Betty Saenz EcoBroker® GRI SRES®

5/7/08 Taco Bell and Kohl's are goin' up quick at the new Gateway at Leander where the new Lowe's is at the corner of 183 and Crystal Falls Parkway in Leander. There is plenty of leasable space available too- for instance Reunion Square, just south of Crystal Falls on 183. Also, Sharon Stegall's office space is for lease accross from Leander City Hall (Pat Bryson Hall) and the O'Leader Cafe.

I love New Braunfels.  Besides enjoying Landa Park and Wurstfest- I have a lot of history there.  These are 2 of my early German ancestors: 

Johanne Heinrich Andreas Breustedt  and  Wilhelmine Caroline Dauer

Breustedt Kitchen http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5091000502

1858 Andreas Breustedt home http://www.planetware.com/new-braunfels/museum-of-texas-handmade-furniture-us-tx-nbf.htm

Historical Marker for Bruestedt Home

http://www.historicmarkers.com/Texas/Comal_County_Texas/Breustedt_House__TX501/

1858 Andreas Breustedt home The Texas Museum of Handmade Furniture (aka The Breustedt-Dillen House)

see: http://www.nbcham.org/visitor/museum_furniture.asp also http://www.nbheritagevillage.com/

Andreas Breustedt is my German ancestor. He came to Texas in 1845, was a Texas Ranger then settled near New Braunfels. After marrying Caroline Dauer, he "built a new house on his 200-acre farm. Twelve children were born to the Breustedts, of which three died as infants. The others all grew to adulthood and were each given a large section of his land between New Braunfels and Seguin when they married." Some of this land still remains in the family. We sold ours, a farm outside Seguin (on Cordova Road off 46) to care for my father- Carl Raetzsch.

The Breustedt's outdoor stone kitchen remained in its original location near the New Braunfels Smokehouse restaurant for many decades. I ate there once when it was a restaurant. Now it has been moved back to be with the original house which is known as the Texas Museum of Handmade Furniture in New Braunfels. Considered " one of the best remaining examples of German fachwerk construction".

B: 10 Mar 1825 Braunschweig

D: 16 Aug 1921 Seguin, Texas

M: Wilhelmine Caroline Dauer 2 Nov 1852 New Braunfels, Texas

  Caroline Dauer Born Dec. 4, 1831, Died August 16th, 1901. Buried in Breustedt family plot by what is now Highway 35 in New Braunfels, TX.  Poor Caroline- instead of on a prairie- the cemetary is now in front of some apartments right on Highway 35.  I will bring my clippers and do a little family cemetary clean up this weekend.  

  The Clear Springs Restaurant just south of New Braunfels on 46 is on the site of a store built in the 1870's by Andreas Breustedt.  There is a historical marker there in the back, by the entry and parking lot.

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My grandparents were Dr. Carl William Raetzsch Jr., a medical doctor in Seguin and Alice Pieper (Raetzsch). Mother Alice, as she liked to be called by her Grandchildren, was the granddaughter of Johanne Heinrich Andreas Breustedt and Wilhelmine Caroline Dauer.

  Betty ( Raetzsch ) Saenz REALTOR® GRI, SRES®   BettySellsAustin.com

This picture is of my grandmother, Mrs. O.W. Sandstom at her home in Hyde Park at 608 Texas Avenue, Austin, TX in 1974 on her birthday. She died March 14th 1976 and is buried in the Sandstrom plot in the old Oakwood Cemetary in Austin, along with my grandfather and parents (Raetzsch). Oakwood is the oldest city-owned cemetery in Austin, Texas. Oakwood Cemetary is located on a hill on the north bound (or east) side of I-35 (take MLK exit) and overlooks downtown Austin, just north of the Swedish Hill Historic District. I also have relatives buried at New Sweden and at the Bethlehem Cemetary in Lund, Texas (Bengston). I was named after Grandma Betty- she was born Betty Signe Bengston. Below are some of my Swedish ancestors- I am from Austin Area pioneer families. My grandfather, O.W. Sandstrom was a farmer who put himself through UT Law School. My grandparents lived at 1903 Red River, which is now dozed and part of the University of Texas holdings. My grandfather was an attorney, and a partner with David C. Gracy at Gracy Title in the old Gracy building at 205 W. 7th, Austin. In the 1937 Austin Directory, Oscar W. Sandstrom and David C. Gracy were listed as Sandstrom & Gracy, Attorneys-At-Law phone 3937 (courtesy Austin History Center). I am a member of the Austin Scandinavean Club which meets at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. My mother & grandmother could speak Swedish fluently, but I, sad to say did not carry on the tradition. I do like to make Swedish Rosettes and my grandmother's 30 Minute Rolls, Macaroni & Cheese Pudding, eat lutefisk, pickled herring and ostekake, a Swedish style cheesecake.

Here are some of my Swedish relatives and dates when in Austin Area:

Pioneers of Travis County

John Axell came to Austin, TX in 1871 - Swedes in TX p. 390 (My mother was born an Axell)

Claus Alfred Axell 1874 Travis, Co. TX

Tom D. Axell born in New Sweden in 1888- my mother's uncle

Johan Axell family New Sweden, TX 1875

John Axell came to Austin , TX 1872 - Swedes in Texas p. 390

Edwin John Axell born in 1884 Travis County, TX

J.P. Sandstrom New Sweden, TX 1886

Oscar Waldemar Sandstrom born 4/25/1889 Travis County

I love recycling and reusing things. I shop resale; recycle plastic bags, plastic, glass, aluminum & metal, light bulbs, batteries, paper; I also drive a 4 cylinder car energy efficiently, compost, organic garden, etc.

Perhaps you have not heard of the wonderful organization FreeCycle. Get and give stuff for FREE. I am a proud member of both Austin FreeCycle and Leander/Cedar Park FreeCycle

Austin Freecycle^TM Network

If you live or work in Austin, you can join this Austin FreeCycle Yahoo Group here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AustinFreecycle/

This will help keep usable stuff out of our landfills!! In areas other than Austin- check for a local FreeCycle

There is also a FREE and BARTER section on Craig's List http://austin.craigslist.org/

Also see Earth911.org and RecyclingCenters.org and Recyclenow.com

http://www.paperretriever.com/

You can also Buy recycled homes. 8,000 lbs of waste are typically thrown into the landfill during the construction of a 2,000 square foot home, see: http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/ConstructionWaste.html

See resale (recycled) HOMES on my website http://bettysellsaustin.com/

Reduce! Re-use! Recycle!!