A poignant letter from Kerrville's Earl Garrett, written over 106 years ago.

Letter from [Victor] Earl Garrett to his mother,
Laura Gill Garrett, September 4, 1918.
Click on any image to enlarge.

This week I had an unusual experience, and I hope I can explain it well enough to share with you.

I’ve written about local history since 1994, which feels like a very long time. Often, I’ll find something new and interesting in my research, and for a little while it feels like I’m the only one in Kerr County that has this new information. I look forward to sharing it with you.

However, there are times when I am working on my column and I find something very sad. This week, I was working on a very sad bit of Kerr County history, but it was compounded by a photograph.

The Kerr County Historical Commission is planning an exhibit which will open next month called “Letters Home.” It will feature Kerr County soldiers’ letters home. I have been asked to provide letters home from three different soldiers. The letters I am preparing for display were written by three Kerrville men who gave their lives for our country: Earl Garrett and Sidney Baker died in 1918 during World War I; Robert Glen Chenault died in 1968 in Vietnam.

Knowing these three men never made it back home alive makes their letters home even more poignant and sad. The same is true for all of the men listed on the Kerr County War Memorial monument on the grounds of the Kerr County courthouse.

As I was going through the letters [Victor] Earl Garrett wrote home, I found one I’d read before. The letter is written to his mother, Laura Blanche Gill Garrett, and dated September 4, 1918. One month later, on October 4th, Earl Garrett was killed in action near Exermont, France, while leading an attack with five men on 30 entrenched German soldiers; his four fellows survived the attack, and managed to take 20 German prisoners. 

Earl Garrett was only 24 years old when he died.

Earl Garrett, 1918

As I was preparing the letters, I couldn’t remember the date Garrett was killed, so I pulled up a column I’d written about him a century after he died. The column starts with a picture of Garrett in his uniform, looking away from the camera, with a determined expression on his face. There is almost a hint of a smile on his face.

So, on my computer screen there was a photo of Earl Garrett. In my hand was the letter he wrote home to his mother. It’s not a copy of the letter. It’s the actual handwritten letter.

It’s written on two small pieces of numbered and gridded paper, torn from a notebook or notepad, written quickly and urgently – telling his mother how much he appreciates her.

“Mother,” he writes, “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…”

As I carefully read this short letter home, with the photo of a very young Earl Garrett on my computer screen, the connection between the pieces of paper and the photograph was very moving. I could easily imagine him focused on his writing, sitting on the ground, tired and a bit grimy, and very near harm’s way, in the dark of evening.

We who have never been where Earl Garrett was – in the military, serving in a dangerous place, writing home one more time – well, we cannot image what he was going through. We can only be grateful for the sacrifice men like Earl Garrett made for the rest of us.

I’m looking forward to the Kerr County Historical Commission’s exhibit “Letters Home,” which I believe will open sometime next month at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center in downtown Kerrville. I hope to see you there.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who works to preserve Kerrville and Kerr County history. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead March 20, 2025.

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Kerrville Holiday Parade -- November, 1993

Kerrville Holiday Parade November 11-20-1993.
MANY more photos below.
Click on any image to enlarge.

If you were to bring me a series of photographs of a parade in Kerrville from the 1890s, or even the 1950s, I’d be pretty thrilled to study each image.

But what about parades which took place in the 1990s? Aren’t those images just as fascinating as much older images?

Like most people, I tend to discount “history” which has occurred during my adulthood.

And yet, Kerrville has really changed since the 1990s.

I recently scanned some negatives which were taken in November, 1993. I recognized some of those in the photographs, and think you might recognize some of them, too. (I expect you’ll do better than I.)

They are photographs of Kerrville’s 1993 Holiday Parade. In contrast with the current Holiday Lighted Parade, which travels through the heart of downtown Kerrville at night, the parade in 1993 was during the afternoon. It featured floats from various organizations, including H-E-B, several marching bands, and even Shriners driving those little cars which were a long-time feature of parades during that era.

