T RAILHEA D BANDERA BULLETIN
G AT E WAY T O T H E T E X A S H I L L C O U N T R Y
WINTER 2019 WWW.BANDERABULLETIN.COM
T RAILHEA D BANDERA BULLETIN
INSIDE
OUR TEAM
THIS ISSUE
Publisher JONATHAN DEELEY
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................PAGE 2
Editor BILL PACK Office Manager & Bookkeeper FRAN FOX Sales & Advertising DEE RUSS NICHOLE ANDRADE Magazine Designer MATT HELLMAN
WELCOME FROM THE PUBLISHER.............. PAGE 3 WINTER EVENTS CALENDAR.........................PAGE 4 WILD GAME DINNER....................................PAGE 8 OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE...........................PAGE 9 HOLIDAY CHEER: CHRISTMAS LIGHTS........ PAGE 10 DAY AT THE MUSEUM: PART 2.................... PAGE 12 JUNIOR LIVESTOCK SHOW.......................... PAGE 16 BAUBLES AND BOOTS................................. PAGE 17 KERRVILLE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL........... PAGE 18 SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PRESENTS.............. PAGE 20 AROUND BANDERA.................................... PAGE 21 COWBOY MARDI GRAS............................... PAGE 22
Since 1945 The Bandera Bulletin has been reporting events in "The Cowboy Capital of the World.” We cover all of Bandera County including Bandera, Medina, Pipe Creek, Lakehills, Tarpley, Utopia and Vanderpool. We find out what is happening by attending local events, contacting local authorities and most importantly, by listening to you tell us what is going on.
P.O. Box 697 606 Hwy 16 South Bandera, TX 78003 For advertising, call 830-796-3718 www.banderabulletin.com
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Welcome to the Trailhead BY JONATHAN DEELEY Bandera Bulletin Publisher
My trial gym membership was canceled recently after an unfortunate incident. My assigned personal trainer suggested I jump rope for cardio. I agreed and, unsupervised and without the benefit of an actual jump rope, I proceeded to improve my heart and cardiovascular system. Another member of the same gym, himself burning calories on a Stair Master machine, asked, “Why aren’t you using a real rope, why aren’t you climbing real stairs?” Perhaps a little background would be appropriate. When I first moved to Bandera to assume the helm of The Bandera Bulletin, I learned rental properties were scarce and moved quickly in this real estate market. When I couldn’t find a suitable house to rent, I opted for RV living and borrowed a travel trailer. I moved it within feet of the newspaper’s backdoor and started full-time RV living. I was woefully unprepared. Living in an RV means you must minimize your “stuff.” The first stage is donat-
ing or selling all of your unnecessary belongings, followed by figuring out how to cram all that left-over stuff in your tiny house on wheels. It is amazing how few clothes we actually wear. Some huge rigs have washers and dryers. Mine was not one of those. This issue of having cash on hand to acquire the necessary quarters and spend quality time at the local laundromat annoyed me much more in the beginning, but lately it has become a therapeutic chore. Then there is adjusting to your linear lifestyle. The interior carpet of the RV was colorful, but no one could agree on what color it was. Some said it was purple. I thought it was grey. I looked it up: blue. I ripped out the carpet and installed plastic wood. There was a litany of other issues. In addition to the electrical problems, the rear stabilizing jacks were bent, the slide room would not work, exterior compartment doors did not secure, the furnace would not ignite, window blinds had broken, a leg fell off the table and the roof leaked. Additionally, the water and stove were in competition to burn down the rig, and
I was experiencing parts and pieces falling off the walls and ceiling on a regular basis. My dog Buck ate the entry door. My diet took a turn for the convenient when the RV’s oven died, and apparently it had a suicide pact with the microwave as they both failed within hours of each other. Which brings back to the reason I joined a gym in the first place – to get an early start on my New Year’s resolution of losing the weight I gained from living in a travel trailer. Spaghetti-O’s with mystery meatballs is loaded with calories. Full-time RV living has its positive characteristics. For example, I have made many friends including a retired couple who travel the country with their two, almost-dogs. They sit together and watch the sunset every night and end their evenings watching documentaries about murder. That’s love. To the delight of Buck, I have secured a house with room to run and play. It has fortified walls to protect us from the rain and wind. I’m confident I will find another gym to join and promise never to take for granted the convenience and luxury of the full-sized bathroom. VOL. 1, NO. 1 | FALL 2019
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Winter Events Call us at 830-796-3718 to sumbit your events for the next calendar. Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day Dec. 12, through the day St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 311 7th St. in Bandera, including St. Joseph Hall, Cedar and 7th streets A variety of activities and services celebrating the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who also is the Virgin Mary, to indigenous Indian Juan Diego in 1531 in Mexico. The celebration starts with Las Mañanitas services at 5 a.m., moves to a Grotto Dedication at 5:30 p.m., the Matachines Dance at 5:45 p.m., a rosary at 6 p.m. and Holy Mass at 6:30 p.m. before the play of St.
