July Fourth celebration

This year’s July Fourth celebration was a great success, due to the efforts of the event coordinator, Lisa Boyer, as well as the wonderful volunteers who lent their assistance decorating the pavilion and public areas early Monday morning. Parents, too, encouraged youngsters, older children and teens to decorate bicycles, scooters and strollers for the grand parade down our main street. After the parade, families gathered under the pavilion for a potluck cookout, visiting with neighbors while the children enjoyed lots of water fun. The POA extends a hearty thank you to the GWW Water Board and ECO Resources for donating funds for this event. Visit the GWW website and click on the “seasonal images of GWW” link at the bottom of the page to see more photos of this fun event. • Editor

Neighborhood History: Buda

With the recent opening of Cabela’s, the mecca of outdoorsmen, Buda has become a household word. Yet, until 1880, it did not exist. The expansion of the railroad from Austin into Hays County was responsible for its birth as a rail depot.

At the time, the main settlement in the area was Mountain City, which soon saw rapid depopulation as its citizens and businesses relocated to the new depot on land donated by Cornelia Trimble. The new town was named Du Pre. Where the name came from is not known, but the literal translation from the French is “of the meadow.” Legend has it that the postmaster at Mountain City had said to a railway official, as the railroad pushed into the area, “Do, pray, give us a depot.” Perhaps the official’s name was Du Pre!

The name, Du Pre, lasted only a few years, as the post office discovered there was already a town of that name in East Texas. Why it was changed to Buda in 1887 is another mystery. Again, there is a colorful tale to explain it.

The Carrington Hotel in Du Pre had become a very popular place for rail travelers to stop for a meal. The cooks were two widows who had once provided meals for the railroad workers. Those who were Mexican referred to them in Spanish as the “viudas.” Du Pre was supposedly renamed in their honor, but the English pronunciation of “v” sounded like “b.” Yet another suggestion is that the town was renamed for Budapest in Hungary – again, the reason unknown.

Buda prospered as a supply center for the surrounding dairy farms and ranches, even having, at one time or another, a movie theater, cheese factory, two newspapers, a lumberyard, bank, and a skating rink. It was hard hit by the depression of the 1930s, with the population dipping to 300. With the growth of Austin and the building of a cement plant nearby in the 1980s, the population gradually increased, reaching 2204 in 2000. Who knows what will happen next? •”©2005 J. Marie Bassett

PEC seminar An informative seminar for residents by PEC on the topic of successful tree planting and tree care for our area has been scheduled for Saturday, October 15, at 10 am at our pavilion. All residents are encouraged to attend. Coffee and donuts will be provided. •Editor

Nocturnal visitors A resident who had an intimate encounter with nature submitted the following story: “I was sitting on the couch the other night with my cat in my lap, and heard the cat doors open and close. [I] peered out into the kitchen to see a large raccoon starting to wander around. I alerted my husband and he slowly walked out into the kitchen, luckily causing the animal to vacate the house via the double cat doors. This ‘new friend’ again paid us a visit last night by actually pulling a garbage bag out of our closed trash can and eating/spreading the contents.

I just wanted to give a heads up out there to the neighborhood of what we have seen, so that you can also take preventative measures. We now always lock the garage cat door at night, as a raccoon running through our house would not be welcome! We also plan to place a large rock on top of the trash cans to hopefully keep him from causing further messes (and from even wanting to come to our house).” n•Editor

Special recognition of donors to our GWW Landscape Project The Landscape Committee expresses gratitude to each of the wonderful folks who share our enthusiasm and vision. Anyone interesting in donating a tree or shrub for the common area is encouraged to contact the Landscape Committee chair, Margaret Paine, at 894-0903 or margaret@zpgraphic.com. Donor forms may also be downloaded from the GWW website at:
http://gww.zpgraphic.com/GWWHTML/GWW_resident_resources.html
Donors of $100 or more will be commemorated with permanent plaques placed into the landscaping around the pavilion, unless they wish to remain anonymous. As of this date, donations have been received from:

Sophie and Christian Laird (In honor of)

Wise Mediation Services

In addition, we gratefully acknowledge generous donations from two other anonymous donors totalling $350. Sincere thanks to each of you from the residents of GWW. •Editor

Lost Item A resident has lost a 7 to 4 pin adapter for his trailer connection. Please call 858-2790 if you have any information which might help locate it.

Board of Trustees News

Grateful recognition Member Tom Watson has submitted his resignation from the BOT effective immediately for personal reasons. Tom’s tireless efforts, dedication, and knowledge of local politics, environment, and current events have been an invaluable benefit to GWW, and he will be sorely missed. The BOT recognizes Tom for his charitable spirit, and commends him for his dedication to our community’s well-being.

Electrical box at RR 1826 entrance repaired The damaged wiring at the main entrance of our community, caused by the heavy flooding, has been repaired. Ronnie Adair, of Adair Support & Design (694.6175) did the work at a very reasonable cost to our respective POAs. In addition, Mr. Adair repaired the timer for the pool light, at no cost to us. Many thanks to Mr. Adair for a job well done.

New bulletin board at mail station The BOT extends its gratitude to several members of the GWW Water Board who volunteered their time to install the POA’s new bulletin board. Policy for posting to the public (right) side of the board is as follows: Business cards may be submitted for posting on the board through December 31st of each year, and may be resubmitted at the start of each new calendar year. Other notices must be no larger than 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, and will remain on the board for one month. Items for posting may be left in the white POA drop box at the mail station. These items are gathered by our Administrator, dated, and posted subject to her discretion regarding suitability of content. Please refer to the guidelines posted on the bulletin board.
Residents are also encouraged to take advantage of the advertising services made available to them on our neighborhood website. There is no charge for posting items for GWW youth or non-business purposes. This includes notices of items for sale by residents. Notices may be submitted to the webmaster for posting, and remain posted through the end of each calendar year, or until the author requests removal of the listing or the posting is clearly out of date. To visit the online bulletin board, go to GWW.zpgraphic.com and click on the ! button at the top (Notices).

BOT position open The seat on the BOT left vacant by Tom’s resignation must be filled as soon as possible. Any resident interested in volunteering to serve the community in this capacity is encouraged to contact the editor (see page 4) or the GWW Administrator at 894-0650 by August 15th. BOT meetings are held on the first Wednesday every other month throughout the year.

Coyote sightings Please report any coyote sightings to the GWW Administrator at 894-0650.

The next meeting of the BOT is scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, at 7 pm at the pavilion.

News from the APC

Property improvements Residents planning to improve or perform other exterior maintenance to their buildings or property are reminded to obtain approval from the APC for planned changes. An APC Request for Approval Form may be downloaded from our GWW website (Resources for Residents page), or requested from the GWW Administrator.

The next APC meeting is scheduled for August 1 at 7 pm at the Pavilion. The following APC meeting will be August 23 or 30. Please call the GWW Administrator at 894-0650 to verify time and location.

News from the GWW Water Board

The next water board meeting is scheduled for September 15 at 7 pm at 16218 Crystal Hill Drive.

Business Sponsors

Coldwell Banker United, Realtors®
Audrey Pudder
Goldenwood West resident specializing in N Hays County, investor properties and HUD foreclosures.
512.925.9720

Golden Donors
Wise Mediation Services | www.wisemediation.com | 512.894.6565
Sophie and Christian Laird (in honor of)