August Klecka was an American politician and newspaper editor of Czech descent. He was a member of the
Baltimore City Council
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds reg ...
from 1915 to 1933, representing Ward 7. Upon his election in 1915, Klecka became the first American of Czech descent to be elected to the Baltimore City Council.
He was a leading personality in the Czech community and for Czech Democrats in Baltimore. Klecka represented Czech voters and ran the Slavic Building and Loan Association.
He also performed as acting mayor of Baltimore for a time in 1931.
Klecka was born on 2 February 1878. His father Josef Klečka (from
Nehodiv
Nehodiv is a municipality and village in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70 inhabitants.
Geography
Nehodiv is located about east of Klatovy and south of Plzeň. It lies in the Blatná Uplands. The highe ...
) was a prominent figure in Baltimore. His mother Marie Hraničková was an immigrant from
Kvášňovice. August's brother James was Chief Magistrate of the People's Court of Baltimore.
Starting in 1929, Klecka served as the editor of the ''
Telegraf
Telegraf may refer to:
* Telegraph
* ''Telegraf'' (Baltimore newspaper), an American weekly newspaper
* ''Telegraf'' (German newspaper), a German daily newspaper
* ''Telegrafi'', a newspaper published in Kosovo
* ''Dnevni telegraf
''Dnevni teleg ...
'', a Czech-language newspaper in Baltimore.
He was appointed as Federal Marshal for the state of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
by
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, serving from 1933 to 1946.
In 1901, Klecka married Julia Lavicka at
St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. She died in 1931 while he served as acting mayor. In 1932, he married a widow, Lillian Lottes-Bricker, at the Methodist Episcopal Church in
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederi ...
.
After Klecka's death in 1946, his wife Lillian took over his role as Ward 7's most important political figure.
See also
*
History of the Czechs in Baltimore
The history of Czechs in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Thousands of Czechs immigrated to East Baltimore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming an important component of Baltimore's ethnic and cultural heritage. Th ...
References
External links
August Klecka in the 1940 Census
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klecka, August
American people of Bohemian descent
Baltimore City Council members
Burials at Bohemian National Cemetery (Baltimore)
Czech-American culture in Baltimore
Editors of Maryland newspapers
Maryland Democrats
United States Marshals
1878 births
1946 deaths
20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
American people of Czech descent
20th-century Maryland politicians