Vol2 No1 Winter 2014-2015 - Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country

Transcription

Publisher: Karyn Lyn
Editor: Greg Forest
Design & Layout: Lonesome Dove Design Studio
Columnists& Contributing Writers: Karyn Lyn, Greg Forest,
Kathleen Hudson, Joe Herring, Phil Houseal, Jil Utterback,
Steve Stainkamp, Gary Lockte, Claire Dubois, Mary Schenk,
Genie Strickland, Jerry Phillips, Betty Sharp, Scott Hainline &
Jack Armstrong.
Proof Readers: Claire Debois, Jil Utterback, Scotty Kauffman
Web & Application Programming: The Music Office
Sales: Tony Griffith, Karyn Lyn, Greg Forest
Holiday Events in the Hill Country
Jack Armstrong has been Googling, phoning and checking up
on the numerous festive events in the Texas Hill Country this
holiday season. re is still a lot to do. Jack Armstrong has made a
calendar of the best of the best. Page 32
Woulda Coulda Shoulda - Had the Best
Scott “HangTime” Hainline, like just about everyone in the Hill
Country, has Johnny Football mania. Seems that some a few
recruiters and coaches (21) overlooked the fact that there was
“treasure in them hills.”
Page 41
Heart Beat Welcomes Claire Duboise
The Hill Country is lucky to have a number of great theaters
and actors. Heart Beat newcomer Claire Duboise is on the beat
keeping you abreast of upcoming theatrical productions. From
the Fredericksburg Theater Company all the way to Ingram’s
Point Theatre, here’s what’s coming up this winter.
Page 24
The Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country is published quarterly by Heart Beat Publishing PO Box 1204, Bandera,
Texas 78003. Opinions expressed in articles may not be those of the publisher and editor of the The Heart Beat
of the Texas Hill Country, its advertisers, writers or contributors. All content is copyrighted by The Heart Beat
of the Texas Hill Country and may not be reprinted without the express written consent of the publisher. The
Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country is not liable for editorial content, typographical errors and any statements
or claims by advertisers or columnists. Subscriptions are $20 per year payable to The Heart Beat of the Texas Hill
Country at the above address. Editorial and advertising submissions must be received by the 10th of the month
before publication. All ad dimensions, prices and specifications may be found at our website, texasheartbeat.com.
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Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country Winter 2015
Wimberley is “Bootiful”
There is an old song by Nancy Sinatra, “These boots are made
for walking...” In the case of some of the boots in Wimberly, that
would only apply if you are wearing a size 100. Wimberley is
kicking off an installation of additional boots in January 2015.
Page 12
Joe Herring - Photographer Starr Bryden.
“All the money I had was $10.00 and my bike, and the distance to go was
about 1500 miles. The late Dr. Jackson said ‘Starr, it will kill you.’ Maybe
so, I replied, but I want to go home. I made the ride in twenty-one days
and when I got home I had exactly 25 cents, and paid for everything I ate
on the way.” They don’t make photographers like this anymore.
Page 13
Phil Houseal - Putting the “Writer” In Songwriter
Phil knows more than a few songwriters and this issue lets them
speak for themselves regarding the art and process of composing
a song. Some songwriters are born to craft tunes but even the
best have to have a process. Here’s some advice from the cream
of the songwriting crop. Page 18
FEATURED ARTIST - HANS BAUER
This month our featured artist is Renaisance Man and
photographer Hans Bauer. Bauer has run the gamut of creative
endeavors from being an author, screen writer and photographer.
Hans’ specialty is to transform the sometimes sterile look of
digital photographs and give them the look of a fine painting.
His technique is a feast for the eyes and causes you to “actually
look into the image” to find the magic.
Page 28
Women in Texas Music - Shelley King
Kathleen Hudson shares one of Texas most beloved singersongwriters, Shelley King with us this month. Not only is she
the first Texas State Musician (2008), but she is also on the Texas
Commission of the Arts touring roster. She has carved a niche
for herself with her approach to the music, an approach the
includes passion, fire, rhythm, writing and stories.
Page 22
texasheartbeat.com
Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country
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Turning the Corner on a New Year
H
eart Beat is off to the races in our second year and we look
forward to continuing to bring the best in music, theater, the
graphic arts and special events to our Hill Country readers.
W
e couldn’t have done it without the help of gifted writers,
dedicated readers and advertisers who support our misson. A
big thanks and shout-out to each and every one you!
Keep an eye out for us in 2015 and we will bring you the
highlights of all the great events coming down the pike.
Don’t forget to visit our online editon at TexasHeartBeat.com!
The Texas Heartbeat would like to say
We appreciate your dedication & suppoo!
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In September 2014, Wimberley merchants and galleries unveiled large, custom-embellished boot sculptures. The project, known as
“Bootiful Wimberley” is the effort of the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance.
The boots are intended to promote
cultural tourism and the arts in Wimberley by
drawing visitors to the displays. Each boot is
six feet tall, 4 ½ feet long and weighs about 60
pounds. The collection of boots are decorated
with paint or mosaic material and are a showcase
for the many artists who abound in Wimberley.
The boots are permanently installed at locations
along RR 12, River Road, RR 3437 and RR 2325.
Maps can be picked up at the Visitor Center that
show where each boot is located.
“Our goal was to place at least 20 boots throughout Wimberley,” says Cathy Moreman, president
of the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance, “but we ended up with 30 boots.” In addition to luring visitors, the committee was interested in making the project a source of pride
for residents. Wimberley’s school children were
involved with painting regular sized cowboy
boots. More than 50 children participated and
then displayed their boots on a float in Wimberley’s July 4th parade. In addition, a documentary of the boot project is being produced and will
highlight many of the artists at work.
In September, all of the boots were
presented for public viewing at a “Baring our
Boots” party for Wimberley residents. More
than 700 people came to admire the creativity
and share in the fun. The boots were well-received and a have become a source of pride for
the community.
By popular demand, the group is
kicking off an installation of additional boots
in January 2015. The goal is to sell and place 20
more boots around the Wimberley Valley for a
total of 50 sculptures. Sponsors commit to displaying the boots for at least 18 months so there
is plenty of time to discover them all. More information can be found at www.bootifulwimberley.com and www.wimberleyarts.org.
Wimberley Market Days is held every
first Saturday, March through December, 7am4pm. More than 475 booths offering an enormous variety of items are set along winding,
shaded paths. Live music, great food and drinks
make for a fun shopping experience. Visit www.
shopmarketdays.com for more information.
I
collect early photographs of the
Texas Hill Country, and many of the best were
taken by one man, Starr Bryden.
His story, from an email from one
who remembered him:
“Starr [Bryden] was a very interesting
man. He and his father had come to Texas from
Tennessee. Starr had tuberculosis and was
very ill. Like many others, he had heard that
the climate in the hill country of Texas would
be beneficial in helping him recover from his
illness. I believe he was about 16 years old when
he came to Kerr County. My great-grandfather
(Harry Williams) discovered Starr and his dad
camped in a primitive shelter on a neighbor’s
ranch near Turtle Creek. He went home that
evening and told my great-grandmother about
having found a very sick boy and his dad camped
out in the woods. My great-grandmother (Ella
Denton Williams) insisted that they bring the
boy to their home. They enclosed a corner of
their front porch and made a room for Starr. My
great grandmother fed him, nursed him back to
health, and even taught him to walk again. Starr
remained in the Kerrville area the rest of his life.
He rode a bicycle most of his early years, and
rode a motor scooter as he got older.”
