The Gazebo

There is a new look in City Park!

The old slab which was used as a bandstand has been replaced by an exact replica of the Gazebo of days past. It looks great!

Visit the Seguin Main Street site and learn of great plans for Seguin.

http://www.ci.seguin.tx.us/mainstreet/

In 2006, voters approved propositions in Destination Seguin which allowed for improvements in City Park, which is the gathering place for large events in Seguin. The money was used to repair cracked sidewalks in the park, restore the fountain and build a gazebo over the pumphouse and build a multi-use bandstand. The improvements in City Park are making the place beautiful and inviting. Each time I visit, I see others walking around the Park - admiring the fountain, sitting on the donated park benches and reading, children playing, lovers gazing mostly at each other. We are so fortunate to have this park in our city.

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Texans - comin' and goin'

Look who's moving to Colorado
Motor vehicle data show Californians, Texans, Arizonans

copied from article in Rocky Mountain News, January 5, 2009 - by Hector Gutierrez

There have been too many fires in California or too much hot weather in Arizona and Texas. Could be Colorado's quality of life or attractive real estate are drawing newcomers.

Whatever the reason, those are the three top states for new Colorado residents, according to data obtained from the state's Division of Motor Vehicles.

Not surprisingly, Californians continued to lead the charge of Go east, young man, go east, according to DMV statistics.

In 2006, more than 22,000 former California titles and tags were exchanged for Colorado plates. Last year, that number dropped to 21,274. In 2008, a little more than 18,800 California titles and plates were recorded by the DMV.

More than 12,800 Texan vehicle owners got their Colorado plates in 2006, and a little more than 13,100 in 2007. In 2008, 12,285 Texas car owners obtained their Colorado tags.

Vehicle titles and tags from Arizona placed third among the 50 states, according to the motor vehicles division, which is part of the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Officials from the motor vehicles division cautioned that the data likely are somewhat skewed because they don't indicate how long vehicle owners actually had lived in the state before they turned in their former titles and tags for new Colorado plates.

Blogging

"A blog...bobs on the surface of the ocean but has its anchorage in waters deeper than those print media is technologically able to exploit. " - Andrew Sullivan

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/andrew-sullivan-why-i-blog

Life in the Big City - Denver, Colorado

"We are, by many measures, one of the more diverse cities in the country, growing more diverse all the time, and one of the more harmonious in terms of how we live together."

~ Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

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How the city hurts your brain . . .

"...And yet, city life isn't easy. The same London cafes that stimulated Ben Franklin also helped spread cholera; Picasso eventually bought an estate in quiet Provence. While the modern city might be a haven for playwrights, poets, and physicists, it's also a deeply unnatural and overwhelming place."

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/how_the_city_hurts_your_brain/

Remembering Maxine

Maxine Halm Baenziger, born here as Annie Maxine Bergfeld, was celebrated in a memorial service at the Goetz Funeral Home chapel Saturday afternoon.

Descended from the William G. and Euphemia King family, Baenziger was named for her uncle, longtime city marshal Max Bergfeld, and her aunt, Annie King Colville. Her career began in her family’s Bergfeld drug store on East Court Street, and she married her first husband, Virgil Halm, in 1940. She stayed with him until his death in 1994, embarking on a short second career as a tour guide that took her around the country and to other parts of the world, and married Harold Baenziger in 1995. The Baenzigers were known for their contributions to the community as were the Halms.

...(Mayor Betty Ann) Matthies mentioned Baenziger’s family background — a significant one here in Seguin.“She and her sister, Virginia (Woods) have a rich and important heritage in this community,” Matthies said. “Their family was a pioneer family in Seguin, an important part of Seguin’s history. Maxine and Virginia carried on that tradition, and I’m sorry for her passing.”

copied from The Gazette Enterprise, Sunday, January 5, 2009

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When we came to Seguin December 1997, we stayed in the Holiday Inn for two weeks until the closing, some things were being done in the house (electricity, cleaning, etc.) and our furnishings arrived from Denver. Of course, this meant eating out daily. One day I was getting take-out meals at a little cafe that is now Creekside Grill. A friendly lady came up to me and said: "I'm Maxine Baenziger. I don't believe I know you." After introducing myself, she asked what church I attended. I told her we weren't a member of any church but had been attending the First United Methodist Church. Maxine promptly invited me to visit her Sunday School Class, The Paulists. I told her that we had been visiting the Sharers Class and Maxine replied: "Well, maybe you will graduate to our class."

She was a delight, informing me that she had recently had heart surgery and was married to a good friend whose wife passed away as had Maxine's first husband. That was Maxine. She knew no strangers. She welcomed everyone. After we were 'settled' in Seguin and began volunteering in some organizations and attending social events, we saw Maxine and Harold EVERYWHERE. They were so involved in the community. At Maxine's funeral, Pastor Kathy Edwards called the Baenziger's "Seguin's Power Couple." And indeed they were. We will miss Maxine.

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A Grateful Heart

With three dear Seguin friends, I share Moments of Gratitude. We have purposed to pay special attention to the daily blessings that God bestows upon us and share our thoughts about these Moments of Gratitude. Such attentiveness has opened our eyes to God's grace and to the beauty of our friendship with one another. I am so thankful for these friends - and for this exercise in Gratitude!