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Juan Diego is performed and a reception is held. St. Christopher’s Christmas Tasting Tea Dec. 13, 11:30 a.m. St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 395 Highway 173 N. A variety of dishes prepared by members of the St. Christopher’s Parish, along with special servings put together by local restaurants are served by the St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church Women as part of a longstanding holiday tradition that brings the community together and raises funds for local charities. Tickets cost $10 for all the food participants
want to eat. For another $10, guests can purchase a cookbook containing recipes for the dishes served at the tea. Western Heritage Cowboy Church Christmas Opry Dec. 13, 6 p.m. Silver Sage, 803 Buck Creek Dr., Bandera, 830-796-4969 The Western Heritage Cowboy Church will present a special Christmas Show in the Silver Sage Great Room. Admission is $10 plus a bag of dog or cat food or a jar of peanut butter. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Seats reserved by call-
ing 830-796-4969. Proceeds benefit Meals on Wheels in Bandera County. Carols, Kids & Crafts Dec. 14, 3:30 p.m. Pipe Creek Community Church, 289 Racquet Club Dr. Event will take church members and others attending the holiday event to the Bandera Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bandera to sing Christmas carols at 4 p.m. before returning to the church to hear a message from Pastor Barry Donham. Pizza also will be served, and visitors will decorate gingerbread houses, which will be sent home with
families as a gift. Prizes also will be awarded at 7 p.m. It’s a free event, but those planning to come are asked to reserve a spot by texting 830-423-6030 or sending a notice to the church on its Facebook page. Spirits of Christmas Presents Dec. 12, 13 and 14 Bandera United Methodist Church; Across Bandera County A charitable initiative now 40 years old that gets Christmas gifts out to children of low-income families in the county and provides families with food vouchers allowing them to secure food for a holiday meal from the Helping Hand food pantry. A variety of community partners have sustained the initiative over the years. Officials will choose gifts for youngsters on Dec. 12, wrap them on Dec. 13 and deliver them to families using helpers dressed as Santa and his elves on Dec. 14 beginning at 8 a.m. Singing in the Saddle Dec. 14, 1 p.m. A Christmas Caroling event done the Bandera way, on horseback or in wagons and buggies supplied by the organizers. Participants will perform at both the senior centers in Bandera and along Main Street. All guitar players and singers are welcome, along with horse lovers who just want to take a ride. Participants are asked to gather outside the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bandera County at 8th and Maple streets in Bandera for a headcount at noon.
