Talking Walls

Do you remember the Television show, If Walls Could Talk? I loved to watch them tell stories about homes past. This section is about anyone who lived or worked in these old buildings who want to share bits of history. If you have a story to add please let us know. We hope this section continues to build and reveal a bit more to remember and honor.

433 Water Street/ 415 Clay Street

First I want to thank Joe Herring. Joe has a vast following of people who want to know about the history of our area. I asked him for help in May of 2011 and he sent out a request for stories on his blog. That day Belinda responded and she has been watching the project ever since. For this and everything you do to share your knowledge with all of us, Thank you Joe! joeherringjr.blogspot.com

Belinda Dowd Fleming
My Life History in a Nutshell

My childhood was very happy and I only have good memories of living in the apartments at 433 Water Street. I would walk down the street to the Rialto. My memory is of blue velvet seats...and later to the Arcadia after it was remodeled and their seats were red. I was in the earlier Arcadia once to hear a country band...Bob Wills? and in the lobby in a three sided windowed display was a stuffed two headed angora kid goat. I still remember that.

Also walking a few blocks to the public swimming pool where I can still smell the chlorine.

Grandfather M O Jones purchased the property at 433 Water St. in approximately 1940. I have misplaced the papers concerning this. I believe this property to have been built just after the turn of the century.

M O Jones had moved from Alabama to Kerrville in the late thirties. Kerrville was known as The Healthiest Climate in the United States. My grandfather was suffering from heart problems. He also purchased the house two doors down (Vann residence in between). He and my grandmother lived in this house. I don't remember him too well as he and my grandmother left Kerrville in about 1943. He died in 1945. However, he owned several pieces of property in Kerrville. In my young adulthood any time I saw Judge A. P. Allison he would mention that he did my grandfather's legal work. He knew him better than I did.

The apartments were known for years as the Morris Apartments. A Mr. Morris owned them who also ran or owned the St Charles Hotel. I can't remember from whom my grandfather purchased the property. Under the first 4 apartments near the street there was a large dirt cellar. One could enter it from Apt 3A or from outside from the back driveway. In the cellar were signs and mementos of St Charles Hotel. I still have the registration book from 1927.

In the early days, we heated several of the apartments with an oil furnace located in the cellar. The units had radiators in them that heated with steam.

My mother Queen Jones Dowd brought her family (Mother was recently divorced, Tom was 12, Pat was 9 and I was 3) to Kerrville from Kinzua PA in about 1941. M O Jones deeded the 433 Water St apartments to Queen and two of her sisters. Queen purchased her sister's share in the early 1950's.

At the time Queen moved to Kerrville there were 8 apartments. 5 on the upper part of the property. A house, a garage apartment plus a small lower efficiency nearer the river.

Later Queen Dowd sold the lower part of the property (house, garage apartment upstairs and downstairs efficiency to the Schillings (?) who had rented the house for several years. This house set on a high bluff above the Guadalupe River. I was in college when my mother sold this part. The Schillings sold all of their purchase at a later date to the Butt Holdsworth Library people. All of this property was torn down and became a garden parking area for the library.

Living in the apartments provided me with a built in large family. Some families lived there for years. Many young couples lived in the apartments after their marriage and before they bought a house. One couple who comes to mind is Jack and Ellen Peterson. Ellen was a niece to Admiral Nimitz. Jack was co owner of the American Creamery Company as I remember. The creamery sold little cups of ice cream (in addition to milk) and on the inside cardboard top was a photo of a movie star.

My favorite all time renters were Mr. and Mrs. O P Ramsey. They lived in apartment number two for at least 15 years. They later bought a house in Kerrville. Sadly they died in a car accident at Bruno's Curve coming home from San Antonio. Mrs. Ramsey (and I have no idea of her first name) was an invalid. They furnished their apartment in beautiful oriental carpets and antiques. I visited Mrs. Ramsay frequently as a young child. She would put a Caruso 78 rpm on her record player for me. Today I wonder how big of a pest I was.

At the time we moved there we lived in the last apartment we called number 4. Nearer the street were number 3A, 3, 2 and 1. After my sister Pat was killed in a car wreck (in Mississippi visiting our grandmother. Pat was 15), we moved into apartment number 3. My brother Tom at that time joined the Air Force.

My mother lived in this apartment from 1948 until her death in 1978. This apartment had a large massive fireplace said to have been designed by Mrs. Capt Schreiner. Each rock was split and laid across from the other throughout the large fireplace. I never knew for sure where Mother got this information. She also told me that Mrs. Schreiner had a big hand in designing the property...and that the first three apartments had earlier held a bowling alley. The large cement slab out front was originally tennis courts. I know this is correct as there were wire nets there for years. My mother thought the property had been built for Schreiner Institute. I don't know for sure.

The large cement area provided us children with a great place to roller skate. There were large oak trees on the property to have a place to climb. Earlier there was a row of garages and store rooms that adjoined the Manny's property. (Later the library)

As a teenager, when we had an empty apartment, I would have a slumber party in it. A simpler time.

By the time my mother passed and left the property to me the 4 apartments she rented for income were occupied by older people who had lived there for a long length of time. Then suddenly, they all seemed to pass away themselves or moved to rest homes.

I sold the property in 1980.

After her first letter above, I had more questions for Belinda, some answers are below.

Mother did not work for Brehmer's Jewelers. I remember the Brehmers and they did have a little girl younger than me. Mother had a friend who worked there that I can not remember the name...imagine that. Mother worked only about 10 years in her life. But she did buy a lot of stuff from the Brehmers as she loved dishes and jewelry. And mother didn't own a car. One time she decided to buy one and get her license again...but the Driver's License man "made her nervous" so she failed the test. ha ha. She was pretty healthy as she walked everywhere...and in the olden days everything was pretty near us.

When I was 12 she went to work at Pampell's drug store behind the cash register. After a short time there she then worked at Louise Dress Shop for a year or so. And then she worked for Rowland's Insurance and then Bob Schmerbeck (sp) Insurance. She quit when I was 22.

Mrs. Breen the librarian lived in (apartment) number one for years. The library was in the Masonic Building at first...and then they moved it down the street where a Holy Roller Church had been. In fact Mrs. Breen was still living there when mother passed away but she soon had to go to the nursing home.

Number two in the later years was home to a prim and proper older lady named Mrs. Poole... and she was the manager of Schreiner's Lady's Wear. She looked even in those days like a character out of Sex and the City...the Vogue magazine department. I was very intimidated by her.

Old man J. L. Pampell lived across the street from us on Main St on the corner of Main and Quinlan. He walked to Pampell's each morning and I used to run out and ask him for a nickel.

Some of my friends are still alive and in Kerrville. I am 72. They are Judy Wunsch of Ingram, Carol Hemenover of Kerrville, Vivian Baldwin Rogers of Kerrville...and all from the class of 1957.

I will send you some more information and photos as I think of it. Thanks so much...the apartments look great. I am glad you are an artist. I am an artist as well. I love to sketch people and paint in acrylic.

--Belinda Dowd Fleming

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