The Western Fraternal Life Association, previously known as ''Zapadni Ceska Bratrska Jednota'' ( en, Western Bohemian Fraternal Association) is a

fraternal benefit society A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief f ...

and financial services organization in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The association has its roots in the Czechoslovak immigrant community of the 19th century. It was once the second largest Czech-American freethought fraternity in the United States.

History

The association was established in 1897 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

by immigrants from Bohemia, as the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association ( cs, Zapadni Ceska Bratrska Jednota; ZCBJ). The aim of the association, like other fraternal benefit societies, was to provide insurance and financial security for people from a similar demographic, in this case Czech immigrants to the United States, as well as protecting and promoting the Czech heritage of the members. The organization was a western offshoot of the

Czech-Slovak Protective Society The Czech-Slovak Protective Society (CSPS), which became the Czecho Slovakian Association, was an organization supporting the welfare of Czech and Slovak immigrants to the United States. The Czech-Slovak Protective Society started as an insurance s ...

(CSPS), which was based in the eastern states. ZCBJ founder members disagreed with some CSPS policies which were not tailored to their specific circumstances, especially about the calculation of payments to members, and the admission of women to the club's services. The motto of the society was "Truth, Love, and Loyalty", based on the purported values of the members and their community. In 1899, the association became one of the first fraternals to insure women. In 1919, members voted to insure juveniles. Membership was opened to all in 1947, and at the 1971 National Convention, members voted to change the name to the Western Fraternal Life Association. Members created lodges in their areas to celebrate holidays, host plays and dances, and speak the Czech language. The lodges became a source of support and solidarity for members during difficult periods, such as the Great Depression and the World Wars. , the association has more than 38,000 members from the states that Western is licensed in:

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Oklahoma,

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South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Organization

The local units of the Association are called lodges, and the highest authority is the board of directors. In 1923 the organisation's headquarters were at 307 12 Avenue, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.Preuss, Arthur A Dictionary of Secret and other Societies St. Louis, B. Herder Book Co. 1924 p.476

Historic buildings

There are over a dozen historic buildings of the association which are listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

: Notable lodges of the organization include: * ZCBJ Opera House (1903),

Verdigre, Nebraska Verdigre is a village in Knox County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 575 at the 2010 census. History Verdigre was platted in 1887 shortly before the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. It took i ...

, NRHP-listed. * Z.C.B.J. Hall (1907),

Arthur, Wisconsin Arthur is a town in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 759 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Cobban, Crescent, and Drywood are located in the town. Education The town is served by the Schoo ...

, NRHP-listed. * ZCBJ Hall (1908), Tyndall, South Dakota, NRHP-listed. * Rad Slavin cis. 112 Z.C.B.J. Hall (1909),

Comstock, Nebraska Comstock is a village in Custer County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 93 at the 2010 census. History Comstock was established in 1899 as a water stop on a new railroad line. It was named for W. H. Comstock, a storekeeper. Geograph ...

, NRHP-listed. * Lodge Zare Zapadu No. 44 (1909), Hayward Township in Freeborn County, Minnesota, NRHP-listed. * ZCBJ Hall (1910),

Haugen, Wisconsin Haugen ( ) is a village in Barron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 287 at the 2010 census. History Haugen was named in 1886 after the Norwegian settler Nils P. Haugen who emigrated from Buskerud, Norway in 1854, a loc ...

, NRHP-listed. * Rad Plzen cis. 9 Z.C.B.J. (SD10-6) (1911), Morse Bluff, Nebraska, NRHP-listed. * Z.C.B.J. Tolstoj Lodge No. 224 (1911), in

Scio, Oregon Scio ( ) is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States. The population was 838 at the 2010 census. History '' Oregon Geographic Names'' suggests that Scio was named by one of the original residents, William McKinney, who, with Henry L. Turner, ...

, on the bank of Thomas Creek, NRHP-listed. * Z.C.B.J. Opera House (1913),

Clarkson, Nebraska Clarkson is a city in Colfax County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 658 at the 2010 census. History Clarkson was platted in 1886 when it was certain that a new railroad line extended to the site. It was named for T. S. Clarkson, a p ...

, NRHP-listed. * Z.C.B.J. Rad Tabor No. 74 (1914),

Dorchester, Nebraska Dorchester is a village in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. It is thirty-eight miles southwest from the Lincoln, Nebraska metropolitan area. The population was 596 at the 2020 census. History Dorchester was platted in 1870 when the Burlin ...

, NRHP-listed. * ZCBJ Lodge No. 46 (1917),

Prague, Oklahoma Prague () is a city in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,346 at the 2020 census, an 1.76 percent decrease from the figure of 2,388 in 2010. Czech immigrants founded the city, and named it after the capital of the pres ...

, NRHP-listed. * Rad Jan Kollar cis 101 Z.C.B.J. (1921), Du Bois, Nebraska, NRHP-listed. * Western Bohemian Fraternal Union Hall (1925),

Meadowlands, Minnesota Meadowlands is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 134 at the 2010 census. Saint Louis County Highway 133 (CR 133), County 5 (CR 5), and County 29 (CR 29) are three of the main routes in Meadowlands. ...

, NRHP-listed. * Rad Saline Center cis. 389 Z.C.B.J. (1939),

Western, Nebraska Western is a village in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 224 at the 2020 census. History Western was laid out in 1872. It was likely named for Wesley West, a pioneer settler. 1925 editionis available for download aUnive ...

, NRHP-listed. * Lodge Boleslav Jablonsky No. 219, Poplar Grove Township, Minnesota, NRHP-listed.

References

External links

Official website
{{Lists of clubhouse buildings Organizations established in 1897 Czech-American culture Czech-American history Slovak-American history Diaspora organizations in the United States Ethnic fraternal orders in the United States Czech-Slovak Protective Society

History

Organization

Historic buildings

See also

References

External links