Seguin Today: April 2023

APRIL 2023, Volume 3 l Issue 3

Creepy, crawly critters have never been my favorite. Arachnophobia has lurked around the corner for as long as I can remember. I don’t like looking at spiders in pictures, don’t like when they’re enemies in video games, and will just close my eyes during a movie. When reading Lord of the Rings as a teenager, I struggled to get through the bits with Frodo and a giant spider named Shelob –– if you’ve seen the movies, you know the one.

Here is the thing –– I’m not afraid of many other typical things like mice, heights, snakes, or bees. In fact, it is my absolute adoration for bees that took me to the Gretchen Bee Ranch for one of this month’s stories.

So when we stopped by the Texas Reptile Expo in McQueeney, I did not expect to hold a tarantula, let alone, willingly. But I did!

Then the video that our Digital Media Producer Jarred Kindles took of me went viral on TikTok....and my hair was a mess, of course.

As surprised as Jarred and I were to have a video with 1.2 MILLION views, I’m more surprised and proud of myself for going outside my comfort zone and saying yes to a new experience.

It’s easy to stay complacent –– to keep safe, but in the words of a wise old hobbit, “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you’ll be swept off to.”

Lizz Daniels Creative Director

COVERSHOT

Carl Pfullman and his dog, Batman, perform during the Ski Bees ‘Farewell for Now’ show at Lake Breeze Ski Lodge in McQueeney.

BLUEBONNETS & BEESWAX

Living & working with pollinators to create handmaid goods

A DAM GOOD FAREWELL

The McQueeney Ski Bees hit the lake for the last time

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Community events & special promotions happening in the area this month.

DIY: RECIPE TO TRY

Delicious carrot cake the Easter Bunny will love

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Big Red Barn Founder Recognized by San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

Photo by Lizz Daniels

Beeswax

Story by Lizz Daniels

Photos by Lizz Daniels & Jarred Kindles

This time of year, fields and yards are painted with spring colors as wildflowers bloom across Texas. Indian paintbrushes and blankets intertwine with lantana and thistles, creating a backdrop unique to the Lone Star State. But of all these flowers, the most popular is, without a doubt, the Texas bluebonnet.

The iconic bloom lures locals into pastures to pose for portraits immersed in the icon shade of blue. More important than the bluebonnet’s role as a photo backdrop, however, is its role as a food source for bees and other pollinators.

Thién Gretchen owns the Gretchen Bee Ranch in Seguin with her husband, Mark. Together, they work to cultivate their hives with native flowers as part of their business, producing beeswax products.

“They’ll work the bluebonnets,” Thién said. “Some plants will yield both nectar and pollen. We seeded with clover because they can get great nectar and pollen from them. We’ve got the burr clover that nobody likes –– I don’t really like it either, but I let it go in some areas because I see the bees working it. This time of year, it’s critical they have as much as they possibly can because here, everything dies in summer. And then they’re desperate. At that point, beekeepers usually supplement their diet to get them through hard times. So when we have the summer dearth –– that period where it’s just scorching hot, there’s no rain like last year –– you have to feed them, or they won’t make it. We try to connect that in people’s minds when they come in. They’ll ask where the mesquite or wildflower honey is, but they can’t make either if things are not blooming.”

For the Gretchen bees to produce more wax and honey, more food is needed to be available near their colonies. So Thién and Mark devised a plan they could implement in their backyard.

“One of our projects last year was casting tons of native wildflower seeds all over our property,” she said. “That was something that seemed like a quick, easy thing to do. So, the last couple of years has been all about what we can do here at this property where we don’t have an HOA.”

Many local and state municipalities have begun incorporating pollinator sections into parks where flowers and weeds can grow, allowing patches of wild foliage to take over in an otherwise manicured area. Homeowners wishing to do the same, however, often face other obstacles.

