Joe Herring Jr.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz with his sister, Dora Nimitz Reagan, in Kerrville, October 1945

It might surprise some readers, but Kerrville can stake a very good claim as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s boyhood home.
Whenever one thinks of the admiral’s early beginnings, one generally thinks of Fredericksburg – Nimitz was born there, and they have the wonderful Nimitz Hotel on Main Street which now anchors the National Museum of the Pacific War.
According to Bob Bennett, “the future admiral was born at Fredericksburg on February 24, 1885, the son of Chester B. and Anna Henke Nimitz. Both parents descended from the sturdy German pioneers who came to Texas with Baron John O. Meusebach in 1846 and founded Fredericksburg.”
Here’s the part you might not have known: Anna, and her second husband William Nimitz (brother of her late husband) moved to Kerrville when young Chester was about 5. Chester attended Kerrville public schools, entering “the year the new building was completed and named in honor of Capt. Joseph A. Tivy.” His classmates in Kerrville included Charles Lockett, H. E. Williams, Arthur Mueller and L. A. Enderle, Mrs. R. A. Shelburne, Mrs. Aimee Garrett Schmerbeck and Miss Harriet Garrett.

Chester Nimitz at
Annapolis

In 1901, several weeks before Nimitz was scheduled to graduate from Tivy, he received a congressional appointment to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He graduated from Annapolis in 1905, seventh in his class.
From there he had a fantastic career with the navy, but he’s probably most famous for accepting the formal surrender of the Japanese aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay September 2, 1945, ending World War II.
So, from birth to about age 5, Nimitz lived in Fredericksburg; from age 5 until about 16, Nimitz lived in Kerrville. Fredericksburg might have been his birthplace, but one could argue Kerrville raised him, educated him, and helped prepare him for his place in history.
Kerrville even gave Chester Nimitz a nickname: "Cotton," for his light-colored hair.
Nimitz’s family came to Kerrville to run the St. Charles Hotel which was once on the corner of Water and Sidney Baker streets, where the former Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital used to stand. Today the corner is part of Peterson Plaza.
Nimitz’s story might have been different if there hadn’t been a “surplus of army cadets from Texas in 1901.”
Here is Nimitz’s own account of what happened:

Nimitz and his family in Kerrville

“I was born in Fredericksburg on February 24, 1885, and, after a few years sojourn at that place, moved to Kerrville, where I attended the public schools and from which place I secured my appointment to the naval academy. My choice of the naval academy was largely accidental because my aspirations had been toward West Point, primarily because the army was then well-represented in my part of Texas and very little was known of the navy. Lack of vacancies at West Point and impending competitive examinations for the naval academy appointment settled the matter for me. I was fortunate enough to get the appointment.”
During his midshipmen days, his “sea-going aspirations were very nearly obliterated by a Sunday excursion across the bay to Kent while in one of Capt. Burgis’ sailing boats. I got frightfully seasick and must confess to some chilling enthusiasm for the sea.”
An humble beginning for a man so honored by his country for his naval service. On December 4, 1944, by act of Congress, the grade of Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy was created. The following day Franklin Roosevelt nominated Nimitz to this position, which was approved by the Senate. Nimitz took the oath of that office on December 19, 1944.
After the war, Nimitz made official visits to Kerrville and Fredericksburg.

Nimitz Day parade, Kerrville,
October 13, 1945

15,000 people celebrated in Kerrville on October 13, 1945 when the community which raised him celebrated “Nimitz Homecoming Day.” During the celebration, Tivy High School presented him with the diploma he’d earned but never received when he left for Annapolis.
After the war, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations, administered the plebiscite that would determine the fate of Jammu and Kashmir for the governments of India and Pakistan, and served as a regent of University of California from 1948-1956.
He died February 20, 1966, and is buried in California.
Kerrville remembered him as one of her own by naming an elementary school after him.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville wishes all moms a very Happy Mother's Day. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times May 12, 2018.

800 block of Water Street, downtown Kerrville, circa mid-1950s

I was going through old photos of Water Street the other day when I noticed a name on a building. Noticing that name led me to discover an important but forgotten part of our community's history.
The photo, taken sometime in the early 1950s, shows the 800 block of Water Street. The photographer was standing in the intersection of Water and Earl Garrett streets, looking up the block toward Washington Street. It was taken in the late afternoon, judging by the shadows.
Opposite the Blue Bonnet Hotel stood a series of buildings. Most are now gone, or have been heavily remodeled.

Detail, showing "Walther"

On the Earl Garrett street corner stood Chaney's, and next door was the Social Club, where pool and dominos were available, then First State Bank, and then the building with the name on it. It was a two-story brick building with an impressive facade. At the very crown was the name "Walther."
I asked my friends Jake and Jeremy Walther about it, and it turns out they were as surprised as I to find their family name on an old downtown Kerrville building; they have no known connection with the person who built the building.
The Walther Building is gone now, and in its place is the old switching office of the Kerrville Telephone Company. The Walther Building stood between today's Water Street Antiques and the Fore real estate office.
Loving a mystery, I decided to investigate: Who was this Walther?
The Walther Building was built by George and Geraldena Walther, who arrived in Kerrville around 1900.
George William Walther was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1862; his mother was French and his father, German, and so young George grew up speaking those two languages in addition to English. As a youth George Walther was an apprentice to a silversmith in Boston, and continued in that career in Paris. In 1886 he returned to New England, and in 1888 he married Geraldena Sanstedt in Massachusetts. They had four children together, though two passed away in early childhood, and another, Gerald Walther, passed away as a young man in Kerrville, perishing in a fire at the old Rock Drug Store. The surviving child, Norma, married W. C. Fawcett.
Like many who found their way to Kerrville, George Walther came here for his health. While the news accounts don't specify the illness Walther suffered, it was most likely tuberculosis or something similar. The climate here was said to help with that disease, and many Kerrville families can trace their arrival here to an ancestor who was ill, seeking health.
Not long after arriving here, the Walthers purchased a small fruit store and confectionery from C. S. Hough. The couple worked in the business together, and it prospered. They added a restaurant and catering business. Things were looking good for them.
In 1902, George's father died, and with the inheritance George received, he invested in Kerrville real estate.

An advertisement from 1922

It was in 1908 when the Walthers made Kerrville history. In that year, they opened the Kerrville Sunshine Library, as a part of the International Sunshine Society. It was the first public library in Kerrville, and it was housed in a "recreation hall" for young people, which included "box ball," which is game similar to "four square," dominoes and pool.
During its peak, the Kerrville Sunshine Library had 1800 volumes and 15 bookcases. Walther spent $50 per year on periodicals, including three humor weeklies from Europe: Punch, from England; Le Rire from France; and Fliegende Blatter from Germany. Those titles were meant, I'm sure, to appeal to young people.
For decades George Walther was a passionate advocate for a community library for our community. In 1927, at the urging of Walther, a committee of local leaders met to plan for a library. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Great Depression, those plans never got off the ground.
"We want a real library," Walther told his community, in a 1927 talk, "a distinctive type of building of an attractive and substantial appearance; a large reading room with reference books for school children, as well as novels."
Forty years later, Howard and Mary Butt built such a library for our community. That gift may have had its beginnings when they were young people in Kerrville, visited the Walther's establishment, and read a book at his Sunshine Library.
George Walther died in 1931, before his dream of a community library could be accomplished. Geraldena Walther passed away in 1940.
The Kerrville Library Association was formed in 1941, and by 1954 a free library was formed, the Kerr County Public Library, housed in the ground floor of the Charles Schreiner home. In 1958 the Memorial Library opened on Water Street, and in 1967 the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library was dedicated.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who started first grade the same year the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library opened. Talk about good timing! This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times May 19,2018.

Dedication of World War I Memorial Park, July 7, 1938
This park still stands, forgotten, at the intersection of Broadway and Water Streets
For more information on this memorial, click HERE

Remembering is not easy.
We get busy, and we are naturally forgetful, especially about people we never met, and places we never visited.
Many of us drive past memorial parks and don't realize what they are, or what they mean. Trees planted to remember fallen soldiers grow old and die; few remember why they were planted in the first place. We drive on streets named for heroes, though few have any idea who they were, or what they fought for.
This fall, it will be 100 years since Francisco Lemos, Sidney Baker, and Earl Garrett died in France, all three Kerr County men who died in World War I. The three were honored with streets named in their memory because they had fallen in battle. People don't realize an additional sixteen young soldiers from Kerr County also died during World War I; most died from influenza, during the great pandemic which swept the world in 1917-1918. They volunteered, trained, and, in many cases, traveled to France when illness struck. They were heroes, too.
The Kerr County War Memorial, on the courthouse square, lists 48 names of Kerr County men who died in World War II.
Six names of Kerr County men are listed as lost during the Korean War.
It's been 50 years since Robert Glen Chenault died in Quang Nam, Vietnam, one of the twelve Kerr County men who died in that war. I knew Glen Chenault. His parents and my parents were friends, and I spent time with Glen, both at our print shop and at our two homes. I was only six when he died, but I have fond memories of him. Glen, like so many of the men listed on the memorial, was very young, only 21 when he was killed.
Two other conflicts are listed on the memorial, Operation Enduring Freedom, with the name of one fallen soldier, Jacob Leicht; and Operation Iraqi Freedom, with two: Lawrence Ezell and Cody Orr. All three were born much later than I.
Sadly the renovated war memorial has room for more names and more conflicts, a practical concession to the probability the space will be needed. (The impressive wall of names of Kerr County's fallen at the Cailloux Theater failed to prepare for that necessity.)
Others from Kerr County fought and died for our country in conflicts preceding World War I, and while their names are not listed on the memorial, they are heroes, too.

Plaque World War I memorial Kerrville Texas

Plaque, World War I
Memorial Park.
Click to enlarge.

If these men could speak to us, what might they say?

