ˇ ´ VESTNIK S P J S T
Volume 107 Number 27
Benevolence
H E R A L D
★ Humanity
★ Brotherhood
September 11, 2019
ISSN —07458800
Charlie Mares: The Long Road Home of Cistern, serial number RA 6 289 280, has made it home. After being listed as missing in action during the Korean War almost 69 years ago, he was buried with full military honors in the cemetery at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, Cistern, Texas, on Friday, March 29, 2019. Charlie’s only surviving sibling, 89-year-old Catherine Camp of New Braunfels, recalls her reaction when the notification arrived on February 7, 2019, saying her big brother’s remains had been conclusively identified. “I was shocked, totally shocked,” she said. “Think how long Charlie had been missing. “Charlie was sweet, very kind and good to me,” Catherine recalls. “I loved him dearly.” Born on Christmas Day 1919, almost 100 years ago, Charlie was the third child of Cyril Joe and Augusta Lena Otahal Mares, who farmed in western Fayette
By Elaine Thomas Editor’s Note: Thanks to Lodge 133, San Antonio President Jarolyn Popp for sending us the story, “Charlie Mares: The Long Road Home” by Elaine Thomas that appeared in the May 31, 2019, issue of “The Fayette County Record.” Charlie’s niece Pat Mares Keller is a member of Lodge 133, San Antonio. His brother William J. Mares, who passed away in 2010, was also a member of Lodge 133. The Vestnik reached out to author Elaine Thomas who graciously shared the story and photos.
A
little misty-eyed, Pat Mares Keller flips through the news clippings about the funeral of her uncle, Master Sergeant Charlie J. Mares. “My grandparents still believed in their hearts that someday Charlie would come home,” she says. Indeed, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Charlie Mares
Continued on Page 17.
August 2019 Top SPJST Sales Agents in Certificates Issued and Annualized Premium 1st - Certificates Issued 2nd - Annualized Premium $300 Award
1st - Annualized Premium 5th - Certificates Issued $300 Award
2nd - Certificates Issued 3rd - Annualized Premium $100 Award
3rd - Certificates Issued 5th- Annualized Premium $100 Award
4th - Certificates Issued 4th- Annualized Premium $100 Award
Margarita Cade Lodge 79 Corpus Christi District Seven
Kerry Herrington Lodge 142 Houston District Five
Lydia Talamantez Lodge 160 San Angelo District Four
Larry Strebeck Lodge 139 Danbury District Five
Janice Jahns Lodge 88 Houston District Five
( ( ( ( ( Inside This Week’s Věstník ( ( ( ( ( Important Dates ...................................3 Interest Rates.......................................3 Job Posting..........................................3 Insurance Update ................................5 District News........................................7 Lodge Section......................................9
In Memoriam ......................................20 Youth Section ....................................21 Vestnik Project...................................22 Czech Culture ....................................25 Advertisements ............................26-29 Lodge Calendar .................................30
SPJST participates in Westfest
Page 6
Lodge 6 Cottonwood member featured in Texas Monthly ad Page 9
Lodge 29 Taylor hosts appreciation dinner Page 10