Employees of The Polish Food Store in Houston worked all night Wednesday making hundreds of delicious pączki to celebrate Tłusty czwartek or Fat Thursday which is a traditional Polish feast marking the last Thursday before Lent. It is somewhat similar to the French festival of Mardi Gras which is celebrated on Fat Tuesday.
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Posts by author:
James Smock
The Polish Food Store, a favorite shopping destination for Houstonians looking for real authentic Polish foods, moved into it’s new home on February 9, 2010. The new address is 1780 Blalock, Houston, TX 77080 which is just a few blocks from the old location and a short distance from Our Lady Of Czestochowa Catholic church.
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Video of Our Lady Of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Houston Texas Christmas songs concert on January 3, 2010.
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St. Stephen’s Day, the day after Christmas was cloudy and cold, but that didn’t hinder an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 60 Christmas carolers who met at Henry Mazurkiewicz’s place in Chappell Hill Texas for the 2nd annual Polski Kolendy. Following an old Polish folk tradition, the group was led by a star bearer and nativity scene and many of the carolers dressed in traditional and not so traditional costumes including a bishop, nun, angels, shepherds, kings, beggars, Santa Claus and an interesting rendition of a turon which is an extinct Polish bison.
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There was a Polish flag flying outside of the Lazy Mule Saloon in Chappell Hill Texas on Saturday night, December 12, 2009. Inside the bar, a large group of Chappell Hill and Brenham natives and their friends celebrated with a Polish Christmas party. Daniel Cendalski brought his fiddle and he and his band, Daniel and the Country Boys played a mix of old time Polish and country dance music.
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For more than 15 years now, James Smock has been researching his Polish ancestors. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond,
Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.
James is a past president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Texas and was the founding webmaster of the PGST website. He also served as the Surname Index Coordinator from 1994 - 2000.
In addition to serving as the webmaster and editor of this Polish Texan website, he maintains a number of other websites including;
- St. Mary and St. Joseph Catholic Churches in Plantersville and Stoneham
- On The Way To Texas, The Genealogy of James and Cherry Smock
- Rip Smock Tribute
- Polish Texan Gift Shop
- Polish Heritage Gift Shop
- Polish American Gift Shop
With a lifelong passion for photography, James can often be found with a camera around his neck. In addition to photographing family events and his grandchildren, he is the church photographer for St. Mary Catholic Church in Plantersville and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Stoneham. Many of his photographs can be found on the church website.
James also designs Polish and Texas heritage apparel and gifts and sells them in his Polish Texan Gift Shop and Polish Heritage Gift Shop and is sometimes referred to as the "t-shirt guy".