It would be my guess they would talk about their homes and how much they missed their families.
Several weeks ago Bob Schmerbeck, who is related to Earl Garrett, loaned me a notebook of letters Garrett's family gathered after his death. The packet included letters to Earl Garrett, letters from him, and letters from others about him, including from those who were with him when he died.
One month before he died, Earl Garrett wrote his mother, Laura Gill Garrett, a touching letter.

Victor Earl Garrett

"My dearest Mother," Garrett wrote. "It will probably be only a note, but I wanted to write you tonight. It may be some time before I can write you again and I do not want to neglect this opportunity.
"Mother, it is a long cry from here to home, but never so close as tonight. And never have I been so conscious of what you have done for me or felt so unworthy of your efforts. I could not write a sad letter even if I wanted to; my temperamental make up would not let me. But I do want you to know before anything might happen that I at least appreciate my mother and my father.
"I am habitually optimistic -- of the incurable type, less a considerable portion of confidence in my ability. But the great possibility cannot be ignored.
"With love to all, your son, Earl."
Earl Garrett was just 24 when he was killed in France.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who collects historical items from Kerrville and Kerr County. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times May 26, 2018.

Heart o' The Hills Inn postcard. The inn later became a summer camp for girls.
Click on any image to enlarge.

When the first camps in Kerr County opened, in the 1920s, there were no Interstate highways and air travel was extremely rare. Most campers came from the largest cities of Texas -- but especially from Dallas and Houston -- and they arrived by train. The campers were then taken by automobile (or, occasionally, wagon) from the train depot to camp, traveling unpaved roads which dipped into the river, because there were few bridges. Higher and higher the campers would travel, winding their way deeper into the green hills, following the ribbon of river.
When they finally arrived at their camp, and settled into their cabins, they found an enterprise hard at work, dedicated to their fun. The green river beckoned. Horseback riding was available. Campers were taught to shoot guns, arrows; they were instructed in athletics; they learned to paddle a canoe.
And more than one camper wrote home to tell how good the food was at camp, how it was piled high on the tables, and how, after a day busy with camp activities, the food tasted so good.
Why wouldn't campers, even later in life, think of Kerr County as paradise?

Summer camping as we know it today began in 1921 when Herbert Crate opened Camp Rio Vista between Ingram and Hunt.
Crate was the CEO of the Houston YMCA. Knowing the "Y" had established camps along the eastern seaboard, Crate was certain the idea would work in Texas.
According to an article written by Jane Ragsdale in the "Kerr County Album," Crate called Rio Vista the "Summer Character Camp for Boys."
Crate's first summer was not what he expected: "100 men promised to send their sons if he opened a camp -- yet the first summer, Crate found himself with 21 counselors, and only 16 boys." His words of wisdom for those who followed: "Never start a camp from scratch."
Despite his advice, other camps soon followed.

Camp Stewart 1948 catalog

Edward J. "Doc" Stewart, the head football and basketball coach at the University of Texas at Austin in the early 1920s, is responsible for the beginning days of three well-known Kerr County camps: Camp Stewart for Boys, Heart o' The Hills Camp for Girls, and Camp Mystic.
Stewart started his first camp here, "Camp Texas" in 1924, using the old West Texas Fairgrounds as his site. The fairgrounds were between today's Junction Highway and Guadalupe Street in Kerrville.

Camp Mystic, 1939 postcard

Given Stewart's career, it's easy to guess the focus of his camp: athletics. He brought UT coaches with him, and even the director of the University Interscholastic League. Football, basketball, track, tennis and volleyball were planned on the fairground's dusty old horse track, with water sports planned for the river.
For three summers Stewart operated his camp in Kerrville, offering two 30 day terms. In 1927 the camp moved to its present location, 16 miles west of Kerrville, on the north fork of the Guadalupe River.
"Doc" Stewart started another camp in 1926, Camp Stewart for Girls, on the south fork of the Guadalupe; a year later it became Camp Mystic for Girls. In those early days, Camp Mystic had 1400 acres, and the girls were housed in 18 log cabins constructed from cypress logs cut on the camp.

Heart o' The Hills Inn, 1928

In those early days of summer camping in Kerr County, travel to the camps was not easy. Sensing an opportunity, Stewart also built "Heart o' The Hills Inn" as a place for parents to stay after they'd dropped their children off at camp. This inn later became Heart o' The Hills Camp for Girls, under the leadership of Kenneth and Velma Jones.

Camp Waldemar overview

Another pioneer in Kerr County camping was Miss Ora Johnson, who founded Camp Waldemar in 1926. Miss Johnson was the principal of Brackenridge High School in San Antonio, and many of her early campers were from that city. In 1926 she had 56 campers, who attended a six week session.
In 1928 Miss Johnson brought in from Mexico a "Russian-born German rock mason, Ferdinand Rehbeger." It was Rehbeger, working with the Johnson family, who constructed many of the stone and cedar buildings that give Waldemar its distinct beauty.
Other notable camps begun during this time include Camp La Junta, Camp Arrowhead, and Kickapoo Kamp. Later additions included the Texas Lions Camp, near Kerrville; Laity Lodge Youth Camp, near Leakey; and Camp Honey Creek, near Hunt.
Summer camps in Kerr County are an important part of our history, and contribute to our community in thousands of ways. They provide jobs, help the local economy, and, in many cases, they bring Kerrville and Kerr County new residents.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who was a camper many years ago at Camp Stewart. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times June 2, 2018.

Harold Bugbee's sketch of Charles Schreiner's original store, which was also Kerrville's first bank.

Legend says Charles Schreiner started the first bank in Kerrville by putting money and gold entrusted to him by his customers under a loose board in his one-room store. The "safe" was then secured by rolling a flour barrel on top of the loose board.
I imagine there's a grain of truth in that story. In 1869, when Charles Schreiner and August Faltin opened their store in downtown Kerrville, there were no banks here. In fact, there was little or no cash in this part of the world.

The Schreiner Store, with
the word "Bank" on the far left.
Click any image to enlarge.

Business here was mostly conducted by barter, and in those rare cases where gold or cash were exchanged, a trusted place to store that cash was needed. Schreiner provided that safe place, and also provided a way for his customers to call upon their deposits to buy from his store, or to buy necessities from other suppliers, including the buying and selling of livestock.

The CSB in the 1920s

Schreiner himself deposited his money and gold, as well as his customers' money and gold, at Oppenheimer's in San Antonio, using a very special express agent, Simon Ayala.
Simon Ayala was a one-legged cowboy who had worked for Schreiner for many years, and who Schreiner trusted very much. Ayala presented himself as a cowboy of average means, riding a plain horse, and carrying a moral (or nose bag) attached to his saddle horn by a grass rope. In the nose bag Schreiner placed the gold and money to be deposited in San Antonio.

Louis A. Schreiner at his desk,
around 1925

Ayala was one of the least likely persons to be suspected of carrying a fortune in gold along the early trails from Kerrville to San Antonio. He made this trip many times for Schreiner, without incident, and with the fortune untouched. There was never a breach in the trust Schreiner placed in Simon Ayala.
As Schreiner's business grew, it became necessary to separate the banking operation from the Schreiner store, and so in 1898, the bank became an independent operation, though it still operated in the same building as the store. Instead of taking your banking business to the office of the Schreiner store, you took it instead to a different part of the building. Some have suggested the bank itself was on the second floor, though accounts vary.

The employees of CSB, around 1925

In 1914 the bank finally moved into a separate building at the corner of Water and Earl Garrett streets, back when Earl Garrett street was still called Mountain Street. That brick building can be seen in many photographs in my collection of historic Kerrville images, largely because almost every parade during those years passed right in front of the bank.
In 1917, Charles Schreiner divided his many businesses among his children. The bank went to Louis A. Schreiner, which is only fair: Louis had worked at the bank since it separated from the store, in 1898.
Under Louis Schreiner's leadership the bank grew and prospered, even during the lean years of the Great Depression, when its policy of encouraging ranchers to diversify and add sheep and goat to their livestock herds helped save more than one family ranch.

Ol' Meany in the CSB lobby

In 1959 the Charles Schreiner Bank became a state bank; until that time it was an unincorporated bank, relying on the personal financial standing of the Schreiner family.
In 1961 a new 'modern' facade was placed over the old brick bank building, an aluminum and steel covering of brilliant blue and gold tones, with a white marble veneer added to the exterior walls. I remember visiting a law office on the second floor of the bank after this modernization took place. The old double-hung windows were still there, although they now opened to the interior of the updated "space age" metal skin. It was odd to see.
Louis Schreiner worked at the bank until two days before his death at age 99 in 1970.

CSB October 1961

That building was torn down in the late 1970s when a new, much larger building was constructed. An open house for the new bank was held in July 1978, and I remember attending the event. I was impressed by the new building. I especially liked the mesquite block floor, and the items they brought from Charthe old building, including a work of taxidermy, "Ol' Meany," the mounted head of a solemn longhorn bull, which had been a fixture in the old building.
Schreiner Bank failed in April, 19, 1990, and its assets were acquired by NCNB Texas, which operated the bank for several years. Most recently the bank building was occupied by a branch of BankAmerica, but the building has been vacant for several years.
Until next week, all the best.

Louis A Schreiner at the Charles Schreiner Bank in Kerrville

Louis A. Schreiner at his desk at the bank in the late 1960s.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who remembers Louis A. Schreiner sitting at his desk at the Charles Schreiner Bank. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times June 9, 2018.

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Tivy Mountain in Kerrville photo by Joe Herring Jr

The cemetery on top of Tivy Mountain, in Kerrville, as it appeared in January 2018.
This is the final resting place of Joseph Tivy, his wife Ella, his sister Susan, and Susan's cat.
Click on any image to enlarge.

A little over four years ago, I got a telephone call from a fellow who said he'd found Captain Joseph Albert Tivy's tombstone in some rubble on his property.

