Welcome to "Babi and Deda's" house. Babi (pronounced Bub-by) and Deda (Jed-da) mean's grandma and grandpa in the Czech language, for that is who probably would have lived in this little house when it was first built in the Czech Village area of Cedar Rapids during the late eighteen hundreds. During the late 1890's and early 1900's, millions of European immigrants made their way to America in hopes of a better life. Though famine, pestilence, war and political unrest ravaged the homelands that they left behind, they still longed for their old lives. As a result, they often found ways to incorporate the traditions of their old lives into the new life they were creating in America. They often banded together in small ethnic communities, such as Czech Village, which is located on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids. In this way they were able to lean on their fellow immigrants for support as they learned to adapt to their strange new world.

Many of the things displayed in this house reflect the strong Czech traditions they clung to even as they struggled to become Americans. The splash cloth that protects the table on the kitchen wall is embroidered with an old Czech saying that means "As your home is, so will you be." The secretary desk in the corner by the front window holds a Czech vase and some examples of the Czech decorated eggs. In the corner by the box bed are objects representing the Czech men's society which Deda would have belonged to. The cap and velvet ribbon would have been worn to the meetings at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. St. Wenceslaus is the patron saint of Czech Catholics.