A Place Called Bastrop

A Place Called Bastrop
  • 4.0 (2)
  • Places & Travel

This is a place called Bastrop - a podcast focused on the people in a small town in central Texas. A place both unique and characteristic of the state’s history. A place with a cultural integrity that unfolds with each passing year.

Episodes

  1. 05/27/2022

    Memorial Day Episode: Honor Flight Austin

    Late on a recent Saturday afternoon, our anxiety was high at Washington’s DC's airport after navigating a mob in the terminal and then seeing our gate to Austin jammed with some 20 people in wheelchairs. But that anxiety quickly ebbed as Sarah and I realized that these people were veterans as evidenced by their hats that read Vietnam or Korea. On talking with them and the sponsor, we learned there were also a couple of WWII veterans on the flight, including a woman Marine, who told everyone that she was not just 100 years old, but a 100 and a half years old. The group had just finished a 24-hour whirlwind tour to see the war memorials and monuments. Attending to these veterans were an equal amount of volunteers, including Bastrop’s Joe Beal, a 77-year-old Vietnam veteran himself, who has done this flight nine times—eight as a volunteer. To honor Memorial Day, Ken Kesselus interviews him to learn more about Honor Flight Austin.  Lucian Perkins

  2. 05/04/2022

    As Bastrop County Grows, How Do We Meet Its Challenges?

    We talk with Debbie Bresette, Executive Director of Bastrop County Cares, an organization quietly bringing together organizations, churches, businesses and individuals to solve the issues of our county.

  3. 12/30/2021

    Something Magical is Happening at Bob Bryant Park.

    Flowers, fruits, vegetables, birds and bees will soon flourish in Bob Bryant Park. And residents along with their children will be able to learn from Bastrop’s Master Gardeners how to grow their own plants and food at the community garden being created there or in their own spaces. Join host, Olga Maystruk to find out what's in store at this park for 2022.

  4. 11/24/2021

    How the Texas town of Bastrop was named.

    In 1820, Moses Austin, the father of Stephen F. Austin, is ordered out of San Antonio by sundown, after meeting with the Spanish governor in a failed bid to start an American colony in Spanish-controlled Texas.  Dejected, he walks out and while crossing a public square, runs into Baron de Bastrop, whom he hasn’t seen in twenty years. Local historian Ken Kesselus tells us the rest of the story of how Bastrop got its name.

  5. 11/03/2021

    A Judge's Decision

    When the controversy over Bastrop’s Confederate monuments first arose, County Judge Paul Pape was not inclined to approve their removal from the county courthouse. Then he began to research their origins and while going through the archives of the Bastrop Advertiser, the oldest newspaper in Texas, he read first-hand accounts about the statues in 1908 and their dedication in 1910. Listen to what he learned and why he changed his mind.

  6. 10/22/2021

    The Story Behind the Removal of Bastrop’s Confederate Monuments.

    Fourth generation Bastropian Cheryl Lee never thought much about the monuments at the Court House. As a matter of fact, one reminded her of the Washington Monument, which she loves. But one day she read the inscriptions on them and resolved that they must be removed from the grounds. Cheryl Lee shares her story and how she convinced a judge and many Bastrop residents the same.

  7. 10/20/2021

    Join Us for History and Gossip as We Tour Bastrop's Historic Homes.

    Robbie Sanders, the curator at the Bastrop Museum and Visitor Center, gives us a tour of some of the marvelous historic homes in Bastrop and reveals the stories and gossip of the early pioneers who built and lived in them.

  8. 10/04/2021

    The Man Behind the Vinyl

    Meet Kevin “Lippy” Mawby, owner of Astro Record Store and a key influencer of the ongoing renaissance in historic, downtown Bastrop. How did this Englishman end up in Bastrop? And why are records making a comeback in the digital age? Host Olga Maystruk explores these questions and more in this episode.

  9. 09/29/2021

    Part 3: Ten Years after the Bastrop County Complex Fire

    In our final episode on the Bastrop County Complex Fire, Wade Powell, the Habitat Coordinator for the Lost Pines Parks, explains what the forest service has learned from the Bastrop Complex Fire and what the future holds for the Lost Pines.  As background, host Ken Kesselus illuminates the history and importance of the Lost Pines to Bastrop.

  10. 09/14/2021

    Part 2: Ten Years after the Bastrop County Complex Fire

    Randy Fritz and his family built their home in Bastrop near the Lost Pines because of their majestic beauty. But after the most catastrophic fire in Texas history destroyed the forest, property, his home, along with those of many others, Fritz found the challenge of those losses to be unbearable without seeking help. He went on to write a book about his experience and recovery in “Hail of Fire: A Man and His Family Face Natural Disaster.” We talked to Fritz as we look back ten years after the Bastrop Fires.

  11. 09/03/2021

    Part 1: Ten Years after the Bastrop County Complex Fire

    We Interview Chris Files, Bastrop's Emergency Management Coordinator, about the most destructive wildfire in Texas's history: It burned 34,000 acres of forest, destroyed 1,600 houses, and left two people dead. Chris, a lawyer in downtown Bastrop at the time, volunteered to help during the fires, which changed the arc of her life and career.

  • 11 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is a place called Bastrop - a podcast focused on the people in a small town in central Texas. A place both unique and characteristic of the state’s history. A place with a cultural integrity that unfolds with each passing year.

Information

  • Creator
    A Place Called Bastrop
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2022
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © A Place Called Bastrop
  • Show Website
    A Place Called Bastrop