The mysterious tombstone

I was, of course, surprised. The last time I'd seen the tombstone, it was up on Tivy Mountain, near the intersection of Cypress Creek Road and Veterans Highway (Loop 534).
The caller was kind enough to let me come take photographs of the carved stone he'd found, and sure enough, it was indeed the tombstone of Captain Tivy, his wife Ella, and his sister, Susan, though not the same one I remembered from Tivy Mountain.
Why, I wondered, were there two tombstones?
But first, who was Captain Tivy?
Joseph Albert Tivy was born in Toronto, Canada during the winter of 1818, raised and educated in New York state, and headed to Texas when he was 19, when it was a new republic.

Another view

His first stop in Texas was in Houston, next to Washington County, and then on to what is now Burleson County, where he lived for several years. This community was considered the extreme western frontier at the time. He was a true frontiersman, spending months in the field, and spent a lot of time with Captain George Evart.
During those early years in Texas, he was as a chain carrier for a survey crew out of the General Land Office. He was later promoted to General Surveyor, and his travels brought him to the Guadalupe River valley. In 1842, he acquired the ‘military’ grant to the heirs of Thomas Hand, a tract of 640 acres. That land later became important to the young community. (He acquired this land even before Joshua Brown started his shingle camp.

Captain Joseph A. Tivy

There was no City of Kerrville then. Kerr County was part of the Bexar District, and Tivy served as deputy surveyor. He had also served with Jack Hays’ Rangers, joining Hays in 1844.
Then, 1849, the gold bug bit, and Tivy went out to California to seek his fortune. I don’t know how successful a miner he was, but history records he was a surveyor in California, ran a hotel (the "United States Hotel" past Tejon Pass) and later a store, and served in the California Legislature during the winter of 1853-54. He also served in the Texas Legislature during another part of his life, winning election in 1873.
Coming back from California, he spent a year in New Mexico, then returned to Texas settling in Karnes County in 1858.
During the Civil War, Tivy served in the Confederate Army from 1862-64, being discharged with the rank of Captain. While in the service, his health deteriorated, and he left the army in 1864.
And finally, after all of this, in 1872 he and two spinster sisters moved to Kerrville, to their 640-acre tract of land. I guess you could say he was one of the first retirees to move here.
Like most retirees here, he was active: seeing the need for a sound public school system, he gave the community 16 2/3 acres to be used to build free schools. Because the only entity that could accept the gift was an incorporated city, petitions were circulated and the City of Kerrville came into existence in 1889.
Not coincidentally, Captain Tivy was Kerrville’s first mayor.
He also gave the lot for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which still stands on the site.
Captain Tivy married late in life. His wife, was the widow of Dr. Henry Losee, a U. S. Army surgeon who died in Kerrville.

Kerrville Tivy Seniors on the annual student pilgrimage to Tivy Mountain, 1960s

Tivy Seniors on the annual student pilgrimage
to Tivy Mountain, 1960s.
Click on any image to enlarge.

"For some time," the book by Brown reports, Tivy "had been actively engaged in overseeing the work of boring for artesian water on his place. Owing to his advanced age and physical condition, this undue activity brought on stomach complications which proved to be the immediate cause of his demise."
Captain Tivy is buried with his wife, one sister (Susan), and his wife’s cat on the top of Tivy Mountain, to the east of the downtown area. The hill has a dirt road, off of Cypress Creek Road, leading to its summit; this road used to be open to the public. An excellent view of our valley home is afforded from up there, and you ought to take the time to visit the hill. Up there in the sunshine, with the wind blowing and the smell of cedar trees, you’ll find the four graves and a small stone obelisk. Looking below you can see what the Captain’s land has become.
As for the recently found tombstone, it was likely the victim of hooligans who vandalized the gravesite numerous times, knocking over the monument. Some claimed lightning toppled the old carved stone. It was replaced by the current memorial obelisk, a gift of the ex-students association, in 1956. At the time the graves were repaired, and the decorative fence was replaced and repaired.
I suppose, when the new monument was installed, the old one was simply discarded. That's the one found a few years ago, in the rubble behind the man's house.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who remembers climbing Tivy Mountain with his classmates in the spring of 1979. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times June 16, 2018.

Kerrville depot of San Antonio and Aransas Pass railroad

The Kerrville Depot of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad.
Click on any image to enlarge.

The coming of the railroad in 1887 changed everything for Kerrville -- because it allowed commerce with the world beyond our hills.
Until that time all freight came to Kerrville by wagons. Every nail, piece of paper, shoe, piano, and most of the cloth and lumber was hauled over the hills by oxen, with most of the freight coming to us from San Antonio.

The Kerrville Eye, Page 1
September 29, 1887.
Click to enlarge

In 1887, no other community in the hill country was served by a railroad. Fredericksburg didn't get her railroad until November 1, 1913, twenty-six years after Kerrville, and that line was never really profitable. Other nearby communities, like Junction or Rocksprings, never saw a train arrive. Kerrville's trains ran until the 1970s.

The Kerrville Eye, p2

I have a copy of the October 6, 1887 "Kerrville Eye," a newspaper of the era. The publisher printed 2,000 copies of the edition -- a huge number, considering Kerrville probably had less than 400 residents.
In the issue several other newspapers' reports of the railway's arrival in Kerrville was reprinted. "Plucky little Kerrville," the San Angelo Standard reported, "has obtained her railroad, and if ever a town and county deserve the iron horse, Kerrville and Kerr County did. A bonus of $50,000 was raised in the middle of the drouth and $46,000 of that bonus has been raised in cash; a few more thousand had to be raised to buy the right of way over land belonging to fossils of the tertiary period, a few of which are settled in that county. We hope the boon for which Kerr County has worked so strenuously will prove an even greater blessing than they anticipate."

The Kerrville Eye, p3

The Burnet Hero declared "The Aransas Pass Road has reached Kerrville. The 'Eye' therefore excusable for being jubilant and winking many triumphant winks, as it worked hard to bring that town and section to the front of the railroad men. We know how it is ourselves and don't blame the 'Eye' for feeling proud. The 'Hero' got out an extra to celebrate the completion of the Dallas, Granite and Gulf road to Burnet, as it was the first air line to the point from the north -- but alas it was an air line with a vengeance. It was built of air, by air, through air."

The Kerrville Eye, p4

According to the Texas Transportation Museum website, “at 11:45 AM on October 6, 1887, the first train arrived in Kerrville. On board the six Pullmans were 502 passengers, 200 from San Antonio, 131 from Boerne, 141 from Comfort and 30 from Center Point. Altogether this was 200 more people than actually lived in Kerrville. It was a banner day for the town, with parades and speeches.”
There were more than speeches and parades that day: there was also business to be transacted.
According to the 'Eye,'"A large lot sale will take place here about the 22nd of October. The magnificent ground near the depot has been laid off in lots by Capt. Schreiner, and will be sold that day. This is going to be a town. Don't miss the sale. Come and bid on a few lots."
Then later, a few inches down, the 'Eye' continues: "Visitors to Kerrville, did you ever see a prettier site for a town? Kerrville has the prettiest depot grounds of any town on the Aransas Pass [railway]. Capt Schreiner has cut this fine plot of ground up into lots... You will regret to the end of your days if you fail to attend the sale, and purchase a lot."
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who remembers the train rolling into Kerrville when he was a boy. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times June 23, 2018.

A woman in a buggy, date unknown.
Click any image to enlarge.

The story of Captain Charles Schreiner is well known in our community, but the story of his wife, Lena, has been hidden by time.
I have several photographs of Charles Schreiner in my collection of Kerr County historical items. I have one that I know is a photograph of Lena, taken with her daughters, and another which Schreiner family tradition suggests is of Lena. This week, however, I may have confirmed another photograph of Lena Schreiner.

Lena Schreiner with her daughters Frances, Caroline, and Emilee

Lena Schreiner and her
daughters Frances,
Caroline, and Emilee

Charles Armand Schreiner was born February 22, 1838, in Alsace-Lorraine, the neither-land between France and Germany. Schreiner's family arrived in San Antonio in 1852, when he was 14. That was the year his father died, killed by a snakebite as he gathered firewood. His mother died four years later and was buried near Cibolo Creek. About this time Charles Schreiner joined the Texas Rangers for a year or so, scouting and serving in the defense of settlers in a hostile country. In 1857 Schreiner and his brother-in-law Caspar Real built a log cabin on Turtle Creek and 'settled down to ranching.'
It wasn't a very prosperous beginning, filled with isolation and danger, and seasoned with long, hard labor. The early grasses that tempted our area's first settlers had been the result of centuries of growth; they fell rather quickly away with intensive herding. There was seldom enough rain, never any money in the whole area. Life here was poor, it was hard, and it was lonely.
Charles Schreiner married Mary Magdalena Enderle October 15, 1861. Like her husband, "Lena" was an immigrant, moving to Texas with her parents from the Black Forest region of Germany. They made their first home on the ranch on Turtle Creek.

Then came the Civil War. Charles Schreiner marched off to fight, a private in the Confederate Army. He left in August, 1862, marching off to war three months before their first son, Aime Charles, was born. He left Lena to run their ranch, when she was pregnant and alone.

