čuklasovce - longlife homeplace of snopeks
WALKING IN THE ČUKLASOVCE
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On the edge of village on its right side you can see a cemetery and its new dominant - a church sacred to Translation of Madonna (since long ago this feast day was linked with kermess in Cuklasovce). The church was built in 2005-2006, on foundations of chapel, most self-supporting with financial contribution of inhabitants of village and its natives. In the right back corn of cemetery there is a house of sadness which was built in 1993.
The church of Translation of Madonna The house of sadness
Few meters after the cemetery but on the left side there is a culture house which was built in 1958 and he had his better years left. Now the table on the face of building says that there should be a library. Few decades ago there were festivities, weddings or burial-feasts. Inside there are podium and parquet. From the side entrance from the road there is a kitchen. It was rebuilded in 2004 but there isn't water-service pipe the building is not so exploited. In a parallel way with the longer side of the culture house continues a street with houses which could be seen when you come into the village. In a past it was said as "Kanada".
The culture house in Cuklasovce
From the culture house the road is little bit turned to right. In its curve we can meet a building of former school. On the building there is uncovered original graffito from times of Austro-Hungarian Empire "M.KIR.ÁLL. ELEMINÉP ISKOLA" (Hungarian royal public elementary-school). The school served as oneroom school (in one room there were all years of first stage). The advanced study been in Dubodiel or later Zlatiniky too.
The school in Cuklasovce The graffito from times of Austro-Hungarian Empire
Our parents visited this school too. I found the proof in an album of my parents too where was a little photo from probably 1948 where you can see also Ervin Snopek, Vaclav Snopek and Anna Masaryk (then Snopekova, Vaclav's wife). When I was in Cuklasovce for the last time I made a photo of it in its actual form. Here you can compare it:
The schoolyard around 1948 The schoolyard (previous): 2008
In family archive is a photo of students from Cuklasovce which was made around 1923-1925 too. The year of creation is prejudged following the presence of Maria Priecinska on the photo (she is in the second line from below and fourth from the left side), the sister of Gustinka Priecinska (the wife of Stefan Snopek, that was born in 1899). Maybe some of Cuklas' people can know their ancestor.
Less than 100 metres from the school we come near to the bus stop which is abreast of the bridge over the stream Inovec. On the right side of the road on the direction to Dubodiel, abreast of the bridge, are naked semi-dismantled walls of previous farm (it had one more floor). Then it was grange and after it it was a workstation late State properties. The first boss of grange was my grandfather, Michal Masaryk, paradoxically accoring to proverb: "You have the most feed from forbidden bread!" Like the most owners of some property he wanted to protect it from nationalization and collectivization from the beginning of fifties years of last century. He couldn't prevent it and what is more he was vicarious by managment of collectivizated properties. But there wasn't success like communist bahadurs wanted. None wanted to work on nationalized fields. It looked like boycott following the slogan "When you took the fields work on them." The grange was after unsuccesses associated to another. Later it was a workstation late State properties.
Last inhabitants of farm was the Uhor family who owned it before the nationalization. I remember the old Mrs Uhor when I was a little boy. The old lady always wanted to look perfect despite of her ripe old age and she always had a make-up what was unusual in her age in that parts in the age of socialism.
Next to the old farm there was a mart made in seventies. Besides the mart there was a pub too.
The ruin of previous farm Previous mart
When we look to the left from these buildings we can see the bridge over the stream. This bridge was until 1983 wooden (today it is concrete with crush barrier). This bridge was many times suffered... Many times a combine harvest didn't reduce to fit in all its width and the rail stayed defective. But people from behind of the stream needed help with trashing in summer so the damage of the bridge was usual.
Straight look over the bridge shows us a house where were a shop and pub (before the mart was built). The house is partly trimmed but if you look at it well you can see a mark after walling-in previous entrance to the pub in the center of it. In this pub and shop in one sold and drew Anna Masarykova (then Snopekova) too.
The stream Inovec from
the bridge Previous pub
Worthy of note in Cuklasovce there is
a fire house. On its top there is a little belfry. It is reffered to as
cultural monument. When I was a little boy I rolled the bells there too
for a few times. It was rebuilt in 2006-2007.
It is necessary to remember a center of village which reaches from the firehouse around the previous pub to approximatelly house of Masaryk family. From my childhood I remember merry-go-rounds which were here during a kermesses.
In Cuklasovce tehre were humble conditions but in fifties of 20th century young people decided to play a dramatic performance "Herodes and Herodias" on the popular biblical theme. Almost the all village was involved. The theatre was on a free space. Although the performance was successful the tradition of stage-craft wasn't saved in the village.
Photos from the dramatic performance "Herodes and Herodias"
We can finish the short walk by todays Cuklasovce by this. Someone can protest that this is not the whole Cuklasovce but it wasn't the aim of this article. The aim was to mention notorious and the most interesting places of this small village.
Čuklasovce
Source: http://velkedrzkovce.php5.sk
My uncle, Stefan Snopek, wrote his memories about Cuklasovce and Tarabovec in the time of his youth. If you want to you can read them here (only in slovak language).