Czech Patriarch Hero To Fellow Newcomers
Richard Morawetz with his dog, Peggy |
Most of Canada's ethnic groups have a patriarch - a member respected by all;
few are as beloved as 80-year old Richard Morawetz.
The white-haired textile manufacturer has been an adviser and friend to
Canadians of Czechoslovak origin almost since the day he and his family set foot
on Canadian soil as political refugees about 20 years ago.
Leaving Prague shortly before the German occupation, they went to England,
then came to Canada.
"We love him," said a young Czechoslovak-Canadian recently, putting into
words the feeling of most of the community.
Sitting in the study of his home in Forest Hill, Mr. Morawetz modestly waves
off such tributes.
"I just like to get along with everybody," he smiles.
But many among Toronto's Czechoslovaks insist there is more to his popularity
than a desire to get along with people.
In Canada Mr. Morawetz has given time and money to countless community
projects, has helped numerous immigrants take root, and has helped settle minor
disuptes and misunderstandings of immigrants.
Richard Morawetz was one of the best known persons in prewar Prague. One of
the country's leading textile manufacturers, he was a close friend of former
president Thomas Masaryk and of his son Jan Masaryk.
An active man despite his age, Mr. Morawetz still puts in a full day of work
at his east-end textile plant. He visits Europe almost every year, but he has
never returned to Czechoslovakia.
"It would break my heart to see how my country has changed since the
Communists have taken over," he says.
