Ag Mag Featured Farmer
Paving the way with
Prukop
O
ne thing’s for certain when it comes to farmers. They know their history – where they come from and what their ancestors did are part of their ongoing lives. John Prukop is a perfect example. Prukop, who lives in Bishop, grew up in McCook, where his grandfather first moved to (before it was actually named McCook) and bought 312 acres. According to a historical writeup by John Prukop, “ not only was Frank the first person to buy land in McCook, he was one of the first Polish American’s to settle in the Rio Grande Valley ”. But John Prukop goes deeper into his genealogy and ancestry. “My great uncle Richard Maron told me the story about my great grandfather, John Prukop, who drove cattle on horseback,” John writes. “He drove cattle from Texas to Kansas for market.” It all began when a Polish priest by the name of Monsignor Thomas J. Moczygemba visited Texas from his homestead in Kansas. Upon his return home, he was
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so impressed with Texas that he “convinced several groups of Polish Americans to try settling in Karnes County. They arrived on wagon trains and many of them walked.” Upon their arrival, the groups settled in different areas. Among those were Prukop’s ancestors, who settled in Yorktown – thus begins the Texas saga of the Prukop family. “My grandfather (Frank) cleared Mesquite trees and brush around McCook,” John said. “My dad farmed in McCook and during my high school years I just helped dad. We’ve farmed all our lives.” Now John farms in Nueces, Kleberg, Duval, Jim Wells and Hidalgo counties, harvesting sorghum, cotton, peas, watermelons and, on occasion, sesame. “My favorite thing is probably watermelons,” John said. “I guess it’s because it’s a challenging crop. There’s always something different with them, a new disease or a new trial. Other crops, you plant seeds,