“Zareczyny or Zrekowiny” The engagement period: The main event on the night of
engagement was the tying together of the hands of the couple to be married. Because engagement was as binding as the marriage itself, it was always done in a public act in front of family and friends who acted as witnesses. Starosta joined the right hands of the couple above the bread, tied them together with white cloth, and made the sign of the cross over their joined hands representing “the joined endeavors of the man and woman to prepare the bread” that they always have bread beneath their hands.
Video from the wedding of Phillip Wilcox and Kathy Ann Mazurkiewicz in Bryan, Texas. Videography by Brianna Cammack
Jim Mazurkiewicz is a Texas native whose family originally settled in Washington County, Texas at the turn of the twentieth century. His family still owns and operates the family farm in Chappell Hill. He graduated from Waller High School and received a B.S. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and a Masters from Texas Tech University. Dr Jim is currently a Professor and Extension Specialist for Leadership Programs as TALL Director for Texas AgriLife Extension a member of The Texas A&M System and its statewide Agriculture Program. Jim takes great pride in his Polish heritage and plays Polish music on his concertina accordion.