Lena Schreiner and child at Kerrville mill dam

Schreiner family tradition
says this is also a photo of Lena
and a child, taken at the mill dam
in Kerrville

Of course her brother- and sister-in-law were nearby, but in those days the dangers of frontier life were plenty. Various Native American tribes were hostile to settlers; there was always the danger of illness or infection; and she faced childbirth without modern medical help. In addition, with most of the able-bodied men away from the county, fighting in the war, the frontier was unprotected, and raids on farms and ranches increased.
She must have been a woman of firm resolve, brave and resourceful.
Charles Schreiner returned from the war in 1865.
In 1869, Charles Schreiner started a store in Kerrville. Once again, he left Lena behind at Turtle Creek to manage the ranch. This time she was left with two small sons. The dangers were still there, and once again, she faced them mostly alone, for over a year. The store was fifteen miles away, which was a great distance when travel in Kerr County was by foot, wagon, or horseback.
Finally Lena and the children moved to Kerrville, in a little house on Water Street, not far from Washington Street. The first store, a small wooden building made of cypress, stood about where the Schreiner Mansion stands today.
While looking among my photographs, I ran across an image given to me by James Partain years ago. It's of a woman in a carriage who looks a little like the photograph of Lena Schreiner with her daughters. The woman has many of the same features as Mrs. Schreiner: a fancy hat, glasses, and a determined facial expression.

Charles and Magdalena Schreiner home in Kerrville

Charles and Magdalena's home in Kerrville, on what
is now Earl Garrett Street.
Click to enlarge to see the horse and buggy.

By accident, the next photo displayed on my computer was of the Schreiner's home on Earl Garrett Street, the Schreiner Mansion. I've always called that image the "Black Horse" photo, because I think it shows the mansion in good detail, complete with the iron balconies facing Water Street, and also shows what I think is the building which housed the first Schreiner store, tucked away between the mansion and where the store stands today.
Because I saw one photo immediately after the other, I noticed something I'd never seen before. It looks like the horses match. And then, on closer inspection, it looks like the buggies match, too. The type of bench, the number of spokes in the wheels, the attachment for the buggy whip -- they seem to match in both photos.
Of course, I'm no expert on buggies. There might be differences I cannot see.
However, I'm confident enough to suggest the woman driving the buggy in the photo may well be Mary Magdalena Enderle Schreiner, of whom so few photographs exist.
For all of his success, Charles Schreiner would not have prospered without Lena. She kept things going when he was absent.
The Schreiners had 8 children; three daughters and five sons. They were married for almost 44 years. Lena Schreiner passed away on September 7, 1905; Charles Schreiner, February 9, 1927. After Lena's passing, Charles Schreiner never remarried.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who enjoys puzzles about Kerr County's history. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times June 30, 2018.

Major James Kerr of Texas for whom Kerr County was named.

Major James Kerr, for whom Kerr County and Kerrville were named.
Incidentally, he pronounced his name "Karr," rhyming with "star."

One of the items I've reported here in years past may have a new twist which, frankly, surprised me. It involves the naming of Kerrville, which was originally called Kerrsville, back in 1856, when Kerr County was organized.
In previous columns, I've written variations of the following:
"Joshua Brown, the founder of Kerrville, convinced the very first Kerr County commissioners court to make the land he'd only recently purchased the county seat; Brown wanted the town to be called Kerrsville (with an 's') after his friend (and brother of his maternal aunt) Major James Kerr. It is unlikely Kerr ever saw the land which now bears his name; by the time Kerr County was formed by the Texas legislature, Kerr had been dead more than five years."
Parts of that are very accurate: Joshua Brown did convince the very first Kerr County commissioners, at their very first meeting, to place the county seat on 640 acres of land he'd only recently purchased from the heirs of Benjamin F. Cage, for $2 per acre.
Joshua Brown, our community's founder, arrived here in the late 1840s, leading a group of ten men to build a shingle makers' camp beside the Guadalupe. Their idea was to cut down the cypress trees, slice the trunks into disk-shaped slabs, then carefully spit those disks into rough shingles which could be further shaped by hand. The finished shingles were then hauled to market, most likely in San Antonio. It was hard work for little pay.
Neither Brown or those with him owned the land where they camped. The ground beneath them had been awarded by the State of Texas to Benjamin F. Cage. The deed read “the grant is made in consideration of Benjamin F. Cage having fought in the Battle of San Jacinto the 21st of April 1836.”

Joshua, Sarah, and young Potter Brown of Kerrville, 1873

Joshua Brown, his wife Sarah,
and their youngest child, Potter, in 1873.
I like the fact that they're holding hands.

Joshua Brown bought the land which became Kerrville in 1856 from the stepsons of Cage's mother -- Cage was thought to be dead at the time of the sale, though there is some evidence he was quite alive and well and living near Blanco. And Brown bought the land at about the exact same time Kerr County was being organized.
The creation of Kerr County in early 1856 by the Sixth Texas Legislature presented an opportunity for Joshua Brown. If he could have the county seat located on land he owned it would allow him to sell parcels and lots to new townsfolk.
Here's how it happened:
On November 12, 1855, "Sundry citizens from the 70th district of Bexar county" petitioned the state to create a new county.
"We, the undersigned citizens residing on the Guadalupe River and its tributaries in the counties of Comal, Bexar, Gillespie, laboring under great embarrassment, owing to the remoteness from their respective county seats, and having a sufficient population to justify it, we respectfully petition for the formation of a new county so that the Guadalupe River may be central in passing through it, to include such limits and territory as your honorable body's wisdom may seem proper and reasonable."
Below were affixed over 85 names, including Joshua Brown's. I recognize quite a few of the names, like J. M. Starkey, who was an early millwright, or Fritz Tegener, who was a leader of the Unionists during the Civil War, and who barely escaped the Battle of the Nueces. There are some Burneys, some Ridleys, a Stieler, and even the first head of Kerr County government, Jonathan Scott. Doubtless descendents of many of the original petitioners still live in our county.
Nowhere in the petition does it request the county be named for James Kerr.
As the bill progressed through the legislature, a provision was made that the county seat be selected by the inhabitants. The final bill called for the county to be named for James Kerr, "the first settler on the Guadalupe." James Kerr had settled on the Guadalupe near the Gulf of Mexico in the 1820s.
However, the bill also specified the county seat "shall be called Kerrsville unless the site selected shall already have a name."
The site was not selected by the original county commissioners court; it was selected by a vote of the people, who chose the center of county surveys Nos. 116, 117, 118, and 119 by a whopping 26 votes. The commissioners accepted Joshua Brown's offer of a donated four-acre county square, a parcel for a school, a parcel for a church, and a parcel suitable for a public jail. Brown, at the time the commissioners accepted the site, had owned the land for four days.
Likewise, the county commissioners did not chose the name, despite Joshua Brown's friendship with James Kerr; the Texas legislature named the community. Whether Joshua Brown had influence over the naming of the county or county seat I cannot determine.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who thinks this summer is already too hot. This column was originally published in the Kerrville Daily Times July 7, 2018.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This column was written on Thursday, July 5, and published on July 7. All day Sunday, July 8, I've been thinking about how Joshua Brown could have insisted the town be named for his friend, James Kerr.
Here's one plausible scenario:
The legislature directed the county seat to be named "Kerrsville"unlessthe place selected by the voters of the county already had a name.
What if Joshua Brown's shingle camp already had a place name? Brownsborough has been mentioned elsewhere, though there's evidence that place existed beside the Guadalupe River, downstream from Comfort.
So, if the settlement already had a name, some variation of "Brown's Camp" or "Brownville" or "Brown-whatever," it makes sense the new owner of the land, Joshua Brown, could recommend it be named for James Kerr, his friend.
Just a theory....

The Tivy family cemetery on top of Kerrville's Tivy Mountain, as it appeared in January 2018.
Click on any image to enlarge.

Tivy Mountain, one of the landmarks of our community, has been closed off from the public for several decades.
Since the mid-1990s a locked gate stops visitors from driving to the top of the hill, reportedly to stop vandalism, litter, and other unsavory activities.
Though the city grades the road about once a year, and though Tivy High School seniors make an annual trek to the top of the site as a part of their Senior year traditions, it's unclear whether the public can actually climb the hill on foot.
At the top is a family cemetery, where Captain Joseph A. Tivy, his wife Ella Lossee Tivy, and his sister Susan Tivy are buried. There's also a marker for the family's cat, who was buried in the corner of the plot, according to legend, by none other than a young Chester A. Nimitz.

Capt. Joseph Tivy

Joseph Tivy was Kerrville's first mayor. The City of Kerrville was incorporated in 1889, and it had its beginnings, in part, because Tivy wanted to donate land to the community on which a public school could be built.
Joseph Tivy married late in life, to a woman much younger than he, the widow of a friend. Ella Tivy died in 1888; Joseph Tivy died in 1892. They had no children, and it appears Tivy's sister, Susan, inherited much of the family's property.
The Tivys owned a lot of land in Kerrville, and also in Gillespie County, at a place called Tivydale. There were possibly other real estate holdings, too, in Karnes County and elsewhere.
Susan Tivy had no children, and, when she died in 1902, the "probable" value of her estate was $12,000, according to court records.
Though newspaper reports from the 1990s suggest she set aside the Tivy Mountain property as a memorial to her family, her will makes her intentions quite clear:
"First, I direct that all my just debts shall be paid and that a monument suitable to my station in life be erected over my grave.

Tivy Mountain monument in Kerrville, Texas

The monument on
Tivy Mountain

"Second: subject to the forgoing charge, I give bequeath and devise to my friend John Mosby, the only son and child of my very dear and devoted friend L. J. Mosby, all of my property and estate, real personal and mixed and choses in action, of every character and description whatsoever and wheresoever situated."
The will was signed in March, 1901. Miss Tivy died in July of that same year. I found it interesting that one of the witnesses to the will was A. C. Schreiner, eldest son of Charles and Magdalena Schreiner.
A listing of her estate shows various Kerrville lots she owned. Tivy Mountain is not specifically mentioned by that name, though it may be part of the real property described in the document. For example, one of the parcels is described as 367 acres with a value of $1,500.
I can find little information on the Mosby family. There was apparently a John Mosby who was a court clerk in Kerrville; a John Mosby that appeared in a play staged at Pampell's; and a J. B. Mosby, who, with his wife, founded a relief society for Kerrville's poor. A John B. Mosby is buried at Kerrville's Glen Rest Cemetery, next to his wife, Maude Mosby. In 1901, when Susan Tivy died, that John Mosby would have been 33 years old.

