DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for the Moravia General Store in Lavaca County — here's how I tell it. Now, every good Texas story starts with somebody deciding to pick up everything they own and go somewhere new. In 1874, Ignac Jalufka — you might know him as J.
E. — and Jakob Hollub did exactly that. They brought their families to northern Lavaca County, and they weren't alone for long. Several other Czech families followed, and bit by bit, a community took root out there in the rolling Lavaca hills.
By 1881, that community had a name: Moravia. Named to honor Moravia, Czechoslovakia — the homeland the settlers had left behind. And when a place gets a name, it starts needing buildings to go with it.
First came a blacksmith shop, a cotton gin, and a school. The bones of a working town. But J.
E. Jalufka had bigger plans. In 1889, he built a two-story frame saloon right here on this site.
Now, Jalufka was a practical man — the rear half of that ground floor was groceries and mercantile supplies. You could buy your flour and your nails. The front half, though, that was the saloon.
And upstairs? A dance hall. Masquerades.
Seasonal celebrations. All manner of community gatherings. That second floor saw some nights, I'd wager.
The whole community came through those doors, and the place earned a reputation as the beating heart of Moravia. Jalufka, apparently not satisfied with running the most popular building in town, also served as United States Postmaster for the area from 1891 to 1900, operating the post office right out of his store. The man was running a saloon, a general store, and the federal mail all under one roof.
That's a certain kind of ambition. The saloon stayed popular and successful for decades. Right up until 1920 — and here's where the story turns on a dime.
In that single year, two things happened. J. E.
Jalufka died, and Prohibition was passed into law. The saloon that had anchored Moravia for thirty-one years faced both a loss and a law in the same breath. Agnes Jalufka inherited the business.
She sold it in 1922 to Annie Chromcak and Lillian Blahuta. The very next year, Annie Chromcak sold her interest to Lillian and Frank Blahuta. The Blahutas had the place now, and they weren't letting go.
Then came 1930, and change arrived again — a new dance hall was erected across the road. With a proper hall standing on its own, that old second story didn't need to do double duty anymore. It was torn down.
What remained was a single-story general store. The Moravia General Store. The dance hall across the road?
Torn down in 1950. But the store kept going. The Blahuta family held onto that store all the way until 1979.
And the store just kept on keepin' on — right up until 1990, when it closed for the first time in one hundred and nine years. Let that number settle for a moment. One hundred and nine years without closing its doors.
It didn't stay closed. In 1996, the Moravia General Store reopened. What started as Jalufka's two-story saloon — post office, dance hall, dry goods all rolled into one — is still standing in northern Lavaca County.
A link, the marker says, to the past, and to the spirit of the pioneers who built this place. Some buildings just refuse to be finished with their story.
What the marker says
Ignac (J. E.) Jalufka and Jakob Hollub brought their families to northern Lavaca County in 1874, followed by several other Czech families. Founded in 1881, Moravia was so named to honor Moravia, Czechoslovakia, the settlers' homeland. The first commercial structures here were a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and school. In 1889 Jalufka built a two-story frame saloon on this site. Grocery and mercantile supplies took up the rear half of the ground floor; the saloon was located in the front. The second floor served as a dance hall. Masquerades, seasonal celebrations and other events made it a popular gathering place for the entire community. From 1891 to 1900 Jalufka also was United States Postmaster for the area, operating the post office from his store. The saloon was popular and successful until 1920, the year that J. E. Jalufka died and prohibition was passed into law. Agnes Jalufka inherited the business, and sold it to Annie Chromcak and Lillian Blahuta in 1922. Annie Chromcak sold her interest to Lillian and Frank Blahuta the following year. In 1930, a new dance hall was erected across the road. The second story was torn down, leaving the one-story Moravia General Store. The new dance hall across the road was torn down in 1950. The Moravia store remained in the Blahuta family until 1979. In 1990 the store was closed for the first time in 109 years, but it was reopened in 1996. The Moravia General Store remains a link to the past and to the spirit of the pioneers of Lavaca County. (1998)