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Did You Know?TBy Cynthia Leal Masseyhe majority of farms in Helotes and surrounding areas throughout the early to mid-20th century weredairy farms. The late Lester Krueger Sr., who started in the business in 1948, said in a 2010 interview, “During the 1950s and 60s, there was a dairy in every bush.”Until the early 1980s when farmers began selling their land to developers, Holstein and Jersey cows grazed behind fences on large dairy farms owned by such dairymen as Larry Ricks, Kenneth Evers, and Muriel E. Steubing.According to Steubing’s 2005 obituary, the Steubing breeding stock was one of the first registered Holstein herds in the southwestern United States and set many production records.Valentine’s Day Aversions Debunkedfell. We worked long hours for no money. I walked into this business with nothing; I left without anything.” Krueger purchased the Helotes Country Club in 1978, an apparently more lucrative career move.John Masters, DVM, who worked during the summers in the early 1970s for the late Dr. Wallace Larsen before earning his degree in veterinary medicine from Texas A&M University, says that one of the most important aspects of raising dairy cows is nutrition. “Dr. Larsen’s special interest was dairy cattle and I’d travel with him to dairies all around South Texas. As a pre-vet student, I was mostly involved in custodial duties, but I learned about how important good nutrition is.”The 100 cows on the Evers farm ate 20 bales of hay daily, and that didn’t include the oats that are also part of a good diet for milk cows. Krueger said that during periodsof drought, they fed cabbage to the cows until the milk producers told them their milk tasted like cabbage and told them not to do that anymore. “We were just trying to survive and stay in business.”Dairy farms still operate in outlying areas in the county and the Texas dairy industry is thriving, especially in the Panhandle, but the dairy farms that once populated the Helotes area are now relegated to history, recalled by old-timers and residential subdivisions named for the original landowners.Cynthia Leal Masseyis the author of severalbooks and articles on thehistory of the area. Visither website at https://cynthialealmassey.com.In the late 1960s, both Ricks and Steubing were Master Dairymen of the Austin Dairy Herd Improvement chapter, which included most of South Texas to the Rio Grande Valley. In 1975, several Holstein heifers from the Ricks Dairy were sent to Budapest, Hungary for a breeding program.The dairy business was “rough and tough,” according to Krueger. A Steubing on his mother’s side, Krueger worked at the family dairy on Babcock for 30 years. His day started at 4:00 am when the first milking began. The second milking was at 4:00 pm. At the height of the business, they had 160 dairy cows.He said, “The American Milk Producers busted up the local creamery and started shipping the milk out in bulk. The pricesMilking stations at the Gordon Smith Dairy farm, Bell County, Texas, April 21, 1953. Photograph by Neal Douglass. Courtesy of the Austin History Center, Austin Texas, and the Portal to Texas History.By Kathi HolzschuherW e all know someone who claims to “hate” Valentine’s Day. (Maybe it’s YOU!). Some haters have even re-named it “Manipulating People to Spend Money to Prove Love With Shallow Romantic Gestures Day.” (WAY too long!) But, is it? Is Valentine’s an overly commercialized overstatement of affection? Or is it more about love in general? Could it be as simple as being one day out of the year when we express love openly—a dayto give little validations of fondness?The challenge with the haters’ thinking is equating the day with money-- a waste of money. But think about it for just a second. How do you feel when you receive a card or note from someone expressing their appreciation and affection for you? Or when you receive a gift that says, “I’m glad you are in my life.” It feels good. It floods you with warmth and gratitude. How much money isthat feeling worth?The other challenge with the haters’thinking is that Valentine’s is just a day about romance. And it can be. But love is love, whether romantic, familia, or friendship. It doesn’t have to be expressed with roses and diamonds. It can be anything that brings together those you love or extends love to those who need it.Stepping outside ourselves for one day a year to express our love for others can fill our hearts with joy. Giving love to others brings love in return. So, if greeting cards and flowers are too pricey for you, write a note, pick flowers, or cook a meal. Spend time. Need more ideas? Here are five budget- friendly, love-inspired possibilities.1. “Friendsentine”-much like Friendsgiving, gather your gang and share a meal.Mayor’s CornerNew Year’s Solutions – Traffic and Garbagewill be getting a new garbage collection provider. We had several on going service issues with Republic and as such, city council voted to not give them a raise they had requested. Per contract, that gave Republic an option to get out of their contract and they exercised that option. State law grants me the authority to negotiate a contract for services and I am happy to say that City Council has approved a new contract with Frontier Waste Solutions. This contract will start March 1st, 2024.There are several positive changes with this contract including brush AND bulk pick up will both happen on the same day every other month starting in March. Additionally, you will no longer have to call in for brush or bulk pick up! YEAH!! Please check in with our website and download our “MY HELOTES” app to keep up to date with important information during the transition period.Sincerely,Rich WhiteheadRich Whitehead MayorEveryone can bring something to contribute and share love through food.2. Handwrite your special people or person a heartfelt note expressing gratitude for them. Let them know how much they mean to you. This gift they can enjoy for years to come will fill them with love.3. Take a hike with your favorite person and enjoy the scenery-even if it’s cold outside. Stop and listen for the sounds of love around the birds, the wind, the trees rustling nature’s love for humanity.4. Create a photo album for your loved ones- there are many online apps to help with this. Fill it with images of special moments shared over the past year (or years).5. Snuggle up and watch a romantic comedy movie with your partner or a comedy without the romance with your pals. Be sure to have plenty of snacks- popcorn, chocolates, chips, and salsa-along with cozy blankets!However you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you can make a meaningful day without spending a lot of money and contributing to the over-commercialization of the holiday. Think of all the people you love. Then, let them know with a simple gesture.ear Residents,DIwonderful holiday season! Last yearcertainly turned out to be a year of engagement, and this year I feel will be a year of “pressing on”. To clarify, we all have projects, relationships, and endeavors that we have been fostering, and many of us spent last year fostering those efforts and now we patiently await the fruits of our labor.The city is no different. We have worked endlessly with TxDOT to expedite completion and it seems every month turns over a new challenge. We had the water main break and significant underground limestone drilling challenges that set us back. As of the end of November there were 121 workdays remaining which placed us at a mid-May 2024 completion. (Weekends and holidays don’t count). Recently I have been advised that days that the subcontractors don’t show up for work do not count against them and that the schedule is trending towards end of year 2024. Words can not express the level of frustration, but we have engaged State Representative Dorazio to see if we can get any expedited activity.You may have heard by now that wetrust you and your family had a4www.heloteshighlights.comFebruary 2024