The Jozwiak family and friends met at St. Stanislaus Community Center in Chappell Hill, Texas the afternoon of September 8, 2012 for their 51st annual family reunion. The large crowd enjoyed fun, food, music and fellowship throughout the day beginning with a special reunion Mass which was celebrated by Fr. Józef Musiol and Fr. Benedict Zientek in the beautiful old St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. Mike Addicks, Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz and the St. Stanislaus choir played and sang Polish hymns during the Mass. A pot luck Polish lunch cooked by family members followed the Mass.
Throughout the day, reunion president Jim Mazurkiewicz and his volunteers drew tickets for door prizes and raffle prizes from the main stage which was decorated with cotton plants. Lawrence Wisnoski and Virginia Felchak Hill were busy selling the Jozwiak family history book which traced the Jozwiak family back to the 1700’s and also contained many old photos of the family. Lawrence also had DVD’s of last years reunion for sale.
Face painting and a magic act by Matilda the Clown kept the children entertained. When the clown finished her magic show, Fr. Ben said the blessing and a delicious catered barbecue brisket and sausage dinner was served by Carl’s Barbecue with lots of beer, soft drinks and homemade desserts. After the evening meal, there was a special event where family members blew up colorful balloons marked with memories of their departed loved ones and released them all at once, watching while they soared into the sky.
Attendees continued eating, drinking and socializing while strolling musicians Brian Marshall, Jakub Marshall, Michal Marshall, Ronnie Dutka, Lawrence Wisnoski, Charlie Brossman, C. J. Jozwiak and Jim Mazurkiewicz roamed around the room and played Polish music. The musicians then took the stage and the dancers in the crowd were kept busy with good old Polish and Texas country music by Brian Marshall and the Tex-Slavic Playboys with a talented group of musicians. Among the musicians and singers were Brian Marshall, Sonny Janczak, Ronnie Dutka, Chuck Bolin, Jakub Marshall, Michal Marshall, Joseph Klotz, Brian Wisnoski, Charlie Brossman and several others. Reunion president Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz sang a Polish song accomponied by Fr. Jozef and his Polish classmates Fr. Jan and Fr. Pawel.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of more photos on page 2. There are a few music videos in the Polish Texans Video section or you can see more videos on our YouTube Channel.
James Smock has always held an interest in his Polish ancestors and heritage. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond, Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.