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A&M vs. UT: The End of a Texas Tradition
Editor’s Note: Some things are taken for granted. Gravity is a good example. Sunrise and sunset also come to mind. In late November most Americans take for granted that they will eat turkey, pumpkin pie, and cranberries. For over a …
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THE HISTORY OF ROUND TOP, TEXAS
Round Top – September 1996 Christopher K. Travis Located beside Cummins Creek near the eastern boundary of Fayette County, Round Top was first known as “Townsend Settlement” after a family of early settlers in the area. It was also referred …
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The Junk Gypsies at Home
Round Top – Fall 2012 by Christopher K. Travis “You won’t believe what happened in the shop today!” exclaimed my wife. “Yeah,” I responded with all the limp enthusiasm of man who’s been married forty years. “What was that?” …
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The Birder’s Perch: Wildlife Sightings
by Betsy Harwood Round Top – Living life as a bird nut means far more than simply looking at birds. Most birders develop a sixth sense, a sense that tunes them in to another frequency—a frequency that registers sound and …
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Diet Plan of the Stars
REGISTER UNVEILS SECRET DIET PLAN OF THE STARS EAT ANYTHING! EAT ALL YOU WANT! Incredible New Diet Ends Worry About Overeating by Chef Herve Raconteur Round Top Register Food Critic Round Top – Ah, my special children. How I have …
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How Come I’m So Happy?
lanet Earth is a tough place to live. Sometimes it seems like even the elements are conspirin’ to make us miserable. One season is too hot and the next too cold. One month is too dry and the next comes …
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MUSH FOR BRAINS – Fear and Loathing in Youbetchaland
Wilderness Series – Part Three by Christopher K. Travis My wife is a half-breed. This fact is at the heart of my problem. She is not a real Texan, though her father’s family has been here for generations. Like me, …
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Round Top Antiques & Crafts Show Guide
Shop ’til You Drop in Old Round Top Everything you always wanted to know about the Round Top Antiques and Crafts Show but were afraid to ask! Antique Craft Central – Okay, you’ve heard about Round Top on TV or …
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What You Own…Owns You Back
Click here to learn more about Uncle Sack Christmas time is coming around again and that always brings up the problems we have with ownership. I don’t know how it happened, but somewhere along the way our kids got …
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A Cry in the Wilderness – Part One
Wilderness Series – Part One Editor and Queen Paddle into the Canadian Wilderness Part One of Two by Christopher K. Travis When I was a kid, I used to read books about explorers and frontiersmen. Innocent child that I was, …
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The Texas Drought: Dry, Dry, Dry
Lotsa people ’round here spent this summer talkin’ about the lack of rain. They was worryin’ and frettin’ and stirrin’ up a mess of concern ’bout the dry weather they was beginnin’ to refer to as a “drought.” That weren’t …
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Tiny Texas Town Secedes
Eminent Scientist Sparks Decision by Town’s Mayor Sandy Texas – Fall 2006 by Christopher K. Travis In light of the recent standoff between federal agents and Republic of Texas separatists in West Texas, we at the Register became alarmed …
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Tiny Town Says Round Top Not ‘Smallest in Texas’
Letter Embroils Town in Size Flap Round Top – June 1996 By Christopher K. Travis A matter of grave concern has come before the citizens of Round Top, the “smallest incorporated town in Texas.” A letter, from the Chamber …
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Visionary – The James Dick Interview
By Christopher K. Travis Festival Hill – He didn’t like the word “visionary” very much. Like the word “dream”, it sounded flighty and impermanent to him – somehow temporary – and James Dick is not at all interested in “temporary”. …
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Marshal Zapp Takes a “Whirlwind” Tour
Warda – In the aftermath of a dangerous storm recently, citizens of this one-store town with good cheeseburgers were shocked to find a bedraggled and bruised Zapp Luger, Marshall of Round Top, staggering into the Wardaburger Store in torn overalls. He …
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Marshal Zapp Luger: Area Law Enforcement Report
The following are the calls to the Round Top Town Marshall’s Office for the three months starting May 15, 1995 May 15 – 8 traffic violations – Cow in roadway – Locked keys in truck – Says wife looses too much …
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Truehome Design.Build – Old World Tuscan
