Great to see these heritage posts here. Central Texas was a landing spot for many Czech, Poles and Germans in the 1800’s. My family roots arrived in 1880’s Washington County from Brandenburg and Osnabruch Germany. Until the mid 60’s you could walk around Brenham and easily pick up the strong accents. Our '77 team had Ike Haas (Moulton), Steve Kovar (LaGrange), Gary Weiss (Brenham)
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You from Brenham?
You must have been pretty legit because very few baseball guys get a full scholarship.
Dad was … lots of family there
My Mom was, I’m related to the Kenjuras, Murskis, and more. Wilson Whitley was a great Cub.
Blum’s, Heidemann’s, Lange, Kochwelp, Schwartz, Reddehase, Marburger, and probably a lot more than I know. Like a lot of these communities listed here, there’s maybe 3 degrees of separation … max!! Great examples of Americana
I was offered books and tuition only from Coach Hill (what a character). We had some football guys on the team which allowed them a full ride.
also, i am 100% Czecho-slovak. Sorry to get off the subject.
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My Grandmother went to German School around Smithville Texas. Also, during WWII our family told everyone we were Ukrainian because of the hate for the Germans. Remember German “U” boats sank oil tankers off Galveston . Yes, we were discriminated against but I understand why.We are one nation!
My dad is 66 but his siblings were/are in their 70s and 80s. The older ones were discriminated because of being of our German last name. Got into fights during WW2 because of it. Most people couldn’t pronounce our name when my siblings andnI played sports.
Those 3 room school houses were scattered all over the rural areas. I’m the first generation that didn’t speak German as first language. My Dad, uncles and aunts and their cousins all had to learn English before they started school; and all the teachers spoke German but taught in English. My cousins attended those same 3 room schools thru 8th grade when they were phased out in mid 60’s.
There was a lot of resentment during the wars, an uncle was tarred and feathered by KKK in WWI for refusing to quit speaking German. Grandfather and father served during WWI and WWII in Germany and I served in Germany during end of the cold war. After the Battle of the Bulge enroute to Berlin, my father’s unit marched within about 10 miles of his families roots in Osnabruch.
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Brady said Howdy … are you Ike or the brother? Kuen?
I played under Walton who coached for a $1 and put his salary back into the program. Not sure if that effected scholarships. Digging around in the attic a few years back I came across the paperwork for the TCU offer I got from Coach Windegger … full ride books, tuition, fees, room and board and a whopping $15/mo for incidentals.
Was Tommy Kaiser one of the football guys on your team? Ken Hatfield (kicker) played baseball as well. Had dinner last night with friends, wife was from Weimar … maiden name Ann Rodgers. Name doesn’t add up but she is Czech. We are discussing a trip over there when this Covid mess ends.
Ike. Tell him to come to a UH football game like old times back in hs. He gets 2 weekends off a month and a 7 day stretch off.
I tell you what I didn’t like doing during baseball. Playing Weimar. They always have a good baseball team. I did like playing in their baseball stadium as it was like a field trip for me.
Hallettsville and Yoakum were always really good in baseball……Shiner as well.
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So are we sure DT Brooks is signing with the Coogs?
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All this talk of H.S. baseball around Fayette County (and Germans & Czechs) reminds me that my cousin (town mayor-councilman) Ronnie Pflughaupt was primarily responsible for raising the $$$ and building and then more recently upgrading the baseball park in Fayetteville TX (next door to the SPJST lodge #1 - a relief stop on the MS150 bike ride to Austin) which helped Fayetteville win another 1A state baseball championship this year. And his sister (and my cousin) Sharon Fritsch coached the Fayetteville H.S. girls basketball team to a state championship while her kids were in H.S. school there years ago. On our grandmothers side, our family’s maiden names were Spacek and Kubena.
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Very small world indeed……Lots of great people in that entire area.
Salt of the Earth.
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I love these great family stories . We are one people !
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