Wolny, Jan

Born in Istebna-Mikszówka [N of Istebna]; Because he posed for the sculpture "Christ crucified" made by artist Jan Wałach, he was also called "Drewniany Chrystus" [Wooden Christ]; Since his youth he played Gajdy; One of his neighbours, Michał Kobielusz, gave him the skin for his Gajdy; From another neighbour, Franciszek Kukuczka, he learned to play the Gajdy; In the "Istebna" ensemble he played together with violinist Paweł Sikora "Babcziok"; He was a very gifted man, who painted placards and paintings, sculpted, made bas-reliefs from leaky aluminium milk cans, and made shingles and barrels; He also worked as a house painter; Before World War I, Jan worked at the forest clearing in Wisla-Kubalonka, later in Kobiór [S of Katowice]; He received a decoration for many years of work in the Voluntary Fire-brigade of Istebna (When a fire broke out in the village, he sounded an alarm on the trumpet); He married twice (first with Marianna, née Sikora, later with Joanna Baron) and had seven children; After his death, Joanna sold his Gajdy to the Muzeum Ludowych Instrumentów Muzycznych [Museum of folk musical instruments] in Szydłowiec [NNE of Kielce]; According to Katarzyna & Maciej Szymonowiczowie, "his grandfather, who probably was Jura Wolny "Kanonierek", also played the Gajdy" [Considering, however, their respective birth dates, it seems more likely that Jan was Jura’s son; ws]; During a visit to the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Katarzyna & Maciej discovered that Jan Wolny also had a second instrument; The museum collection includes archival photographs of Jan, taken in 1956, which pretty well portray the construction of his second, older Gajdy; It was an instrument that belonged to the school in Istebna; The school director, Franciszek Sikora, who was also the head of the Istebna Ensemble, hired the instrument out, in the 1960s, to Mrs. Anna Zowada (*1928), for the band she had founded at the "Koło Gospodyń Wiejskich" [Circle of village housewives] in Leszczyna; An analysis of the photographs from Mrs. Zowada’s archive produced many indications that it was partly the same Gajdy on which Jan Wolny previously used to play in the Istebna ensemble of Franciszek Sikora, and, being responsible for its maintenance, had dealt with its repair; After his death, the instrument was returned to director Sikora and went to the ensemble of Mrs. Anna Zowada; NB: ➺ Jan Kawulok "uod Wojtosza", Franciszek Marekwica "Julka", and Jan Sikora.