Austin: 512-444-0777 - Round Top: 979-249-5961 email – cktravis@sentientarchitecture.com Old World Tuscan in Rural Texas: This home was created by Truehome Design. It was built for a couple who wanted an “old world feel.” The owner also dreamed of recreating …
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Truehome Design.Build – Creole Masterpiece
Austin: 512-444-0777 - Round Top: 979-249-5961 email – cktravis@sentientarchitecture.com Creole Masterpiece with Louisiana Roots: This home was created by Truehome Design.Build for a couple with roots in Louisiana’s Creole country. It was designed after the style of one of …
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Los Patrones – Mi Casa es Tu Casa
Download Full Menu Welcome to Los Patrones Mexican Grill. We offer the finest Mexican Food, with great selection in Steaks, Seafood, Fajitas, Enchiladas, Tacos and more. We are a family owned and operated restaurant, so we put attention in …
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Care for Drought-stricken Trees
Facing one of the worst droughts in state history, trees across Texas are already showing signs of stress. Some are dropping leaves and branches while others have leaves that are wilting and turning yellow and brown. Some trees have died. …
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Boating Safety
by Deb Nicholas According to Captain Randi Wayland, “Texas Parks and Wildlife wants boaters to do three things: 1) always wear a life jacket, 2) learn the rules, and 3) don’t drink while boating.” Captain Wayland is a Texas Parks …
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When the Chips Are Down
December 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson My friend Dean is a big fan of technology. Show that man new application software and he’s got his hands on an American Express card faster than you can say, “Credit limit.” Recently he was …
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Big Hat, No Cattle
December 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson Growing up in Texas I learned a lot of what I thought were common phrases. I liked them because they summed up an idea not only quickly but colorfully. Instead of someone saying, “Well, he …
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Rotor Rooting
December 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson Here’s a pop quiz for all you folks who like to go to the movies: who has been the most prolific star for the past quarter century? Did you guess Brad Pitt? Un-uh. Maybe it’s …
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Round Top Register – Winter 2012
Round Top - Hot off the presses, here is the December-February issue of the print version of the world-famous Round Top Register. This issue, learn everything you ever wanted to know about why fans will forever miss the Turkey day gridiron …
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The Genesis of the Round Top Register
IN THE BEGINNING The Genesis of the Round Top Register Editor’s Note: One day in 1995, I was sitting on the Round Top Town square eating some of Bud Royer’s stuffed quail. It was a busy Saturday, so Bud’s wait …
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Martians Give NASA the Boot!
September 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson On Sunday, August 5, NASA successfully landed their Mars probe, Curiosity, at Gale Crater near the red planet’s equator. The mission’s budget was originally projected to be $2.5 billion. It now appears unexpected fines and …
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Birder’s Perch: Great Blue Herons
by Betsy Harwood What’s your passion? Whatever it is, I’m sure you love getting together with other enthusiasts to swap stories. Story swapping usually takes place when the antique shopping, fishing, hunting, or birding is slow, and we try to …
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Juneteenth: A Texas Tradition
by Dock Jackson Often I am asked, “Exactly what is Juneteenth, and why do you celebrate it?” Many youths, and several of my friends from other states, have never heard of Juneteenth and wonder what it is all about, so …
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Big Wheel Keeps on Turning
by Kurt Wilson When a person thinks of how the West (and Texas in particular) was won, certain iconic images come to mind. Probably the first picture conjured by the mind’s eye is of six-guns, which is followed by cowboy …
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Jalepeños!
June 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson Editor’s Note: The jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum for you technical types) is the namesake of Jalapa, the capital city of Mexico’s state of Veracruz. The –eño part is a suffix indicating that a person or …
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01+14+19+33+42+52=0 or How to Win at Texas Lotto
June 1, 2012 Kurt Wilson Every week my lady friend and I play the Texas Lottery. We each pick six numbers, plunk down a buck apiece, and begin dreaming about what we will do with our vast fortune. Each of …
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Beer Here!
