In the middle of the nineteenth century more than 7,000 Germans migrated to Central Texas--most to Comal, Gillespie, and Llano Counties. For the next three quarters of a century, the Germans of Central Texas retained much of their ethnicity: they were taught German in the schools, there were German-language newspapers, and ties to the Fatherland remained strong. But with the coming of World War I, many of the Hill Country Germans began slipping away from the old ways. The generation that grew up between the two world wars became more and more Americanized.
In "Tales from the Sunday...

From an endangered species of prickly pear cactus to a daisy and even a snake, the name Lindheimer is tied to the nomenclature of Texas natives in nature. The name originally belonged to Ferdinand Lindheimer, one of the Southwest's first serious scientists, who came to be known as the "Father of Texas Botany." This immigrant from Frankfurt, Germany, spent more than a decade living on a shoestring budget as he searched the wilds of Central and Southeast Texas for new species. His correspondent, friend, fellow botanist, and fellow Frankfurt native was George Engelmann, who also served as...