1950s view of Kerrville from the top of Tivy Mountain

1950s postcard of the view
from the top of Tivy Mountain

Various newspaper articles since the 1990s identify John Mosby as "John Mosty," or "John Mosly," but a close inspection of Susan Tivy's will clearly reads "Mosby."
Who owns Tivy Mountain? Many have searched records to find out. Previous county courts have suggested it be taken by eminent domain by the county government, and made into a public park.
I know of no resolution to the question, however. Does the city own the property? The school district? The county? I do not know, though there are newspaper articles suggesting a Tivy graduating class purchased the property for the school district, back in the 1940s or 1950s. I don't know if that deed was ever filed.
It's a riddle I'd like to see solved. Free the Tivy Four.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who graduated from Tivy High School a very, very long time ago. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 14, 2018.

Texas map drawn by Stephen F. Austin in 1822. (Source)
Click on any image to enlarge.

In 1822, the first of my family arrived in Texas.
His name was Jesse Parker, and he farmed on a Spanish land grant near present-day Huntsville with his first wife, Sarah.
Natives of North Carolina, the couple made their way through the southern states, living for a while in Louisiana, where Jesse served in the War of 1812. Together they had seven children.
When Sarah died, Jesse married Elizabeth Barker in 1829. They, too, would have seven children together. I descend from Jesse and Elizabeth; their grandson was my grandmother's grandfather.
In 1822, when Jesse and Sarah Parker arrived in Texas, Texas was part of Mexico. Spanish rule had ended the year before, in 1821, after many decades of conflict.
Mexican rule in Texas was turbulent and inconsistent. In 1824 a constitution was written for the newly independent Mexico, a document which resembled the U. S. Constitution in many ways, including the idea that the national government would grant powers to the states. The authors of the constitution of 1824 envisioned a republic, an idea which was amended and changed several times.
Texas was not a state by itself; it was part of 'Coahuila and Texas,' and its first capital was Saltillo, which is about 190 miles southwest from Laredo, an almost impossible distance from the early Texas settlers from the United States.
The new government encouraged immigration to Texas, offering land at a nominal price, use of the Gulf ports, and exemption from taxes. It was this immigration policy which attracted the early empresarios, such as Moses Austin and his son, Stephen, as well as Green DeWitt and others.
It was this liberal immigration policy that attracted Jesse and Sarah Parker to Texas.
This policy had two purposes: first, to attempt to halt expansion into Texas by the United States, and second, to defend the region against the various Native American groups who'd lived in Texas for many thousands of years. The settlers and their industry would also be an eventual source of revenue to the new government, but their primary use was as a buffer against incursions.
However, in the mid-1820s the Mexican government came to see this policy had its own problems. Many of the settlers in Texas were bringing ideas of self-governance which threatened rule from Saltillo and Mexico City. The settlers also failed to take seriously their commitments to Mexican laws and customs, such as becoming members of the Catholic church, and learning to speak Spanish.
Then, in 1826 a short-lived rebellion took place near Nacogdoches, when the empresario Haden Edwards declared the area an independent Republic of Fredonia. This rebellion was quickly ended, and other empresarios denounced Edwards, siding with the Mexican government. However, it caused concern to the government authorities, which feared additional immigration would only supply more secessionists, a concern which would be justified by later events.
In 1830 a new immigration policy was enacted which sharply curtailed immigration into Texas. Military bases were planned to stop illegal immigration into Texas. In addition, the colonists were now subject to taxation.

Proceedings of the
Convention of 1832
(Source)

These changes were not welcome, and Texas settlers chose to elect representatives to meet at San Felipe de Austin in what was called the Convention of 1832. Fifty-five delegates, representing sixteen districts, met from October 1 through October 6, 1832. It was the first elected representative council in Texas. My ancestor, Jesse Parker, was elected as one of three representatives of the Sabine District.
San Felipe de Austin is not much more than a dot on the map today, but in 1832 it was the center of politics in Texas. Delegates of the Convention of 1832 elected Stephen F. Austin president of the convention. Other elected delegates included James Kerr, for whom Kerr County and Kerrville are named, as well William H. Wharton. I noticed an advertisement in a newspaper published in September 1, 1832, for a lawyer in San Felipe de Austin named William Barrett Travis, "Attorney & Counsellor at Law." They were all in San Felipe de Austin that autumn.
The proceedings of the convention were published, and in reviewing them I see two things about my ancestor: he was one of the very few delegates not appointed to any committee; and he was among those who voted to request Texas be made its own state, separate from Coahuila. Jesse Parker's other contributions to the convention, if any, were not recorded.
Although the Convention of 1832 was the first elected body in Texas, its resolutions were never actually transmitted to the Mexican government.
Jesse Parker died at their farm near Huntsville in 1849; his widow, Elizabeth, died at their farm in 1898.
Jesse and Elizabeth Parker had a daughter, Rebecca, who was born when Texas was an independent republic. Her son Alonzo was born when Texas was a state, before the Civil War.
My grandmother, Annie Lee, had many memories of her grandfather Alonzo, and told me stories of riding in a wagon from his farm to town to buy groceries. She remembered his practice of putting green tomatoes in the barn and covering them with hay, and enjoying them later after they'd ripened. She remembered he always had popcorn kernels on hand, having grown them in his garden, and whenever she visited he'd make up a big bowl of popcorn for her as a treat.
History is the story of families.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who would like to visit San Felipe de Austin, which is just down IH10, past Sealy. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 21, 2018

Note from Joe:

I received the story below from my neighbor Marguerite Scott, and wanted to share it with you. It tells of the first time women were allowed to vote in Kerr County (as well as the rest of Texas), in the 1918 Democratic Party primary. It should be noted this election took place two years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, in the summer of 1920, which gave women the right to vote in our country.
Looking into this, I checked the only surviving newspaper from that month, the July 19, 1918 edition of the Kerrville Mountain Sun.
Women voting in the Democratic primaries was not the big news in that edition. State politics, with the Ferguson scandals, was a top story, as well as a list of a new group of Kerr County boys heading off to the first world war.
There were two mentions, however. One, signed by the Kerr County Democratic party chair Wm. Nimitz, and its secretary J. M. Hamilton, reminding election judges that "in Kerr County the women are not required to register in order to vote. If any woman should desire to vote and is otherwise qualified under the law, you should permit her to vote."
The other, on the 'editorial page,' says "The women of Texas are registering in a way that threatens to make trouble for some of the candidates. There is much uneasiness in certain quarters, but there can be little doubt that all State officials now in office will be re-elected -- Kosse Cyclone."
Thanks, Ms Scott, for sending in this story.

From the League of Women Voters -- Hill Country:

Texas women voted for the first time on July 27, 1918, one hundred years ago. This was before ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to our US Constitution on August 26, 1920 granting women the right to vote. July 27, 1918 was the date of the Democratic Primary in Texas and women voted. Interestingly, there was no Republican Primary in Texas at that time. Here is a bit of history to consider as we cherish our right to vote.

In Texas women’s suffrage, the right to vote, was proposed, discussed, and voted down beginning with the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1868-69. Resolutions for the enfranchisement of women, the right to vote, were proposed in the Texas Legislature several times in in the years to follow.

There were several organizations in Texas seeking women’s suffrage that began in 1893, 1903, 1908, 1912, and then faded away. In 1913 a meeting of 100 women from seven cities met in San Antonio and reactivated the state wide Texas Women Suffrage Association. Mary Eleanor Brackenridge was the first president. In 1916 they changed their name to Texas Equal Suffrage Association and elected Minnie Fisher Cunningham as their president.

Many men and some women consider women voting to be a threat to social order. Then during WWI the suffragist organizations around the state supported the war effort. Women’s participation in war efforts softened the opposition to women’s suffrage. Yet there was anti sentiment about women voting. Many women wrote letters and petitions to their state legislators to convince the legislators to vote for women’s suffrage.

Once again in January 1917 in the Texas Legislature resolutions to enfranchise women were introduced. The vote this time by the state representative was seventy-six for with fifty-six opposed. However the bill did not make it through the senate and signature of the governor. Governor James E. Ferguson was opposed to women voting. During the summer of 2017 he was impeached and removed from office. William P Hobby became Governor of Texas and he was pro women’s suffrage.
There was called session of the legislature in March 1918 and a bill was introduced to permit women to vote in primary elections. On March 26, 1918 Governor sign the bill for women to vote in Texas Primary Elections.

These women’s organization went to work and in seventeen days registered 386,000 women who could then vote in the Democratic Primary on July 27, 1918. The organizations were:
· Texas Equal Suffrage Association – now the League of Women Voters of Texas
· Mothers’ Congress – predecessor of Texas PTA
· State Federation of Labor – merged into Texas AFL-CIO
· State Federation of Women’s Clubs
· Texas Press Women – now called Press Women of Texas
· State Farmers’ Congress – predecessor of the 4-H Clubs
· Texas Graduate Nurses’ Association – now Texas Nurses Association
. Women's Christian Temperance Union, that no longer has a presence in Texas.

Our right to vote is a priceless treasure hard won by our fore mothers in Texas.

Submitted by League of Women Voters – Hill Country.

References:
League of Women Voters of Texas

Women Suffrage by A. Elizabeth Taylor
Texas State Historical Association, an Independent Nonprofit since 1897

A freight wagon train leaving Kerrville in 1905, crossing Town Creek
below today's Riverside Nature Center.
Click on any image to enlarge.

This week I traveled to San Antonio on Interstate 10, and there seem to be a lot more big trucks on that route than in years past. As I drove I considered how freight used to travel in the days before interstate highways and big rigs.