From what I can tell, the parade went down Junction Highway, and turned onto Water Street. I have no memory of where it terminated – perhaps the Louise Hays Park.

Here are some things happening in our community at that time:

The City of Kerrville was involved in two big projects – bringing Emergency Medical Services into the Kerrville Fire Department, and also rebuilding the old downtown area, including placing the Heritage Star at the intersection of Water and Earl Garrett Streets.

Kerr County asked the voters to approve a bond to build a new sheriff’s office and county jail, and the bond measure passed. The new facility was built on Clearwater Paseo, right behind the Kerrville Public Utility Board’s offices. Today a new municipal structure is under construction in that area: the city’s Public Safety Building.

I hope you enjoy looking at these old photos – and I hope more than a few of you recognize some of the faces.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who held a familiar public office in city government back in 1993. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead March 13, 2025.

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Lady Bird Johnson's schedule on Kerrville's Very Big Day

Lady Bird Johnson at the dedication of Kerrville's
Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, August 26, 1967.
Click on any image to enlarge.

A kind reader found an interesting government document – and sent it along to me a few weeks ago.

In its upper left corner, it reads “The White House, Washington.” Towards the right, it reads “Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, Daily Diary.” It is dated 26 August 1967.

She had a busy day that day – starting at the LBJ Ranch, near Stonewall, Texas, she left for Kerrville at 10:15. Arriving at 10:57, the diary reads “Arrived at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville for dedication ceremonies; planted a tree; toured the Library and attended reception. Breathtaking view overlooking the Guadaloupe [sic] River.”

She left Kerrville at 12:45, and headed back to the ranch, arriving at 1:27.

I was intrigued by the rest of her day. She left the ranch by small plane at 10:15 that evening, arrived in Dallas and flew on American Airlines Flight #598 to “Friendship” Airport. She was driven from the airport to Mount Vernon dock, where she boarded the presidential yacht, the USS Sequoia, at 3:20 am the following day – August 27, 1967.

Now why did she need to travel through the night from Texas to get aboard a yacht at Mount Vernon? More on that later.

On August 26, 1967, our community celebrated the grand opening of the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library at a dedication ceremony attended by 2,500 people, including Lady Bird Johnson and the donors of the library building, Howard and Mary Butt. It was truly one of the red-letter days in our community's history, marking the culmination of a decades-long dream while also expressing great hope for the future of Kerrville and Kerr County.

The new library building, at 505 Water Street, was built on a site overlooking the Guadalupe River, and was a gift of Howard and Mary Butt, both Tivy High School graduates with family ties in Kerr County, and designated 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.

Overall, the building had floor space of over 21,000 square feet on three floors, and the building itself closely resembles in appearance and design the library built for the University of Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1963. That 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.

Our library building 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. 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 also praised Mary Holdsworth Butt's work on the 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."

August 26, 1967 was a hot day in Kerrville. Even though fifty years have passed, people remember how hot it was that day. Ruth Hinkle remembers "it was extremely hot, several people fainted." Steve Meeker remembers the same "it was very hot and several people did faint."

Mrs. W. A. Salter wrote about the day in her column in the August 30, 1967 issue of the Kerrville Mountain Sun: "The day was one of beauty...the mist on the river, the haze on the hills...the washed look of the world and the sunshine bathing the scene...and the magnificent setting."

The hot weather did not keep the crowds away. 2,500 people attended the ceremony, which was about a quarter of the population of Kerrville. Those who were not included in the guest list admitted inside the building filled up the area below the library, between the library and the river bluff. It was quite a crowd, but from the photos, you can tell it was a special occasion. "My mom made us dress up for the occasion," Sue Alice Jackson Shay remembers.

Photographs of the event, especially candid photos taken by those who attended, clearly show how excited and happy everyone was. The new library was a big deal to the community, and not just as a physical building. The ideas behind the library were just as important.

