The Fayette County Czech Heritage Society (CHS) met on June 11, in the Hanslik Hall at TCHCC in La Grange for its annual Piknik. Members and guests enjoyed visiting and singing Czech songs while Jimmy Fucik accompanied them on the accordion and a meal consisting of sausage wraps, sides, and desserts.
The 2024 Fayette CHS scholarship winner, Duke Sodek of Flatonia was introduced. Duke thanked CHS for the scholarship. He spoke of growing up surrounded by Czech culture and listening to his Grandfather Larry Sodek's polka show on the radio. Duke plans to attend Texas A&M University and major in Construction Science.
Our Fayette CHS Queen, Madelyn Karstedt, and Little Princess, Lillie Karstedt, were introduced. They spoke of the festivals attended since their crowning. To help promote the Czech culture, Madelyn read a Czech book in English to the younger students and presented a slide show for the older ones at Sacred Heart Catholic School in La Grange. They will vie for the State CHS Queen and Little Princess Royalty on June 29, 2024, in New Taiton.
CHS held a silent auction benefiting the scholarship and queen royalty funds, and the evening ended with Czech-English bingo. The Piknik was another annual success.
