" Perseverance with Purpose"

The title of today's post is from Everett Fey and I found it in his books New Braunfels: The First Founders.

As we get ready to present the CVB Cultural Heritage project to City Council today, I am reminded of that description and how we apply this statement everyday.  Sometimes projects feel like walking in quicksand, sometimes that quicksand weighs us down for years.  But through "perseverance with purpose" we are finally there, 4 years later on the edge of a fantastic project.  A brochure, micro site, and text back/video activated walking tour for smart phones of all the great things that make New Braunfels special.

If you are from here and not a recent residence you are so use to living in our founder's footsteps that we rarely acknowledge their sensational contributions to our community.  Those hardy folks really rocked it in those first 20 years.  They had a plan - they worked really, really hard and they played hard.  They took care of each other and provided for those less fortunate.  Did you know that by 1910 there were over 176 non profits in our county?  Today there are over 470?  So it appears, we get it!  It is not about what you do, but how you do it, and what imprint you leave.

We found some great images in our lengthy research process.  One of my favorites is of a guy that built the first paddle boat in New Braunfels.  It is genius!  Now here is where I bet you would like to see these images.... well we are not giving anything away.  If you have some images or great stories load them at http://www.newbraunfelsstories.com/ and be a part of the project.  You will see it all come to life in the next few months.

As we weave the traditions of our founders into our daily life -- remember, live music of today is spawned from the musical and singing societies of the 1850's, live theater of today was spawned from those theatrical societies of our ancestors.  The farming and ranching societies of the 1850's launched great youth programs and the oldest County Fair in Texas. The athletic societies of then support outstanding school athletics today. 
You name it, they did it - festivals, celebrations, fundraising, farmer's markets, entertainment halls, live music, theatres, public school, craftsmanship competition, and the oldest running shooting society in Texas.

It goes on and on......

Our founders footsteps haven't faded, you just might not be able to see them, because we are still walking in them.