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ZACH HOUSE STORIES GETTING RICHER
While we love the “I’m leaving you, unless you build me that house you promised” story of Zach and Mary Elizabeth, other interesting ones keep surfacing worth sharing with you. One centers around Zach’s youngest grandson, Terry Wimberley, who lives in Australia, and his wife Trish. As reported in the Tweed News there, Trish and Terry provide medical care to “all species of sick, injured and orphaned bats and Australian native fauna.” And as a result, Trish received the 2012 Gold Coast Citizen of the Year award. They visited Wimberley last year to see the Zach House progress. Terry’s father Z.T. Wimberley, Jr., a much-decorated Air Force Colonel, was born in the house; his son Terry is a Vietnam veteran. We likewise applaud their recognition as “preservationists.”
Another fascinating story centers around the second family who lived in the house: that of Zach’s sister Lidie. Her husband, Nathan Emery Hughes’ artistry as a stone mason is legendary, both locally and around the state. You can see his work on the Wimberley square: Blue Bacon covers up some of the rock house he built for Mr.D’Spain. He also helped cut stone for the 1890 store of J.H. Saunders, which still stands. The unusual work on the chimney at the “Leaning Pear” is also his.
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Nathan Emery Hughes playing his violin which he actually made. Sitting beside him on the porch of the Wimberley-Hughes home is his granddaughter, Arlene Morris Seabrook. Date is mid-1920s.
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One of the more charming examples of his work is the folk art patio directly in front of his home, with unusual, even startling stones. In the mix are surprising shapes of pink granite, which the family tells us, came from the Texas State Capitol when Mr. Hughes helped with its construction. Certainly that fact adds an important distinction. Both resident families add much richness to this remarkable Wimberley-Hughes dwelling.
We absolutely celebrate the fact that the house is ours, paid for by our building a ranch-style fence for the Cope/Dibrell family. (The red metal fence posts visible near the rear of the Seniors’ Thrift Store are part of that fence.) And we also own the ZH land, a fifth acre.
About the restoration: we are taking small, affordable steps, such as getting electricity to the house, using a temporary “loop” until we dig underground to bury the cables. And we are thinking ahead about preparation of bidding documents, hoping to interest restoration contractors.
Speeding up these small steps depends on you. If WIC members, descendants of the Wimberley and Hughes families, and our local businesses were to step up with contributions, a mere $20,000, we could get started. Foundations, the LCRA, for example, are far more likely to match our locally-raised funds, thus launching this project with our needed $40,000. So please consider making a substantial contribution to the project right now.
Make your check out to WIC, with “Zach House Project” in the memo space, and send it to WIC, P.O. Box 167, Wimberley. Your contribution will be tax-deductible and your name listed on site.
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