The Texas Historian, Volume 33, Number 2, November 1972 Page: 5
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less than comfortable, under their wagon. The
round trip, a full day's journey, was a wel-
come diversion from the tedious chores of
the farm.
The Lesikars lived in a one-room, dirt floor
log cabin, which was located near a stream.
The stream served as the "washing machine"
and the source of drinking water. Before they
could cultivate the soil, the land had to be
cleared of timber. Planting was a family affair.
Lesikar and the older boys drove the mule
and plow, while Mrs. Lesikar and the other
children Tfollowed with sacks of seed.
Four years after the Lesikars departed for
Texas an event occurred in Moravia which
changed Katrina's future and that of her fam-
ily. One day a friend approached Pavel Rez-
nicek and offered to loan him money to travel
to America with a group of emigrants. There
would be enough money for the Rezniceks
until they landed in Galveston. Reznicek, who
was a brick maker, saw little future for himself
in Moravia and, therefore, he e a g e r ly
accepted the proposition. In 1872 when Ka-
trina was nine years old, the Reznicks left for
Texas aboard a steamship. During the voyage
the immigrants suffered many hardships.
Bread and dried fish were their main foods.
Katrina often carried water to the seasick pas-
senger's. Because of the stringent water ration-
ing, the German crew grew suspicious of her
frequent trips to the water tanks. Suspecting
that she was using the water illegally to wash
her face, the officer questioned her. Katrina
was too frightened to answer. Finally, a wit-
ness explained that the girl had been giving
water only to others.
After surviving the rough voyage, the im-
migrants reached Galveston. A tall Negro man
carried Katrina to the shore. This became an
unforgettable experience for her as she had
never seen a dark-skinned person before. She
recalled this incident many times in later
years. The Rezniceks brought with them a
few clothes, personal keepsakes, and a deeply
valued Bible, which had been buried for al-
most thirty years to protect it from the Cath-
olics. In the seventeenth century Ferdinand I
of Austria made Catholicism the state religion
of Bohemia. All protestant literature was
seized and burned. Like many other Czechimmigrants, the Rezniceks brought a strong
religion with them, which later became the
Lutheran faith in America.
On foot and in ox-drawn wagons, the Rez-
niceks left Galveston. After several days they
arrived in Bell County, where the rich black
land appealed to their inherent aptitude for
husbandry and handicraft. Reznicek was quick
to devise a plan to escape the scorching Texas
mid-day heat. In the cool of early morning he
plowed the fields, weeded crops, built split-
rail fences, or picked the cotton. During the
afternoons, he rested in the log cabin and re-
turned to the fields in the early evening.
While helping her husband with farm work,
Mrs. Reznicek kept the younger children
within her sight. After completing her work
outside, she either cleaned the cabin's floors
or cooked supper. When the evening meal
was finished, she began preparing food for
the following day. Most nights she washed
the clothes and hung them to dry in the cool
breeze.
Each day the children awoke early to com-
plete their chores. Katrina, who did not enjoy
the early hour, milked the cows at sunrise. At
night by moonlight they often helped pick
cotton or cut timber to clear more land. Many
nights the children sat before huge baskets
of cotton and removed the dirt and dried
leaves from the fibers. After the cotton was
harvested, it was taken by wagon to the mule
gin. The children carried the cotton baskets
into the gin and emptied them until there was
a pile of cotton higher than their heads. When
the baskets were emptied, the children
watched the workers trample the cotton into
the press from which processed cotton was
made. The children were told that about three
bales of cotton were processed at the gin
each day.
Because Reznicek had to repay the money
he had borrowed to come to Texas, the fam-
ily lived with only the necessities. The log
cabin's floor was full of holes. Katrina often
recalled that when she swept, there was no
dirt under her broom by the time she reached
the door. The mud, which was used to seal
the walls, did little to stop the wind. Rez-
nicek, however, encouraged his family to have
patience, for he knew they would have money
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Texas State Historical Association. The Texas Historian, Volume 33, Number 2, November 1972, periodical, November 1972; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391530/m1/7/: accessed May 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.