The journey from Lipov
A simple sketch of the journey Agnes describes, from Lipov to Wisconsin. It is not a surveyed map.
Lipov
Southern Bohemia, as Agnes wrote it
“The little village in southern Bohemia where I was born and raised.”
Veseliou Morava Needs a check
The first city she ever saw
A three-hour train from home. This is almost certainly Veselí nad Moravou, but she wrote it as Veseliou Morava.
Prague Needs a check
Listed in the memoir’s contents
The contents include “Good-bye to Lipov, train to Prague, soldiers.” The narrative we have describes the train to Veseliou Morava and then traveling on through Germany.
Germany
On the way to the ship
She woke on the train in Germany and remembered soldiers in uniforms who smiled and waved. A Bohemian-speaking agent helped them onto a train bound for Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
Eight days in a hotel, then the ship
She remembered canals, a market where four streets joined, and a bunch of violets her mother bought for her.
New York, and the Statue of Liberty
Arrival in America
They saw the Statue of Liberty in the morning sun, then waited hours to unload and show their papers. Ellis Island is named in the memoir in the story of another family held there; Agnes writes that she and her mother were unloaded in New York.
The Northwestern Depot, then Wisconsin
The train west
Mother bought train tickets to Rice Lake, Wisconsin. It was the first week of November, and there was no snow as they traveled.
Wisconsin, and nearby
A simple sketch of places Agnes names in Wisconsin and nearby. The cabin is marked near home, not on a surveyed spot. Chicago sits just south of the state, on the bus trip to see her sister.
Rice Lake, Wisconsin
The town on their train tickets, and a place Agnes names often on the tapes — shopping, a hospital, a bus leaving for Chicago, lumber yards.
Brill, Wisconsin
Home. The family sold cream to the Brill creamery. The Christmas tape also names Brill.
Haugen, Wisconsin
Nearby. There was a mix-up when they arrived, because her brother-in-law had written Haugen on the slip of paper “instead of the right place.” The memoir also mentions the Haugen Volunteers and trips to town.
The cabin in the woods Needs a check
A log cabin Agnes dreamed of among the wild roses, near home, over a creek. Her husband John built it for her. The exact spot should be confirmed by the family if we ever mark it more precisely.
Birchwood
Named on the tapes, including a small friend “from Birchwood” and a stop where a keg was bought.
Ladysmith
Named on the tapes as the place a snowplow came from, in the New Year’s story.
Eau Claire and Madison
Stops on the bus ride from Rice Lake to Chicago, when Agnes went to see her sister.
Chicago
The end of that bus trip, and a city she describes in several stories — the depot, a wobbling wheel, a night in the city.
Milwaukee
Named later, when neighbors from a nearby cabin moved there.
Other places she names
Minnesota
Agnes talks about grandchildren in Minnesota.
Seattle, and Mount Rainier
A trip she tells on the tapes, after being asked whether she would like to go.
Toledo Needs a check
Mentioned in connection with a niece; the name and the connection are uncertain.
“Hermitage” Needs a check
In May 1986 she says she must be taken back to “Hermitage.” This may be the name of her residence.
Holy Hill
A pilgrimage on St. Anthony’s Day, in the old country, listed in the memoir.
Brno, and Špilberk jail
A visit listed in the memoir’s contents and remembered in the book.