sept 09 explore

September 2009

Winning Team Takes GSABA Summit Awards for Second Year It’s been a busy year for local Interior Custom Designer Catrina Hoelke and Custom Home Builder Steve Essick. Their artistic designs captured the eye of judges once again taking home the prestigious Summit Award for 2009 Best Product Custom Design $751,000 - $1,000,000 and 2009 Best Interior Custom Feature Design Treatment. Rich colors and elegant features that helped to capture the Tuscan feel that Catrina and Steve were striving to achieve. The home selected for this year’s top awards is on the market and available for viewing, located at 28245 Equestrian, Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas 78006. Interested buyers or those seeking the award wining custom home building services can contact Essick Enterprises for more information. Design lovers can find everything from elegant ranch, authentic Tuscany to Old World all with custom designs at Catrina’s at the Ranch. Please visit Catrina’s at the Ranch to customize your dream.

Steve ssickC U S T O M H O M E S

Essick Enterprises • [email protected] • 210-710-0988 • www.essickhomes.com

Catrina’s at the Ranch • 830-755-6355 • www.catrinasattheranch.com

september

4 EXPLORE it! The REAL Kendall County.

From the Publisher

6: calendar of events

10: music Rockin' Riffs in Welfare by Jeanna Goodrich

13: art & culture Fotoseptiembre by Jeanna Goodrich

16: fashion Sparkles & Spurs by Jeanna Goodrich

22: dining The Creek by Chris Jenkins

26: history Drought2 by Marjorie Hagy

29: spiritual He Made Us by Kendall Aaron

30: outdoors Hill Country Outdoors – Dove Hunting

by Steve Ramirez

Dearest EXPLORE reader… I had a most frightening meeting the other day and thought I’d share.I have a financial advisor. The entire notion of a financial advisor cracks me up, as I’m sure she gets a real kick out of “advising” me on where to move my pennies and quarters. I’m sure she has clients that need information on moving millions of dollars around, but sure enough, there I am, intently making notes on where to move this $5, that $20, and so on. Nevertheless, she’s good, and I appreciate it. However, last week, she asked me about retirement. I’m 33. I’ve been out of college about 8 years. I’ve started and stopped a couple of careers, practically been bankrupt once, and have two kiddos with a third on the way. Retirement is the LAST thing on my radar right now. She asked me “When do you want to retire?” Like everyone, early-retirement sounds nice. I dig my job, but the thought of traveling the country sounds nicer. So I said, “55”. No sooner than I said it, I realized that’s practically………………tomorrow. I’m sure that all of you guys in your 50s, 60s, and 70s will laugh at me, but that moment of realization about just how short this life can be is a pretty freaky moment. I feel like I’ve just begun my walk of life, and yet at the same time, I just realized how short that journey can be. In 15 measly years I’ll be 48. 15 years ago I was in college. That seems like yesterday. While I may not meet my retirement goal, larger issues loom. Can I get everything done that I want to do? I’m not trying to be disrespectful and say that I can’t accomplish anything when I’m 55 (my parents are 60 and would beat me senseless) but if my goal is to end my career at 55, will I have conquered the world? I read about some 25 year old that hit it rich with some start up company and made $50 million, while most 25 year olds are making $10/hour trying to get their foot in the door of a monster corporate entity. So then it comes back to the question – what’s the goal? Millions for retirement, or a content and comfortable life? Or both? God tells us in the Bible that “your life is but a vapor”. I hate that verse, cause it’s scary as hell. A vapor. It’s barely even happening before it’s over. Eek. Man’s mortality is always a scary subject, and it’s a bit humorous that such a mundane question kicked off the whole internal dialogue with myself, but the gravity of the situation is one worth considering. So I return to the question – what’s my goal? I think my answer is somewhere in the middle: “The best I can do”. Maybe I retire at 55, and maybe I’m working my fingers to the bone at 70. Maybe I become a millionaire several times over, and maybe I’m standing by the mailbox waiting on my social security check each month. Maybe my business grows, and becomes a worldwide sensation, and maybe it “vaporizes” next year. I think that the best I can hope for, the best that we all can hope for, is to simply live as well as we can, in the best way possible. So here I sit at 33 years of age, and I feel like I can see already see the finish line. Life is a very short and valuable commodity, and one that is to be enjoyed. I don’t really fear death…I fear regret. And I suppose the greatest thing I can accumulate besides money would be belly laughs, hugs from kids, and the respect of my wife. If I’ve acquired all that, then I suppose I’ll die a happy man regardless of if I’m rich or poor. It’s September, and I hope that as the seasons change (thankfully getting us out of this heat!), you take some time to inventory the many riches you have. Read a good book, immerse yourself in your family, and laugh like a child. I hope that you enjoy YOUR journey.And always enjoy your EXPLORE.

Smiling,

Benjamin D. [email protected]

PS – Abraham Lincoln once said, “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Smart guy, that Abe.

EXPLORE magazine is published by Schooley Media Ventures in Boerne, Tx. EXPLORE Magazine and Schooley Media Ventures are not responsible for any inaccuracies, erroneous information, or typographical errors contained in this publication submitted by advertisers. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions

of EXPLORE and/or Schooley Media Ventures. Copyright 2009Schooley Media Ventures, 113 S. Plant, Suite F, Boerne, TX 78006

PublisherBenjamin D. Schooley – [email protected]

associate PublisherJeanna Goodrich – [email protected]

creative DirectorLaura Kaples – [email protected]

oPeratioNs MaNaGerAlison Turner – [email protected]

aDvertisiNG sales210-507-5250 or [email protected]

Explore what's inside this issue.

