Czech into Czech Culture
For those that may not be familiar with the word, kolache comes from the Czechoslovakian word “kola” , meaning “wheel”. The kolache is an original Czech, wedding pastry made out of sweetened yeast dough, formed into a roll and filled with either cheese, sausage, cherry, peach, apple, apricot, prune, poppyseed, or cream cheese. The kolache was brought to the United States in the 1800’s by Czech people who settled in West Texas, and this is where my story begins.
My Great Grandfather, Joseph Novosad, was born in Czechoslovakia and was only 16 years old when his uncle, Frank Novosad, sent him a letter from the United States informing him about job opportunities and stating that he would hire him on at his farm in Shiner , Texas, located in Fayette County. So, at age 16, Joseph Novosad boarded an immigrant ship named the S.S. Hanover, and waved goodbye to his homeland and his family, not knowing at that time, that he would never see either again.
The Hanover, much like other immigrant ships, was tightly packed and disease ridden. Many would die from disease or from being thrown overboard during unruly storms. However, my Great Grandfather survived and arrived in the port of Galveston, Texas , where his uncle waited for him in his horse-drawn wagon. Life after his arrival was never easy. Cotton was king in the south throughout the 1800’s and 1900’s. It was long, hard work for a measly price, since cotton was priced at approximately ten cents per pound and most were working for one dollar a day. With eleven children in the family and natural devastation to crops, money had its shortcomings.
My Grandma, Margaret Novosad Surman, a living testimony of her father, Joseph, says, “By age six we were out in the fields picking cotton next to our parents.”
So, naturally when I tuned in my radio and heard about the 28th Annual Kolache Festival being held in Caldwell, Texas, this past weekend, I thought it would be a great opportunity to explore my roots. The Czech culture was very much alive at the Kolache Festival as it created a renewal of language, identity, history, and art.
The festival began with a welcoming prayer (vitam), followed by the singing of the Czech National Anthem (Kde Domov Mut). Authentic Czech dances were performed by the local, youth Beseda Dancers and Czech music was also played by the Shiner Hobo Band.
Next, there was a crowning of Miss Kolache Festival herself, and I saw it as a sort of initiation into the Czech culture to take a picture with her. It took about thirty minutes to find Miss Kolache, but after following a lead from a local cowboy, I finally found her next to the Turkey Leg Booth!
To finish off my day, I lined up behind a long line of Stetson hats, grandparents, mothers, fathers, and little kids in wagons to purchase my kolaches. I got a variety, but mostly cream cheese because it has been an all time favorite of mine since birth. I asked the lady how much she was charging for each, and she said a dollar. Ironic, that it was the same price as my family’s livelihood. The kolache may just be a simple snack to most, and it was to me too before I wrote this article, but now I believe it to be a symbol of the Czech people and their search for the American dream. Many people search for it in their lifetime, but never find it. The Czech people found it in simply a hard day of work, and being surrounded by family and friends and I am reminded of this as I bite into all twenty of my kolaches.