Lake Travis View

LTEF seeks sponsors for golf tourney

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:42:33 +0000

The name says it all … LTEF’s “Fore” the Kids Golf Tournament is an annual fundraising event that supports students in the Lake Travis ISD. The Lake Travis Education Foundation turns proceeds from the tournament into grants to LTISD teachers and scholarships for graduating Lake Travis High School seniors. But we need sponsors to make the tournament a success.
“The LTEF golf tournament is an excellent opportunity to support the kids in our district and have a fun day out on the golf course,” said LTEF President Tracy Henry. “Let your passion for golf help us provide the tools to fuel our children’s passion for learning.”
The “Fore” the Kids Golf Tournament offers a variety of sponsorship levels which, in turn, offer benefits that include advertising, golf teams, and chances to meet and greet on the course. Scheduled for the morning of Monday, October 11th at The Hills Country Club, the day starts with breakfast and registration at 8 a.m. A shotgun start at 9 a.m. kicks off the 4-player scramble and, once on the course, golfers begin competing for some great prizes. Chick-fil-A will provide lunch, and an awards reception will be held in the Waterfall Dining Room following tournament play.
Take advantage of this opportunity to play on the famed Hills Signature Course. The tournament is open to the first 144 players to sign up, and foursomes are available at a discounted rate while space is available. Sponsorship details, golfer registrations, and online contributions are accessible via LTEF’s web site at www.LakeTravisEducationFoundation.org, or call the Foundation’s office at 533-6095.

Auxiliary to hold garage sale, Sept. 18

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:36:58 +0000

Lakeway celebrates four-day weekend with fun in the sun

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:35:13 +0000

The Lakeway Resort and Spa will host a four-day Labor Day celebration with live music and family friendly activities for registered hotel guests. The party takes place from Sept. 3-6.
Activities include pool games, barbecue dinners, sailing cruises on Lake Travis, and performances by Andrea Marie and The Magnolia Band and the George Devore Trio.
Champions Day Camp will be set up all weekend to entertain kids while parents can relax with a host of regular Lakeway amenities, including massages and spa treatments.
Friday evening plays host to two of Lakeway’s favorites: a Moonlight Sailing Cruise [$75 per person] and s’mores by the fire pit overlooking Lake Travis. Saturday’s activities include a variety of pool games for kids as well as a wine and cheese tasting for adults [$10 per person].
Saturday night will feature a Sunset Sail [$75 per person] followed by live music from the George Devore Trio at Josey’s Grill & Bar.
Sunday consists of a full day of games and activities by the pool including a barbecue dinner, and live music from Andrea Marie & the Magnolia Band. Finishing the night will be the 2009 Pixar film “Up” under the stars. Monday will round up the weekend with frisbee golf and tether-ball on the lawn.
With activities planned for guests of all ages to enjoy throughout the weekend, Lakeway Resort and Spa is the perfect place to spend Labor Day 2010 with family and friends.
The Lakeway Resort and Spa is located at 101 Lakeway Drive.
Majestically situated on the shores of Texas’ renowned Lake Travis, Lakeway Resort and Spa has been the preferred destination for an unparalleled lakeside experience for over 25 years.
Reservations may be made by calling toll-free 800-525-3929, and locally by calling 261-6600. For more information, visit the resort’s web site at www.lakewayresortandspa.com.

Walter Erdmann

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:32:18 +0000

Walter, Walt as he prefers to be called, was born on Oct. 18, 1924, in Port Washington, Wisconsin. He died Aug. 25, 2010. He has one brother, Marvin.
Walt and Virginia were married on July 21, 1945. They have four children, Tom, Mike, Patty, and Steve. Virginia worked at home caring for their children, while Walt served our country in the U.S. Air Force. He was a pilot and flew B-52 aircraft. He retired in March of 1968 as a Lt. Colonel.
Being retired, Walt spent his time in the garden, in his garage doing woodworking, or inside his and Virginia’s home helping with household chores. The Erdmann Family has lived in Lakeway since 1960.
If Walt was having a particular stressful day, a big bowl of ice cream (any flavor) would surely pick up his spirits.
A memorial service was held at on Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 at Weed-Corley-Fish — Lake Travis Chapel, 411 RR 620 South.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Lake Travis, 411 RR 620 South, Lakeway, Texas 78734 (512) 263-1511. To share memories and view obituary please visit www.wcfish.com