“Our friends at the Dodging Duck sent us this image the other day and we couldn’t help but laugh. The entire staff took their copies of EXPLORE and had some fun.Thanks to Keith and the staff of the Dodging Duck for brightening our day.”Laura Kaples, Creative Director…..

GO!Goodness

ntegrityIalonS


September 4FREDERICKSBURG: First Friday Art Walk. Ten local fine art galleries remain open to 8 pm so that visitors have time to visit the various events and exhibits planned at each gallery throughout the day. For more info. please call (830) 997-6523, (888) 997-3600, or stop by the Visitor Information Center at 302 E. Austin St. to pick up a list of participating galleries.GRUENE: Chris Knight. Begins at 8 pm. Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road. For more information please call (830) 629-5077.

September 4 – 6BOERNE: Kendall County Fair, Parade & Rodeo. Includes live music, queen contest, dance, food and more. Kendall County Fairgrounds. For more information please call (210) 834-1282 or visit the website at www.kcfa.org.

September 5 – 6GRUENE: Charlie Robison in concert. Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road. For more information please call (830) 629-5077 or visit the website at www.gruenehall.com. September 10 – 13, 17 – 20, 24 – 26KERRVILLE: Schoolhouse Rock Live! – A Playhouse 2000 Production. The Emmy Award winning Saturday morning cartoon series is turned into an energetic, educational musical. Cailloux Theater, 910 Main St. For more information please call (830) 896-9393 or visit the website at www.caillouxtheater.com.

September 12BOERNE: Songs & Stories Concert. One Minute to Midnight Band performs. Begins at 8:30 pm. Bring Chairs and a picnic. Cibilo Nature Center’s Outdoor Stage. For more info. please call (830) 249-4616 or visit the website at www.cibolo.org.BOERNE: Rainwater Harvest Workshop & Fall Grasses Workshop. Begins at 9 am. Cibolo Nature Center, 140 City Park Road. For more information please call (830) 249-4616 or visit the website at www.cibolo.org.BOERNE: 2nd Saturday Art & Wine. Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d’oeurvres as you make the tour around town. 5 – 8 pm. Great food, drink, shopping and the natural beauty of the Hill Country. Park your car and take advantage of our free trolley service! Trolley courtesy of the “Blue Goose” from Tapatio Springs and The Creek Restaurants Red & Green Vintage Bus. For more information please visit the website at www.secondsaturdayboerne.com.BOERNE: Cliff Eberhartdt singer/songwriter from New York City. 7 pm. Alamo Fiesta RV Resort. For more info. please email [email protected], or visit www.houseconcertshillcountry.com.

September 12 - 13BOERNE: Boerne Market Days. Take beautiful small-town surroundings, dozens of vendors from all over Texas, arts & crafts, antiques, collectibles, unusual items & great food & you have Market Days! Main Plaza. For more information please call David at (830) 249-5530 or (210) 844-8193, or visit the website at www.mainstreetinboerne.com.

September 12, 19, 26BANDERA: Cowboys on Main. Features a cowboy display in front of the Bandera County Courthouse and strolling Western entertainers on Main Street. Sponsored by the Frontier Times Museum Living History Project. 1 – 4 pm. Main Street. For more information please call (800) 364-3833 or visit the website at www.frontiertimesmuseum.com.

September 17NEW BRAUNFELS: New Odyssey. Three talented musicians perform on 30 different instruments. Features dynamic musical arrangements from Beethoven to the ‘40s, from the Swing Era to ‘80s and ‘90s top 40, including comedy, musical novelty and more. 7:30 am – 9:30 pm. 290 W. San Antonio. For more information please call (830) 627-0808 or visit the website at www.brauntex.org.

September 18 – 19BANDERA: True to Texas Brisket Cook-Off. Sanctioned by the Central Texas Barbecue Association. Includes three meat categories: chicken, pork ribs and brisket. Texas Rose Realty. For more information please call (830) 460-7250 or email [email protected].

September 18 – 20FREDERICKSBURG: Trade Days. Shop more than 350 vendors in six barns, acres of antiques, biergarten, live music and more. Hwy. 290 E., across from Wildseed Farms. For more info. please call (210) 846-4094 or email [email protected].

September 19BOERNE: Science in Nature Workshop. Begins at 10 am. Cibolo Nature Center Pavilion and Park, 140 City Park Road. For more information please call (830) 249-4616 or visit the website at www.cibolo.org.

September 19 – 20GRUENE: Old Gruene Market Days. Nearly 100 vendors offer uniquely crafted items and packaged Texas foods. 10 am to 5 pm. For more info. please call (830) 832-1721 or www.gruenemarketdays.com.

September 20BANDERA: Bandera Music History Hall of Fame Induction. 5 – 7 pm. Kronkosky Library, 515 Main Street. For more info. please call (830) 796-8179 or email [email protected].

September 24 – 25KERRVILLE: Silver Stars & Six Guns. Former Texas Rangers fundraiser weekend includes a golf tournament, gala dinner, live entertainment, Texas Ranger memorabilia and more. Inn of the Hills Resort, 1001 Junction Hwy. For more information please call (830) 895-2262.

