When the first Czech settlers arrived in Libuse and Kolin they were faced with difficult terrain and conditions for farming. They organized themselves to get farms and barns built and operating, helping each other. When the non-Czech farmers saw the industriousness of the Czechs they inquired as to their methods. One of the stories, which I've seen in print, is that "the Czechs had glass windows in their barns before the local people had glass windows in their homes."
Mr. Tuma isn't sure, but he believes that the Czech farmers' organization, Hospodar (Czech for "farmer," and the name of the publication which advertised settlement in Louisiana,) was the impetus for non-Czech farmers to also organize. As the more general Farm Bureau was created and grew the Czech-centered Hospodar folded itself into the larger organization.
It would be most interesting to see what the facts are about this very significant impact of the Czech Community on Louisiana.
Anyone with more information should contact me at
Jim Hlavac -- Louisiana Czech