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Guadalupe River near downtown Kerrville, Autumn 2022.
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When we start the new year, you and I, we really have no idea what we might discover over the coming 12 months. So it is with this column. Though I know we’ll be looking at the history of our community together, I really don’t know what new stories we’ll uncover.
For me it’s important to keep track of what columns were the most popular over the last year. This information tells me what readers like you are interested in, and guides me as I plan future columns. Sometimes, a few of the columns’ popularity surprises me. (Likewise, some of the columns I think are really important, and offer new historical insights, are not as popular as I expected they would be.)
Here are the most-read of my history columns published in 2022:
No. 10: “
The story behind two Kerrville streets,” published October 1, 2022. It’s the story of two young friends from Kerrville. One was a ranch hand, the other became a preacher. They were walking together in France during World War I when a German shell killed the ranch hand, and left the other man with a disability he carried for the rest of his life. Kerrville has two streets named in their honor: Francisco Lemos Street and Rodriguez Street.
No. 9: “
Kerr County was an important part of Cattle Drives in the 1870s,” published February 5, 2022. The one industry which finally brought hard cash to Kerr County was cattle driving – taking herds of cattle from ranches to markets for a fee. We tend to forget that ranching, or the husbandry of raising cattle, was quite different from getting those cattle to distant markets. This work of driving cattle to market was a big business, and a few local men profited handsomely from this hard and dangerous work – but only for a few, brief decades.
No. 8: “
A packet of Kerr County photographs from the 1950s,” published May 21, 2022. In the mid-twentieth century, it was popular to market small packets of photographs to tourists visiting Kerr County. This little packet was priced inexpensively, and was meant to be a memento of a visitor’s stay in our community.
No. 7: “
The Texas Aggie's 12th man tradition and its connection to Schreiner University,” published November 19, 2022. My business neighbors, the Voelkel brothers, told me the 12th Man tradition had an unexpected link to Schreiner University: a man named W. C. Weir, for whom the Weir Building on Schreiner’s campus is named.
No. 6: “
Saying goodbye to Helen Eisaman,” published January 22, 2022. Helen Eisaman, who taught English at Tivy High School for over 30 years, was remembered as tough, but fair. I have fond memories of Mrs. Eisaman, both from my time in her classroom, and from the many years after graduating from Tivy.
No. 5: “
Another Kerrville 'castle,'” published August 13, 2022. When cedar and brush was cleared from around a mysterious house at the intersection of Harper and Jackson roads, people wanted to know its story. The home, called “Shady Acres,” was completed in 1927, and was originally built as a home for Scott and Josephine Schreiner.
No. 4: “
A 1950s walkabout on Water Street in downtown Kerrville,” published March 12, 2022. Readers love old photographs almost as much as I do, and photographs of familiar streets and scenes are always popular.
No. 3: “
A puzzling aerial photo of downtown Kerrville,” published March 5, 2022. Readers of this column know I like to try and figure out when a photograph was taken, by looking at the clues in the photograph. My best guess on this image was between 1930 and 1935.
No. 2: “
Goodbye, Antler Gymnasium,” published July 16, 2022. When news came last summer that the Kerrville Independent School District sold the campus on Sidney Baker Street, and the buildings there would be demolished, it brought back many nostalgic memories. The campus was originally the home of Hal Peterson Junior High, then Tivy High School, and finally Hal Peterson Middle School. Demolition on the site continues today.
And, finally, the most popular story of 2022.
No. 1: “
The story of Kerrville's castle on the hill,” published July 30, 2022. The story of a mansion overlooking Kerrville and the Guadalupe River valley below is interesting. When we learned it was built by a twice-widowed heiress, the story became even more interesting. Montevista – built by Josephine Leckie in 1925 – was once alone on that hill. Now crowded by other homes, it still is a charming place, though slightly mysterious.
Thanks for joining me this year as we explored our community’s history together.
Until next year, all the best.
Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who collects historical photographs, memorabilia, and other items from Kerr County, Texas. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times December 31, 2022.
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