Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 3:48 PM
To: National Library of the Czech Republic
Subject: 1946 delivery of 55.000 hatching eggs to Prague by UN
Dear Reader,
This message is for your Research Librarian. I am hoping to learn if
there was press coverage in 1946, around 23 April and 02 and 16 May, of
delivery to Prague of 55.000 to 66.000 hatching eggs each flight to help
restore your country’s hatchery industry after World War II.
The shipment was organised by the United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration. The flights were contracted to my
father’s airline, Veterans Air Express. I am researching the airline.
I will be in Prague starting tomorrow afternoon, 12 May, until Monday.
I have press clippings from the United States of the shipment and of
Jarmila Novotna, Czech diva at our Metropolitan Opera in New York, who
christened the Veterans Air Express DC-4 that would fly the Prague
hatching egg deliveries.
I apologize for such short notice. My request is almost rude because
it is so late!! I am very hopeful for assistance in seeking any
possible news coverage of the event in a Prague newspaper. I understand,
of course, that post-war circumstances may have prevented any such
coverage. But because I am here 70 years later, I decided it would be
foolish not to come to the library and ask for your assistance.
I look forward to visiting the library tomorrow afternoon. Or Saturday
if you are open.
Please forward this email to your research librarian if it is
appropriate.
I hope to hear from you. I include a website that talks about my
research on the airline, the crew members who I have found who flew the
Prague flights, and other information about my research project.
No matter the outcome, it will be a privilege to visit your city and
your magnificent Library.
Best regards,
Gaye Lyn Gravely
Daughter of Saunie Gravely, founder of
Veterans Air Express, Newark, NJ, USA
Web. VeteransAir.org
——————————————————————————–
Dear Ms Gravely,
We found several articles about delivery of hatching eggs in our
digital libraries Kramerius 3 and Kramerius 4. Please find below
quotations of that articles, we also tried to make a short digest of
information published in that articles:
* tmz. Násadová vejce z USA. Svobodné noviny. 1946, vol. 2, no. 36*
(12. 2. 1946), p. 4. Digital library Kramerius 3 –
kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17427087
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17427087>
— By the end of February 1946 a delivery of 200 000 hatching eggs is
expected, eggs will be delivered from the United States to Prague by a
plain.
* TMZ. Násadová vejce ze Spojených států letadlem do Prahy. Čin. 1946,
vol. 2, no. 43 (20. 2. 1946), p. 2. Digital library Kramerius 4
— On February 16th a delivery of 30 000 hatching eggs was delivered
from New York to Stockholm. Cargo was taken over there by a swedish
airplain and transported to Prague. A consignment of hatching eggs will
be taken over by a hatchery in Čejetičky. Following deliveries should be
fetched every other day. By the March 1st 150 000 hatching eggs will be
delivered to Czechoslovakia.
* UP. Jarmila Novotná pokřtila letadlo UNRRA. Severočeská Mladá fronta.
1946, vol. 2, no. 92 (18. 4. 1946), p. [2]. Digital library Kramerius 3
– kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/7875189
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/7875189>
— Opera singer Jarmila Novotná christened a four-engined airliner,
which should carry 60 000 hatching eggs to Czechoslovakia. A name of the
plain is a New York foal (colt).
* so. Létající vejce v Praze. Svobodné noviny. 1946, vol. 2, no. 95****
(21. 4. 1946), p. 4. Digital library Kramerius 3 –
kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17428777
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17428777>
— Opera singer Jarmila Novotná christened a four-engined airliner,
kissed its pilot and wished him a save journey from America to
Czechoslovakia, the plain will deliver 66 000 hatching eggs to
Czechoslovakia. Many people were making phone calls to Prague airport at
Ruzyně and requested information about delivery of eggs. The plain
landed in Prague on Good Friday, it departed on Wednesday at 3:05 PM
from La Guardia airport. All walls in airplain were laid around by an
isolation cloth and the temperature was controled to be 32°C. There were
hoses with a hot air located around boxes with eggs, which substituted a
sitting hen.