"Perhaps no place in any community is as totally democratic as the town library," Lady Bird Johnson said in her address. "The only entrance requirement is interest, whether you are a Ph.D. or haven't even started school. It is here that you can communicate with the liveliest minds of the ages...Books are the scissors by which man can cut his bonds of his own ignorance. I salute all the planners who have seen that this library is not only a landmark of learning, but a landmark of beauty. This is, indeed, a proud day for all of us."

Charles Butt, the youngest son of Howard and Mary Butt, has provided support for the library for decades, including for the last series of renovations completed several years ago. He also spoke at the dedication fifty years ago, expressing in an invocation his hope that the library help spread knowledge and "put an end to mistrust, prejudice and ignorance."

At the end of the ceremony, Howard and Mary Butt gave the keys to the building to Kerrville mayor Gordon Monroe and the county judge of Kerr County, Julius Neunhoffer.

"It is our privilege to deliver the possession of this beautiful building," Howard Butt said, "of making this gift of what we hope will be a great institution to serve the people of the Hill Country and the children for years and years to come."

I was a child when the library opened, and I know this hope was fulfilled. Not just for me, but for many children, including my own, decades later.

Now – what about Mrs. Johnson, who traveled from the LBJ Ranch to Mount Vernon, to board the Sequoia?

At 4:32 am, the day after the library dedication, her official Daily Diary has this entry: “4:32 am, Arrived on board the Sequoia – had to walk through the ‘Men’s dormitory’ – went immediately to bed.

If President Johnson woke up at her arrival, I think I know what she told him.

“Happy Birthday, Lyndon.”

So – there was a reason she needed get back to Washington by Sunday, August 27, 1967.

I’m thankful to the kind reader for sending along this small bit of ephemera – and for the rest of the story it told. If you’d care to read more about Mrs. Johnson’s daily schedule, the diary entry can be found at https://discoverlbj.org/item/ctjd-ctjdd-19670826

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who thinks he was at the opening ceremony for the library – as a 6-year-old just about to start first grade. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead March 6, 2025.

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A Tivy basketball program -- from 1978

Tivy High School Basketball program, January 10, 1978.
Click on any image to enlarge.

I’ve been writing a local history column since 1994 – which seems like a very long time. 

Almost every week a kind reader will drop by some historical items: photographs, artifacts, or ephemera. Most of the items are from well before my time, but occasionally an item will arrive from an earlier period of my own life.

When this happens, I feel very old.

Such an item was dropped off a few weeks ago: a basketball program for a Tivy game against Fredericksburg which was played on January 10, 1978. I know most of the players listed in the program, since I graduated with most of them from Tivy the following year, 1979.

The program not only shows photos of some of the players, but also team statistics and advertising from local businesses. 

Of the five businesses with advertisements in this program, only Gibson’s Discount Center, Kerrville Drug, and the two Dairy Queens are still around. Schreiner’s and First National Bank ceased to operate decades ago.

Under “Tivy Antler Basketball Records,” outstanding players from years before 1978 were listed. I remember some of those players. 

Willie Bratcher (’67-’68) scored 708 points in a single season; William Fifer scored 1412 points during his high school basketball career (’71-’74).

I wonder how many of those individual records still stand today.

The coaching staff is also listed, and two of the coaches are still in Kerrville, though no longer coaching: Phil Demasco and Stuart Caulkins. Others listed may also be residents here, but I do not know.

As for the players shown in the program, several have made their homes here. Lane Taylor, Curtis Finley, and Guy Overby are Kerr County residents.

Lane Taylor has long been associated with Ingram, both as a resident and working at T. J. Moore Lumber.

Curtis Finley joined his family’s insurance business many years ago, and recently served our community as a trustee on the Kerrville Independent School Board.

Guy Overby ran a local business, served as the executive director of the Kerr Economic Development Foundation, and also served as a Kerr County Commissioner.

I hope I haven’t missed someone!

Looking at the photographs of the Tivy players, I remember almost all of them. One thing I noticed in particular: they were all so very young in 1978!

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who thinks he attended that Tivy-Fredericksburg game. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead January 23, 2025.

