A farmer’s wisdom: Interviewing the Kolarik family

By Rebecca Gearing Carlson

Sun contributor

Part eight of our Leelanau Farming Family Series.

Julius Kolarik: the man, the myth, the unicorn. Why am I labeling Julius a unicorn? Because I began to believe he was a myth. I heard numerous Julius stories from every farming family I interviewed: “You need to speak with Julius.” Or “Oh, Julius will know the answer to that.”

Julius’ sage farming and local knowledge are legend, even amongst his fellow farmers and neighbors. However, when I called him to set up an interview back in May with this treasure trove of Leelanau County Farming Wisdom, he basically said “no.” He was too busy. The farm was getting ready for planting, fertilizing and the upcoming summer harvest. What was I thinking asking him, or any of the farmers, for interviews during the early summer months? They are crazy, crazy busy from sun up to sun down. And yet, I did. “I will talk to you in December.”

“Wait, what? December?” I asked.

“We are too busy right now. Call back later.” So, then the gentle stalking began. First, I went and interviewed other farming families, and made sure to tell them to ‘encourage’ the unicorn to agree to my interview. Peer pressure. They all just laughed. Then I began planning on just ‘stopping by’ and introducing myself. I figured if he saw me eye-to-eye, he could not say “no.” Damn if I never saw him walking around his farm. My last resort was to stalk him at church. I’ll go to services, find a seat near him, and convince him he wants to talk with me about farming. Sure, in my head I had it all figured out. I was going to attend Sunday services at St. Wenceslaus to get pictures from Martin; two birds, one stone. I’ll attempt to track down Julius at church. “Is Julius here today?” I asked Martin. “Oh, he came on Saturday as they are in the middle of harvesting cherries.” The unicorn continued to elude me.

Randomly driving by his farm, I saw a man out front with a tractor. Man plus tractor probably equals a farmer. The gentleman I spied was Julius’ brother Tom. I am getting closer. “Julius is in the house. Go right in.” Only in this wonderful small world of Leelanau County would someone tell me “Go right in.” Julius stood before me with a smile on his face and had no idea who the stranger was walking in his door. We set an interview date and the unicorn was within my sights.

As Julius and I settled in for the interview at his home, I realized I was attempting to capture history of the Gills Pier area through Julius. He is incredibly sharp and direct in his answers and explanations. As with the other local farmers that I interviewed, his faith is as important as his livelihood and family. Julius’ view of the world is through the lens’ of honesty, humility, and hard work. Again, Crèvœcouer’s Letters From an American Farmer comes to mind. “I bless God for all the good he has given me; I envy no man’s prosperity, and with no other portion of happiness than that I may live to teach the same philosophy to my children; and give each of them a farm, show them how to cultivate it, and be like their father, good substantial independent American farmers.”

Julius W. Kolarik is a direct descendant of early Bohemians Volfgang Kolarik (also known as Wolfgang or Wolff) and his wife Katerina Pecarek, who arrived in the peninsula after making their way through Montreal in 1867, according to the Leelanau Plat Map of 1880. There is strong evidence that the North Unity settlement (now Port Oneida) was Katerina and Volfgang’s first home on the Leelanau Peninsula. There stands a grave marker with a child’s name Matthew Kolarik, son of Volfgang and Katerina. Eventually, Volfgang and Katerina homestead their permanent farm, 80 acres, in Gills Pier along what is now Kolarik Road. Volfgang’s known trade was a ‘rough carpenter.’ This type of carpentry “refers to everything involved in the framing of a wood building and includes any carpentry work that won’t be seen when the building is completed” (Billd). The ingenuity of his early ancestors and their ability to ‘build’ foundations for their farms, barns, cisterns, plow fields, move rock with ‘stone boats’ and cut timber with very crude tools, amazed great-grandson Julius. As a testament to the craftsmanship and engineering of these pioneers, a few of the foundations and one building are still standing more than 140 years later. The five surviving sons, Jacob, John, Frank, Wencil, and Thomas, helped their father work the farm while also working in Leland at the ironworks foundry and at the Gills Pier sawmill. As each son married, they were given their own farmstead by Volfgang. With their five sons, Volfgang and Katerina built a successful farm business, expanding the original farmstead into the farms that still exist in 2023.

As in the Martin Korson story, the Kolarik connection to the Gills Pier Catholic Church, later St. Wenceslaus, runs deep as well. Volfgang’s son, Jacob, donates property to build the first Gills Pier Catholic Church and cemetery in the late 1800s. This family is in its fourth and fifth generations of St. Wenceslaus church members like the Korson Family and many other local Gills Pier Bohemian Families.