The Music of Christmas Boerne Concert Band performance Dec. 15, 6 p.m. Boerne High School auditorium, One Greyhound Lane The concert band will celebrate the season by performing a variety of Christmas classics like “The Nutcracker,” “The Polar Express,” “Carol of the Bells” and “Sleigh Ride.” It is a free event. Bandera Natural History Museum Christmas presentation Dec. 21, 1 p.m. Bandera Natural History Museum, 267 Old Bandera Highway Happy Tails Entertainment will bring its collection of animals, including an alpaca, a porcupine and a tortoise, that will act out a Christmas celebration at the museum. Youngsters will have a chance to interact with the animals and get their photos taken with the performers and with Santa, who also will make an appearance. The price for admission is $10 for adults, $6 for those 12 and younger and free for those age 3 and younger. Christmas scenes dioramas exhibit Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30-5:30 p.m. through Dec. 27 Office trailer at 548 English Hollow Dr. near Bandera A private collection of dioramas depicting Christmas scenes featuring mechanized figures that move will be available for viewing in an office behind Mona Rollison’s home. She and her late husband col-
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Winter Events Call us at 830-796-3718 to sumbit your events for the next calendar. lected the dioramas that had been displayed in department store windows in the 1930s and 40s, refurbished them and have exhibited them periodically over the years. Rollison will be on hand to welcome those who come to see the free exhibition. Bandera Natural History Museum presents Dinosaur George Dec. 28, 1 p.m. Bandera Natural History Museum, 267 Old Bandera Highway, Bandera Dinosaur George, a regular speaker at the museum, will bring his knowledge and artifacts on dinosaurs to the museum for a hands-on program. The normal admission charges will again apply - $10 for adults, $6 for those under 13 and older than 3, and free for those 3 and younger. Christmas Lights extravaganzas Throughout December Outside Bandera County Courthouse, in Bandera City Park and various locations around Bandera, including Enchanted Springs Ranch outside of Boerne on Hwy. 46 W. Colorful Christmas lights displays continue to be a crowd-pleasing way to celebrate the season, and Bandera County found a way to keep their lights festivals shining again this year despite funding problems from the past. Volunteers came out to help a county commissioner get lights and a Nativity scene up around the courthouse in the 6
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500 block of Main Street in Bandera, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bandera County partnered with Zoka Jo’s home décor to keep light shining on the trail in city park, from the beginning of the park at the Highway 173 bridge to the exit at 8th and Maple streets near the Boys Clubs center. While it is free, other light shows like the Old West Christmas Light Fest at Enchanted Springs, have admission fees. Organizers at Enchanted Springs say more than 3 million lights went into its production this year, which includes laser tag activities, Christmas-themed Escape Rooms, a light maze, cookie decorating and other activities. It costs $15 to attend or is free for those age 5 and younger. The ranch is located at 242 Highway 46 West near Boerne. Knights of Columbus Fish Fry Jan. 3, 5 p.m. St. Joseph's Hall, Cedar and 7th, Bandera Always on the first Friday of the month. Cowboy Capital Opry Jan. 7, 7 – 9pm Silver Sage, 803 Buck Creek Dr., Bandera, 830-796-4969 Grand Old Opry Style Entertainment at the Silver Sage Community Center hosted by Gerry and Harriet Payne. Refreshments and door prizes will be part of the concert. The cost is $5 per person. ANNUAL BANDERA COUNTY JUNIOR LIVESTOCK SHOW Jan. 9 – 11
Mansfield Park, 2886 Highway 16 North near Bandera The Bandera County Jr. Livestock Show provides 4-H and FFA youth opportunities to further their agricultural, leadership, and higher education goals. The birth of the Bandera County Junior Livestock show was in 1936 when the Medina Future Farmers of America hosted the first stock show. In 1937, County Agent Howard Schlemmer started a county 4-H organization and used that foundation to jump start the junior show. By 1938, the county show included 23 pens of sheep, several goats, some hogs and chickens. Twen-
ty-three boys took part in the show, exhibiting more than 140 animals. The show alternated its location each year from Bandera to Medina and back again, before moving to its permanent home at Mansfield Park in Bandera. Baubles and Boots Jan. 18, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Antler Oaks Lodge, 3862 Highway 16 North near Bandera, 830-796-5862 Annual fundraiser for the Bandera Independent School District Education Foundation. It includes a catered meal with drinks, a raffle and several great items to bid on
Choir members in Medina sing Christmas carols during last year’s community Christmas celebration. The celebration will be held this year on Sunday, Dec. 15. Bulletin photo by Bill Pack
Medina Community Christmas Celebration Dec. 15, 4 p.m. - Christmas tree on Highway 16 in Medina Children from the Medina school and an adult choir will sing Christmas carols and other songs of the season before Santa Claus leads a procession to the Medina Community Library, where he will be available for visits and where the results of an annual baking contest will be announced. Guests can sample the baked goods from the contest and will hear who won the Ugly Christmas Shirt contest. The celebration will end with finger food and holiday dishes served in a pot luck fashion at the Core Coffee House, 13971 Highway 16 North in Medina.
