Riffs: Peace Like a River The Wimberley Community Chorus sang a potent love song to Wimberley and its waterways in May with multiple concerts throughout the month. Under the direction of Craig Aamot of Texas State University, the program of 11 songs — accompanied by Pat Gillory — included an African American spiritual, a Scottish Folk song and tunes by The Wailin’ Jennys, Carly Simon, and the Children of Agape and The Soweto Gospel Choir.
With many selections not too distanced from prayer, the choir sang songs of hope, love and faith. The performance ended with “Let There Be Peace on Earth” as the choir circled the audience and held hands. It was a moving finale to an hour-long expression of gratitude.
The program was to celebrate their 40th anniversary, meant to be performed in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Founded in 1980 by Mary Guemple, the choir was organized to support an Easter drama at Chapel in the Hills. Today, the choir invites new members to audition and plans another concert for July 4.
Roam: Fischer
The tiny burg of Fischer extended a “Wilkommen” for visitors this last weekend on the occasion of the Blanco River Songwriters Festival. Settled by German immigrants Hermann and Otto Fischer in the mid-nineteenth century, it is located at the intersections of FM 32, FM 484 and Fischer Store Road, about an 18 minute drive from the Wimberley Square.
I’d made the community the object of five or six impromptu rambles in the hopes of meeting locals who might tell me something about their community. My timing was undeniably off, so when a public event created access for outsiders, I jumped at the chance to visit.
My first stop was the Fischer Store, next door to the post office. The store was shuttered, although there were reports it was sometimes open for business. The owner’s daughter, Amanda Groesbeck, confirmed that, for the time being, there were no plans to recommence business.
Just down the road from the store, the handsome Fischer Hall had opened its doors for the festival. Local lore asserts that it was built in 1897 by Al Kloepper, a oneeyed master carpenter from New Braunfels. Historical records state the hall is about 45 feet by 97 feet, set back from the road with white shiplap siding and accessed by concrete stairs that lead to the main entrance. Inside, original arched wooden trusses form a strong and beautiful vaulted ceiling.
Musicians say the wooden structure lends itself to good acoustics, and I can attest that the building engenders feelings of reverence for its age and the history it has witnessed.
Before Fischer Hall was built, Otto Fischer donated the land it sits on to members of the Agricultural Society, a group formed by residents of the area, for the purpose of building a hall and a ninepin bowling alley. Today, the hall and the bowling alley are managed by the Fischer Ag Society.
Next door, the ninepin bowling alley was bustling with activity. Once sporting only a single lane, bowling teams were busy on four lanes that had been gradually added through the years. Pins were manually reset by a couple of teenagers visible behind the strike zones, and scorekeepers recorded strikes and spares on blackboards on either side of the alleys.
An old-school climate prevailed with ashtrays ablaze and friendly locals more than willing to chat up a stranger. Local Jennie Shropshire answered many of my questions, responding to some of them with “That’s an Amanda question.” She kindly gave me Amanda Groesbeck’s number.
Bowler Craig Fortner filled me in on a few details and delivered the news that the Fischer Haus was no longer operating as a B&B, although its outdoor cantina area is set to host music sometime in the fall. He also told me that the shed housing beautiful old buggies, once open to the public, burned to the ground about four or five years ago.
As we talked, Red Waltman and his dog Homie stopped by and posed for a photo before I said goodbye and walked back next door to Fischer Hall. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d visited a place so utterly lacking in artifice and vowed I’d return again soon.
Rave: O. Henry Pun-Off
Did you know that the grandpère of all pun competitions in the world is in Austin?
For some, that may be a distinction on par with chasing a wheel of cheese down a hill in Gloucester. But at 46 years, the O. Henry Pun-Off Championships is the oldest spoken word competition based on the art of the pun in the world, attracting wordplay fans to Austin from as far away as Canada, England and Australia.
Usually held on the grounds of the O. Henry Museum on Fifth Street in Austin where attendance tops 2,000, this year’s event took place across the street in the downtown Hilton where a lively audience of 600 devotees interacted with the contestants and judges.
Participants competed in one or both of two areas: Punniest of Show and PunSlingers.
In Punniest of Show, 32 contestants performed a 90-second prepared piece. The winner this year was Martha Louise van Garza, whose entertaining routine about a dinner date gone wrong delighted judges with a string of clever puns on furniture.
In the PunSlingers competition, punsters were pitted against each other in headto- head competition where they tried to one-up their opponents on a particular theme. Movies with one word titles — like Psycho and Titanic, for example — were the audience’s favorite topic this year. Faith Yusko from New York took home the Pun-Slingers trophy, outpunning a field of 32 contestants.
For more information about the O. Henry Punoff, visit punoff.com. For more fun, see Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake in Gloucester.
