Vrana Farmstead

This picture was taken in the late '50's while Vivian and Eddy Soucek lived in the old Vrana farm house. It was this picture that Marilyn Bower used to do the oil painting that we have in our living room. I included it here to show the small elm tree that is right in front of the right (east) side of the house. At the time the house was being remodeled in 1950, the tree was just a 6-7' shoot. It was somewhat in the way of the digging of the basement but the decision was made to save it. As time went by, the farm was sold, the house demolished, land was moved but the tree remained. It was one of the "landmarks" along with the windmill and a walnut tree in the west yard that helped to orient us . Last week when me made our annual "pilgrimage" out past the

old place, we noticed that the tree was dead. It is no great loss to the owners  and probably served little purpose in the present sitting. The land has been moved to where it is really not at all like it was when we lived there. And, yet it is sad because now there are only two landmarks. The walnut tree looks good this year but a few years ago, it looked like it was failing. The wheel on the old windmill is falling apart but the tower is still in stable condition. The old place is losing any identity that still remains.  It probably doesn't matter to anyone except Don, Janice and I who grew up there. Everyone else who ever lived in the old house has passed on, as has the old farmstead and the elm tree. The location of the farmstead will have about the same meaning to Great Granddaughter Sadie as the location over at Caslav, in the Czech Republic where my Great Grandparents grew up.