in both live and silent auctions. Tickets to the event cost $45 and are available by calling 830-796-5862. Proceeds help the foundation fund innovative teaching programs in the Bandera school district. Wild Game Dinner Jan. 25, 4 – 7 p.m. Grace Lutheran Church, 451 Highway 173 North, Bandera, 830-796-3091 Expertly cooked wild game dinner featuring venison prepared many different ways from chili to gumbo to sliders. Other game entrees also served. 30th Anniversary. Tickets for the dinner are available by donations of $10 for those ages 13 and older, $5 for those ages 5-12 and free for those 4 and under. Raffle tickets are available for $1 or six for $5. Over 10 different types of guns will be raffled off, and a silent auction will be held. The Kerrville Renaissance Festival Jan. 25-26; Feb. 1-2 River Star Arts and Event Park, 4000 Riverside Dr., Kerrville The sights, sounds, food, goods and activities associated with the Renaissance will be recreated for the fourth year in Kerrville by Hill Country Festivals. Historical re-enactments and demonstrations will be presented as performers dressed as ladies of the court, knights, magicians, jugglers, fortunetellers and other characters of the period roam the ground in-
teracting with visitors, many of them dressed in period costumes. A marketplace with more than 50 crafters also will be set up. Admission is $14.95 for adults and $9.95 for children ages 5-12. The Cowboy Mardi Gras Feb. 12-15 The 11th Street Cowboy Bar, 307 11th St., Bandera, and along 11th Street The 11th Street Cowboy Bar will present Bandera’s unique blending of Cajun and Cowboy cultures in the 15th annual Cowboy Mardi Gras, which will take over downtown Bandera for four days. The event has become the most popular tourist draw in Bandera as Cajun bands belt out tunes from inside the bar, Cajun food is served, a championship gumbo cookoff is held, costume contests are put on for pets and partiers and a rollicking Cowboy Mardi Gras parade is held on Main Street in Bandera. The lineup of bands had not been determined by press time. More information should be made available on the cowboy bar’s website, 11thstreetcowboybar.com. Mardi Gras Arts & Crafts Show Feb. 15, 7 a.m. Bandera County Courthouse, 500 block of Main Street, Bandera, 210-2151995 An arts and crafts show with a Mardi Gras theme will be put on to benefit the work of the Arthur Nagel Community Clinic.
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Exotic dishes available at Wild Game Dinner Grace Lutheran Church will hold its 33rd Annual Wild Game Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the church, 451 Highway 173 North in Bandera. As the name suggests, the popular culinary fundraiser lets the public enjoy fresh and innovative tastings of wild game, including local and exotics wild foods like emu eggs. The unusual menu also includes chili, soups, sliders, duck gumbo, and other select wild game meats. The dinner will run from 4-7 p.m. at the church. Guests can eat their meals there or get plates to go. Desserts also will be available from the Youth of Grace Lutheran. In addition, a raffle will be
Guests at last year’s Wild Game Dinner at Grace Lutheran Church get ready to eat some of the wild game dishes prepared for the annual fundraiser. The church will hold the dinner again on Jan. 25.
Bulletin photo by Chuck McCollough
held as part of the fundraiser. Raffle tickets are available for $1 or six for $5. Tickets for the dinner are available by donationsfor $15 for an all-you-can-eat
plate, which includes dessert and a drink. Tickets are available from Grace Lutheran Church members, at the church office or at the door or by call-
ing 830-796-3091. A portion of the proceeds from the event goes to provide scholarships for two Bandera County high school seniors.
355 Hwy 16 • Bandera, Texas 78003 830-796-3333 8
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Members of the Guadalupanos Society at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church take part in a Matachines Dance during a prior celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day. The feast day will be celebrated again on the grounds of St. Stanislaus on Thursday, Dec. 12. Bulletin photo by Bill Pack
Winter celebration upcoming for Our Lady of Guadalupe The Guadalupanos Society at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church will celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day on Thursday, Dec. 12, with period dances, a grotto dedication, religious services and a reception that the public is invited to attend. The feast day honors the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who also is the Virgin Mary, in 1531 to an indigenous Indian man in Mexico, Juan Diego and the blessing she gave him in his quest to have a church built on a Mexican mountainside. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a powerful symbol of devo-
tion to Mexican-Americans and Latinos around the world, and her feast day is recognized across the country, including Bandera. Thursday’s festivities will include Las Mañanitas services at 5 a.m., moving later in the day to a grotto dedication at 5:30 p.m., followed by a Matachines Dance by members of the Guadalupanos, a rosary outside the grotto and Holy Mass recited by Father Frank Kursaj at 6:30 p.m. The event will conclude with a reception at St. Joseph’s Hall on the St. Stanislaus grounds. St. Stanislaus is located at 311 7th St. in Bandera.