by Kurt Wilson Author’s Note: While researching the history of brewing in Texas, I found much conflicting information. This was particularly true when it came to Monument Hill and the Kreische Brewery in La Grange Both the monument and the …
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Easter Egghead
June 1, 2001 Kurt Wilson This April I dropped in on my lady friend. She had a surprise for me. “Honey,” she said, “I bought you some dye.” “Great!” I replied, “I haven’t done that since I was a kid.” …
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The Big Loser Bowl
March 1, 2011 Kurt Wilson I spent the New Year’s holiday with my friend Alton Livingston who is ninety-five years old. Although he remains remarkably active, it is, I think, safe to say his football playing days are past. However, he …
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Temple of the Mind
Published online 29 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1114 News ‘Temple of the mind’ unlocked Map of fundamental brain receptor opens doors to treatments. Daniel Cressey Click here for a larger image.Gouaux, E./Nature The full structure of a fiendishly complicated …
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The Republican’ts and Health Care
In a brilliantly crafted speech, President Barack Obama put our country’s health care crisis center stage last night before a joint session of Congress. It was a landmark speech filled with straight talk and good ideas. For those who …
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The Nature of Home – II
Return to Nature of Home – I If you want to find out what human beings really care about, follow the money. Here are some eye opening statistics that will give you a sense of how profoundly important “home” is …
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The Nature of Home – I
Copyright 2009 – Christopher K. Travis Those who follow this blog know I run an architecture firm and an Internet technology startup at Truehome.net – both of which use a systematic approach to creating an “experience of feeling at home” …
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eFarmony®
June 1, 2009 Kurt Wilson Not long after I settled into the editor’s chair here at The Register I got bit by the internet start-up bug. There must be something in this area’s water. Chris Travis (publisher of this periodical) …
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Anyone for Tempest?
June 1, 2009 Kurt Wilson Since this issue of The Register is being circulated during that part of the year that includes the Fourth of July, I’ve been thinking about Emma Lazarus’s poem—the one on a plaque at the base …
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Truehome in Washington Spaces
Washington Spaces, a high end home and lifestyle magazine in Washington, D.C. is now highlighting an article about Truehome and our “emotional architecture” approach to design. Our thanks to Libby Burns for picking us as one of the most interesting …
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Revelatory Christmas – New Vision of Economic Value
by Christopher K. Travis I no longer live in a world with a collapsing economy. I am creating a new one. This Christmas our family decided to give non-material gifts to the adults in our family.The week before the big …
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Loving Jim Crow To Death
by Christopher K. Travis I got a call November 13th, nine days after the election of America’s first African-American President. The caller – whose voice had the characteristic twang of my fellow rural Texans – asked me “…why none …
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As Compassionate as the Next Guy
December 1, 2008 Kurt Wilson Let Let me say this in the beginning: I give to the Red Cross after tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes. I’m as compassionate as the next guy. However, there are limits. Last week I got a …
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Spaced Out!
Winter 2005 by Christopher K. Travis Truth in Humor: Some folks think one shouldn’t use humor to make serious points about humanity or the state of the world. I cannot agree less. There is something inherently hypocritical about the …
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Round Top Register Endorses Barack Obama
As I have mentioned before on this blog, I run a tiny rural quarterly newspaper that comes from a town with a population of 77 in central Texas. Our next issue goes to press early next week. The Texas Democratic …
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The Truth
The truth is a good thing. It’s just that you have to be a mite careful with it. You don’t want to waste it in situations where it ain’t fittin’. A smart fellar don’t go around tellin’ the truth any …
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Artificial Intelligence
My computers try to trick me when I’m not lookin’. I’m not quite sure what they is doin’, but I know they is pullin’ something. Sometimes I hear them makin’ odd cricket noises when I go in the kitchen to …
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A Mighty Footrest is Our Dog
Kurt Wilson Shortly after moving to suburbia, we adopted Yuppie the Puppy. There’s some local ordinance or zoning code that requires suburbanites to have a dog. A BIG dog if you want to be in full compliance. Okay, I have …
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Memories of War
I have come back from Afghanistan, and I cannot say I had a very good time. What I did there was my business, and I do not plan to discuss it. It was a war, and that is a sad …
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Where Is Uncle Sack?
