Designing a life of a volunteer style

You’ve seen him around town, a smile on his face and a laugh in his voice; Alan helps out manning the information booth at the Visitor’s Center. But his main organization of affection is the Wimberley Valley Museum. He is there at every function, and ready to jump in whenever any heavy lifting is required, literally and figuratively.

Alan is really a resident of Fischer as his ranch is located there, but Wimberley is his main hangout. His ties to the area are deep. Although a native of Houston, he ran cattle for his uncle in his youth and his family had land in Comal and Travis counties.

He graduated from Milby High School in Houston. “My Sterling Junior High coach said there was a new high school that a famous architect built, ‘Alan if you come to the brand new school, you can be starting quarterback,” Alan said.

His older brother was going to school at the University of Chicago, that was right next door to the Robie House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous creations, which sparked his interest of architectural design when he visited there.

When it was time for Alan to go off to college, it was “the University of Texas. I wanted to go to Yale, but dad said it was too expensive,” he said,

“I was never an architect. I married a schoolmate (who was)… Under her license, I did get a certification, professional building designer, nothing over four stories.”

They went into business together. “My wife was the planner, I did most of the architectural design.” The couple had two children, a boy and a girl, but parted ways as being business partners and married was too much. Honestly, he said, “my wife got tired of me,” but the business ties and partnership remain.

His volunteer spirit, however, was part of his genes.

“My parents were great volunteers, and I had a couple of nonprofits in Austin. The first was a designer space and a performance space in Austin in three locations.”

The nonprofit loaned out performance space to the arts community. “The concept was ‘what you could do in the community to promote the arts?’”

He helped to get the first Hotel Occupancy Tax in Austin to back the arts community. “Because that’s what brought people there (the arts).” The space was open to the arts, all-inclusive, whether it was Butch Hancock, a dance company, or Country and Western videos in East Austin.

Things wound down in Austin, but his business did the work on the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment in San Marcos. Eventually, he decided to move back to Fischer into the house he designed for his parents, with his mom still living there.

“It was sort of neat that Wimberley is the closest town.” He got a job at the old Ace Hardware for a time. “The last time I worked, at 16, was at a hardware store… They moved me over to the Canyon Lake store.”

“Then my mom asked, ‘Does Wimberley have a history?’” This sparked a thought. He got in contact with the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce and was soon in contact with like-minded individuals like the John sons, John Poe and “a great group of people” with the Wimberley Institute of Cultures.

The history of the town and the Wimberley Institute of Cultures soon needed advise on the restoration of the Zach Wimberley-Hughes House. Before he knew it, he was on the WIC Board of Directors, and he recently celebrated his ten-year anniversary with the group.

As a participant in all things architectural, he did have a good Buck Winn tale to tell. “I knew lots of people… I knew Buck (Winn) quit teaching at 65 or 66 years old. But he would come back for the architect fraternity who had a Bogart’s Ball.

“(Invited) as an old man designer, it was always a top party… Everybody wore togas to show equality. I saw him and thought ‘Crazy old man, I like him.’ Kitty (his wife) didn’t approve (of attending the college toga parties).”

Looking forward to post-COVID times, WIC will be in full swing again with the Harvest Moon Dance, Pie Social and the Fireside Dinner. Of course, you’ll see him at those events.

But until then, look for an ever-present cowboy hat around town and if you happen to recognize Alan, you can bet there’s a big smile behind that mask-covered face. Know a lot of his thoughts went into maintaining and reviving the historical buildings of the Wimberley Valley.