Volume 103 Number 33
ˇ ´ VESTNIK S P J S T Benevolence
H E R A L D
★ Humanity ISSN —07458800
Don Mears to Retire from Museum
Don Mears will be retiring from the After earning his associate of arts deCzech Heritage Museum and Geneal- gree, Mears worked as an illustrator for ogy Center on August 28, 2015. A Charles Machine Works, Inc., which come-and-go reception in his honor will manufactures Ditch Witch brand conbe from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Au- struction equipment. “I was hired for gust 26 at the Museum. A short program drafting, but within a month I was drawing illustrations,” Mears said. Mears said will begin at 5:30 p.m. Mears grew up in Austin, the son of he drew pictures of parts, often exploded views, for D e w e y operator ’s Mears, a manuals and commercial parts manuphotograals. “We pher who drew by was wellhand,” he known for said. “The his architecold way.” tural work. I n His interest 1981, he and aptitude moved to in art and Temple to carpentry work at Grewas nurs h a m ’s tured early on, while Czech Heritage and Genealogy Center Curator G r a p h i c s , Don Mears, center, will be honored with a comeworking as and-go retirement reception on Wednesday, Au- which was his father’s gust 26 at the Museum. He is pictured with the the corporate headphoto assis- late Frank Klinkovsky, left, and Kenny Lange. quarters of tant. He helped his father at photo shoots and in Stillhouse Hollow Publishers. This pubthe studio. The two even built a studio lishing company was owned by Mears’ uncle, Larry Ingram, a former executive and lab together. editor for the Temple Daily Telegram After high school, he moved to Oklahoma, where he entered a five- year ap- and editor/publisher of the Belton Jourprenticeship program to be a nal. It was an auspicious time for both the journeyman with the carpenters union. Museum and the Věstník. Until that There was a building boom at the time, time, the Věstník had been printed by the and Mears was able to work full time to save money for college. He learned Čzechoslovák Publishing Company in quickly and was assigned to projects that West, Texas. At the 1980 SPJST Conhelped him get advanced experience, so vention, the Supreme Lodge was manthat after only three years, the union dated to select the publishing company. At a call for bids, Stillhouse Publishing granted him journeyman credentials. Mears then began studying mechan- Company submitted the lowest bid. So, ical design at Oklahoma State Univer- on January 7, 1981, the Věstník was sity, still working as a carpenter during published for the first time in Temple. school breaks and holidays. Continued on Page 3.
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Important Dates ...................................3 Job Posting..........................................3 Supreme Lodge Minutes.....................4 District Fall Fun Day Agendas..........10 Missing Members ..............................10 Lodge Section....................................11
★ Brotherhood
Remembering Marie Stayton
By Lindsey Michalak Kindall Lodge 88, Houston • 1992 State Queen • Great-Great-Niece
Former District Five Youth Coun- She cried every time she talked about selor and Lodge 88, Houston Youth us kids. It didn’t matter whether it was Leader Marie Stayton passed away Au- at camp, a meeting, or YAD . . . the gust 12, 2015. She was 88 years old woman would cry! We loved to tease when she passed, and I don’t think that her about the tears but those tears meant she loved us. was a coincidence. She may have been a Lodge Marie was a bigger196, Houston-West memthan-life personality. ber since 2006, but it is at Meetings were always Lodge 88 she will have a started with “Hey, Hey, lasting legacy. Being a Hey!” and it was nothing former youth club memfor her to go without her ber and her great-greatteeth at night at camp! niece, I know nothing was She loved her Thursday more important to her night bingo at Lodge 88, than mentoring the kids of and all of us youth loved Lodge 88 and District sitting with her while she Five. played. The reason a Those of us involved bunch of teenagers would in the youth club during sit with a senior citizen at her time can tell you she bingo was because she Marie Stayton made a huge impact on was always the most fun District Five our lives. It was so imporperson in the room. If Youth Counselor tant to her to that we grow you knew her, you know 1987 - 2003 into respectable adults. what I’m talking about! She wanted us to care for others and She always had control of a room lead by example. I cannot express when she was speaking. I never told enough on behalf of my former youth her this but everything I learned about club members just how much of a public speaking, I learned from her. blessing Marie was to all of us. She al- She was loud, assertive, and always ways took the time to make each one scanned the room. So when I ran for of us feel special. She did that not be- State Queen in 1992, I copied her and cause she thought we needed it, but be- won. Even once I won, she still wasn’t cause she believed each and every one done with the life lessons. She made of us was special. sure I understood that I had responsiWe admired her for being able to bilities as State Queen and that inshow her love to all of us even when that included her crying. Her crying cluded how I held myself in public. about everything is one of those mem- She was always teaching, and I learned ories that have made all of her former quickly I should always listen. When I decided to write this, I went youth smile in the last few days. The Continued on Page 22. crying ended up becoming a “thing.”
Inside Th is Week’s Vestnik
New Sales Agent................................16 In Memoriam ......................................19 Youth Section ....................................20 Czech Culture ....................................26 Advertisements ............................28-29 Lodge Calendar .................................30
August 19, 2015
Page 12
Lodge 54 West honors longtime members
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District Five members gather at Corpus Christi Get Away
Page 28
Czechs introduce floorball to West ISD