197 year old Register Columnist Missing – Editor Sick With Worry Offers $10,000 Reward to Anyone Who Finds Him Special Note from the Editor I met “Uncle Sack” one day in 1995 while fishing on Cummins Creek. He claimed his …
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Progress and Congress in Everbody’s Business
I love technology! Things just keep gettin’ better and better. I’m not one of them that claim the past is better’n the present. Most of them folks who talk about the good ol’ days never lived in ’em. It was …
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Snoozing for the Gold
December 1, 2000 Kurt Wilson Parents like to brag, and I’m no exception. Even accounting for my natural prejudices, it’s fair to say my twenty-one year old son is the Apolo Anton Ohno of sleeping. That’s why I want to …
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Lose 50 Pounds in Ninety Days With the Amish Buffalo Diet! – Part Two
Register Editor Sheds Huge Globs of Ugly Fat on Miracle Diet Plan! by Christopher K. Travis Step 2 – Don’t Worry, Be Happy Worry is what you do when you can’t, or aren’t, really going to do something about a …
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Publisher – Christopher K. Travis
Christopher K. Travis wears many hats. He is the publisher of the Round Top Register. He is the Managing Partner of Sentient Architecture, LLC, a full service architecture firm with offices in Austin and South Central Texas. He is the …
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Lose 50 Pounds in Ninety Days with the Amish Buffalo Diet! – Part One
Register editor sheds huge globs of ugly fat on miracle diet plan by Christopher K. Travis Fat, the final frontier. I quit smoking cigarettes in the 80s. I quit drinking in the 90s. Now I’ve quit overeating in the new …
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Town Alderman Held Political Prisoner – Part One
Local Councilman Confesses! by Christopher K. Travis Editor’s Note: This document discovered stuffed in a Shiner beer bottle that was found floating in Cummins Creek in late August of 1997. The author’s identity is unknown. Round Top – I’m being …
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A WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS – Part Two
by Christopher K. Travis They drifted for over an hour until she suddenly heard a gush of excited expletives from the back of the boat. He was jumping around like a kangaroo. She was afraid he would capsize the boat. …
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The Dumpman Cometh: Harold Bergmann Saves the Planet
by Christopher K. Travis Okay, I admit it. My wife and I are lapsed recyclers. We didn’t start out politically incorrect. We once did the right thing— sorting our aluminum, glass, paper, and plastic into separate piles and taking …
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A Woman in the Wilderness: How an Ordinary Texas Girl Conquered Canada – Part One
Wilderness Series – Two of Three by Christopher K. Travis Editors Note: In our continuing tradition of interviewing powerful and influential people from our area, I have interviewed the most important and influential person in my life–my wife. …
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ALL GOD’S CREATURES – Part One
An Interview with Sister Angela of the Monastery of St. Clare Part 1 of 2 by Christopher K. Travis Brenham – I drove to the Monastery of St. Clare on a beautiful morning. I was early, so I parked outside …
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ALL GOD’S CREATURES – Part Two
An Interview with Sister Angela of the Monastery of St. Clare Part 2 of 2 by Christopher K. Travis In Round Top, we have 90 people. When we have antique events where 50,000 come, we always think, “Thank you for …
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A Cry in the Wilderness: The Register’s Editor and Queen Paddle into the Canadian Wilderness, Part Two
Cry in the Wilderness – Part II In the Boundary Waters, you are only allowed to camp at “designated campsites.” A designated campsite consists of a cooking grate and a path that leads to a fiberglass composting latrine. Each …
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Sandy, Texas – A One Man Town
Sandy, Texas – Fall 2012 by Christopher K. Travis Sandy sits by the door. He looks good…weathered Levis…just the right tilt on his hat…a piece of straw in his mouth and those lazy eyes. I remembered why I had …
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Mules, Plows, and Marriage Vows
Read September 1995 Round Top, Texas-December 1995 by Christopher K. Travis I’ve been married five times and never divorced. That’s one of the mixed blessins of living to be 191. You get a lot of joy, but you also …
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GIRLS OF ROUND TOP
Round Top – Fall 1995 Christopher K. Travis This is the story of three girls who became women in Round Top. They were teenage girlfriends during the depression. They worked together, played together and raised families together. Today all …
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Town Alderman Held Political Prisoner, Part Three
Local Councilman Confesses! A few days before the questionnaires came back, I met one of the other aldermen and two other citizens he had drafted for the task of raising the two new flag poles. The grass had gone in …
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Hummingbirds and Humdingers
Read June 1995 Uncle Sack Round Top, Texas-September 1995 Christopher K. Travis Editors Note: I met Uncle Sack one day while fishing on Cummins Creek. He claims his name is Sackfield Brewer and that he was born in 1804 …
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Marshall Zapp Luger
Round Top – Fall 1995 by Christopher K. Travis A series of reports on the exploits of Round Top’s legendary Town Marshall If ever a man deserved the thanks of his town, it is Round Top Marshall, …
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Town Alderman Held Political Prisoner – Part Two
(Continued from Political Prisoner – Part One) Those two are gone now, but many of their friends and relatives still live in Round Top and perpetuate the German community that has remained vital and virtually untouched from the 1850s until …
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Talk Territory
Round Top-June 1995 by Christopher K. Travis People are just like the rest of God’s creatures; we need a space to call our own. It’s built into our natures by what they call these days “genetic imprint.” We used to …
