This is the grave marker of my great grandfather, the man who came to the new world seeking land that looked just like the Czech countryside. Where in the Czech countryside, we don't really know. Perhaps someday, with the help of blogs and internet, we will know just where this man of mystery was born. I have for many years called myself Bohemian, but just look at that marker. It says he was born in Moravia. Now that's a Czech of a different color, no? But then, I don't speak or read Czech, so maybe Morave means something else entirely. I could be making the same sort of mistake I made the time I asked the French waiter if he was Lundi or Mardi, having read Ferme Lundi et Mardi on the menu cover and assuming that to be the names of the owners. Not so! I had asked him if he was Monday or Tuesday. One must never assume when one does not know the language.
We have a Vahalik reunion every two years in my home town, Yoakum, the reason for this weekend's central Texas graveyard visit. Actually, I was raised in Midway, which is a community between Shiner and Yoakum, and I went to school in Shiner, so I have a split affinity between the two towns, and relatives buried all over, including Hochheim, where I was baptized. This weekend, Teregram my RV attended the reunion with me, which is a homey feeling, since I don't have a home to go to anymore. After Mother died, we sold the homestead to a neighbor who has transformed it from an overgrown jungle to a showplace with a brand new slab waiting for the framers to come build his house right where ours used to stand. It looks so different it doesn't make me feel sad to look at it any more. He's scrubbed it up like I would have wanted it to be if I had kept it. My niece took a look at the photo of the slab poured next to the oak tree that was planted on my 3rd birthday and said, "your RV Pad?"
Teregram makes me feel at home anywhere, and for $10 a night, I parked in an idyllic spot right next to the Veterans memorial in Green Dickson Park in Shiner. I had a view of the ball fields, the sweeping hills with picnic sites, and the Shiner Cemetery. On Friday night, I heard the blood curdling yelps of the Flatonia Bulldogs as they made waste of the Shiner Comanches. Cousin Mary and I listened to the band play "Oh Christmas Tree." I suppose that tune must have some other words, or maybe they have transformed it into their fight song. It doesn't go with either bulldogs or comanches, in my opinion, but maybe things are greener in Flatonia than I remember.
There was no need for security in the park, as the floodlights of the memorial next door were so bright they found their way into every little crack in Teregram's shades. I was the only RV there, which made it easy for the police to find me. The sign at the park said to call the police to pay. The officer came over and collected the money and said he'd be back to check on me at 11:45 when the park closed to outside traffic. What a deal! My personal guard, and still only $10. The only thing the park lacked was showers.
Being the only RV there also made it easy for my cousins to find me. I loved having a home to host company in. We slept, ate, showered (my first time to shower in Teregram), played Farkle (which I am told originated in Oklahoma, where cousin Katy settled) and chilled our Shiner beer.
We went on a cemetery prowl and found the Shiner Cemetery the most interesting of the three we visited. There is an unmarked division there between the Catholics and the rest of the world. In the Catholic section the names are major league Czech and there are crosses everywhere. In the remainder of the cemetery the names are German or Jewish, with an occasional Smith thrown in, looking really out of place.
One thing about a reunion: you see a lot of people who look like you. We Vahaliks are a sturdy bunch, not fine boned in the least. Check out the group photos to see that I am not the only person with a size 11 shoe.
For MORE photos of the Vahaliks, see my web album. Follow the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/margaret.lincoln/2008921TheVahalikFamilyReunion?authkey=cnMx37oOwmI#
We have a Vahalik reunion every two years in my home town, Yoakum, the reason for this weekend's central Texas graveyard visit. Actually, I was raised in Midway, which is a community between Shiner and Yoakum, and I went to school in Shiner, so I have a split affinity between the two towns, and relatives buried all over, including Hochheim, where I was baptized. This weekend, Teregram my RV attended the reunion with me, which is a homey feeling, since I don't have a home to go to anymore. After Mother died, we sold the homestead to a neighbor who has transformed it from an overgrown jungle to a showplace with a brand new slab waiting for the framers to come build his house right where ours used to stand. It looks so different it doesn't make me feel sad to look at it any more. He's scrubbed it up like I would have wanted it to be if I had kept it. My niece took a look at the photo of the slab poured next to the oak tree that was planted on my 3rd birthday and said, "your RV Pad?"
Teregram makes me feel at home anywhere, and for $10 a night, I parked in an idyllic spot right next to the Veterans memorial in Green Dickson Park in Shiner. I had a view of the ball fields, the sweeping hills with picnic sites, and the Shiner Cemetery. On Friday night, I heard the blood curdling yelps of the Flatonia Bulldogs as they made waste of the Shiner Comanches. Cousin Mary and I listened to the band play "Oh Christmas Tree." I suppose that tune must have some other words, or maybe they have transformed it into their fight song. It doesn't go with either bulldogs or comanches, in my opinion, but maybe things are greener in Flatonia than I remember.
There was no need for security in the park, as the floodlights of the memorial next door were so bright they found their way into every little crack in Teregram's shades. I was the only RV there, which made it easy for the police to find me. The sign at the park said to call the police to pay. The officer came over and collected the money and said he'd be back to check on me at 11:45 when the park closed to outside traffic. What a deal! My personal guard, and still only $10. The only thing the park lacked was showers.
Being the only RV there also made it easy for my cousins to find me. I loved having a home to host company in. We slept, ate, showered (my first time to shower in Teregram), played Farkle (which I am told originated in Oklahoma, where cousin Katy settled) and chilled our Shiner beer.
We went on a cemetery prowl and found the Shiner Cemetery the most interesting of the three we visited. There is an unmarked division there between the Catholics and the rest of the world. In the Catholic section the names are major league Czech and there are crosses everywhere. In the remainder of the cemetery the names are German or Jewish, with an occasional Smith thrown in, looking really out of place.
One thing about a reunion: you see a lot of people who look like you. We Vahaliks are a sturdy bunch, not fine boned in the least. Check out the group photos to see that I am not the only person with a size 11 shoe.
For MORE photos of the Vahaliks, see my web album. Follow the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/margaret.lincoln/2008921TheVahalikFamilyReunion?authkey=cnMx37oOwmI#
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