First Peek: Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library Renovations

Tonight the city invited "donors" to a reception at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, the evening before the grand opening Saturday, March 31st, at 9 am.  I'm not sure why Carolyn and I  were invited, since I don't remember donating anything.  Perhaps Carolyn donated something.  Anyway, while I was there my journalism* gene kicked in, and I snapped a few photos.  I hope to see you tomorrow at the grand opening event, and I hope you like the snaps I took.

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Looking toward the river; the balcony has been enclosed
to make a children's area.

Looking toward the street.

A display honoring Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt.
Yes, boys and girls, some of those photos are from my collection.

Not really sure this photo is any different from the one above.

Kerrville mayor David Wampler makes some introductory remarks.

Kaye Lenox, president of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation,
who has served as a consultant, attended the reception.

The mayor again.  He did well.

 *I'm not actually a journalist.

The progress today on the new Kerrville city hall and clock tower.

Looks like they're making progress. Move in date: late August, 2012.  If you'd like to see the plans for the block, I've posted them HERE.

Peterson Plaza, March 2012

A fantastic find, continued.

Some nice friends gave me a little 1913 book kept by a Kerrville woman called "My Automobile."  It was like a ship's log, back when automobiles were a new thing.
The owner of the book (and a new 1913 Hudson Six, painted a dark blue) was Ola Gammon.  The person who sold her the car was a very young Hal Peterson, who also taught Ola how to drive.
The book is filled with photographs and notes about the journeys Mrs. Gammon took in her new car.  Some of the photos are very interesting, and I'll be publishing them over the next few weeks as we get the book scanned and processed.

A typical page.  Click on image to enlarge.

Take for instance, the page opposite the "Description of Automobile" page above.  The top photo is of a hillside in the snow.  But the image below that is labeled Mr. and Mrs. John Carney.  A quick search revealed that Mr. Carney was a traveling preacher who was a strict prohibitionist.  There are several newspaper articles about his travels through the area.  Most of his visits here were sponsored by the baptist church.  Further research reveals Mrs. Gammon was active in Kerrville's First Baptist Church; I wonder if the traveling preacher and his wife stayed at the Gammon's house when they traveled through here.

Mr. and Mrs. John Carney, in front of what I assume is the Gammon's house.
Note the raised bed of the vehicle.  I wonder if Mr. Carney preached from that bed.
This was taken in Kerrville around 1913.

I'll publish more of the photos as we get them documented and scanned.  This is really a very interesting little book!

An amazing photograph and story

Lanza Teague, my long-time friend and fellow history geek, has a wonderful blog post today about an 1880s photograph -- of the building we now call Pampell's -- and the love story behind the couple who built it.

The Gregory House Hotel, Kerrville, around 1880.
This building was later bought by J. L. Pampell, and was the home of Pampell's.
From the collection of Lanza Teague.

Click HERE to read the story.

A fantastic find!

The logbook

Some very dear friends recently gave me a small book with the title "My Automobile."  It is wonderful.
Back when cars were new, and traveling in them was more of an adventure (with tire punctures, mechanical problems, and abysmally muddy roads), a book like this would have been very useful.
Think of the book as a pilot's log, or a ship's log.  In a way, the automobile opened up travel in a way that a ship or airplane would make travel easier.  To paraphrase the great philosopher Jack Sparrow, from the oddly compelling first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, an automobile was "freedom."
This book was kept by Kerrville's Ola Gammon.  She and her husband lived just outside of town -- I suspect somewhere on Camp Meeting Creek, but I'm not sure -- where they raised award-winning livestock.
Mrs. Gammon begins her book with a description of her car: a 1913 Hudson Six, dark blue, which had 54 horses, could accommodate 5, and was purchased from a very young Hal "Boss" Peterson.
I'll be posting some of the images from the book over the next few weeks as we scan them and prepare the stories, but I wanted you to have a sneak peek at the book.

Click any image to enlarge

Ola B, Gammon, Kerrville, around 1913.
She was very faithful in recording her
automobile journeys in the book.

A very young Hal Peterson, who was 13 at the time;
he sold Mrs. Gammon the Hudson,
and taught her how to drive it.

A new clock tower for Kerrville

Ok, this is just an experiment with a tilt-shift app I have for my phone.   I thought a few of you might like it. For you ex-pats, they're building a clock tower next to the new city hall; all of this is going in the 700 block of Water, along Sidney Baker, where the old hospital used to stand.

Wednesday Ephemera: Dedication Program, Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, August 1967

Given the grand re-opening of the library this Saturday, March 31, I thought this might be timely.  The completion of the library in 1967 was a really big deal for our community.   This program was the gift of a friend -- and came into my collection this week.