“I know it’s hard with the HOAs and city codes –– it’s a constant battle,” Thién said. “And even land development is a constant battle. Part of the reason we reduced our hives was because most of our bees were in the surrounding area, and we’ve got so much development going on on land that used to be great bee pastures with wildflowers. But all the land is being developed, so without the food source, we couldn’t sustain 400 hives around here. So then, we’d have to truck them around to different areas because you can only put so many colonies in an area. They were just so all-consuming. Morning to night, you’re in the field this time of year just tending to them. So now, there’s a lot more time for us to explore the craftier part of beekeeping, which is the beeswax, the candles, but also body care and other things. Now we get to do more things we enjoy and wanted to explore.”

Transitioning from beekeeping to beeswax crafting came about, in part, due to the amount of leftover wax the Gretchens would have following a honey harvest. After some experimentation with the material, Thién found she preferred it over many commercially available products.

“The beeswax is such a clean product,” she said. “It burns longer, it burns cleaner as a candle, but in body care –– if people look up the benefits of beeswax –– it’s just healthier. There’s not a lot in there that’s bad unless you get the wax from a bad source. And it just lasts longer. We love the control of knowing there are three or four basic ingredients that are good for you –– that are natural, that the bees made. It allows us to not waste anything that they made. So when we extracted honey from those 400 hives, you had some leftover beeswax, so it’s nice to use all that up. And then soon we started using way more than we produce –– even with 400 hives, so Mark started sourcing beeswax from other beekeepers in South Texas and then all over Texas. That helps us do all the things we want to do.”

Thus, the Beeswax Department at the Gretchen Bee Ranch came about. Inside their showroom, honey-golden candles sit neatly arranged in baskets while wax lanterns dressed in pressed flowers and cicadas add a gentle glow to the room. On the wall, wax ornaments poured from vintage cookie molds from Pennsylvania hang on red ribbons.

When wax first comes out of the hive, it may have many color impurities as well as contaminants in the wax. This is all totally normal. To get it ready to be used in candles or cosmetics, it has to go through the filtration process.

TO COSMETIC GRADE WAX

The wax is melted down, and then filtered until it is pure. From there, the Gretchens can take the beeswax and transform it into a wide array of products. Candles are popular, along with the Beeswax Department’s line of skin care products, which contain natural ingredients.

Around the space, Mark’s collection of glass insulator-caps accent candle displays and shelves. They are the inspiration behind one of the Beeswax Department’s most original candle designs.

“Another thing we learned to make was candle molds with silicone,” Thién said. “Nobody, as far as we know, is making insulator candles. So Mark likes to do things other people aren’t doing. He’s been collecting insulators since he was little because someone told him and his brother they’d be worth a lot of money. So as six and sevenyear-olds, they just knew they were going to be rich. But now they’re so neat, and we’ve been able to get them out, and there’s just so much history behind each one. These are all things that are fun for us to do that fit in the shop that we never got to do before. Eventually, we’ll add things like flower-pressing classes. So part of cultivating the land with all these wildflowers is for the bees and the beauty, but it’s also for things like our crafts and teaching people.”

With patches of bluebonnets bursting around her hive boxes, Thién will soon be able to don her beekeeper suit and open them up. She’ll feed them, check their honey and wax production, and probably even install a new queen in the hive. But despite all the work yet to be done this spring, Thién doesn’t mind because when she’s cultivating her bees, she’s also cultivating her creativity. •

On the water for the Ski Bees final show

Standing on the waterfront at Lake Breeze Ski Lodge makes for good people-watching. Parents sip adult drinks while kids clamber all over the nearby playground, and the smells of grilling hang in the air. On the water, boats zip up and down the lake, creating an ambient soundtrack overlaid with birds and other nature sounds that become hypnotic the longer you listen.

With imposing clouds threatening a spring break cool front on the horizon, the McQueeney Ski Bees took to the lake recently for their final show. Lake McQueeney is being drained so that they can perform needed repairs on the dam upriver.

Ski Bees President Jimmie Price is a lifelong lake resident and has been a part of the iconic Texas Ski group for a significant chunk of its history.

