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The Tivy Family Cemetery at the top of Tivy Mountain. Did you know there are four graves up there? Click on any image to enlarge. |
My long-time friend Sandy
Wolfmueller recently gave me a book I’d never seen before: “Admiral of the
Hills: Chester W. Nimitz,” by Frank A. Driskill and Dede W. Casad. It was
published in 1983 by the Eakin Press of Austin.
Its nearly 300 pages tell
the life story of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz – from his birth in
Fredericksburg, to his long and spectacular career in the U. S. Navy.
The book also solves a
little mystery about a Kerrville grave. More on that in a bit.
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.
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Chester Nimitz, 1905 at the U. S. Naval Academy |
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.
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.
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September 2, 1945 |
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.
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St. Charles Hotel |
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:
“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.”
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Tivy Hotel |
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.”
A 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.
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Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, with his sister, Dora Reagan, during "Nimitz Day" in Kerrville. |
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.
Back, now to the mystery
of a Kerrville grave.
Those who’ve visited
small family cemetery at the top of Tivy Mountain will remember four graves:
Joseph A. Tivy; his wife, Ella Tivy; his sister, Susan Tivy; plus an unusual
grave: “Feline Tivy.”
I’ve previously reported
the cat buried on Tivy Mountain belonged to Ella. The book corrects that
reporting: the cat belonged to Susan Tivy, the captain’s sister who never
married. I’ve also repeated a rumor: the cat was buried there by Chester A.
Nimitz, as a favor to Miss Tivy.
Here’s what the book
says:
When Miss Tivy’s cat
died, it broke her heart. She was living alone at the St. Charles Hotel, when
Nimitz’s stepfather and mother managed the hotel. She asked young Chester
Nimitz to find a place to bury her cat, where it would not be disturbed.
According to the book,
Chester Nimitz buried the cat in the family plot on Tivy Mountain, and placed a
wooden marker on its grave.
“Miss Tivy was
surprised,” the book states, “but pleased whin Chester told her where he had
taken [her cat]. ‘Why not?’ Chester asked. ‘He’s part of the family and belongs
there.’”
One other little detail
is shared in the book: The cat was a male, with white fur, and around fifteen
years old.
Though the marker at the
top of Tivy Mountain omits it, the cat’s name was Herman.
Susan Tivy died in 1901,
the same year Nimitz left Kerrville for the Naval Academy. She is buried near
Herman.
Until next week, all the
best.
Joe Herring Jr. is a
Kerrville native who has officiated at several cat funerals, though he never
buried a cat in solid stone such as that found at the top of Tivy Mountain. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead September 5, 2024.
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