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Holiday Cheer! Christmas lights sparking at courthouse, park Bandera’s Christmas Lights extravaganzas are shining brightly again this year, thanks to an outpouring of support from the community and a lot of hours put in by youngsters in and officials of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bandera County. There were concerns that holiday lights might not go up again at the Bandera County Courthouse on Main Street and along a section of road in Bandera City Park bordering the Medina River after the Bandera Business Association failed to get the financial backing it had requested from the city and decided it could not sponsor the light shows. But County Commissioner Jack Moseley put a call out for volunteers to provide the labor needed to get the lights up at
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Christmas lights, including a lighted Texas flag that was in front of the Bandera County Courthouse last year, brighten the night at the entrance to a trail of Christmas lights in Bandera City Park. The light show will be available for touring through December. Bulletin photos by Bill Pack
the courthouse, and they responded in big numbers, and the Boys & Girls Clubs stepped forward, hired Zoka Jo’s officials who knew what was needed to complete the trail of lights in the park, and got that festive exhibition strung again, even adding some new sections to the show. “It looks really, really great,” said Heather Jones, who owns Zoka Jo’s with her husband and helped oversee the work in the park. She and her team were still working last week on some final features in the park’s light show, which fills a field at the entry to the park on Maple Street near the Highway 173 bridge and extends down the park’s main road to the exit at Maple and 8th streets. It was ready for its first visitors on Dec. 2 and should have had all the features running – including a new, lighted tunnel near the end of the trail – by the time of Bandera’s Shopper’s Jubilee on Friday, Dec. 6. Those lighted features will be open to the public through December. Nonprofit organizations have been scheduled to man an entry station at the trail in the park and collect donations for those who want to support the project and the nonprofit. But there is no admission fee to tour the site. All the lighted Christmas trees that normally go up outside the courthouse also got erected again this year, and some lights were left over to wrap additional trees. They were turned on late last month and should stay up through December as well.
Christmas tree structures covered with lights brighten up the grounds of the Bandera County Courthouse for the holiday season. They were put up last month after volunteers responded to County Commissioner Jack Moseley’s call for help for a light exhibition that at one time looked like it might not go on this year.
They are not the only light shows that holiday revelers can find in the area. One of the closest ones is at Enchanted Springs Ranch near Boerne called the Old West Christmas Light Fest. It has been open for its sixth season since Thanksgiving Day and expects to remain open until Christmas day at 242 Highway 46 West. The Old West show features a new, synchronized light show that can be driven through, a light maze, games of laser tag in the lights, a scavenger hunt and Christmas-themed Escape Rooms among its many attractions. The Boerne attraction costs $15 per person, except for those age 5 and younger who will get in for free. Discounts of $5 are available for first responders and members of the military, including retired service members.
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Day At The
MUSEUM From magazine to museum: Origins of the Frintier Times
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An overhead view is seen in the main gallery at the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera. The museum, founded by author and publisher J. Marvin Hunter, contains a variety of historic collections from the Bandera area along with Western art.
The exterior of the Frontier Times Museum is seen at 510 13th St. in Bandera. It has been open since May 20, 1933.
After moving to Bandera in 1921, Hunter took over the publication of Bandera’s weekly newspaper. He also began publishing a magazine, The Frontier Times, which focused on stories of the Western frontier. As the popularity of the magazine grew, readers brought Hunter western and pioneer relics to add to his personal collection. He displayed these items in the printing office. Due to a lack of space in the office, Hunter decided to build a museum to properly house and display the numerous artifacts. He raised funds to build a limestone building by publishing and selling “The Authentic History of Sam Bass and His Gang.” The Frontier Times Museum officially opened to the public on May 20, 1933. The size of the collection quickly grew through public donations. Hunter published “The Life of Big Foot Wallace” in 1934 to raise funds to build the museum’s first addition. Another addition was completed in 1935. The building itself can be classified as an artifact in that elements of its construction are closely tied to the history of the region. The majority of the stone used to build the facility was taken from a stone fence built near Bandera in 1872. Within the walls of the building are various indigenous stones, petrified wood, fossils and formations from area caves. In the center of the building is a fireplace in which a millstone brought to Bandera by Mormon colonists in 1854 is imbedded, along with a stone grinder used by local Native Americans.
