Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

  Local woodcarver created his own museum Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on March 29, 2025 Captain L.P. Betty in the museum room he built in his home Many of the stories I enjoy learning about are the stories of everyday people who lived in Kerr County. While men like Capt. Charles Schreiner or Joshua Brown were profoundly shaping our beautiful patch of Texas, there were many men and women going about their daily lives in the area. The lives of some of those people are interesting in their own right and help paint a vivid image of what a community was like during a particular moment in time. Next week’s Texas Woodcarvers Guild Spring Round Up at the Youth Event Center reminded me of a man who was a patriot, accomplished artist and Kerrville resident. His name was Capt. Lemuel Parker Betty. Betty was born in Smith County, Tennessee, in 1875. When he was in his early 20s, Betty’s family moved to North Texas, where they grew cotton. In 1899, while he and his fat...

  What’s cookin’? 100-year-old recipes offer look at daily life in Kerrville Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on March 22, 2025 Between 1924 and 1925, recipes were submitted to the Kerrville Mountain Sun by women in Kerr County. These women were married to prominent men and were well-known in the community in their own right, but none of them were identified by their own names. They were identified by the men they were married to: Mrs. L.W. McCoy, Mrs. G.M. Doyle, Mrs. W.M. Wheless, Mrs. John Burney, etc.   Among the recipes submitted and faithfully published on page two of the Sunday paper were chocolate-potato cake, hot tamales, layer cake with lemon-jelly and banana filling and fruit salad. Recipes 100 years ago read a lot like current-day recipes, but there are a few differences. The first thing I noticed about these recipes is there were no oven temperatures given for baked goods. Most ovens in Kerr County at the time were heated with wood fires ...

Saw blades, a flood and a negligee: The story of Kerr County jailbreaks   Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on March 14, 2025 The Kerr County Courthouse shortly after construction in 1926.  The small third-story on top of the building served as the county jail until 1958 While doing my research for this week’s column, I got sidetracked. It happens often. I find something that interests me and start digging only to end up a great distance from my starting point.   What distracted me was an account of an escape from the Kerr County Jail in 1938. The ingenuity behind the jailbreak made me laugh and led me to explore the history of jail breaks between 1926 and 1960. I also came across the story about how a “Friendly Cowboy” (who didn’t seem so friendly) managed to flood the jail. In 1925, the local newspapers reported on the sad state of affairs at the Kerr County Courthouse and Jail. The county was growing. As a result, the county offices were also expanding. ...

Hacking into history: Old photo reveals connection to Woodmen of the World   Published in the Kerrville Daily Times February 28, The "mystery photo" that started my search. This week’s column will deal with the depths a history geek will dig to solve a mystery, and the tools we use to plumb the depths. Maybe it’s because I’m nosy, and being an amateur historian allows me to find a socially acceptable channel to satisfy that nosiness. Maybe I think of myself as a modern day Miss Marple. Whatever it is about me, I love a good mystery and will keep digging until I find answers to all kinds of weird questions I have involving local history. I first saw the photo accompanying this column when I was 16 years old. It was tucked neatly away in my aunt’s expanding file of old photos. Every time I visited her, I would ask to browse her photo collection. She had some real gems in that expanding file. I love a good ghost story, true crime and creepy tales, so of course, I was drawn to an...

Hill Country resident makes big splash on stage and screen Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on February 21, 2025 Stage photo from the Broadway production of  "The Warrens of Virginia," showing, from left to right Mary Pickford, Charlotte Walker and Richard Storey. If you read my column last week, you may remember that Charlissa Walker and her father, Dr. Charles Ganahl, were both mentioned. Dr. Ganahl is considered the founder of Center Point, Texas. Ganahl brought his family to Kerr County in 1858 from his plantation in Louisiana. He believed the climate of the Guadalupe Valley would either help him recover from tuberculosis or prolong his life. Upon settling near Comfort, Dr. Ganahl acquired 4,046 acres and established a ranch where he raised sheep, cattle and thoroughbred horses. On his property, he established a post office for the convenience of his neighbors and gave the area its first name, Zanzenberg, in honor of his ancestral home in the Austrian Tyrol. In 1876...