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Georgetown's location on the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country has had a huge effect on its history, and Georgetown has, since the earliest settlement of the Hill Country, been a step ahead of most Hill Country towns. Yet despite explosive growth throughout Williamson County since the construction of Interstate Highway 35 in the 1960s, downtown Georgetown retains the feel of a town just slightly larger than the most isolated Hill Country county seats.
A huge factor in the colorful history of the Texas Hill Country was the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, and its subsequent expansion for the next three decades. Although rail service never did reach some Hill Country counties, they too were significantly affected by the new connection to the outside world.
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Bert Striegler may not technically be part of the “Greatest Generation.” He was very young when the Great Depression ended, and his military experience was during the Korean War, not World War II (although he recalls that “We thought it was World War III”), but the Brady native exemplifies the courage, resilience and ingenuity of those slightly older, so we’ll consider him an honorary member.
A group of true American heroes met this past winter in the Hill Country town of Comanche. About thirty former POWs (or close family members) from several different wars received a warm welcome from city officials at the Best Western motel as the American Ex-Prisoners of War held their annual mid-winter convention.
You can probably think of a dozen good reasons to visit the historic town of New Braunfels. This is a community that celebrates more than a century and a half of German heritage. There’s the famous Wurstfest. If you’re a smart shopper, there’s a cluster of outlet malls where bargains are waiting to be found. There’s Schlitterbahn. There’s the sheer beauty of the Texas Hill Country and its wildlife.
And then there’s the fishing.
Leon Miller is an agriculturist by training, and had a successful career in agri-business before he ever thought about getting into the automobile business. But his second career, which began as a labor of love, is in many ways a bigger success than his first.
With $500 left over from the Bluebonnet Ball, part of the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration in 1986, a small group of civic-minded Wimberley residents embarked on a rather ambitious mission. Calling themselves the “Wimberley Institute of Cultures,” the group set out to research and document the Wimberley Valley’s cultural resources, and to share their findings with younger residents in an educational outreach.