Raymond Starr Bryden came to
Texas in 1912, suffering from what doctors then
called “Galloping Consumption.” He spent a
year and a half in San Antonio, then moved to
Kerrville in 1913, “just a jump and a skip ahead
of Father Time with the scythe. He made quite a
few passes at me,” Bryden wrote in 1956, “but I
jumped and the scythe went under my feet.”
After he’d been here awhile and had
been nursed back to health by the Williams
family, he decided to go visit his family in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. On his bicycle.
“All the money I had was $10.00 and
my bike, and the distance to go was about 1500
miles. The late Dr. Jackson said ‘Starr, it will kill
you.’ Maybe so, I replied, but I want to go home.
I made the ride in twenty-one days and when
I got home I had exactly 25 cents, and paid for
everything I ate on the way.”
When he arrived in Chattanooga, he
sent a telegram to the Kerrville Mountain Sun,
which the paper published. (I think the town
was worried about him.)
“Arrived in Chattanooga September
29th. Traveled over 1500 miles and was in six
different states. It was a great trip.”
Later, Starr wrote: “When I got back
to Kerrville, I saw Dr. Jackson and said ‘Well,
Doctor, it didn’t kill me.’
The doctor, according to Bryden,
replied “H--- no, but it should have.”
Starr became a beloved member
of the Kerr County community. “Yes, folks,”
Bryden wrote, late in life, “my hat is off to the
Hill Country, and especially my friends, and the
great outdoors, and the beautiful hills. Truly the
good Lord has been good to this community.”
Many of his photographs are featured on my
blog, at joeherring.com
joeherringjr.blogspot.com
The November Grassy Hill Kerrville
New Folk Tour was a major success this year.
There were more concerts and full houses for the
six Award Winners that I mentioned in the last
installment of the New Folk History, FRANK
MARTIN GILLIGAN, THE LOVEBIRDS,
CAROLINE SPENCE, CONNOR GARVEY,
C.DANIEL BOLING and MATT NAKOA.
They also were featured on a Blue Rock Studio
Concert Window event. Lots of folks tuned in
and chatted to the artists. It was so much fun.
These tours are another of the many great things
that come from participating in New Folk at the
Festival. December 1ST is the opening date
for SONGWRITERS to enter the Grassy Hill
Kerrville New Folk Competition. You may
submit ONE entry of TWO original songs by
mail or on Sonicbids. These are listened to by 30
- 40 music industry folks and music fans, scores
compiled, 32 out of the 700 - 800 entries are
invited to appear at the Festival. Those 32 will
present those songs to a panel of 3 songwriters
as judges to narrow it down to 6 Award Winners.
All of the guidelines and details are at http://
www.kerrville-music.com/newfolk.htm
So to continue with the words from
the award winning artists themselves please
welcome Tish Hinojosa from 1979 and Tom
Prasada-Rao from 1993.
TISH HINOJOSA
“I was around 23 when I entered my
1st 2 self-penned songs to New Folk. Someone
had suggested to Rod to go hear me sing in San
Antonio. I knew who he was, because I was in Awe
of the festival and it’s famous performers, and was
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more in awe that Rod came to listen to me sing.
After my set, he spoke to me about the festival and
that he’d like for me to sing at it and he asked if I
wrote any of my own material. I was sad to answer
“no”. Before this day, my plan at this point was just
to sing like Linda/ Dolly, play guitar, get discovered
and become a star. Rod reeled my head in from
the clouds, by saying I needed to be a songwriter
in order to play at the Festival. He mentioned
“New Folk” and that I should give songwriting a
try and submit a couple of songs. I ran home and
wracked my brain, and I’ll be damned - I wrote my
first songs, and they weren’t too bad. Being selected
a winner in 1979 was such a boost that gave me
confidence to continue writing. A little later, record
companies took notice of me as a “Singer-ANDSongwriter, and that is what led me to become the
recording and touring artist I became. That Rod
Kennedy experience grounded me in believing in
and de-mystifying the craft of songwriting. It is a
craft, and like anyone seeking to be good at their
craft, it takes blood, sweat, and tears, (well, maybe
not the blood), honesty, exploring, and stepping
out of comfort zones to put yourself and your ideas
in front of others to be judged, critiqued, and to
sometime, hopefully often, touch that place in
people that moves them.”
TOM PRASADA-RAO
“I first heard of the New Folk
Competition when Steve Key (a fellow DC native)
won in 1990. But it was my buddy Nancy Moran
(a finalist in 92) who convinced me to send in a
tape the day before the deadline in 93. So I sang
“Ashes of Love” and “Over My Shoulder” into a
boombox, and FEDEX’d the tape to Kerrville.
Little did I know what that would mean.
I already had a record deal and released my first
album in 92 and did a mainstage set at Rocky
Mountain Folks Fest that same year. But it took
playing my two songs in the blazing Hill Country
sun to change my life. I found my tribe at the
Kerrville Folk Festival, the place I belonged, with
songwriters at every campfire to be humbled by,
created by a visionary in Rod Kennedy who truly
believed in me. I ended up moving to Texas and
marrying Cary Cooper at the Threadgill Theater
helping raise her two daughters and for a while it
felt like we owned Quiet Valley Ranch.
But Kerrville didn’t just impact my
personal life - it changed it professionally. I
quickly found out that it meant something to
people around the country to win New Folk.
Doors that were previously closed were now
opening. I attribute a lot of whatever success I’ve
had in my musical life to Kerrville, to Rod, and to
that insane family of Texas music lovers who are
so crazy they’ll camp in 100 degrees just to hear a
good song.
It’s twenty years later now. Rod’s gone and I’m
divorced again, but Kerrville means more to me
than ever, and I’m so grateful Dalis is sitting in
Rod’s chair. The Kerrville Folk Festival is still
home, it’s sacred ground for songwriters, it’s
nirvana.”
The numbers of stories to be told from New
Folk Award Winners are endless and infinitely
different and interesting. How they came to
know about the Festival and how it has affected
their lives and their songwriting for decades
or even just for a year. The one thing that is a
common thread is that it DID affect them in
profound ways. It is my honor and my pleasure
to tell their stories here in the Heart Beat of the
Texas Hill Country!
texasheartbeat.com
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I
n ancient times - spring 1964 - I
stood on a road fronting the LBJ ranch. From
across the fence, I petted a horse I was sure
President Johnson rode. I know now that most
pictures of him on horseback were posed for the
press. LBJ preferred driving cars at breakneck
speed around the ranch, scaring the daylights out
of passengers—often foreign dignitaries—and
making his Secret Service agents nervous. One
of the pleasures of memories, however, is that
you can edit them as you please, even in the face
of conflicting information. I prefer to remember
President Johnson sitting tall astride his horse.
What I remember from my 2014 tour of the
CD is a bargain, providing a compelling history
of the Johnson presidency. The CD includes a
house tour ticket and a bonus DVD with eight
features that are great fun. My favorite is the
home photo tour accompanied by the song
“Landslide Johnson.”
There’s a gift shop in the Visitor
Center headquarters, and a smaller shop inside
the hangar through which the home tour
begins. Numerous books are available about
the Johnsons, but perhaps the best recognized
is Pulitzer Prize winner Robert A. Caro’s series,
The Years of Lyndon Johnson. The Path to Power,
the first volume, provides historical information
about Hill Country rural life. I doubt that you
could pick up any book about LBJ that didn’t
mention that he was a philanderer. That he
had other women in his life was most certainly
difficult for Lady Bird to bear.
