Lauran Bienek and Melissa Pruski
Palo Alto College
Spring, 2006
U.S. History 1302
| R. Hines, Instructor
More Histories of Small Towns in South Texas
Mary and Louis Jaskinia
Biography
Louis Jaskinia has lived in Cestohowa for 78 years and Mary has lived in Cestohowa for 54 years. Mrs. Jaskinia was born on February 2, 1932 and Mr. Jaskinia was born on August 18, 1927. Mr. Jaskinia went to school at Cestohowa until the eighth grade when it ended. He was 24 when they married. Mrs. Jaskinia was born in Kosciusko and attended school in Kosciusko. She was 19 when they got married. They have six children and one is deceased. They have been married for 54 years in May of 2006. Mr. And Mrs. Jaskinia have 10 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. Their main profession was farming, but Mrs. Jaskinia worked at Wal-Mart for 10 and a half years as well as waitressing at D&D Steakhouse in Hobson for five years. Presently she is working with the home health care system. They both enjoy their currently retired lives. Louis enjoys fishing and hunting and likes to read the paper and drink coffee in the mornings. Mary likes to go shopping and gardening. They both enjoy spending time with their family and attending weddings.
Interview
How long have y'all lived in Cestohowa?
Mr. Jaskinia- 78 years
Mrs. Jaskinia- 54 years
How did the town deal with racial issues in the past?
The community started with a Mexican passing ground between San Antonio and Goliad. There was a fort in Cestohowa called San Jose. In the records the town might even be called San Jose, not Cestohowa. On the Historical Markers there are a lot of Spanish names and people thought that it might be a Spanish community. Cestohowa isn’t a Spanish community, there are hardly any Mexicans. Supposedly there is only one Spanish family in the town now. Originally the church itself is was started Cestohowa and the people originated from Panna Maria. First Polish family that came to Cestohowa was from Panna Maria. Thirty families came and built the first church in 1873. Cestohowa was first originated by the Spanish. Overall, there were no racial issues that conflicted the original town of Cestohowa. But, with the old ways of thinking in the families, there was no such thing as marrying outside the religion and race. Polish had to marry Polish, Catholics married Catholics, and whites married whites.
How does the town deal with racial issues today?
There are so few any other races in Cestohowa, there are no blacks, and only a hand full of Spanish people, especially when Mr. And Mrs. Jaskinia’s kids were in school. The major race has always been white. There are no major racial issue that even take place in the town today.
How has the town changed economically over the years?
The town used to be totally farming, now it has become ranching. Farming is not very profitable anymore. Used to be before the second World War everyone would stay at home. Before the war there was hardly any jobs left in the community because the people worked and lived with their families and married into the family farming. But since after the second World War young folks realized that they could get jobs in the big towns like San Antonio. Most of the first born moved to San Antonio.
Over time, how have the immigration patterns been into the town?
At one time there were a few immigrations into the community, but right now there is one family and they are most likely legal by now. Mr. Jaskinia had had a boy immigrant who worked with him for 10 years but times got rough and he had to let him go.
How has technology changed in the town? Farming? Housing? Agriculture?
Farming- Farming is becoming ranching. The young farmers see no profit in farming, so they get new jobs, and the old folks are just giving it up. The old people are now just dealing with cattle and the farming is just about gone.
Housing- In Cestohowa there are no new homes being built. The young folks are moving out and the old folks are staying.
Agriculture- The money crops used to be cotton about 30 years ago. Now there is just maybe a few acres for cotton that are still being harvested. Now a days they harvest the cotton themselves if they have a cotton field. Used to in the community people would raise hogs, but now that is gone. There isn’t even a hog farm in Cestohowa anymore that he knows of.
Who were the founding fathers of the town, the original families?
Thirty families. The last names were: Winkler, Titzman, Pollok, Camber, Kaspriczyk, Brysch, Kotara, Jaskinia, and Moczygemba.
What is the major significance of the town?
The church is what keeps the community together and is what started it all.
What is the major religion in this town?
Catholic and Polish.
How has this religion affected the ways of thinking of the people in the town?
The Catholic religion is very important to everybody. The religion is what keeps the community together with its beliefs and the way of thinking for the people.
How important is the Church in Cestohowa?
There is only one religion and one church in Cestohowa, there is no other religion in the community. The neighboring communities may have more than one church but Cestohowa has only one church that is the center of the town.
