Velen was born and educated in Czechoslovakia. He displayed artistic ability from an early age, but followed family tradition and became a lawyer, a profession he found both exciting and challenging. Velen and his father were instrumental in organizing the Czechoslovakian Boy Scouts, of which Velen became President.
World War II and the absorption of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union, forced Velen to flee his homeland. He practiced law in England, and also in France, where he worked as an evacuation officer for Czechoslovak refugees.
One of those refugees was Velenka, a fellow Czechoslovak. Velenka was born and educated in Czechoslovakia. After qualifying as a teacher in French, Slovak and German languages, she took a government position in Lens, France teaching expatriate Czechoslovaks. Ordered home when Czechoslovakia was overthrown in 1938, Velenka refused to leave France. In 1939, while Velenka was in charge of a refugee camp, France was invaded by the Germans and Velenka herself became a refugee. After many travels and adventures, she reached the Mediterranean port of Sete. Here she met Velen, who courted her on the voyage to Liverpool, England. Velen and Velenka were married in England in 1941.
Velenka stayed in England, where she became very active in the Girl Guide movement and where she taught the children of Czech refugees for four years. Meanwhile, Velen served as a military judge and became a member of the prosecuting team at the Nuremberg war crime trials.
A visit to Czechoslovakia by Velen and Velenka in 1947 coincided with the Communist element taking control of their homeland. Velen was warned that his name appeared on a list of persons considered dangerous to state security. He and Velenka fled Czechoslovakia illegally to the American zone of West Germany, where they involved themselves in the work of the International Relief Organization. About a year later, they returned to England, but before long, made the decision to relocate in Canada. The couple settled in Vancouver, where Velen worked at the YMCA and studied at the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.) to become a teacher. Velenka entered business school.
In 1955, Velen accepted a teaching position at J.L. Crowe Secondary School in Trail. Here, he taught Latin, History, Social Studies, Law and Art until his retirement. He also taught the History of Art at night school classes in Trail and Castlegar and at summer schools at U.B.C. and Notre Dame University in Nelson. Velenka, inspired by one of her husband's art classes, began her study of art in 1958. Her studies took her to summer school at U.B.C., the San Francisco Academy of Arts and the Banff School of Fine Arts. She considered her inspirations to be her Roman Catholic faith, the folklore, customs and culture of Czechoslovakia and her life experiences. Velenka died in Trail in 1980.
Velen never abandoned his art. He studied at the University of Brno, St. Martin School of Art in London, Cambridge University, the Academy of Art in San Francisco, University of British Columbia and the Banff School of Fine Arts. His favorite medium was watercolours, but he also liked oil paints, pastels and other mediums. He became known as a miniaturist and for his lino cuts. Velen died in 1985.
Rhonda moved to Fruitvale from Calgary with her family in 1981. She began dancing at the age of five in Calgary, participating in several disciplines of dance, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theatre, swing and ballroom, winning many awards.