Kerr County wagon pulled by oxen

In the earliest days of our community, all freight came here by wagon, pulled by oxen, mules, donkeys, or horses. From the photographs in my collection I can see there were many different types of wagons hauling freight. Some were attached together in trains, with two wagons or even three joined together.
Every bolt of cloth, every piece of glass, every sheet of paper was carried here over dusty roads, either by hand, or in a saddlebag, or on a wagon pulled by animals until 1887, when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway brought the railroad to Kerrville.
Consider the problem of filling merchants' shelves if your only way to transport goods to a store involved a wagon and mules or oxen. The trip would have been terribly hot in the summer, and frighteningly cold in the winter. And there were dangers along the way, from natural hazards to roving bands of armed men intent on diverting goods to their own use.

Wool wagons on postcard,
700 block of Water, around 1910

“It was a real accomplishment for a freighter to haul a load of several thousand pounds on two or three wagons trailing one behind the other for a distance of a hundred miles or more,” writes Bob Bennett in his excellent history of our county. “During rainy seasons it was a real problem to keep Junction, Rocksprings and other towns supplied with the necessities of life. These inland communities often ran short of flour and other staple food items because the freight caravan was marooned somewhere on a muddy road en route from Kerrville.”
Kerrville, because it was connected to markets by a railroad in 1887, became the supplier of most of the outlying towns nearby, a role it continues to play even now that the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad is long gone. When the interstate highway came through town in the 1970s it helped our community retain this niche.

Wagons in the camp yard,
700 block of Water Street,
near today's Arcadia Theater

Before the railroad came to Kerrville, freighters hauled goods to Kerrville from San Antonio and even from “old Indianola” on the Texas coast.
Again, from Bennett: “In the early days the wagons were pulled by ox teams, often several yokes to the wagon. Later mules and horses supplanted the plodding oxen. Teams of horses and mules ranged from two to twelve. That was before the day of highways and it required expert teamsters to handle a team over the rough and steep hill roads.
“L. F. Pope was a colorful teamster of the pre-railroad era. He started in the days of freighting from San Antonio and continued westward when the railway terminus reached Kerrville. Old timers said Pope could hitch a team of several horses by the time others less versed in the vocation could hitch two horses.

Freight wagon on Earl Garrett,
beside today's Francisco's
Restaurant

“Bells were often used on the lead horses in the teams and the wheel horse – the one that knew his business – helped to hold back the heavy load on steep downgrades. The team, or the gentle animals in the team, were hobbled out to graze on the countryside at night.”
Many familiar names were involved in the early days of freighting goods to our community.
“J. D. Leavell began freighting in the 1870s for August Faltin from San Antonio to Comfort, and on to Kerrville for Capt. Charles Schreiner. When the rail line reached Kerrville he switched his operations westward.

Another set of wool wagons,
700 block of Water, around 1904

“Robert C. Saner began freighting with ox teams, going sometimes to old Indianola on the coast. He continued freighting with ox teams in the later years of his business, frequently making the long haul to San Angelo.
“Other early freighters were Wade Richardson, Lee Williamson, Wiley Wyatt, Bill and Alfred Stone, Jim, Walter, and Sanford Dickey, Tom Hearn, Matt Tomberlin, Creed Taylor, Jr., Landy and Bill Howell, Louis Leinweber, John Kountz, John F. Nichols, Theo Hyde, Mark Caddell, Simon Ayala, Jim and George Holloman, John Billings, John Crane, and E. J. Rose.
“The old-time freighter braved all kinds of weather and other obstacles, but he overcame them all. He was a picturesque character who served his day and generation well.”
I cannot even imagine the hardships they endured, but it was through their efforts Kerrville and towns west were able to grow and thrive.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who, as of next Tuesday, has been married 36 years to the lovely Ms. Carolyn, his college sweetheart. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 28, 2018.

Julius and Emma Mittanck home, Kerrville, 1930s

The home of Julius and Emma Mittanck, 725 Sidney Baker Street, Kerrville, 1930. Note boy on sidewalk.
Taco Bell is on the site today.
Click on any image to enlarge.

In the early 1930s, an unknown employee of the City of Kerrville systematically photographed houses and buildings all over town for use in documenting the city's tax rolls, walking along the street and stopping at each address to snap a photo. While I do not have a complete set of the negatives, the ones in my collection show a very interesting view of Kerrville as it appeared over eight decades ago.
Each negative corresponded with separate property description form, where the square footage of structures was recorded, and a rough estimate of value was calculated for tax purposes.

808 Earl Garrett, Kerrville, Texas 1930s

608 Earl Garrett, Kerrville, Texas 1930s

513 Earl Garrett, Kerrville, Texas 1930s

This week I found an old envelope filled with a group of these city negatives I'd never scanned. I was anxious to see what treasures might appear as the images appeared on my computer screen.
Most of the images are of residences, though there are a few images of business buildings.
Seeing the old buildings was fun, but seeing clues around the old buildings was even more fun.
Like the Google Maps car, which captures all sorts of things as it passes through a neighborhood, the city employee caught a lot things beyond the structures.
In one, a child is walking in his yard. In another, a dog rests on the porch. There are summer houses in backyards, and rocking chairs on porches. A child plays with a doll on the porch of 504 Tivy Street. There are porch swings, gliders in yards, swings hanging from tree limbs.
I notice there are no leaves on the trees, but also notice none of the people in the photographs are really bundled up, either. Perhaps they were taken on a nice day in early March.
Many of the structures on some streets are still there today. Other streets have hardly any surviving buildings.
Earl Garrett Street, for instance, has a surprising number of homes shown in the 1930s photographs that are still standing today, though many of the buildings are no longer residences, but are now used for commercial purposes.
Sidney Baker Street, however, was once lined with homes. Almost all are now gone, replaced by business buildings and parking lots.
I am old enough to remember some of the houses which are now gone.
There was a grand house on Sidney Baker Street when I was growing up, though by then it was in sad disrepair. It had a big porch and a porch turret in the corner. I was happy to find a photograph of this particular house in the newly scanned photographs. It is labeled "J F Mittank," though a 1930 census shows a Julius Frank Mittanck at 725 Sidney Baker Street. Mr. Mittanck was in the creamery business with the American Creamery Company here, which was on Water Street near our print shop. He was also in the grocery business, his family owning the Hillbilly Grocery Store at Sidney Baker and Barnett streets.
Around the time the property tax photos were taken, Mr. Mittanck was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Kerrville, running on the "People's Ticket" against A. T. Atkins. (None of the "People's Ticket" candidates won.)
The Mittanck home was built in 1907; its last mention in the news was in 1987, in a story written for this newspaper by my friend Michael Bowlin, when the building was condemned by the city.
I believe the Taco Bell restaurant now stands on the site today.
I remember another home shown in the 1930s photos which stood at 624 Washington, directly across the street from the front doors of First Baptist Church. I had forgotten about the old house until I saw the photos, but its front porch, built with river stones, was quite impressive.
I'm sure we boys of the church gave those property owners fits, crossing their property all of the time, when we should have been inside the church.
That building was torn down, too, and is now a parking lot.
Jefferson Street and Main Street, in the downtown area, also had many homes, though few remain today. Clay Street still has a nice collection of older homes.
For a feel of what our community looked like back in the 1930s, a drive down Earl Garrett Street might be your best bet. It's surprising how many of those old homes are still there.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who collects historic photographs of Kerrville and Kerr County. If you have any you'd let him copy, it would make him very happy. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 4, 2018.

Charles de Ganahl home Center Point Texas

The home of Charles Ganahl, and the post office of Zanzenburg, Texas.
Image taken in the 1930s. Source: Library of Congress.
Click on any image to enlarge.

Could you find Zanzenburg, Texas on a map?
The town has gone by a different name since 1872, when its postmaster, Dr. G. W. Harwell, renamed the community Center Point, and moved the post office south of the Guadalupe River.
Until then, the post office had been north of the river, and the first post office was in the home of Dr. Charles de Ganahl, who gave the community its original name. Zanzenburg was the name of his ancestral home in the Austrian Tyrol.

Downtown Center Point, around 1900

The Zanzenburg post office was the first in Kerr County. The first public school in our county was also in Center Point.
In the late 1850s, Dr. Charles de Ganahl moved to Kerr County to start a plantation, ranch, and horse operation, and was listed as the person who owned the most slaves in the 1860 census. Of the 49 slaves enumerated there, Ganahl owned 24.
He was very supportive of the Confederate cause, and that support would eventually cause him many troubles.
Ganahl represented Kerr County in the Texas secession convention, and voted for Texas to secede from the Union. He joined the confederate army as a surgeon.
After the war, Ganahl chose to not take the oath of allegiance to the United States, and lived in Mexico for several years. He finally returned to Kerr County in 1879, his health failing. He died in 1882, and is buried in Center Point.

Center Point Texas roller mills postcard

Center Point Roller Mills

There are several stories about how Center Point got its current name, but the one that seems to make the most sense was it was a trading center roughly in the halfway between Kerrville and Comfort, and halfway between Fredericksburg and Bandera. When the railway came to Kerr County in 1887, there was a depot near the old Ganahl post office, on the north side of the river, which helped strengthen Center Point's economy.

Center Point Fairgrounds

Center Point has been incorporated several times. The first time was for "school purposes" in 1889; an election for the first school trustees was held in 1890.
In February, 1913, the community voted to incorporate for municipal government purposes, and appointed a mayor, city clerk and other officers. Only a few months later, in October, 1913, the voters decided to dissolve the new government.
Another round of incorporation occurred recently, in the 1990s, and a mayor and city council were elected, though that experiment in local government was also terminated by the voters about two years later.
I have several interesting Center Point items in my collection of historical Kerr County photos and artifacts.