Here’s what I think about that. No
marriage is all sugar and roses—it’s also lemons
and thorns. I look at the CD cover picture of
Lady Bird and LBJ holding hands, walking
through the field of flowers on their ranch, and
I know their national story includes a great
personal love story. That’s what I felt in their
home on that tour. How fortunate that they left
us such a gorgeous legacy, and I hope I am right
in believing that they had a great love for each
other. When I listened to Billy Joe Shaver’s Hill
Country Love Song recently, I thought of Lady
Bird. She had a great passion for nature, for
wildflowers, for preservation and conservation,
for this country’s natural treasures. She had a
great passion for Lyndon and I think Lyndon did
for Lady Bird.
Texas White House—the Johnson home in the
Texas Hill Country—is how much love there
must have been in that house. Love for nature,
for friends and family, for this country and its
people. Still comfortably furnished as it was
when the Johnsons lived there, it’s a home in
which all of us would feel welcome. It and the
surrounding ranchland were deeded to the
American people in 1972 by President and Mrs.
Johnson, known as Lady Bird. Tours are available
year round at the Lyndon B. Johnson National
Historical Park off of 290 between Johnson City
and Fredericksburg.
LBJ and Lady Bird stipulated that the
ranch be maintained “not as a sterile relic” but as
a working ranch. Visitors can learn something
of agriculture, specifically the Hereford cattle
operation and the self-sufficient hay production
system. A self-driving tour around the lovely
ranch is available. At $4 the accompanying audio
16 Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country Winter 2015
texasheartbeat.com
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Have you ever listened to a song by
an aspiring songwriter, and realized it sounded
amateurish, but not sure why?
Successful songwriters know why. And
one of the unexpected pleasures of interviewing
legendary music artists is discovering their
unabashed respect for high quality writing.
Larry Gatlin put it best: “One night a
good old boy came up after a concert and wanted
me to listen to one of his songs. I asked, is it as
good as those 15 I just sang? He said no. So I said,
why would I want to sing it?”
Ouch. Painful, but truthful.
“Overnight successes” have careers that
were actually built on many days of study and
skill. That should give us gratification that quality
and content matter, even when the arena is a bar
filled with smoke and honky-tonk music.
Here are the powerful perspectives of
six artists who have played in the Hill Country,
explaining the crucial role that writing plays in
their art.
Marty Haggard said that any singer–
even his dad Merle– “is only as good as his song.”
He considers himself a country artist, but he is a
fan first of “the song.”
“Someone said my dad could sing
the phone book,” the younger Haggard told me.
“That’s not true, I don’t care who you are. Are you
singing a song or telling a story? A lot of singers
get a lot of credit, but the truth is, a singer is only
as good as his song. That’s all there is to it.”
Marty believes in “keeping it simple”
when writing. During his final edit he goes
through line by line to see how many words he
can remove without changing the story. Less is
always best.
“A song has to say what you want it
to say, but don’t keep resaying it.” He goes on.
“I think it is a real gift to find words that rhyme
and flow as if they fell out of mouth during
conversation. That’s easy to do if you’re telling a
story. It’s really difficult if you’re telling the truth.
You cannot be a lazy individual and tell the truth
18
and make it flow, too.”
Austin jazz musician Kris Kimura
cites a quite different source in affirming the
importance of writing.
“According to Mel Torme, my hero,
the most important part of any music is you
have to be true to what the composer originally
intended,” Kimura said. “Otherwise you
are doing an injustice and disservice to this
wonderful art. We should be proud of it; we
should be coddling it; we should be nurturing
it. That’s what I plan on doing the rest of my
life.”
Thomas Michael Riley - Many of
these singer/songwriters have backgrounds in
English and literature. Texan Thomas Michael
Riley holds a degree in English (“I crammed four
years of school into six and a half years”), and
sprinkles quotes from Thoreau and Emerson
into his conversation. His stint teaching English
did not hamper his songwriting ability.
“I was always going to write the
Great American Novel, but I couldn’t focus
long enough,” he said. “So then I went to short
stories. I always enjoyed playing and singing, so
that’s when it hit me–it is songs. For me, that’s
the ultimate short story.”
Michael Martin Murphey was an
English major before he topped the charts with
such hits as Wildfire, Carolina In The Pines,
and Cherokee Fiddle. Behind that “aw shucks”
cowboy image stands a man who studied his
craft.
“If you want to be a writer for a living,
it’s a good idea to study music, literature, and
read a lot,” Murphey told me. “If you don’t want
to read the classics, there is plenty of other stuff.
That’s where you learn phrasing and rhyme
schemes. I strongly believe in taking courses in
college in poetry, and creative writing courses.
Then write, write, write.”
Mike Blakely perhaps most
exemplifies the “writer” in songwriter. He has
published 18 books. So it is obvious Blakely is
an avid student the language, as well as western
history. Blakely got hooked when he started
reading J. Frank Dobie books as teenager
working the family ranch, and still aspires to
that model of story telling.
“I enjoyed the way he could tell Texas
history as a story,” Blakely said of the western
writer. “It’s easy for people to understand. They
lived a simple lifestyle that was all about hard
work, not giving up when things get tough, and
getting the job done no matter what.”
He likes to weave that storytelling
into his stage shows. In fact, the words are more
compelling than the music.
“Writing is the most important thing
to me,” he said. “I approach music as a writer
first, a vocalist second, and a musician third.”
Finally, Larry Gatlin admits he is “in
love with the English language.” He believes
that anyone can be a songwriter; but only a
dedicated few earn the designation of song
crafter.
“I’m not saying people can’t write
a song,” Gatlin said. “When I lead a writing
workshop, I explain that you all are songwriters.
But I’ll bet you aren’t all song craftsmen. There is
only one in here, and that’s me. But let me help
nudge you gently along that path to beginning
to learn the art and craft of writing songs.”
There is no shame in “learning as you
earn.” You are in elite company.
“Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller,
Willie Nelson, Mickey Newberry, and John
Cash... those were wordsmiths,” Gatlin said.
“None of them were born writers, but they got
better as they went along.”
So to all you aspiring songwriters–
listen to what these guys are saying.
Then go out and write. Really write.
Phil Houseal is a writer and owner of Full House
PR.
www.fullhouseproductions.net
Contact him at [email protected]
texasheartbeat.com
19
Country Wedding Photography
karyn lyn 210.316.2986
S
helley King just appeared on the
September 2014 cover of Buddy Magzine, a
Dallas-based magazine that has documented the
history or Texas music since Stoney Burns created
it in 1973. I wrote my first feature on Texas music
for Stoney, attending the Willie Nelson picnic at
Carl’s Corner. “Hudson, be sure and get closer.
That is my advice for using a camera. Get closer,”
Stoney admonished me. I took that advice into
my photography and my writing. Get close to
the details. I first heard Shelley King at the Old
Settler’s Reunions; she was rocking a small stage
under a tent. Off to the side. I was blown away
by her stage presence as well as her music. The
THMF showcased her at a Schreiner coffeehouse,
and she became part of my oral history on women
of Texas music (archived at kathleenhudson.net).
I once danced to her music into the wee hours
of dawn at the Kerrville Waterin’ Hole, a venue
that now regularly showcases Josh Murley and
Someone Like You. I stay up late on Thursday for
this. She reminded me that we had also shared
a now defunct Kerrville venue called The Java
Pump. Ah…memories. Now she is building a
fire…the title of her 7th CD.
Murley and SLY were the first band the
THMF showcased at a series we call 290Texas.
com Shelley King was our November showcase.