Miriam Ward Harrelson

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:31:18 +0000

Miriam Ward Harrelson, 80, of Durango, Colo., died August 25, 2010.
Miriam was born and raised in Arkansas, the daughter of Edna and Otto Ward, the sister of six. In 1950, she married her husband of 45 years, Andrew E. Harrelson. Together, they lived and raised their family in, or near, Little Rock, then Dallas, then Austin.
She worked in various offices through the years but more important to her was her family. Miriam was a tireless worker at home and in every community she lived — volunteering, gardening, hiking, cooking, caring for her family, and encouraging others to do the same.
As a volunteer through the Dallas Public Library literacy program she gave the gift of reading. After retirement near Austin, Miriam worked in the local library and her church resale shop. Over the years, she cared for countless babies, hers, and then those born too soon, as a neonatal volunteer at Seton Medical Center in Austin. As a supporter of Lakeway Friends of the Parks, she helped create and maintain trails alongside her husband Andy. Both were animal lovers, avid cyclists and tennis players.
Miriam is survived by her daughter Melissa Salafia and her three children, Chase, Connor and Andrea of Durango, Colo.; and her son Chris Harrelson, his wife Jan and their two children, Gray and Elizabeth of San Rafael, Calif.
Services will be private. No flowers please. Those wishing to make a contribution in Miriam’s name are encouraged to support the Durango Discovery Museum at the Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio, Durango, CO 81301.

Beverly Joy Giardina

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:29:40 +0000

Beverly Joy Giardina, known as Bebe to family and friends, passed away Aug. 25.
She was born on January 8, 1933 in Luling, Texas to the late Malcomb (E.D.) and Opal Williams.
Beverly retired from the Houston Independent School District and moved to The Hills in Lakeway in 1994.
She was a member of Lake Hills Church and a follower of Jesus Christ.
Beverly met and married the love of her life Joseph Anthony Giardina in April 1954. Together they worked, played, raised three children and traveled the world for 56 years.
Beverly loved her family and they loved and adored her.
Beverly is survived by her husband Joe, son Joe Giardina Jr., and wife Susan, daughters Kimberly and husband Byron Highfill, Malcomb and husband Scott Devore, sister, Judy and husband Jim Willingham. Beverly is also survived by 7 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.
The family wishes to express their thanks to Dr. Chadha and the staff at Texas Oncology for the loving care and support shown throughout Beverly’s illness.
Funeral Services were held Aug. 28, 2010 at Weed-Corley-Fish Lake Travis Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, 78759 or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Lake Travis, 411 RR 620 South, Lakeway, Texas 78734 (512) 263-1511. Obituary and guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com

DANGER!CROSSFIRE! to perform at Antone’s

Charles McClure — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:27:35 +0000

If you dig electronic rock with a heavy groove, then Christopher Cribb’s brainchild, DANGER!CROSSFIRE!, could just be right for the pallet.
Cribb, on keyboard and vocals, describes the music as “very melodic.”
A quick visit to www.myspace.com/dangercrossfire can confirm his diagnosis.
If “The Gunslinger” hits with your aesthetic, then you might want to be at Antone’s next Wednesday. That’s when DANGER!CROSSFIRE! will debut. The doors open at 8 p.m.
Two other Austin bands will finish up the evening — The Suicide Pistols, and Again for the Win.
The Gunslinger is the only song up on the band’s web site, which is still under construction. Cribb said the composition came in a flurry of inspiration.
“I wrote it — including the drums, keyboards and vocals — myself, and had a friend, Zach Hennig, came in and laid down a guitar part, then we went into the studio and put it down,” Cribb said. “The song and the lyrics happened at the same time. From there I just add on the parts. The lyrics are fused with the keyboard parts.”
He’s been playing piano since he was 5, but when he turned the ripe old age of 9, he quit taking lessons and started writing his own compositions. At the show the band is planning to perform nine songs.
While The Gunslinger has a hard edge, Cribb said that isn’t always the case with his compositions.
“A lot of my songs have different feels, they don’t all sound like The Gunslinger,” Cribb said. “Some have a softer feel. It’s very eclectic.”
His influences are wide, but include The Prodogy, The Sons of Disaster and Rage Against the Machine.
“I have been writing music for this band for about two years now — I just feel like I have just gotten to where I am ready to put it out there,” Cribb said.
The band landed at the legendary night club through mutual friends.
In an interesting twist, Cribb will be celebrating his 21st birthday along with his twin sister Kristin, who will be in the audience offering support to her brother.
He is the son of Peter Cribb and Lakeway-based attorney Janet Stockard.
While he is attending Austin Community College, he said he decided to take the fall to focus on music. He also works at Whole Foods.

