Let’s start with the power of the Hospodář - Farmer eats at the table, reads the Hospodář while eating, and in there is a question,“ Farmer, do you have all your tools already tidy?“. The farmer stands up from the table and immediately goes to take care of the equipment. This is an excerpt from the letter written by one reader from New Prague, Minnesota, illustrating how huge impact this newspapers had on the readers.

The Hospodář - A Czech newspaper published in Omaha, NE - the Best Agricultural and Horticultural Journal in the Bohemian Language in the Whole West – was featured in the CGSI quarterly publication Naše rodina (Our Family), March 2022.

The word Hospodář is usually translated as the Farmer. In a broader meaning hospodář means a manager - a good manager of household, farm, money, and property – in short, taking proper care of everything.

A Czech proverb comes to my mind - Kdo dobře hospodaří, tomu se dobře daří! - Who manages well – is doing well! The good manager is prosperous!

My intention is, in the occasional blogs, to bring to you some articles and advertisements - to introduce the broad aspects of this popular newspaper. They may be articles about new farmland, farming practices and inventions, immigration, or the letters written by readers, which add a very personal flavor and are priceless to genealogists and historians alike.

The journal, now gradually becoming available on the CGSI website in digital format, offers us immersive moments into times long gone. Our predecessors appear in front of our eyes, with their articulated opinions, and even their photos! They are not just names anymore - we can vividly visualize the colorful fabric of life behind the names, dates, and places, seeing also the impact of background events and elements of nature on the predecessors’ daily lives.

Remember, this was the internet of the time! The readers asked for advice and others offered advice, whether it be how to care for domestic farm animals, beehives, gardens, trees, plants, or even discussing feminine subjects. In the section Ženská Besídka (Women Talks), women readers elaborated and shared their opinions on anything that resonated in their lives and the problems they experienced. They included their short biographies, how they emigrated, where they lived, how they managed money, sporting opinions on various facets of life - opening a door to the world they lived in one hundred years ago and beyond.

The readers eagerly awaited every new issue, reading it from the beginning to the end. As somebody wrote – even the lunch can wait when Hospodář reached the household.

So, let’s open this kaleidoscope of information with something ‘healing’ or ‘refreshing’ - the first page inside of Hospodář, Vol. XXII., Wednesday, 14 February 1912, Issue no. 1.

It starts with this advertisement (author’s note – this is a free translation - with objective in mind – to preserve the original writing style and language).

Unique Triner’s wine, the Czech healing bitter wine, the best and most recommended. If you try it, you will agree how great it is. It contains clear, red wine, and special healing herbs. This medicine refreshes the body and mind, strengthens, and enriches the blood. It heals the stomach sickness, clears intestines, and gives the strengths for the nerves and muscles.

If you are sick, lose your appetite, suffer with stomach problems, experience a headache and pain in various parts of your body, try this healing bitter wine, which can be the only medicine to return your health, strengths, and energy. You can find it in pharmacies, European warehouses in Prague and Lublan. Imported and exported by Jos. Triner, Chicago, Illinois.

Screenshot from the Hospodar, Rocnik – Vol XXII, Omaha, Neb. 14 Unora 1912, Cislo – Number 1

I am wondering if there is somebody out there who remembers this healing medicinal product. Do you recall if your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents would use it? Write us. Send us a postcard - almost a forgotten style of communication, right?

Although I did not know about the Triner’s wine, it evokes the Becher Liqueur, Becherovka, from Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (a place where I lived), and which is made from special herbs, giving the drink a unique aroma and taste – and maybe to some even the distant feeling of healing powers similar to the product above.

Iveta B.

CGSI is in the process of digitizing as many issues of the magazine Hospodář as we can find. If you have issues, especially the oldest ones starting in the late 1800's, we need your help! The magazine is a cultural treasure and also a great source of genealogical information. Our goal is to begin posting the digitized issues in the CGSI Digital Library in the very near future. If you can help us find old issues, please do so now before they are lost forever! Contact Library@cgsi.org.

The Hospodář magazine was founded in Omaha, NE in 1890 by Jan Rosicky. The magazine is in Czech and focuses on farming practices, but typically about 2/3s of the way through each issue there will be letters posted by individual Czechs and Slovaks from all areas of the US. These articles cover a full range of stories from immigration encounters to farming practices to commentary on politics in the US and their former home. A key intent of the magazine was to assist immigrants in understanding the land, environment and farming practices leading to success in their new home.

Existing items in the CGSI Digital Library related to Hospodář: