A city that hosts such a famous festival was bound to have something to see in the off season. And in fact, we did eventually make it to Kerrville via a highly circuitous route that had us meandering down tiny roads, stumbling upon hidden treasures, and breathing the happy, clean air of the hill country. But as we looked at the map for our next side road, my eye wandered to the word Luckenbach and our course was temporarily sidetracked. Luckenbach, Texas. Oh, yes. If you have heard of Waylon Jennings, then you've heard of Luckenbach. And if you don't know Waylon then here he is with the song that brought Luckenbach to the American public 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oISfIWUb0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oISfIWUb0
We were headed northwest along Ranch Road 1376 when Jamie saw the sign for Luckenbach Town Loop. A quick left turn onto a dirt road and there we were with absolutely no idea where we were. Town consisted of a couple buildings, a couple of trucks and a couple of bikers. We parked up beside an old oak tree with a historic marker near it and had a look around. We could hear some music coming from the once upon a time post office and a few people who looked like they belonged there were milling around the largest building which turned out to be a dance hall and restaurant. Behind the post office was a stage and rustic bathrooms. That's pretty much it
for a cursory glance but a closer look revealed the little gem underneath. We stepped inside the old post office to discover it filled to the rafters with memorabilia and leftovers from days at the turn of the century. It's also a giftshop at one end and a bar/music venue at the back. Now that's multi-use of a former government building! The fella minding the store welcomed us in and soon the story of Luckenbach began to unfold.The little town was established as a Trading Post in 1849. The Post Office/General Store/Beer Joint was then opened in 1886 by August Engel, an itinerant preacher from Germany. It was his daughter Minna who named the town, chosing to honor her fiance, Albert Luckenbach. Albert went on to found another town not far away. He named it after himself...Albert. Luckenbach grew, serving pioneer farmers and Comanche Indians alike. A steam powered cotton gin was established in 1879 and ran until 1929. The community had a consolidated school and a blacksmith shop. There was even a local legend, one Jacob Brodbeck, who is evidently documented to have flown a heavier-than-air craft pwered by clock-like springs rather than an internal combustion engine decades before the Wright Brothers. Luckenbach remained in the hands of the Engel family until 1970 when Benno Engel retired as postmaster and put an ad in the local paper: "TOWN FOR SALE-lock, stock and dancehall." It was at that point a whole new cast of characters took ahold of the town and set it on its way into the annals of pop culture.
Guich Koock was a sixth-generation Texan, his mother was Mary Faulk, sister of the famously blacklisted radio entertainer John Henry Faulk. He studied history and English in college, and for his Master’s thesis at Texas A&M University, he interviewed children of former slaves in east Texas to compile a history.
Guich traveled back and forth between Texas and California, restoring old buildings and opening restaurants in Fredericksburg when he wasn’t playing a role in some movie or TV show. He had parts in movies such as Piranha (1978) North Dallas Forty (1979), American Ninja (1985), Square Dance (1987, with Wynona Ryder, Jason Robards and Rob Lowe), Substitute Wife (1994, with Farrah Fawcett), and Texas Justice (1995, with Heather Locklear). He also played roles in TV shows such as Laverne and Shirley, Carter Country (where he played Deputy Harley Puckett in the late 70s), Lewis and Clark, (with Gabe Kaplan as the owners of a country-western music club) and She’s the Sheriff (once again as a deputy) in the late ‘80s. In his spare time, he was a multiple-appearance guest on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show and the Merv Griffin Show; he also co-hosted the LA Sunday Show, as well as the Toni Tennille Show. In 2006, he was hired as host of the new TV program called Wide World of Horses.
Hondo and Guich, along with friend Kathy Morgan bought the town for $30,000 and then the fun began. Hondo pronounced himself Mayor and became the "Clown Prince of Luckenbach." He appointed Marge Mueller, great-great grand daughter of of August Engel, Minna Engel Luckenbach's brother, as sheriff because of small incident that happened at the bar. One time Marge reprimanded another customer, “We don’t need that kind of language here! Get on outa here!” The guy actually left. So Hondo, who gave titles to everyone said, “Marge, I’d like for you to be my Sheriff.” Guich was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ray Petsch was named Minister of Agriculture since he took eggs to Austin to sell. Kathy helped to set up an annual schedule of events and soon Luckenbach was hosting "Hug Ins", a Luckenbach World's Fair, Ladies State Chili Bust, the Mud Dauber Festival and daily seesions of song-picking, domino playing and beer drinking. Hondo's business cards read IMAGINEER. He was a "mirthquake and a legend in his own mind."
In 1973, Texas country-rocker Jerry Jeff Walker came to Luckenbach to record and album. Jerry Jeff and his Lost Gonzo Band sat in the saloon writing during the day then stacked hay bales for sound baffles in the dance hall and recoreded "Viva Terlingua." The album went gold and news got out about Luckenbach. Four years later, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson had a big hit with "Luckenback Texas (Back to the Basics)" and soon the world was finding its way to the bar room door. Hondo passed away in 1976, the year before the song became a hit. In the Nineties, Luckenbach became something of cottage industry, trademarking the name. For several years, Willie Nelson returned to hold his 4th of July picnic with a few thousand of his friends. Sheriff Marge passed away in 2004 but Luckenbach descendants continue to arise. There's Judge Mike Haley, Virgil the Store Guy, and Colonel Jody Haggard of the Luckenbach Navy. The dance hall is still hopping on the weekends and a guitar in the bar that anyone is welcome to pick up and play. You can even rent the setting for weddings and private parties. What a place.As we chatted with whom I'm guessing is Virgil the Store Guy, someone in the bar was playing the guitar and singing the theme song to The Dukes of Hazzard tv show. The song had been sung by Waylon Jennings and this singer did a darn good cover. We bought a "God Bless Johnny Cash" bumper sticker for our friend Captain Hotknives back in Yorkshire and a couple of guitar picks. I even went the extra mile and bought myself a baseball cap with the Luckenbach emblem on the front. We thanked our amiable host and went back outside to snap a few shots.
From the license plates covering the building walls to the pickles on a stick at the snack bar, it's clear that people love Luckenbach because it loves them back. As it was put by one chronicler, "these days Luckenbach Texas is, to paraphrase John Steinbeck, a state of mind--a Texas state of mind, where you can kick back, relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life--like a step back in time." It sure is and my most lasting memory of Luckenbach will be something I witnessed just as we were about to leave.
As I was photographing the ATM machine, two older men came out the side door of the bar. The first guy was was in jeans and a t-shirt but the second guy was dressed for the west. He had on jeans and shiny cowboy boots, a red, long-sleeve shirt with pearl buttons and a bolo tie, a fine looking ten gallon hat and he sported a thick, droopy mustache that was surely the envy of any man he met. In short, he was fantastic to behold, like a red-headed Sam Elliot, drawl and all. They continued their conversation oblivious to me:
Regular Guy: Hey, the last time I saw you, you were in a suit. I'm just checking to see if there's a ring on your hand.
Cowboy Guy (in movie-perfect Texas drawl):No, no. I was just a spectator.
Regular Guy: Well, you were looking pretty dressed up. I was just a-wondering.
Cowboy Guy: Well, I've only got me one suit. I see people get married in it and I see people get barried (buried) in it.
I had all I could do not to burst out laughing it was just so perfect, one of those moments of grace where you are in the right place at the right time. I should have asked the gents for a photo and let them know how much their conversation had tickled me but I was too shy and didn't want to ruin the moment. I walked away chuckling, happy to have Jamie to share the story with. As we drove off, I couldn't help but feel that something really nice had happened back there. As the motto goes, Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach.
If you would like to know more about Luckenbach, check out these websites. Better yet, go see it yourself!
http://www.luckenbachtexas.com/
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcr52
http://www.hillcountrymagazine.com/issues/fall-2009/168/guich-koock/
http://www.luckenbachtexas.com/html/SheriffMarge.html
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