TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Charles Albert Husak (1925-2019)

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Charles Albert Husak (1925-2019)

There is a lot to be discovered about our past from those that came before us. That is the beauty of Tombstone Tuesday, giving a voice to the people who lived them. Most stories must be uncovered; others have been passed down through families like treasured heirlooms and every once and awhile they have been preserved for all to discover. The preserved stories belong to people who loved history and understood the importance of it. Charles Albert Husak was one of those people.

Charles was born on April 6, 1925, in Louise Texas. He was the 9th, and youngest child born to Jerry Husak Sr., born in 1876, and Maria Fouskova Husak, born in 1881, both of whom were born in Czechoslovakia. The couple had 5 children who were born in Czechoslovakia as well. By 1912 the world around them became ground zero for the beginning of a war like the world had never seen, known as “The Great War” and WWI. When the Austrian Army began to fight, Jerry and Maria took their family of 5 underground in hiding until they could secure passports to the land of opportunity, the United States. On May 1, 1914, they arrived in Galveston, Texas. Jerry and Maria settled in the small town of Ganado and added 4 more children to the family. 

In 1928, when Charles was 3 years old, the family loaded up their Ford Model T pickup truck and traveled down the muddy road to the small community of Olivia. They settled into a two-story home in the hub of the community. Olivia came into existence in 1892 by Swedish Lutheran Reverend C.J.E. Haterious who bought the land and advertised it as a settlement for Swedish immigrants coming into Texas, and he named it Olivia after his wife. In answer to his advertisement 12 Swedish families moved to Olivia and made it their home. By 1900 several other families of both Swedish and non-Swedish families had taken up residence there. In 1894 a store built on Carancahua Bay by John Lind. The mail for Olivia residents was brought to the store which housed the Post Office and from there it was delivered to Olivia once a week. In 1900 Mr. Lind moved his store to the middle of the Olivia townsite, six years later a Swedish immigrant Edward Wilson bought the store, renamed it Wilson Store, and was sworn in as the first postmaster. The first public building in Olivia was a one room school where kids attended in the day, and adults were taught English at night. The school was also used for church services until 1910 when The Eden Lutheran church sanctuary was built. By the time the Husak family moved to Olivia there was also a doctor’s office, blacksmith shop, and a hotel. In 1914 the town had about 200 residents but by 1927 the number had dwindled to around 50. In 1932 the Coastal Highway connected Olivia to towns in Jackson County, and two years later electricity became available to the town residents and businesses. 

 A two-story schoolhouse had replaced the one room school, and it was in this building that Charles started attending school. Ida Peterson was the school's first principal and teacher, who introduced him to the class as “This is Charlie. He knows no English.”  The school was located about 3 miles from the Husak home and Charlie had to walk, barefooted to and from school in every kind of weather. He remembered that some days it would be warm enough to wear shorts to school but, on the walk home, the weather would have turned to freezing. Texas weather as usual, even way back then. The school was heated with a coal and wood burning stoves and windows provided cool breezes on the warmer days. Charles told his children and grandchildren about some of the more eventful days at school. One tale that was well remembered was about the time he saw a small rattle snake at school. He told his classmates to step back; he then snapped its head off with a whip. He couldn’t gauge where the head would fly and did not want it hitting any of his classmates. Water came from a water pump outside of the school and the restrooms were outhouses behind the school. One for boys and one for girls. On cold or wet days, the kids did not make restroom visits very frequent or long. 

In 1933, when Charles was around 8 years old, he started coming into his own. He took a job sweeping the floors at school. He was paid $7 a week for his work and during the years of the depression that was good pay. That money was used for clothes and schooling. It was also at this age that he began teaching himself the musical notes and learned how to play the ukulele. He joined his brothers in playing and singing in bands. Around 1939 Charles bought a mandolin which he played for the rest of his life. 

It was at this age that he began to take an interest in two of his favorite hobbies that he is most well known for. Charles loved exploring around the bays in Olivia, it was there that he found his first Karankawa Indian arrowheads. He found them interesting and began hunting for them every chance he got. He met another boy who lived nearby named I.G. Rennals. Charlie taught I.G.how to swim and in exchange I.G. allowed him to arrowhead hunt on his property. The first ones he would sell to his brothers and use the money to buy candy. Later his teacher noticed his interest in arrowheads, and she taught him how to label them with names, dates, and locations of where he found them. Later in life he was well known for his extensive arrowhead collection and knowledge. He would take his collection to local schools, and scout meetings and shared his love for arrowheads with the kids. It gave them a window into the past of this place they called home, introducing them to the early inhabitants of this area. 

It was also around this age when he began woodcarving. He carved boats and other toys to play with. His family did not have money to buy toys, so Charles made his own. He enjoyed woodcarving and later in life he attended the National Woodcarving School. He developed a special talent for carving and his creations moved from boats and toys to more complex pieces. Among these were animals, airplanes, ships, Indian dwellings, canoes, the Mayflower and even a violin. 