A house for Kerr County history

The home of A. C. and Myrta Schreiner, 529 Water, Kerrville
Click on any image to enlarge.

Nine years ago, an anonymous donor gave the historic residence of A. C. and Myrta Schreiner, at 529 Water Street, to the City of Kerrville. This is the large home between the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library and our print shop, on the river side of Water Street.

On Tuesday, the City of Kerrville hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction to renovate the old home into a museum, the Heart of the Hills Heritage Center.

What's the story about the old house?

Aime Charles Schreiner was the eldest son of Charles and Magdalena Schreiner. He was born in 1862 in San Antonio; In 1885, he married Myrta Zoe Scott, and together they had a daughter, Hester, and two sons, Aime Charles Jr., and Whitfield Scott.

A. C. Schreiner (seated)

A. C. Schreiner was involved in our community, serving on the very first Kerrville City Council in 1889. A. C. was a member of Kerrville's volunteer fire department, and he was a mason with the Kerrville Masonic Lodge.

He was also active in his family's business, serving as president of the Charles Schreiner Company, which was the Schreiner store; president of the Schreiner Wool Commission Company; organizer and president of the Kerrville Telephone Company; president of the board of trustees of Schreiner Institute, which is now Schreiner University.

He and other members of his family gave the land for Kerrville's post office, which now is the site of the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center; gave the land for what is now the V. A. Medical Center; and he and his wife Myrta built and donated the First Presbyterian Church building, the portion which is now called the 'Schreiner Chapel.'

The house in 1973

His business interests included ownership of the Blue Bonnet Hotel. In addition, he served as president of the Kerrville Amusement Company, which operated the Cascade Swimming Pool and the Arcadia Movie Theater.

Myrta Scott Schreiner was born in 1865 in Bosqueville, Texas. She moved to Kerrville around 1880, when her father, Captain Whitfield Scott, purchased the St. Charles Hotel.

She was a deeply religious woman and was among those who organized the First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville. She served her community in many ways, including as chairman of various committees of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. She was a charter member of the Kerrville Women's Club, serving as president several times. She directed the choir at the Presbyterian church, and was a soprano soloist there.

It is said she influenced Captain Charles Schreiner to found what is now Schreiner University, and also convinced him to associate the new school with the Presbyterian faith.

The house at 529 Water Street was not the first home of A. C. and Myrta Schreiner on that property.

According to one source, originally there was a small frame home there, built on property purchased from the Quinlan family.

Later, a much larger frame home was built there, which faced down Water Street toward the Schreiner store. I have not found out exactly what happened to this building, but I can see it in photographs as early as 1893. That house looked like a Disney movie mansion, from Lady and the Tramp.

But that house was replaced by a new house, the one we see today.

The building standing at 529 Water Street today was completed in 1909. One source says it designed by James Flood Walker, who had an architecture practice in San Antonio. One project designed by Walker was the St. Anthony Hotel in downtown San Antonio. Another source says the home was designed by Atlee B. Ayres, who served as the State Architect of Texas from 1914 to 1917. Ayres is known to have worked with other members of the Schreiner family on other projects, so it's possible he designed 529 Water Street.

An interesting change happened between the 1896 home and the 1909 home: the current home doesn't face down Water Street, but rather the porches and front door face toward the rising sun, roughly toward the east.

A. C. Schreiner died at his home in 1935, at the age of 73. His widow, Myrta Scott Schreiner, also died at home in 1958, at the age of 93.

The house has had many owners since Myrta Scott Schreiner passed away there, including a couple, the Herman Beckers, who were Christian missionaries in China; A. P. Allison, who purchased it in 1959; the Harold Saunders family purchased it in the early 1960s and lived there; L. D. Brinkman purchased it in 1980; the last couple to live there, Walter and Barbara Schellhase, purchased the home in 1992.

Now the old house starts a new chapter, as the place where the story of the Texas Hill Country is told.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who is glad this project is getting underway. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead November 14, 2024

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