Staff writer
During Emporia State University’s Family and Friends Weekend this weekend, at least 43 descendants and friends of the Adolph and Lucy Holub family will be on hand to receive the Hornet Heritage Award for their ESU ties.
Adolph and Lucy had six children — Albert, Lou, Sylvin, Anna, Mildred, and Henrietta. Three of their grandchildren were the first to graduate from ESU.
Adolph “Ed” Holub, son of Lou and Mary Holub, chose ESU out of necessity. He was confined to a wheel chair after having polio as a child. ESU was the only handicap-accessible college in the state. He graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education. He was a graduate of Tampa High School. He died in 2014.
Jerome Vajnar, son of Jerry and Mildred Vajnar, graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. He was a graduate of Tampa High School. His daughter, Amy, is an ESU graduate.
Marvin Tajchman, son of Paul and Henrietta Tajchman, graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. He was a graduate of Centre High School. All three of his children and their spouses are ESU graduates.
Tajchman lives in Emporia and continues to be involved in the college by taking videos of athletic and senior night events. He also documents special events relating to Father Emil Kapaun, the army chaplain from Pilsen who died in a North Korean prison camp and is a candidate for sainthood.
“There are four things I work on real hard,” he said. “Family, Sacred Heart, Father Kapaun, and Emporia State.”
When the Holubs’ great-grandchildren began planning their careers, the ties to ESU grew quickly. At least 20, including spouses, earned degrees, and several took classes but didn’t graduate.
ESU graduates who live in Marion include Darrell Tajchman and Kristi (Kraus) Mercer and her husband, Christopher, all 1997 graduates.
Family members who will attend the weekend event will be recognized and receive a plaque at halftime of the football game between ESU and Northeastern State University of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Mercer, the youngest family member to graduate from ESU, is one of those who will be on hand Saturday. She gives Marvin Tajchman the credit for bringing about the honor.
“He’s been working on it for five years,” she said. “It’s really exciting. I think it’s a cool award.”