I said I wouldn’t shave until the invaders left

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Josef Michek was born in Nepomuk on 4 March 1942 to notarial typist Božena Michková, née Říhová, and road supervisor Josef Michek. His parents had a six-year-old daughter when he was born. At age three, he witnessed the liberation of Nepomuk by the US army on 7 May 1945. He completed a construction high school in Plzeň on 31 May 1960. He worked with Stavební izolace and then Škoda. He enlisted on 1 August 1961 and served with the MP in Jaroměř. Military service at the time of construction of the Berlin Wall and the Caribbean crisis was tough. He joined the district road management unit as a road supervisor in 1963. During a meeting of the National Committee at U zeleného stromu inn on 23 August 1968, he condemned the Warsaw Pact invasion and vowed not to shave until the troops left. Due to conflicts with the director of the road management unit, a Communist Party member, he switched jobs to Lesy ČR in Spálené Poříčí and became a manager in 1985. He served as the Mayor of Nepomuk for 12 years after 1990 and contributed greatly to the town’s development. He organised the World Pilgrimage of the Faithful on 15 May 1993 to mark the 600th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. John of Nepomuk. He and his wife Marie Michková, née Rendlová, raised two children. Josef Michek received the Personality of the City award on 29 January 2025. He was living in Nepomuk in 2025.