Vick, Frances Brannen. “Central Texas Canning Customs in the Thirties and Forties.” Tales of Texas Cooking: Stories and Recipes from the Trans-Pecos to the Piney Woods and High Plains to the Gulf Prairies, University of North Texas Press, 2015, pp. 157–162. Publications of the Texas Folklore Society.
This chapter in the book “Tales of Texas Cooking” details common farm-life during the Great Depression in Texas during the 1930s and 1940s, and the importance of home canning as a way of preparing and preserving fresh foodstuffs. Canning tended to be a family practice that multiple generations and family members of all ages could participate in. Vick also notes that during these tough times that families were “canning money” at times, which would aid in the cooking process and to keep the food that was being canned from sticking.
Another mention was the struggle to prevent pests from having access to the fruits and vegetables that were being grown, as farmers would often cover the bases of their fruit trees with pieces of galvanized metal, use shiny surfaces and wooden owls to scare birds, and the traditional scarecrow. While not directly connected to Czech life in Texas, this excerpt helps in forming ideas of how to picture everyday life during the Great Depression and the process of canning, which was an important aspect of Czech life.
"Czech Farmers" from Czech Texans ITC
Life for the immigrant Czech farmer bore little resemblance to romantic visions of the sturdy yeoman tending picture-book fields of luscious grain, or watching over herds of fat sheep and cattle. In reality, it was a hard, grueling, monotonous life. The farmer, his wife, and all the children worked from sunup to sundown, just to survive. All necessities were grown or made right on the farm. The family raised one cash crop, usually cotton or corn. The proceeds for its sale were spent on neces- . shies which could not be grown or manufactured at home. Tt was a life of constant struggle against the elements. After the crop was planted the farmer had to contend with insects, which could bring ruin overnight. A drought could defeat a year's labor~ a hailstorm could flatten a field of cotton or corn in minutes. And even after the crop was harvested, the chances of selling it for an adequate price were usually quite poor. Despite the hardships, the monotony, and the toil, the Czech farmer managed not only to survive, but to prosper. Many Czechs began their life in Texas as t enant farmers. After a few years in their adopted land, almost all managed to acquire their own land, build sturdy homes, and educate their children.
Vick, Frances Brannen. “Central Texas Czech Recipes.” Tales of Texas Cooking: Stories and Recipes from the Trans-Pecos to the Piney Woods and High Plains to the Gulf Prairies, University of North Texas Press, 2015, pp. 117-120. Publications of the Texas Folklore Society.
This particular chapter of “Tales of Texas Cooking” goes over a little bit of information about Czech cooking and personal history/narrative of Czech family-life, but mainly goes over popular Czech recipes that were made in Central Texas. These could be helpful in developing our digital story and referencing real Czech food from around the time of the Great Depression.
The article, “Czechs” by Clinton Machann for the Texas State Historical Association, covers a general history of Czechs in Texas. Due to facing oppression while living in Czechoslovakia, a part of the Austrian Empire at the time, Czech citizens found the religious and political freedom and affordable land promised by the United States was the final push towards emigration. With the newly acquired estates, Czech Texans became enveloped into farming as a lifestyle by utilizing the entire family unit to cultivate their land. It was noted that the majority of Czechs were Catholics in their native land, and continued their allegiance to the Cathloic Church once in Texas. Catholic schools were also being built in Texas, in which the Czech language was taught to younger generations and aided in further validating their ethnic presence in the South.
In the cookbook, “The Melting Pot: ethnic cuisine in Texas”, there is a section that is dedicated to Czechs which briefly covers their immigration to Texas and the aspects of their culture that followed, as well as common recipes. Czechs were drawn to the idea of democracy in the United States and the prospect of copious fertile land in the Texas plains, which ultimately led to their migration in hopes of building a better life for themselves and their families. It was noted that some of the traditions that still remained prominent in Czech culture were celebrations through dancing and music, large family and community gatherings in “Sunday clothes”, the practice of Catholicism and attending church, and the continuation of making delicious food and beer indigenous to their home-country. This text excerpt really brought forward the importance of familial ties within the community, retention of the native language, and preparing authentic Czech cuisine in order to keep their culture alive in rural Texas.
The article “Letters Sustaining Cross-Atlantic Migrations: From Frenštát, Moravia to Frenstat, Texas in the Decades Following the Civil War.” by Eva Eckhert discusses Czech immigration into Texas and the challenges they faced through letters that were sent to families that were still residing in Frenštát and Moravia, towns belonging to the Czech Republic in Europe. These letters describe Czech farmers having to maintain their farms themselves, as neighboring farms were often located miles away, and population densities tended to be relatively small. Adjusting to new climates and soils, poisonous insects and snakes native to Texas, and new farming practices were a few of the burdens that Czech immigrants had to overcome. However, many Czech immigrants were able to find jobs as the demand for cotton and other agricultural products was high during this time. The prospect of the “American Dream” and promise of freedom became one of the driving factors that kept Czech immigrants in Texas, despite losses in harvests, feelings of homesickness, and poor health conditions overall; including Yellow Fever.
