Rose Lunak was 13 years old when she arrived in the United States with her brothers, sisters, and father from Czechoslovakia in the early 1900s. She was to become the bride of Joseph Masek, both later parents of Fred, Victor, and Charles Masek.

Rose's sister, Mary, advanced to the United States by steamship ahead of the rest of the family. Rose's mother died in the homeland some months before the others left for America. Mary married Ladislav (also known as Leveridge) Turnovec, a Bohemian farmer near Geddes. Mr. Turnovec apparently was the sponsor for the other family members to later reach the U.S.

After reaching the U.S. the Lunaks were able to travel by train, with several changes, the entire distance to Geddes.

The entourage included Rose, Bessie, Agnes, Anna, Tony, Jim, Frank, and Joe and their father. Bessie married Albin Olsan, a farmer near Gretna, Nebraska. Agnes married Joe Beason, a Geddes farmer. Anna married Joe Patocka and they farmed near Lake Andes. None of the brothers married although it appears Tony, a successful Geddes farmer, experienced a number of broken romances.

Tony was especially well liked and frequently gave small change to Fred, Victor, Charlie, and other children. He also subsidized other adults including the Lunak brothers in many ways. Anyone who did work for Tony was well paid. Jim homesteaded ground near Winner, S.D., and worked for farmers. Joe farmed near Geddes but also spent part of his life staying with the married sister, Bessie at Gretna, Nebraska. Frank spent most of his adult life in Oregon but his line of work was unknown. The Lunak father couldn't adjust to America and returned to his homeland where he died.

A person could often obtain meals and spend a lengthy stay at one of the homes of Joe and Rose Masek. In their lifetime in South Dakota, their homes were near Armour, Geddes, White River-Wood, Fairfax, and in Lake Andes.

Examples of people they befriended:

* Grandma Barbara Masek lived for a period of time with Joe and Rose. However, Grandma spent most of her life with daughter, Ann, and husband, Charlie Straka, after the death of her husband, Thomas Masek, in 1928. She later shared homes with daughters Rose and Julia at David City, Nebraska.

* Tony Lunak recovered at the Masek home from dynamite explosion injuries suffered while blasting rocks in his farm field. His niece, Georgene Turnovec, a nurse in California, came to South Dakota to care for him. Tony recovered and returned to farming. Later Tony wanted to make some payment to the Maseks for housing him. The offer was to buy a refrigerator or washing machine for Rose. She would have good use for either. Joe erupted upon mention of the offer. The relationship between Joe and Tony became strained, something that shouldn't have happened. Both were dear persons.

* Joe Lunak spent his final days stricken with cancer at the Masek home. At that time Fred was in the Army in Missouri. Brothers Victor and Charles were also away from home at the time.

* Jim Lunak, a heavy smoker and a limited income generator, spent months at a time with the Maseks. Jim also had some degree of an emotional problem. He spent two brief bouts at the Yankton State Hospital. Joe and Rose tried to cover for him to say it might have been because of heavy smoking or because of lonely years on the homestead. Neither explanation seemed reasonable.

* Anton Holland, a real Hollander with a foreign brogue who was an itinerant carpenter, always seemed to arrive at the Maseks when weather turned cold and construction work let up. He usually stayed until spring. The Masek boys always had a chuckle at the dinner table when Anton consumed his coffee. His method was to put a teaspoon of sugar in his mouth and chug-a-lug an entire cup of coffee.

Fred regarded Jim Lunak and Anton Holland as rather strange people who were almost freeloaders. They provided almost nothing to the Masek household but took advantage of family generosity. Jim also talked to himself and used gestures as he talked.