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Hello Kotara Family!
The most interesting person (that I know of so far) to begin this family search with is with John Kotara, Sr., originally born May 12, 1880 in Czestochwa, Texas. His parents were Francis Kotara (Frank, born 1844 in Poland, [possibly Selesia, Poland]) and Marcella Kyrish Kotara born in Texas.
In an interview with John that appears to have been printed around 1965-66, John said:
"I wanted to come to the Panhandle of Texas in 1900 and I said 'if I ever get married, I'm going there'. It was over ten years before I made my first trip to the Panhandle. I came May 28, 1912 and bought 160 acres of land. I told people I was going to stay if I had to eat my shoe soles.
"The first night we got to Amarillo, it was very cold. Mr. Meaker, Mrs. Ben Haiduk's father, met us and took us to St. Anthony's Hospital to spend the night. The hospital was pretty small but we had a good supper and a drink. Oh, my it was good! Then we went to bed. I'd been in rooming houses before. I had seen an electric light in San Antonio and knew you pulled the cord to put the light out. I pulled the cord over my bed. It sounded an alarm and the whole hospital came running. I jumped up and put on my pants. Today a six month old baby can put the light out. I was thirty-three and sure green......
"My father was three years old when he came from the Old Country. Mother was born in Texas. I went to school at Panna Maria to Miss Isabelle Zimmerman. In 1894 she taught a one teacher school with 65 pupils. What she put in my head, she put there good. She had so many pupils she couldn't use a little ruler to whip us. She used the door stop. When she whipped me, she whipped my head off. I was a boy, you know, and one time she hit me on the head so hard, I had to sleep on my face. I almost choked. I came to the breakfast table next morning and said 'Papa, you better go to school and tell that teacher she can't whip us so hard. I couldn't sleep on my back last night.' Papa said 'Next time I'll tell that teacher to hit you in the face so you can sleep on your back'. What she put in our head, she put in there deep. I spoke a little English, Polish good, and Spanish. My Spanish I learned from the workers on our farm. I guess I liked a paint horse better than I ever liked school.
"I married Veronica Jarzombek. She lived across the creek from me.
...to be continued
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