Below is a firsthand account of this daring voyage and landing in America as told by Judge Augustin Haidusek in Dubina in 1906, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the first Moravian settlement in Texas. Judge Haidusek delivered his speech in Czech.
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“This sailboat was about one hundred feet long and had only two masts. This was a mere rowboat when compared to the steamships which present day emigrants come in. The very first night we ran into a storm. The waves tossed our boat as if it were a piece of wood, and to my dying day I will not forget the suffering and seasickness of the travelers, especially of the women. This lasted a whole night and a day. After this the sailing was fair, but it was fourteen weeks before we reached Galveston Harbor. (It must be noted here that the trip took more like ten weeks.) […] It should be our desire that our sons become good citizens, that they should be able to attend to their affairs and while doing this we should not forget ourselves. We were the first Czech citizens to settle on the west side of the Colorado River and, out of these first settlers, there are still living Valentin Holub, Frank Kossa, Mrs Janakova and Mrs. Syrinkova. The others have passed on and left us as young people, but some of us are now old, so it will not be long before we will follow them. Our places, however, will be taken by the younger generation. This is the earliest Czech settlement in Texas. It had been called Navidad owing to the proximity of Navidad Creek. Later it was renamed to Bohemian Settlement of Navidad”. Then for a short time it was called Moravia. Finally, Judge Haidusek substituted Dubina, a Moravian name, meaning ‘Oak Grove’.
Mr. Peter was known for giving large parties with a wide variety of food. One of these parties is described in the March 10th, 1910 edition of the Weimar Mercury.
One of the jolliest crowds a man ever saw went to Joe Peter’s park in Dubina last Sunday to spend the day in social intercourse. Of course, the refreshments were not forgotten and there was enough to eat for about twice the crowd in which consisted of the following menu: roast turkey, roast beef, fried chicken, chicken salads, oysters on the half shell and fried, roast pork, veal loaf, hamburger steaks, cold tongue, tongue salad, stuffed eggs, boiled eggs, salmon salad, Irish and sweet potato salads, baked Irish potatoes, boiled ham, tomatoes, rice, cabbage slaw, coffee, catsup, crackers, pickles and several different varieties of pies and cakes. E.F. Leidolf was the chief oyster opener, but he said he didn’t mind opening oysters for a man that had had his dinner. Adolf Schindler received the medal for eating the most raw oysters, he only ate eleven dozen.
The standard day to day activities on the farm had not changed that much over the years. What has changed are the procedures and methods. At first oxen were used to plow the fields. In most cases this required the labor of 2 men. One man would lead the oxen and the other would guide the plow. Then they progressed to mules pulling the plow and then horses. Mules and horses and oxen were also used to pull wagons for hauling people and supplies. The introduction of the tractor made it possible for the farmer to increase his yield and save time. This made farming easier. However, through it all and with all the changes it still came down to hard work.
EARLY TO RISE
The typical day on a farm would start with the farmers getting up just before daybreak. They would have to get the cows into the pen to milk them. Milking cows was done twice a day by hand, morning and evening. It didn’t matter if it was raining or snowing. It didn’t matter how tired you were after a long hard day of work. The cows had to be milked. After milking the hogs and chickens were fed. And in the winter one also had to feed the cattle daily. Then it was time for breakfast which was usually quite a feast to help you get through your chores that day.
SPRINGTIME
In the spring, there was planting to be done. Cotton, corn, milo, and sugar cane were typically planted by everyone. The early settlers planted wheat, but it did not do well. Cotton was the cash crop. Corn was grown to feed the animals and to make corn meal for baking. Sugar cane was harvested to make molasses. The crops were planted in early spring and throughout the spring. After the tiny plants came up, there was lots of work to be done. The young plants had to be thinned out to produce a good crop. And there were always weeds to be chopped. The saying, “That’s a long row to hoe!” comes from these early settlers. This generally came to mean that it was a difficult task.
SUMMERTIME
Summers were hot. With enough rain, the crops were made. The entire family would participate in the farming chores. Father, mother, and all children old enough to walk and carry a hoe would be out in the fields. After the corn had tasseled out and the ears were set, corn tops were made. This entailed cutting the tops of the stalks off above the ears and bundling them together and stacking them to be used for feed for the cattle and horses and mules.
Much work had to be performed in the summer. When the corn was ready for harvest, it was picked and loaded into a wagon pulled by a horse or mule and later a tractor. The ears were stored in the barn in the “corn crib” for later use.
Cotton picking sometimes started as early as August. It continued until all the cotton was picked, usually into late September or early October. Cotton was king in Texas. Czech and German farmers throughout the entire state were one of the driving forces that made it so. For most farmers, cotton would be their only source, or at least their main source, of income. When the immigrants came to Texas, most did not have enough money to buy land at first. So they would share crop a piece of land owned by someone else until they could make enough money to buy their own land. Cotton was the most important crop in Texas. One or two bad crops would spell the end for many immigrants’ hopes to purchase property. The Czech and German immigrants did have one advantage. Most families were large. Therefore, labor was cheap.