Click on image to enlarge

Dedication program, Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library
Kerrville, August 1967

Hunt, Texas celebrates its centennial this year

Hunt, Texas: the early years

I've certainly enjoyed reading so many local history books lately. Dr. Joseph Luther's on Camp Verde is very good, and I learned a lot about our entire area from it.

I'm now reading Jeanne Schumacher Sutton's history of Hunt, Texas, which is a project of the Hunt Centennial Committee. My copy was a gift from my long-time friend C. Jane Ragsdale, who has called Hunt home for most of her life.

As you know, I love old photographs. Ms. Sutton's book does not disappoint -- it is stuffed full of old photographs showing Hunt and the surrounding the hills. There are good photographs of the schools, churches, stores, and Hunt's many summer camps. Many of the photographs I've never seen before, and so this book is a very valuable resource.

In addition to an informative narrative about the formation of the community, I especially appreciate some of the "Summaries" in the back of the book, which list the various camps, cafes, cemeteries, and crossings which were nearby.

Take this list of old post offices near Hunt: "Japonica, 1880-1918; Vix 1884-1888; Pebble 1906-1918; Hunt 1913-present."

I have an old postcard which was postmarked "Pebble"; Jane tells me the post office was, for a time, near where Heart o' The Hills Camp for Girls is today.

The list of schools interests me, too, because I think I have photographs of several. A partial list includes schools at Auld Ranch, Boneyard, Pebble, and Poverty Flats.

Hunt was named for Robert Finley Hunt, a Tennessee native who was born in 1868. Hunt arrived in the area around 1910, and married Clare Byas.

In 1911 Robert Hunt bought 319 acres from John Dubose. He sold Lizzie and Alva Joy 4 acres, and conveyed 2 1/2 acres each to the Japonica school trustees and to W. H. Page. After these sales the Hunt family moved near Flat Rock Lake near Kerrville.

Robert F. Hunt died in 1927; his widow, in 2005.

In 1915, a new school was built, and with the move the name changed from the Japonica School to the Hunt School.

Lizzie and Alva Joy saw the importance of the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Guadalupe and purchased land for a store, and later a post office, from Robert Hunt. Alva Joy became the first postmaster of Hunt, Texas.

The Joys moved on -- they're buried in California -- but the importance of that little confluence remained.

By 1912 what is now Hunt included the Hunt Baptist Church, the Primitive Baptist Church, Japonica School, the Lizzie Joy store, and land set aside for a post office. Alva Joy decided to name the community after his friend, Robert F. Hunt.

By December 1912 Robert F. Hunt sold the last of his property in Hunt to Tom Moore. Mr. Hunt, in the short 18 months he owned the property made a handsome 25% return.

It was Moore who subdivided the land into lots "that would form the new village with churches, a school, and homes. He built and lived in the native stone home that still stands on the right past the present-day post office on the South Fork."

"Hunt, Texas: the early years 1857-1959" is available at Wolmueller's Books at 229 Earl Garrett Street. They also have a few of Dr. Luther's book on Camp Verde available. I am happy to recommend both.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who, long ago, attended summer camp near Hunt, Texas. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times March 24, 2012.

Impressive Kerr County Arrowhead Collection

I was impressed by the magnitude of this Kerrville arrowhead collection, from this press photo dating around 1967.  Serious collectors abound here, but then again, there are a lot of old stone tools to be found in our area.  (Full disclosure: yours truly has never found a complete arrowhead in many years of looking.)
If anyone recognizes this collector, please let me know in the comments section below.

Click on image to enlarge

Man with arrowhead collection, Kerrville, around 1967

1968 Kerrville Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts

I believe both of these images were taken around 1968 -- but I really don't know who the little scouts are.  If you recognize anyone, please let me know in the comments section below.  Thanks!

Click on either image to enlarge

Cub Scouts, Kerrville, around 1968

Boy Scouts, Kerrville, around 1968

Kerrville Mayor Gordon Monroe, around 1968

I remember when Gordon Monroe was Kerrville's mayor -- it was about the time I started first grade -- and about the time the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library was opened with a grand community celebration.  Here are some press photos of Mr. Monroe doing the job of mayor.  I look at these and remember my own days of smiling, pen in hand, in support of this cause or that cause, when I served Kerrville as mayor, twenty years ago.

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Kerrville mayor Gordon Monroe, with girl scouts,
around 1967

Kerrville mayor Gordon Monroe, with ladies, signing
proclamation at the old City Hall.