Her music, her writing, her performance and her
presence have been making waves and starting
fires in the music world. That night with an
intimate group of fans, Shelley, along with Tony
Redman and Perry Drake, riveted our attention
with stories and songs. We heard the story
of every song she performed, and husband/
drummer Perry showed me a few licks on the
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snare drum. I now have a snare drum in my tiny
house, a place to practice the rhythm he taught
me. That is intimacy at a concert.
When I asked for one more song,
my personal anthem “Drivin’ By Myself,” I
reminded her I had danced to her all night at the
Waterin’ Hole once. She responded, “I play and
you dance.” I noticed the young Asian lad across
the room, seeming to want to move, and I asked
him to join me. What a finale we had. Stephen
and Kathleen dancing. Yes, Shelley is compelling
and inviting in concert. She took off after that to
open for Marcia Ball on a West Coast tour. They
must have created some heat.
She began the evening at the Walnut
Spring Preserve in Johnson City (290texas.
com) with a rousing rendition of “Walk On,”
and I watched several on the front row in that
clubhouse room sing along! Yes, many knew
her songs, and the ones that didn’t could not
quit talking about their new discovery. Nothing
pleases me more than to point to something I
love and watch others light up too. We heard the
story of the day she met her biological father,
divorced from her mom, and we heard the end
of that story. “They are married again.”
Not only is she the first Texas State
Musician (2008), but she is also on the Texas
Commission of the Arts touring roster. She has
carved a niche for herself with her approach to
the music, an approach the includes passion,
fire, rhythm, writing and stories. Always the
stories. From her roots in Arkansas and her
penchant for the gospel sound to her audiences
in Europe, the impact of her music ranges wide
afield.
One CD, entitled “Armadillo Bootleg
No. 2,” contains a collection of songs recorded
live or as demos. Carved painted leather boots
and lace adorn the cover, a fitting symbol for
Shelley King. King wrote 10 of the songs on her
new CD, “Building a Fire,” and she delivers all
her songs with the sultry, passionate, firey gusto
that has become her trademark. We got to hear
the entire package on November 1 in a small
room while audiences of thousands also enjoy
her energy from a distance. We were up close.
The Texas Hill Country is alive with
theater, and local theater troupes are bringing
their A-game for audiences this Winter.
Fredericksburg Theater Company,
renowned for its quality productions in its 250seat Steve W. Shepherd Theater, presents “Fiddler
on the Roof ” from Feb. 20 through March 8.
The musical — with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics
by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein
— is set in the Pale of Imperial Russia in 1905.
Based on “Tevye and his Daughter” and other
tales by Sholem Aleichem, the musical score
includes such timeless songs as “Matchmaker,
Matchmaker” “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and
“If I Were a Rich Man.”
Tickets for the shows are $29 for adults
and $12 for ages 18 and younger. The theater is
at 1668 Highway 87 S, 1.5 miles south of Main
Street in Fredericksburg. For more information,
to purchase tickets and directions to the theater,
visit http://fredericksburgtheater.org or call 830997-3588
The Point Theatre
The Point Theatre has a great lineup for the
2015-16 season. The theater is located on the
grounds of the Hill Country Arts Foundation,
120 Point Theatre Road, in Ingram. Following is
the schedule:
Feb. 6-21
“Suite Surrender” by Michael McKeever
It’s 1942, and two of Hollywood’s
biggest divas have descended upon the
luxurious Palm Beach Royale Hotel —
assistants, luggage, and legendary feud with one
another in tow. Everything seems to be in order
for their wartime performance...that is, until
they are somehow assigned to the same suite.
Mistaken identities, overblown egos, double
entendres, and a lap dog named Mr. Boodles
round out this hilarious riot of a love note to
the classic farces of the ‘30s and ‘40s.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Feb. 8.
24
Playhouse 2000
Playhouse 2000’s 2015 season is filled
with crowd-pleasing favorites, including Gilbert
and Sullivan’s classic “The Pirates of Penzance.”
“There’s nothing quite like the thrill
of live theater, where characters are brought
to vivid life - sometimes by actors we know —
to tell stories that make us laugh, cry, think,
or just feel the joy of learning more about our
world,” said Jeffrey Brown, executive director of
Playhouse 2000 and the Cailloux Theater.
Much of the season will be presented
in the intimate VK Garage Theater, at the
corner of Washington and Main on the campus
of the Kathleen C. Cailloux City Center for the
Performing Arts, 910 Main St., in Kerrville.
The Playhouse 2000 Season 2015 will
include the following outstanding productions
this Winter:
Feb. 6-22
“Weekend Comedy”
by Sam and Jeanne Bobrick.
Frank and Peggy have booked a
secluded vacation cabin, hoping for a romantic
spark to enliven their 25th wedding anniversary.
Unfortunately, Jill and Tony, a young couple uninterested in marriage, have booked the exact
same cabin. Over the course of one fateful
Memorial Day weekend, both couples come
to a new understanding of mankind’s grandest
institution, and we, their audience, enjoy a lot of
laughs.
Also, new for this year, P2K is offering
a “Flex Pass” admission package, which provides
either 6, 8, or 10 admissions, which can be used
for any of the shows and in any combination.
Flex Pass allows theater lovers to save as much
as 20 percent over the cost of single tickets.
For more information:
Visit Playhouse2000.com or call 830-896-9393.
Theater listings are included on our web site.
Just click on “Tonight in the Hill Country”
D
ecember is normally considered
a “wind-down” month for everyone – except
Bandera. The cold winter blahs gears everyone
up in the Cowboy Capital of the World and we
have plenty to do just to prove it.
First, I always like to mention that Bandera has
some reoccurring monthly and weekly events
that many like to attend.
The first Tuesday of each month we
get a kick start with the Cowboy Capital Opry.
Got to go, at least once. The music is awesome
and always a surprise. You never know who
might show up and often it is a well-known
musician just wanting to jam with their friends.
Small fee to get in with refreshments and door
prizes. Best kept secret in Bandera.
We have Bingo every Tuesday night
at the Lakehills American Legion Post 410 and
on Wednesday nights at the Bandera American
Legion Post 410 or try the Friday night Bingo
at the Pipe Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
On the first Friday night of each month is a
great Classic Car Show that gathers at Fat Boyz
Sandwich Shop or you can eat your fill of fried
fish at the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry at St.
Joseph’s Hall.
On every Saturday, for great family
entertainment, don’t miss the Cowboys on
Main program hosted by the Bandera Business
Association featuring chuck wagons, horses,
strolling singers and the gunfights at Heritage
Plaza presented by the Bandera Cattle Company.
On the first Saturday of each month
you can purchase some great books at the
Bandera Library or the Lakehills Library starting
at 10 am. Then at 1:00 pm, visit the Frontier
Times Museum for the Cowboy Camp. Bring
your lawn chair and enjoy some traditional
cowboy music. Better yet, bring your guitar and
join in! Most bring their own refreshments too.
Don’t miss it!
As far as scheduled events, Bandera
is not without a plan to end the year 2014 and
bring in 2015. Always festive and bet your boots
a little “cowboy”. It’s just who we are.
December will usher in the Christmas
Season with events planned by the Bandera
Business Association and the Hill Country Trail
of Lights. Friday December 5th the Bandera
Methodist Church hosts their annual craft and
bake sale from 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the
church and the Bandera Business Association
kicks off the 35th Annual Shopper’s Jubilee
at the Bandera County Court House at 4:45
pm. Caroling, Live Nativity, and visits from
Santa. Then visit the Bandera stores for exciting
Christmas finds, strolling carolers and treats
offered at many of the participating merchants.
Saturday December 6th the Bandera
Chamber of Commerce will host the annual
Christmas Parade down Main Street at Noon.
And at 5pm the evening magic will begin on the
Banks of the Medina River in City Park as the
Bandera Business Association hosts the Cowboy
Capital Camp Fire Christmas. Bring your lawn
chair and sing Christmas Carols, enjoy cookies
and hot chocolate and a live Nativity presented
by the Bandera County Christian Fellowship
spotlighted at dark on the banks of the river. Stoll
the over 100 lighted Christmas trees and holiday
scenes presented by the Bandera merchants on
the river. Beautiful!
Oh, the weekend is not over! The
Bandera Community Foundation will host
their annual Merry Texas Christmas III Concert
featuring the Almost Patsy Cline Band at the
Western Heritage Cowboy Church in Pipe Creek
at 3 pm on Sunday December 7th. Absolutely
must go!!!
Friday December the 12th, events
begin at 11:30am to 1:30 pm at the St.
Christopher’s Episcopal Church at their annual
Holiday Tasting Tea. Delightful sampling of
delicious offerings created by members of the
church.
At 6: pm the Celebration of the Feast Day of
Our Lady of Guadalupe begins at St. Stanislaus
Church followed by a special Mariachi Mass
including the dramatization of the appearance of
the Blessed Virgin Mary to Juan Diago.
Then hurry on back to downtown and
bring a canned food item or a new child’s toy as
an entry fee to the 28th Annual Cowboy Capital
Christmas Charity Celebration at Arkey’ Blue’s
Silver Dollar. Enjoy the music of Arkey Blue
and the Blue Cowboys, sample some good eats
and help raise money for some local families for
Christmas.
On Sunday December the 21st join
the Longhorn Saloon at their annual “Singing
in the Saddle” caroling event. A true Bandera
“Cowboy” event for visitors. Bring your best
decorated horse or rent a horse or ride in the
hay wagon or buggy through Bandera. Bring
your guitar and play along. Visit the local health
care and nursing homes spreading the Christmas
season in song. Great fun Bandera style.
The lighted Christmas displays, part
of the Hill Country Trail of Lights, will be open
nightly through out December, with 31st being
the last night.
January brings new and exciting events
you need to put on your calendar. January 8th
-10th is the 79th Annual Bandera County Junior
Livestock Show at Mansfield Park.
A great
time to support future farmers and cowboys of
Bandera.
On January 24th you have two
opportunities to fill you belly! A great experience
in the cold of January is to experience The Wild
Game Dinner hosted by Grace Lutheran Church
at Mansfield Park. Expertly prepared, all you can
eat for a $15 donation! Yum! 4 to 7 pm. Dine in
or take out!
At 4:30 to 7pm is the Annual
Baubles and Boots Celebration, dinner and
auction benefiting the Bandera ISD Education
Foundation. Tickets available at Bandera ISD
and McMullan Insurance.
February it’s party time again in
Bandera at the 10th Annual 11th Street Cowboy
Maudi Gras on February 5th – 7th! Giant parade,
live Cajun Music, horses, Gumbo Cook-off
,cowboys, feathers, masks and plenty of beads!
On Monday February 9th from 5:30
to 9:00 pm you can support the CCPAL’s Annual
Spaghetti Dinner at the Silver Sage and at the
same location you can on February is a special
Opry supporting the Bandera Sister Partnership
Program. Tickets will be $11 and there will be no
reserved seats. Don’t be late!
For more information, visit www.
banderacowboycapital.com and click on events.
You never know, we may even add a few by the
time you check it out! Yee-haw, Y’all!
texasheartbeat.com
27
Photographer Hans Bauer’s mother started his interest in art at an early
age when she gave him a toy dinosaur and a book of Fredrick Remington
works for his birthday. The dinosaur is long gone but Bauer still has the
Remington book that started it all. Although a resident of California, Hans
was drawn to the Hill Country as a counselor at Flaming Arrow Boys Camp
in his teen years and has looked forward to returning to the region which
he did a few years ago.
Another influence in Han’s career and work was Victorian artist John
T. Waterhouse, a 19th century Victorian artist known for his faerie/nymph
artwork. Although Bauer’s work is digital in nature, using both a modern
camera and software, it is vastly different than what can be viewed as the
optically accurate but sterile work of other contemporary photographers.
His goal is not to create an accurate photograph but an image that evokes
emotion. His work has been described as, “ambiguous, American grotesque,
dreamlike and surrealistic.”
Bauer is also a screenwriter and author with a large and growing
bibliography of projects. His latest writing endeavor, “Anaconda, The
Director’s Cut,” is available on Amazon and is very different from his
screenplay and the movie many of us are familiar with.
Some of Hans Bauer’s work is on display at the River’s Edge Gallery
in Kerrville. His web site, which has hundreds of images online for viewing
is at www.hansbauerphoto.com. Feed your eyes and look beyond.
RECURRING
Wimberley’s Second Saturday Gallery Trail
Second Saturday of every month.
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Wimberley Square
Bandera Indoor Flea Market
American Legion Post 157 Bandera
9 am - 3 pm -Third Saturday every month.
205 12th St, Bandera, TX 78003
(830) 796-7528
Blanco Market Days
Old Blanco County Courthouse Square
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Third Saturday every month.
830-833-2211
Wimberley Market Days
First Saturday of every month.
601 FM 2325, Wimberley, TX
(512) 847-2201
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
November 28 - January 4, 2015 |
Fredericksburg
EISBAHN SEASNAL SKATING
Kinderhalle Pavillion, Marktplatz
skateinfred.com
Nov 28-Dec 30
SANTA’S BIG NIGHT
& “STARRY STARRY NIGHTS”
Llano, at Badu Park on the Llano River
begins Friday after Thanksgiving. 6-10pm.
(325)-247-5354
Nov 21 - Dec 6 | Ingram | 7:30pm
THE CHRISTMAS FOUNDLING
by Norman Allen
Elizabeth Huth Coats Indoor Theatre
120 Point Theatre Road
(830) 367-5121
hcaf.com
December 1 - January 2 | Boerne
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS FEST
Don Strange Ranch
103 Waring Welfare Road, Boerne, TX
Over 2 million lights on the ranch boundaries
sanantoniochristmaslightsfest.com
(210) 434-2340
December 1-31 - Marble Falls
HOLIDAY WALKWAY OF LIGHTS
6pm-10pm through January 1.
Free admission
www.marblefalls.org | walkwayoflightsmftx.
com.
(830) 693-4449
December 6 - Bandera - Late afternoon
Cowboy Capital Christmas and
Shoppers Jubilee
Free Admission
http://www.banderacowboycapital.com
(210) 215-1995
Dec 5-21, 2014 - HOLIDAY WINE TRAIL
Enjoy wine and food pairing event. Self-guided.
(866) 621-9463.
December 6, 2014 | Boerne | 9am to 4pm
OMA’s CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR
Kendall County Fairgrounds
1307 River Road
(830) 249-2839
December 6-21 - Kerrville
PLAYHOUSE 2000
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Friday - Saturday 7:30pm | 2nd Sunday 2:30pm
305 Washington at Main St.
(830) 896-9393 | www.caillouxtheater.com
December 6 - Gruene 6pm
GRUENE CHRISTMAS
MARKET & FESTIVAL
www.gruenemarketdays.com
(830) 832-1721
December 12 - Bandera | 8-11pm
Annual Cowboy Capital Christmas
Charity Celebration
Admission - a new toy or canned good/non-perishable food item.
Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon
banderacowboycapital.com
(830) 796-8826
Dec 12-13 | Johnson City | 6:30 pm
LIVING NATIVITY PAGEANT
Annual program for all ages.
(830) 868-7414.
Dec 12–14 & Dec 19–21 - Canyon Lake | 6pm
NORTH POLE VILLAGE
CRRC Recreation Center
125 Mabel Jones Dr., Canyon Lake, TX
crrcofcanyonlake.org | (830) 964-2324.
Dec 13 - CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE:
Burnet, on the Courthouse Square, 9a-9p.
(512) 756-4297.
Dec 13 - Wimberley | 5-10pm
WINTER’S EVE FESTIVAL
ON THE SQUARE
(512) 847-3333
December 14 - Boerne | 4pm to 6:00
BOERNED CONCERT BAND
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
1 Greyhound Ln
(830) 249-7277
December 14 - Boerne | 5-8pm
2nd SATURDAY ART & WINE
On Second Saturdays the galleries and “Other
Walls” of Boerne host joint openings. Come out
and enjoy a glass of wine and the latest offerings
on the Boerne Art Scene. Park your car and take
the free trolley to see the “Best Art East of Santa
Fe.”
Dec 14 - Fredericksburg | 12-6pm
TANNENBAUM BALL
Ball theme is a “German Christmas”. An elegant
evening of cocktails, seated dining, dancing and
a silent and live auction. Tickets required.
(830) 997-2835.
texasheartbeat.com
Dec 13 |
Comfort | 4-10-m
REX FOSTER ANNUAL WOOLLY
MAMMOTH CHRISTMAS PARTY & SHOW
VFW Hall at 626 Front St. (Hwy. 27)
across from the Wells Fargo Bank
Dec 13 | Wimberley |
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA
Wimberley Community Center
14068 Ranch Road 12
(512) 847-2510
Dec 15 | Kerrville | 7pm
SANDI PATTY CHRISTMAS
5-Time Grammy Winner’s Christmas
Cailloux Theatre, 910 Main St
(830) 896-9393
caillouxtheater.com
Dec 14 | Uvalde | 12pm
CHICKS EATING OUT COOKIE
EXCHANGE
Herby Ham Activity Center
(830) 591-2711
Dec 20 - Johnson City | 6-9pm
LAMPLIGHT TOURS
OF LBJ’S BOYHOOD HOME
(830) 868-7128 x231.
Dec 21, 2014 - Stonewall
LBJ TREE LIGHTING
LBJ State Park & Historic Site, 199 Park Rd
(830) 644-2252.
Dec 28, 2014 - Fredericksburg
CANDLELIGHT TOUR
325 W Main Street
(830) 990-8441
Don’t forget that our web calendar has daily
updated listings at: TexasHeartBeat.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
33
“Hey – what’s going on with The
Cabaret?”
I haven’t
owned the Cabaret
dance hall on Main
Street in Bandera since
2008, but hardly a week
goes by I’m not asked
some variation of that
question. What’s going
on is current owner,
Steve Ball of Houston,
Texas and the UK
– the one across the
“pond”– is preparing
to make another run
at the Bandera City Council and attempt to
renovate a precious chunk of Bandera history.
Steve has said, “There is no doubt I will need
considerable support from the towns folk if
anything is to get off the ground anytime soon.”
Briefly, that’s what’s going on with The Cabaret.
The 10th Annual BMHoF Award
Ceremony wrapped up on November 9th out at
The Farm Country Club. A big crowd enjoyed
the event, a small group worked very hard to
make it happen and an even smaller, but very
vocal, group see it as a bullseye for the annual
slings and arrows party directed at this and other
local organizations. Interestingly, the Legendary
Venue award went to The Cabaret, an award
nominated and voted on by the members of the
Bandera Music History Project Hall of Fame
(BMHoF), a membership open to anyone who
wants to join for a $10 annual fee. If ever there
was the perfect marriage of Bandera music and
its history, it is BMHoF and The Cabaret.
So the controversy, criticism and even
vitriol aimed at both entities is a puzzlement.
How can a dance hall, a family
oriented concept brought to the US and to Texas
by European immigrants, be so dismissed as an
insignificant historical contribution to Bandera
and Texas that its very existence is in jeopardy? Is
music history somehow less legitimate than other
more august aspects like courthouses and jails? If
a jail is worthy of salvage and redemption, surely
the same respect could be given to a place that
rang with the music of Bob Wills, Willie Nelson,
Kitty Wells, Larry Nolen and a host of others and
where I heard every single day some variation
of, “I met my wife at the Cabaret,” or “My daddy
taught me to dance at the Cabaret.”
I’m not taking pot shots at the old jail
and the wonderful plans for it by Bandera’s own
Frontier Times Museum. Just the opposite. I’m
saying in the 13 years I’ve made Bandera home,
I’ve seen too much western history lost, too
many bad decisions affecting how best to attract
a bigger and more diverse tourist base benefitting
everyone.
BMHoF started off as a “History
Project” and remains so, despite a distinct lack
of interest in that aspect of the organization’s
purpose and activities from the majority and
that’s a normal reaction. The word “history”
usually causes peoples’ eyes to glaze over. The
History Project must be and is important to the
BMHoF Board of Directors, but it’s the music
and musicians who provide a dance and concert
playground who are the focus of the voters and
that’s also as it should be. The two can live in
harmony and the only question remaining is,
how can a community that revolves around music
venues be so complacent about the restoration of
a building that combines history and music as
no other and brands Bandera in a unique and
positive way.
You voted for the Cabaret as
the 2014 Legendary Venue through BMHoF, now
cast a vote for history and a building that defines
the word, Bandera style. Long live the Cabaret.
It’s all about the music and the music is all about
the history.
texasheartbeat.com
35
When it comes to gardening, I’m
fortunate to collaborate with some very smart
folks. One of these folks is my longtime friend,
Doug Daughtrey of LANDSCAPE SOLUTIONS
& NURSERY in Castroville, Texas.
I refer to Doug as a “soil chef ” because
of the organic mixes he prepares to fortify garden
soils. Doug believes as I do: garden plants are
only as nutrient rich as the soil they’re grown in.
If the soil is mineral-deficient, your plants are
deficient also.
Recently, Doug and I discussed one
of his compost products that I am very happy
with. I mentioned a test plot where I segregated
5 tomato plants and spread a 2” layer of Doug’s
compost product all around them. These plants
are still green and lush, and are loaded with
beautiful tomatoes, and they’re still blooming!
According to Doug, his base of fully
pasteurized/aged manure and vegetable matter
compost is their secret. Doug said: “Our manure
compost comes from grass fed dairy herds,
contains no hormones or antibiotics, and yet
is rich in blood and bone meal. Our vegetable
matter compost is derived from 100 percent
recycled plant matter, most of which consist of
reclaimed residential yard waste and out-of-date
produce from various vendors. Our specialized
composts provide one of the rudimentary
building blocks in our composted soil mixes. We
have never, used bio-solid waste (sewer sludge)
as a form of composted material. Although
bio solids are an organic form of compost, in
my opinion, these bio-solids are high in heavy
metals and should be avoided.”
