Buresh Immigration Tower / Orloj

1. The Farmer – well built, healthy man in his thirties with rolled up sleeves and a wide-brim hat. This image was visualized in Hospodář published in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday, July 31, 1901 (XII, No. 12), representing predominantly the Czech settlers in the US in the second half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century with their farming plans and ambitions.

NCSML Donor: Dave Zrostlik

2. The Coal Miner – hard-working, well-built man with full bushy moustache, bright white “piercing” eyes and coal mining hat with an attached lamp was published in NYPL digital collections as a Slavic coal miner in Pittsburgh district in 1910, representing numerous stories of Slovak immigrants settling in the United States at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

NCSML Donor: Slovak Honorary Consuls

3. The Meat Packer – healthy, hard-working, 30- to 40-year-old man, with white long-sleeve shirt (sleeves rolled up to above the elbow) with full length leather apron, tall black boots and a large butcher knife in one hand in a raised position, working for the T.M. Sinclair & Co. Packing House in the early years of the Cedar Rapids packing house in late 1800s.

NCSML Donor: Jeanne Vogt

4. The Blacksmith – 40-year-old man with full moustache in dark color overalls, with one hand holding a hammer above the anvil and the other one holding the tongs with a horseshoe. The figurine serves as a tribute to the many Czech and other settlers in the 19th century that brought their metalworking skills to the new country. Their hard work and entrepreneurial spirit helped build many structures and machinery as well as industrial companies that still exist today providing advanced manufacturing jobs for many.

NCSML Donor: Dave Zrostlik

5. The Woman in Kroj – 25-year-old, healthy and athletic woman with both hands on her hips, happy and joyous, proud of her heritage, wearing a beautiful, colorful KROJ from Moravia displaying great dedication and respect towards the cultural heritage associated with the Slovak, Moravian, Bohemian and other homelands.

NCSML Donor: Dave Zahradnik

6. The SOKOL Female Gymnast – young, fit and athletic woman with white, sleeveless V-neck blouse with Sokol logo centered on the blouse, wearing black sneakers with white socks. One hand holding the small ring slightly above the head, the other hand is down behind her back. The figurine demonstrates the legacy of the SOKOL physical education organization started in the second half of the 19th century, which continues to the present times.

NCSML Donor: The Hamous Family

7. The Ice Harvester – 30- to 40-year-old, well-built, hard-working, muscular man, with short curly hair, handlebar moustache, in long black pants with suspenders and Panama style brim hat, gazing down at his work, while his hands grasping tongs handles, lifting the block of ice. The figurine pays tribute to the second-generation immigrants setting up their successful businesses in the new country, in this particular instance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the turn of the 19th and 20th century.

NCSML Donor: The Chadima Family

8. The Accordion Player – 50+ year-old man, wearing a distinctive Slovak, Janosik hat, a white shirt with long sleeves, blue vest, long black pants and leather shoes. The man is smiling with a joyful facial expression, looking out onto a crowd, while holding a piano accordion. The figurine shows tribute to the mixed family representatives, in this case the first-generation immigrant with a very strong joint Czech and Slovak identity.

NCSML Donor: Cecilia Rokusek

9. The Merchant – 45-year-old man with trimmed full moustache and with a white shirt with collar, bowtie, vest, and a golden chain for a pocket watch, is wearing a suit – matching pants, jacket and vest. A very confident, dominant posture expressing confidence demonstrates successful stories of local businessmen, in this case the owner of a store in 1907, originally located at the corner of C Street and 16th Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

NCSML Donor: Czech Honorary Consuls

10. Nun / Teacher – a young female nun in full habit, the black robe is with long blousy sleeves, squared at elbows, hands are locked, covered by ends of sleeves. The figurine shows a female nun teacher in 1911, demonstrating the legacy of the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius from Danville, PA, established in 1909 to mainly educate the young Slovak immigrant generations and take care of orphans in the new country.

NCSML Donor: David Rafaidus

11. The Woman with a Child – 25-30 years old, healthy, vibrant Moravian woman in the style of F. Uprka, with red skirt, tall black boots, red vest, white blouse, puffy elbow level sleeves, all in an opulently decorative style. Her hair is covered by the head piece which is a sign that she is married. The woman is gazing right at the child and the child is styled in a similar way to the mother, together presenting the strong family bond and the beauty of the folk costume (KROJ) at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

NCSML Donor: Sharon Schweitzer

12. The Polka Dancing Couple – young couple, not strangers, but a dancing couple with relationship or dance partnership with captivated gaze and smile locked together. Both of them are wearing their beautiful folk costumes, the man is dancing with a great hat and the woman’s head is not covered with a head piece (she is not married), but her hair is in pony tail nicely decorated with rich ribbons.

NCSML Donor: John and Chris Naxera