“Lake McQueeney became the ski capital of Texas back in the 50s

when Buzz here at the Ski Lodge started putting on ski shows,” Price said. “They carried out through the 60s, and then when GBRA came in and changed some of the rules –– they couldn’t have night shows –– then it ended. Then, in the 80s, we picked it back up. In the 90s, I was president, and then we’ve carried on all these years to be what we are today.”

And what they are today is a team of fiercer skiers of all different ages that come together to perform doing something they all love ––waterskiing. Notably, most Ski Bees are younger members learning the sport, but that doesn’t mean they don’t throw down skills on the water. As they hit the lake for their last performance, girls did pirouettes on swivel skies while other squad members buzzed around the lake, getting big air on jump tricks, which earned cheers from the crowd that gathered to witness the spectacle.

Story & photos by Lizz Daniels

“Most start them young so that they know how to ski and know how to act around the water –– how to be safe in a boat,” Price said. “You know, just get them out of the house, and get them some exercise. That’s something we’re really going to miss. A lot of these kids are just coming up to the age where they’re ready to go and then, bam; we’re going to take away not just our lake, but all three lakes are going to be gone for this whole time. Dunlap will be back this summer, so that will be some relief, but we’ve been looking at some other options. We might do some shows at Texas Ski Ranch, or somewhere like that. We’ve been invited to do some things, but it won’t be weekly. What we’re really hoping is that when the water goes down, there’s still a usable channel of water where we can put on our show. Just like a little tournament lake. That’s our hope, but we won’t know until the water goes down.”

For the past two years, the Ski Bees have also had Nick Wilson on their team. Wilson performs at Seaworld San Antonio in its high-intensity summer ski show as his second job. He discovered Lake McQueeney, as many people do, through a friend.

“It’s a good spot with great people,” he said. “I got introduced to this place because of my brother and a friend. Before a show, usually, you know, you get your stretches in and don’t think too much. Just go out and have a good time. When the lake is empty, the beautiful thing is not too far from here in New Braunfels, Texas is the Texas Ski Ranch. So you can go ride cable, you’ve got a lot of features, it’s a lot of fun. You can wakeboard, ski, wake skate –– that’s what I’ll do.”

Also out on the water for the last show was Josh Wright, who diligently tended ropes to ensure skiers were safe and helped scoop them up out of the water when they went down. As bravely smiling kids clambered into the boat, he’d make sure they were all right, and then off the speedboat would go with Price at the helm, deftly maneuvering it around the waterways as laughter erupted from the back. The energy and vibrance for the water the Ski Bees have flowed with the wind ripping at hair and hats as the boat rocketed toward the dock with Wright talking about lake life in the back.

“A lot of us are board members or dock help, or parents,” he said. “If we’re not involved in the ski organization, then there’s still a lot of volunteers. That brings families together and creates a brotherhood of individuals and families to meet and connect. You know, winter is when we wear jeans, or at work. The instant we come home they’re usually left on the floor, and we pick up board shorts, no shirt, and a hat, some sun glasses, maybe flipflops, but the number one rule about the boat is there’s no shoes in the boat, so we usually leave those at the house. We just live life.”

The number one rule about the boat, is there’s no shoes in the boat, so we usually leave those at the house.

- Josh Wright -

The Ski Bees perform their final pyramid until Lake McQueeney is refilled following dam repairs. Photo by Jarred Kindles.

Of course, life is changing right now for Wright and many other lake residents. With the water being emptied, many livelihoods, including Wright, a full-time boat detailer, are now under threat.

“I had McQueeney Boat Detailing, and that was my number one job for the last three or four years. Then with the news of the lake going down and the dam and everything, that ended pretty much my whole career. And while there are still boats out here, it was an everyday thing. Not only does it affect the livelihood of people, I think it affects their mood and mentality. You’re used to skiing every day, you’re used to being on the water with your family, and now you have that taken away. You just have to find an alternative. We’re going to make the best of it, whether it be kayaks, paddleboards, or hovercraft. We have a lot of people trying to figure out different ways to keep that lake lifestyle here with or without this water.”

Right now, the expectation is for the lake to be empty for two to three years, but unknown factors could impact the timeline. Wright and others are all keeping spirits high and finding ways to make the best of it –– like investing in a hover boat, which he hopes will keep the lake life feeling alive until it is full again.

As the ski bees launched into the water one final time, they expertly maneuvered themselves into their final pyramid just as as the sunset behind them set and the clouds rolled in, putting the famous Ski Bees water show to rest...at least for now. •

APRIL

April

Upcoming events and special promotions happening locally!

To promote your event on this page contact advertising at 830-379-2234 or email communitycalendar@kwed1580.com

April 2023

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Featured Events

Featured Events

Apr. 17

Food Distribution Event here will be a Food Distribution Event from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday, April 17 at First Baptist Church Seguin, located at 1314 E. Cedar St. in Seguin. Preregister at www.Freshtrak.com.

Adult Pickleball League

Beginning April 11, 2023

There will be an Adult Pickleball League held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday from April 11 through May 16 at the Seguin-Saegert Pickleball Complex, located at 418 W. Mountain St. in Seguin. Participants must commit to all five weeks of league play. Inclement weather day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16. Players must wear athletic closed-toe shoes. Equipment will not be provided. Online registration is required at www.bit.ly/SeguinPickleballLeague. For more information, call 830-401-2480.

Apr. 19

Apr. 22

Spring Clean-Up Day

The City of Seguin will have its Spring Clean-up Day from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 22 at the Seguin Events Complex (Coliseum) parking lot, located at 950 S. Austin St. in Seguin. For more information, or to learn about prohibited items call 830-401-2416 or visit https://bit. ly/SeguinCleanUpDay.

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HOLIDAYS

2nd - Palm Sunday 7th - Good Friday 9th - Easter Sunday 22nd - Earth Day

Apr. 20

Hispanic Chamber Banquet

The Seguin Guadalupe County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and TAMACC Education Foundation will have its 34th Annual Awards Banquet presentations beginning with a Social Hour at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19 at the Seguin Coliseum. Tickets are $50 and are available by calling 830-372-3151.

Apr. 29

Art Show

The Seguin Art League will have its High School Art Show Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 for all students in grades 9 through 12. There is no entry fee and a prospectus is available at www. seguinartleague.com. Artwork must be ready for display and cannot exceed 36 inches in any direction. For more information, call 830305-0472 or visit 104 S. Austin St. in Seguin.

Business in the Park 2023

The Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce will have its Business in the Park 2023 from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 20 in Central Park in Downtown Seguin. There will be food trucks, vendors, and live music.

Apr.

Flapjack Jamboree

The Seguin Kiwanis Club will have its Kiwanis Club Flapjack Jamboree from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29 in the parking lot adjacent to the First Methodist Church on N. Austin St. in Seguin. Plates of pancakes and sausage are $10 each. This is a drive-thru event and the Navarro Jazz band will be providing live music. Proceeds benefit scholarships, sponsorships, and other community needs.

Cravable Carrot Cake! Cravable Carrot Cake!

A dessert that’s fit for guests OR the Easter Bunny

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Serves 10

Cooking spray

2 cups pecan halves

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Kosher salt

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups finely grated carrots (about 1 pound carrots)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, cut into cubes, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Kosher salt

1/4 cup heavy cream, cold

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line

two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and lightly coat with cooking spray.

2. Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until light brown and fragrant, 7 minutes. Set aside 12 pecan halves to decorate the remaining pecans. Set aside 1 cup of the chopped pecans to use in the batter; reserve the rest for decorating the finished cake.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.

4. Whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk in the oil until well combined. Add the grated carrots, vanilla and 1 cup chopped pecans, and mix well. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cakes are nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a spatula, turn the cakes

out and let cool completely, right-side up, on the cooling rack, about 2 hours. Remove the parchment before frosting.

6. For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, scraping down the side as necessary, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt; gradually increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until the sugar is incorporated and the frosting is fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium-high, add the cream a few drops at a time until it’s all incorporated. Continue beating for 1 more minute until the frosting is slightly lighter in color and creamy.

