Slavic Fort Worth

In the early 20th century, a number of Slavic people settled in North Fort Worth and left an indelible imprint on Cowtown. Poland-native Joe Riscky, for example, founded Riscky's Barbeque on Azle Avenue in 1927. Longtime Fort Worth residents, myself included, will likely remember eating a Riscky's chopped sandwich at the grocery store counter on the North Side. Considering that Joe Riscky started out working at the packing house in the Fort Worth Stockyards, it seems appropriate that Riscky's barbeque can now be enjoyed on Exchange Avenue.

Many Czech people also arrived in Fort Worth in the early twentieth century. According to J'Nell Pate, in North of the River: A brief history of North Fort Worth, Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church on Azle Avenue celebrated mass in Czech until the 1950s. Another Czech institution, the Sokol (which means "Falcon" in English) gymnastics hall on Boat Club Road, was built on the principle of "a sound mind in a sound body." Not far away from these two institutions, on Roberts Cut-Off, the local Czech community built the National Hall. The hall, which was originally known as the Svaz Cechoslovanu (Alliance of Czechoslovaks), is now open for the occasional polka.

Here is a short segment about Riscky's Barbeque: