Showing posts with label My Texas Alphabet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Texas Alphabet. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

"V" for Vereins-Kirche

 

The building of Vereins-Kirche (Society Church) is the unofficial symbol of the town. It was the very first local church, built in 1847 by the settlers who came from Europe to the Fredericksburg area. The church was shared for worship services by all the local religious groups and was the school building as well.

Originally, the top of the roof was decorated with a rooster-shaped weather vane,  which was replaced with a cross when the lightning (in 1862) destroyed the prior installation.

The time seriously damaged the earliest wooden structure of the building. In 1934, the newly organized Gillespie County Historical Society decided to reconstruct the building. Among others, the construction was given new stone walls (instead of the wooden ones) - the restoration works took 2 years.

Since then, the old church building was used by the City Council for various purposes. Nowadays, it is part of the Pioneer Museum and a well-known and liked town landmark.

 Recently, the cloudy sky has brought a bit lower temperatures and relief from the summer heat.

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"My Texas Alphabet" is quite a personal summary of our hitherto life in Texas. More series entries here.

One of my latest creations - Vereins-Kirche inspired hand painted T shirt.

 

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

My Texas Alphabet - R for Rockhounds

The very first when I read the words "Rockhounds meeting", I though it would be about rock music. That was what "rock" meant to me. Music.

Well, the club appeared to be the place where quite different rock lovers met (and it was not related to music at all).

Growing up and living in a city, rocks were nothing more  to us than useless "stones". You maybe kicked them while walking and seeing on a road, but you did not pick them up. You did not bring them home either. I remember what I was told when I was a child - "Do not bring stones home, they bring bad luck." 

The inside looks like a bone structure (?)

So we did not have rocks at home until now. Sometimes, during our walks in the countryside, we discover some interesting pieces (at least we find them interesting because of various reasons). It does not matter that most of them are quite usual and common in our area of Texas. They just look pretty to us and we like something about them, their shape, color, and/or structure.
 
 
With the Rockhounds we learned that flint and quartz in general are typical in the region of Texas we live in. There are also some other types of rocks that you can find in other parts of the state, but apparently not where we happen to stroll. Besides that, you can come across a piece of fossilized wood, or a fossil. The latter is a rare thing, though.
 
 
I cannot remember all the names of various rocks and its chemical components presented during the meetings, or in the videos we watched. So many names are quite similar, with little variations, due to their similar chemical elements. Most of them were totally new English vocabulary to me and sometimes, I needed to translate them to a recognizable version, to know what they were/meant. The blue topaz is the stone that you might come across in nature (if you are lucky enough) in the Mason County area. 
 


Llanite is a rock that originates in Llano County, TX.
 

 
In the past, I never gave any thoughts to topazes, tortoises or agates. They were simply items you bought at a jeweler (if you had enough money). Somehow, I did not consider where else they could be found, certainly not somewhere in the ground.
 


 
An amazing thing is that a rock might look quite boring and plain-grey on the outside. When cut in half, or split, sometimes it turns to be very pretty and colorful inside. Some of those brilliant structure compositions are so beautiful that it makes you think: Nature is the greatest artists of all.
 
 
Regarding the "bad luck" mentioned above - it is up to you if you believe in it or not.  As everything else in nature, each rock has its own vibration frequency. What we choose to pick up simply resonates with us. However, there might be something in what I was told in my childhood. Rocks, being part of nature, may be energy collectors/may have residual energy from the area were they originate from. To remove that energy residue/clear it, the net wisemen advise occasional soaking (for a few hours) the rock pieces in warm water. 
 
Another and quite positive thing is that some rocks, including quartz, are supposed to have a beneficial influence on human body/aura.

PS
No, we have not found any precious stones. Not yet.  :-)

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

I for (Texas) Independence Day

 

Texas Declaration of Independence was signed on March 02, 1836.

The Texas Independence Day is observed annually in Luckenbach, TX. The ceremony is Texas Patriotic and quite uplifting.