Trade Coin, Farmers
Mercantile Co-operative Assn,
Center Point

One I found while walking along a dusty trail on some property my family owns not far from the Kerrville municipal airport, a trade coin for the "Farmer's Mercantile Co-operative Association, Center Point, Texas." The reverse was stamped "Good for 50 cents in Merchandise." I found it near an old gate, where I think a resourceful rancher used it as a washer on a fence post.
Another is a photograph of the Woolls Building in Center Point, which was built in the early 1870s by G. W. Woolls and used for a general store. After a fire in 1900, the building was purchased in 1902 by the Farmers Mercantile Cooperative Association (which issued the trade coin I found).
My friend Deborah Gaudier found an advertisement for the Cooperative: "it is not a money making, but a money saving institution...net profits are returned to patrons as a dividend on their purchases."

Woolls Building, Center Point.
Note cow and calf on balcony.

The interesting things about the photograph, at least to me, are in the details. A bicycle leans up against the wall beneath the second-story balcony. A banner advertises "Heart and Arrow Brand Shoes." Another shows the Woodmen of the World Camp 135 had a meeting place upstairs.
But the most intriguing thing about the photograph is on the second story balcony. Four men and two boys are shown there along with a cow and calf. A broken tree branch has fallen between the group and the stairway down.
I wish I knew the story about the cattle being upstairs on the balcony in downtown Center Point at the turn of the last century!
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who would like to have more items from Center Point in his collection. If you have an old photograph of Center Point you'd like to share with him, he'd be happy to scan it and give it back to you. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 11, 2018.

Tivy Stadium, 1941, from the 1942 Antler yearbook.
All images in this post compliments of Holly Vogt, KISD Public Relations Specialist.
Click on any image to enlarge.

Almost seventy-seven years ago, on November 1, 1941, Tivy Stadium was dedicated with some great football, speeches, and fanfare.
The Tivy football team played Kingsville, beating them 14 to 7. That night was a double header; the Schreiner Institute football team played the North Texas Agricultural College Aggies. A crowd of about almost 6,000 people showed up, and even the Fredericksburg high school band and pep squad was there to celebrate, along with bands from Tivy and Schreiner Institute.
Previously Tivy played on a field just behind the elementary school, back when Tivy High School was on Tivy Street, about where the B. T. Wilson campus stands today. The old football field was in the block bordered by Tivy, Barnett, 3rd, and College Streets. When I was a child, this was the Tivy Elementary campus.

Aerial view Kerrville Texas Antler Stadium 1941

Antler Field, 1941

The stadium site on Sidney Baker was donated to the school district by L. A. Schreiner, and the community approved a $25,000 bond issue early in 1941. In today's dollars, that $25,000 would equal about $437,000 today.
"It is truly a monument to the foresight and co-operative spirit which typifies this progressive area of the great Hill Country, and will serve the needs of youth for long years to come," the Kerrville Mountain Sun reported.
Prices for the event were modest: $1.10 for reserved seats; 75 cents for general admission, and 20 cents for students. Tickets were on sale at the Blue Bonnet Hotel.
"There are 3,000 permanent seats in the concrete section of the stadium, with another 3,000 bleacher seats along the south sideline. And should the need arise there is ample room for the placing of several thousand temporary seats.

Scrappy, mascot of Tivy High School Kerrville Texas, 1941

Scrappy, the Tivy mascot, 1941

Student sections, and the press box, with broadcasting and public address facilities, have been built on the south side, while the main entrance ticket windows, rest rooms, concession stands and business office are located atop the promenade deck on the north bowl. Team dressing rooms are also located on the south side."
Not wanting to disrupt an evening of football, the school planned for the dedication ceremony to be held between the two football games. "A brief ceremony of dedication will be held between the Schreiner-NTAC and Tivy-Kingsville games, however it will be very brief and filled with interest."

The Tivy Fight Song,
which was also new in 1941

I love how the writer of the story used the word "brief" twice to describe the ceremony, and assured the readers the event would be filled with interest.
Community spirit was also evident in the way the proceeds from the games were distributed. "The Saturday program has been turned solely into a stadium benefit, with all the proceeds being directed into the bond retirement fund. This was made possible by the kind co-operation of Schreiner Institute authorities with the public schools."
The old field behind the high school was not abandoned without ceremony. Charles Lochte, president of Tivy's senior class that year, gave a short talk, and the student body sang a farewell song to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Then the goalposts were taken down by the students and taken to the new field, with a downtown pep rally afterward.
This marks the 77th football season played at Antler Stadium. Tivy had its first football team in 1911, so this is the 107th season of Tivy football.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native has often yelled "Tivy Fight, Never Dies!" This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 18, 2018.

Tivy High School Cheerleaders Kerrville 1968

Tivy Cheerleaders, 1968, taken on the front steps of the old Tivy High School on Tivy Street.
Left to right: Budsy Mosty, Linda Lehmann, Kathy Reader, Julie Nelson,
Judy Jones, Karen Reader, Heather Sutherland, and Lisa Masters.
Click on any image below to enlarge.

This week I traveled fifty years back in time as I scanned a packet of Kerr County negatives taken in 1968.

Tivy Boosters

Scanning negatives on my computer is especially fun. Since the image is reversed, where the light parts of the image are dark and the dark parts of the image are clear, it's often hard to figure out what the subject of the photograph is until it's scanned. My computer turns the negatives into positives, translating the highlights and shadows back as you'd expect them to be.
I remember many of the folks in the photographs, though I was about six years old when most of the photos were taken. I'm hoping you'll remember a few of them, too.

Crickets!

Most of the photos were taken in the summer of 1968. They range from photos of high school students, to a photo of a very lucky parachutist.
A group of civic leaders are seen buying memberships in the Tivy Booster Club. Coy LeMeilleur is seen selling memberships to Kerrville mayor Francis Swayze and Mrs. W. C. Talbert, while Winkie Murray is selling to D. R. Voelkel, then Kerrville's city manager, and H. H. Weid. The group was showing off bumper stickers that proudly proclaimed "I'm a Tivy Booster."

Four Tivy Golden Girls Kerrville Texas 1968

Golden Girls, 1968

There were several shots of that summer's plague: a swarm of crickets. There are photos of firemen and helpers using fire hoses to wash crickets down the storm drains of Earl Garrett and Water Streets, and of Jake Bierschwale, maintenance director for the Kerrville Independent School District, standing beside a particularly thick group of crickets. When I was a boy I remember the late-summer invasions of the crickets. I will never forget the smell.
Photos of pretty girls were also popular. Separate photos of Tivy cheerleaders and Golden Girls were in the packet.

David McCutchen and Irene Arreola Kerrville Texas 1968

McCutchen and Arreola,
at M-System Grocery

Four of the 18 Golden Girls were shown with the "new sign" at Tivy High School in August, 1968: in the back, Susan Nelson and Maribless Lehmann; in the front, Kay Bennett and Tricia Gwynn.
The Tivy cheerleading squad was also pictured, standing on the steps of the old high school on Tivy Street. From left to right, they are Budsy Mosty, Linda Lehmann, Kathy Reader, Julie Nelson, Judy Jones, Karen Reader, Heather Sutherland, and Lisa Masters.
Another photo shows two people very dear to me and my family: the late David McCutchen handing prize money to Irene Arreola, who won $100 at the "M" System grocery store.

Leo Herrera

As for the very lucky parachutist, it took awhile to figure out what the photos meant.
There are a series of photographs of a man and his parachute near the intersection of Sidney Baker and Main Street, one of the busiest intersections in town. In the photos you can see the high-power lines along the street. What on Earth was happening for a man to parachute into traffic among so many cars?

The man's name was Leo Herrera, and he's wearing a t-shirt that reads "...State Sport Parachute Club, Inc." In one of the photos, he's bundling up his parachute, standing on the curb of Sidney Baker Street.

The Kerrville Daily Times reported in this way: "Leo Herrera smiles with relief as he gathers up his parachute after landing in the middle of Sidney Baker a few feet south of Main following his second parachute drop at Louise Hays Park. Malfunction on the part of his parachute caused it not to open properly and Herrera had to open his reserve chute to make a landing, narrowly missing some power lines above the street. Although he landed on asphalt, he sustained no injuries."
Mr. Herrera was one of several parachutists who were scheduled to land in Louis Hays Park as part of the July 4th, 1968, celebrations. His was a close call.
Over the next few months I hope to take you on other time travels back to Kerr County in 1968.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who has fond memories of Kerr County as it was in the late 1960s. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 25, 2018.

Deering's Grocery, 1217 Water Street, Kerrville.
The mystery: when were all of these tax photos taken?
Click on any image to enlarge.

Several weeks ago I published a few photos from a packet of photos taken, I said, sometime in the 1930s. The photos were mainly of houses, and I knew they'd been taken for the City of Kerrville, as part of a property valuation survey.
The city government had someone go all over town taking photographs and filling out forms about each structure, hoping to be more equitable in establishing property values.
Of course, I wanted to know when the photographs were taken. My guess was too wide and based on a few of the automobiles I saw in the photographs.

Depot Bakery, 425 S Schreiner

However, during the Great Depression, most folks didn't have a new car. Even if I could tell the exact year model of an automobile in one of the photographs I'd have no way of knowing how many years after that car's introduction the photograph was taken.
There are many folks in town who can look at a photograph of an old car and give the exact make and year model. I am not one of those folks.
I did have some other clues, however, and they were not dependent upon the cars in the photos.
First, I have a few of the envelopes which contained the forms the city used in evaluating properties. These tabulated size of lot, square feet of structure, and type of neighborhood information. The forms were part of a system created by the J. B. Stoner Company.

Michon Market, 412 Quinlan.
This building is still standing.

A search of old Kerrville newspapers had several stories about a property valuation survey completed for the city by the J. B. Stoner Company; these stories were published in July, August and September of 1928. Citizens were asked to cooperate with the company as it went around town working on the survey, which was completed in August, 1928, after six weeks' work.
"The survey," according to the August 30, 1928 edition of the Kerrville Mountain Sun, "was made for the purpose of raising taxes in an equitable manner and in order to adjust the values in Kerrville and eliminate any cause for complaints of unfairness or discrimination."
The story also reports that the survey "includes a complete set of maps and an abstract of every piece of property in the city. Many of the tracts had never been before mapped. All of the data compiled has been charted and indexed and is on file in the office of the City Assessor at the Court House, open for inspection by any citizen."