* ČTK. Násadová vejce z USA do ČSR. Slovo národa. 1946, vol. 2, no. 95
(21. 4. 1946), p. 7. Digital library Kramerius 4.
— The airplain with the delivery of 55 000 hatching eggs (a gift from
UNRRA) landed in Prague at Ruzyne airport. It departed on Wednesday on
April 17th from La Guardia airport and made a stop in Paris.
Representatives of UNRRA, Ministry of agriculture and Ministry of
foreign affairs were waiting for the plain at the airport.
* zz. USA dodává našim zemědělcům. Severočeská Mladá fronta. 1946, vol.
2, no. 96 (24. 4. 1946), p. [3]. Digital library Kramerius 3 –
kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/7875411
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/7875411>
— Since the beginning of February four consignments of hatching eggs
were delivered to Czechoslovakia. It was altogether 90 000 eggs, strain
(breed) of Leghorn and Rhode-Island. Eggs were delivered by plain from
the U.S. A Uniform association of Czech farmers divide eggs among
hatcheries. Delivery of eggs from the U.S. continues, another 60 000
eggs were despatched from New York in previous days.
* K. Jak nám pomohla UNRRA. Svobodné noviny. 1946, vol. 2, no. 246****
(25. 10. 1946), p. 3. Digital library Kramerius 3 –
kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17435082
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17435082>
— 444 000 hatching eggs were delivered to Czechoslovakia.
Dík a trvalá vzpomínka akci UNRRA: ČSR dostala 1,497.000 tun zboží
UNRRA. Severočeská Mladá fronta. 1947, vol. 3, no. 142 (19. 6. 1947), p.
1. Digital library Kramerius 3 –
kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17850325
<kramerius.nkp.cz/kramerius/handle/ABA001/17850325>
— UNRRA delivered incubatores and a half million of hatching eggs to
Czechoslovakia.
Both Digital library Kramerius 3 and Kramerius 4 can be used on special
computers in the library. That computers are available in the Main Hall
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/reading-rooms/main-hall, Main Hall
is open to everybody without any restrictions), Reference centre
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/reading-rooms/refc-en), Social and
Natural Sciences Reading Room
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/reading-rooms/rrsona), Periodicals
Reading Room (www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/reading-rooms/rrper)
and General Reading Room
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/reading-rooms/rrgen). Above
mentioned documents are still under copyright, they are not in a public
domain, so you cannot download digitised pages, you can just print them
out. The other option is that we could print out found articles for you.
One page A3 of black and white print would cost 5,- CZK. You would pick
up that prints in the National Library and pay for them. In that case we
would like to ask to confirm the order of prints during today. You could
pick up them on Friday.
Reference centre, Social and Natural Sciences Reading Room, Periodicals
Reading Room and General Reading Room can be used with the library card
or one-day admission ticket. Admission ticket will allow you to use
digital libraries Kramerius 3 and Kramerius 4, reference collections
located in reading rooms, use wifi or you can study your own documents.
Admission ticket does not allow you to order documents (books,
periodicals) located in stocks – which is most part of our collections
or to use internet on our computers
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/how-to../how-to-become-a-user). The
library is opened from Monday to Saturday
(www.en.nkp.cz/services/links/opening-hours). Library card and
admission tickets are issued in the Main Hall, 9 AM-7 PM.
There is also a possibility to check “paper” newspapers, which were
issued in 1946, but unfortunately many newspapers from that time are
badly damaged and we cannot lend them to users. Some volumes of daily
newspapers Lidová demokracie
(aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000356398&local_base=NKC)
or Mladá fronta
(aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000357981&local_base=NKC,
aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000648334&local_base=NKC
<aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000648334&local_base=NKC>)
could be available. In that case you would have to be a registered user
with an annual library card. With the library card you can order
requested volumes to the General Reading Room and study there – the only
way is to browse issues published in April 1946 or February 1946.
Except this we found a stenographic record a session of Czechoslovak
Parliament (it was called National Assembly at that time) from November
6, 1946. Mr. Václav Majer, Minister of Nourishment had there a speach,
in which he mentioned 444 000 hattching eggs were delivered to
Czechoslovakia by UNRRA
(www.psp.cz/eknih/1946uns/stenprot/019schuz/s019001.htm).
