I think you will now agree with me. Tell Mr. Kubicek that he is good, that I wrote to him twice and he never answered. Ask him why he doesn't want to write to me. Don't forget to tell Frankie through you to Anna [this sentence is incomplete or in error]

Be very happy and soon get married but be careful not to hit anyone.

The Letter
It is thought that this letter is a continuation of the Pueblo October 27, 1896 Letter. It is as if Vaclav wrote the 1st page which is dated 27 October 1896, then received another letter from John Sokolik and then added the above as a 2nd page to the letter on another day and then sent both pages. Note that the 1st page has the date and salutation and this page has neither but instead has the closing.

This letter appears to be about three topics:

• Some issue where something happened to John and James (Vaclav) hopes John will agree with his previous advice
• Some issue with a Mr. Kubicek, who we don't know.
• Advice to John on marriage.

Commentary

• The letter raises the possibility that John Sokolik stayed at their old home and was keeping their things there. I need to check the addresses now that we know he stayed.
• It is not clear what James wanted John to tell Frankie through John to Anna. The best we can figure out is that he is talking about Frank Nemec and his daughter Anna; however, there could be other combinations of Frank and Anna.
• John would have been 22 at the time and perhaps stayed behind because of a girl he met. He would not marry until about 1905, so it was probably a different girl than Kate that is being alluded to. It is very unclear, what James meant by "careful not to hit anyone."

To Whom
Most of the Colorado letters are to John Sokolik who stayed in Chicago while the Filipeks (James, Katherine and their three children John, Mary and James) along with their nephew Theodore Sokolik went to Colorado. The time period was from about 1895 to about 1899.

James' letter style, particularly this one, comes across as to the point and commanding. He likes to use the phrase, "Greet all friends" and it comes across almost as a command. He is more direct and commanding in this letter (for example, "now agree with me", "he is good", "don't forget") to a nephew he raised, than to his brother-in-law. So while this letter might have been to Frank Nemec or someone else, it is thought that because of the style and the fact that Frank was already married, that the letter is to John Sokolik.

This letter along with the other Colorado letters was discovered in March 2000 by Terry Nelson in a tour of her grandmother Rose Filipek's attic in Sarasota, Florida.

The translation of this letter was done by Cindy Filipek Johnson's mother Janice in January 2001. The original and translated letter are below.

This letter was discovered in March 2000 by Terry Nelson, a gg-granddaughter of Antonin and Katerina Filipek in her grandmother Rose Filipek's home in Florida. If you would like to add information about this picture, please contact Dave Jordan, a gg-grandson of Antonin and Katerina Filipek. The Letter Reference Number is TNN17.