Editor’s note: Wimberley Valley Dark Sky Committee has recently changed its name to Wimberley Valley Dark Sky, or WVDS.
Jamie Kinscherff discovered the night sky in a dusty old trunk.
Back around the turn of the century, long before he was Outreach Coordinator for Wimberley Valley Dark Sky, Jamie was an independent custom guitar maker, living on the Tapp Ranch, part of what is now Old Glory Ranch. He told owner Jay Tapp, who had worked in NASA’s space program, that he was looking to buy a telescope.
“Jay had a building on the ranch that looked like the turret of an old castle,” Jamie recalls. Tapp took Jamie up a spiral staircase to a dusty room. There in the dark was an old trunk.
“Inside was this gorgeous 8-inch Celestron telescope,” says Jamie, who soon found himself obsessed with astronomy books and star charts. He was hooked. “I spent countless hours at night trying to figure out that puzzle we call the night sky.” Seeing his sincere interest, Tapp soon gifted Jamie with the telescope.
“I promised Jay I would share it with as many people as possible. Fortunately, I have been able to hold true to that mission here in Wimberley.”
Never more so than today; 25 years later, hundreds of people have looked at the stars — many for the first time — through that Celestron. Several years ago, Jamie was instrumental in starting the twice-annual Blue Hole Star Party events where he regularly gives an introductory educational tour of the heavens and describes whatever sky objects can be observed that evening. That same 1977 Celestron is one of the many telescopes on hand for the viewing pleasure of young and old, novices and experienced star gazers. Incidentally, the next Blue Hole Star Party is October 5.
What’s in it for Jamie? Plenty.
“When you show someone something wonderful that they haven’t discovered before, it’s a pleasure for you to see that light in their eyes,” he says. “It’s really fun to be the person who helps them discover that.
“When they look through the telescope at something amazing, like Saturn, the first thing they say is ‘Oh my God!’ Then they say ‘Is that real?’ I think they go home with a personal sense of having a different place in the universe.”
Over the years, Jamie, who is also the Environmental Studies instructor at Wimberley’s Blanco River Academy, has given dozens of talks, demonstrations and sky tours. A native Texan and long-time Hays County Texas Master Naturalist, he’s also done countless nature walks and talks on subjects from dinosaur tracks to native plants.
“I want to introduce them to nature, whether it’s in the stars or at their feet, and to nurture a love of it,” he says.
In 2016 Jamie was one of the first people asked to join the newly- formed Wimberley Valley Dark Sky, or WVDS, created to bring official recognition of Wimberley and Woodcreek by Dark Sky International. That goal was achieved in 2018, making Wimberley Valley the third Texas community so honored.
“Jamie is such an asset to our board and to the community,” says WVDS Chair Greg Webb. “His vast knowledge and the many hours he and (wife) Martha (Pinto) have given, have been extremely valuable in engaging the community in support of the Dark Sky initiative.”
Since January, 2024, Jamie has given the Night Sky Report on Wimberley Valley Radio, KWVH 94.3 FM. His monthly updates are played often throughout the Month.
Jamie’s outreach efforts are greatly enhanced by WVDS’s excellent local partnerships. KWVH radio and Operations Director Brach Thomas and General Manager Tim Kiesling have produced several Dark Sky public service announcements that have aired hundreds of times, an invaluable asset to a nonprofit volunteer group like WVDS. Wimberley Parks Manager Richard Shaver and the parks staff host the star parties and Howl at the Moon dances, prepare the venues and elevate the experience for attendees.
Aside from helping launch the star parties, Jamie is active in almost all WVDS events, such as the annual Fourth of July Parade float, information booths at events such as Boo Hole (Halloween) at Blue Hole and the annual Howl at the Moon dance, also at Blue Hole.
With Martha, also a WVDS member, he takes the quarterly night sky light readings that are an essential part of the board’s annual recertification process, and a way to tell how well the Wimberley Valley is maintaining dark skies.
“We’ve designated five spots in the Wimberley Valley, two in Woodcreek, three in Wimberley,” Jamie says. “We return every quarter with our Dark Sky meter to see if any changes have happened. Despite the growing population, there has been very little increase in the light pollution we are creating. That is fabulous, because it can get out of hand very quickly.”
Considering the rapid growth, with no end in sight for all the counties from Austin to San Antonio, it seems to some that keeping Wimberley’s night skies dark enough to see the stars is ultimately a losing battle. Jamie is aware of the threat, but never considers the effort futile.
“In a hundred years, we may have a grey sky up there,” he says. “Now, we have something very precious here. If we do what we can to preserve it for future generations, we are going to go to bed at night feeling much better than if we had done nothing at all.”
“Go outside and look up,” he says. “You don’t have to know the names of the stars or constellations. Just lie down and look up and know that you are flying through space on Planet Earth. We are all part of this amazing universe!”
See “October Night Sky Events” for a list of Dark Sky events coming up.
