FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019
THE FAYETTE COUNTY La Grange, Texas 78945
RECORD
Volume 97, Number 60
One Dollar per Copy
Art Barns Showcased Throughout Area
INSIDE
Over $1 Million in Scholarships!
It was a like a game show at LHS as the scholarship dollars just kept pouring out for the Class of 2019 at the annual scholarship ceremony.
FOR THE RECORD
This newly painted barn, located at 2955 FM 955 in Fayetteville, is one of four such painted barns in the area that are part of a company’s unique promotional campaign. Learn more on Page B1 today. Of note, if driving to this barn from La Grange, do not turn where the GPS instructs, and instead continue another 100 yards or so until the barn comes up on the left. Staff photo by Kara Koether
St. Mark’s Lawyer: Hospital Bankruptcy Process Would Be ‘Terribly Unpredictable’
Muldoon Museum
The Muldoon Museum will be open for visitors on Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 5 at 2 p.m.
By ANDY BEHLEN
The Fayette County Record
Fayco Beekeepers
The Fayco Beekeepers Association will meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 1 at the Texas AgriLife Extension office on 255 Svoboda Lane in La Grange. Learn what you can do to help out the bees or become a beekeeper. This month we’ll start a new program specifically for beginners: new Beekeeping 101 presentation will start at 4:15 p.m. The main meeting begins at 5 p.m. and starts with a pot luck dinner. Ron Chess will be giving a short talk on what’s happening in the bee yard now and Jan Kelly will be updating us on the organization’s website. Featured speaker this month will be the Texas Honey Queen Mary Reisinger. If you have any questions, contact Howard at (512) 694-0049.
Spring Concert
The Faison Preservation Society is hosting a spring concert June 2 at 2 p.m. at the Faison House, 822 S. Jefferson, La Grange. Little Hearts Cellos will be performing and ice cream treats will be served. Tickets are $10 and can be bought online at faisonhouse. org or at the door. Children 10 and under are free. There’s more For the Record on Page A2
WEATHER WATCH This Week’s Forecast High Friday: 89 40% chance of rain Saturday: 93 Partly cloudy Sunday: 94 Partly cloudy Monday: 95 Partly cloudy
Low 73 73 74 75
Burn Ban Is Lifted
INSIDE TODAY Society ........................ Page A4 Obituaries ................... Page A6 Weekend ..................... Page B1 Classifieds ...............Page B3-6 Opinion ....................... Page D1 Crossword .................. Page D2
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During a Memorial Day service in La Grange, County Judge Joe Weber gave a talk about the six men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. Photo by Kara Koether
A Day to Remember By KARA KOETHER
The Fayette County Record
On Monday, May 27, Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations held their annual Memorial Day celebration and lunch to honor the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. After some musical entertainment by Josh Tiemann, the program began with a heartfelt opening from Amber BelvillCarroll, who encouraged Fayette County residents and community members to continue the tradition of replacing the tattered
flags at veterans’ graves, or perhaps placing flags for those who do not have one. The main speaker was Judge Joseph Weber, who served for 36 years in the United States Marine Corps, both in times of peace and war, both at home and overseas. Judge Weber read a story about the six men who raised the iconic flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima. Most of the boys who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima were 17, 18 or 19 years old. The battle lasted for five weeks, and out of the nearly 70,000 brave Marines
that landed on Iwo Jima, nearly 7,000 were killed. After Judge Weber’s speech and story, John Marburger called the roll of deceased veterans from the past year, with Joan Miertschin ringing the bell for each name called. Veterans of the Marine Corps and VFW Post #5254 and VVA #0870 performed the retirement of colors and placement of new colors. A memorial wreath was placed by the American Legion Post 102338-602 before Calvin Kuehn led the Pledge of Allegiance. See Memorial Day, back page
