Mailbox
Today in Mailbox: A Czech puppet exhibition in Columbus, Ohio; a listener's QSL card collection; the Moravian flag; the sad history of the Bubny train station in Prague; answers to our monthly quiz question and finally a brand new question for August. Listeners/readers quoted: Stephen Hrebenach, Rakesh K.S., Lynda-Marie Hauptman, Ragu Arumugam, Valery Luhouski, Hans Verner Lollike, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Charles Konecny.
Our regular listener Stephen Hrebenach from Ohio writes:
“I visited the Columbus Museum of Art to see their exhibition ‘Strings Attached’. This is a temporary exhibit of Czech puppets/marionettes that I heard about on Radio Prague. In fact, I would not have even known about it if not for hearing it on your station. It was a small bit of Czech culture that I was able to experience without too long of a trip. (It is a 75-minute drive from where I live.) I have included just a couple of photos from the exhibit.
“One has my daughter Julianna (age 7) standing next to her favorites, the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White done at the DRAK Theatre in Hradec Králové. I had several favorites, especially from some of the older marionettes, but included a more recent Bruncvík and the Lion from Theatre Minor in Prague. For any listeners who might be within reach of central Ohio, the exhibit will only be on display there for about another month, until August 4. Thanks so much for keeping us ‘connected’ to your country via your broadcasts. I was glad to have some Czech culture brought closer to me, but it makes me long for a return journey to the Czech Republic... someday.”
Thank you, Stephen, for the message and the lovely photos attached and we’re glad both you and your daughter enjoyed the exhibition.
Rakesh K.S. from India also sent us photographs along with his e-mail:
Thank you, Rakesh, for promoting Radio Prague in your community. Just a reminder for all our listeners: even though Radio Prague no longer broadcasts on shortwave, we still send out QSL cards in exchange for your internet reception reports.
From the United States, Lynda-Marie Hauptman sent us this question:
“I read about the raising of the Moravian flag during the celebration of the Saints Cyril and Methodius. I am interested, since my dad's family is from Moravia (the Ostrava area), in seeing what this particular flag looks like. However, there were no accompanying pictures in the links to the story about the celebration of the Saints, and Google and other internet search engines return pictures of a lot of different flags, all of which are, supposedly, Moravian. I thought it better to ask the staff of Radio Prague, since you are right there, in the Czech Republic, and your knowledge of the appearance of the real flag would be much better than taking a chance that someone posting an image at random on Google and calling it the Moravian flag has the correct image.”
Ragu Arumugam from India responded to a recent edition of In Focus titled “Bubny train station saw darkest moments of Prague's history”:
“Very touching, the memories of the victim from her childhood days, the steam engine's sound... terrific. Good idea that people around the world should learn about the history and the details of the Holocaust.”
Thank you so much for your feedback and please keep those e-mails coming. Now it’s time to take a look at your answers to our monthly quiz question:
Valery Luhouski writes from Belarus:
“Jaromír Jágr – Orthodox, outstanding ice hockey player, lively, strong and powerful symbol of the memory of the Prague Spring. One of the best strikers in the world, being a right-handed hitter in hockey, he at the same time keeps the tenacious defense line of 1968 in Czech history, and like a flag, he carries his unchanging number 68 on his jersey in the memory of his grandfather and the events of [the Prague] Spring. Jágr was awarded the Czech Order of Merit in 2010. Jaromír Jágr is top of the list of the most famous Czech people.”
“More Czech ice hockey players were born in 1972, but my guess is that you are looking for Jaromír Jágr, born in February, 1972 in Kladno (plus he is the only name I know from the many excellent Czech players). He has played in NHL for New York, Pittsburgh and Washington. He plays with no. 68 to honor the Prague Spring.”
This answer is from Li Ming from China:
“The person you are looking for this time is Jaromír Jágr. He is considered as one of the world's best players. Born and raised in Kladno, he made his way to the NHL in 1990, where he won numerous trophies. His teams succeeded in winning the Stanley Cup twice, Olympic gold and the World Ice Hockey Championships. In 2006, he became the most successful European ever to play in the NHL when he scored his 1,400th point.”
Jayanta Chakrabarty from India wrote:
“Every month Radio Prague has been portraying some of the great Czechs who have excelled in various spheres of human endeavour. This time around we have Jaromír Jágr, perhaps the most outstanding professional ice hockey player and one who is regarded as the most prolific point scorer in the history of the National Hockey League. Young Jaromír showed promises of exceptional ability and talent from the tender age of 3 and at the age of 16 began playing for the Kladno Hockey Club, the highest level of professional competition in Czechoslovakia.
“Though commitments in the West kept Jaromír away from his beloved motherland, nevertheless he showed his deep reverence by frequently returning to the Czech Republic during off-seasons in the NHL to play for the national team. His contribution helped the Czech Republic to win the ice hockey gold in the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan and he was the country's official bearer in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Jaromír Jágr's long professional career won him laurels and numerous awards like the Art Ross Trophy (five times), Lester B Pearson Award (thrice) and the Hart Memorial Trophy. Regarded as one of the best ice hockey players of all time, Jaromír is also a true patriot – preferring to wear the number '68' to show his honour and respect for the 1968 Prague Spring.”
“The Czechs have turned out many great hockey players, and Jágr is one of the best. His career in hockey speaks for itself with his many club and NHL records along with his Worlds, Stanley Cup and Olympic gold championships. Despite his age starting to pile up, and maybe a step slower, he still has some good years left in him. One thing is certain, he is proud to be a Czech from Kladno, and wherever he plays, he always wears the number ‘68’ on his jersey in honor of the ‘Prague Spring’ of 1968. So good luck to Jaromír in the upcoming season and I'll be rooting for him... except when he is playing against the Detroit Red Wings.”
Thank you very much for your answers and this time the lucky winner who can expect a Radio Prague parcel in the coming days is Jawahar Madugula from India. Congratulations! And our monthly quiz tradition continues. This time we look a little further back in history.
In August we are looking for the name of the natural scientist who was born in 1838 near the Moravian town of Kroměříž and died during an expedition in the Himalayas in 1874.
Please send us your answers to the usual address [email protected] by August 28th. That is also the address for your questions, comments and reception reports. If you follow our page on Facebook, you can also leave your comments there. Thanks for listening today and until next time, take care.
