(I)n an age of kolache innovation that has resulted in the jalapeño cheese sausage - a taste that might have been as foreign as text messaging to the Czech immigrants who introduced the doughy pastry to the farmlands of Burleson County - tradition remains important.
It is a guiding principle of the annual Kolache Festival, which will be held for the 23rd year Saturday. In Caldwell, the Kolache Capital of Texas by act of the Legislature, the kolache has become a symbol of tradition.
As Caldwell Mayor Bernard Rychlik sees it, the kolache is a gift from the Czech immigrants who settled in the Burleson County area, bringing with them the pastry and a sense of hospitality that provided ample chance to offer them by the dozens to visitors.
For many in the Houston area, the doughy pastry topped with fruit or stuffed with sausage comes courtesy of chain stores. But in Caldwell and the Fausts' hometown of nearby Snook, a call remains for homemade.
"I'm 68 years old, and I haven't met a bad one,'' said Rychlik, the festival chairman. "I've met some that weren't as good as others, but I haven't turned down any.''
The pastry is part of a tradition that Rychlik inherited from grandparents who immigrated in 1883-85. His first language was the Czech spoken in his childhood home five miles outside Caldwell. He maintains a collection of Czech polka music in his GMC Yukon.
For 15 years he has served as the mayor of the city of about 4,000 that many might recognize as they pass the intersection of Texas 21 and Texas 36 on the way over the Brazos River, along cotton and corn fields, to Bryan or College Station.
Although the Legislature dubbed Caldwell the state's "kolache capital," lawmakers have been generous with their recognition of the pastry's role in other former Czech communities. West, for example, home to three bakeries that serve kolaches to its 2,750 residents, was bestowed the title of "home of the official Kolache of the Texas Legislature."
The 23rd annual Kolache Festival will be held this Saturday in Caldwell.
• Where: The main county courthouse square of Caldwell, a city at the intersection of Texas 21 and Texas 36 (directions from Houston, about a two-hour drive).
• When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Highlights:
• 11:30 a.m.: Kolache-eating contest
• 12:15 p.m.: The Czech Heritage Singers of Houston
• 3 p.m.: Mark Halata and Texavia, a Houston-based Czech polka band
• 4 p.m.: Bake Show competition awards ceremony
• 8 a.m.-3 p.m.: Car show
• Information: www.burlesoncountytx.com or 979-567-0000
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