Kerrville mayor Gordon Monroe (center), with young
people, Inn of the Hills, Kerrville, around 1967.

A group of Kerrville sailors, around 1968

Once again, I need your help.  I know the "where" and "when" on this shot, but not the "who" or "why."
If you can help, please leave a comment in the comments section below.

Click on the image to enlarge

Sailors, on the steps of the old Kerrville post office, around 1967.

Kerrville horsemen (and women), from around 1967

I wish I knew the occasion of this photograph.  I know the location: the Kerr County Courthouse.  I know (roughly) the time period: around the holiday season, 1967.  But I do not know the "who" or "why" of the photo.  If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it.

Click on image to enlarge

 A group of riders at the Kerr County Courthouse, around 1967.

The story of Kerr pioneer Sam D. Glenn

Sam D. Glenn

There are a lot of folks in Kerrville related to Samuel Donley Glenn, including, if I remember correctly, the current city secretary of Kerrville, and a young person who works with me at the print shop. But there are probably hundreds more here.

Glenn was quite a hill country character, and I published two photos of him in my recent book. In the photos you see a hardy fellow who's obviously very tall.

Glenn, who was born in 1854 near Llano, was fond of telling folks he once ran a Comanche brave to death, by running away from him. Another family story says he took an axe to a sign at Schreiner Company because he kept bumping his head on it; he had warned Capt. Schreiner he'd better move the sign, and when his old Captain forgot, Glenn took the sign down for him. Permanently.

When Glenn was born, pioneers were in constant danger from the local native American tribes; not long after his birth his family moved to Fort Mason. Later, in 1862, when Gen. H. R. Bee ordered all settlers to band together for protection, the family moved to Kerrville. Glenn was an 8 year old lad when he moved here, but he was slightly older than Kerr County, which was formed in 1856.

In his front-page obituary in the April 20th, 1939, issue of the Kerrville Mountain Sun, a description of Kerrville was given: "At the time Kerrville was a small village, the water being carried from the springs on the river, and the houses made of logs, with shingles carved from the huge cypress trees along the river's banks."

The Glenns on their golden wedding anniversary, Kerrville, 1925

When Glenn was 19, in 1872, Glenn made his first "trip up the cattle trails."

"The journey was made to Wichita, Kansas, and the men drove 1700 wild beef cattle up a trail that crossed the Colorado River at Austin, the Red River at Red River Station near Denison, and then on through the Indian Territory [present-day Oklahoma] to Kansas."

He joined another trail drive in 1873, driving cattle to the Smoky River, near Ellsworth, Kansas.

In both drives, Glenn was a "drag driver," which meaning he followed the herd on foot. He walked to Kansas. Twice.

In 1874 he married Miss Martha Jane Crawford and together they raised nine children.

In 1876 Glenn was a part of the Kerr County Minutemen, lead by their elected captain, Charles Schreiner. (It was from this group Schreiner earned the title "Captain.")  Glenn participated in a shootout where the Minutemen fought some horse thieves near Flat Rock in Gillespie County.

He also joined the gold rush in the Black Hills of South Dakota around 1877. Going to the country beyond Dead Wood, where the Sioux were giving miners "trouble," Glenn found the excitement was too much, and he was hungry and cold. He said "he learned after a few weeks all that glitters is not gold, and he returned home, coming most of the way by foot."

In one of the photos I have of Glenn, I'd noticed his boots before. I didn't know they were walking shoes, but they were.

His last trip was in 1882, when he headed to Nebraska. On the way he "spent the night in a small city that was blown away during the night by a cyclone."  It was after this event Glenn decided to settle in Kerrville permanently.

He was a stone mason by trade and helped build many of the stone buildings and homes in Kerrville from that era, including the Weston Building, which now houses Francisco's Restaurant, and the Masonic Building, which now houses Sheftall's Jewelers.

I suppose the most telling item in Glenn's obituary was the account of the African-American nanny that raised Sam Glenn as a child. Fannie, when told of her liberty after the Emancipation Proclamation, replied "I always was free."  Father Kemper, Glenn's pastor, made a point to tell that story in the words he wrote about Glenn.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who needs to slow down on the sweets. Too many pies and cakes, lately, and ice cream, too.  Your chubby columnist is getting even chubbier. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times St. Patrick's Day, 2012.

Evans Foodway, Kerrville, mid-1960s

My parents came to Kerrville when the grocery chain for which my father worked, Evans Foodway, moved their headquarters here.  Dad, armed with an advertising degree from the University of Texas, directed the chain's advertising campaigns.  I vaguely remember shopping at this store with my mother when I was little.  The building still exists; it's the Fine Medical Center at Five Points, though I think the "medical" has been largely replaced by other tenants.

