Hands-On STEAM Activities Coming to Round Top

Brenham Mobile Children’s Museum will be at Round Top Family Library on July 1 at 1 p.m. Children and families will enjoy hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) activities designed to spark creativity, curiosity, and learning through interactive play. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to explore, experiment, and discover.

Please note that there will be no S.E.E. classes this week as they prepare for Round Top’s Fourth of July Parade. The library will also be closed on Saturday, July 4, in observance of the holiday.

RTFL Gala Co-Chairs Amy Bone and Pam Langford wish to remind all that the annual gala will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Windy Knoll. Invitations to the gala were mailed, but they still have tables available if you are interested in attending. RTFL is 99.99% privately funded, and the annual gala raises nearly half of the annual operating budget. To inquire about tickets, tables, or other ways you can support RTFL, please email info@ilovetoread.org or call the library at (979) 2492700.

 Round Top Festival Hill 

Mark your calendars for this Saturday, June 27, as Round Top Festival Institute presents a full day of incredible live music at the Festival Concert Hall. The musicfilled day begins at 1:30 p.m. with an afternoon chamber concert showcasing our talented Young Artists. Stay for a second chamber program at 3:30 p.m., featuring works by Blumer and Dvořák, performed by our world-class Faculty, and Artistic Director James Dick. The evening concludes at 7:30 p.m. as the Texas Festival Orchestra takes the stage under conductor Charles Olivieri-Munroe, featuring Hector Guzman on organ. The program includes powerful works by Berlioz and Elgar, and Camille Saint-Saëns’ epic Third Symphony (the “Organ” Symphony).

The celebration continues this Sunday, June 28 from 3 – 5 p.m. with a Patriotic Concert honoring the 250th Anniversary of the United States, featuring the Texas Festival Orchestra under the direction of conductor Jerry Junkin. Bring your friends and family and enjoy a weekend of extraordinary music in Round Top. For more information on summer festival events and to purchase tickets, visit www.festivalhill. org or call (979) 249-3129, and follow Round Top Festival Institute on Facebook and Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes highlights.

Round Top Rifle Hall 

The Round Top Rifle Hall members have decided to pause all Monday Social Burger Nights for the month of July. Their crew of volunteers will be taking the month of July off. The next scheduled Burger Night will be on Aug. 3.

RT Area Historical Society 

Every Saturday in June and July from 1-4 p.m., the Round Top Area Historical Society open the doors to their Pavilion for a free public viewing of a wonderful historical photo exhibit of restored and enlarged images. The photos were originally taken by Gustav Froelich, Friederike Recknagel, and Robert Fulton Adams, who were photographers in the Round Top area between 1866 & the 1920s. The Pavilion is located at 397 E. Mill Street in Round Top (behind the Post Office.)

The Town of Round Top 

The exhibition, “An Earlier Time - Images of Round Top, an exhibition of the Photography of Friederike Recknagel,” will run from June 13-July 13 in the Round Top Courthouse from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The exhibition is co-curated by Rox Ann Johnson and Sally Reynolds. The exhibition is supported by the Town of Round Top and is underwritten by the Bybee Foundation.

Friederike Recknagel was born not far from Round Top on the Nassau Farm on Feb. 29, 1860. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Germany. She was educated at home and at the small school in the Nassau Farm community. In 1886, she married Edward Recknagel and in 1887, she gave birth to their daughter.

It appears there are no records of her early interest and training in the art of photography, nor in the type of camera she used. Recknagel used glass negatives which were ultimately collected by Faith Bybee. Later these negatives were donated to the Round Top Area Historical Society, Inc. which had the images transferred into a digital format. These digital images have been reproduced for this exhibition.

Friederike Recknagel was a talented woman of focus and determination. Generally, she creatively directed and composed her subject matter, precisely placing those she photographed as if creating a still life painting. In addition to capturing the people of Round Top in her photographs, she documented the buildings of the town, special events and seasonal changes.