September 24 – October 18KERRVILLE: Guadalupe Watercolor Group Show & Sale. Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, 228 Earl Garrett. For more information please call (830) 895-2911 or email www.kacckerrville.com

September 25BOERNE: Movie in the Park (Shrek the Third). Join Boerne Parks & Recreation for a FREE Movie in the Park on Main Plaza. Begins at dark. Come out early and enjoy Story Time in the Gazebo with Miss Constance, jump in the Boerne YMCA Moon Bounce and play agility games. Bring the whole family, pack the cooler and set up your lawn chairs for a fun time with the Boerne Community. Big Thanks to Outdoor Movies of Texas for sponsoring the event. For more information please visit the website at www.ci.boerne.tx.us and go to Boerne Parks & Recreation.KERRVILLE: Texas Heritage Living History Weekend. Showcases more than 60 performers and demonstrators, including Native American storytellers and dancers, cowboy poets, humorists, storytellers, Texas singer/songwriters, chuck wagons, teepees and more. 9 am – 3 pm, Schreiner University, 2100 Memorial

Blvd. For more information please call (830) 792-1945 or visit the website at www.texasheritagemusic.org.

September 25 – 27FREDERICKSBURG: Renewable Energy Roundup & Green Living Fair. Includes exhibits, lectures, demonstrations and family activities on renewable energy, organic growing, green building and alternative fuels. Marketplatz. For more information please call (866) 376-8638, email [email protected] or visit the website at www.theroundup.org.

September 26BERGHEIM: Bergheim VFD 3rd Annual Fund Raiser. 5 – 9 pm at Anhalt Hall (off Hwy. 46, 6 mi. east of FM 3351 intersection). The event featuresw a barbecue dinner, bake sale, raffle, live & silent auctions. Live entertainment and dancing will be provided by The Lost Mule Band. Bob Webster, host of the KTSA Garden Show will emcee. Admission: $15/person at the door or $12.50/person in advance at O’Brien’s Restaurant or the Bergheim General Store. All proceeds benefit the Bergheim Volunteer Fire Department. For more information please call (830) 336-2590 or visit the website at www.BergheimVFD.org.BLANCO: Blanco Ranch Roundup. Enjoy a day of ranch-style music, entertainment and rodeo. Yett Memorial Park. For more information please call (830) 833-5245.BOERNE: Family Birding Day. The group will check out the Visitor Center bird feeders, look for birds along Cibolo Nature Center trails and talk about the fall migration. 8 – 10 am. Cibolo Nature Center Pavilion, 140 City Park Road. For more information please call (830) 230-5551 or (210) 710-3981 or visit the website at www.cibolo.org.BOERNE: Tour of Yards. See how to landscape with plants that are attractive and well-adapted to the Hill Country’s soil and climate. The homeowner or a local expert will be available at each yard to answer questions. For more information please call (830) 249-4616.FREDERICKSBURG: Roots Music Concert. Features western swing. 6 – 10 pm. Pioneer Museum, 309 W. Main Street. For more information please call (830) 997-2835.KERRVILLE: Kerr Market Day. More than 75 vendors from the Hill Country offer arts & crafts, woodwork items, metalcraft, quilts, toys, native plants and produce, jams and jellies. Kerr County Courthouse Grounds, 700 Main Street. For more information please call (830) 895-7962, email [email protected] or visit the website at www.kerrmarketdays.org.SPRING BRANCH: Join the San Antonio Opera and the Hill Country Opera League for an evening of rustic charm, great food and exciting opera at the historic Knibbe Ranch in Spring Branch, Texas. Enjoy a catered dinner by Marriott and a special concert by some of our country’s finest operatic talent. Tickets are $85.00 per person and include a cocktail reception, dinner, wine and a complimentary ticket voucher to any opera in the 2009-2010 season. Tickets may be purchased at the Boerne Chamber office. A bus will be leaving The Boerne Wine Center at 5:15 p.m. to the Knibbe Ranch. Tickets for the bus are $10.00 per person. Cocktails at 6 pm, dinner at 7 pm and concert at 8:15 pm.

out & about in septemberfun in the great texas hil l country

the most comprehensive events calendar you'll f ind anywhere.send submissions to [email protected]

September 2009 www.hil lcountryexplore.com 7

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I t’s a Welfare Wednesday, and what better to compliment your delicious entrée and ice-cold Shiner Bock than

down home country music. Crooning out from the Goat Barn are the rhythmic tunes of Jay Boy Adams and The Roadhouse Scholars, making their weekly stop at the Welfare Café. And from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave, you can’t help feelin’ like you gotta dance. Adams, a singer-songwriter hailing from Colorado City in West Texas, picked up a guitar as a twelve-year-old child and didn’t put it down again until he began to care for children of his own. Though much of his most infamous work came from his time touring his way through the seventies and eighties, Adams has stepped back into the spotlight as one of Texas’s premier Americana artists. His latest album, The Shoe Box, reached number 7 on Top 50 Americana Chart: Radio CDs of 2007. Adams says on his website, “The songs are on a CD of course, but this is a true ‘record’ of the important things in my life.” “I grew up playing ‘surf music’, but the British rock invasion was what really knocked me in the head,” Adams recalled of his early music career. “I considered myself to be a Rolling Stone, “ he said, beginning his foray into the music scene. With heavy influences from West Coast rock and a mixture of country and blues, Adams began his musical journey. He started sharing the stage with bands like ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers Band, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Raitt, creating a comfortably successful music career. “I’ve never really fit the Texas outlaw/progressive country mold,” Adams explained. “I was kind of a cross between the Flying Burrito Brothers, Jackson

