Hynek's parents Ignatius and Marie Dostal arrived in Little Turkey in 1902. Little Turkey lies about 7 miles southwest of Spillville. Some of Hynek's brothers and sisters also arrived around that time. The family abbreviated many of the traditional Czech names to reflect the new culture into which they assimilated. For example, Josefinka became Josephine and Stanislav became Stanley.

methodist church Czechs are noted for their love of music and Hynek's father, Ignatius, was no exception. Ignatius was especially skilled on the violin, piano and flute. In the "Roadside Ramblings" editorial section of the Decorah Public Opinion newspaper, an article was printed about Ignac's desire to create a Catholic church in Little Turkey. The Methodists had abandoned a small church and Ignatius hoped to restore it for use. Excerpts from the editorial article read as follows.
"For a man of 50 years to pack up all his earthly belongings and move across the ocean to an entirely different world is no small undertaking. It is like jerking a mature tree, roots and all, out of the soil in which it first sprouted. A part of the tree stays in the earth. So it is with men. They sometimes leave their hearts behind."

"But Ignatius brought his heart in his violin. You could not separate him and his music. Still, it was comforting to him and his wife and children to see Bohemians streaming into the Little Turkey community. Eventually, the 'Yankees' as they were called, became so few in number that they abandoned the small Methodist church."

"This abandoned church became a haven of rest and hope for Ignatius Dostal. Through the door, which was never locked, he often entered on Sunday afternoon when the earth lay sleeping outside and the people of the community were idling about their homes, many of them stretched on their beds and deep in slumber. Into the long shadows of the church the 50-year-old Bohemian strolled. Quietly and reverently, he moved down the aisle to the little organ sleeping in one corner of the church."

"Occasional lovers going hand-in-hand down the road or farm children racing through the fields, often paused in their tracks on such afternoons as the wailing notes of the organ were wafted to them from the quiet church. They learned to associate the awesome sound with Ignatius Dostal, and a kind of reverence touched the hearts of those who listened."
St. Mary's church

Ignatius decided to buy the abandoned church and paid $500 to the Methodists. On St. Joseph's Day, March 19, 1903, Father Joseph Dostal said the first mass in the small church. The parish was incorporated as the Assumption church of Little Turkey on December 28, 1911. Eventually, the parish grew and the members decided to build a new church. The land for the new church was donated by Ignatius. St. Mary's church was consecrated on September 8, 1915.

Inside the new church, there is peaceful tranquility. At the bottom of one of the stained-glass windows appears the name of Hynek's brother, Vaclav.

On May 9, 1918 a cyclone struck around five in the evening completely destroying the old Methodist church and causing the roof of the St. Mary's church to cave in.

The writer of the "Roadside Ramblings" editorial closes by stating,
"As I rambled through Little Turkey on my way back to Decorah, I was impressed with the tranquility of the church and it's surroundings. The modest, though attractive brick edifice stands on the breast of the fertile prarie country. The crowing roosters in the Dostal barnyard broke into my musing for a moment with a realistic note which was submerged as rapidly as it occurred by the low crying of the wind in the spruce grove west of the church, reminding me of Ignatius Dostal bowing over the organ in the little Methodist church so many years ago."
Even today, Little Turkey isn't much more than an intersection. As you enter the town from the east, you come upon the spot where the original Dostal house stood, just beside St. Mary's church. The house has been completely remodeled since the turn of the century. After coming to the stop sign, you see St. Mary's to the right. The local bar is off to the left, and St. Mary's cemetery just ahead. A right turn quickly takes you past the old schoolhouse and out to the fertile Iowa prairies.


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