Cotton was the main crop grown in Olivia. The farmers had purchased a plantation sized cotton gin that sat about 300 yards from the Husak home. There was a railroad track that ran from the gin to the end of a wharf at the bay. After it was ginned and baled the cotton would be put on a cart that held 5 bales. Then cart by cart it was rolled down the tracks and loaded on the sailboat “Empress” that took it to Port lavaca to be sold. It cost $1 to make the trip across the bay and the money was used to buy groceries. One time Charlie thought he could make a lot of money picking cotton. He picked 50 pounds and was so tired and sore he quickly decided that was not the business he wanted to pursue. He went to work at the cotton gin. 

In 1935 when Charles was 10, he went to work as a helper in the building of the first causeway that linked Olivia to Port Lavaca. He loved telling the story about two girls from Palacios who roller skating across it when it was finished. He also helped build the Lolita Road.

As a teenager he and his brother Tony would fish. They liked fishing in the salt lake the best. They would also catch crabs out of Keller’s Bay and sold them for a dime a dozen. The money helped his mother buy clothes out of the Sear’s catalogue. He also took men across the bay in a small boat fishing and gathering oysters. Charles's dad had a fish house, and they sold their fish there for a few dollars. When his dad took over the Texas Oyster Development coop, he learned how to plant shells that grew into oysters. Taking men out to duck hunt was another was to make money, and his mother made blinds and duck decoys to help with the hunts. Charles acquired much knowledge in many fields before he reached manhood, and that knowledge served him well throughout his life. 

World War II landed on America’s shores with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in 1943 Charlie enlisted in the U.S. Army. The General knew that he could run boats, so he was assigned to run boats for the Army. He was put into Special Forces, and he operated the USAT Chromite, a cement boat that carried military supplies. In 1944 he was hit by shrapnel from a Japanese plane. He was taken to Hawaii and recovered there in the Navel Air Station hospital. After he was released, he returned to the Chromite because he was the only soldier who could run it. 1945 came, the war ended, and he returned home. 

In 1946 he met and married Bernice Lou Truelove. They had 7 children, Dorothy, Maria, Charles Albert Jr., Nancy Darleen, James Allen, Leonard Bryan, Teena Yvonne, and Sherry Ann. Charlie attended school on a GI bill and he worked with his brother Joe at a motor company where he helped repair and inspect airplanes. He took Bernice and his family and moved to Sinton, Texas. It was at this time he attended wood carving school, and he worked at Randolph Field. While there he also went to radio school and worked on and inspected planes. Through his life he helped raise his 7 children and worked at many places of employment. Among these were Alcoa, Carbide, King Fisher, Smith Dredging and Brown and Root where he retired as a Safety Supervisor. 

Charlie and Bernice divorced after 25 years, but they remained friends until Bernice’s passing in 2007. 

In 1972 Charles married Betty Jane Wilson, Weaver. She had 3 children, Thomas Allen Newton, Julie Beth Fox, and Bonnie Bell Weaver. They were married for 15 years until Betty succumbed to cancer. 

In 1987 Charles married long time family friend Barbara Jean Krauser. Barbara had 10 grown children of her own, Thomas Edward, Susan Elaine, Jimmy Don, Richard Alan, Douglas Wayne, Carol Lynn, Curtis Leon, Troy Ryan, Kenneth Neal, and Melody Jean. 

He loved playing his mandolin and singing with all his children and grandchildren, and he carved beautiful treasures for them. 

Charlie and Barbara took his Arrowhead Collection and his many carvings to the schools and youth groups in Port Lavaca for almost 20 years. He loved sharing local history through both with the students here. His arrowheads taught them about the Karankawa Indians, and his wood carvings taught them about the other rich history found here in Calhoun County. Some of his carvings include Columbus’s three ships, the Mayflower, LaSalle and his ship the LaBelle, Fort St. Louis, the Alamo, the fort LaBahia, Sam Houston, San Jacinto Monument, 1845 State Capitol Building, Matagorda Lighthouse, Indianola Train, Calhoun County Jailhouse of 1896, Olivia School House, the USAT Chromite, and much much more.  His art and love of history enriched all those that he shared it with. Charles was an active member of the Church of Christ, V.F.W., and a member of the Calhoun County Historical Commission. 

Charlie passed away in 2019 at the age of 95. He is buried at Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery in Clarks Station, Port Lavaca, TX. 

Charles lived a full life learning many different skills and living through so many of the water shed moments in the 20th and 21st centuries. As a true historian, he absorbed it all and brought it to younger generations in stories of times gone by. When he left this world, he left the tools he made and used in sharing history to all the future generations to come. Many of his wood carvings were given to his children, grandchildren, friends, and others who were important enough to merit one. The rest of them along with his wonderful arrowhead collection, can be seen today in the Calhoun County Historical Museum. 

Compiled by Sheryl Cuellar

www.texasescapes.com 

Interview with Nancy Darleen Husak Dorries 

Husak family history