Above: 308 S Erkel Avenue

> Back to Articles

Conservation Society member Dennis Martin wrote this article for the Conservation Conversation about the history of his house. His home at 308 S. Erkel Ave. was built in 1934 for Dr. Hugo Gibson by builder Edward Strick. He discovered stories about his home through our Mark It, Seguin! project, and dedicates this article to the memory of Elsie Margaret (Peggy) Gustafson. For more information on how you can research you home's history, please contact Angela Nickel at 379-7227. Watch for more information in the local media on a proposed City ordinance for a Seguin-based marker program as a result of our efforts.

A perfect gentleman, a woman of great compassion, an internationally renowned opera singer, a forward thinking woman, and a man named Bugs; they lived in my house.

Dr. Hugo Gibson was the perfect gentleman. He founded the oldest touring a cappella choir in the Nation’s southwest while teaching at Texas Lutheran College. Georgia Moe Gibson is the woman of great compassion. She and her husband Hugo were members of the early junior college staff and were instrumental in helping the college achieve senior accreditation. Their son George is the internationally renowned performer and teacher. Today, his students are singing in the major opera houses of the world.

The professional and personal lives of the Gibson family began to emerge through the guidance of Rev. Luther Oelke. He is a volunteer archivist at the Texas Lutheran University and cares deeply for the university, his alma mater. Reverend Oelke offered personal knowledge and perspective on the importance of Hugo and Georgia to their students. Family life came alive through George Gibson and his nephews, John and Jim Thorsen. They describe holiday festivities filled with family traditions that continue to this day. The nephews remember the yard as "a magical place for children" to play, and the home as "...a safe harbor, a warm, welcoming and friendly place; a place full of love and ... fun." The most unforgettable image is the one of George hooking up Molly the goat to his wagon and her pulling him around the neighborhood.

Velma Schraub Stautzenberger was the forward thinker. She along with her husband Helmuth "Bugs" Stautzenberger built the first Seguin airport, owned the Western Auto, and played in the Happy Ramblers Band and the Oscar Tewes Band. Both had ancestors arriving by ship at Indianola in the mid-nineteenth century. Their daughter, Marie Taylor, wrote a detailed family history and provided a photo album passed down from the Gibsons showing the construction of the house.

Elsie Margaret Gustafson, a neighbor, and former TLU teacher was the inspiration for this journey. She told me about her long-time friends, the Gibsons. Soon thereafter, a Seguin Conservation Society meeting took place to discuss the application process for state historical markers and a new project for a local historical marker program, "Mark It Seguin." Angela Nickel was the chair of the meeting with presentations by John Gesick, Director of the Heritage Museum and Mary Jo Filip, Seguin Main Street Director.

The Mark It, Seguin! project and the Seguin Conservation Society provided support during the historical marker application process. John Gesick gave invaluable technical direction while Michelle Hammond, Administrative Assistant of the Heritage Museum compiled and forwarded materials to the Texas Historical Commission.

The journey is a series of opportunities to meet, know, befriend and work with others. Above all, one gains understanding, appreciation and respect for the house and its people. The journey is a story of personal growth and a story that becomes part of the deep-rooted tradition of discovering Texas history. From now on, look at your house, listen to its inner voice, maybe it is calling upon you to begin your own journey, your story, your discovery of place.

> Back to Articles