Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

A Kerrville "Witch" Solves a Mystery Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on November 1, 2025 Max Crenwelge Thank you to Brian Oehler for  sharing this image On a cold February morning in 1906, 24-year-old   Max   Crenwelge rose from his sick bed and wandered from his family’s home, never to be seen alive again.  After his body was found, a story began to circulate about how supernatural forces intervened in his case. Max Crenwelge , born in 1881, was one of ten children belonging to Peter and Lenora Crenwelge, well-to-do cattle ranchers. The family’s ranch was located in the Cherry Spring community, 16 miles northwest of Fredericksburg. In late January, young Crenwelge fell gravely ill and delirious. He had been sick for several weeks when he managed to get out of bed and wander into the cold of a Hill Country winter without his coat. After the family searched in vain for  Max , search parties were formed. A hundred and fifty men combed the hills around the C...

  Halloween History in the Hill Country Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on October 3, 2025 Finally! One of my favorite months of the year is here! I love the fall months in the Hill Country — my step gets lighter as the temperatures cool and the leaves change color. My lifelong interest in ghost stories, practical jokes and costuming also makes me a sucker for all things Halloween. So, of course, my columns this month will have a Halloween theme. The photo accompanying today’s column was taken on Halloween, 1875. The building in the photo still stands today and even looks a lot like it did back then. The Woolls Building, constructed around 1873-75, is one of the oldest structures in downtown Center Point. It is located at the corner of San Antonio Street and Skyline Drive. Six people stand on the balcony of the Woolls Building in downtown Center Point in 1875 as they try to work out how to deal with two cows placed on the balcony as a Halloween prank. What the photo depicts ...

  Local women make history with police force Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on September 20, 2025 Today I am going to tell you the story of two women who broke gender and race barriers in Kerrville’s law enforcement community. While these ladies were completely different in attitude and life experience, they did have one thing in common: In spite of having initial doubts that a woman would be successful as a police officer, their spirit and approach in the way they treated the citizens of Kerrville made them excel in their law enforcement positions. These two women were Rosie McCray and Annie Mosty. Rosie McCray Rosie Kelly McCray was born in Kerrville in 1929 and graduated from Doyle High School — Kerrville’s school for black youth during segregation — in 1946 as valedictorian. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in education from Houston-Tillotson College in Austin in 1950.  McCray earned her place in Kerrville history, not only for being Kerrville’s...

  The Fighting Parson and his connection to the Hill Country Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on September 6, 2025 Andrew Jackson Potter in the pulpit, with a gun resting nearby. This week, I’ve been researching a topic for a speaking engagement, the history of a local church. While researching the church, I came across a pastor with an interesting nickname and had to know more. Andrew Jackson Potter, the “Fighting Parson,” was mentioned in a lot of the materials I was using, but none of them gave clues as to how he earned that title. Of course, I had to drop everything and find out more about the Potter. It wasn’t long before I discovered a man who led an incredible, action-packed life and a story of redemption. While Andrew Jackson Potter only lived briefly in Kerrville, he played a vital role in the spiritual growth in early Kerr County. As a matter of fact, he played that role in many communities across the Texas frontier and deserves to be remembered. In the biograp...

HCAF: An Artist's Dream Lives On Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on August 15, 2025 Hill Country Arts Foundation as it looked prior to the July 2025 Flood We all have dreams, things we want to accomplish during our lifetime. Today I am going to tell you the story of a woman who wasn’t just a dreamer — she was a “do-er” who made a beautiful, durable imprint on Kerr County. Almost from birth, Edith loved to draw. The extra hours of light provided by her father’s electric plant gave her plenty of time to develop her artistic skills and dream of going art school one day. Unfortunately, in those days, young ladies of her class were expected to be a debutante and sew items for her hope chest. Her dreams of taking “real art classes” were put on hold for more womanly pursuits until she was 20. The First Point Theater Stage, circa 1959 Edith Fuller was born in 1896 in Calvert. She was one of nine children born to Louis and Mary Josephine Fuller. Her father owned the electricity plant...

The little house that survived Published in the Kerrville Daily Times August 1, 2025 The House at Sherman's Mill after the 1932 Flood Since my last column, I’ve been struggling with a subject for this week. When so many around me are struggling to cope with the aftermath of a cataclysmic event, all of my ideas for a column this week just seemed silly. I have avoided the western part of the county over the last few weeks, mostly to stay out of the way of recovery and rebuilding efforts, but also because so much of my life was formed along the banks of the Guadalupe between Ingram and Hunt. I wasn’t sure my heart could take the devastation of landmarks and buildings I thought would always be there. It wasn’t until I saw a post by Mercy Gate Ministries on social media that I got my idea for this week’s column. When my great-grandparents came to Kerr County, they settled at the confluence of the Guadalupe and Kelly Creek, close to where the Waltonia Crossing is today. I try not to weav...