2009 Polski Dzien In Bremond, Texas

Texas has been in the middle of a severe heat wave for the last week or so, but the hot weather didn’t stop a large crowd from enjoying the 22nd annual Polski Dzien Polish Days celebration which was held on Saturday, June 27, 2009 in downtown Bremond, Texas. As always, the day began with the Polish Pickle 5 K Run at 8 AM followed by the Kids K Run. It always fascinates me that so many people, young and old, show up in the middle of summer to run. As the race ended, the runners were fed a feast of fruit, kolaches and good kielbasa sausage with water, soft drinks and cold beer to wash it down. Cold piwo at 8:30 AM may sound strange to some, but I’d have been right there drinking with them if I had just pounded out 3 miles on the hot asphalt. After all of the runners made it to the finish line, a raffle drawing was held and awards were handed out.

Each year the Polish Pickle Run organizers have a different, unique t-shirt printed up for the event. I have a collection of those shirts dating back to the early ’90s so I had to buy one again this year. The theme of this years shirt is ‘Good Old Polish Food’ and it features a white duck saying ‘czarnina?’ and a list of other foods such as kielbasa, ogorki, kishka, pierogi and golabki. The shirt was so nice and unique that they sold out early in the morning and started taking orders for a second printing.

At 10 AM the parade made its way from St. Mary’s Church to downtown led by parade marshall Phil Boriskie. Phil, who has roots in Bremond, is the Fire Chief in the big city of Houston. There were lots of floats, horses, motorcycles, vintage cars, fire trucks and people in the parade. Main street was lined with vendors and food booths. I spotted Jimmy Mazurkiewicz, an accomplished Polish musician, playing his concertina on the Hot Mama’s float. The float trailer was pulled by a Polish Hummer and filled with pretty women. Somehow ol’ Jimmy always seems to get the good gigs. After the parade, Jimmy earned his keep by entertaining the crowd at the Polish Dill Pickle booth.

The street was lined with food and craft booths and the women from St. Mary’s were serving delicious pierogies. The coolest spot in town was in Wasik’s Store where the 42 domino tournament was being held. There were horseshoe, washer and volleyball games and lots of other activities throughout the day. A Polka Mass was held in the evening and a dance finished off the long day.

It looked to me like everyone was having a good time, I know I did. I met a lot of nice people and got to talk to some old friends and relatives. I ran into cousins Jim Bell and Johnny Maduzia along with their wife’s and Jim’s mother Clara Mae Stash Bell in Wasik’s Store. Clara Mae told me that she turned 90 this year. I also got to say hi to cousins Jennifer and George Yezak and their mother Betty at the Bremond Press office.

Below are a few photos of the event.

Click on the small images below to view a larger image. Go to page 2 to view a slide show of images.