7. To assemble: Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate, and spread 1 cup of the frosting over the top. Top with the other layer, and use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Arrange the 12 whole pecans on top of the cake like the numbers on a clock face, and sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans in between.

RECOGNIZED FOUNDER Big Red Barn

Bartoskewitz named Community Champion

Story by Cindy Aguirre-Herrera

The rural heartland of Seguin and Guadalupe County did not go unnoticed during this year’s San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo held Feb. 9-26. The Texas Agricultural Education & Heritage Center a.k.a. The Big Red Barn and its founder Wilfred Bartoskewitz were recently awarded and named as a stock show Community Champion.

The local non-profit was touted for having an outstanding positive impact in the community not only in Seguin but throughout the region.

Neal Brodbeck, a member of the Community Champions committee, says the award signifies Bartoskewitz’s leading efforts to preserve the world of agriculture. Thanks to a land donation by the fifth-generation farmer and his wife Betty, a steering committee was put into motion in 2003 to begin the Ag Center which today displays and hosts events to help “create the farming and ranching experience.”

“First and foremost, the Texas Agriculture Education & Heritage Center fits our mission statement for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and that mission statement is a volunteer organization that supports agriculture and education to develop the youth of Texas and that organization well fits that mold,” said Brodbeck.

The AG center is located on a working farm -- a farm that has continued operating since the 1850’s. Brodbeck who lives in the area and who is among the six members of the Community Champion committee for the stock show says it was his pleasure to bring the nomination forward.

“Obviously, I have seen that organization grow out there. I was there this past Christmas and hadn’t been there in a couple of years and was just amazed at how much it is grown and all of the kids that were there experiencing everything that has to do with agriculture, it was just a great event and so absolutely, they were well deserving of the Community Champion Award for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo,” said Brodbeck.

Bartoskewitz says he was honored to have been recognized and shares the award with the many volunteers who help make things happen especially for area children.

“I was really surprised about it because I hadn’t even heard of something like that at the stock show and this is our 20th year and we have about 30 volunteers that help with the Ag in the Classroom, we call it. We have it in the spring. We have the younger children from kindergarten and homeschoolers and private schools up to the third grade and then in the fall, we end picking up the fourth and fifth grade and those are the classes that the Farm Bureau recognizes as the important age of getting a message across to the children,” said Bartoskewitz.

As part of the recognition, Brodbeck says Bartoskewitz was invited to be a part of this year’s rodeo experience.

“The recognition was the presentation of a plaque and Mr. Bartoskewitz and family got to ride in the pickup during the rodeo where we shoot the t-shirt gun and so they got to ride in the truck and there was information display on the jumbotron about the Texas Agriculture Education & Heritage Center so everyone got to see them in the truck and some information on the jumbotron about the organization,” said Brodbeck.

Bartoskewitz says the truck ride around the arena was for sure a memorable experience and hopes to keep that in his pocket for a very long time. More importantly, he says he thanks the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo for its hospitality and for helping to bring awareness to the Big Red Barn here in Seguin.

“We got treated very well at the stock show. We had a big meal and then the ride. I was surprised as I had a granddaughter that all of a sudden showed up on the back of the truck and rode with me and they were shooting up the canon and throwing out the t-shirts with the writing of the stock show on them and my granddaughter was taking them and throwing them out to the audience,” laughs Bartoskewitz.

According to San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo leaders, Bartoskewitz is also recognized for creating the Puls Farm for local students to house FFA and 4-H projects. They say students that attended school tours and festivals at the Red Barn now lead school tours for the rodeo and many projects housed at Puls Farm competed and placed at the San Antonio Stock Show. He is also applauded for helping to facilitate the education of youth especially those in 4-H and FFA by providing scholarships to generations and generations of students. They say he has not only provided opportunities for youth to learn about agriculture but has also helped to create a new generation of leaders in the field.

The Big Red Barn is located at 390 Cordova Rd. •

PUZZLE SOLUTION