Click on any image to enlarge

Evans Foodway, Five Points, Kerrville, late 1960s.

My father, Joe Herring Sr. (facing left, with tie) presenting a customer a prize during
one of the many promotions he ran for Evans Foodway
in the early 1960s.

Please explain these Kerrville photos to me.

I have a lot of Kerrville photographs in my collection, and more than a few leave me baffled.  The beg the question "What on Earth was the photographer trying to convey here?"  Or "What is happening in this photo."  Here are a few:

Click on any image to enlarge

My question, exactly.

Shelby and Cody preferred watching waders
over television.  Life was simpler then.

The way this photo is framed, it looks like 2 or 3
little girls ran from the left side of the image, leaving a space.

That's either a very small boy, or a
very large pencil.  Mod shirt, though.
(This is Philip Stacy!)

I know, a typical nativity play.  I'm sure the child in the back
is dressed as a cow (or bull).  But the costume looks
a little like a Hallowe'en devil's costume.

Look boys!  A tire. See if you can find the other three.

My apologies to those readers who find themselves in the photos above.  I'm not making fun of you!  I'm just amused by the way the photograph appears.

A nice shot in downtown Kerrville, around 1917

The Domingues family has shared several images with me, and all of us, and I'm thankful.  This is one of Louis Domingues taken in front Dr. P. J. Domingues's downtown office.  The Schreiner store is in the background.  You can make out the word "Bank" on the facade, but I think by the time this photo was taken, the bank was planning a move across the street.

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Louis Domingues, taken in the 700 block of Water Street, Kerrville, 1917

Kerrville picnics, probably around 1915

I really like photos of Kerrville people on picnics -- you might remember I chose one for the cover of my book.  Charles Domingues, here in Kerrville, sent along these two.  I think they're fabulous photos.

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Domingues family picnic.  note the little fellow in the front
who didn't pose but kept on eating!

This photo is captioned Community at the River.
Another great picnic photo.
Not the clothes we would wear on a picnic today, eh?

A Social Media Experiment

Please share this with your tech-savvy friends:

Wednesday Ephemera: Kerrville music book

A kind reader gave me this little music book yesterday; I think it belonged to Louis Temple.  Inside are several pages of violin music; some printed sheets pasted in, others where the music is written by hand. The back says "Geo. A. Harrison/Bookseller, Stationer and Newsdealer/ Agent for the Seaside Library/ Kerrville, Texas."  A quick Internet search suggests the "Seaside Library" was a periodical which offered the works of authors of the day, and was published in the 1870s.
If so, this little book of music dates from about that time.

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Front cover, music book, Kerrville, possibly late 1870s.

Back cover, music book, Kerrville, possibly late 1870s

One of the handwritten tunes.

One of the pasted tunes.

A sample I found online of the
"Seaside Library."

Second offices of Dr. P. J. Domingues, Kerrville, around 1917

R. G. "Toby" Jobes sent along some family photographs of his grandfather's medical office and pharmacy, which were on the corner of Water and Earl Garrett Streets.  Dr. P. J. Domingues originally had his offices at his home, but around 1905 moved into new offices at that important corner.
Later, when the Charles Schreiner Bank moved from its location as a part of the Schreiner store building, Dr. Domingues moved one door west into a newly-constructed office.  These images show Dr. Domingues's office and the new Charles Schreiner Bank.
My thanks to Mr. Jobes for sharing these images with all of us.

Click on any image to enlarge

The new Schreiner Bank building with Dr. P. J. Domingues's office and pharmacy to the right, around 1917.
Note that the bank building lacks a clock, and that the
Blue Bonnet Hotel has not been constructed.

Interior, Dr. P. J. Domingues's medical office and pharmacy.
Dr. P. J. Domingues is shown on the left.

A later image of the drug store and bank.  Note the new clock on the bank,
and the small Blue Bonnet Hotel on the right, taken around 1920.
(The hotel would add several more stories upward, later.)

The medical office and pharmacy of Dr. P. J. Domingues

R. J. "Toby" Jobes sent along these great photos of his grandfather's medical office and pharmacy, which were on Water Street, at the intersection of Water and Earl Garrett (then Mountain Streets).
Dr. P. J. Domingues was one of Kerrville's early physicians, arriving around the turn of the last century.  He bought a home at 412 Water Street, and there opened his first practice.  Later, Capt. Charles Schreiner built a building at the intersection of Water and Earl Garrett streets which Dr. Domingues used as his office and his "Kerrville Drug Company."
The site of the old office and drug company was about where the flagpoles and parking lot of Bank of America are today; some of you (fellow) Kerrville old-timers will remember when the Charles Schreiner Bank stood on the same corner.  Here are some of the early images of that office and pharmacy.
Thanks again, Mr. Jobes, for sharing these images with all of us.