Browne, Marshall Tucker Band and the Allman Brothers. Somewhere in there is where my thing fell.” Somewhere in there, too, Adams found the experiences and emotions to inspire a passionate and clever song-writing adventure through his years as a touring musician. And tour he did, with over one hundred thousand miles a year on the road or in the air. “I find old cities and towns incredibly interesting. My favorite place on tour was Bruges, Belgium, and the American view of Bruges made it that much more interesting to visit,” Adams said, adding, “but I’ve toured all over the world.” Luckily for the Hill Country, Adams’s most recent tour has landed him at the Welfare Café, where he has picked up his adventure where he left off. Essentially, Adams’s musical career is split up into two different parts, spanning two very different time periods in the history of Americana country; however, sitting with friends, enjoying a beer, and listening to the crisp, clear melodies and intricate instrumentals, the decades seem to blend together to form one unique sound. It’s this sound that truly makes the Goat Barn the perfect place to be on a Wednesday night. Accompanied by his band, The Roadhouse Scholars, Adams’s show draws all types in the Hill Country crowd. Brian McRae joins Adams on the bass, hammering out a bluesy groove to the country tunes. Mark Butzirus plays cool, quiet beats on the drum kit, but doesn’t hold back on rhythmic solos of his own. And if you

thought you could only hear an organ solo

at church, you are wrong: Sam Hendricks wails blues arpeggios up and down the keys, forcing awe into both the ears and the eyes. All in all, Jay Boy Adams and The Roadhouse Scholars make the Goat Barn a wonderful place to enjoy life in the middle of the week. Their country charm, talent, and spirit leave you yearning to come back next week. “It’s like a jam session everywhere we play,” Adams said. “The more we play, the more we experiment. One night it’s cowboy tunes, the next it’s country or rock-n-roll.” Jay Boy, whatever the music is, please keep on playing it this close to home.

Even the youngest

member of the

crowd couldn’t help

kicking up her heels!

music


and the 26th annual

First Weekend in DecemberDec. 5 & 6

Labor Day WeekendSept. 3-6

Oma’s Christmas Craft Fair

Kendall County Fairthe 104th annual

The Kendall County Fair Association presents...


OPSU

DAYS

Personalize a gift

for any occasion!

(Grandparents’

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Walk-insAWLAYSwelcome!

Birthday Parties! Packages available, with

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Ladies’ Night Out! Every Thursday, 6-9 p.m.

Leave your husband and kids

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art & culture

FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USA is an International Photography Festival, which takes place September 1 - 30, every year, in San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. Photographers from across the world come to celebrate the art of the photograph in galleries throughout the area. Boerne hosts three exhibits this year, with a diverse and exciting collection of artists and their respective works. Opening receptions for the Boerne events are the evening of September 12; most of the exhibits are on display through the month of September.

Celebrate the photographic arts in theHill Country at the following exhibits:“Diversity x 10”Boerne Convention & Visitors BureauReception: September 12 from 6-8p.m., Exhibit open September 1-30

“Los Ojos de COSAS”Photography by Bob NiederhauserCOSAS, Reception: September 12 from 5-8p.m.Exhibit open from September 12 – October 8

“The Found Image”Carriage House Gallery, Reception: September 12 from 5-8p.m.Exhibit open from September 12-30

Fotoseptiembrein Boerne{

The Waring General Store is part of the “Small Town Texas” exhibit at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. Photographs by Ricardo Romo are in the Focus Gallery from August 22 – October 4, 2009.

“Tuscan Textures”by Beth Coyle, Digital Print,in The Found Image

“Guadalupe River”by Nancy Damron,Digital Print, in Diversity x 10

“Daturawip”by Whitney Smith,Digital Print,in Diversity x 10

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"Huey" by Sean Van Slycke, Digital Print, in The Found Image

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“Italian Gondola”by Janet Thompson,

Digital Print,in Diversity x 10

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“A Hatful of Flowers in Pisac Peru”by Bob Niederhauser, Digital Print,in Los Ojos de COSAS


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Thursday Bike Night

KENNEDY’S

EST. 2006

Live Music Call for

September schedule!

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830-388-1334mention this ad for a $50 gift card with new activation!

fashion The American Cancer Society and Ranch at the Rim will host the Sparkles & Spurs Ranch Chic Fashion show on Thursday, September 24, from 6 to 9 p.m at Ranch at the Rim. Cocktails, hour’derves, and shopping for fabulous ranch fashions are all a part of the event, where all proceeds will benefit American Cancer Society. The event features celebrity models from KENS as well as local cancer survivors modeling the latest western wear for men, women, and children. Please call (210) 595-0219 or stop by Ranch at the Rim to purchase your tickets today!

Sparkles & SpursRanch Chic Fashion Show

On Emily–vest by Tasha Polozzi

On Jason– shirt by Rocky Mount,

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On Chelsea– dress by Vintage

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On Teresa–shirt by Finley,jewelry by Rocki Gorman

On John–shirt by Ryan Michael

On Chelsea– top by Marrika Nakk,

jeans by ADKTD, Boots by Old Gringo

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t’s a quiet Friday evening, and I’m looking out over Cibolo Creek, watching a family of ducks splash around in what is left of the water. The sun is giving the grass and the trees a bright, warm hue, and families are walking their curly-haired dogs. I’m here by the creek, and I’m looking forward to settling down for a comfortable evening meal. You might imagine that I’m sitting at a picnic table in River Road Park; however, I’m on the other side of Main Street,

sitting behind an old, single-pane glass window and ivory-hued lace curtains. The Creek Restaurant, nestled among green trees and limestone terraces, is the perfect setting for a quiet and serene dining experience, much needed after a stressful work week.

Cozy decorations and dark hardwood floors invoke a sense of the history of the buildings; in fact, one of the structures that makes up the restaurant was the baggage depot for the Encinal Train Station and dates back to the 1870’s. One can certainly tell that the owners of The Creek are doing everything they can to preserve the historic Hill Country charm of the restaurant building. The tranquility of the dining areas take patrons out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and set them back in a time when great food and great friends were what really mattered most on a Friday night. Speaking of great food—a hot cup of poblano cream chowder started off the meal, adding a perfect spice to the palette. Crisp calamari—not too salty, not too fried—and sweet marinara sauce was a delicious appetizer, followed by not-your-typical house salads with fantastic homemade dressings.

