Let There Be Luminarias!

Posted on December 12, 2011 by

Updated December 4, 2024 Since 1994, luminarias have been a highlight of the holidays in our neighborhood, and this year is no exception. Thanks to the generosity of many Brentwood and Crestview neighbors, Arroyo Seco will once again glow with candlelight on the evenings of December 22-25, 2024. Brentwood neighbors started the luminaria project to celebrate the 1993 planting of more than 250 trees along Arroyo Seco and Hancock Creek between Koenig and Justin. (More … Read more

Posted in Events, People

A Few Stories About Street Names, Part 2

Posted on December 5, 2011 by

Updated September 25, 2023 Copyright 2011-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Please talk with us before reproducing any website content. Our series on Central Austin street names—how they were named and what some of them once were called—continues. KAREN AVENUE—Named for a niece of Dr. Joseph S. Koenig. (See Koenig Lane, below.) KOENIG LANE—The first known description of the street appeared in the Austin American-Statesman on November 21, 1936: “the public lane sometimes known as … Read more

Posted in People, Places, Streets

A Few Stories About Street Names, Part 1

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

Copyright 2011 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Please talk with us before reproducing any website content. Over the years, as we’ve talked with neighbors and looked into public records, we’ve learned how some of our Central Austin streets came to be named and what some of them once were called. Here’s Part 1 of what we’ve gathered so far. We invite you to share what you know about neighborhood streets by sending us an email … Read more

Posted in People, Places, Streets

The Gift Must Always Move

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

With Thanksgiving coming up, we’d like to acknowledge just a few of all who have encouraged us in our Voices of the Violet Crown community/history project, especially since 2007: Neighbors, friends, and family, who purchased copies of our film A Community Mosaic and book From Abercrombie to the Violet Crown, and Crestview Shopping Center businesses that helped sell them—Crestview Barber Shop, Crestview Beauty Salon, and Crestview Pharmacy. Texas Oral History Association, for acknowledging our project … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People

A Salute to Violet Crown Veterans, Part 2

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

Updated 2018 Our special series for Veterans Day concludes with stories about Bob Harwood, Ben Petmecky, and Emory Muehlbrad and video clips of John Carlson and Bill Williamson talking about veterans settling in Crestview as it was being developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. BOB HARWOOD Bob was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service in the Army during World War II. He enlisted in February 1942 and served in … Read more

Posted in Events, People

A Salute to Violet Crown Veterans, Part 1

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

Updated 2022 In honor of Veterans Day, the next two blog posts feature military veterans who were among the first neighbors in Brentwood and Crestview more than 60 years ago. Most of them remained here for the rest of their lives. Here are a few stories of their service. BILL WILLIAMSON, AL KIRBY, AND JOHN CARLSON You can read more about Bill here, Al here, and John here. We interviewed Bill on October 7, 2007; … Read more

Posted in Events, People

“Pee Pop” of Dwyce Drive

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

Milton Gebhard‘s 2009 obituary didn’t reveal much about the man or his life—only that he was 89 and a retired carpenter, and he once lived in Austin. His birth certificate, found online, shows that he was born Milton Hugo Henry Gebhard, son of Bruno and Hedwig Renter Gebhard of Round Top, Texas. His Brentwood neighbors remember him well. One young neighbor who couldn’t pronounce Gebhard’s last name nicknamed him Pee Pop. His driveway was a … Read more

Posted in Community, People, Wall of Welcome Stories | Comments Off on “Pee Pop” of Dwyce Drive

“Create Here!”—One Neighbor’s Story

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

Among the neighbors we’ve interviewed for the Voices of the Violet Crown project is Kristie Zamrazil of Crestview. We videotaped Kristie in September 2009 next to her “Create Here” tile, on the south end of the Wall of Welcome. Jean Graham completed the mosaic wall, filled with handcrafted tiles and mosaics, in March 2008. “I moved to Crestview in 2002, after looking for a house for two years. One thing I wanted was to live … Read more

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“Red Ryder” of Crestview

Posted on October 17, 2011 by

The large, colorful mosaic image of Ryder Schwartz, known as Red Ryder, is one of the highlights of Jean Graham’s Wall of Welcome on Woodrow Avenue in Austin. Ryder’s mother, Beverly Lester, and her parents moved to Crestview in 1949, and she grew up there. Beverly returned to live in her family’s home in 1972, when Ryder was 6. Five years later, Beverly took him to see Turk Pipkin juggling at Symphony Square downtown. Ryder … Read more

Posted in People, Wall of Welcome Stories

History of Hancock Creek/Arroyo Seco, Part 5

Posted on October 10, 2011 by

Copyright 2011-2022 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any content you find on the website. WILDLIFE AROUND THE CREEK: DOMINO THE PIG Over the years, a variety of animals have been observed in Hancock Creek along Arroyo Seco, among them a spotted wild pig named Domino. On the morning of May 17, 2003, as volunteers were setting up the first Violet Crown Festival in Brentwood Park, a baby pig escaped … Read more

Posted in Places, Wall of Welcome Stories
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