Click on any image to enlarge

Interior, office and pharmacy of Dr. P. J. Domingues, Kerrville, around 1910.

Exterior, Dr. P. J. Domingues office and pharmacy, Kerrville, around 1910.
Note the little wagon to the side; tamales were sold from this.

Long-held dreams of a Kerr County museum

For some time there has been talk of a Kerr County Museum.
Lately I've heard of a new effort to pull together historic items into one place, again in an attempt to have a museum that tells our community's story.
But really such talk has been going on for a very, very long time.
Until recently, the Hill Country Preservation Society helped fill the role as the community's museum, and had for many years, under the leadership of the late Josephine "Dodo" Parker. Since the Charles Schreiner home was recently acquired by Schreiner University, many are wondering (including some at the university) what role the Captain's home will play in telling the history of this place.
But hopes for a community museum predate even the Hill Country Preservation Society.
J. J. Starkey, who was editor and publisher of this newspaper, also pushed for the creation of a Kerr County Museum, and organized the collection of items to display. I find, in looking through old issues of the "Kerrville Times" many pleas by Mr. Starkey for items for the proposed museum, from the early 1930s through the early 1940s.
Mr. Starkey's father had been Kerr County's "Chief Justice," or county judge, during the Civil War; J. J. Starkey was born here in 1870. I'd consider both generations Kerr County pioneers.
In many newspaper issues he noted what had been donated to the "museum collection" and by whom. In December 1935 he reported a place had been found for the collection in the home of Bert C. Parsons. "Mr. and Mrs. Parsons are on the premises practically all of the time," Starkey wrote, "and articles brought in will be as well safe-guarded as in any museum."
I find it personally interesting that the Parson's home was probably near where our print shop sits today. I'm pretty sure Parson's Hall was next door to us, in the parking lot we own between the print shop and Grape Juice.
All of those collected items were once so close by!
In the autumn of 1932, the "Kerr County Pioneers Association" held a meeting and discussed a museum. Mrs. R. A. Franklin, who had led the students in her classes to form a history club, suggested the downtown area was ideal for such a museum. "Plans for acquiring a building for the collection of old-time relics," was being considered, according to the group's president, J. J. Starkey.
Here's the thing: I have no idea what happened to the items the group collected and displayed.
Mrs. R. A. Franklin, who was a teacher at Kerrville's junior high school in the early 1930s, organized the collection of various historical items into a "Junior High Museum;" the collection included items from the Texas Revolution and an extensive arrowhead collection. I've heard about the items the students collected for many years, mainly from folks who were students in Mrs. Franklin's classes.  No one knows what happened to the items the students collected.
In the early 1930s the historical groups had an enormous advantage over those today who are interested in the area's history: they were closer to the beginning of our community.
Living among them were people who had actually been Kerr County pioneers.
Most of the avid collectors of "old-time relics" today have many items from recent decades. Aside from worked flint, my own collection extends back to a very few items from about 1880, but Kerr relics before 1900 are very rare even in my collection.
I applaud those who are now hoping to organize a museum. One is definitely needed here. I only hope they can find a way to safeguard the items donated and loaned to such a museum; precious items loaned in years past somehow vanished, along with those who hoped to preserve them.
Until next week, all the best.
Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville item who collects Kerr County historical items, hoping someday to find a permanent home for them. Ms. Carolyn definitely does not want them in her house. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times March 10, 2012

The home of Kerrville's Dr. P. J. Domingues, about 1900

R. G. "Toby" Jobes sent along some images of his grandfather, one of Kerrville's earliest physicians, Dr. P. J. (Polycarp Joseph) Domingues.  Over the next few days I'll publish them here for you.
Dr. Domingues arrived here from Louisianna in 1898, seeking the dry climate for health reasons.  He delivered many a baby and mended many a broken bone here.  I think I'll start by showing the images of his house in Kerrville, at 412 Water Street.  Unfortunately, this cute little home is gone, replaced by a parking lot.
The thing I like about these photos: they show the family, and that the good doctor was a family man.
Thanks, Mr. Jobes, for sharing these with all of us.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Home of the Dr. P. J. Domingues Family, 412 Water Street, Kerrville, around 1900.

Dr. P. J. Domingues and children, 412 Water Street, Kerrville, around 1900.