Czech this out!
 

By Mc Nelly Torres
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 11/04/2002 12:00 AM

The first Czech immigrants who came to Texas in the early 1850s were not that different from other arrivals.

Czech Heritage Society official Jerry Koula of San Antonio videotapes the Czech exhibit at the Institute of Texan Cultures. The institute was celebrating Czech Heritage Day on Sunday. Behind Koula are examples of traditional Czech wedding outfits.

Karen L. Shaw/Express-News

The reasons varied — from freedom of religion to economic advancement — but the dreams were the same. Czechs came to this country seeking a better way of life.

On Sunday, dozens of their descendants celebrated Czech Heritage Day to the tunes of polka music as the Institute of Texan Cultures unveiled its renovated Czech Texan exhibit.

"It took us a couple of years, but we promised that it was going to be beautiful," said Ladislav Zezula, president of the Bexar County chapter of the Czech Heritage Society of Texas.

The organization wanted to present an accurate picture of the Czech culture and started working toward that goal eight years ago, said Anna Krpec, a trustee with the society.

"We wanted to portray more than people sitting around drinking, which was what we had before," Krpec said. "All these (Texan) cultures make us what we are today."

The new exhibit features a 1935 Czech kitchen, stocked with artifacts, including a walk-in pantry with replicas of stored foods.
It also shows a timeline depicting the history of the Czech culture, a stained glass window from a Czech church and a collection of kroj-folk attire, including traditional wedding clothes, elaborated hairpieces and children's costumes imported from the Czech Republic. The traditional outfits are worn on special occasions, with colors and flowers representing different regions of the home country. Wearing a similar garment, Jana Vaculik, a 20-year-old student at the University of Texas, said her parents taught her the language and culture.

"I think it's wonderful to show young people about Texan Czechs, but also it's important to keep the heritage and history alive," said Vaculik, who is also a member of the CHST McLennan Hill chapter.

She has traveled to the Czech Republic to visit relatives and to trace her roots.
Many Czech immigrants came to Texas in the early 1850s from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, collectively known as the Czech Lands.
Today, many Texans can trace their roots to the "Old Country," although available statistics from the U.S. census do not show an accurate picture.
"It is hard to say how many Texans are of Czech descent because you can have a person who is one-third Czech," Krpec said, noting that some estimates put it at more than a million.

mtorres@express-news.net

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