Harkening back to when it was ‘how’ you played the game

Charles McClure — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:25:23 +0000

While I still like the occasional professional football game, I find I prefer high school football to either the pros or collegiate competition. Frequently, I find the modern pro game somewhat sterile, with its plastic grass and TV time outs.
Sure, talent typically outshines everything — but you are more likely to see a high school team beat a more talented squad on good old-fashioned guts and determination. I think we saw an example of what grit and fortitude can do when the Lake Travis Cavs defeated the Westlake Chaps last Saturday, but had to battle from a 21-10 third quarter deficit to do so.
I tend to prefer my gridiron action “old school.” While I admired Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, for the most part the Cowboys under Jerry Jones have been an exercise in hedonism. And yes, I had issues with the way Jones threw Landry under the bus, with a flippant “he’s too old for the game” dismissal. Jones made the move in front of the glaring spotlight of the media while Landry was on a Lakeway golf course on vacation.
Of the move, the late NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle said, “It is like the day Vince Lombardi died.”
Ah yes, thinking before you act can make a difference…
Jones is the picture perfect example of what has alienated me from the NFL, as well as professional sports in general. When I was a kid, athletes understood the importance of being a role model, contrary to the rationalizations we hear from folks like former NBA star Charles Barkley. Granted, not everyone in sports, even way back in the day, was cut out for the job of role model.
But Coach Landry was. He flew 30 bombing missions over Europe in World War II while Jones was just a baby in his mama’s arms. That fact alone screamed of better treatment.
Simply put, the game never passed Landry by. What nonsense. Yes, he had three consecutive losing seasons, but even today’s coaches are typically afforded four years to build. And those coaches can’t boast 20 consecutive seasons without a losing record — a record in all of American professional sports that will stand for a very long time.
Landry’s influence is felt everywhere in today’s game. He invented the 4-3 defense and reinvigorated the old “single wing” offense into what we now call the “spread.” Oh yes, he also won 270 football games, went to five Super Bowls — winning two. And he won more playoff games than any coach in NFL history — that includes the likes of Lombardi, Don Shula, Paul Brown and on and on.
The only reason Landry had to be fired was because he had no quit in him. I know of where I speak — I knew Coach Landry. He was a frequent visitor to our Garland neighborhood back in the 1960s, before Dallas swallowed the old farming community. While Coach Landry typically went to visit Fr. Ted Nelson, an Episcopal Priest who lived across the alley from us, my father had been friendly with both of them when they all attended UT in the late 1940s after World War II.
Landry set an example for me and everyone else, and he was never above talking with the neighborhood kids — and even playing catch with us from time to time. From the age of 11 on, I was active with a host of organizations that Landry quietly took part in — especially the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The “stone-faced” reputation is inaccurate. While he may have been business-like when on the job, the Coach Landry I knew as a kid was patient, kind and always willing to help you up if you had fallen down. I can still clearly recall Coach Landry saying the one aspect of his job that bothered him most was telling players they had been cut from the team. In today’s NFL, there’s no time to let a little thing like character get in the way.
It was almost comical to me when folks were so shocked by the depth of his volunteer work after his death. People were amazed to find out that Coach Landry had an active prison ministry and had reached out to the suffering for decades in his spare time — like a coach has spare time…
Simply put, he was a hero of mine as a kid and remains one to this day. It was from people like Coach Landry that I learned the importance of owning up to your mistakes — rather than blaming others. I can think of many players who had off-field problems that he reached out to even after their playing days. Running back Duane Thomas and linebacker Thomas Henderson, among others, come to mind.
I am really not here to bash Jerry Jones. He has made it clear that even he wishes he would have handled Landry’s firing differently and he reached out to the coach to mend fences shortly before his death. Still, I find Jones extremely self-absorbed.
I was raised to believe that building character was primary reason why kids should take part in sports. That was certainly my experience — and I know the coaches at Lake Travis still think it is important.
Yet sadly, even football at the high school level has largely succumbed to the pressure that winning is more important than character building. I find that attitude abhorrent.
Still, it is the inherent optimism of kids that still make a high school game fun.

