Regional cuisine is a fascinating phenomenon. If you start seeing signs that advertise runzas, then you must be in southeastern Nebraska. These baked, blue-collar sandwiches, sometimes called bierocks, are pastry pockets filled with ground meat, cabbage and onions. Whatever the name, they came from Germany and Eastern Europe–parts of the Austro-Hungarian region where many of Nebraska’s early settlers originated.
Czechoslovakians (from the states of Moravia and Bohemia in particular) immigrated to the Midwest in the1860s and 1870s, drawn by the promise of readily available land. Though many ended up in Omaha, small towns like Wilber also welcomed them in large numbers. In fact, by 1910, it’s estimated that close to one-fifth of the nation’s entire Czech population resided in Nebraska.
In Omaha, they often worked in the meatpacking industry or with the railroads, clustering together in an area south of downtown known as “Little Bohemia.” The Prague Hotel is still a landmark there as is St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. In many ways, these immigrant Czechs were quintessential “joiners.” They tended to be tight knit in both their religious practices and the fraternal organizations they created, known as sokols.
Sokols encourage fitness of both body and mind. The Omaha Sokol Auditorium, built in the 1920s, is a landmark fixture on South 13th Street, where gymnasts trained upstairs, while local and national rock and roll acts perform on an “underground” stage downstairs.
Down the street, the Bohemian Café serves up dishes of dumplings and roast pork, schnitzel and sauerkraut, brought out by waiters wearing traditional Czech garb. It’s a family-owned business, and it has been for more than 80 years. Nearby, the Bohemian National Cemetery illustrates the global impact of this small ethnic enclave. The Sokol in South Omaha houses the appointment-only Czechoslavak Museum, where ornate, hand-cut crystal and brightly colored festival costumes tell stories of the past.
The music of choice for these folks is, and always has been the polka. Though the years are starting to take their toll, a hardy bunch of older Nebraskans still regularly get ready for a night of dancing to the sounds of a traditional polka band.
At the local Eagles Lodge and community center, with a Czech Pilsner or two under their belts, the lure of the accordion and tuba pumping that old reliable Polka beat still proves very hard for the faithful to resist.
For more information about Bohemians in Nebraska, please visit the Czech Festival in Wilber, Nebraska.