Some of Texas' Best

For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that I've decided to visit some of the best places in Texas. One of the joys of being able to spend time in the Hill County is that lots of the best Texas has to offer resides here. Settle back, have another cup of coffee (yes, you, Krishna), and read about where we've been going lately.

First, THE BOB - with it's welcoming 'big Texas star'. (THE BOB is what Sherri Purdy Wilson calls it.) For the non-Texans, this is the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History. Bob Bullock was a major force in Texas politics for 30 years, so, I guess you could have worse things named in your memory. Actually, he's a good namesake because Bullock was known for the love of all things Texan. "The Bob" is a magnificent museum full of Texas granite, sweeping spaces, and interactive exhibits that tell the history of Texas from prehistoric times forward. This is shown over three floors in chronological order as the floors spiral up. There's an IMAX theater built into the museum, but I think the real tour de force is the inlaid mosaic on the ground floor. There's a campfire in the center surrounded by all the types of people and occupations that have impacted Texas throughout its history. This mosaic sits centered in the rotunda shaped lobby. It is lighted by the circular rotunda shaped sky light three stories up. As you leave the mosaic and move through the museum, you will find Indians, Spaniards, cowboys, cattle, horses, goats, cotton, corn, wheat, and naturally oil derricks. There is also space memorabilia, notable Texan vignettes, and small movie theaters scattered about that tell different stories about Texas such as the Spindletop oil boom or all the movies that have been made about Texas. This museum is a real visual treat that is selective about what it shows thus creating the sense of wide open spaces - which is also very Texan. This place is a 'must visit' for every Texan. You'll find it on the edge of downtown Austin.

When Texas was far, far away from any cultural offerings, the citizens of most towns decided to create their own. They built theaters, opera houses and concert halls. They not only performed their own plays and concerts, but also invited world class talent to come and perform in Texas. Last Saturday night we experienced this phenomenon in the minuscule town of Fayetteville, Texas - population 286. Fayetteville has a concert hall (sort of) in the tiny hotel in town. They put on a Chamber Music Festival each May. My first thought was: "It will be a nice chance to hear some classical music live - but it probably won't be stellar." WRONG. The musicians come from all over the WORLD. Having seen enough Cliburn piano players, and chamber music quartets, I've learned to spot the OK players, the good players, and the great players. Let me tell you, there were no OK musicians - they were all good, and a couple of them were great. The venue is a wooden room built in the 19th century. The audience is about 100 people,. The seats are general admission, so the earlier you arrive the better your seats. We sat 10 feet from the musicians.(The picture is taken from my seat.) If you've never had the opportunity to see really great musicians play up close and personal, you might want to motor over to Fayetteville next year. I swear you won't be disappointed even if this type of music is not your favorite. The festival consists of 3 concerts - Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night. They play Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, etc. As an added bonus, a professor from one of the Texas universities does an informal talk before the concert about the pieces you will be hearing. To top it all off, there are three good and interesting restaurants within a stone's throw of the concert venue. We chose "Joe's Place" based on the Saturday special of BBQ brisket or handmade sausage, with two sides, plus peach cobbler. They had a really old bar which stocked Shiner 101. We weren't disappointed.

The musicians stay with townspeople (just like the Cliburn piano contestants). For some of the musicians - those from Europe especially - this was their second year to come back to the festival. At first, I couldn't understand why world class musicians would play this tiny venue - but then, I realized that it would be like a vacation. They come for the entire week. They are wined and dined. But, most importantly, they get out of the cities that most of their tours take them to and get to come out to a quiet county setting. I know one of the organizers told me that two of the musicians love to come because they can get together and go fishing! Put it on your mental calendar: Fayetteville, Texas - May, 2011 - Chamber Music Festival.

Final entry today is very, very Texan. About 20 years ago, I discovered a small museum in New Braunfels, Texas called "The Texas Handmade Furniture Museum". This museum has grown with the years, and is now part of Heritage Village. Heritage Village is the result of a small group of Texans who are determined to preserve the architectural elements of the settlement of the hill country. (This is a fancy way of saying that they buy and restore any early building they can get their hands on.)

This conservation group is centered in New Braunfels, and thus, they are saving the early buildings of the German, Czech and Polish emigrants to the hill country. Heritage Village is a collection of pioneer homes and buildings from the 1850's. The museum is in the main house which was built by an immigrating German couple in the 1850's. It is filled with furniture made by the cabinetmakers which were recruited and brought to Texas as part of communities coming to Texas to claim land and settle.

New Braunfels, for instance, was founded by Prince Solm - a German nobleman - who found the land, returned to Germany, and recruited a German community which consisted of farmers and master craftsmen and people with other specific skills to help make the new community a profitable venture from the very first. (Ironically, after the Prince got his colonists settled in Texas, he returned to Germany for his bride. His plan was to get married and return to the new Texas colony. She refused to leave Germany! He never saw Texas again.)

From 1845 to 1850, the master cabinetmakers spent most of their time making windows and doors and laying floors for the houses that had to be built to shelter the new colonists. However, they quickly turned their talents to furniture making - and oh, what furniture they made. They were excited by the walnut in abundance to work with. Freed from the strictures of European dictates, they let their creativity flow into the wood. The result is Texas handmade furniture.

We were treated to a really informative tour by the director of the museum. A lot of school children were coming the day after we came, and there was a lot of living history exhibits and demonstrations planned for the children. All the docents had the day off before the big school event, so we got the most knowledgeable person imaginable. It was a great tour given by the director whose family is descended from one of the major cabinet makers. She and her husband still own family furniture made by Scholl - one of the early cabinetmakers. She was full of interesting stories about how the museum has grown in the past 20 years, and how they have struggled to be recognized as having unique pieces of art represented in this furniture.

That's it for this week. We're going to ROLLER DERBY on Sunday - Whoo Hooo! I'm thinking I need a tattoo to fit in. Plus, we have decided to go over to the Perdenales Falls since we've finally had plenty of rain, and I want to see it when it's actually flowing. Oh, and here we come Brenham - guess what we're going to tour!