For as long as I can remember, Kerr County was defined by rolling hills, abundant wildlife, friendly folks and the tranquil, cypress-lined waters of the Guadalupe River. Our county defined itself.
That all changed on July 4, 2025. Things were fine until they were not.
The initial shock of the floods brought thousands of volunteers and millions of dollars into our county to help with the initial rescue and recovery efforts. The flood, those volunteers and contributions from people around the world redefined Kerr County.
Kerr County became a place where unthinkable tragedy was answered with an outpouring of care and generosity. A place where grief from loss was tempered with love, compassion and generosity. The world knew us as a place where people unselfishly worked countless hours to help our county recover.
That definition was reinforced by national news coverage of the efforts here. Traveling the west during late July last year, my wife and I encountered numerous people who offered sympathy and condolences. That was what was in the news.
Things began to change as the initial surge of recovery efforts waned and some people’s grief turned to anger. That anger turned to retribution. Hearings and legislation followed designed to prevent future tragedies. The “Heaven’s 27″ became the focus of many people outside of Kerr County. The efforts of Dick Eastland, who perished attempting to save some of the 27, became a sad footnote in the story. A friend pointed out that the bill promoting camp safety should have been entitled “Heaven’s 28.”
The lives of the other 92 people who were lost in the flood have seemingly been forgotten by those not directly affected or living in Kerr County.
The state and national media have shifted the narrative from what was going on in Kerr County to what is going on in the courts. The hearings, legislation, lawsuits and bankruptcy filings are now defining Kerr County as the place “where those little girls died at the camp.” I have heard that from around the state.
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, the city’s reputation was tarnished overnight, painted by the brush of the media that portrayed Dallas as the city that let JFK be shot. It took generations for Dallas to shed that label.
The school shootings in Uvalde, where 22 innocent students and teachers were slaughtered by an evil person, turned that quiet town on US Hwy 90 into a town filled with incompetent and irresponsible people. The city is still recovering, and hopefully, the process should speed up as the media’s focus moves on.
With the Camp Mystic story firmly in the state and national media crosshairs, it appears it will be left up to us to once again redefine what Kerr County is all about. Thank goodness we have a local media presence to report on the recovery and rebuilding efforts that are occurring.
It was recently reported locally that 7,000 native plants had been donated to restore the riparian habitat along the river. Also, local churches joined together to support a week of prayer as we approached the anniversary of the flood.
We found out the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has awarded more than $82 million through 120 grants to more than 100 nonprofit organizations during the first year of recovery. More than 130 households have returned to permanent housing and 100 more are moving through the housing recovery process.
Those are just the most recent stories about how Kerr County is recovering. They did not make national or state headlines. The story of a local camp, forced to shutter its operations this year, declaring bankruptcy did.
As we approach the anniversary of what will forever be known as “The July Fourth Flood,” it is incumbent on everyone in Kerr County to tell the story of not only what happened here that day, but, most importantly, what has happened since.
That is what defines us.
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