Leo places the final touch–the sign–on our new Gathered Shed. Now Open!

June 2019–After settling Gathered & Good into the wonderful Easter Haus for several months, we began eyeing the interesting shed/garage tucked under the crepe myrtles at the back of the yard. Peeking inside the double doors, we found it to be filled with the usual “stuff” that accumulates over many years. What if, we wondered, our landlord would let us clean it out and convert it into display space?

The old garage behind our shop had been used only for storage since the 1960s.

So we asked Fred Petmecky, Jr. He was delighted to have someone dig through the piles that had grown over 60 years. Under his supervision, we hauled out every single piece. There were old cans of paint and oil, broken display stands, so so many tangles of plastic Christmas decorations and lights, and paper signs from forgotten parade floats. Under the dirt and dust we also uncovered a few gems. The best were two small file cabinets filled with writings and newspaper clippings of his father, Fred Petmecky, Sr., including his work on the original Easter Fires pageant (link). We found a box of handwritten letters that Fred, Jr., had written home from college in 1960, along with some old slides, and an arrow with a real flint arrowhead.

It took 2 days and several loads to haul off the accumulation.

Anything of value we separated out and saved, and the rest was hauled off to thrift stores, recycling centers, and the landfill.

After that came a thorough cleaning. Aside from a few weathered boards, the shed’s structure was sound and the roof free of leaks. Leo and Phil, the “silent” partners, spent the good part of two days sweeping out every corner of cobwebs and mud dauber nests, then blowing out remaining dust, and finally fogging the whole structure to encourage any lingering pests to find new homes.

All cleaned out, dusted, and de-bugged, the Shed is ready for stocking.

We had no intent of doing a total makeover or disturbing the original character of the building. Other than thorough cleaning, installing better lighting, and reinforcing the old garage-style doors,the rest of the building was left as we found it, complete with markings on the walls and stains on the concrete floor. Then the Gathered Shed was ready for stocking.

The doors were opened during our Gathered Outdoor Market over Memorial Day weekend. Delighted shoppers were drawn to the cozy structure, where they found chairs and tables, dressers, vintage metal toys, yard art, even a few chandeliers hung from the rafters.

Finds new and old, quirky and vintage, are now placed in the Gathered Shed for you to discover all over again.

Our intent is to use the Gathered Shed as a display space for items that don’t quite fit inside the shop. It also has a small covered area off of one side. We are working on cutting back the brush and converting that into another display area for outdoor goods.

On your next visit to Gathered & Good, be sure to allow time to wander out back and look through the new Gathered Shed. You never know what you might find… except a clean, quirky space filled with interesting discoveries!

Welcome to the new Gathered Shed!

A job well done!

Store partner Leo Jauregui and his 1951 Chevy flatbed truck.

April 2019–While driving past our new shop in Fredericksburg–Gathered & Good–you might notice people hanging around our vintage blue and silver truck parked in the drive.

Classic Chevy

I saw two couples there last week. They were laughing and taking turns snapping selfies in front of the vehicle. This is a common sight, so I pulled in to visit with them.

Turns out they were regular visitors to Fredericksburg, and the classic 1951 Chevy 3600 flatbed truck brought back memories of growing up in Montana and Illinois. They were full of questions about the vehicle, so we wanted to share its story with everyone.

The distinctive grille and profile.

Store partner Leo Jauregui came across the 1951 Chevy near Fredericksburg in 2017, shortly after moving his family here. He just liked the truck, but also knew it would make an eye-catching display when we opened a shop.

It was not driveable and needed lots of love. So Leo towed it home and worked nearly two years in his spare time getting it into running condition.

Leo definitely had some upgrading to get the truck in running condition.

It turned into kind of a “one piece at a time” undertaking. While the original body components were there, it had a 327 V-8 engine that came out of an early 1960s vehicle. Here is a list of parts that he had to replace or refurbish:

• All new brakes
• New carburetor
• Complete fuel system replacement
• New spark plugs/wires
• New (old) wheels and tires
• Replace wiring for lights

The original teak boards were sanded and stained.

He found there were a bunch of bolts missing that connected the transmission housing. He also needed new motor mounts and replacement seals around the windows.

Cosmetically, the truck was in pretty good shape. Leo left the paint job, an unusual (and not original) combination of blue cab with silver fenders. The original teak bed only needed sanding and staining, and Leo built new side rails to fit the slots.

It’s now licensed, inspected, insured, and driveable.

It runs!

So, how does it run? He had to pause before answering.

“Like a 1951 Chevy,” Leo said. “It’s not meant to go fast, so it’s definitely just a cruiser. And it still has the factory front and rear drum brakes, so make sure you have plenty room for stopping.”

This could haul a piece of furniture or two.

While it may have trouble stopping, the truck is a great conversation starter. We love when our visitors snap a selfie or give it a closer inspection.

