Young Czechs Preserving Their Heritage

 

By Pat Parma

It all started a little over a year ago when three little boys were a part of a team of volunteers who traveled to Eagle Lake to pick up a conference table and desk that had been donated to the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center, La Grange. It was hot, but it was well worth the effort, for they traveled in a big U-Haul truck from Richmond with their first destination being Eagle Lake. With the help of their dad and uncle they loaded the donated furniture and proceeded to La Grange. Once in La Grange, all of their muscle power was needed again to help move everything into the office for the center.

This move was their first exposure to helping to preserve their heritage and culture. They would be involved again, several months later when the Kalich House was moved onto the property of TCHCC. The eldest traveled with their grandmother to La Grange the day when the first part of the house was moved onto the property. He was taken in awe when he found log floor joists and square nails in the structure. He was given a couple of nails to take home to show his parents.

Peyton Ohl at the TCHCC when the Kalich House arrived


Peyton Ohl and Conner Vecera working with "heavy machinery" moving soil

The three traveled to La Grange again in the summer of 2000. This time they and other volunteers from the CHS Ft. Bend Chapter spend a day taking out sheetrock, sweeping, and sweating, but still having a wonderful time working together. Also, this time the boys brought their heavy machinery for dirt moving, and worked almost all of the day. Tired after a long day, they once again put the heavy machinery into a cardboard box and packed up to spend the night in Fayetteville.

Little did they know but they were reliving a part of their heritage. Their great great grandfather had settled in Fayetteville shortly after coming to Texas in 1882. That evening they stood on the balcony of the hotel and surveyed the square of Fayetteville. It was quiet. The next morning the three boys took a walk around the square and sat in the bandstand where many an afternoon concert had taken place. If you listened closely, you could probably have heard the sound of the Baca Band as they played for gatherings for social entertainment. Music is a part of their life, for they knew what their grandfather had enjoyed. This is their culture, their heritage; this is a part of their life.

Another trip to La Grange. This time in the summer of 2001. Three little boys, ages ten, six, and four, rode quietly in the back seat. Occasionally they ask, "How much further?" This time they knew where they were going for they were now very familiar with their destination. After arriving in La Grange they had to check out the facilities at the old jail. This is now the home of the La Grange Chamber of Commerce. With a short trip around the La Grange square, then all continued to the site of the Texas Czech Heritage and Culture Center. WOW! What a change. The Kalich house now is really taking shape. The boys had not seen the porches that had been added. This was where they had moved dirt for one whole day some time back. Volunteers had come from Austin, Missouri City, Ledbetter, Richmond, Bryan, Ennis, Houston and other places, and joined together to renovate an old house but still all remembering that this is how our ancestors once lived. Some even remembered with stories of how they, their parents, or their grandparents had lived.

The ten-year old had to tell his parents that there was even a lady working the day he visited that said that the Kalich House was her grandparents home. He said, "It's pretty neat to be working on your grandparents house." I hope this enthusiasm last. That ten-year old that had worked with the small heavy machinery only a year ago was now ready to lend a hand in the actual restoration process. He wanted to paint, and paint he did. With bucket in one hand and paintbrush in the other, he climbed a ladder and began painting the ceiling in what is to be the gift shop in the house. Paint splattered clothes was the fashion of the day. Everyone else there looked the same.

Another trip back. What a difference a couple of weeks can make. Three little boys going to visit a place that will help preserve their culture and heritage. A fresh coat of paint on the exterior and freshly painted walls bring the old house back to life. It is no longer cold and gloomy, but full of life. A place you can feel at home in. Soon rockers on the porch with families visiting and sharing stories will preserve precious memories. For visitors, a library of genealogy books, and histories will help them find who they are and where they came from. Preserved artifacts make us remember the life long past.

 

The Kalich House is only the first part of the center devoted to preserving Czech Heritage and Culture. An Amphitheater is also currently under construction. A theater that overlooks the beautiful Colorado River valley. A quiet retreat. Texas Czech Heritage and Culture Center will be a lasting tribute to our immigrant ancestors who struggled so hard to make a new life in a new land. Many suffering hardships. Life was not easy. We pay tribute to these Czech Texas pioneers.

Those three little boys have learned a lot about their great grandfather who came to Texas. For the immediate future, they will be working as hard as they can to help preserve their Czech heritage and culture, for they know that is what their Po Po wanted.

Thank you, Peyton, Conner, and Carson.

Carson helping his mom, Paula Vecera, clear out the old sheetrock