St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Plantersville bills itself as a ‘Historic German Painted Church’ but the huge crowd at their 55th annual bazaar on Sunday, September 5, 2010 included a large contingent of Polish Texans, including Our Lady of Czestochowa pastor Fr. Leszek Wedziuk, Polonia Restaurant owners Andrzej and Sharon Szpak, Polish dance band fiddler Brian Marshall and his family, St. Mary’s construction superintendent Johnnie Krezinski and his wife, auctioneer extradioneer Tommy Szymczak, long time Polish Footprints editor Virginia Felchak Hill, Plantersville big red barn owners Hazel and Ronnie Dutka and Polish researcher and translator Michael Kurtin just to name a few. That’s not counting the usual parishioners and other Grimes county people with Polish roots and dozens of Poles from Houston Bremond, Brenham, Chappell Hill, Hempstead, Monaville and other Texas areas.
The weather was perfect, the barbecue was delicious, the beer was cold and the music was lively, what more could you ask for in a small country church picnic. There were lots of booths and activities for adults and children alike. The highlight of the day was the tour of the newly expanded church that had been completed only days before the bazaar. St. Mary’s pastor Fr. Ed Kucera and restoration artist Donell Hill proudly led the tours and talked about the long process of restoring the old church.
The dancers in the crowd were kept busy with a lively mix of music provided by accordion cowboy Chris Rybak and his lovely wife Edita along with guitarist James Rittenhouse and Chris’s dad Leroy. A large crowd gathered around the dunking booth as Fr. Ed and Grimes County sheriff Don Sowell took their turns going for a swim in the tank. Auctioneer Tommy Szymczak and his side-kick Bobby Fuchs did a great job selling all of the home made furniture, crafts, quilts and other items at the live auction. After the auction, a drawing was held for the raffle prizes which included a total of 32 great items.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of more photos on page 2
More photos of the bazaar can be found on St. Mary’s website.
James Smock has always held an interest in his Polish ancestors and heritage. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond, Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.