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.
James is a past president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Texas and was the founding webmaster of the PGST website. He also served as the Surname Index Coordinator from 1994 - 2000.
In addition to serving as the webmaster and editor of this Polish Texan website, he maintains a number of other websites including;
With a lifelong passion for photography, James can often be found with a camera around his neck. In addition to photographing family events and his grandchildren, he is the church photographer for St. Mary Catholic Church in Plantersville and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Stoneham. Many of his photographs can be found on the church website or his photography gallery.
Slide show video of the 54th annual homecoming bazaar at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Anderson Texas with entertainment by Brian Marshall and friends.
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2009 St Stanislaus Bazaar In Anderson Texas VideoRead More »
2009 St Stanislaus Bazaar In Anderson Texas Video Read More »
The theme for the 54th annual homecoming bazaar at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Anderson Texas this year was “celebrating the Old…building the Future”. The bazaar was held on Sunday, October 11, 2009 on the church grounds. A ceremonial ground breaking for the new parish hall was held just before the bazaar began with St. Stanislaus current pastor Father Raul Marterior and retired pastor Father Louis Sikorski present.
The cool, overcast and sometimes rainy weather didn’t stop the large crowd from enjoying the day. Delicious barbecue brisket and sausage with all the fixings, home made deserts and ice tea was served starting at 11am. The food line was long but well worth the wait.
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2009 St. Stanislaus In Anderson BazaarRead More »
St. Stanislaus Catholic Church will be hosting their 54th annual homecoming bazaar on Sunday, October 11, 2009 on the church grounds in Anderson, Texas. This year’s event will begin with a Ceremonial Ground Breaking for the new Parish Hall at 10:30am. Delicious barbecue brisket and sausage with all the fixings, home made deserts and ice tea will be served starting at 11am. There will be lots of booths for the adults as well as games and activities for the kids, a live auction and some really nice raffle prizes.
For the 21st consecutive year, Brian Marshall and friends will entertain the crowd with lots of good Polish music. As always, it will be well worth the trip to Anderson just for the music.
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Polish Music At Bazaar In Anderson On October 11thRead More »
Polish Music At Bazaar In Anderson On October 11th Read More »
On Saturday, September 26. 2009, I joined about 120 descendants of Martin, John, Albert and Joseph Kronenberger at their family reunion held in St. Mary’s Catholic Church Family Recreation Center in Bremond, Texas. The Kronenberger brothers settled in Bremond after immigrating from the Austrian partition of Poland in the early 1900’s. Their descendants married into many of the old Bremond Polish families so there were a lot of familiar names at the reunion. There was lots of good food, fun and conversation throughout the day as well as plenty of family photos and documents on display.
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Kronenberger Family Reunion In BremondRead More »
Michael Addicks, along with a bunch of his friends, celebrated his 50th birthday on Sunday, September 20, 2009 with a party at the Son’s of Herman hall in Brenham. Over the years, Mike has devoted a lot of his free time to preserving and honoring his Polish heritage. He has long been active in preparing the delicious Polish food served each year at the Polish Festival in Brenham and he’s been known to sing a Polish tune or two as a member of the choir at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Chappell Hill. Not surprisingly, there was a bit of a Polish theme to the party.
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Polish Birthday Party In BrenhamRead More »
Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic parish in Houston, Texas was host to the 46th Annual St. Cyril and Methodius Slavic Heritage Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The morning began with holy Mass which included a procession of the harvest wreath and bread. Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Catholic Church official in charge of promoting the cause to declare the late Pope John Paul II a saint of the Church, was a special guest celebrant. After Mass, a special ceremony of the laying of the corner stone of Our Lady of Czestochowa’s new Pope John Paul II hall was held.
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2009 Houston Slavic Heritage FestivalRead More »
Weather forecasts called for heavy rain on Saturday, September 12, 2009, but that didn’t stop the crowds from celebrating Dozynki or the Polish Harvest Festival at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Houston. Dozynki is a tradition that dates back for many centuries in Poland and symbolizes the end of the harvest for the farmers. It is a time of happiness, good food, folk dancing and live music. Fortunately, the weather forecasters were wrong and with the exception of a few sprinkles, the day turned out cloudy, but pleasant.
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2009 Dozynki – Houston Polish Harvest FestivalRead More »
On September 12-13, the 2009 Houston Slavic Heritage Festival took place on the grounds of Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church. Several groups danced, sang, and performed music! There were also vendors selling goods and foods from the Slavic cultures.
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2009 Houston Slavic Heritage VideoRead More »
2009 Houston Slavic Heritage Video Read More »
