Community Connection Campaign A new effort begins this month to encourage more GWW residents to become part of our neighborhood email group. There are at least two very good reasons to join the group. In the event of an emergency or important event relating to our entire neighborhood, news can be sent out to everyone on the email list. Also as the Landscape Committee continues to work on a plan for the beautification of our common areas around the pool, pavilion and mail station, they are hoping to keep as many residents as possible informed regarding their progress in the realization of this plan. Notices of what’s being planted and when will be posted to the email group.

The editor of the newsletter and the administrator are the only people who have access to the neighborhood email list. Recipients receive an electronic version of the newsletter bimonthly, and occasional messages of importance in the interim, once or twice per month. All residents are warmly encouraged to join the group by contacting the editor at 894-0903 or gww@zpgraphic.com. •Editor

Neighborhood History: The Salt Lick

According to the Austin-American Statesman, “The only likely reason T-shirts bearing the Driftwood name are spotted around the world” is the Salt Lick barbecue restaurant perched above Onion Creek. It was founded in 1969 by Thurman and Hisako Roberts.
Both Thurman Roberts’ paternal and maternal grandparents settled in the Driftwood area in the 1880s. His grandfather, born in Georgia, moved to Texas at the age of three. He enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861 and remained until the end of the Civil War. Thurman also took up arms, joining the US Navy during World War II. He was stationed in Hawaii where he met his wife, Hisako Tsuchiyama, a native-born Hawaiian and graduate of UCLA. When they married in 1946, Thurman was a bridge contractor in Marshall, Texas. The pair decided to make their home back in the Driftwood area, so, in 1956, bought the adjoining Crumley and Whisenant properties, next to Thurman’s parents’ home place. Soon after they moved in, Hisako remembers, there were two disastrous floods with the raging waters of Onion Creek completely covering the bridge and reaching almost to the Roberts’ ranch house just past the present-day Salt-Lick pavilion.

Ten years later, Thurman decided to quit “bridging” and turned his hand to farming, his first enterprise being pecan shelling. Thurman and Hisako always enjoyed cooking, so during the 1960s, they were hosts for the Hays County Sons of the Confederacy annual barbecue. Before long, they were catering parties and reunions. The meat was cooked to perfection over an outdoor pit, using recipes handed down from earlier generations. The Roberts soon built a summer camp-style dining hall on the ranch across the road from Camp Ben McCulloch. As word spread about the succulent meat emerging from the new pit, passers-by stopped, asking for barbecue. The Salt Lick became a full-time proposition.

Thurman and Hisako Roberts had two sons, Thurman Lee and Scott. In 1968, they decided to build a larger colonial-style home to the east of the restaurant, just above flood level. Thurman Lee was about to enter his second year at UT Austin when he was killed in an accident. The new home did not have the same appeal after the tragedy, so has never been occupied. It served as storage for the restaurant until 2004 when it was renovated. It is now used for catered parties in a more upscale setting.
Scott graduated from UT and married Susie Goff. They took over the operation of the Salt Lick in 1988 after his father died. The sprightly Hisako, now in her late eighties, but looking decades younger, is still very much involved.

The Salt Lick is an example of a restaurant that has survived because it has retained its original ambience, yet adapted with the times. It is without a doubt the most authentic barbecue restaurant in central Texas, still cooking its meat over an open-pit. In the 1990s, Scott Thurman began to expand the business, with the construction of The Pavilion on the other side of Onion Creek. It is an extremely popular place for weddings, and celebrations of all kinds, including the Texas Wine and Food Festival’s Sunday Fayre in April.

When the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was opened, the City of Austin invited restaurants representative of the local area to cater to the flying public. The Salt Lick was one. Scott Thurman has also opened Salt Lick 360 in the Davenport Village on North Capital of Texas Highway. In spite of an expanded menu and a bar, the tried and true barbecue items from the parent restaurant are the favorites.

When entertaining out-of-town guests, the original Salt Lick is always the chosen venue. The rustic setting exemplifies down-home Central Texas, with the rich smoky smell of meat wafting through the live oaks and pecans, as a country singer twangs his guitar.•©2005 J. Marie Bassett

Recycling Station The Hays County Citizens Collection Station is at the corner of FM 150 and Darden Hill Road (CR 162), less than ten minutes away, and on one of the primary routes to Dripping Springs from our subdivision. The station is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 5 pm.

For residents who do not use a curbside recycle service, this is a great, no cost way to keep recyclable materials out of landfills. The station accepts newspaper, cardboard, magazines, plastic bottles with necks (HDPE #2, pete #1/colored and natural/milk, water, soda and detergent), tin cans, and aluminum cans. Glass is not accepted at this time. However, the station does also accept used motor oil, used oil filters, and used anti-freeze for environmentally safe disposal.

To recycle paper at the station: newspaper, magazines, computer printouts, white and colored paper, notebook paper, file folders, fax paper, junk mail, white page paperbacks and other similar materials should be placed in brown paper sacks, not loose. Please, no plastic bags or string.

Corrugated cardboard boxes should be flattened and no larger than three feet square.

Aluminum and tin cans (can be in same container) should be rinsed out and flattened (although flattening is not necessary). Plastic bottles (see description above) can also be in the same container. One easy way to transport these materials is to collect them in a large trash bag, empty the recyclables at the station, then save the bag for use the next time.