If you are concerned about producing
luscious landscape and garden plants, Doug
also produces a landscape soil mix comprised
of rice hulls (source of high calcium for petal
production in flowering plants), green sand
(source of iron for chlorophyll production),
recycled coffee grounds (used to correct soil
pH and feeds acid loving plants) and several
other organic components that contribute to the
essential elements required for healthy plant
life. Almost without exception, the fruits
and veggies you buy, even from the so called
“organic” isles at your upscale grocer, are
miserably deficient in essential minerals and
enzymes your family needs for good health. I
mentioned in an earlier article that plants only
need Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium
to grow and look pretty at the grocery store.
In most cases, that is all they get.
Doug produces another great
product, Delta Dawn Dressing. He said “We
use cotton seed meal for slow release nitrogen,
pure Canadian sphagnum peat moss for its
acid content and friable organic material, rock
phosphate to support rapid plant growth, Bat
guano, and Medina Agriculture Growin Green
granules for high nitrogen content. Basalt
sand provides micro nutrients, minerals, and
has high paramagnetic characteristics which
naturally boost plant root growth. We utilize,
promote and offer a host of other organic
gardening materials.”
Please visit Doug at 3059 US Hwy 90 East,
Castroville Texas 78009, call (830) 985-3747,
or online at: www.soil4 sale.com.
Also, I welcome your calls to 830.444.9831,
and emails to [email protected]
texasheartbeat.com
37
I
have lived in Bandera a little over a
year, and I have decided just about the coolest aspect of life in the Cowboy Capital of the World
is its people. For a tiny Hill Country community,
Bandera has some humdinger personalities.
Not long ago, I stood in line at the
Snowflake Donut Shop, one of my favorite breakfast places, chatting with a fellow standing behind
me. Eyes flashing recognition and admiration,
the man gestured toward the nondescript Cowboy immediately in front of me. When the Cowboy left with a bag of donuts, the fellow behind
me had difficulty containing his enthusiasm, “Do
you know who that was?” I admitted I did not.
“He’s just about the most famous Cowboy around—in the world!” the man chimed.
Feeling a bit ornery, I asked, “Did you
know that I am one of the most famous outdoor
writers in town?” Ignoring my attempt at humor, the man continued with an overview of said
Cowboy’s achievements.
I concluded our conversation with
“Well, whoever he was, he is quite the gentleman,” I said, referring to the Cowboy’s manners at the counter and the way he treated folks
in the donut shop. Later, I asked Winter Texan
friend, “Jim from Illinois,” yet another colorful
dude, who confirmed the man’s donut shop story:
the Cowboy in front of me is indeed one of the
world’s most famous trick roper Banderians.
After dining with friends, steel guitar
player, Ron Dailey, and master fabricator, Mac
McDaniel, at the OST, Mac gestured to folks
leaving the restaurant. “What?” I asked, fearing I
might have missed a good looking Cowgirl. “That
was Kinky Friedman,” Mac insisted. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the trio as they left, my back
being turned, but being the curious type I followed “Mr. Friedman” and his pals outside.
I introduced myself to Kinky and the
two ladies and had a nice conversation with the
cigar-smoking, Texas philosopher-musician-politician. During our chat, after introducing Kinky
and the ladies to my dog, Bubba, who was waiting
in my truck, I learned Kinky had founded the dog
rescue shelter in Utopia.
Kinky: let me know if you need a good Press
Secretary. I am available.
You never know who you’re going to
meet in Bandera—or what new adventure you’ll
come across.
Ron tells me he has met several noteworthy fellow musicians at Arkey Blues, and I’ve
heard reports of famous movie stars and other
celebrity/visitors who have been seen here, often
incognito.
Case in point:
Needing a hunting bow restrung, Mac introduced me to the owner of Bandera’s one-andonly pro archery store—The Archery Shop at
352 Montague Street. Stanley Hips is quite a guy.
He’s hunted all over the world, and he has met
and known some of the brightest luminaries in
the worlds of archery and Country Western music. If you have shot any arrows at all, you may
have used one of Stanley’s inventions, the Hips
Hot Shot target, made legendary by young archers at Texas A&M, who have used his 36-inch
target for a ‘pin cushion-back stop’ to the tune of
over 736,000 shots. According to Stanley, that’s a
world record. He has known and hunted with the
crème de la crème of the world of archery, friends
Ben Pearson, Fred Bear, Doug Walker and Ted
Nugent. “I recently quit hunting,” he told me, “because of unscrupulous outfitters and ranch owners,”—yet, he stays abreast of modern archery.
Hips is one of those accomplished, yet humble,
local talents who eagerly shares his knowledge
with anyone who is willing to listen. He is a walking Country Western historian, having known
and associated with the likes of Faron Young,
Sonny James, Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Ernest
Tubbs, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, et al. And
should you need substantiation of Hips’ C&W
stories, the Who’s Who of Country Western music, Stanley has the black and white photographs
to back up his tall and entertaining tales.
Stanley quit hunting in 2013, preferring to feed
pet whitetail bucks and big axis deer in his yard,
specimens that blow the minds of many of his
customers. “Why don’t you shoot ‘em?” amazed
patrons often ask. Today, Stan is happy to sell
and repair bows and fatten the neighborhood’s
wildlife.
If you’re in need of a local, modestly
priced Archery Pro, call Stanley at (210) 8272097 or (830) 460-8592. Even if you’re not in the
market for a new Martin, Hoyt or PSE compound
bow, or need some arrows fletched, he will be
more than happy to share his memorable hunting and Country Western experiences with you.
You’ll be glad you stopped by: Stanley’s a real slice
of Bandera, Texas history.
Editor’s Note: Despite the conclusion
of hunting season, for the most part, in January,
Steve will continue to write this outdoor column
for Heartbeat. One of the truly great things about
life in the Lone Star State: there are tons of outdoor activities to be enjoyed here year-round for
avid hunters and fishermen—from offshore and
inshore saltwater fishing on the Texas Gulf Coast
to hunting exotics like feral hogs and introduced
species (e.g., axis, blackbuck, sika and fallow deer,
aoudad, red stag, etc.).
texasheartbeat.com
39
HANGTIME
YOU COULD HAVE HAD JOHNNY
Story & Commentary
By L. Scott “HangTime” Hainline
J
ohnny Manziel will someday be
considered the Babe Ruth of football.
That’s in print two years ago (2012) and
HangTime still stands by that statement to this
day.
Beyond his super-natural talents on
the field, Johnny Football did the impossible. He
made me a fan again.
After 40-plus years in sports media,
being a fan just wasn’t part of the equation. Didn’t
really have a team to be passionate about, and the
Cowboys winning ONE playoff game in 17 years
with Jerry Jones trying to coach didn’t help at all.
Sort of pulled for the Spurs because of Pop (coach
Gregg Popovich) and his refreshing old-school
ways that obviously work, but really didn’t care
one way or another, like years ago.
But then came Johnny Football.
My mom would tell me about this
kid at Kerrville Tivy High School and say, “You
should come see him play.”
Photo courtesy Cleveland Browns
Mama HangTime was talking about
Manziel, and due to covering sports in the
Houston area, I never got to see him as an Antler
(Tivy’s mascot).
Off to Texas A&M for Johnny Football,
who sits out an entire redshirt freshman year
(2011), and is way more than less off the radar.
But that would end soon.
Manziel won the starting job as a
texasheartbeat.com
redshirt freshman (sophomore year in college
- 2012) and started his first game against the
Florida Gators, and even though it was an A&M
loss, there was magic in the air.
I started watching Johnny Football
that day and have not stopped since. He had me
screaming at the TV (hadn’t done that in years)
in the 29-24 victory at #1 Alabama, and now we
have DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket to watch the
Cleveland Browns, who drafted Manziel with
the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
And because the Houston Texans and
Dallas Cowboys passed on Johnny Football,
we’re full-time Browns fans.