So on your next trip to Fredericksburg and the Texas Hill Country, drive by Gathered & Good to check out our old ’51 Chevy truck. You’ll find it parked somewhere around our shop on Highway 87 just two blocks from Nimitz Museum and Fredericksburg’s famous Main Street.

Think of it as an added little side trip through history.

Harlow helped decorate the truck for the Christmas parade.

Fredericksburg’s famous Easter Fires story was written in this building.

December 2018–When you step into Gathered & Good, you are stepping back in history.

That’s because the building and the family that lived here played key roles in making Fredericksburg the welcoming community it has become.

The home was built in 1937 by William Petmecky, Sr., and his wife, Emma, on family land granted by the German Immigration Company. With its stately architecture and prominent porch it created a distinctive appearance on one of the main highways into town. But more striking were the inhabitants.

William Petmecky, Sr., was a prominent citizen. His grandfather Gottfried Petmecky was an original immigrant in 1845; his father A.W. Petmecky was a stonemason who created the enigmatic white elephant on the White Elephant Saloon on Main Street.

Plaque honoring William Petmecky, Sr., for his civic leadership.

William, Sr., served as the county tax assessor-collector, postmaster, and head of almost every community service organization, from the Gillespie County Fair Association to the Chamber of Commerce. He was influential enough to receive calls from favorite son Lyndon B. Johnson after he became President of the United States.

The Fredericksburg resident was also among the leaders to take steps to recognize the priceless German heritage. He was one of the first to set in motion the preservation of the old rock houses in Fredericksburg, noting that someday they will be a treasure to us. He created Night in Old Fredericksburg, and was instrumental in pushing for the formation of a historical society.

But his most original contribution was creating the Easter Fires Pageant. Petmecky was Chair of the committee to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Fredericksburg in 1946. Working with a local history teacher, Petmecky decided to capture the oft-told tale from pioneer times, when a young mother soothed her frightened children by telling them the Indian War Fires on the hills were built by the Easter Rabbit to cook and dye Easter eggs.

Clipping from an old “Around the Square.”

For the celebration, they turned this tale into an outdoor pageant. It was a massive production, with a role for nearly everyone in town. The response was so favorable that Petmecky decided to condense it. He reworked the story, and two years later, in 1948, the Historical Society and the Fair Association put on the first production. It lasted for more than 50 years, and is being revived to share with the legions of visitors who come to appreciate that Fredericksburg heritage.

Read the history of the pageant here…

That enduring story was written in this very building, according to his son, Bill, Jr., “on an old fashioned manual typewriter, using Dad’s four finger typing style that he used over the years to write news articles about Fredericksburg for a number of papers throughout the state.” (He still has the typewriter!)

And that is why it is called Easter Haus.

But current owner Bill Petmecky, Jr. knew it as his boyhood home that was “just a wonderful place to live.”

So many good things happened here: community meetings, Saturday night parties, informal get-togethers with beer, sausage, and gemutlichkeit. He fondly remembers gatherings of Cub Scouts and Gillespie County Fair Queens.

He is happy that the home where he was raised continues to be part of the life and commerce of Fredericksburg. Gathered & Good is proud to continue the Petmecky tradition of being a place for family to gather and do good things together.

We are pleased that you will help us continue writing the story of Easter Haus.

Current owner Bill Petmecky, Jr., has fond memories of growing up in Easter Haus.

The notorious Haengerbande tree next to the Nimitz Hotel, where lynch mob leader J.P. Waldrip finally was cornered by respectable Fredericksburg settlers. There are still bullets from that fatal gunfight lodged in the tree trunk, as described by Derek Spence (right) on a Fredericksburg Ghost Tour. Photo by Phil Houseal

Even when it’s not Halloween, there is a spooky-ooky history surrounding this part of Fredericksburg.

Back in the late 1800s, a Gillespie County desperado named J.P. Waldrip roamed the Texas Hill Country. This outlaw led a group of 60-odd men who claimed to be Confederate soldiers. But according to historian Michael Barr, they were really rustlers, bandits, and murderers. They made up the dreaded Haengerbande, a lynch mob that targeted anyone they suspected of being Union sympathizers, pulling them from their homes and hanging them from the nearest oak without a trial or proof.

Derek Spence, who leads Fredericksburg Ghost Tours, tells the tale of Waldrip’s demise, when local citizens finally rose up and shot him in the shadow of the Nimitz Hotel. There are conflicting stories of who fired the shot and what happened to the body. But Spence’s research shows that Waldrip was buried in an unmarked grave along Baron’s Creek, not far from this location. Bill Petmecky, our landlord, whose family at the time owned the entire property from Main Street to Highway Street, confirms that the outlaw was buried somewhere on the original lot. It is claimed the body was dug up by scavengers–of the animal kind–and was then reburied in the vicinity of Lochte Feed, just around the corner. The family took pains to keep the exact location secret to prevent desecration by the families of those wrongly hanged.

