I have always had an attraction to the old cemeteries in Nebraska. I hunt them down and photograph them. As I worked, I noticed that the some cemeteries were always clean and well tended. The architecture of the stones and markers was unique. There was always an arched metal gate with words like Cesko Narodni Hrbitov or Cecho Slovansky Hrbitov. I knew that “Hrbitov” had to mean “cemetery,” but I was not sure what the other words might mean. Eventually I learned that I was in Czech territory where Czechs and Bohemians settled in Nebraska.

Czech lands were divided into three rregions: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Immigrants from specific regions clustered together here, carrying on the customs of the old country. Saline County was primarily Bohemian, the Freethinkers. Saunders County was primarily Czech, the Catholics.

This book is an attempt to illustrate what remains of the Czech and Bohemian cultures in Nebraska.

Jean Lewis