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In the middle of the 19th century the settlement of Waverly thrived as a result of cattle ranching and cotton growing. The community was named for the Waverly novels of Sir Walter Scott which were popular at the time. When would the middle of the 19th century have been?

By 1870 the Great Northern Railroad wanted to run a track through the town to provide the people with a way to send their products to the cities in the north. The residents rejected the railroad proposal, so the Great Northern Railroad built the tracks ten miles further west. Have you heard of ghost towns ? As settlers moved closer to the railroad, Waverly became one. Eventually only the cemetery and the Presbyterian church (shown on the left) remained.

During the Civil War, Federal troops (Would they have been troops from the North or the South?) camped on Soldier's Hill in the heart of Waverly. New Waverly is the town still existing today.

Religion was very important to the immigrants. The church and its traditions were the center of their social activities and helped them adjust to a new way of life in a country where they didn't speak the language and knew very few, if any, other people.

St. Joseph's Catholic church (shown on the top right) was built by the Polish immigrants. The founding missionary priest, Rev. Felix Orzechowski, returned to Poland after ten years here. He was sent to prison by Russian officials for advocating democracy. What was permissible and encouraged here, was illegal there. Can you think of places where that also happens today?

Travel expenses, which enabled immigrants to come here, were paid by landowners in the area who needed workers. In exchange for their passage, the Polish immigrants would work in the landowner's fields. When the loans were repaid, the immigrants stayed and farmed their own land.Locate Poland on a map. Panna Maria is another Polish settlement in Texas. Many of the settlers there were miners rather than farmers. Locate it near San Antonio. Guess where the recipes for Polish sausage and dill pickles originated.

A custom brought to us by the Polish immigrants is paper cutting. Have you ever folded paper to cut out snowflake designs or hearts to decorate Valentine boxes? The Polish designs were often very detailed. Poland was ruled by Germans, Russians, and Austrians. The German word for scissor cutting is scherenschnitte . In Polish, it is known as wycinanki.

Books to Read and Other Resources

• GHOST STORIES OF OLD TEXAS by Zinita Fowler; Eakin Press, 1983
• GRANDMOTHER CAME FROM DWORITZ by Ethel Vineberg; Tundra Books; 1969
• JOURNEY TO AMERICA by Sonia Levitin; Scholastic, 1970
• DO PEOPLE GROW ON FAMILY TREES? by Ira Wolfman; Workman Publishing, 1991

  CASIMIR PULASKI: FATHER OF AMERICAN CAVALRY by Richard Lysiak

Suggested Activity:

1. Gather several favorite family recipes--looking for ones grandmothers or great grandmothers may have shared.
2. Write a short paragraph telling where the recipes originated or why they are favorites.
3. Word process your descriptions and recipes using a standard format decided on by the class.
4. Compile all the recipes into a classroom cookbook.

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