Perhaps it was the tranquility of the creek by which we were seated, or perhaps it was that the selection just looked so great: both my lovely date and I ordered seafood dishes for our main courses. Tossed in a buttery, white wine sauce and peppered with garlic and spices, the linguini with clams was as absolute delicacy; soaked in a lemon dill cream sauce and topped with capers and asparagus, the smoked salmon was certainly a delightful treat for the taste buds. Both seafood dishes were complimented by a crisp and refreshing white wine, recommended by our waitress. In addition to the extensive and exquisite wine list, The Creek offers a full bar and boasts wonderfully unique mixed drinks and fine liquors. We finished the evening with a piece of crème brûlée cheesecake drizzled with chocolate, raspberry, and caramel. Yes, you heard that right: crème brûlée cheesecake. The smiles on our faces after the first bite described this dessert experience better than any words could. Further enhancing my fine dining experience, the wait staff at The Creek were absolutely wonderful. Not only were they prompt and attentive, they were very knowledgeable about both the wine menu and the dinner menu, offering suggestions of appetizers, wines, and desserts to compliment the main courses. At the end of the evening, I wasn’t exaggerating when I gave my compliments to the chef: this really was one of the best meals I had eaten in Boerne so far. I will definitely be a returning patron to The Creek—perhaps for their new “Mexican Food Wednesdays”, which promises fresh-squeezed margaritas and traditional Mexican Food to die for. For relaxing and charming fine dining in Boerne, visit The Creek Restaurant for lunch Tuesday through Sunday and for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. For more information and to find out how to make reservations, please visit www.creek-restaurant.com. [email protected]

An Evening at

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dining

By Chris Jenkins

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The Welfare Café has been delighting diners and critics since they opened in 1998. Sit in the Bier Garten or inside the Old

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If you’d’ve asked me when I was kid how deep the Cibolo Creek was, my best guess would’ve been about 200 feet. There mighta been sharks in it, too, which is as good a reason as any why nobody would even think of swimming in the filthy mess, although I have to confess to getting swept away once in a kind of mob mentality during which every kid in the Outdoor Ed class at the junior high school ended up screaming and flopping around in there & swimming the afternoon away. Outdoor Ed, for those of you who didn’t come of age in a rural locale, was an elective choice in middle school (that most of us ended up taking because the roster of electives was limited to that or metal shop,) in which young yokels were instructed in the fine arts of shooting things and cooking on a buddy burner made out of some sterno and an old coffee can. Although I have, as yet, not had occasion in my life to put my outdoor ed training to use in, say, saving a life by tourniquetting a wound with my whipped-off tube sock, I take comfort in knowing that, like a classical Greek education, the knowledge is there, in my holster. Anyway, we were up to the unit in our training which dealt with How To Canoe, and the whole lot of us hauled our river craft down Main Street and launched our flotilla in the Cibolo, where no more than six minutes later everybody shoved everybody else overboard and melee ensued. This confirms my theory that you don’t care where you swim when you’re a kid, as long as it’s at least semi-liquid. In a pinch, a largish mud puddle would do. The water always roared over the dam when I was a kid, too, and we were warned about walking on the dam as death would surely result from a pitch over the wrong side. And we believed this, too, but walked on the dam anyway. There was a rumor around back then that a kid once HAD gone over the dam to the rocks below- the kid was necessarily three or four years older than however old you were at the time, and whoever was telling it always promised to point him out to you at school sometime- and that his friends had ferried him across the street to Dr Herbst’s to have his broken leg set, which would have been far preferable to having us outdoor ed scholars mummify him in tube socks. Whether this is true or not, I have grave doubts, but I hope it is. Do I have a point, you might ask at this stage? Oh, usually not, but

what I’m getting around in time is that the creek never went dry when I was a kid. It could’ve been bottomless as far as I was concerned. The first time I DO remember it running empty, I was very surprised that it was as shallow as it is. I was also surprised, along with several other people in town, that there was a rusted-out old Volkswagen down there. I remember, too, when i was young, that an old lady who went to our church died by falling into the creek in the middle of the night, and I was always spooked and intrigued by that story, and, as is the way with funny old life, my DAD ended up marrying into the family of that very old lady! Finally, I thought, I would get to the bottom of this (er, no pun intended). I finally asked: so what was that all about, with the lady falling into the creek in the middle of the night? And the answer was- well, she just fell into the creek in the middle of the night. Sometimes finding out the solution to some of life’s greatest mysteries just isn’t as satisfying as you always think it’s gonna be. The creek has gone dry before now, and even before the 80s, (I think it was he 80s) with the VW affair. In the 50s, the old Cibolo had this in common with every other river and creek in Kendall County: they were all as dry as bleached bones. Everyone knows that there was an awful drought back in the 50s- what you may NOT know is that the official spelling for the condition under which we were suffering was DROUTH. I don’t know when it changed, but for the sake of my little article I’ll use the newer spelling. The first mention in the Boerne Star that a year or so of poor rainfall might be the beginning of a pretty rough time was in January 1952 with the report of the total amount of rain for 1951, which was 18.76 inches- the lowest, according to the Star, since 1925. It mentions that 1950 was also a dry year, with only 25.12 inches of rain. The average rainfall since 1925 had been 32.18 inches. In December 1951, less than a quarter of an inch of rain was recorded. It was the beginning of a bad trend that would decimate crops & devastate farmers and ranchers and, by extension, everybody else in Boerne and Kendall County throughout the 50s. By August 52, Boerne, along with other area towns, was calling for voluntary water conservation citing the “recent rapid falling water table level in this area of Texas”, and a few weeks later, the mayor issued an