Has there ever been any historical events that has taken place here?
When the town celebrated its centennial and the Jubilees.
How was the town affected during the major flood of 1998?
All along the Cibilo River there was quite a few homes that were affected and some homes got flooded completely. A lot of homes were damaged and destroyed. But as far as the fields and the crops being destroyed it wasn’t that damaging because it was after the harvest. For as long as they have lived in Cestohowa there has never been any other catastrophes or severe weather that has affected the town. There were two houses though that burned down. Because there was no fire department and the houses were so far away for the fire wagon to get there fast enough, the houses were a total loss.
In your opinion, do you think that new families move into Cestohowa without having any old family ties already established in the town?
All the old ones stay and the young people are all gone and leaving. Nobody is building homes anymore in Cestohowa and there are not any new move ins into the community.
As far back as you can remember, what is your favorite and most vivid memory of growing up in Cestohowa?
Mr. Jaskinia- Seeing his kids grow up and then when they started getting married.
Mrs. Jaskinia- The best thing is when Cestohowa has its annual Church Picnics, she really enjoys them. Also, when they celebrated their gold wedding which was their 50th Anniversary. It’s a great memory that they could celebrate something so special. It’s really nice being together with all of the people in the community, they are all friendly and so welcoming to do anything for anyone whatsoever. The people in the community are willing to help out each other all the time. They stick together and work together in the community.
Mr. Jaskinia went to school in Cestohowa when the town had one and we asked how it was.
At the same time there was one teacher teaching every single subject for two grades. The number of students to a teacher varied from one year to another, there could be as many as 30 or 40 students in one room. He said, “You can only imagine how much we learned.” That is the difference from now, now there is one teacher for every subject with a limited amount of kids in the class room. At the beginning, for a along time there was mostly all nuns teaching there in Cestohowa with a nun as the superintendent. The school does not exist there anymore in Cestohowa. The original school has been taken apart. The Parish Hall was built when the school was gone. Now there is no longer a school in Cestohowa and it was closed after his time. He had something to do with the closing of the school because he was on the school board.
We asked if there was anything that we hadn’t covered and if there was anything that they wanted to say.
Mr. Jaskinia- What used to be in Cestohowa is not there any more. There used to be a grocery store (The General Store), a gin, a barber shop, a shoe shop, and a beer joint, which did not belong to the community, they were all privately owned. As of now none of these places exist anymore. The only thing left is the church and now the hall which is actually part of the community. That is what was all located in Cestohowa, but now they are all a thing of the past and for the simple reason that all the young folks left.
Mrs. Jaskinia- Along time ago the Parish used to be a huge Parish with a lot of people. But now all the people are deceased who used to be part of it. Cestohowa is really losing a lot of the members of the church. Parish is decreasing a lot. There is no young families anymore. There is at least one family with two kids and that is it. Confirmation and first communion has decreased from 11 children, to four, to just two last year in the community. She says, “Cestohowa is kinda really going down hill.”
Is there any organizations or groups in Cestohowa?
There are a lot Knights of Columbus members in Cestohowa, but the Council is in Falls City because there is no Council in Cestohowa. There is also a group of women called the Alters Society and there is a Men’s Club.
We asked if there was any stories that they wanted to tell.
Along time ago during the early Church Picnics the men would butcher their own cattle and make their own sausage. They would go to San Antonio and butcher the cattle on a Friday, cut the meat and make the sausage on Saturday, eat on Sunday, and clean up Monday. That was part of what they called the real picnic. Now a days, because of government regulation, they can’t butcher their own cows and then make the sausage for everyone, they have to buy the meat packaged and ready to cook.
Also from what they remember, that is a part of the past, was that the farms had milk cows. But that was many, many years ago, maybe at least 60 years ago. The farmer would milk the cows and them someone would come and take the cans of milk by the load and then leave empty cans. The next morning the same thing took place.
With horses and mules they brought a bale of cotton into Cestohowa and they would gin the cotton. Everyday the people worked hard. They came home and would feed the animals and get the eggs from the chickens. They would wash the clothes real early in the morning and then get to work in the fields.
The years and the ways of living are changing and will always continue to change.
Through the years has there ever been an epidemic that affected Cestohowa?
Cestohowa was hit bad when influenza was around during WWI, about 1917, 1918. The one doctor that was in Falls City, might have buried all of his patients. A lot of the families were affected.
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