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| St. Mary's Catholic Church, High Hill, Texas |
The insides of these magnificent
churches are layered with hours of painstaking labor by hand stenciling,
infill, freehand, marbling, staining and graining. They are adorned with
masterful paintings, shimmering stained glass, charming murals, and
gold-encrusted altars. [LINK].
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| Painted Churches around Schulenburg, Texas |
Fr. Louis suggested that we – himself,
his parents, my wife and myself, and various other church friends – should make
a pilgrimage.
And so began a couple of years of
fruitless attempts to find a schedule agreeable to the various people who, in
conversation, expressed interest in going off on such a venture. Several false
starts foundered until finally, just after the beginning of this year, my wife
and I decided we just needed to unilaterally set a date, let everyone know, and
see what happened.
Schulenburg, the most common destination and seemingly the base of the only formal tour of the Painted Churches of which I am aware, being about a 325mi/5h30m
drive from Natchitoches, we knew we would need a three-day schedule at least –
a day to drive there, a day for the tour, and a day to drive home. Wanting to
avoid a weekend meant that my university’s Spring Break schedule pretty much
dictated the week of Sunday 31 March; we decided to shoot for Monday through
Wednesday, with the tour to be on Tuesday.
I did some Internet research at the
Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce “Painted Churches” tour page [LINK], which I have abstracted:
- Duration: 3-4 hours
- Start time and place:
- Time: Suggested between 09:15 and 11:00.
- Place: Greater Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center (866-504-5294)
- Transportation: Self-provided (with the Tour Guide
riding along).
- Cost:
- Deposit $50 at least two weeks in advance (I have
handled this, and we all will settle up at the end per #4 below).
- Per Person $10 (with deposit deducted from total),
paid in full on or before beginning of tour (but see #4 below)
- Tour Guide Gratuity minimum $40 for groups up to 15;
$50 for larger groups or “photography groups”
- Total cost therefore will depend on number of
individuals in group, but as an example – 10 individuals = $50 deposit
two weeks in advance (done), but then day-of cost would be 10 x $10 =
$100 less $50 deposit = $50 plus $40 = $90 / 10 = $9 per person.
I called the Chamber of Commerce and
confirmed that Tuesday 02 April could work, and indeed went ahead and made a
reservation for 10:00, good for whether the group included just my wife and
myself or a couple of dozen people. I figured we’d be ten or twelve at the most.
And I sent an email out to interested
parties:
After several false starts trying to
coordinate a schedule mutually acceptable to those who have expressed interest
in making a short pilgrimage/tour of the Painted Churches of Texas, Anne and I
have decided on the following dates: Monday-Wednesday 01-03 April 2019.
The tour itself will be on Tuesday 02 April.
A good overview can be found at The
Catholic Travel Guide, “Central Texas: The Painted Churches of Texas,” https://thecatholictravelguide.com/destinations/u-s-a/central-texas-painted-churches-texas/
We would like to get a group together to accompany us, with the understanding that each person would be responsible for their own transportation and lodging. Anne and I can accommodate two passengers in the CR-V for the trips to and from Schulenburg, but on the tour itself we would need to carry the Tour Guide and thus could accommodate only one other person.
Itinerary:
- Monday 01 April – Drive from Natchitoches, Louisiana,
to Schulenburg, Texas – approx. 325 miles, 5h30m. Hotels.com shows
several hotels in the area: Best Western Plus, Holiday Inn Express,
America’s Best Value Inn, etc.
- Tuesday 02 April – Tour
- Wednesday 01 April – Drive home (distance/time above)
[I
also included the above abstraction from the Chamber of Commerce page, and
ended with a short “budget”:]
So, total cost per couple or individual
(estimated, again based on group of ten) would be, not including transportation:
- Hotel, two nights – $300
- Food – variable
- Tour – $18 per couple
Kent
What happened was that virtually
everyone who had expressed interest was able to go – plus a couple more who heard
about it from them. We ended up being a group of thirteen: myself and my wife, Anne; Jeff and Carol; JoAnn; Rita; Ray and Gwen;
Sydney; Susan; Angel; and Sonny and Sue. Unfortunately, not Fr. Louis –
which scotched our hopes to be able to have a private Mass in one of the
churches.
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| Painted Churches, Barbeque, and Breweries Source: http://businessideasfor2013.blogspot.com/ 2017/04/painted-churches-of-texas-map.html ... Hey! Waitaminute! Where's Shiner?!? |
I think we all got reservations at the
same place, the Best Western Plus, which will be nice. Except for the two
nights and the day of the tour in Schulenburg itself, the way things worked out
we have varying schedules – some are headed that way early (or part way – Anne
and I, going to Houston for the weekend to visit with our son and Anne’s sister
and brother-in-law, who all live there); others are coming back late (by way of
Houston or some other route). But it sounds like we will all be there together
pretty much from supper on Monday through breakfast on Wednesday. And I frame
it in those terms for a reason -- this group being who we are, conversation
immediately turned to food. Frankly, all the things we’ve talked in various
small groups during the intervening weeks would require more than the short
amount of time we’re going to be together: real
kolaches, I’m told are readily
available and totally unlike the “pigs-in-a-blanket” local donut shops pass off
as “kolaches”; real Texas barbeque; Tex-Mex; Texas chicken-fried steak (of
which Sonny is a connoisseur); and I’m likely forgetting something. Mention has
been made of the Shiner brewery being fairly nearby….
I’m anticipating these few days to
devastate the weight-loss I have managed since the first of the year….
But I am looking forward to this very
much. I’m already doing research on the most likely churches for the tour there
in and around Schulenburg, and on the Painted Churches in general, both for the
short account of our tour itself and maybe a general overview posted either
before or after (depending on how this week goes). Interestingly enough, I’m
finding it a relatively obscure topic. Besides a great number of blog-posts and
travel-site accounts of tours similar to ours, there seem to be few overall
surveys. Even more astonishing to me is that there doesn’t seem to be any kind
of book about them – at least, an Amazon search of the most obvious argument,
“painted churches of Texas,” comes up nada. There is a single issue of a
magazine entitled Texas Highways –
currently unavailable; a DVD, The Painted
Churches of Texas: Echoes of the Heartland – currently unavailable; and
what seems like the beginning of a series of romance novels collectively
denominated, “A Painted Church of Texas Novel,” individually titled Final Act of Redemption and Random Act of Love….
Actually, in compiling the following
list of websites, I did come across a privately printed and sold “guidebook” [LINK]
which looks promising, containing “ten churches, each with the physical
address, GR code for the Google map, service times, short history, and items NOT TO BE MISSED [their emphasis] describing many unique and special
features. Photos that offer a quick look at the inside and out. This small 6x9
guide is easy to use and will fit in your car's glove box for safe keeping.”
Unfortunately, at less than a week before we head out of town, I’m pretty sure
it could not arrive in time even if I order it right now, so I’m just going to
hope the authors have done the smart thing and placed them for sale at the
Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center (if allowed). Otherwise, I may order it
later, but it’s of no use to me in trip prep.
In any case, here is a list of websites
I anticipate perusing, in no really particular order:
“A journey to the ‘painted churches’ of
Texas” at Aleteia [LINK]
“The Painted Churches of Texas” at Modern Medievalism [LINK]
I also found a small number of videos
on Youtube, e.g., this one I leave you with...
***UPDATE: I called Monday 25 March and confirmed our booking for 13 people at 10:00 Tuesday 02 April. It's on! ***
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