history

drought2By Marjorie Hagy

‘emergency proclamation edict’ prohibiting all lawn or shrub watering, car washing and other non-essential uses until further notice, and shutting down the municipal swimming pool. They blamed it on the “extremely prolonged period of hot weather and progressively increasing carelessness on the part of a few users,” and they meant business. There were no variances granted for people who went ahead and decided it within their own consciences to plant a quarter of a million dollars worth of landscaping plants and then expected everybody else to understand while they used more than their share watering their foolish investment. No, I expect that folks back in the 50s thought a whole lot like most sensible people do now, that there is something arrogant to the point of callousness and beyond in maintaining a lush, green oasis in the middle of everybody else’s dead, brown grass and underfed cattle and dying oaks, and trees crashing into the dry creek beds because their roots can’t reach water anymore. You weren’t allowed to water on alternating days or get around doing the right thing by hand-watering instead of using the sprinkler, you just weren’t allowed to water your stuff AT ALL. There were crops to raise and stock to feed and families who needed to get by, and people did what was right because they lived in the community and did not consider their yards more important than their neighbor’s livelihoods and the land where they lived. At the beginning of 1953, Arnold Richter, who had a farm 18 miles northeast of Boerne and kept his own rainfall records, reported his rainfall measurements for the year of 1952, a total of 43.51 inches. Hey, things were looking up! You’d think. Actually, a downpour in September of that year dumped 13 inches onto Boerne and the surrounding area and caused massive flooding, and inflated the otherwise unimpressive 1952 totals, which included no measurable rainfall at all in the months of August and October. By July ‘53, the Kendall County Soil Conservation District declared that the Guadalupe River was “stagnant and a health hazard and is becoming dry” as a result of the prolonged drought and over pumping, and asked that all new water permits be cancelled. Also in that month a Drought Commission for Kendall County was named, with Joe Haag, chairman of the Kendall County Product and Marketing Administration, named as chairman. The main purpose of the KC Emergency Drought Committee was to facilitate applications and coordinate distribution of supplies of emergency feed for local stock, including corn, wheat, oats, cotton seed meal and pellets. Farmers were encouraged to apply only as needed for a 30-day emergency supply of feed, and by the time of the announcement 125 applications for aid had already been approved. The emergency aid was specifically NOT for those “to whom farming or ranching is only a sideline or a hobby,” ranchmen were reminded that the feed was only to “maintain foundation herds,” and they were “encouraged to cull over aging and less desirable cattle” for the duration of the drought. In other words, it was time to thin the herd and keep only the healthiest stock, as grass was scarce and emergency feed was needed everywhere. One can imagine what these fellas would have felt had they read of how a developer got a variance that allowed him to water because he had to keep his petunias blooming. In the aftermath of the Dustbowl in the American heartland during the 30s, when a prolonged drought, unregulated farming practices and a population explosion in the midwest all contributed to the disappearance of the native grasses and several billions of tons of the finest black soil in the nation ended up on the east coast, one of the programs that was formed to help ensure that a natural (and partly manmade) disaster of that kind could never happen again was the Soil Conservation Administration, and the Kendall County chapter was extremely active in helping the local farmer. You have to remember- maybe I should’ve mentioned this somewhere earlier- that Boerne was not just PRIMARILY a farming and ranching community, that’s ALL it was. There were other businesses operating here, but their reason for being was to serve the farmers. We’ve never had a major industry besides farming, never had a plant or a factory, this was strictly farming and ranching territory and that’s what people were doing here. There’s evidence of this everywhere in local history, as just a casual stroll through the back editions of the local paper will show, and the Kendall County Soil Conservation District ran a feature every Thursday in the Boerne Star. Throughout the 50s, the ongoing topic was making it through the drought, conserving water, feeding the stock, resting pastures and rotating crops, all

