Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on January 17, 2026 William Thomas Tarver is shown with his mail hack and team of horses in 1918 in front of the old Kerrville train depot, which is now home to Rails, A Cafe at the Depot.  On the evening of Feb. 21, 1930, the tinkling bell of a telephone woke Kerrville resident Tom Tarver from a deep slumber.  When the call was answered, the telephone operator announced that Seattle, Washington, was calling. Tarver could not figure out who on Earth would be calling him at such an ungodly hour. His “mental gymnastics” while the call was being connected failed to “recall any rich relatives, or what have you, in Seattle.” The call came from a young man named Field Williford. Young Williford had spent his childhood in Kerrville and “an attack of homesickness for the scenes of his boyhood in Kerrville” prompted him to call and ask Tarver about folks in the old hometown. The call cost Williford $10 (a lot of money in 1930), but he sa...

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times On December 26, 2025 Anna Belle Council's first Christmas in 1907. An Ashe Juniper (Cedar Tree) served as the Christmas Tree and presents were hung on the tree. Today’s column is inspired by a photo of my aunt’s first Christmas. My aunt, Anna Belle Council (later Roland), was just a week over nine months old in December of 1907. In studying the photo, it made me wonder what Christmas was like in Kerrville 118 years ago. In 1907, fir trees could not be found in Kerr County, and I don’t think anyone had come up with the idea of an artificial tree yet. The lowly native Ashe juniper, known as the cause of cedar fever during the winter months, served as the holiday tree for most homes. A tree would be selected and brought into the home and decorated. In the case of my aunt’s first Christmas, the tree was decorated with her gifts — a celluloid horn and a number of dolls. Other toys, a stuffed dog, a tin wagon and other items were grou...

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on December 12, 2025 Bobby Rector Playing the Drums When Bobby Rector was a boy growing up in rural Texas, he loved digging in the dirt, finding arrowheads and other artifacts, never thinking there was a future or a profession in it. It was just something he enjoyed doing.  When I study a person’s life, I am amazed at the way people seem to reinvent themselves, either when the times change or a catastrophic event takes place. Many times, those reinventions will completely change the course of a life. In Bobby’s case, it wasn’t so much a reinvention than it was a layering of interests. He started out as a musician, then became a professional artist and eventually rediscovered his childhood love of archaeology. He never gave up one interest to serve another. He always found a way to add to his professional skills. Bobby Rector was a multi-faceted renaissance man who had a keen interest in the world around him. Robert “Bobby” Rush Rector was born...

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on November 26, 2025 Delphina and her two daughters Many Texans, including me, believe that the humble tamale deserves pride of place on the Thanksgiving buffet, alongside the turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce. I eagerly anticipate the batch of tamales my friend, Maria Hernandez, makes every year both at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My last column about Martha Johnson and the Raleigh House led me to discover another inspiring woman who also founded a Kerrville eating establishment. Delphina Torres was a woman of strength who took pride in Mexican culture and shared that love with her community in many different ways. Delphina Gomez Anderson was the youngest of eight children born to Cosme Gomez and Alfonsa Anderson. She was born Dec. 25, 1885, in Coahuila, Mexico. Her father was a colonel in the Mexican Army, and her mother was a native of Missouri and the daughter of a mining engineer. As a young woman, Delphina moved to San Antonio, where she ...

Memories of the Raleigh House: Restaurant Owner Found Joy in Sharing Her Recipes   Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on November 14, 2025 Martha Johnson   Occasionally when I am surfing the world of social media, I see posts from other local historians and “old timers” talking about businesses that used to be here, and what they miss the most from the old days.   Yesterday, as I was looking through my cookbook collection for dinner inspiration, I came across a favorite cookbook and was reminded of a woman I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago, Martha Robinson Johnson. Her restaurant, Raleigh House, was a fine dining experience that was only offered during the summer months. The restaurant was such a success that locals and tourists eagerly anticipated the restaurant's opening each summer.  Raleigh House even garnered rave reviews from Houston food columnists, causing many a Houstonian to make a pilgrimage to Kerrville each year. Martha Eastma...

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...