Oh, if only these walls could speak - Czechoslovak Society of Arts ...

Selected Papers from the 2003 SVU North American Conference, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 26-28 June 2003
We felt it to be glorious to play Dvorak’s chamber pieces, and he himself was able
to hear them immediately after composing them. The whole family was delighted,
even if it was a drudgery. Our house echoes with Dvorak’s music.’”
The effects Spillville and its environs had on Dvorak are often and well documented.
Who can say how the events of music history might have unfolded had Joseph not met Antonin
Dvorak and brought him to Spillville.
Joseph Kovarik died in 1951.
1893 to 1976 – Other Notable Teachers and the Teaching Nuns
In 1893, Father Thomas Bily obtained the services of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Lisle,
Illinois. The Sisters would instruct the parochial school children until 1898. For the next two
years the students would be taught by three layman; Dr. W. Ivory, Francis Tinker and Hynek
Dostal. Little is known about Dr. W. Ivory or Francis Tinker, who also served as Spillville’s
dentist.
However, a great deal is known about Dr. Dostal. Hynek Dostal was born on December
29, 1871, in Borsice, Moravia. After receiving his elementary education in his hometown, he
attended college at Uherske Hradiste in 1884. He continued his education at institutions in
Prerov, Olomouc and Nemecky Brod. After a short period of army service, he resumed his
studies at the academy in Pribram and later graduated from law school at the University of
Prague. Dr. Dostal received his doctorate in letters from the University of Tiberia.
Hynek intended to take a position in Vienna when he received a telegram from his brother
Joseph. The telegram urgently requested him to come to America and teach at the Czech
parochial school in Spillville, Iowa. So Hynek, like many of his countrymen, left his homeland
for a new life in America. Then, in 1900, Archbishop Keane of Dubuque issued an order stating
that nuns must teach all parochial schools. Forced out of his job, Hynek moved to Chicago where
he was associate editor of the daily paper, Narod.
The full life story of Dr. Hynek Dostal is an incredible one and much about this famous
Czech patriot and immigrant can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://homepage.mac.com/williamszone/dostal/dostal.html. Among the notable aspects and
achievements of his life after teaching in Spillville were:
• In 1901, Msgr. Hessoun offered Hynek Dostal the position of editor of "HLAS". HLAS
was the first Czech-Catholic newspaper in America. HLAS was founded in 1873 by
Msgr. Josef Hessoun of the St. John Nepomuk parish in St. Louis. The word HLAS
means "voice” and the paper served as a voice to unite the Bohemian-American people
under the banner of Catholicism. His appointment as editor would encompass the rest of
his life and provide a means to help liberate his homeland. Dr. Dostal, along with his
wife, created another periodical, Ceska Zena, which translates to "Bohemian Lady."
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