In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

A CZECH WAY OF BUSINESS by Lori Najvar  In the early 1870s, Czech immigrants from the Moravian region of the Austro-Hungarian empire began settling on and cultivating the rich blacklands found throughout Central Texas. Years passed and many second-, third-, and fourth-generation Texas-Czechs were born and became prominent citizens. This story is about a midtwentieth century Lavaca County grocery store run and co-owned by my aunts and uncle, second-generation Texas-Czechs, Helen Najvar and her brother and sister-in-law Václav (Jim) and Pauline Najvar. Living was simple in Hallettsville, “the City of Hospitality”— population 2,200. The seat of Lavaca County and a thriving town with a prosperous agrarian community had charm. Historical buildings surrounded the town square and were shadowed by the towering courthouse. Because of the county’s demographics, adult conversation was mixed with German and a Czech-Moravian dialect. LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS The year was 1965. Walking southeast of the 1897 county courthouse , the sidewalk led you to the three important food establishments : Chovanetz City Bakery, Novasad’s Meat Market, and Najvar’s Store. These Czech-owned businesses catered to the community at large, but also offered traditional Czech food and life essentials. Chovanetz City Bakery offered kolaches (fruit filled pastries ), klobasniky (pigs-in-blankets) and chleb (rustic country bread). Novasad’s was a local butcher shop that provided seasonal meat products like klobasa (sausage), jelita (blood sausage), and jitrnice (liver sausage). Double Bubble pink bubble gum sold for a penny apiece. There were also Orange Crush and RC Cola sodas and Big Hunk 51 and Baby Ruth candy bars. Sandwich meat was sliced before your eyes, and they had truly fresh produce from the farm. In the midsixties , the small grocery store was more than a place to pick up a quart of milk. It was a neighborhood place where kids were sent to pick up a last-minute forgotten item for dinner. It was a no-frills, compact store where everyone could buy everything they needed in just a few minutes. Children weren’t carded for buying tobacco for their parents. You could be short fifteen cents and were trusted to make up the difference later. Najvar’s Store offered all the nourishment and essentials for a household. One could special-order items by dialing a simple fivedigit phone number and add the transaction to one’s personal monthly charge account. Several decades and a generation later, this type of store is non-existent in Hallettsville today. VENDORS AND DELIVERIES Salesmen (no women at the time) had their regular visits. Deliveries were made and carried to the back of the store where there was a storage area. The salesmen always greeted Helen as Miss Helen. They were often amazed that she did all the heavy lifting in the store herself. She was a single, independent woman who cared deeply for her parents and extended family. She never hesitated to help her customers, and extended her trust and kindness to her business associates as well. Deliveries were made every day. Some vendors had more character than others. The Buttercrust Bread man, “Shorty” Leopold, stood tall as he carried four crates of white and wheat sliced bread stacked and carefully balanced over his shoulder. Shorty towered at a height of 5'4". With a half-chewed King Edward cigar in one corner of his mouth he managed to mumble a greeting out the opposite corner: “How’s everything this morning? Dobry den (good day) Miss Helen,” as he leaned to one side and straddled the narrow isle. Shorty managed to change out the bread in no time. After taking the older bread back to his truck, he rushed back into the store and pulled out the “bookkeeping system” he had 52 “Back in the Day”: Reflections on Times Passed attached by a leather chain to his belt. He grabbed his pencil from behind his ear, scribbled numbers, tore out the sheet, handed it to Helen, moved the cigar to the opposite side of his mouth, and zoom—he was gone. Helen placed the invoice in a special green metal tackle box beneath the register. What I didn’t see is how quickly she scanned (with her eyes) the amount of bread delivered. “Trust” was not something one had to think of . . . it was a given. FIRST JOB AND LEARNING RETAIL Aunt Helen invited all her nieces and nephews to come and work. If we came—we worked. When I was...

Share