Church Oak

The amazing Founders Oak turned out to be a tough act to follow.

From Landa park, it’s a quick jaunt over to see this Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), outside the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Had I done any research ahead of time, I might’ve planned to see this one first. Though its twisty form makes it look like one of those scary trees in a movie that might come alive and try to grab you, on this burning day in August, after the thrill of the bigger tree, its impact was significantly diminished.

There is a weathered tombstone type marker at its base, with a somewhat more recent sign sort of thing attached, that notes a bit of history from the Texas Historic Landmarks Association.
Stating that a Catholic mass was offered under the tree 171 years ago in 1849, this info means the tree must’ve been large enough to offer shade at that time. How many years old was it back then? Easily 200 years old now.

Does this make sense to you? Inscribed on the marker are the following words: “Folklore says that here, in the dawn of Texas history, stood an Indian village in which one of the early missionaries lingered many days; that here a vision of the chief's daughter freed the first German in Texas. Tradition says that under this tree Mass was offered by the Abbe Em Domenech in 1849.”

The brief wording on this sign is odd, beginning with the vague phrase “Folk-lore says” … (and in the same tiny paragraph, “Tradition says.”) Linked to the previous sentence by a semicolon, it also includes this confusing piece of a sentence: that here a vision of the chief’s daughter freed the first German in Texas.

What???

I mean seriously, what does that mean? The book entry is no help. It consists mainly of wording direct from the memorial stone, stating that its history is lost except for the legend on this marker. Dang it.

As afternoon neared, it was hotter than hell. The shade of the old oak wasn’t enough for us modern types, so the obvious solution was to go to church. We popped inside the empty building to cool off for a minute.

Thank you, Jesus!

The beautiful old church looks like a fortress on the outside, with an interior plan in the shape of a cross. We appreciated the stained glass windows inside as well as the blessed air conditioning.

We didn’t linger. I was happy just crossing it off the list. Locating a lovely restaurant nearby with a shaded patio, I realized that I had a short video of my phone swinging in my hand walking back to the car, as I had pressed the buttons wrong when I believed I was recording. We sweltered outside in order to steer clear of covid

This lovely angle that the book photographer captured makes me wish I had been a bit more patient that day, but it was hot AF and a car was parked right there in that spot the whole time.