Bear history in mind: Tales of an exotic pet

 Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on April 11, 2026

Today I bring you a tale that has been told many times by both historians and writers for The Kerrville Daily Times. A lot of my information comes from articles written by Bob Bennett, Nina Harwood and, most recently, Joe Herring Jr. The earliest account I found of this story was published here in 1936 — not all accounts of the story are the same, but no matter how it is told, it is one of the more interesting stories to come from Kerrville’s past and is a particular favorite of mine.

Mountain Street, now Earl Garrett Street, in 1908 - where the bear made a startling entrance.

From the time of the Civil War, when the Confederate Army imported camels to Camp Verde as an experiment in military transportation, Hill Country residents have been known to keep exotic animals. The first history column I wrote for The Times was the story of a woodchuck that a Kerrville woman had brought home as a souvenir of her trip to Kentucky. Today’s column is about August Henke’s pet bear.

August Henke (1871-1964) was a butcher who came to Kerrville from Fredericksburg in 1887. At the time of Henke’s arrival, Kerrville’s population was only 1,500. The historical record doesn’t mark Henke’s first place of employment, but my guess is he worked for the City Meat Market. 

The City Meat Market was an established business in town, run by brothers August and Fritz Karger. A town of only 1,500 souls probably wouldn’t have many butcher shops, but I digress.

On Sept. 1, 1896, Henke bought the City Meat Market from the Karger Brothers. The business was located in the 800 block Water Street, between what is now Water Street Antiques and Francisco’s restaurant. Behind the meat market was an alleyway, where the Karger brothers kept a pet bear. The bear, which was secured with a chain, conveyed with the sale of the business.

Interior photo of Henke Brothers Meat Market. (Borrowed from Joe Herring, Jr.'s blog at 
joeherringjr.blogspot.com)

On Sept. 3, only two days after Henke took possession of both the butcher shop and the bear, the bear broke his bonds and decided to explore the delights of downtown Kerrville. His first stop was W.E. Stewart’s Drug Store. The bear entered the back door of the business via the alley. When the pharmacist saw the bear coming into his shop, he pulled a shotgun from under a counter, took aim at the bear, shot and missed. 

The confrontation angered the bear, who exited through the door he entered and continued down the alley.

The alley between the Masonic Building and Self Jewelers where the bear emerged
onto Mountain/Earl Garrett Street.

The alley, which still exists, terminates at the Masonic Building (now Turtle Creek Olives & Vines). This is where the bear “darted” onto Mountain Street (now Earl Garrett Street), causing horses to startle and town folk to scatter. The bear, taking no notice of the pandemonium he caused, lumbered his way across the street and onto the front lawn of the Schreiner Mansion.

Capt. Charles Schreiner’s son, Louie, was recuperating from typhoid fever and was lying on a bed set up on the front porch of the mansion. Louie was so weak with illness that all he could do was watch events unfold. 

The bear proceeded to the backyard of the mansion, where Italian stone masons were adding “fancy rockwork” to a fence. The Italian masons, startled by the bear, dropped their tools and climbed trees to escape the bear.

The bear continued on with his explorations, uninterested in either Louie Schreiner or the Italians.

It is at this point in the story where accounts differ. The traditional account states that the bear entered the back door of the Schreiner Store, and customers quickly armed themselves with the store’s stock of ammunition and firearms and began shooting at the bear, causing damage to stock in the luggage and shoe department. The story goes on to say that the commotion from the firearms was so great that many people downtown thought that the Schreiner Bank was being robbed.

The other account comes from Louie Schreiner, via Nina Harwood. According to her interview, Louie Schreiner said that John Grider of Grona & Grider Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights grabbed a gun and went after the bear. Upon entering the store, Grider shot holes in half-dozen pairs of shoes before the animal was killed. (Grider & Grona’s Blacksmith Shop was located on Water Street, across from Francisco’s. This is probably the same blacksmith shop that was mentioned in last week’s column.)

All accounts of the story agree on the story’s ending: that the poor bear was returned to the Henke Meat Market, where the meat was sold for 12 cents a pound.

I believe this to be the first account of exotic game being raised, hunted and sold as meat
in Kerr County.