SVOBODA -- Charlotte "Lucy," 69, Fremont, died Monday (12/23/02). Born, Buda. Survivors: husband, Donald D. "Cap"; daughter, Susan Heckman, Lincoln; brothers, Donald Shada, Fremont, Kenneth Shada, Omaha; two grandchildren. Services: 10:30 a.m. Friday, St. James Episcopal Church, Fremont. Memorial Cemetery, Fremont. Visitation: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, Moser Memorial Chapel, Fremont; one hour before service, church. Prayer service: 7 p.m. Thursday, funeral home.

Abstracted from Lincoln Journal Star 12-24-2002
I am not related & have no other information

My grandmother, a Czech whose father--my great-grandfather--was Alois Swoboda. Alois was well known as a physical culturist and had a large following at the turn of the century. I am sure that, despite the spelling, the families had the same root. Please send any information you have and I will send anything I have in return. However, perhaps you have some way to research the matter and see if the family name is the same. I'll be waiting for a response.

I am not related. I am the NE-CZECHS List and Board Admin. I am not able to assist in research nor can I do research for you. I post obituary abstracts to this board only.

My gggrandfather was Johanne Svoboda. He came to Schuyler, Nebraska about 1873. A year or so later he moved to St. Paul, Nebraska. His son, Vincent wrote an interesting history that is posted in the Howard County, Nebraska Genweb site. He discusses a tie to Czech's in Minnesota that might be of interest to you. You are probably right in the tie between Swoboda and Svoboda. If so it is probably in Europe or at the point of entry because my family has used Svoboda from the first here in America. Svoboda's seem to be common still around Schuyler, Nebraska even though I have not researched them at all.

My grandmother was Helen Aloisia Swoboda. She was born in Omaha, NE on January 26, 1895. Died in Michigan in 1985. She was a peace activist and suffragette. She was the daughter of Alois P. Swoboda, born in Vienna, Austria, March 8, 1873. Alois arrived in NYC in 1881 with his father, Adolf Swoboda, to live with a relative. Eventually, he became known as one of the leading physical culturalists in America. Charles Atlas was quoted as saying that "everything he knew he learned from A.P. Swoboda.
Swoboda became a millionaire at 28, and my grandmother was raised in elegant luxury. Helen attended finishing school in England at a presitgious named, "The School for the Daughters of Gentlemen." There were two other sisters, Emilie and Lillian. Lillian had some minor roles under the name of Evona Dione in silent films.
I can retrieve more information at my daughter's house if you think it will lead somewhere.
Swoboda's summer home was on Lake Minetonka, near Minneapolis, and he had the first automobile in that city. I have a photo of him in the auto in front of one of the public buildings in Minneapolis. Nice communicating with you.

Thanks for the quick reply. You seem to have an interesting family with a great story to tell. It adds to my knowledge of what Czechs were doing at the time my Svoboda's entered the United States. Good luck in your search.

Hello,

I happened across your post while searching for information about Alois P. Swoboda's six lessons on physical exercises. I was wondering if you could tell me more about his course. I am fascinated with the person who obviously inspired and led the way for Charles Atlas. Do you have his course, or have you seen it? I would love to talk with you about it. Please let me know, Darral (I am on my wife's account by the way)

"The object of Conscious Evolution is to develop our adaptive evolutionary ability by tapping the "Creative Energy" of the universe. Creative energy is the basis of all living things and is what causes the acorn to grow to a tree,a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly, and causes an the infant to mature and grow into an adult. It is the life force that is ever present and ongoing. Our minds and our bodies are unique and represent our own individual creative energy or "Conscious Energy." Every living thing has its own "conscious energy" with no two conscious eneriges being exactly alike. Swoboda saw the whole universe and all of its parts, including human beings, as being interrelated and connected. He divides the human mind into two parts;[1] conscious- the rational thinking part of the mind and [2] physiological - the part of the mind that takes care of automatic functions such as breathing,the heart beat,digestion etc.Conscious Evolution gets both parts of the mind to work in harmony. Swoboda uses the energies of the brain,personality,nerves and muscles solely for one purpose,namely, for the purpose of creating organic stress upon our "conscious energy"in order to force it into yielding to each of us greater powers of mind and body that lie latently and dormantly within each of us, but have the potential to create the circumstances,thoughts,and ideas necessary for our success. It works from within and it works in reaction to the stressors through a system of interrelated physical exercise and mental dynamics. Among his students Swoboda counted US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and two Supreme Court Justices including Charles Evans Hughes,escape artist Harry Houdini,Ziegfeld Follies Star Anna Held, Actress Maxine Elliott,and composer Oscar Strauss as well as leaders and members of prominent families from that era. They were the first exercises used by Legendary US Olympic Weighlifting Coach and Father Of World Weightlifting Bob Hoffman who said that his father developed the best build that he had ever seen using The Swoboda Course. Bodybuilding icon Charles Atlas said, 'Everything that I know I learned from A.P. Swoboda'."