2010 Winter Remembrances Newsletter`4r
�j
`A� �� i •ti ; �,
�y J
welcome Aboard!
Remembrances
Newsletter of the Schertz
Historical Preservation
Committee
Winter Edition
2010
This is the first edition of the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee's quarterly newsletter. The Committee is
hopeful that this newsletter will serve the purpose of keeping our supporters and interested citizens informed as to
what's going on within the Committee to promote historic preservation within the community and to periodically
publish some interesting stories relating to the community's history and heritage. We're not literary professionals, so, if
you discover some writing faux pas along the way please forgive our error and try to remember that our intent is good.
Christmas Celebration Dinner Party
The setting was festive and relaxing as our friends joined the Committee for its annual Christmas dinner held this year
at Harmon's BBQ Restaurant in Cibolo. The food was great and much joyous conversation filled the air before and
during the dinner. The presence of our fellow Selma Historical Society guests made the occasion even more enjoyable.
The brief comments by our Chairman and our guest from the Texas State Department of Transportation made for a fine
desert. The door prize was won by Brandy Wooten (wife off member Andreas).
Committee Annual Reports
The Chairman delivered the Annual Report of Committee Programs to City Council in November which highlighted
the programs pursued by the Committee during 2009. The Report identified the following programs as either completed
or worked on during the year:
• History of Schertz Book Publication (2"d Edition) & Sales of 450 Copies
• Decor/Display Development and Installation at the Visitor's Center
• Election and Placement of Committee Officer Corps
• Affiliation with a Sister Historical Society in Riedisheim, France
• Envoy Contact with Sister Historical Society and Exchange of Research Materials
• Refurbishing and Relocating of the Schertz State Historical Plaque
• Designating and Dedicating Two Historical Buildings within the City
• Initiating the Schertz Historic Cemetery Inventory and Designation Project
• Development and Collection of Historic Artifacts, Photos, etc.
• Pursuit of Schertz History- Heritage Museum Site Location
1
In addition to the Programs Report, the Committee Treasurer published the Annual Financial and the Capital Assets
Report for 2009.
Museum .Development Plan Facing obstacles
It has been a two year search for a Schertz/Randolph Air Force Base history- heritage museum site. The mission,
organizational and even project design /layout plans have long since been prepared by the Committee, but the place for
such a museum seems to elude us. The City of Schertz administrators first promised the Committee space in the Old
Schertz Library once the move to the new library was made. That move occurred in August 2009, but soon after the
City informed us that the space in the old library would not be available since money to renovate the facility was not
available. The City offered the Committee a second choice of a vacant house on Live Oak Road. The Committee
evaluated the house in terms of its suitability and discovered that the costs to renovate it would be far too expensive for
anything the Committee could afford, even with using self -help for some of the renovation work. The Committee is
still in discussions with the City in an effort to find a possible site for a museum.
Keep the Committee in mind if you have artifacts, photos, documents that relate to the area's history. Just call Dean
Weirtz (Tel. 210 -651 - 0394).
Schertz Community Museum Association SCMA c 501 Takes ()(3 )
Committee planners are busy putting the final touches on the application package for submission to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) requesting non - profit status for the SCMA organization that will administer the development
and operation of the Schertz/Randolph Air Force Base history- heritage museum. The SCMA Corporation has already
been established and certified by the Texas Secretary of State.
Lula Mae Schertz Home and Recovering After Hospital/Rehabilitation Stays
Lula Mae, our Committee Historian, has overcome a two month illness that entailed two hospitalizations and a three
week stay at Silver Tree Rehab Center. We are happy to see her home and look forward to her gaining enough strength
to rejoin us at our regular meetings.
Committee Meeting Schedule Change
Quarterly meetings will replace the monthly meeting schedule. We will meet at 6:30 P.M. on the forth Thursday of the
months of January, April, July and October. The meeting place will be the City Council Chamber meeting room ,
Building #4, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. Public is invited.
water, WaterEverywhereBut, Not a Drop WorthDrinking!
After building shelter, our settler ancestor's first priority was the search for water. Did you know that the first water
supply company in Schertz was owned and operated by the great grandfather of current Schertz resident Walter
Schertz, and that the source of that water supply was a well still operating on the property adjacent to 321 Main Street?
Yes, one of our community's oldest homes (circa 1849) still has as its source of garden and lawn water this original
well that served the Schertz community as its first water supply source. Early Schertz farm families all dug wells but
not many found them agreeable as a supplier of drinking water due to the heavy sulfur content. But the Schertz family
did find good (sulfur free) drinkable water at a distance of only 50 feet. That single well soon began to be shared by
various farm families and by the early 1930s to 1950s as many as 1,200 families were being provided drinkable water
from this well and another dug in Universal City by the Schertz Water Supply Company.
Well, that's what we wish you remember about our work for now. Future issues will hopefully be able to find
space for historical articles of interest to our readers. Keep us in your memories and prayers as we move
forward in seeking to preserve our community's great history and heritage.
0