One of the biggest revelations of my research on my father's side concerned his grandfather's family. Through Ancestry, we found my dad's second cousin and she stunned us with the circumstances of how the family had immigrated from Europe. It was quite a shock for my dad because he grew up thinking he was one thing (German), and it got changed 65 years later (Czechoslovakian). It was fun for me to get to look at a new culture as my own heritage, especially a culture that's so prevalent around central Texas. A perfect opportunity to see that culture presented itself as we spent yesterday afternoon at the National Polka Festival. On the schedule, I zeroed in on the kolache eating contest & the horseshoe contest as activities that might engage my teenager. Surprisingly, when it came time to enter, my husband and father-in-law did while my son declined. We all had a great time cheering them on. Afterwards, we got to polka while the Texas Dutchmen played in the Katolická Jednota Texaská Hall. I can't say my son had a fabulous time, but hopefully he got a little taste of his heritage and the men got a picture with Polka Fest Grand Marshal, Miss Texas.
