Wolny, Jura

Born in Istebna-Mikszówka [N of Istebna]; According to Katarzyna & Maciej Szymonowiczowie, he wa "probably the grandfather" of Jan [Considering, however, their respective birth dates, it seems more likely that Jura was Jan’s father; ws]; He had eight siblings; Because he had to help his parents with the farm, he only went to school for two years. When 12 years old, he was already working on picking timber from the forest; He learned to play the Gajdy from his father, from whom he inherited the instrument; He played on it his entire life, initially practicing secretly (i.e. when his father was not at home, because he was afraid that Jura would destroy his reeds); When Jura presented him with the melodies he had trained, his father got convinced; From that time on they played together, and it happened that the son would replace his father while playing; During the war he served with cannons, hence the nickname; At the age of 30 he went to work in America; After his return, in 1911, he married and moved to Písečná [SE of Jablunkov, in Moravian Silesia, CZ]. Until the end of his life he worked at the iron and steel works in Třinec [NNW of Jablunkov]; Being a great piper and singer, he knew ca.100 songs, some of which he created himself; He especially liked to do so while splitting shingles [in Cieszyn Silesian: "szyndzioł"; in standard Polish: "gont", or "szkudły"; ws]; He fabricated the lyrics in his head, wrote them down on a smooth shingle, and then created a melody; After World War II he became renowned as a piper at many folklore festivals and competitions in Brno, Prague, Jablunkov and Český Těšín; The Gajdy that Jura had throughout his life, and with which he appears in all photographs, can be easily recognised by its original decoration with metal hobnails with a sharp point that imitate goat horns; Just before his death he gave the instrument to his grandson in Jabłonków [Jablunkov (CZ)], who sold the instrument to the museum in Czeski Cieszyn [Český Těšín]; Jura’s father, who had bought the Gajdy in a region of former Galicia, already used to play on it, so we know that it is now [i.e. 2014; ws] more than 150 years old.