lessons hard-learned in the Dustbowl years. During the devastating drought of the 50s, with crops failing and farm prices dropping and local farmers feeding their stock on emergency food supplies, water conservation practices were more important than ever in Kendall County, and every week the Soil Conservation District ran articles and offered training courses on reducing erosion, increasing water intake, increasing crop yields and supplementing farm income. By the end of July, 1953, the Emergency Feed Program was sped up and allowances increased due to “unprecedented demand” and record-breaking high temperatures. Dora Wollschlaeger, prominent local citizen and daughter of a farming and pioneering family, was the official government weather recorder in town in those days (it is not recorded how Miss Wollschlaeger felt about that upstart Arnold Richter keeping his own rainfall tallies) and according to her official records, Sunday, August 9 was the hottest August day in 10 years- 108 degrees. There was some relief in the beginning of September, when 6” of rain fell, bringing “running water into the long-dry Cibolo Creek,” but as things usually happen, the one time it rained that year it rained out the Kendall County Fair. But by this point in the drought, people were so happy to see rain that it didn’t dampen their spirits, even though back in those days the County Fair was THE event of the year, hands down, it was the time people poured into Boerne from all over the county and the only time in the whole year some of the country people came to town. The Boerne Star reports there were “many happy faces, and people out walking in the rain and mud.” The rain, they reported without exaggeration, was a “godsend.” By the way, Dora Wollschlaeger only officially recorded 3.3 inches of rain, but I imagine nobody was in the mood for HER to rain on their parade. The official rainfall tally for 1953 was 21.42 inches. By the next August, 1954, temperatures of 106 & 107 were being recorded again, and farmers and ranchers were being encouraged to sell off their livestock early, as there wouldn’t be enough grass to support them through the winter. By this time every creek in Kendall County was reported dry, at least in many spots. The city of Boerne was busy drilling new and deeper wells, and by July 1955 their fourth new well was going into operation, many of the existing wells having gone bone dry. The total rainfall recorded for 1955 was 19,15 inches. By January of 1957, an additional one million dollars in drought relief roughage- emergency feed- was granted by the Emergency Feed Program, and the Texas Farm Bureau prepared a Drought Aid Recommendation to present to President Eisenhower on his upcoming visit to Texas, where he was conducting an on-the-spot inspection of “the effects of the worst drought in modern history.” He would declare most of the state a disaster area. Later that year, in the late summer and early fall of 1957, the rain began to fall. The paper reported people walking around on Main Street with the sweet rain running down their upturned faces, they reported farmers coming into town from “all over this section,” to gather together, presumably, and talk about the rain. You can imagine the smell, that sweet, earthy scent of the wet, beautiful rain hitting the parched ground, the feel of it on your face, on your closed eyelids, on your outstretched hands. And the sound, at night, of the thunder rolling outside in the hills and the rain drumming down on the roof. The drought eventually ended, and the stock tanks filled back up and the crops came back and the earth healed and the rain came back, and the rivers filled back up again, and eventually people went fishing in the creek again and kids walked across the slippery dam in blissful defiance of their parents and every rule of good, common sense. And they lived through it. The people were strong together and they lived it through to the other side. And if I made anybody feel bad about watering their yards and stuff...good. A luxuriant, tropical lawn full of blooming flowers isn’t something to be proud of right now when centuries-old oaks are dying and cypresses are crashing into the dry creek beds, instead it’s a badge of thoughtlessness and unconcern for the world you live in. You need to be watering only often enough to keep the roots alive and forget the carpet grass, that’s not nearly as important as the trees, and if your yard looks like hell well, at least you know you look like everyone else. Ducks and oak trees and deer and rivers and our South Texas land- well, they’re people too you know. This is the time to do the right thing.

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Here’s the one undeniable truth I’ve come to learn about both creationism and evolution: they both require FAITH. That really irks the evolution crowd, because they feel that their theory is based on SCIENCE. It’s not. It’s a “belief”, which makes it a faith. This will undoubtedly bring me dozens of emails containing links to data that is “irrefutable”, however, I can find similar links disputing your irrefutable evidence. At the end of the day, both evolutionists and creationists must decide based on the data which theory they will believe. And then they must have faith in it. Because of the limitations of my space here, I’m not going to get into the evidence. We all know there is fascinating evidence surrounding Noah’s Flood, the Grand Canyon, and the atmosphere and how it meshes perfectly with creationism. There is also a tremendous amount of data concerning carbon dating, fossilization, and the fact that no fossilized evidence of evolution has ever been found. (And don’t you dare send me a link to some fossilized toe that is supposed to be from medieval man. Nor a fossilized bird that is supposed to show me how reptiles evolved into birds. I ain’t buying.) However, there are books about that, and we can’t cover it in our humble space here today.

But when I have a beer with a friend, and we discuss creation and evolution, the conversation usually hits an impasse. If he’s a devout evolutionist, he’ll discount my “facts”, and I’ll poke holes in his evidence as well. We’ll clink beers, agree to disagree, and move on. The only solace I have is that with my faith, and one that he cannot profess, is that if I’m right…I will enjoy a much larger victory by being with God in Heaven. If I’m wrong, the lights will go out, there will be no heaven or hell, and it’s all over. However, for my friend, he is playing a pretty dangerous game of poker. What if HE is wrong? He has spent his lifetime denouncing God’s creation, refusing to believe in the Word of God, and living his life accordingly. So what does he risk? EVERYTHING. He’ll have to stand in front of God, be judged on why he never believed, and be sent to Hell. And conversely, if he’s RIGHT, he simply dies. And is it really so hard to believe that God created the universe? He says that He created the stars so that we may wonder at the awesome power of God. I completely prefer the thought that God created the stars in the sky for me to marvel, as opposed to the idea that the stars in the sky were created due to some imaginary explosion. How lame. Sometimes the beauty of creation, and the magnificence of it, far eclipses the “scientific” notion that we are even capable of explaining our universe. I sincerely think that God snickers at us. We’re just SO smart that we can barely reach the moon, but we can explain how something as vast and eternal as space was created. Sometimes it’s ok to admit we don’t have the foggiest idea how the stars were formed. So the only idea or theory I can fall back on is the one that God Himself told me about in the Bible, which was “I made it all”. And since no one can show me any evidence to the contrary, I guess I’ll just take His word for it. After all, I don’t think I’d like to stand before Him and answer the question about how I made fun of his creation. He wanted a platypus, so He made a platypus. I’m with ya. Good job, [email protected]

The last time I devoted a column to the discussion of creationism, I was bombarded with letters from folks that praised what I had written, or ridiculed me. I was sent packages with photocopies from textbooks that purported to show that yes, in fact, we had crawled out of primordial sludge billions of years ago only to evolve into the finely tuned machines the human race has become today. People sent me emails telling me the article was tremendous, and others that wrote and called me names. Oh, it was great fun.

spiritualby Kendall Aaron


I saw John Eric pull his truck under the shade of a mesquite tree. He got out with his shotgun in hand, lowered the back gate and looked at me with a twinkle in his good eye. The sun was just beginning to set. I could smell the pungent wood smoke from the fire that had been slowly forming the perfect brisket just above it. I smiled at John Eric and gave a manly nod in his direction. Of all the fields in all the ranches in all the world, he had to walk into mine. John Eric was the best dove shot I had ever seen. He was like the NBA player who can casually toss the ball over their shoulder and still hit nothing but net. I, on the other hand, had good days and days in which I was sorely tempted to check that I wasn’t firing blanks at the little gray-feathered rockets.

