Dean-Vegter Heritage

Back to Texas

For vacation, we just always "went to the cabin." In 1998, with Caleb's senior year coming, it was "now or never" to take our entire family to Texas where I was born and to connect to my roots. Because it was the work of Kathy's cousin, Jay Tschetter, we stopped in St. Louis to show our kids his brick mural (theme: photographers of the West) in the visitor center at the Gateway Arch. What a surprise. Jay was at work on a second mural on the other side of the center. In Texas, we made familiar stops known to me as a boy: Merkel where Dad was born and raised, Loraine where I was born, Colorado City where I lived, visits with aunts and cousins, the Alamo, and San Antonio's River Walk.

St. Louis Gateway Arch

Artist Jay Tschetter with Family

A Wave from Jay

Jay at Work

Camping near Pea Ridge, Arkansas
Jared, Seth, Caleb, Kathy, Jordan, Amber
My great, great grandfather John Wesley Dean grew up on a farm near Pea Ridge, Arkansas and fought in the battles at Pea Ridge. I wanted to visit the battlefield and look him up on the registry.

Cousin Mike Hester's Home
Bedford, Texas

Mike's Pool
Typical summer day in Texas: HOT

Heather & Caleb
Spent some time with Sue, Lynn, and family.
Ate some good BBQ at Bartley's, of course.

Home where Grandpa Dean was born.
southwest of Merkel, Texas

site of Porter Place
now a cotton field
Grandpa Dean's boyhood home, Merkel, Texas

106 Oak Street, Merkel
Where Dad was renting a room
from Mrs. Ash when he and mom first met,
March 25, 1950.

Steve, Uncle Leroy, Polly
south of Merkel, Texas

Aunt Pauline, Steve
Merkel, Texas

Aunt Pauline's, Merkel
Caleb & Jared enjoyed shooting jack rabbits.

Dean family plot
Grandma & Grandpa Dean
Great Grandma & Grandpa Dean
Rosewood Cemetery, Merkel, Texas

Johnson Hospital, Loraine, Texas
..where I was born

745 East 9th, Colorado City, Texas
Mom and Dad's first home, where I lived until 1954

Aunt Mildred
Levelland, Texas

Cousin Carol, Aunt Mildred's Daughter

Aunt Maureen, Tucumcari, NM

The Alamo
San Antonio, Texas

Jordan, Seth: Alamo

Kathy, Steve
River Walk, San Antonio

Amber, Kathy
River Walk, San Antonio

Steve, River Walk
same stage as our 1972 visit

Special Mexican Dinner
San Antonio