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Monday, March 26, 2001
Bread's for sale, but town 'glue' is free
Lagarto couple keeps community together with benefits, bonfires and care
By Jeremy Schwartz
Caller-Times
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| David Pellerin/Caller-Times |
| Keeping Lagarto supplied with the basics and community spirit is all in a day's work for shopkeepers Karl and Mary Schumacher. |
When Hurricane Bret rumbled menacingly up the Texas coast in 1999, the owners of the only store in Lagarto decided not to let their community suffer without the essentials after suppliers halted their deliveries.
Karl Schumacher raced 60 miles to Jourdanton where he stocked up on bread, milk and water while his wife, Mary, manned the store. They borrowed generators to make sure they would be up and running when the storm hit.
Although the hurricane largely missed the Coastal Bend, the incident reinforced the Schumachers' roles in Lagarto: not mere shopkeepers, but the social glue of the community, a couple always willing to help neighbors in need.
"They just unite the whole community," said Lagarto resident Ronnie Medrano, a teacher and coach at Moody High School. "They help a lot of people out here through fund-raisers at their little store.
"Any time someone dies they set up a picture and a can and ask if you'd like to help. They do that."
Since arriving in Lagarto from Atascosa County in 1993, the Schumachers have had numerous benefits, ranging from a popular catfish cook-off that brings in funds for local churches, the volunteer fire department and local residents going through hard times, to the simple cans asking for donations to help a neighbor.
They deliver newspapers and groceries to older residents of the lakeshore town and have bonfires complete with marshmallows and hot dogs for area youths. And every New Year's Eve they sponsor the town's celebration, providing free fireworks.
"I get excited to see other people excited," said Karl Schumacher, 48. "It makes my day."
The couple also is active in the Messianic Lodge in Mathis and the Shriner's Temple in Corpus Christi, where they take part in a number of volunteer activities for children.
The last eight years have been a nice surprise for the couple, who didn't really know what they were getting into when they bought the "green store."
While they had spent weekends in Lagarto for years, they soon realized they wanted to live in the Live Oak County town full time. Karl Schumacher sold his construction business and Mary Schumacher retired after 27 years working for the state health department.
"I've always been a workaholic and I still am," Mary Schumacher said. "It just makes me feel good if I can help somebody."
But the couple is selling the store, hoping to concentrate on their activities with the Shriners and travel.
"We'd love to see a young couple come to town and buy the store and continue the fund-raising," Karl Schumacher said.
The Schumachers have been recognized as part of the annual Caller-Times/Channel 6 Jefferson Volunteer Awards, which celebrates community volunteerism.
Nominations are accepted throughout the year, and a community panel each month selects four honorees to be featured in future articles and on Channel 6 News.
On April 27, 10 Jefferson Award winners - selected from among the volunteers profiled in newspaper articles published between Feb. 14, 2000, and Jan. 29, 2001 - will receive medallions for their work in enriching their communities and the lives of their neighbors. Volunteers profiled after Jan. 29, 2001, will be considered for medallions in the 2002 Jefferson Awards campaign.
Staff writer Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 886-3779 or by e-mail at schwartzj@caller.com
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© 2001,
a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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