St. Cecilia makes annual stop in Lockhart

By Leesa Teale

LPR Publisher

Last week over 70 students and chaperons, from the St. Cecilia Catholic School, made their rounds on their annual Texas Tour Trip.  Visiting various locations in the state, their last stop was right here in Lockhart. 

During the 7th grade, students learn all about the heritage and history of the Lone Star state. And for the last 8 years they have chosen to make the community of Lockhart a staple stop. Christy Drake and Chris Inman both teach 7th grade and collaborated together to bring this group trip to fruition. The trip always includes the Texas history stops at museums and historical locales. They also always attend a church service as well. But one of the last stops is in Lockhart at the Original Black’s BBQ in downtown Lockhart every year. 

Traveling from Houston, the 60 student/11 adult chaperon group left on a charter bus Wednesday for the packed-full three day trip.  On Wednesday the group visited San Antonio. Included in their stops were the Missions National Park and after lunch they attended Rosary at San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest, continuously functioning religious community in the State of Texas. From there they had a few more stops including the Alamo. 

Up early on Thursday they made their way to Austin where they toured the Texas Military History Museum and the Bob Bullock Museum. They also were able to tour the Texas Capital and spoke with Senator for District 18 Lois Kolkhorst. 

Student Parker Sirgo said, “You can read all about history and learn things from books, but seeing the actual artifacts makes it all more real.” Sirgo’s favorite stop was the Bob Bullock Museum as it displayed a lot of interesting pieces and information about Texas history.  Fellow student Victoria Molinares agreed that the trip was very interesting. “It is nice to learn about historical things that I didn’t know.” Her favorite part was the preservation of the La Belle Ship at the museum. 

After attending Mass at Santa Cruz Catholic Church in Buda, the group made a last minute stop to the LBJ Presidential Library. Jeff Matthews, school principal, stated, “The LBJ library tour was a last minute addition to our trip. When we originally planned the trip there was no visitation slots available. But then one opened and we took it. This unfortunately made us cut our visiting short in Lockhart.”  

Matthews stated that normally the group will make a stop at various places in Lockhart. “Over the years we have visited the historical Caldwell County Courthouse and the Jail Museum. Unfortunately we couldn’t do that this year.” 

Matthews explained that this was the 3rd or 4th trip that I have accompanied the group and has always enjoyed the hospitality. “We receive such great hospitality from the town but those especially at Blacks. Texas has such a rich history and tradition and we are blessed to give our students this hands-on experience.” This year Blacks was the only stop in Lockhart due to timing constraints. “We never miss the opportunity to experience Blacks. Great Food… Great People,” said Matthews. 

Chad Nevill, manager at the Original Black’s BBQ in Lockhart enjoyed being able to be a part of the trip. “We are thankful and honored to be a stop on the Texas Tour Trip for these kids. It’s great being a highlight of their trip and we look forward to serving and seeing them against next year.”