The Story of Two Families

An Original Short Story by Susan Rektorik Henley

(C) Copyright 2000

Chapter Two--The Beginning of a Community

 In 1907, whitetail deer could be seen grazing around the small community of Robstown, Texas. Coyotes serenaded nightly and carried off chickens on a regular basis. Not a single road was paved. When it rained, and it did rain frequently in the spring and fall of the year, the roads became so deeply rutted that they were impassable to almost all except those who figured out how to travel using only the high rear wheels of a carriage onto the bolster of which they lashed a large wooden box. On this box sat the driver and in it was carried the goods purchased. Two and even four mules were necessary to pull these contraptions through the sticky black mud. Very few fences existed at this time, so settler drove their wagons across the countryside in order to avoid the low spots which stood water for extended periods of time.

The stately two story George Paul Building was by far the largest building in the community. It housed not only the offices of Mr. Paul's land business but also, for a time, a general store. Mr. Paul established a community park in which there was a water well. The settlers could draw as much water as they could carry. The water was free but not plentiful. Some men would haul large barrels of water on wagons drawn by horses or mules while other inventive men attached chains to nails which they drove into the heads of the barrels. They then were able to roll the barrels away by using the spreaders and the chains. On one end of the park there was a building which housed the office of the Robstown Reporter, the local newspaper, and the offices of the German-American Land Company, while they operated there. The was also a small grocery store nearby.

Once Tom and Johanna Mrazek purchased their land, word was sent to their children back in Williamson County, Texas, to come and join them. Arrangements had already been made for a box car to be available for their use in Granger, Texas. Into this box car, the Mrazek children packed all the furniture, the wood-burning kitchen stove, the cookware, dishes, and sauerkraut crocks as well as the butter churn, wash pot, and all the other household items owned by them. Also loaded were the farm equipment, tack, and tools. Just before the departure of the train; their livestock was coerced aboard: The milk cow, the hens and rooster, a huge and surly breeder boar and sow, the geese, the mules and horses...even the ducks.

The older boys would take turns riding in the box car, caring for the livestock, and bringing in fresh water whenever the train made a stop. When the train arrived in Robstown, this box car was detached and parked out of the way. The Mrazek family would have to unloaded the box car and moved the animals and goods the half mile out the Mrazek home. Settlers in wagons and drays appeared to help transport the belongings of the Mrazek family to their new home. In this isolated and wild area, everyone depended on the goodwill and support of the others.

With most of their children still living with them, Tom and Johanna Mrazek needed a large house. The area was mostly covered with low growth mesquite and cactus so there was no lumber to be had. Trees were sparse in this part of Texas. Hackberry and Mesquite trees were (and are) considered to be shade trees. All of the lumber for construction was freighted in by train from far away mills. The Mrazek home would be a two-story frame house facing the south to take advantage of the prevailing winds. It featured a covered porch on both floors with railings which were painted white as was the rest of the house.. The upper porch was used as a sleeping porch when the intense summer heat was captured and held in the house long after the gulf-cooled evening winds made it pleasant outside. A white picket fence barred the brush land from the garden which was soon was planted with trees, flowers, and vines.

 Tom Mrazek and his sons built the blacksmith shop on their own. This undertaking was not difficult for them given what they had already been able to achieve in the past. The skills of Tom Mrazek far exceeded what one would expect a man who had been trained as a wheel- and wagon wright to be able accomplish. While in Williamson County, and in about the year 1880, Mr. Mrazek had constructed a steam- powered cotton gin.

His gin in Williamson County was a two-story structure with a very tall brick stack made necessary by the use of huge steam driven engines. At this gin there was a platform scale onto which a wagon full of cotton would be driven. The cotton was then unloaded by hand on the second floor and carried in wire baskets to one of the two stands into which it was fed by hand. Heaps of cotton seeds formed as they were separated from the lint. The seed was saved to be used again as seed, feed for animals, or fertilizer. In the end, the cotton lint also fell to the floor behind each stand where it was gathered by hand, placed in baskets, and carried to the press box. Basket after basket of cotton would be placed into the press box until it was full. Then, a steam engine would press the cotton four times before the bale was finally bagged and tied. In those days, the ginning of cotton was labor intensive and dangerous. Great care had to be taken so that no one was caught in the press or the great belts of the steam engines which could rip flesh away, maim, and even kill a worker. The construction of a blacksmith shop would not have been taxing to Mr. Mrazek and his sons.

These were hard times for the out-of-state settlers who had little or no experience in farming. Most of them had financed their land purchased through the George Paul Land Company. A cash payment was made and notes were signed for the remainder of the purchase price. What a risk! Then as now, many of these new farmers counted on the future profits to be made from the sales of crops raised on the land to make the loan payments. For many of the inexperienced settlers, the income never materialized. In general, it was the Czech farmers who tamed the land and made good on the loans. These farmers came to the area from other Texas counties including Bastrop, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, and Williamson. These were sturdy and steadfast men with families who all diligently contributed and worked to ensure that their farm, their life, was successful.

The actual town of Robstown was growing daily and a community forming. The first church services were held in the waiting rooms of the train depot; however, they were soon moved to the George Paul Building because the arrival schedule of the trains conflicted with Sunday school hours. A school was built and the first teacher was Miss Zora Ragon. A lumber and material yard was soon opened by a Mr. A. B. Welch and other businesses soon opened for business. There were even parties and dances. Why when the residents of the town could see the lights of twelve different houses from the train depot at night, they had a party to celebrate the success of the town.

End of Chapter Two

Note: This is a special story for me. For in it I will pull together people of whom I have already written and tell the tale of a time when dreams of success were made into reality. Over the years, I have collected oral histories, maps, newspaper articles, historical commission bulletins, books, obituaries, and even the records of a land survey conducted in 1805 (when a request was made by a Spaniard to have the land in this area granted to him, his sons, and their overseer). I have walked and traveled this county since I was a child and have studied the faces of those who appear in this story in old photographs of them. I even knew some of them (sat in their laps, loved them and was loved by them). Unfortunately, I cannot vow that everything which I have written here actually occurred as written because the day-to-day details have been lost with the passage of lives and times. What I can assure you is that this story is based on real people, a real place, and a specific time. The details are filled in as accurately as I can based on considerable research, study and meditation. Also, the "color" is added based on my understanding of this land and my love of these people, their lives, and what they achieved. For now I am calling this "The Story of Two Families." Someday, I might decided on another more catchy title; but, it will always remain the story of two families.

Susan Rektořík Henley

Kdo chce s vlky byti, musí s vlky vyti!

"If you run with the wolves, you must howl with the wolves!"

 Remember who your people are, keep and tell their stories.

Rekindle and keep the fires of the culture alive!

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