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2012-2 Remembrances Special EditionCity of Schertz – Remembrances Special Edition Article 2012-2 Provided by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee 1 Schertz Roadways – History Recalled Has your attention ever been drawn to the question as to why your street is named as it is? I first discovered the fascination of street name discovery while residing at the family’s last residence in Austin, Texas. We had moved to a newly developed area called Steiner Ranch and our street was among the first opened for residential development. The name given the street was Rip Ford Drive. Not being a native Texan, I was unschooled on the names of Texas participants in the War for Independence with Mexico, of the exploits of the Texas Rangers in the Indian Wars, or of Texans in the Civil War. Curiosity led me to research the name Rip Ford and to my surprise a historic character named John Salmon “Rip” Ford emerged. It’s not the intent of this article to dwell on John “Rip” Ford’s life or involvements, suffice it to say that learning something about the street’s namesake was an inspiring experience in the following ways. First, as I began to discover the dimension and quality of Ford’s life experiences I soon came to appreciate that he was, as the Austin Daily Statesman wrote (Nov. 7, 1897) upon his death (Nov 3, 1897), “the last of the ranger (Texas) chieftains whose name for nearly half a century has been a household word in Texas.” Ford’s own words written to a friend (Oran M. Roberts) echo his concern as a historian for the failure of his contemporaries to have recorded (in writing) the great deeds they had rendered on behalf of the Lone Star Republic. Ford wrote: “Where is the historian who lived in those days of trouble and danger?...If we look at their utter neglect to record what they have done in war, and in legislation, we must conclude they are not wiling writers.” Ford’s lament for his contemporaries neglectfully failing to record their historic achievements resonates loud and clear with those of us seeking to document our own community’s history. Too few written records remain of the lives, events and circumstances of our community’s ancestors. I suspect that my more recent involvement in historic preservation work traces its origin to my discovery of Ford’s admonishment delivered to his friend Roberts. San Antonio Confederate War Veterans Cemetery Tombstone and monument of Corner of New Braunfels and Commerce Streets John Salmon “Rip Ford City of Schertz – Remembrances Special Edition Article 2012-2 Provided by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee 2 My next encounter with street name identification and exploration was in reading a book by San Antonio author Eric Mapes titled: Streets of San Antonio. His book seeks to honor the memories and legacy left by San Antonio’s early pioneer settlers through a presentation of the history of families whose names have since been attached to San Antonio street signs. Mapes’ story telling caused me to inspect the City of Schertz’ street naming history and from that venture were discovered a couple of interesting revelations. First of the discoveries was the fact that there are a number of our city streets and roads named after prominent personalities and families of the city. The most obvious of the group are the two major thoroughfares that run north and south through Schertz, i.e, Schertz Parkway and Roy Richard Drive (AKA: FM 3009). Schertz Parkway is, of course, the City’s namesake which originates from the Schertz family name. The Schertz’ were among the first European settlers of the farming community then known as Cibolo Pit. Sebastian (1822-1890) and wife Marie Elizabeth (Rittimann) (1829-1919) Schertz and their descendants were influential in assuring the survival and growth of the community in its early history. Roy Richard Drive is named in honor of Doctor Roy W. Richard, a Schertz dentist for thirty-seven years and Mayor of Schertz from 1960 to 1972. Dr. Richard oversaw city business from soon after the city was incorporated (1958) through twelve years of steady growth and development. Several of the city’s streets are named in memory of former Schertz families and/or landmarks to include: Cibolo Trail, Cibolo Valley Dr., Dietz Road, Friesenhahn Lane, Hubertus Road, Wenzel Lane, Schwab Road, Kneupper Road, Lee Street, Downman Street, Maske Road, Wiederstein Road, Pfeil Street, Schaefer Road, Schneider Dr., Schneider Lane, Stolte Road, and Wuest Street. Yet another aspect of the Schertz city street “name story” is the fact that several of Schertz’s neighborhoods feature street names that represent a historic theme. One of the first neighborhoods created in the city, Aviation Heights, contains a series of streets named after historic military leaders and/or themes. These streets include: Randolph Avenue (namesake of Captain William Randolph for whom Randolph Air Force Base is named), Lindbergh Avenue (namesake of Charles Lindbergh solo trans-Atlantic flight of 1927 & WWII pilot), Aviation Avenue, Curtiss Avenue (namesake of General Curtiss Lemay, WWII Air Commander and Commander of USAF Strategic Air Command 1948-1957), Wright Avenue (namesake of the Wright Brothers, fathers of modern day flight), Mitchell Avenue (namesake of General Billy Mitchell the famous WWI & WWII air power innovator and flyer), Aero Avenue, and Brooks Avenue (namesake of Sidney Johnson Brooks, Jr. first cadet to loose his life during flight training for WWI). Continuing the air flight theme is a group of streets east of FM 3009 (bordering Schertz and Cibolo) where there are streets named Yeager Circle (namesake of Chuck Yeager, famous U. S. test pilot), Kitty Hawk Run, Eagle Flight Dr., and Wright Landing. Another neighborhood just east of Aviation Heights through which Curtiss Ave. passes contains four streets named after famous cities where historic 18th and 19th century events occurred: Gettysburg Drive, Valley Forge Drive, Richmond Drive and Williamsburg Drive. City of Schertz – Remembrances Special Edition Article 2012-2 Provided by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee 3 Just north of the intersections of FM 3009 and Elbel Road is a neighborhood that features streets that bear the names of historic personalities to include: Henry Ford Dr., Will Rogers Dr., Patrick Henry Dr., Thomas Edison Dr., Lincoln Dr., Eli Whitney St., Cyrus McCormick St., and Webster Drive. In the Belmont Park neighborhood are found historic horse racing theme related street names such as: Secretariat Drive (horse racing Triple Crown winner), War Admiral Drive (1937 Triple Crown winner), Triple Crown Drive, Hansel Heights (1991 Belmont Steaks and Preakness winner), and Riva Ridge Drive (1972 Kentucky Derby Winner). In a neighborhood near the intersections of Maske Road and Schertz Parkway are streets that pay tribute to some of our country’s most famous writers such as Walt Whitman, Thoreau (Henry), Hawthorne (Nathaniel), Faulkner (William), Melville (Herman) and Hemingway (Ernest). Besides the historically connected name designators, there are several Schertz neighborhoods with what I would call recurring “brand” names. Brand names contain a repeat theme within their titles such as “Whisper Bluff” , “Whisper Haven”, and “Whisper Manor”. Some of the recurring brand names, besides “Whisper”, used for naming city streets include: “Brook”, “Berry”, “Oak” and “Bridge”. The developer that purchased the Kramer Farm property (west of Schertz Parkway & Live Oak Rd.) had historic consideration in mind as he selected street names for the new development. In honor of the farm land’s historic purpose, the developer named the streets within the development “Planters Pass”, “Cotton Patch”, “Silo Street”, “Rooster Run”, “Fields Way”, and “Tractor Pass”. Hopefully, the use of historic themes for the naming of some of our city’s roadways adds some dimension of pride to those who live in the neighborhoods and who travel through them. It’s a small but useful reminder of our nation’s and community’s history. Keep a watch for additional historic features among our community’s streets.