The 21 teams that passed on Manziel
will live to regret it, and some already do (see list
at www.CouldHaveHadJohnny.com).
It made my wife Sandi (Mrs.
HangTime) cry when Jerry Jones didn’t pick
Johnny, and even though she was a seriouslydevoted Dallas fan (the kind that makes you
hate the Cowboys), she boxed all her Cowboys
stuff and will not pull for them again (and she
wears a Manziel’s Browns jersey very well).
Now if Jerry ever trades for Johnny,
well…stay tuned!
Johnny Manziel will someday be
considered the Babe Ruth of football, and
whether it happens in Cleveland or somewhere
else, you can bank on it!
L. Scott Hainline - “HangTime” - covers Texas
Hill Country sports & more for the Ranch Radio
Group (The Ranch 92.3; 96 GUN 96.5; The River
106.1), and HillsHomePage.com.
41
I have a confession to make. Hopefully
you’re sitting down - its a real shocker. I have an
addiction that has, for the most part, taken over
my waking hours, at least what few remain.
I am a geek. A nerd - the complete
opposite of a Luddite.
If it has a motherboard and RAM
memory, I am there. The symptoms are common
to the affliction - bad eyesight from looking at
a monitor all day, dietary disorders tied to Red
Bulls and donuts and pastey white skin tone from
late-night online sessioins.
Nothing makes me happier than
pulling the guts out of a computer and upgrading,
tweaking and fiddling with it. I am seeking a 12Step program for problem tinkers.
Now for the rest of the story. For all
my knowledge of computers and networks,
I get stumped sometimes. It is very hard to
keep up with the racing speed of technological
innovation. Computing expertise is a constantly
moving target and keeping up your binary chops
can be a daunting and time-consuming task.
or video card to the most diabolical of viruses
and spam and adware. Gazelle can also build
you a new computer ranging from a basic email
and web browsing unit to a quad-core screamer
that will make even the most hardened gamer
drool.
Turk has spent 14 years building his
business from the ground up. Starting with
computer repairs out of his garage he has
since expanded twice into his present 3,000
sq ft reatail location on Hill Country Drive in
Kerrville.
Although Turk’s business is based
on cutting edge technology, his approach to
customer service is old school. If you need
support, you don’t have to deal with a call center
in Mumbai, India with an English-challenged
tech reading from a script - your issues are
handled locally. In addition, much like the
doctors of old, Gazelle Computers makes house
calls!
What does a nerd/geek do when stumped by a
computer hardware or software problem? Call
in a real ninja. Turk at Gazelle Computers is the
only person in the Hill Country I trust to get the
job done right. He has spent the time keeping
up-to-date with all the latest hardware, software,
drivers and virus protections. I save a lot of time,
money and head-scratching when I take a PC to
put on Turk’s workbench.
There is an old saying about having the
right tool for the job and Gazelle has the tools to
diagnose everything from a faulty motherboard
texasheartbeat.com
47
Since we are entering the prime time for cedar
fever, the naturalist topic for this month will be
“Texas Mountain Cedar,” technically Ash Juniper. In
the text of this message, it will be referred to only as
“cedar. This is the green bush that by its lavish pollen
production causes sneezing, watery eyes, and some
cases flu-like symptoms, etc. This is an unusual plant
that produces its gametes in the dead of winter from
mid December to the end of February. Interestingly,
cedar occurs sexually as male and female plants.
The males are the ones that produce pollen (sperm
equivalent). The females produce tiny cone like
flowers that when fertilized form a blue berry that
has a very high germination percentage especially
after passing through a bird’s digestive tract. Any
piece of property in the Texas Hill Country left
unattended stands a good chance of becoming a
thick monoculture of cedar known locally as a “cedar
brake”.
In addition to causing aggravating allergic
reactions, cedar is widely accused of absorbing
water thus being one of the biggest culprits of
our diminishing water supplies. One of its many
adaptations to the Hill Country is its ability to form
a wide spreading shallow root system that absorbs
water from a wide area. Another adaptation would be
the small narrow leaves that have a relatively slow rate
of transpiration (water release).
For whatever difference it may make, it
probably doesn’t take any more water to grow a
pound of cedar, than it does any other woody species,
but it is so efficient at getting what it needs, grows so
fast, and there are so many plants.
Many sources lately have also been
observing that the thick canopy of small leaves catches
a large portion of the rainfall so that it never hits the
ground, evaporating back into the atmosphere.
There are many examples of ranches where
cedar eradication has resulted in the return of seeps,
and flowing springs. There is no question that rainfall
on grass covered terrain is more ecologically sound
than rainfall on bare ground or cedar canopies.
Should we eradicate cedar? No! It has
good qualities. It can be trimmed easily to form
excellent shade trees. The wood makes excellent
posts and rails. There are several cedar furniture
manufacturers working in the Hill Country.
Cedar chips that result from right-of-way
clearing make excellent mulch. The bark
removed in the process of preparing posts
and rails or furniture is very good mulch for
flower beds. This mulch absorbs and retains
moisture and prevents weed growth. Cedar
is probably the biggest contributor we have
that enables the Hill Country to be a green
desert.
Tidbits
about
cedar:
As
aforementioned it makes excellent posts, but
the better posts by far are those that are cut
in the spring when “the sap is rising.” These
posts last longer because the natural resins
in the wood are more evenly distributed
and act as preservatives. I don’t want to
say anything is essential but bark removal
is desirable because if it is not removed,
it absorbs moisture forming a haven for
microbes and insects. This results in rapid
decay of the sapwood underneath .If posts
are set in the ground with bark on, the decay
of the sap wood results in their becoming
loose in the hole, and if the wire is stapled
to them, the staples soon pull out. These
problems occur anytime cedar is used for
any purpose without removal of the outside
bark.
The heartwood which usually
forms the distinct dark center of a cedar post
is almost decay proof. The old timers, folks
even before my time used to hew off the sap
with a double bit ax before setting a post or
using a rail. This is evidenced here on The
Farm by the cedar posts forming most of the
perimeter fencing and the rails along the
road just past the “Barnyard.” Imagine the
time consuming work involved. One of my
goals is to preserve and reuse all of these old
rails that I possibly can. The posts and rails
that I am referring to are already over 100
years old.
Any method that might be used to reduce
the number of cedar trees is expensive,
but the fact that it doesn’t resprout is
continued from previous page
encouraging. If no green sprigs are left, the tree
is gone.
This is in contrast to the thorny bushes to
our South where cutting just makes them mad.
They grow back with longer, wickeder thorns
than before. Fire is a good way to eliminate
small cedar saplings because it takes off all of the
green leaves.
The burning resins of cedar produce
a very hot flame that results in lots of sparks.
A fact that is true even of the antique rails and
posts. Folks from other parts of the country
frequently learn this the hard way when they
try to use cedar cuttings for either BarBQ or
in fireplaces. For this reason cedar brakes have
been accused of being a fire hazard. However,
these fires are difficult to start without some
kind of very volatile kindling.. Since dense cedar
brakes frequently have very little grass under
cover, it is unlikely that fires will start. The
fact that people have controlled and prevented
wildfires for obvious reasons is one of the
contributing factors for the encroachment of
cedar to so many areas.
texasheartbeat.com
49
realalebrewing.com

Vol2 No1 Winter 2014-2015 - Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country

Transcription

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