Peddler to Pioneer: A Slovakian Immigrant's Journey to Church Point Wholesale

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Ján Hvorecký was born to Andrej Hvorecký and Anne Pastorek on January 3, 1868. They resided in Bytča, Slovakia, an organized Jewish community with a population of 750 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At 18 years old, in 1885, Ján immigrated to the United States, Anglicized his name to John Horecky, and began peddling in St. Louis, Missouri. John sold textile and sewing supplies out of his horse-drawn wagon. Peddling was an extremely common occupation for Eastern European immigrants in the 19th century, and many of them went on to establish successful long lasting businesses in Acadiana.
          By 1890, John made it down the Mississippi River to Church Point. He met Julia McBride, whose father William was from a blacksmithing family, and her mother Marie Euphrosine Barousse, was the daughter of prominent French peddler turned businessman Jean Barousse. In 1892, John and Julia were married and he made the developing town his permanent home. He established the John Horecky store where he sold a variety of items, including groceries, dry goods, and clothing. In 1899, John was a naturalized citizen. At the turn of the century, he built a cold storage plant and began delivering ice. In 1912, he bought a small wholesale grocery from Leo Franques and Emile Daigle next door. Here, Church Point Wholesale Grocery Company would be established and run by John and ten employees.
          John's health began to decline in 1922 and his son Roy took over the Wholesale. After prohibition ended in 1933, they began bottling liquor, particularly wine, including Rosalie's California Sherry Wine, T & T, and Silver City, that would arrive to the factory by the truckload. John passed away on October 4, 1941. Seven years later, his store was demolished and all resources were devoted to the wholesale aspect of the company. Fires in 1937, 1943, and 1953 prompted the building of a 120,000 square foot warehouse for the grocery department on the outskirts of town in 1967. Main St. still housed the liquor department.
          Roy served as President, his brother Conrad Sr. as Vice President, and his nephew Conrad Jr. as Sales Manager. Roy became a well-known and successful businessman in Church Point. He owned three cotton gins, 4,000 acres of farmland, Horecky Motors, part of a sweet potato cannery, and was on the town-council for 16 years. Many families in Church Point and the surrounding rural areas were his sharecroppers who brought cotton to his gins and sweet potatoes to his cannery. There were 150 Wholesale employees when Roy died in 1988.
         Throughout the years, the Wholesale was still owned by the Horecky family, with Francis Burleigh Jr. and Jackie Casanova being some of the subsequent presidents. Long term employees include Julia Fontenot, Nolton Daigle and Warren Bourgeois. As the new century approached, changes came to Church Point Wholesale. In 1995, the liquor department shut down and in 2001, the company was sold to Crowley native John Dan Gielen, founder of ShopRite and Tobacco Plus. The Wholesale expanded to include cigarettes, tobacco products, snacks, and a 20,000 square foot cooler. After John Dan's death in 2018, his daughters and grandson Cody, CEO of Acadia Tobacco, began managing the company. Church Point Wholesale continues to expand in its products and partnerships with other companies. Its trucks can be seen delivering merchandise all over the south. 
          In 2020, the Town of Church Point demolished the old Wholesale building and built a park in its place. The park will be home to a historic Buggy display, dog park, and playground. Mayor Ryan "Spanky" Meche, museum staff, board members, and Curator Harold Fonte at Le Vieux Presbytère Museum created an exhibit to showcase historic Church Point businesses, such as this one. Local historian Gene Thibodeaux also works to preserve these stories in his newspaper column titled "Tales of Yesterday Acadia Parish: Its History."