A Kerrville mystery solved by Orbicular and Pepper Box

Group photo, West Texas Fairgrounds, date -- well, that was a mystery.
Click on any image to enlarge.

I stumbled upon a clue this week which solved a mystery involving a photograph in my collection, a clue given by two separate names: “Orbicular” and “Pepper Box.”

That photograph, still in its original frame, is a panoramic image of a group of people. They’re standing on a racetrack, looking up at the grandstand, where the photographer is standing. The photographer was ‘Brack,’ from San Antonio.

Boy on goat

I knew a lot about the photograph – the who and where. I had a guess about the why. I had no idea about the when.

Dr. William Rector has a similar photograph, probably taken the same day, though his photograph shows a procession of some sort.

What was going on in the image, and when was it taken?

It is a photograph taken at Kerrville’s West Texas Fairgrounds, an image of several "camps" of the Woodmen of the World. The West Texas Fairgrounds were west of Town Creek, somewhere in the neighborhood of Hugo, Starkey, and Guadalupe streets. The photo includes around 100 people, grouped for a portrait, in period dress.

It is a wonderful image of a time and place, showing a crowd of folks looking solemnly at the camera. Smiles are few. These folks were serious. Most of the women are wearing straw hats -- most of the men are wearing felt hats, so I wasn’t not exactly sure what time of year it is. Now I know exactly when the photograph was taken.

'Centre' Point

The banners of two camps can be plainly seen; one from Kerrville and one from "Centre" Point. 

The Woodmen of the World, as far as I can tell, was founded 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska by Joseph Cullen Root, as a fraternal and life insurance organization. It was designed to help protect families from the financial distress caused by the loss of a loved one.

It didn't take long for the organization to reach Kerrville; the "Cypress Camp No. 58" is mentioned in a front-page story in the Kerrville Paper on January 26, 1895.

While looking for something else, I ran across an article on page 3 of the August 21, 1908 issue of the San Antonio Daily Express: “Woodmen Drill Chief Feature of Kerrville Fair.”

45-star flag

It describes in detail the first day of the fair, August 20, 1908. About the Woodmen, it reported “there were in the procession nine camps of the Woodmen and five Circle groves.” Camps from San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Morris Ranch, and ‘Centre’ Point joined the Kerrville ‘camp.’

“The beautiful Circle drill was the work of Myrtle Grove No. 1. The drill, in point of intricate detail, perfect execution and rhythmic beauty was magnificently executed by beautiful women, elegantly costumed and perfectly trained.”

Though the participation of the Woodmen organization in the 1908 fair is interesting, it was not the clue that confirmed the date, though it was a supporting clue. The Woodmen might have participated in several fairs over the years in Kerrville – who knew?

Plus, there is a clue which led me astray a decade ago. One gentleman is holding a 45-star U. S. flag, which was in official use between July 4, 1896 and July 3, 1908. The 46th star was added when Oklahoma became a state in 1907. I thought the photo had to have been taken between July, 1896 and July, 1908. I was wrong, though by only one month.

The reason I’m sure the photograph was taken on August 20, 1908 is written in chalk on a blackboard which is shown in the image.

Horse race results: Orbicular, 1st; Pepper Box, 2nd; Dr. Allen, 3rd

One of the big attractions of Kerrville’s West Texas Fair was horse races, and the 1908 news article reports the results of the first race that day, covering four and a half furlongs: Orbicular won. Pepper Box second. Doc Allen third. Orbicular finished the course in 57 seconds.

There, behind the crowd in the photograph, you can see those three names. Most of the folks in the photograph – well, their names have been forgotten, though I recognize a few of the faces. Those fleet horses, though: we know their names.

I have noticed, while visiting the Glen Rest cemetery, which is next to Schreiner University, several grave monuments that look like sculptures of tree stumps, with the Woodmen of the World seal and a motto in Latin, Dum Tacet Clamat, which roughly translates to "though silent he speaks.”

Some of those buried there were no doubt in the photograph taken that August day.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who spends way too much time studying obscure clues on historic Kerr County photographs. At least it keeps him (somewhat) out of trouble. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times January 15, 2022.

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