Family History    Wines

Photography       Books


Amazon Bestsellers

TheRagens
Site Contents

Home Page

Book Resources

Family History

Newsletters

Reunions

Wildlife Photos

Wine Tastings
 - Bottled Poetry

Other Pages
 

About Us

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Registration

Site Map
 


Affiliate Sites

Deal of the Day

Powell's Books

Altrec.com - Outdoor Gear

Additional Affiliate Programs

THE TIME AND LIVES OF VERA PRASILOVA SCOTT

Remarks at the Memorial Service held at Reed College on March 23, 1996.

Vera and I had much in common. Not only were we born at about the same time at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, but we both grew up in a most unusual place: the town of Kutna Hora in Bohemia, then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire -- a town which became famous in the 13th century with the discovery of the richest silver mines in all of Europe. (Kutna Hora means Mining Mountain in Czech. 

As seat of the Kings of Bohemia, the location of their mint, and richly endowed by prosperous mine owners, it soon sprouted a variety of churches, palaces and burghers' homes, many of which survive to this day. Just recently it was declared by UNESCO to be one of the world's most beautiful historical cities. We both grew up among historical buildings in the gothic, renaissance and baroque styles. I might add that the fortunes of the city declined radically after silver was discovered in Mexico and Peru.

My earliest recollection of Vera is when she was about fourteen or fifteen years old and a student at the same academic high school that I attended. Even then she was a lively and spirited girl, whom I saw walking fast with her girl friends on the "corso". The corso was a daily feature of the town, with boys and girls congregating on one side of the town square, right in front of my parents' store. The boys stood along the sidewalk, expertly appraising the girls, walking in twos and threes, and pretending to ignore the boys. As the clock of medieval St. Jacob's church struck six, the sidewalk suddenly emptied.

Vera and her friends showed no interest in the boys. That changed before too long. Already at that time however, Vera's reputation was of one who was unconventional, somewhat rebellious and, some would say, a sort of blithe spirit. Only a few years later she was seen as a feminist, long before the term was even coined.

I ought to add that this was a period in our town some would today regard as essentially pre-industrial. There were no cars, very few telephones, not too many electrical lights, and of course no radios, no movies, no typewriters and no airplanes.

At that time, women were not permitted as students in high schools. The only exceptions were special schools for women only, mostly devoted to domestic arts. As a reluctant concession to modernity, sometime around 1910, the Austrian government permitted a limited number of girls to attend high schools as "special private students", usually no more than a few per class. They were permitted to sit in class, but not to ask questions, nor were they examined together with the boys. Instead they had to take a special comprehensive examination at semester's end. That, incidentally, changed overnight after the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the birth of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918.

The thing that always impressed me about Vera was that she always remained herself from youth to extreme old age, from a medieval town to modern America­ through culture shock and civilization shock­ always the same person (or, more abstractly the same persona). Throughout her long life she was always well-dressed, elegant, friendly, congenial, polite -- and full of life.

Already in high school, she showed an intense interest in and a gift for artistic expression. This gift was expressed first in artistic photography – and even in the making of clothes. And, she was interested not only in the arts, but also in artists. Her first serious relationship was with Josef Sedivy, a nationally known painter twenty years her elder.

At the age of 18, she went to Prague to become an apprentice to one of the great photographers of that age, Frantisek Drtikol. She successfully completed the work and produced some of the most remarkable portraits I have ever seen. 

Partly to bring an end to her romance to Sedivy, the family supported her plan to continue her training in photography by attending what was then viewed as the best school of its kind, the School of Photography in Munich, Germany. Her stay in Munich coincided with the worst period of German inflation, when the German Mark could lose one half of its value in a couple of hours. This put a real strain on the Prasil family finances. It also, incidentally, contributed mightily to the rise of Nazism.

The family soon underwent another shock when rumors began drifting from Munich to the effect that Vera had fallen in love with an American. To find out what was going on, the family decided to send a special investigator to Munich, in the person of sister Nadezda, my wife for the last 71 years. Her report only confirmed the worst! The American in question was Arthur F. Scott, who at that time was doing postdoctoral research in chemistry at the University of Munich.

To make a long story short, next year Vera left for the United States, married Arthur and settled first in Portland and then in Houston, Texas, after his appointment to Rice Institute (now Rice University). In Houston, Vera operated a photography studio, which soon became well known for her portraits of local celebrities and visiting famous people like Bertrand Russell.

In 1937, the Scott’s, who had in the meantime acquired a family (ultimately three girls) moved back to Portland where Arthur accepted a professorship in chemistry at Reed College. Here, Vera switched primarily to sculpture which she pursued successfully ‘till the late eighties. Her whole life style and work in so many facets of art made me always think of her as a female counterpart of the proverbial "renaissance man" -- a genuine "renaissance woman".

Last, but not least, I wish to pay tribute to her contribution to the Portland community and, more especially, to Reed College. She was always very public spirited and active in many causes. Her particular interest for many years was the Oregon League of Women Voters and especially the protection of consumer rights, environmental concerns and racial equality. Another of her interests was the defense of women’s political rights at a time when feminism was not as powerful as it is today.

What may be more unexpected is the fact that she was known as a most popular hostess. This proved to be of great value to Reed College, although I rather doubt whether it was always fully appreciated. All through the fifties, sixties or even seventies, Portland was a very different city from what it is today: it was much more patrician, clearly dominated by a stratum of wealthy, successful, public spirited, but quite conservative business and professional men. Almost every public leader belonged to or was close to this group. The trustees of Reed College, like the boards of practically all corporate and non-profits institutions, were recruited from the same social stratum.

Relations between the town and gown are frequently strained, and those between Reed and Portland were perhaps more difficult than most. Some of the reason may have been the widespread, but mistaken, belief that Reed was named after John Reed, author of "Ten Days That Shook the World". It was really a proof of the open-mindedness of Portland's business leadership that they for many years contributed the bulk of Reed's financial support, unlike today, when its financial base is much more widely based. The Scott's, both Arthur and Vera, had many good friends downtown even though few people at that time fully appreciated the extent to which these ties contributed to smoothing Reed's passage to some turbulent period of its history.

This, however, does not fully describe Vera's services to the college. The Scott’s house on 32nd Avenue in Eastmoreland was always open to new and young faculty. For much of the time, Vera was the kingpin of the Faculty Women’s' Club, and besides, she will be remembered for her inspired cooking, as well as for her spirit, by the guests of her numerous parties.

By definition, she was a well-rounded person. One who was always willing to help, as she helped our family when we arrived in 1939, penniless and uprooted after Hitler's invasion and destruction of Czechoslovakia.

I myself will always remember her not only as cheerful and friendly, with a many-sided and many-gifted personality, but at all times slim, elegant and interested -- but above all herself, from age 14 to age 97. A unique and remarkable human being whose memory all of us will treasure.  

Frank Munk
March 23, 1996

 



 

TheRagens Home Page   Family History   Recommended Book Lists   Wine Tastings and Recommendations   Wildlife Photos   Feedback and
Site Registration

 

Search:
Keywords:
Amazon Logo
 
Abebooks
Author
Title
red

 

by title by author