“Dead bird comin!” hollered John Eric. He fired once. The dove tumbled with grace through the air almost floating, ever so gently into the back of John’s truck. “Nobody likes a show off,” I said, fully cognizant that my daughter Megan was watching the spectacle from a folding chair under the mesquite tree that I was calling my own. John chuckled, “It’s

kinda of a Zen thing. Ya gotta be at peace with your inner predator.” He spat tobacco juice to add emphasis to his authority on the subject. I took a deep breath and called on my ancestral hunter spirit. Just then, a blast of birds exploded across the treetops. I fired once, twice, three times. They were gone. I checked my gun for blanks. I looked toward Megan. “Dad’s just warming up,” I told her. She smiled sweetly and said, “It’s ok dad, they were fast.” I took another deep breath and hit redial on my predator spirit. Noticing that John hadn’t fired I looked at him with a question mark on my face. “I don’t want to limit out too soon,” he answered.Another brace of birds came roaring in. “Dead bird comin!” John yelled. We both fired. John’s bird took his place just past his cousin, missing the truck bed by a few yards. My bird acquiesced coming to rest directly at Megan’s feet. “Good one dad!” She said. I smiled silently while thinking, ‘I hope she doesn’t think I can do that again.’ As the evening began to fade, I could here the popping sounds of the other guys’ shotguns as flights of dove slid overhead. We were all Texas Peace Officers. Some of us had brought our kids and some of us had just brought ourselves. The kids were all happy when their dads dropped a bird and just as happy when the birds passed overhead unharmed. When the hunting was over, we gathered around the fire eating brisket, sausage, and fresh dove breast wrapped in bacon with a jalapeno in the center for extra flavor. We laughed and shared stories. We made memories and enjoyed being alive in our beloved Texas hills. In Texas, hunting is religion. Like high school football and barbeque, it is part of the fabric of our lives. In Texas, dove hunting is communal. It is the fellowship, the sharing of all things natural. It reminds us that we are all connected to the land and that we owe it respect. Under the tree line or around the fire-pit we experience both solitude and tribal community. We are accountable for our actions and remember where our food comes from. We know that the real “circle of life” is not some anthropomorphic cartoon lion king, but rather that life and death are beautifully connected; each a transition,

each one supporting another. The doves that are most common to the Texas Hill Country include the morning, white-winged, and Inca. The tiny Inca dove is gray with a scaly look to their back. The Inca dove is not a game species and as such is not hunted. The common morning dove is sleek, long tailed and fast. The white-wing dove is larger with white patches on their wings and corners of their tails. For the purpose of dove season, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has divided the state into three regions: north, central, and south. The Texas Hill Country is predominately in the central region with the season being between September 1st and October 25th, with an additional mini-season from December 26th to January 9th, 2010. You can get more information at txoutdoorannual.com. I have always loved doves as I tend to love the entire beautiful, natural world. People I can only love one at a time. Doves fly with grace, speed, and purpose. They call to me in the morning as I sit on my porch and in doing so tell me that God has granted me another day looking down at the grass instead of up at the roots. My dear readers who are not hunters may wonder how I can kill something I truly love. The answer is that I know that it doesn’t matter whether your hunting dove or raspberries, if you really want to learn to love, respect, and protect nature; you need to be a participant and not an observer. When I lived in Africa, I traveled from the rainforest of the Ivory Coast to the grasslands of Kenya’s Mara plains, and from the coastal mountains of Cape Town to the deserts of the Namibian Coast. One thing I learned was that wildlife only survived when there was a monetary value placed on its preservation. Without exception, it was the participants and not the observers who saved the wildlife and its habitat. By definition participants are stakeholders. Dove season is the gate keeper to hunting season. If you’re a hunter or a hunting dog, you can feel it coming on. When I was a kid my dad had a dog named Kip. Every year she would seem to rest up throughout the “dog days” of summer with barely a wag of her tail. But as the days grew shorter she would become more animated, happy, and alive. Soon she would be running through the fields, waiting for the birds, wagging her tail. She was in her element. Each season brings new memories. In the end it is our connection to the land and to each other that truly matters. Things come and go. This season, Megan will be back at college and therefore sadly won’t be there to watch me miss. I will miss her as I stand there with the sky growing

dim and my spirits growing brighter. Still, I am taking a special friend. This season, I will stand at the tree line in the evening half-light. In my arms will be my fathers’ old 16 gauge, Ithaca model 37. He has passed it on to me. It is not the gun that I value, but the memories that come with it. As a kid I would follow him as he hunted and that

is how I learned about gun safety and respect for the environment. I learned about building friendships and memories. I learned about honor, integrity, and about overcoming hardship. I learned what it is to be alive. Dove hunting done right, can teach a young person a great deal of the important things that made us a great nation, things that many of us seem to be forgetting, or even shunning. Maybe from time to time we all could use a little reminding. All we have to do is get out of our houses, cars, and cubicles; stand at the tree line with a few smiling friends……and participate.

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outdoorshill countryDove Hunting

“It’s kinda of a Zen thing. Ya gotta be at peace with your inner predator.”

by Steve Ramirez

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