I was disappointed to note that your article on Poplar Springs Baptist Church in the Sept. 23 issue made no mention of the Shereda family who have been such an important part of that church’s history as well as of Czechoslovakian Baptist life.
Rev. and Mrs. Shereda were missionaries to Czechoslovakia for eight years, and along with their children, Mary, Dave and Paul, were on the last train to freedom before the Nazi invasion. The Sheredas settled among Czechoslovakians in Minnesota.
In 1945, they began their ministry at Poplar Springs, which was just outside Richmond. Rev. Shereda was pastor from 1945 to 1967, living across the street from the church. He and his family continued to live in the community after his retirement, until the 1990s. It has been my privilege to know the Shereda family and to learn of their work in Poplar Springs.
Kitty Griffin, Richmond