DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Buckholts SPJST Lodge Hall in Milam County. Now, before we get to the dancing and the music and the night somebody tried to rob the bank — and yes, all of that is coming — let's go back to where this whole thing starts. Central Texas Czechs, 1879.
They organized a fraternal society called Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas. You'll see it written as SPJST, and that's probably for the best when you're behind the wheel. The society promoted social activities and insurance benefits for its members, which tells you something right there about the Czech settlers of Central Texas — they understood that community and protection tend to go hand in hand.
By October of 1907, SPJST members from Cameron, Marak, and Buckholts came together and established Lodge No. 15. The official name was Svornost Jihu — Southern Unity — though the marker notes that name has been seldom used. Southern Unity.
Sitting quiet in the background while the lodge itself did all the loud living. A man named Josep Slovacek and other members drew up the plans and built the first meeting hall themselves. It was dedicated right here on this site on the Fourth of July, 1911.
Independence Day. Which feels just about right for a group of people building something of their own from the ground up. That hall stood for four years before a storm in 1915 took it down.
So they built again. This time they brought in a Temple architect named Josef Tudlacka to design the next building. And that building stood — until March of 1936, when thieves set it on fire.
Not out of spite, not out of history — they set it on fire to distract the citizens of Buckholts while they attempted to rob the bank. Now I want you to sit with that for just a moment. The lodge hall, the community's gathering place, used as a diversion.
Whether they got the bank or not, the marker doesn't say. But the fire did what it was meant to do to the building. What the community did next, though — that's the part worth noting.
Head Carpenters Aley Horstman and Jeff Reeder built the present building that same summer of 1936. Same year. The ashes weren't cold before those men had their tools out.
And what they built is something. The hall features an octagonal plan — eight sides — with hinged windows and a central vent designed for air circulation. Roof arches.
Hardwood floors. There are barbecue pits dug right into the ground on the site. This was not a building thrown up in haste.
This was a building built to last and built to be used. Used it has been. Dances, barbecues, receptions, fundraisers, commercial entertainment, social clubs — all of it continuing to this day.
In the 1950s, Taylor radio station KTAE broadcast live from the hall, carrying the sound of Buckholts out to a wider audience across Central Texas. And the names that played this floor — Jimmy Heap, Johnny Horton, Webb Pierce, Bob Wills, and Vrazels' Polka Band. The Vrazel family, in fact, managed the hall from 1957 to 1971.
Country, polka, and western swing echoing off those octagonal walls. The same walls that were built in a summer of grief and defiance, on a site that's been gathering people together since 1911. For nonmembers, the marker says, this place represents social functions.
But for the generations who've called it their own — it represents something harder to burn down than any building. That's the Buckholts SPJST Lodge Hall.
What the marker says
In 1879, Central Texas Czechs organized Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas (SPJST), a fraternal society that promoted social activities and insurance benefits for its members. SPJST members from Cameron, Marak and Buckholts established Lodge No. 15 in October 1907. The official name of the lodge was Svornost Jihu, which translates as "Southern Unity," although that name has been seldom used. Josep Slovacek and other members drew plans and built the first meeting hall, dedicated on this site on July 4, 1911 but destroyed by a 1915 storm. Temple architect Josef Tudlacka designed the next building, which theives set on fire in March 1936 to distract citizens while they attempted to rob the bank. Head Carpenters Aley Horstman and Jeff Reeder built the present building in the summer on 1936. The distinctive frame meeting and dance hall features an octagonal plan, hinged windows and central vent for air circulation, roof arches and hardwood floors. The site also includes barbecue pits dug into the ground. To nonmembers, the Buckholts SPJST Lodge Hall represents social functions. Dances, barbecues, receptions fundraisers, commercial entertainment and social clubs continue to this day. Live broadcasts by Taylor radio station KTAE in the 1950s made the hall and Buckholts known to a wider audience. Noted country, polka and western swing musicians including Jimmy Heap, Johnny Horton, Webb Pierce, Bob Wills and Vrazels' Polka Band have played this venue. The Vrazel family also managed the hall from 1957 to 1971. As a fraternal lodge, social center and dance hall, the site has been a Central Texas landmark for generations. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008