More information could be available in archive documents. The National
archive of the Czech Republic has in its funds several collections,
which could be relevant to you:
* Uniform association of Czech farmers (Jednotný svaz českých
zemědělců) – www.badatelna.eu/fond/2245/zakladni-informace/
<www.badatelna.eu/fond/2245/zakladni-informace/>
* Czechoslovak office for economic help and recovery (Československý
úřad pro hospodářskou pomoc a obnovu, Praha) –
www.badatelna.eu/fond/422/zakladni-informace/
<www.badatelna.eu/fond/422/zakladni-informace/>
* Ministry of Agriculture II (Ministerstvo zemědělství II) –
www.badatelna.eu/fond/171/?q=unrra
<www.badatelna.eu/fond/171/?q=unrra>
* Ministry of Nourishment (Ministerstvo výživy) –
www.badatelna.eu/fond/1825/ <www.badatelna.eu/fond/1825/>
* Office of the Government (Úřad předsednictva vlády – běžná spisovna)
– www.badatelna.eu/fond/2290/zakladni-informace/
<www.badatelna.eu/fond/2290/zakladni-informace/>
Archivist would be more competent to advise you which archival
collections is the best to find out information about eggs delivery.
Getting in touch with historians could be the other way of finding
relevant information. Please find below links to several institutes,
which focus on Czechoslovak history or Czechoslovak economic history:
* www.hiu.cas.cz/en/structure/20th-century-history.ep/
<www.hiu.cas.cz/en/structure/20th-century-history.ep/>
* khd.vse.cz/information-in-english/introduction/
<khd.vse.cz/information-in-english/introduction/>
* uhsd.ff.cuni.cz/?q=en/node/179
<uhsd.ff.cuni.cz/?q=en/node/179>
Please let us know in case you would need more information.
Yours sincerely
Karolina Kostalova
Reference and Interlibrary Loan Services
National Library of the Czech Republic
Klementinum 190, Prague 1
Building: A Klementinum, Room: 63
——————————————————————————–
On May 12, 2016 13:32, “Gaye Gravely” wrote:
Dear Ms. Kostalova,
I am delighted and overwhelmed by the wonderful research you have done
on my behalf! I do, of course, want copies of whatever you can make. I
am on my way now to the library and will find you. But I just had to
express my great appreciation for the tremendous information you have
already gathered.
Hope to see you soon,
Gaye Lyn
——————————————————————————–
From “Gaye Gravely”
To “Reference”
Date 5/15/2016 4:31:37 PM
Subject RE: 1946 delivery of 55.000 hatching eggs to Prague by UN
Hello, Ms. Kostalova,
I want to thank you again for your research and translations. I hoped
that there would be coverage, but i did not expect so much. I did not
allow nearly enough time for the library.
Through your efforts, I did learn new facts about Veterans Air Express
— as well as other companies that were flying for the UNRRA.
When I came to the library on Thursday, I came merely to meet you and
share a few clippings that I brought with me. I did not expect that
copies would be ready until Friday. I apologize if you hurried to
finish before I arrived Thursday.
At your suggestion, I went to the General Reading room on Saturday and
asked to see the “paper” newspapers from April thru June 1946 in hopes
of finding photo coverage. They gave me four bound books. In the
second one, I was absolutely delighted to find a terrific photo and
caption. It was on 13 Cevvna 1946, page 5 in SVET PRACE. I paid for a
scanned copy.
The Librarian was holding other bound newspaper books for me. Because
it was near closing time, I said I would to come back tomorrow (Monday)
at 9. However, I learned today that our train leaves much earlier than
I remembered. I am so sorry that your colleagues went through all the
effort to gather the books AND that I will not have the opportunity to
go through them. I would appreciate it very much if you would please
let them know that I will not be coming in on Monday. And please thank
them for all their assistance.
You all helped me to find “treasure.”
My very best wishes,
Gaye Lyn