Charlotte Drennan Dawson

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:22:27 +0000

Charlotte Drennan Dawson passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, the 3rd of August 2010. She was born in Houston on the 12th of March 1929, to Mary Jo Cade Drennan and Roy Parker Drennan.
She graduated from Lamar High School and The University of Texas at Austin, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi. In September 1950, she married Britt Dawson. Together they realized a lifelong dream of raising a family. She and Britt raised their family of three boys in a fun neighborhood during an ideal time. She spent many wonderful hours supporting the Post Oak little league, neighborhood football and swim teams. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church was important to the entire family. Charlotte enjoyed teaching Sunday School, serving on The Board of Stewards and participating in the many Ladies’ Circles. They also spent many wonderful weekends at their family ranch. She took great joy in entertaining and cooking for her family and friends. The Bluebird Circle became an important part of her life, where she enjoyed the time spent with friends while working at the Clinic and The Thrift Shop.
After Britt’s retirement, they moved to Lakeway, where she joined a wonderful community of friends and was very active in many groups such as the Sing-a-Long, The Lakeway Women’s Club, and The Lakeway Church.
She is preceded in death by her son, the late Neal Embry Dawson. She is survived by her husband of sixty years, E. Britt Dawson; her sons, Richard Parker Dawson of Houston; Dr. Thomas Britton Dawson and his wife, Susan Owen Dawson of Austin; and her two grandchildren, Emily Catherine Dawson of Dallas, and William Britton Dawson of Austin.
Arrangements in Houston were entrusted to Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, The Funeral Directors — Since 1936, 713.789.3005, www.geohlewis.com.
Services were held Aug. 5 at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue in Houston, where Dr. Boyd Wagner, Associate Pastor, of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church is to officiate.
A memorial service was conducted be at two o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, the 6th of August, at The Lakeway Church, 2203 Lakeway Boulevard in Lakeway, Texas, where Senior Pastor, Ron Kelling, is to officiate.
Contributions in memory of Mrs. Dawson may be directed to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 22013, Houston, TX, 77227-2013; or to The Lakeway Church, 2203 Lakeway Blvd., Lakeway, TX, 78734.

Dorothy Mason McClure

Special to the View — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:21:24 +0000

Dorothy Mason McClure, 92, of Paris entered into eternal rest Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010, at Brentwood Terrace Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.
Funeral services were held Friday, Aug. 20, at Fry-Gibbs Funeral Home Chapel in Paris, Texas with the Rev. Sharon Clepper O’Connor officiating.
She was born Feb. 4, 1918, in Lamar County to Luther E. and Lila Lentz Mason. She graduated from Paris High School in 1935, Paris Junior College in 1937 and in 1939 she graduated from North Texas State College with a Smith-Hughes Degree in Home Economics. She taught elementary school at Petty for two years. She was a beloved teacher and many of her former students still kept in touch with her.
She married the love of her life, Charles R. McClure Jr., June 18, 1939, at the Mason family home in Brookston, and they celebrated 71 happy years together. They lived in the High community for a number of years while her husband farmed extensively.
They moved to Paris where she was very active in the civic and social life. She loved to play bridge and was a member of the Wednesday’s Ladies Bridge, Tuesday Bridge Club and Four Seasons Bridge Club. She was also a member of the Littleton-Hite Bible Club, The Paris Golf & Country Club and Big Supper Club, Good Earth Garden Club, Green Thumb Garden Club, Roundtable Club, King’s Daughters and was a docent for the Maxey Museum. She was an active member of First United Methodist Church and the Couples Class.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and a sister, Margie Mason Kirtley.
She is survived by her husband, Charles; brother, James R. Mason of Waxahachie; niece, Jean Blackwell and husband, Garry, of Forney; nephews, Commodore (ret) Jim Mason and wife, Martha, of Chesapeake, Va.; Charles R. McClure III of Wimberley (Lake Travis View editor), Rev. Miller McClure of Farmersville; nieces Mary McClure Humble of Wichita, Kansas and Beth McClure Holt of Columbus, Ohio; and numerous great-nephews and great-nieces, Jennifer Mason Chauncey and husband, Jeff, of Greensboro, N.C.
A special heartfelt thanks to her wonderful caregivers, Barbara McDonald, Pamela Kizer, Kathleen Miller and Juanita Hall McMillan. Also, Doris Dollins and Premier Hospice and Brentwood Terrace Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center for their loving care.
Pallbearers are David Rutherford, Bill Thomas, Garry Blackwell, Jim Bell, Don McCaskill and Jack Mason.
Memorials may be made to the Couples Class of First United Methodist Church, or to a charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be made at www.fry-gibbs.com.