A few years ago I produced a story and photos on Painted Churches in Fayette County, Texas for our state travel magazine, Texas Highways.    Those churches were all Roman Catholic, with deep Czech and German roots.  They are quite beautiful, inside and out.   Since then, I learned  of another painted church, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Serbin, Texas, not far from Giddings, in Lee County.  This church and its roots are Wendish.   In late-1854 and early-1855 approximately  600  Wendish people, with Germanic and Slavic heritage  settled in this part of Lee County under the guidance of Reverend Johann Kilian.   The church you see in most of these photos was completed in 1872.   The sanctuary painting is more subtle than the Catholic churches documented a while back, but no less wonderful.  The pews are original.  Church custom held that men were to sit in separate pews from women and children, thus the balcony seating area, where the men once sat.  Now, of course, members and guests make themselves at home anywhere.  The ten columns in the sanctuary were painted using a feathering technique.  The pipe organ in the upper area was added in 1904.  Also  included in this post is a fine old cabin.   When Rev. Kilian’s group arrived in early 1855, they built a two-room cabin that served as a church, school and parsonage.  In 1859, a larger wooden church was completed.  Rev. Kilian continued to live in the cabin until his death in 1884.   Shortly after he died, a portion of the cabin was destroyed, but in 2004, St. Paul moved the remaining section of the cabin to St. Paul, where it was restored.   It’s really neat to see this kind of preservation, connecting past and present.  St. Paul continues to be an active church today and is quite a welcoming community.  Nearby is a Wendish Museum for those wanting to make a nice day trip and learn more about the Wendish culture.  

The plan was to post something else tonight, actually another church, but the Central Texas weather forecast, temperatures plummeting, followed by wet, icy conditions, prompted a change in direction.   As it happens,  I wandered east of Taylor, to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, in Wuthrich Hill.  In addition to the church, there’s a lovely cemetery, seen in the opening photo and one other.  That truck isn’t driving through the cemetery, folks.  The road was nearby.  And that pond?  I love that pond.

Passing through Lee County, Texas  on a farm-to-market road.  Let’s leave it at that.

A few years ago, I had an Austin American-Statesman assignment to photograph Vencil Mares and his Taylor Cafe, a barbecue establishment he opened in 1948.   “Barbecue” alone doesn’t really describe Vencil’s place.   The barbecue is good, of course, but the atmosphere is pretty fine.  Patrons can sit at tables, but can also prop their rear ends on stools that in an earlier life were tractor seats.    People go to Vencil’s to hang out, drink beer, play pool, watch sports on television, listen to the jukebox, or perhaps visit with Vencil, not a bad thing at all.  One photo shows a couple of young folks in a game of billiards.  Vencil normally won’t allow anyone under 18 to play, but the pre-teen in this photo was with his dad so he got a pass.   In November, Mr. Mares, a World War II Army veteran, a medic, celebrated his 94th birthday.   Although he uses a wheelchair now, he still comes in every day of the year with only Christmas and Easter the exceptions.   He arrives between 5 and 7 a.m., staying every night until 10p.m.   Mostly, he lets the younger folks prepare the barbecue, but he’s there to make sure everything’s going alright.   I like how it’s situated close to the railroad tracks, tucked neatly under a viaduct.   That viaduct came many years after Mares had set up shop.    The Taylor Cafe, and Vencil, are doing fine.   It’s iconic Texas.   I decided to present these in black and white.   It seems to fit.

This wasn’t exactly what I was looking for earlier tonight, but I kind of like it.   I had meandered into Northeastern Travis County, Texas and this flag-adorned barn, complete with ancient farm equipment, got my attention.   The flag, pretty faded, had obviously been there a while.  This is one of those times where black and white treatment seemed right, but also included is the color version of this nifty old structure. 

Wednesday evening I attended a memorial ceremony in Georgetown, Texas for Rachel Cooke, who at 19 went missing on January 10, 2002 while on a run from her family home.   On this, the 16th anniversary of that tragic occurrence, about fifty friends and family gathered in front of a live oak tree planted in her memory several years ago on the Georgetown High School campus, where Rachel graduated in 2000.  Included were her mother, Janet Cooke, who still holds out hope that some resolution will finally come.   The investigation continues.  On hand were three members of the famed Texas Rangers, wearing their iconic hats.  The Rangers are actively involved in finding answers, as are other law enforcement officials, including the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff Robert Chody, shown with Janet Cooke in the opening image.   A $100,000 reward is offered for anyone with information about Rachel.   These photos accompany a story in the Austin American-Statesman. 

Among the San Gabriel River places I like to visit from time-to-time is Dickerson’s River Bottom, close to Circleville and not far from feeding into Granger Lake.   It is one of those go-to places for those looking for white bass.  Fly fishermen, like the two friends posted tonight, love its peacefulness and beauty.   Although not a fly fisherman, I love it, too.   The only problem is the difficulty involved in getting to the river.   More than one time, I’ve had falls making my way along the rocky, root-laden trails.   Sometimes, however, at least once or twice a year, it’s worth it.   After all, it’s the San Gabriel River.  What could be nicer?   I see fly fishing, heck, maybe any fishing, to be like photography … a meditation, a therapy.

How about just one photo tonight?   I’m working on something a little labor-intensive right now, but thought it good to offer up something, right?   I can’t hear you.  Right?    In my part of East Williamson County, Texas this might be what passes for an evening traffic jam.   We don’t do much jamming here.   And that’s nice.  

Regarding my often-photogrpraphed windmills (there are many of them here), let’s go in close tonight.   I found this one, covered in rust, but still growing strong, to be be enthralling.  Elgin, Illinois, one must guess, is also farm country.   The others are of that wonderful river, the San Gabriel, that courses through this part of Central Texas, particularly East Williamson County.   I’m presenting it three ways, all from the same vantage point.   That last one, the detail?   It’s in color, but it sure comes close to black and white, does it not?  

These are from the eastern-most part of East Williamson County, Texas, taken Sunday morning as I rambled into new areas.   It was a cloudy morning, adding, of course, to the landscape.    Some are presented in both black and white and color, others, one way or another.   You decide what you like. … if any.