J. Marvin Hunter, who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, is seen inside the museum the year it opened in 1933. The museum will celebrate its 85th birthday with a celebration on June 8-10. Courtesy photo
The Frontier Times Museum in Bandera was established in 1933 by J. Marvin Hunter, author and publisher of the Frontier Times magazine. VOL. 1, NO. 1 | FALL 2019
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The interior of the Western Room at the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera is pictured. It contains memorabilia from Frontier times in the Bandera area, including household furnishings and tools and commercial equipment.
Following the death of J. Marvin Hunter in 1957, the museum was acquired in 1960 by the F. B. Doane Foundation, a nonprofit, educational foundation. A final addition was completed at this time and serves as the Doane Gallery of Western Art. In 1972, the museum became a nonprofit charity governed by a board of trustees comprised of Bandera County residents. Museum officials estimate that the facility, located at 510 13th St. in Bandera, has 11,000 items in the collection. The original collection amassed by Hunter forms the basis of the current collection. It can be said to be the artifacts that relate to the Western frontier, pioneer settlement and the history of Bandera area - furnishings, household equipment, tools, textiles, arms, ranching accoutrements, saddles, a recently donated barbed wire collection and commercial equipment reflecting the area’s commerce and agriculture, including a bench to make cedar shingles, a dentist chair and den14
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tal tools and a printing press used from 1875 to 1922. Personal belongings of area residents and legendary characters of the Western frontier include a historic photograph collection, family Bibles and scrapbooks, and personal belongings of female gambler Lottie Deno. Other items focus on well-known cowboys and rodeo performers from the Bandera area. The Western art collection consists of paintings primarily by F.B. Doane and Marvin Hunter and recent donation of contemporary work by the daughter of F.B. Doane, Peggy Calvert, a San Antonio artist. The museum has recently entered into a partnership with the Western Artists Round-Up, a consortium of seven artists from around Texas. A permanent display of their art is now on view in the Doane Gallery of Western Art. Notable collection pieces are the prehistoric relics, including basket work from the Big Bend region of Texas and stone lithics, a vaquero bed roll
and Native American items such as drums, a breastplate, and a painted buffalo hide. One of the most popular pieces in the collection is the Jivaro shrunken head. It is part of the Charles Fagan collection of South American objects. Fagan, a New Jersey resident, worked on a steamer line that traveled between New York and South America. His uncle, Christopher Fagan, had settled in Bandera County and bequeathed the land to Charles. While visiting Bandera to dispose of the land, he admired the museum and began sending Hunter artifacts for the museum’s collection. This collection forms a significant aspect of the museum’s treasures. It should be looked upon as a legacy collection of the museum. Another collection that can be listed as a legacy collection is Louisa Gordon collection of 400 bells, some dating as early as the Sixth Century. Gordon bequeathed her collection to the museum after her death in 1941.
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The 84th Bandera County Junior Livestock Show will be held Jan. 9-11 at Mansfield Park outside Bandera, and officials believe it will be a big success like 2019. The junior show in 2020 will have roughly 150 youths entered in the livestock exhibitions, all showing animals weighing from four pounds to 1,300 pounds. Bandera County youth work practically year-round with some projects to get them ready for judging at the county show and at livestock shows in other Texas towns and cities. The categories of animals to be shown include cattle, both steers and heifers, show pigs, sheep and goats, as well as the smaller projects like turkeys, chickens and rabbits. FFA and 4-H are leading youth associations that provide an inside look at the hard work and responsibility that are required to keep
farms, ranches and other agricultural operations going. Those organizations provide the youth that take part in the junior livestock show. They also take part in ag mechanics classes at both the Bandera and Medina high schools that teaches them how to construct a variety of agricultural projects, like truck trailers and duck blinds. Ag mechanics entries also are judged at the livestock show. The 83rd Bandera County Junior Livestock Show last January was predicted to be record breaking and was in many ways, officials said. One of the most obvious was the Grand Champion Market Steer auction results. A steer shown by Caden Arnold sold for $20,000. That was nearly twice as much as the Grand Champion Market Steer drew in the prior year’s show.
