BY NATE KING
Salina Post
Czech roots
WILSON — In the mid- to late-1800s, the town of Wilson, Kansas, was just starting out. At the same time, half a million settlers were making their way West across rolling hills and mighty rivers to find a better place for themselves and their families. Wilson served as an important stagecoach stop on this journey — providing traveling covered wagon trains with the necessary resources they would need to survive the trip.
As construction began on the Kansas Pacific Railway in the mid-1800s, Czech immigrants began moving to Wilson to work on the new railroad. After the rail line was completed in 1870, covered wagons became less popular and more people began riding the rails to reach their new way of life. The railroad brought commerce, opportunity and more people.
As Wilson's population grew, so did the community's interest in entertainment. In 1901, Turner Hall — the original name for Wilson Czech Opera House — was completed by Frank Kvasnicka Sr. and a few other motived locals. The post rock stone used for the build was quarried 5 miles outside of Wilson. The opera house was used for Sokol (Czech-inspired gymnastics), dances, banquets, weddings, school programs, dinner theatre, Czech Queen Pageants, and traveling shows for many years.
In 1912, the first “movie machine” showed movies several nights a week. Cesky Den "Czech Day," a Thanksgiving celebration for the Wilson Czech Lodges, filled the hall each autumn. Due to the decline of Sokal memberships, the gymnastics team discontinued. The unoccupied gym was filled, and a concrete floor was poured. This made room for a museum. Donations of memorabilia from families in Wilson and surrounding communities allowed the museum to become a point of interest for Wilson and Czech Kansans.
A devastating fire and hopes of restoration
In 2009, the historic Wilson Kansas Czech Opera House burned to the ground. The fire was devastating, leaving a community without one of its most treasured buildings.
Salina Post sat down with Allison Ford, president of the Wilson Czech Opera House, to hear an update on the construction and fundraising project underway.
"I've been a part of the opera house my entire life," Ford said. "We started going to movies there as a child. Santa Claus would come and visit. There would be plays and different kinds of entertainment. So it was just always a big part of my life, even though I'm not Czech myself."
As an adult, Ford participated in the famous Wilson Czech Dance troupe, traveling across the state to share Czech culture and traditions.
In November 2009, a fire started in a nearby building and spread to the Opera House. Once the fire was finally put out, the opera house was in ruin. The only parts of the structure that remained were the post rock walls.
Volunteers spent two weeks cleaning out the debris and mourning the burned cultural memorabilia lost to the fire. After the rubble was cleared, community leaders and advocates for the opera house established a $600,000 goal to complete the restoration of the building.
"When it burned, it really hurt a lot of people, and it was completely destroyed. Everything was gone except for the stone walls. We felt that it was necessary to keep the wall so that we could make it into something else," Ford said.
Ford said that there was pushback in the community — many people wanted to see it torn down.
“We looked at everything,” Allison said. “The costs to rebuild exactly the same were huge, and demolition would be equally expensive. So, we hired an engineer and they strongly suggested that we keep the walls up because it kind of helps support the rest of the block. We can save the walls and preserve them and give Wilson just a nice place to go."
Since the fire, Ford said, a 6-foot chain link fence has stood around the perimeter of the opera house.
"It's been an eyesore to the community for since 2010," Ford said. "We're quite eager to get that fence down. We have so far raised $425,000, so we're really close to getting done."
The remaining $175,000 needed to complete the project will be used to finish the wall restoration and adjusting the front wall so it is the same height as the back wall.
"After that is all completed, we will do steel bracing so that it's supportive," Ford said.
Upon completion of the project, the opera house will be preserved in the form of an open-air theatre, allowing people to once again visit the Czech Opera House, hear the acoustics and learn a bit about Czech culture.
Fundraising for a future
Ford said multiple grant funds were acquired to secure the money needed to restore the opera house.
"The Dane Hansen grant was a really nice grant, because they helped us get that basement filled in, which was really a concern of mine," Ford said. "We also received Kansas tax credits and that helped with all of the restoration of the exterior walls. We received a grant from the Smoky Hills Community Foundation and that helped with the interior restoration. Then, recently, we received the SEED grant from the state of Kansas."
According to the Kansas Department of Commerce, the purpose of SEED grants is to support the economic revitalization of Kansas communities under 5,000 population through investments in quality-of-life initiatives. Sixty-two Kansas counties received SEED grant funds. The SEED grant is funded through the Technology-Enabled Fiduciary Financial Institutions Development and Expansion Act.
Ford said that the best way the community can support the Wilson Czech Opera House is by giving financially.
"We are a nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible. And we're also selling engraved bricks," Ford said. "We have this campaign going on and you can buy a brick from us, and all you have to do is go to our website."