When Friedrich “Fritz” Holekamp and his young wife, Betty, left Germany in 1844, Kendall County did not exist. Boerne had not been founded, Comfort had not been surveyed, and Sisterdale was still several years in the future. Yet the Holekamp family would eventually become woven into the history of all three communities. Their story is … Read more
The railroad was built through Boerne sometime in 1887. I remember when the train used to come through Boerne every morning at about ten o’clock going north. At the depot, which was located at the east end of Theissen Street, there was an arm that extended out and the crew would attach a mailbag to … Read more
Wes Holekamp left Comfort to build a career. Years later, he came home to raise his family in the same Hill Country community that raised him, and found there was still work to be done. There are a lot of ways to measure the distance between Comfort and Fort Worth. On a map, it is … Read more
Kendall County EMS paramedic Pete Macias on military medicine, compassionate care, and answering the call For Kendall County EMS paramedic Pedro “Pete” Macias, some of the most important moments in emergency medicine begin when a patient is frightened, vulnerable, and unable to advocate for himself. During a recent call involving a patient with developmental disabilities, … Read more
There are certain words we use so often that they start to lose their edges. “Faithful” is one of them. Most of the time, when we hear the word, our minds go straight to marriage. A faithful husband. A faithful wife. Sometimes we think of church, of being faithful to God, faithful in prayer, faithful … Read more
Officer Jeffrey Wilson on faith, family, accumulated trauma, and the support that helps first responders keep showing up For Officer Jeffrey Wilson, law enforcement grew from a childhood belief that public service could make a difference. Both of his grandfathers were Green Berets, a cousin served as a police officer, and family friends included a … Read more
For nearly three decades, Peyton Turk kept Red Crest Pet Shop alive through illness, debt, competition, and a changing Boerne. Now, as the store winds down, the quiet man behind the counter considers what the place has meant to the families who grew up there. Peyton Turk knew the end would not come all at … Read more
We’re pretty good at keeping score. We count the money in the bank, the years on the job, the square footage of the house, and the names in our phone. We watch numbers rise and fall and let them tell us whether we’re moving forward or falling behind. Somewhere along the way, it gets easy … Read more
Uncle Willie’s property was at the far west end of San Antonio Street and now is a subdivision of homes. He had a wooden water tank, that perhaps might still there but probably not. It was rather large, made of cypress and served Willie and Mattie for many years. Willie had bought the tank from … Read more
History is often measured by battles won, elections decided, or fortunes accumulated. Yet sometimes history is made quietly, in places so small they scarcely appear on a map. Sisterdale, nestled among the limestone hills of western Kendall County, is one of those places. Today, motorists pass through this peaceful Hill Country community without realizing that, … Read more