St. Joseph’s Church in Stoneham, Texas held their 100th annual homecoming bazaar on Sunday, May 24, 2009. It rained off and on during the day, but that didn’t stop the large crowd from having a good time.
In addition to the regular early Sunday Mass, a special bazaar Mass was celebrated at 10:30 am in the beautiful remodeled church by St. Joseph’s pastor Fr Ed Kucera. St. Joseph’s church was built in 1909 by a predominantly Polish immigrant congregation. In the early years, St. Joseph’s was a mission parish under the guidance of St. Stanislaus parish in Anderson, but it is now a mission parish of St. Mary parish in Plantersville.
A self-serve barbecue pork and beef dinner with all the fixings was served beginning at 11am. {quotes}The dinner line was long and at times, people had to wait in the rain, but everyone felt that it was well worth the wait.{/quotes}There was non-stop music and dancing from 11 am until 8 pm. The entertainment lineup included Hwy 105 Band, Turkey and the Wranglers and Chris Rybak, the Accordion Cowboy.
There were Grocery, Cake, Plant, Fruit and Sausage booths and raffle and bucket drawings for the
adults and a Toy Booth, Train Rides, Face Painting and other activities for the
kids. One of the most popular exhibits was a display of old photos in the parish hall depicting the early history of the parish. Leland Fougeron and his crew along with 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, the drawing was held for the raffle prizes which included a John Deere mower, $1000 Wal-Mart gift certificate and lots of other great prizes.
Below are some highlight photos, but you can find more photos of the bazaar on St. Joseph’s website.
Click On Any Image Below To See A Larger Photo
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.