Used motor oil accepted only if it is not mixed with water, gasoline or other solvents.

To dispose of used oil filters, punch a hole in the top and drain for a minimum of 24 hours. Take out of box, plastic, or other packaging.

Please note that the station is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. •Editor

Predator Wasps It’s time once again to think about protecting your trees against attack from the Oak Leaf Roller next year. Predator Trichogramma wasps, which are unnoticeable to humans (they are the size of a pencil point) but deadly for the moth larvae, can be obtained by mail from a Texas supplier named Biofac, Inc (800.233.4914) or visit their website at biofac.com. The Natural Gardener no longer stocks a supply of these wasps. The wasp larvae come encased in paper sheets which can be divided into smaller sections and placed around the area to be protected. These beneficial wasps will keep the leaf-eating caterpillars from damaging our oak trees this spring. Also, take care of your mockingbirds, which are natural enemies of the leaf rollers as well.
• Editor

Texas Master Naturalist The Texas Master Naturalist Program seeks to enhance a love of nature and foster good land management practices with research-based, scientific knowledge taught in a non-technical series of lectures and exercises. Participants will receive in-depth training in wildlife and natural resource management taught by recognized experts in the field. The training is customized to focus on the native ecosystem of Hays County with opportunity for advanced training in specialized subjects that interest the individual participant. Each participant who completes the specified requirements will become a “Certified Texas Master Naturalist”.

Lectures will be held on Tuesdays from February through November. The first class will be February 8th at the Hays County Extension Office in San Marcos. Other class meetings are scheduled as follows: Feb. 22, Mar. 8, Mar. 22, Apr. 12, May 10, June 14, July 12, Aug. 9, Sept.13, Oct. 11, and Nov. 1 with a graduation on Nov. 8. Classes begin with dinner at 6:00 pm and continue until 9-9:30 pm To receive a state certificate as a “Certified Texas Master Naturalist”, a participant must finish the lecture series, complete 40 hours of volunteer service, and attend eight hours of advanced training. The total cost for the program is $120.00 which may be paid in increments of $10.00 a meeting. All the monies are returned to you in supplies, field trips and the cost of meals. For further information please contact Tom Watson at twatson11@austin.rr.com. •Tom Watson

Board of Trustees News

Pool Replastering The BOT and the neighborhood administrator have selected a contractor for replastering the inside surfaces of the pool, and also to repair the pool light and make other minor changes as necessary for neighborhood safety. Work will be scheduled to be completed before swimming season begins.

Lighting Repair The lighting at our joint neighborhood entrance is in urgent need of repair. In the heavy flooding this fall half of the lighting wiring was ripped apart in a junction on the northeast corner of the bridge. This connection box MUST be fixed. Wires are exposed in the area where the water comes cascading across the road on the 1826 side of the bridge. A waterproof concrete utility box needs to be poured, and the box needs to be rewired. Rob Baxman, president of the GW POA, has kindly maintained this area electrically for free within the limits of his knowledge, but he reports that this is beyond him.

We are in great need of anyone who has the expertise to address this issue, either on a volunteer basis, or at a reduced rate, if possible. Please respond to our neighborhood administrator, Vanessa Kolar, at 894-0650 if you are able and willing to help/advise us on this important matter.

News from the APC

The next two meetings of the Architectural and Protective Committee will be on January 18 and February 15 at 7:00 pm at the GWW pavilion. Meetings are open to all property owners.

Holiday Yard Recognition The winners of the most beautiful holiday yard contest this winter were Ron and Linda McGuire, 8207 Lone Deer Run. Jerry and Rita Stanley, 16205 Westview Trail, received honorable mention. Congratulations to these neighbors and thanks for adding to the excitement of the holidays in GWW.

News from the GWW Water Board

A budget for 2005 was approved at the meeting held on January 12th. The cost for water is broken into two components: fixed expenses and variable expenses. Fixed expenses are those expenses that we have no matter how much water we use. Examples are the cost of the operator (Eco Resources), debt repayment, property tax, mowing, lab expenses, etc. Variable costs are items such as repairs and maintenance to the system. For 2005, the fixed cost will be $35.50 and the variable cost will be $4.00 per thousand. A 5000 gallon user’s cost will be $55.50. A 10,000 gallon user’s cost will be $75.50. A 20,000 gallon user’s cost will be $115.50. A breakdown of the various expenses will be in the next water bill.

Additionally, officers were elected: Jay Kolar, President; Terry Dunk, Vice President; David Crouchet, Secretary-Treasurer.
Finally, the annual meeting will be held in April. There will be two board vacancies to fill. The Water Board will begin taking nominations for the board sixty days prior to the meeting. This nomination period will last for thirty days. After the nominating period is over, the proxy / ballot will be sent to the membership. The proxy / ballot can be returned prior to or submitted at the annual meeting.

The next meeting of the GWW Water Board will take place on February 16 at 16218 Crystal Hill Drive.

Business Sponsors

Coldwell Banker United, Realtors®Audrey Pudder
Goldenwood West resident for seven years, specializing in Northern Hays County.
Cell 512.925.9720