Steven G. Potach received a B.A in History from the University of Minnesota, with a specialization in European History. He is an accomplished writer and lecturer, having published articles in several ethnic publications and having spoken at various conferences throughout the United States. He is also a 1976 winner of the Ida B. Davis Ethnic Heritage Award. Mr. Potach will lecture on "A Time of Passage: The History of the Czechs and Slovaks, 1781-1918." He will provide information on historical events that led to the abolition of serfdom and to the increase of freedom that reshaped Central Europe. This period of history provided the backdrop for the mass emigration of our ancestors which impacted not only Europe but America as well.
Joan M. Mohr received her Master's Degree from the University of San Diego and is a Doctoral Candidate in History at the University of Pittsburgh. Her specialty is United States Immigration History with an emphasis on the Czechs and Slovaks. She is an author of the odyssey of the Czecho-Slovak Legion in Siberia, 1917-1920 and on the immigration patterns of the Plzen/Rokycany families. Ms. Mohr will speak on "Founding Fathers: The Czechoslovak Legion in Siberia, 1917-1920." She will provide historical events that led up to the founding of the nation of Czechoslovakia. She will also detail how Czech and Slovak Americans provided important support in the founding of Czechoslovakia, as well as some of the events that shaped the nation in its early years.
Karen Hobbs has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French Language and Fine Arts from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her postgraduate studies are in cultural anthropology at Centre des Etudes du Moyen Age, University of Poitiers, France as a French Government Fellow. At the Federation of Eastern European Family History Society National Conference in 1996, she lectured about war as a cause of emigration. Ms. Hobbs will speak on "Austria's Changing Rules for Recruiting Soldiers and Their Effects" and "Imperial Austrian Military Records." She will provide historical background information on the aspects of military life, recruitment methods, and military obligations that shaped Central Europe and how it affected the everyday life of our ancestors. She will explain the impact that war had on our ancestors' emigration.
Dominic A. Pacyga received his Ph. D. in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981. He has co-authored two books concerning Chicago's neighborhoods and has written a study of two Polish working-class communities. He has lectured widely on topics ranging from urban development to immigration. Dr. Pacyga will speak on "Chicago's Czechs in Historical Perspective." He will provide historical information on ethnic settlements in Chicago and how neighborhoods played an important role in shaping our Czech and Slovak community in the United States. He will also discuss how these same neighborhoods helped form and shape Czechoslovakia in its conception and early years.
Daniel Schlyter has worked at the Family History Library as a European Genealogical Reference Consultant for 18 years. Mr. Schlyter graduated in 1977 from Brigham Young University in International Relations and German. He is a 1973 graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA in Czech language and has a certificate from the Zahraniaeni Ustav [Foreign Institute] of Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. He continues to lecture and write on various issues dealing with family history research and source materials for Czech, Slovak, Polish and many other ethnic groups . Mr. Schlyter will speak on "Sources for Genealogical Research in the Czech and Slovak Republics" and "Genealogical Research Procedures in Former Czechoslovakia: Case Studies." He will provide valuable information on source material and procedures to retrieve family historical information from various sources. He will also provide a case study that will provide a guide to researching family histories in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
I hope you can make this momentous conference. As a CSAGSI member you should have already received in the mail a blue Conference registration form, A Quest for Ancestors Through History. If you have not received this form in the mail and would like to go to the conference please email Joe Hartzel at: jzel@aol.com or phone me at 708-485-6189 or send a letter requesting additional information/flyers to: CSAGSI, PO Box 313, Sugar Grove, IL 60554. Space is limited so register early.
This Program is funded in part by the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.
Nazdar,
Joe Hartzel