In 1908, the Kartous family, Anton (or Antone), Fannie (or Frances), and their five children, sailed from Eastern Europe to Galveston, Texas, and went to live in Dallas. Antone, called Tony, went to work as a moulder in a foundry. In a few short years, the family had two more children, and Rudy and Louis were selling newspapers on city streets.

They were among what was at the time the third largest immigrant group in Texas, technically natives of Austria, mostly Moravians who spoke Czech. Immigration officials often incorrectly referred to them as Bohemians. In 1920, the country of Czechoslovakia was established. According to the Texas Almanac, the Czech language is still widely spoken in Texas. More than 150 years ago, Czechs in Texas established schools and newspapers to teach and maintain their language. Today, the University of Texas at Austin teaches Czech as a modern language. Czech culture, such as food and music, are represented in many popular festivals in Texas.

According to the 1910 census, the Kartous family was living at 470 South Lamar Street, which is in the heart of downtown Dallas, now near the historic district and the Dallas Convention Center. In the 1920 census, they were living in their own home at 2806 Wall Street, less than a mile from their first address. In the 1930 census, Rudy was still single and living with his parents at the same address, and his occupation was listed as a typewriter repairman. Louis was living in 1930 at 2703 North Fitzhugh St, with his wife, Emily, and two children. He was working as a machinist in an iron works. Louis had married Emily Takats in 1928. Rudy married Lydia Hemzal on April 28, 1934. Their father, Anton, died in 1956, at the age of 80; their mother, Fannie, died in 1940, at the age of 66.

Louis Kartous passed away in Dallas on March 5, 1978, at the age of 73. His wife Emily had passed away six years earlier. Rudy passed away in Dallas on December 30, 1989, at the age of 83. His wife Lydia passed away in 2002. I interviewed Rudy's daughter, Jeanne, and Louis' two children, Louis and Emily. None of the children knew about the Hine photos.

JM: When were you born?

Jeanne: I was born March 3, 1941, at Florence Nightingale Hospital in Dallas, which was then part of what is now Baylor Hospital. I was an only child.

JM: Where were your parents living at that time?

Jeanne: In a house on Llano Avenue. My mother's parents owned it. It was a duplex, and they lived next door.

JM: When did your parents marry?

Jeanne: April 28, 1934. They were married in Dallas at the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, formerly Sacred Heart Cathedral.

JM: What was your mother's maiden name?

Jeanne: Lydia Hemzal. She was Czech also.

JM: Did you know your father's parents?

Jeanne: I never knew his mother at all. I knew his dad, Antone Kartous. He lived a couple of blocks away in a garage apartment behind his son Tony's home.

JM: Do you know when the family came over from Czechoslovakia?

Jeanne: No, but I know they came through Galveston.

JM: Did your father speak Czech?

Jeanne: My mother's parents, who lived next door to us, spoke Czech all the time. They spoke a little broken English, but they spoke to me in Czech. Therefore, I know the language and can speak it. My parents spoke to them in Czech, but they spoke English to me.

JM: Were there a lot of Czech customs that your parents practiced?

Jeanne: No, not really. My grandmother was a wonderful Czech cook, and my mother did that a little bit. She went to the Catholic Church up until when I was about four years old, and then she changed over to the Baptist Church, and then I was baptized a Baptist. For some reason, my father became an Episcopalian. His oldest brother, Tony, was also an Episcopalian.

JM: What was your father doing for a living when you were growing up?

Jeanne: He was in the typewriter business. He worked for S.L. Ewing. He went to office buildings and serviced typewriters, adding machines, etc.

JM: How did he acquire that skill?

Jeanne: I have no idea. I do know that his older brother, Tony, owned an office supply company.

JM: How long did your father continue to work as a typewriter repairman?

Jeanne: All his life, until he retired.

JM: Did your mother also work?

Jeanne: She worked part time when I was in high school, but she was mostly a stay-at-home mom.

JM: Did both of your parents graduate from high school?

Jeanne: My daddy graduated from Forest Avenue High School, and my mother graduated from North Dallas High School, and then went to a business college.

JM: Did you get married?

Jeanne: Yes, in 1960.

JM: Did you stay in Dallas?

Jeanne: I've been in Dallas all my life.

JM: Do you have any children?

Jeanne: I had one son by my first marriage, and another son by a second marriage.

JM: What was your reaction when you saw the photos?

Jeanne: I thought they were very interesting. I was kind of shocked. I knew that he and his brother were paperboys. And I knew that the brothers seemed to have kept in contact with other boys that sold newspapers.

JM: Did he ever tell you anything about being a newsboy?

Jeanne: No, he didn't talk much about the past.

JM: Have your children seen the photos?

Jeanne: Yes, and they couldn't believe it either.

JM: When did your mother die?

Jeanne: In 2002.

JM: Was your father in pretty good health in his last years?

Jeanne: Yes, I guess so. He was a diabetic. He had a heart attack in December of 1989, and that's what he died of. At that time, my parents lived on Sudbury Drive, in Dallas. They owned the house.

JM: What was your father like?

Jeanne: He had a lot of friends. He played dominoes and poker a lot with his friends. He and my mother square danced a lot. And my parents would go to the Czech lodges. We used to go on fishing trips with some of his friends. We would have cookouts and fish fries. My daddy loved to go to the horse races. He used to go to the races in Hot Springs (Arkansas) with his brother Joe and friends. My dad was a very likeable person.