BAUBLES AND BOOTS gala gets new home
Guests at a Baubles and Boots fundraiser in the past years examine the gifts available to bid on in a silent auction that is always part of the event, along with a live auction. The Bandera Independent School District Education Foundation holds the event to raise funds for the educational grants it awards BISD teachers each year. Baubles and Boots moves to the Antler Oaks Lodge and RV Park in January. Bulletin photo by Chuck McCollough
BY CHUCK MCCOLLOUGH Special to the Bulletin
The 14th annual Baubles and Boots event put on by the Bandera Independent School District Education Foundation will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. in a new, bigger venue. “The event has been moved to the Antler Oaks Lodge and RV Resort so that we can accommodate more attendees this year,” said foundation President Hooter McMullan. “We will have a limited number of tickets for sale this year as usual but will be able to have 50 more attendees. “Baubles and Boots has been at capacity the past three years, so we are very excited to grow, and it shows how much our community believes in our cause of serving the students of Bandera ISD,” McMullan stressed. Antler Oaks is located at 3862 Highway 16 North just outside Bandera. McMullan said the foundation funds grants that enhance academic achieve-
ment in BISD and go straight back to the students through the enhanced capabilities of teachers in the classrooms. The foundation has provided about $400,000 in grants since 2006. “We thank the community of Bandera for helping the children of this community to have learning tools that keep them up to date in the academic world,” McMullan said. The gala includes gifts, giveaways and other items to bid on in silent and live auctions and an impressive offering of hors d’oeuvres and beverages. In last year’s gala, an estimated 200 visitors attended the fundraiser dressed in Western attire and came ready to bid at auction to raise money for the educational grants. Tickets to the event cost $45, which includes food, drink and live music. All proceeds go to the nonprofit Bandera ISD Education Foundation. For more information go to the Bandera ISD Education Foundation Facebook page. VOL. 1, NO. 1 | FALL 2019
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A group of costumed muskateers strike a pose at a recent Renaissance Fair in Kerrville. The fair returns to Kerrville’s River Star Arts and Event Park on Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2. Courtesy photo
Kerrville Renaissance Fest in fourth year BY PHIL HOUSEAL Special to the Bulletin
Every January, Hill Country residents can travel back to the Middle Ages without getting far from home thanks to the Kerrville Renaissance Festival. This exotic gathering returns for the fourth year on the weekends of Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2. Event Founders Hal Robinson and April Cory, who had participated in renaissance festivals at other locations for years, wanted to bring the first Renaissance event to the Texas Hill Country, saw an opportunity in 2017 and got the festival started. “People in this area have told us it’s so nice to have something that’s not five hours away,” Cory said. “At this time of year, there is not much else going on. So we’re bringing people to the Hill Country.” 18
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The Renaissance Fest strives to create a welcoming setting where guests, cast members and crafters together can immerse themselves in a “magical theme.” The Kerrville event is held at the River Star Arts and Event Park, which is at 4000 Riverside Dr. The grounds are transformed into a medieval marketplace, with colorful booths offering food, handmade arts and crafts and boisterous games. Magicians, archers, belly dancers, musicians, jugglers, wenches and fortunetellers hold forth with family-friendly
entertainment. Guests can witness historical re-enactments and demonstrations, including an educational presentations by the Last Chance Forever Birds of Prey Conservancy. Guests are encouraged to arrive in costume, whether as a lady of the court, a knight, a lord, a wizard or any character from the Renaissance period. “We break the fourth wall,” said Robinson, referring to the imaginary barrier between the performers and the audience in a typical stage production. “We interact with the audi-
ence… We try to get the crowd to be in the moment.” Guests can browse through a marketplace with 50 crafters displaying handmade and unique wares, including wooden toys, leather crafts, clothing, hats, glassware, jewelry, and much more. Many artisans create custom pieces on site. Unlike any other event, the Kerrville Renaissance Festival is more about the guests than the performers. “People want to hang out with people who want to play,” Cory said. “We want everyone to come out and get some fresh air, to interact with people in real life and just explore.” Admission is $14.95 for adults and $9.95 for children 5-12, Children 4 and under are admitted for free. The event produced by Hill Country Festivals provides support to several local nonprofit organizations.
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Spotlight EVENT
Spirits of Christmas Presents shows community’s love Some of the 50 or so volunteers for a recent Spirits of Christmas Presents gift giveaway program show up in Santa and elf costumes before heading out from the Bandera United Methodist Church to make their deliverCourtesy photo ies across the county.
BY CHUCK MCCOLLOUGH Special to the Bulletin
Forty years ago, one person had a wish: to help all children in Bandera County have a Merry Christmas. To achieve this wish, she needed help, so she went to a local Brownie troop to collect gently used toys to give to those who had none.
