They arrested us for disseminating anti-communist pamphlets, and I was the only girl in the group
Marie Štěpánková-Mea was born in 1929 in the family of policeman František Ambrož. They moved from Jablunkov to Frýdek when she was three years old. Her brother‘s name is Miroslav (*1931). Her mother began to suffer from multiple sclerosis already during the war, and Marie was taking care of her. She joined the Scouts after WWII and she became the leader of the 2nd Girl Scout troop „Bees“ in Frýdek. They had their first camp in 1947 in Horní Bečva. She also held the position of the leader of the Scout district Frýdek. Marie found her husband among the Scouts - Rudolf Štěpánek-Jestřáb, who came from Klobouky u Brna. On May 20, 1948 she was arrested for dissemination of anti-communist pamphlets as the only woman of those involved. She was eventually released, but she had to await her trial in detention for a long time. In addition, her father was forced to leave the police corps. She left the trial with a suspended sentence. Moreover, in the early 1960s her father was sentenced as well, and after two and a half years in prison he returned home suffering from mental disorders. Marie married in 1952. They had four children: Marie, Vojtěch, Rudolf and Veronika. She was involved in the restoration of the Scouting movement in Frýdek in 1968 as well as after November 1989. Marie was awarded the Order of Scout Gratitude on April 24, 1994. She is a member of the honorary troop of Velen Fanderlik. Her husband Rudolf Štěpánek-Jestřáb died in 2010.