This is just one of the ghost stories attached to nearly every building in Fredericksburg’s commercial district, and, like those stories, based on very real historical events. To hear more tales, be sure to check out Fredericksburg Ghost Tours.

And don’t fret–shopping at Gathered & Good is guaranteed ghost-free! Despite his horrible acts, no one has seen anything of J.P. Waldrip since 1867.

Betty Anderson (left) once again sits on the couch she grew up with in her Houston home.

Oct 22, 2018–“Oh my gosh! That’s my mother’s couch!”

Betty Anderson was flabbergasted, staring at the ornate green velour couch sitting on Gathered & Good’s front porch the first day we were open in Fredericksburg, Texas. We had to find out the story. It took a while, because the tale goes back to 1937 and involves an adopted child, the Texas oil business, and two world wars.

It turns out Betty’s parents, Doris and G.W. “Blackie” Wheeler, were prominent citizens in the Houston area the first part of the 20th century. Her father was one of the original successful Texas oilmen. He also served as a reconnaissance pilot in both WWI and WWII. He donated many of his memorabilia to the aviation museum in Galveston, including a photo of him at Malta inside a tent with General Eisenhower, Field Marshall Montgomery, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

In 1937, Doris purchased a new couch for entertaining company. It was part of a set, with matching chairs and coffee table. She had it recovered in the 1960s in the popular color of the times, which we’ll just call “avocado green.”

When Betty’s mom died, Betty received the living room furniture. She kept it until about five years ago, when she sold it at a resale shop in Kerrville, Texas.

There, Dawn Houseal purchased it to use in her former business, Sisters Vintage Party, a wedding and event rental company. It was used by bridal parties to add a vintage feel to their big day. Looking back, that limited use is the reason it remained in such good condition.

So when Dawn opened Gathered & Good, she decided to place it for sale as part of the inventory. It was sitting on the porch the day Betty Anderson, now a resident of Fredericksburg, stepped out of her car and saw it again for the first time.

That by itself would be an interesting tale. But there is more to the story…

One day 70-some years ago, Betty’s mom was sitting in the beauty parlor when she heard that a local woman decided to give up her 8-month-old son for adoption. When Doris heard the news, she ran out to tell her sister, who ended up adopting Tom Boyd. While growing up, Tom spent lots of time at his cousin Betty’s house, and the couch held special memories.

So when Betty mentioned to her family about finding the couch, cousin Tom decided he wanted to buy it back. Tom and his wife, Marilyn, were building a new home near Columbus, and thought it would be perfect. They even had the original chairs to pair it with.

Reunited with the distinctive couch from their childhood are Tom Boyd (standing, right) and his cousin Betty Anderson (seated, right). On the left are Tom Anderson and Marilyn Boyd.

So two weeks after Betty saw the couch, Tom and Marilyn drove over to Fredericksburg where we helped load up their once lost prize. The last we saw of them they were happily driving down Hwy 290, with the “green” velour couch strapped to a trailer sailing off to its new/old home.

All kinds of morals come to mind to wrap up this tale. But we prefer to think the story is not over, and that there will be many more memories spring up around that ornate family heirloom. We were happy to have played a part in a story that truly fits our name–Gathered & Good.

June Phillips, our inspiration for Gathered & Good

Note: We wanted our first post to be about the woman who was our inspiration for this shop and much more.

June Phillips was our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

She was our hero.

June Phillips spent her whole life in the Texas Hill Country, giving more than she took.

While raising six children with her husband, Les Phillips–who was a lifelong counselor at Fredericksburg and Harper High Schools–June also worked in the Middle School office.

When her kids were grown, June volunteered for every organization she could.

She was a founding and lifelong member of the Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity. They honored her by creating a scholarship in her name.

With her time and money, she supported Meals on Wheels, the Fredericksburg Food Pantry, Hill Country Needs Council, and the school reading program OTTER. She was active in First Baptist Church, working in the office, singing in the choir, and participating in every program.

On her own, and very quietly, she helped out many in town, feeding young families, and counseling people struggling with divorce, legal issues, or just hard times.

June left us in 2017, on to the heavenly reward she believed in and deserved. When we were trying to choose an appropriate name for our soon-to-be open shop, we felt June was guiding us.

We came to the word “gathered” not only because it referred to goods we could gather for our customers’ homes, but also for its meaning of creating opportunities for people to gather and share special times. Because June Phillips taught us that you create everlasting memories when you bring people together.

The word “good” came from the goodness she taught, lived, and showed everyone she ever came in contact with. From strangers she invited to Thanksgiving to letters she wrote to people in prison. Her kindness knew no boundaries.

We realized “Gathered & Good” was the right name for our shop when we noticed the initials were “GG.” GG was the name our first granddaughter called her, short for Great Grandma.

Thank you for helping us honor the legacy and life of our mother. We hope your experience coming into our shop will create similar special memories in your home and your life.