducted in German, and my German was poor with
little hope for improvement in French-speaking Lausanne.
From the moment I left Czechoslovakia I harbored a desire to go to Canada. The rational part of this wish was to put an ocean between us and the Communist Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. Switzerland appeared to be just too close. Also, Switzerland had been known as a country where assimilation was very difficult. At that time even second and third generation
immigrants were considered foreigners. On the top of it, the process of recognition of my medical
diploma appeared at that time very complicated.
Yet, there was also an intangible, a dream from my youth of idealized Canadian wilderness, legacy of the Ernest Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideal I grew up with, and the many books I read. I was also well aware of the high-caliber research in Canada and USA, and of the openness of the North American society compared to a very closed one of Switzerland. Following
the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact forces on «i» August 20, 1968«/i», our application for immigration to Canada was fast-tracked and on «i» December 30, 1968 «/i»we left Switzerland for
Quebec City, where I was offered and accepted a teaching position at Laval University.
This decision totally changed the lives of both of us. It brought disappointment and hardship for Diana. In spite of our attempts to find reliable information in Switzerland about Diana's prospects to work as a dentist in Canada, it was only after out arrival to Quebec to when we found out about all the obstacles on the way. For a foreign trained dentist to pass the examinations required for application for a license to practice Dentistry in Canada was virtually impossible. The reason was that the concepts and the practice of Dentistry in North America differed very significantly from those in Europe. Also, it was next to impossible to gain admission in a School of Dentistry, which had only several spots reserved for foreign graduates. And there was a very long waiting list. An opportunity we regretfully missed had arisen in «i» 1969«/i», when the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of University of Toronto was a Czech with deep sympathy of the newly arrived Czech colleagues. He fled Czechoslovakia either in «i» 1938 «/i»(Nazi occupation) or in «i»1948 «/i»(Communist takeover); which I cannot recall. He succeeded in the creation of a program at the U of T solely for the Czech and Slovak dentists who arrived in Canada in «i» 1968. «/i»The program fast-tracked them through the training and prepared them for the examinations, which all participants successfully passed. The catch was that the graduates had to take a job in a remote community in the northern Ontario in need of a dentist. At that time, with my position at Laval University in Quebec City, this condition appeared insurmountable.
Both our sons were born in Quebec City during those years:
«b»A«/b») «b»David William Peter PETRIK «/b»«i» (born on August 17, 1970), «/i»and «b»
B) Christopher Hilary Andrew PETRIK «/b»«i» (born on January 27, 1972).
«/i»With no family support and help, caring alone for our first-born David, her isolation wasalmost complete. We both struggled with sometimes hard-to-understand Quebec French patois, so strikingly different from the French we got used to in Switzerland.
In «i» 1972 «/i»we moved to Calgary, Alberta, where I started residency in Pathology, and the
following year we moved again to Edmonton, where I finished my training and started to build up
my medical career. During those years our means were quite modest. With an unparalleled
ingenuity and dedication Diana was able to create a beautiful and wonderfully warm and
comfortable home for our children and myself.
In Edmonton, where we ultimately stayed for 28 years, she founded her own very successful program in Aerobic dance, and she run fitness classes for several decades. There she made faithful friends. We have always done all our activities together; now there were also David and Chris. For six summers in a row we kept returning to the Churchill River and adjacent lakes on wilderness on canoeing expeditions with the boys from their tender age. We cross-country skied in Edmonton area, and hiked and skied in the Rockies. In «i» 1989 «/i»we bought a condominium in Canmore. This added another dimension to our lives. We have used every opportunity to hike and ski in the mountains. In «i» 1999 «/i»we built our current house in Canmore, where we moved the following year, when I officially retired from my professional activities in Edmonton. Edmonton had been good to us; we lived there for almost 30 years, and we brought up there our family.
(«u»Source«/u»: «i»From Petr PETRIK: "«b»FAMILY CHRONICLE: Family of Diana Špičková«/b»" «/i»)

Diana byl(a) sezdán(a) s MUDr Petr PETŘÍK 11 Únor 1966, Praha, Czech Rep.. Petr se narodil(a) 27 Únor 1940, Praha, Czech Rep.. [Schéma rodiny]

Hilar byl(a) sezdán(a) s Marija GRAORINOV-ŠPIČKOVÁ 22 Únor 1989, Belgrade, Yougoslavia. Marija se narodil(a) 23 Červen 1956, Yougoslavia. [Schéma rodiny]

Jan byl(a) sezdán(a) s Monika VAŇKOVÁ-KUBERTOVÁ 15 Červen 1989. Monika se narodil(a) 12 Březen 1964. [Schéma rodiny]

Helena byl(a) sezdán(a) s Dr. med. Vladimír MIŠEV 16 Červenec 1983. Vladimír se narodil(a) 27 Červen 1953. [Schéma rodiny]

Ludmila byl(a) sezdán(a) s Thomas STRICKLER 15 Září 1990. Thomas se narodil(a) 31 Březen 1960. [Schéma rodiny]