A big crowd of citizens showed up at Monday’s La Grange City Council meeting to hear a presentation from Save St. Mark’s, the group advocating for the creation of a hospital district in Fayette County. St. Mark’s Foundation Chairman Michael Corker and Kevin Reed, an attorney for St. Mark’s Medical Center, delivered the presentation. One of the main topics of discussion involved St. Mark’s decision to seek tax revenue instead of reorganizing
LG City Council under bankruptcy. “It’s a strange twist to me that bankruptcy is seen as a success,” Reed said. He said bankruptcy would be a “terribly unpredictable process.” The process leads to one of two outcomes: reorganization or liquidation. “In a reorganization, you have to have a plan,” Reed said. “You can’t go into reorganization without a plan. If the plan See City Council, back page
At the La Grange City Council meeting on Monday, May 28, City Secretary Lisa Oltmann delivered the oath of office to newly-elected and re-elected members of the city council: (from left) Councilman John “Honza” Cernosek, Mayor Janet Moerbe, Councilwoman Jan Dockery, Councilwoman Bonnie Busch, Councilman Ken Taylor and Councilman Pat Janca. Also at that meeting, the Council voted unanimously to re-appoint Cernosek as Mayor Pro Tem. Photo by Andy Behlen
Charlie Mares: The Long Road Home By ELAINE THOMAS Special to the Record
A
little misty-eyed, Pat Mares Keller flips through the news clippings about the funeral of her uncle, Master Sergeant Charlie J. Mares. “My grandparents still believed in their hearts that someday Charlie would come home,” she says. Indeed, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Charlie Mares of Cistern, serial number RA 6 289 280, has made it home. After being listed as missing in action during the Korean War almost 69 years ago, he was buried with full military honors in the cemetery at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, Cistern, Texas, on Friday, March 29, 2019. Charlie’s only surviving sibling, 89-year-old Catherine Camp of New Braunfels, recalls her reaction when the notification arrived on Feb. 7, 2019, saying her big brother’s remains had been conclusively identified. “I was shocked, totally shocked,” she said. “Think how long Charlie had been missing. “Charlie was sweet, very kind and good to me,” Catherine recalls. “I loved him dearly.” Born on Christmas Day 1919, almost 100 years ago, Charlie was the third child of Cyril Joe and Augusta Lena Otahal Mares, who farmed in western Fayette County near Cistern. Charlie had one older brother,
Texas Patriot Guard members traveled to Cistern to honor Charlie Mares at his funeral on March 29.
William “Willie” and an older sister, Sister Callista, IWBS, as well as three younger brothers, Felix, John and George and a younger sister, Catherine. Charlie’s father was a first generation Texan and his mother, who was born in the Austria-Hungary Empire in the early 1900s, lived in the town of Kobili, before she and her family emigrated to the U.S. Like their Cistern friends and neighbors, the Mares family spoke Czech. Charlie and his siblings attended a parochial school in Cistern, St. Wenceslaus Catholic School. It opened in 1918 with classrooms on the lower floor and a convent upstairs for the Catholic sisters who served as teachers.
Pat Mares Keller and her husband, Ed, pictured beside Charlie’s coffin, offer this advice to anyone whose loved one is still missing: “Don’t give up.”
Stories I’ve Been Told
A Monthly Feature by ELAINE THOMAS
Serving His Country in WWII
Charlie entered the U.S. Army on June 30, 1939. In the April 1940 U.S. census, he was listed as a soldier at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. On April 10 of the following year, a local newspaper correspondent noted that Charlie was home from Fort Sam Houston to spend the weekend with his family. By the next October, Charlie had
been promoted to staff sergeant and transferred to Company E, 410th Infantry at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. During World War II, Charlie served in the Rhineland and Central Europe as a technical sergeant. When discharged on Oct. 4, 1945, he was authorized to wear the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Good Conduct, Pre-Pearl Harbor, Victory ETO Unit Citation and American See Mares, Page A7
For his leadership and valor during the Korean War, Master Sergeant Charlie J. Mares was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Korean War Service Medal.