This person was Karen Jackson, and she asked Kathy Gardner’s troop to help with this project, so the Spirits of Christmas Presents was born. Toys were collected, wrapped and delivered to about 20 families that Christmas. Now, 40 years later, the organization has grown from
delivering used toys to new gifts, a family dinner and provides Christmas cheer to over 250 children in Bandera County each season. None of this is possible without a dedicated army of volunteers, like: • Penny Smith, toy, gift buyer; • Sheryl Jewett, recruiter of Santas, elves for gift de-
livery; • BISD and Medina Schools, food drive; • Silver Sage center, wrap food boxes; • Bandera United Methodist Church, use of Fellowship Hall, to wrap gifts, organize delivery; (Helping Hand crisis center, fill and distribute food boxes); • Bandera High School
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Spirits of Christmas Presents volunteers, in a Santa and Mrs. Claus costume, get ready to take a fire truck on a delivery of Christmas gifts to children of families needing Christmas assistance in a recent edition of the community outreach. The program has been going on for 40 years. Courtesy photo
Around BANDERA Christmas show aids Meals on Wheels The Western Heritage Cowboy Church near Lakehills will host a special Christmas Show to raise money for the Meals on Wheels program in Bandera County at the Silver Sage center in Bandera on Friday, Dec. 13. Admission to the musical performance will be $10 plus a bag of dog or cat food that
Meals on Wheels clients can use for their pets or a jar of peanut butter that can be donated to the clients themselves. Doors for the show open at 6 p.m., and the music will star an hour later. Call the center at 830796-4969 to reserve a seat. The Silver Sage is located at 803 Buck Creek Dr.
Church event features carols, gingerbread houses Blue Heart Club, an organization that helps the Santas load their sleighs; • But most of all the community, that not only sorts and wraps all the gifts, but supports the effort with its generous donations. None of this could be done without the generous help of the community. Volunteer help is always
needed. Here are some key dates: Thursday, Dec. 12: 3 p.m. Select gifts for children, supper will be provided; Friday, Dec. 13, 8 a.m. Wrap gifts, coffee, donuts, and lunch provided; Saturday, Dec. 14, 8 a.m. Load Santas and vehicles with gifts and deliver gifts to families.
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Pipe Creek Community Church will hold a Christmas event called Carols, Kids & Crafts at the church on Saturday, Dec. 14. The public is invited to take part in the festivities, which will start at 3:30 p.m. The group will travel to the Bandera Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bandera where they will sing Christmas carols for the residents there. They will then return to
the church, located at 289 Racquet Club Dr., where they will hear a message from Pastor Barry Donham at 5 p.m., enjoy a pizza dinner and decorate gingerbread houses, which will be available for guests to take home. Prizes also will be awarded at the event, which should end by 7 p.m. Reserve a spot at the celebration by texting a note to 830-4236030 or by going on the church’s Facebook page.
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Cowboy Mardi Gras A Four-day Bandera Cajun celebration Mid-February is when Bandera will take on the many colors and flavors of Mardi Gras and the Louisiana Cajun traditions surrounding it when the Cowboy Mardi Gras is held for the 14th year at the 11th Street Cowboy Bar in Bandera. It will be a four-day event this year, running from Feb. 12 – 15 in both the cowboy bar, at 307 11th St. in Bandera, on 11th Street in front of the bar and moving over to Bandera’s Main Street on Saturday, Feb. 15, when the festive Cowboy Mardi Gras Parade makes its way through town.
The celebration is a unique combination of cowboy and Cajun cultures that brings people from across the state and nation to Bandera to enjoy Cajun music, Louisiana-styled food and good times in the Cowboy Capital of the World. Over the years, it has become the biggest tourism event Bandera holds, filling up hotel rooms and RV parks across the region. The lineup of bands for the celebration this year had not been released by the time the Trailhead went to press, but it typically includes some of the
The 11th Street Cowboy Bar’s float, filled with colorfully costumed backers, moves down Main Street Bulletin photo by Bill Pack Bandera as part of the Cowboy Mardi Gras Parade last year.
leading Cajun bands from Louisiana and Texas bands as well. A gumbo cookoff also will be part of the festivities as will costume contests and other activities if it follows the format of Cowboy Mardi Gras in
the past. Information about tickets and other details about the event should be available in the coming weeks on the bar’s website at 11thstreetcowboybar.com.
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