Leyendecker Grocery,
429 S Schreiner

But there was a problem with this new information, at least as far as the photographs were concerned. First, there is no mention of photographs being taken. Maps and abstracts, yes, but no photographs. Taking that many photographs would have been a very big and expensive project.
Then there are the photographs themselves. If the survey was completed in the summer of 1928, the trees should be full of leaves. In the photos most of the trees are bare. The photos were not taken in the summer. I think they were taken in the late autumn or winter, and some of the clothing folks in the photos are wearing would suggest it was chilly outside.
Last week a friend brought by a few hundred more of these property tax photographs, and among the many photographs of houses were photographs of a few commercial buildings. Almost all of the commercial buildings were on Schreiner Street, near the old railroad depot, and most of them were of buildings I'd never seen before.

Remschel Lumber,
512 S Schreiner

It was in these photographs of commercial buildings I finally had a final clue about the date all of the photographs were taken, both those of homes and those of businesses.
In the window of several of the business buildings was a little poster showing an eagle facing to its right. In one claw was a gear sprocket; in the other a bolt of lightning. Above the eagle, in giant letters, was "NRA;" below the eagle, "we do our part."
This NRA had nothing to do with the second amendment: NRA stood for the National Recovery Administration, an early part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. It was put into operation by an executive order in the summer of 1933.
However, the late spring of 1935, the "mandatory codes" section of the NRA was found unconstitutional by the U. S. Supreme Court, and the NRA was replaced by other New Deal programs.
Given the appearance of these posters in the windows of Kerrville businesses, my best guess is the photographs were taken between the summer of 1933 and the late spring of 1935, probably during the winter.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who enjoys studying old photographs of Kerr County and Kerrville. Please share what you have with him. He'll scan your photographs and give you back the originals. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 1, 2018.

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Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, Kerrville, February 1967

Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library under construction, late February 1967.
505 Water Street, Kerrville.
Click on any image to enlarge.

I recently came across a series of photographs taken in late February, 1967, which surprised me.
They show the steel going up during the construction of the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library on Water Street in downtown Kerrville.
Having spent so much time in the library as a child, seeing its circular frame taking shape in the photographs was interesting to me, as if I was looking at x-rays of the building.

BHML, Feb. 1967

A crane is on the site, lifting beams and material. Men in coveralls, with their heads protected from the cold, assemble the building. The photographs are nicely framed, and the shape of the building against the sky is graceful.
The surprising thing to me was the date: the last week of February, 1967. I know the library had its grand opening celebration on August 26, 1967. How on Earth did they finish that elaborate building so quickly?
The library building, at 505 Water Street, built on a site overlooking the Guadalupe River, was a gift of Howard and Mary Butt, both Tivy graduates with family ties in Kerr County, and dedicated as a memorial to their families. It was designed by the architectural firm of Christian, Bright & Pennington of Corpus Christi, and construction was under the supervision of J. H. Daniel of San Antonio, with Lawrence Goodrich the foreman in charge of construction. The landscape architect was Durward Thompson.

BHML, Feb. 1967

Construction work began in November, 1966. At the time of the photographs, the foundation had been completed.
Overall, the building had floor space of over 21,000 square feet on three floors, and closely resembles in appearance and design the library built for the University of Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1963. That library building was also a gift of Howard and Mary Butt, and is still in use on what is now the Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi as an administration building.

BHML, Feb. 1967

Our library in Kerrville features a mural of Kerr County history by Merrill Doyle, and mosaic tile artwork by Salina Saur. Tiles by Mary Green decorated the amphitheater, featuring characters from books for children. The decoupage panels decorated the children's reading area were made by Christine Gerber. Dotted around the property were quotes from literature and phrases from poetry, selected by Mary Butt.
From beginning to completion, the planning and construction of the building took about 18 months.

Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, Kerrville, August 1967

Dedication Ceremony,
BHML Aug. 26, 1967

At the dedication ceremony, Howard Butt thanked his wife Mary for her dedication to the project.
"If this building's beauty, character, and functional qualities are above the ordinary," he said, "I want to pay tribute to my wife who has dedicated at least a year and a half of her life to planning it."
Lady Bird Johnson, who attended the dedication ceremony, also praised Mary Holdsworth Butt's work on the library.

Moving books to Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, Kerrville, Aug 1967

Children helping move books
to new library.

"Mrs. Butt," the First Lady said, "who has become conversant with every brick and stone and light plug since its inception tells me that it has room to grow immediately from its wonderful collection of 20,000 to 75,000 volumes. With great relish she told me of the day the school children carried loads of books from the old library into this one, and of last week how so many of the community leaders were handling the phone calls and last-minute chores to prepare for this day."
Still, on that cold week in February, 1967, only a few workmen were at the building site. Steel was pointing to the sky, but the second floor was not yet completed, nor was the roof or walls. I'm surprised they finished it in time, though I now have a better appreciation for the motivational skills of Mary Elizabeth Holdworth Butt. The library opened on schedule, thanks, in part, to her hard work.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who started first grade at Starkey Elementary one week after the library was opened and was truly thankful it was so near the print shop. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 8, 2018.

Francisco Lemos, from "The Price of our Heritage,"
an account of the 42nd Division in World War I.
Click on any image below to enlarge.

One hundred years ago today, on September 15, 1918, Francisco Lemos died in France, giving his life for his country. He was only 30 years old.

Emmett Rodriguez (left) and
Francisco Lemos (right),
in France, 1918

Private Francisco Lemos was on scout duty with Company G, of the 168th Infantry, 42nd Division, in the Saint-Mihiel Sector, about 1,500 yards northeast of the Louisville Farm, when a German high explosive shell killed him instantly. The same shell injured another soldier from Kerrville, his friend Emmett Rodriguez, who survived the explosion.
Lemos, who was born in San Diego, Texas, on December 7, 1887, volunteered for service in Kerr County, where he worked for the Schreiner Cattle and Sheep Company in Mountain Home.

Registration Card of
Francisco Lemos

His registration card describes him as short, with a medium build, with dark brown eyes and black hair. He was a single and had no dependents. He'd never served in the military before volunteering. It is possible he did not know how to write his name, since his registration card is signed with "his mark," an "X."
He registered for the service on June 5, 1917.
I learned, from reading an old column by Father Henry Kemper, the priest of Kerrville's Notre Dame Church at that time, that Francisco Lemos had a nickname: "Pancho."
Lemos and other Texas Hill Country men left Kerrville on September 5, 1917, as part of Company D of the First Texas Infantry. They marched to the train depot, where Captain Charles J. Seeber called the roll. A soft rain fell on the assembled troops and their families as each man answered "here" and then boarded the train.

Registration Card of
Francisco Lemos

I have a photograph of Company D marching to the train station, turning from Main Street onto what is now called Sidney Baker Street.
Company D traveled from Kerrville to Camp Bowie, near Fort Worth, for training. I have a photograph of the company in my collection, along with a commemorative poster listing the troops and their officers.
106 names are on that roster; three of those names are also listed on the Kerr County War Memorial, a solemn structure on today's courthouse lawn; those three are among the 19 other Kerr County men who died in World War I.
The three men of Company D listed on the Kerr County War Memorial are Francisco Lemos, Sidney Baker, and Leonard Denton -- and those three are in the group pictured marching to the Kerrville depot.
Leonard Denton never left Camp Bowie; he died from influenza in April, 1918, and is buried in the Turtle Creek Cemetery.
Francisco Lemos and several other Kerr County men traveled to France on the steamer Finland, leaving Hoboken, New Jersey on July 26, 1918. Sidney Baker was also on the Finland.

Company D in Kerrville,
marching on Main Street

The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was fought from September 12th through 15th, and involved the American Expeditionary Force and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing. Pershing's plan, in part, was to break through German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. According to Wikipedia, it was the "first and only offensive launched solely by the United States Army in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating."
Like Francisco Lemos, both Sidney Baker and Earl Garrett also died in northeastern France. Sidney Baker died in the Argonne Forest on October 16, 1918; Earl Garrett, near Exermont, on October 4, 1918. Of those three, for whom streets in Kerrville were named, only Francisco Lemos is buried in Kerrville. His body rests at the Mountain View Cemetery, across Holdsworth Drive from Antler Stadium.

Company D at Camp Bowie, near Fort Worth

Francisco Lemos had been in France with his regiment for only a short time, and the Battle of Saint-Mihiel was his first engagement.
I've heard a story about the moments before the shell exploded, about how Lemos was singing as the scouting party proceeded along carefully, walking through a muddy field in the rain. I'd like to think the story is true, and that Lemos died singing quietly, singing a song of home.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who visited Francisco Lemos's grave this morning as a soft rain fell. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 15, 2018.

Chester Nimitz was from Kerrville

He dreamt of a library for Kerrville

Mother, it is a long cry from here to home

If these men could speak to us, what might they say?

Happy Campers

The Story of the Charles Schreiner Bank

The Mystery of Captain Tivy's Other Tombstone

The Railroad Comes To Kerrville

A Kerrville mystery: who is the woman in this photo?

A surprising twist: How Kerrville really got its name

Who owns Tivy Mountain?

A Texas pioneer family

One hundred years ago TODAY -- women voted in Texas

By wagon, cart, on horseback, or by foot

A cache of Kerrville photos from the 1930s

Where was Zanzenburg, Texas? (Hint: Kerr County.)

Tivy Stadium and 76 seasons of football

Time Machine: Kerrville in 1968

The mystery of the Kerrville tax photos

The skeleton of a library

The story of Francisco Lemos, who died 100 years ago today