Czech immigrants, now Georges Valley residents, celebrate 50 years in America

GREGG TOWNSHIP — Rudy and Phyllis Stackhouse, of Georges Valley, hosted a party April 1 celebrating their friends George and Milena Bucek’s 50 years of American citizenship.

The Buceks arrived in New York City on March 31, 1967, carrying just two suitcases of belongings and leaving family, friends and other possessions behind.

In the 1960s, Czechoslovakia suffered under the oppressive rule of Soviet Communists, who had taken over the country in 1948. The Buceks, among many other citizens, wished they could escape the oppression and they formed a plan to do so. Step one was to put on the appearance of being loyal party members to avert suspicion by the government.

“The Communists had a saying — ‘If you are not with us, you are against us,’ which means you had to participate in the dream of the new society,” said George Bucek.

“For a couple years, we were model citizens. There were so many meetings, so many parades we had to attend, and be seen everywhere so that we were in good graces with the regime.”

As supposed loyal party members, they were allowed to travel to other European countries while other citizens were not allowed to leave the country. The Buceks took a bus trip around Europe, planning to seek political asylum in Vienna, but were unable to enact their plan. Upon returning home, George Bucek found he had been replaced at his job as an electrical engineer, since company officials assumed he had defected. “I raised hell,” he said. “That helped me, actually.”

Later, the Buceks took a second, similar trip. When in Vienna, as their group was led in one direction, they split off in another direction and eventually found their way to the American embassy, where they requested political asylum. After approval, the Buceks boarded a plane for New York City, embarking on a new life in America.

“It must be really hard for Americans, especially for the kids, to understand that you could not go anywhere you wanted to,” said Milena Bucek. “It was like a prison, and that was one of the reasons we really couldn’t stand it.”

Milena Bucek said that jobs were assigned to Czechoslovakian citizens by the government. Individuals had no choice of employment.

“You were told what you were going to be doing — like with George. He had a degree in physics and he was working with electrical engineers,” she said. “It was so nonsensical, the whole thing.” She added that her father was a pianist, but was assigned to work in a steel mill.

The Buceks were amazed by many things they saw in their new country, such as libraries where they could check out any book they wanted, whereas in Czechoslovakia, many books were banned from the public. The huge number of food choices in American supermarkets was also a source of amazement.

Upon arrival in America, the Buceks began working on citizenship requirements, and both became citizens. George landed a job in York, Pa., where the couple lived until 1971, when they came to Centre County to teach at Penn State University, where George and Milena both earned doctorate degrees. In 1995, they built a house in Georges Valley, where they reside today.

George Bucek noted that the most difficult part of immigrating was leaving friends and family in Czechoslovakia. “At that time, in 1967, it was almost certain we would never see them again,” he said. “That was the hardest part.”

He said that defection from Communist rule was a crime in Czechoslovakia, and that he and Milena were both sentenced to 18 to 24 months in prison in absentia.

George Bucek commented on the current debate over the status of undocumented immigrants in America. “Whenever they have interviews with legal immigrants, they all are mad at the illegals,” he said. “When we got here, we didn’t get one single penny — nothing. You can read all the statistics about everything they (illegal immigrants) get, and it’s just nuts.”

Among the 20 guests at the Buceks’ celebration were U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard Township, and state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, who presented the Buceks with an American flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol building.

Milena Bucek summed up her and George’s feelings about their journey to freedom and their lives in America. “In 50 years, we never once regretted coming here.”