Marekwica, Franciszek

Born in Istebna; The nickname "Julka", which originates from the name of Franciszek’s mother, clung to him; He married Marta, née Kukuczka, and with their son Jan and daughter Bernadeta, who inherited his talent for playing the Gajdy, they lived in Istebna-Leszczyna [NE of Istebna]; In the early 1960s a Mrs. Anna Zowada, mother-in-law of Jan Kaczmarzyk [➺ Michał Karch; ws], founded a regional ensemble at the Circle of Country Housewives in Leszczyna, in which Franciszek’s uncle Paweł Sikora "Babcziok" played the violin; Because they were looking for a Gajdy player, or just a Gajdy on which someone was willing to learn to play, Mrs. Zowada lent the group in Leszczyna an old Gajdy, made by Jan Kawulok "uod Wojtosza", and Franciszek, who joined the group, learned to play on it (The brother of Paweł Sikora’s wife Anna was Franciszek’s father-in-law); When, after a few years of its existence, a large section of the Leszczyna band joined the pipers’ ranks of ensemble "Istebna", so "Julka" and "Babcziok" played together with the violinists Jan Krężelok "Skotniorek", Antoni Kukuczka, and Antoni Gorzołka; In addition to performances with the band, they were often invited to "śkubaćki" [➺ Bernadeta Marekwica; ws] that took place in private homes of nearby hosts; They also played at weddings; When Paweł Sikora died, in 1979, Franciszek lost a friend, the world of mountaineers’ music a violinist; During a period of some 20 years "Julka" and "Babcziok" had played as a duo; Franciszek liked singing very much, especially when he returned home from the inn, because then his chanting carried far and widely in the mountains; Józef Broda (*1941) of Koniaków, once borrowed "Franciszek’s" Gajdy (made by Jan Kawulok); Unfortunately, somebody stole the instrument from Broda during a trip to one of his performances; The old Gajdy disappeared without a trace, so Franciszek remained without an instrument; Honourably, Józef Broda paid for the stolen instrument, and Franciszek ordered a new one from Zbigniew Wałach (*1961) of Istebna, who had started, as the successor of Jan Kawulok, to build bagpipes in the 1980s; Thus, he acquired, ca. 2003, a new Gajdy and continued to play, but when he suffered from ill health, and had a stroke, he was partially paralysed and there was no question of his ever being able to play the Gajdy again; So, the instrument hung uselessly on a peg; With time, other gajdosze [pipers] began to ask about the instrument, until Franciszek finally sold his Gajdy to Henryk Bestwina (*1957) of Koniaków, who still plays it today [i.e. 2014; ws]; NB: ➺ Jan Wolny.