Julius’s grandfather, Thomas, and wife Jennie (Nachazel) Kolarik inherited the farm from Volfgang and Katerina. They continue the farm and business. As the farm evolved so did the crops and livestock. The early crops included potatoes, seed peas, apples and feed corn. They also raised beef cattle, dairy cows, pigs, and chickens. While the farm thrived, the crops began to evolve. In the 1950s under Julius’s father, Julius J and Mary (Reicha) Kolarik, that their primary crop becomes cherries: Montmorency Sours, Sweet Black and Briners (Queen Anne).

Julius J. and Mary (Reicha) Kolarik, Julius’ parents, have eight children who continue the family farming business into 2023. Although, Julius’s father stepped away from the farming business to sail on the great lakes car ferries to make extra money during some lean years. When Julius’s grandfather Thomas passes away, Julius J. was called back home to run the farm. However, Julius said his father “never lost his love of watching the ships on the great lakes” from their hilltop vantage point on Kolarik Road. Julius added, his father’s hobby was “to recognize ships simply by their smoke stacks and know which company they belonged to.”

Julius’s favorite memories from growing up on the farm included “holidays,” the “chicken dinners at St. Wenceslaus,” and “Thrashing Parties.” What connects all three of these memories? Food. Julius emphasizes that he “loves to eat.” “Chicken dinners [at St. Wenceslaus] were a big thing as we never went anywhere. [And] we had to work [the chicken dinners] as children.” Also, Julius fondly remembers Willard Houdek, Betty Popp’s father, and “waiting for [his thrashing] machine to come” to begin the grain harvest. After a long day of ‘thrashing,’ what followed would be a feast for all the workers: men, women, and children. He also remembered his “first beer” at around age 12 after a long day of thrashing. Other foods he loved as a child were ‘shiskees’ a type of fried donut and ‘schpeck’ fried pork belly.

Julius W. first met his wife Grace at school, and their courtship began at a “Sweetheart Dance” held at the Leland Lodge. After high school, he served in the Navy for four years before returning back to the area to marry Grace and take over the Reicha Family Farm (from his mother’s side) which is across the street from the one he grew up on. Julius and Grace (Plamondon) Kolarik married at St. Mary Church in Lake Leelanau; they just celebrated 48 years of marriage this past May. Julius and Grace are the parents of four daughters and one son, just like three other local farming families: Jelinek, Priest and Houdek.

Julius pointed out that while the farm performed well under the various stewardships of Volfgang, Thomas and Julius J., “the manual labor took a toll.” Several male members of his family did not live past the age of 63. Like some of the other farming families I interviewed, visiting a doctor was either too expensive or not possible due to time and distance. Home remedies became the answer to any illnesses or injuries on the farm. Julius also explained that when workers, who picked the fruit or harvested crops, were not available for various reasons, “farmers from other areas would help [their farming neighbor] by hand-picking” the crop. As in so many other situations, this farming community came together to help another family and farm survive.

As far as the future of farming, according to Julius he worries about two questions: “Age, and who will take over [the farm]?” The concerns over the future of cherries as a crop are also creating anxiousness. We are the “Cherry Capital of the world and [there are] no processors” to take care of the cherries, said Julius. “Cherries are for dessert” but that is not how they are being marketed. Julius offered many ideas for how to properly market the cherries from this area. For example, “Who can make the best cherry dessert?” for a competition amongst the restaurants as one idea. He also lamented that during Cherry Festival, “the actual growers are so busy harvesting,” they themselves cannot enjoy it. Truly, someone needs to tap into the ideas and energy of Julius’ wonderful mind.

The interview ended with Julius repeating a quote: “First generation buys it; Second generation pays for it; Third generation sells it.” He stated these lines as it applies to the family farms in the area. There are many similar quotes referring to generational hurdles of wealth and inheritance. Julius added, “we are trying to hang on, but with the [current] price of [tart] cherries” the future is uncertain. However, in the case of the Kolarik Family, they are beating the odds in the very tough farming environment as this family has already entered into the fifth generation of farmers maintaining the original farmsteads.

Lastly, I couldn’t walk away from ‘the unicorn’ without begging for one more interview opportunity: Julius’ beekeeping operations. Greedy? Maybe. But I considered myself a part of the Julius fan club and one interview would not be enough. He smiled and agreed. “I’ll show you the Honey House when you return.” As Julius wrote the next interview date on the kitchen calendar attached to the refrigerator, I looked forward to our next meeting.