 It all starts with the Texas song and clapping.

Then comes the hymn.

The first responders, Texas Rangers, the military, Border Patrol, and teachers are appreciated. 

 

 

Next, the history part comes - the Alamo is mentioned of course.



 

Every year, among others, an old Texas flag is taken down and retired in a very solemn mode. It is followed by putting up a new flag. 
 
 
There is also Pistol Packing' Paula, presenting her skills.



More about the Texas Declaration of Independence - History Facts: HERE.

Monday, February 12, 2024

O for Ostriches

"O" in "My Texas Alphabet" is for Ostriches that you can see here and there. 


Well, some people raise them in the area.

A different sort of pet or is it for eggs?

  I am not sure. Maybe both?

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"My Texas Alphabet" is quite a personal summary of our hitherto life in Texas.

Monday, November 13, 2023

N for Nimitz Museum

 

Time for another entry in "My Texas Alphabet". In its second edition, the letter "N" is also for the National Museum of War on the Pacific (in other words, the Nimitz Museum).

We visited the museum on our wedding day, years ago. A weird thing to do on such a day? Not at all. Well, unusual, maybe.

from Pacific Combat Zone

Anyhow, at that time, the outside backyard area was part of the exhibition as well. You could visit the field hospital and, among others, see Japanese tanks in the Pacific Combat Zone area. Tickets were valid for 24 hours so we could watch the vast museum exhibition with no hurry.


Since then, we have come back to the Nimitz Museum many times. Some things have changed there. The reenactment theater was built in the backyard. Walking and sightseeing in that section is no longer possible, and a ticket is only good on the day of your visit.


Besides the permanent exposition, the museum offers many educational programs. 

 

One can learn a lot by attending the Outpost events, Campaign Briefings, taking part in Symposiums, and numerous various other events organized there. 

Veterans Day observance at the museum

 
Art lovers can also enjoy temporary art gallery presentations.
 
 

Have you ever been to the museum? It is worth visiting for sure.



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Other posts on the blog related to the Nimitz Museum:

Fredericksburg - National Museum of War on the Pacific

Presentation at National Museum of War on the Pacific

Jazz Band in Gazebo

Women in Uniforms

Museum Stories

Friday, August 18, 2023

M for Mason County

A few years ago, when I started reading a genealogy-type book dedicated to the people who lived in the County, somehow, I found several names quite familiar. No, I had not come across them before, but the more I read about some of the early pioneers, the more it felt as if I had known them before. And it was like meeting them again.

 

When I looked at a photograph included in the book (a family, parents with their children), I felt great sadness. What was more, the one girl looked familiar. Why? I do not know. Maybe because she looked a bit like my mom when she was little? Or maybe not. No, I did not know then who those people were. So I looked closer to find out. The family in the photo was Friedrich Heinrich Kensing, his wife Mathilda, and their children. The "familiar" girl was the oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Kensing. Bertha.

In Mason, TX

Subsequently, I started researching and writing about those early pioneers. On my blog, you can find quite a few posts dedicated to them.

I am not related to those persons. It is just that feeling of undefined connection. Does it have anything to do with what I mentioned in my previous post "H for Hill Country"? Did we know each other in my previous life? Who knows.

We visited Mason sometime ago. No special sentiments there, though. I liked the old city center, but it is the hills and the countryside that talk to me more.

Mason County Courthouse

PS
By the way, do you know that the first flush toilet* in Mason County was installed in the Mason County Courthouse?

*"Yesterday in The Texas Hill Country" by Gilbert Jordan, Texas A&M University Press, College Station and London, 1979
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"My Texas Alphabet" is quite a personal summary of our hitherto life in Texas.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

"L" for Library

The local library is a place we enjoy visiting. Friendly and helpful staff, good book and DVD collections, and computers when needed. Besides that, quite a positive atmosphere can be felt there too.



The library building (designed by Alfred Giles in 1882) was originally Gillespie County Courthouse.


The other side of the building

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More entries of "My Texas Alphabet" here.