Co-curator Sally Reynolds states that this is a wonderful and important exhibition of Round Top and the turn of the century, and it will never be repeated. It serves as an authentic and visual record of the early days of Round Top. The photos in this Round Top Court House exhibit are different from the photos in the Round Top Historical Society Pavilion exhibit, so please be sure to visit both locations.

Florida Chapel Cemetery The Florida Chapel Cemetery Association held its annual meeting on Sun., June 14, with 11 members in attendance. In old business, officers are currently reviewing the organization’s bylaws. Officers are also exploring the possibility of applying for a historical marker for the cemetery. In new business, elections were held and all current officers were reelected to their positions. Additionally, plans are underway to open a new section of the cemetery, which will include the construction of additional access roads.

Round Top American Legion American Legion Quade-Werchan Post #338 and Auxiliary will not hold a meeting in July. The next meeting will be held on Thurs., Aug. 6, at their facilities located at 1503 N. State Highway 237; Round Top, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Round Top Happenings Residents of Round Top are again wondering “what’s happening in Round Top?”. New construction of something quite impressive is going up in Round Top right next to Henkle Square on FM 1457/North Live Oak Street. The residents of Round Top remember this land as the former homesite of Doris, Barney, Gaylon, & Jan Georges. Barney owned the Round Top Service Station from 19701992, known then as Barney George’s Garage.

The property is now owned by Frank Hillbolt and Denise Jacobs. Frank is coowner of Round Top Real Estate and very active in the Round Top community. Longtime couple Frank and Denise are currently building their personal home on the property. The Town of Round Top regulates land use through its official Town of Round Top Zoning Ordinance. The town’s primary zoning districts are divided into Residential, Business/Historical, and Commercial zones. This particular property is zoned for residential use only. The home will have a courtyard, pool, and music studio. Brian Fischer of Fischer Custom Builders, Inc. of Giddings is building the home using thermory wood, lueder stone, and standing seam metal.

Travel 

Several Round Top area residents recently took a “Cowboy Country” trip with Round Top Travel Club, which took place from June 9-16. The trip began in Rapid City, South Dakota, which served as the hub for the first few days with tours to the Badlands National Park, Wall Drug, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The group ventured on into the Black Hills to explore the historic gold rush town of Deadwood with a visit also to Devil’s Tower National Monument. Traveling through the Bighorn Mountains the next day, the group traveled through snow, seeing elk and moose, all before exploring the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. A day through Yellowstone National Park included Old Faithful, many geysers and hot springs, free-ranging herds of buffalo, beautiful waterfalls, rivers, mountains, and breathtaking views. The trip wrapped up with memorable days of fun and adventure in the Grand Tetons, at Lake Jenny, and in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The travelers who were on the trip from the Round Top- Carmine area included: Yvonne and Terry Jackson, Carolyn and Mike Oevermann, Sherry and Lee Pennington, and Pam Schoenst.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church The Ruth Circle ladies’ bible study group will not meet on July 2 as scheduled. Instead, Ruth Circle members are invited to attend the Martin Luther Lutheran Church Carmine Ladies Bible Study on July 9 at 2 p.m. in the M&M Building in Carmine.

Services for June 28 

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Round Top, at 9:30 a.m.

Chapelwood United Methodist Church, Round Top, at 10:30 a.m.

Round Top Church Christian Fellowship, Round Top, at 10 a.m.

St. Cecilia’s Episcopal Church, Round Top, at 8:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

St. John’s Lutheran Church, Warrenton, at 8:30 a.m.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Shelby, at 8 a.m.

Celebrations 

Happy Birthdays to Paige Bednar on June 26; Adyson Hinze on June 28; Kevin Weyand, Lad Goebel, and Harry Schellberg on June 30; Megan Krause and Justin Pietsch on July 2.

Have News? 

Round Top area, please send any news you wish to share to SherryPen@icloud. com by Monday morning for the following Friday’s paper.

OP 

News