Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

  Crenshaw brothers ran away from home in search of their own adventures Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on April 25, 2025 Undated Photo of the Pleasant Crenshaw farm on Indian Creek near Ingram As I write this story, I am reminded of my favorite John Wayne movie, “The Cowboys” and epic Greek tales from ancient times. Today I am going to tell you the story of three young boys, between the ages of 11-19, who left their family home and the adventures that led to them settling in Kerr County, where they led prolific, industrious lives. In 1867, Cornelius “Doc”, age 19, Pleasant “Pleas”, age 17, and Hugh “Carey” Crenshaw, age 11, were living in Newton County Texas and struggling with a problem.    Their father, a widowed doctor, had a new wife and the boys, the youngest of ten children, did not like their new stepmother.   The Crenshaw brothers, fascinated by stories coming from the Texas frontier, decided they could no longer live with the step mother and decided...

  Famed cowboy cartoonist called Kerrville home Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on April12, 2025 Original Drawing of the Cowpokes by Ace Reid Advice is often given to aspiring writers that, to be successful, it’s best to write about what you know and what’s in your heart. The same can be said to aspiring artists. In my role as executive director of an art center, I often encounter artists who try to paint an image to be provocative, to illicit a strong emotional response from the viewer or just simply to attract a buyer. These artists often ignore their internal artistic voice or what’s in their heart, not realizing they are selling both themselves and the would-be art appreciator short.  Today I am writing about an artist who based a successful career on what he knew — what he saw growing up and what he felt was the truth of the American cowboy. That artist was Ace Reid, the creator of the successful Cowpokes comic and Western humorist. Asa Elmer "Ace" R...

  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 NOTE: Since writing this story, I have found out that I didn't dig deep enough. The Kerr County Jail on the third story of the courthouse was briefly decommissioned in the early 1960s, it was remodeled and was recommissioned as the county jail until the early 1970s, when the court house was enlarged to house the on the ground level.  Thank you to Julius Neunhoffer for setting me straight on my error.  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 ingenui...