Museum inducting four into Texas Heroes Hall of Honor

The Frontier Times Museum kicks off Bandera’s National Day of the American Cowboy celebration by inducting four great Texans into their Texas Heroes Hall of Honor.

This year’s class of 2021 will induct Western artist Jack Moss, rancher and cowgirl Barbara Mazurek and, posthumously, Bandera legends Frank Anderwald and Bruce Montague.

Established in 2009, the Texas Heroes Hall of Honor honors Texans who have exemplified what it means to be a great Texan and to embody the spirit of Texas.

This year’s induction ceremony and reception will be held Fri day, July 23, at the museum’s outdoor Texas Trail Driver Theatre on the museum grounds starting at 6:30 p.m.

Russell Hevenor of Hevenor Lumber and Hardware will serve as the Masters of Ceremony, and musical entertainment will be provided by Lee Harmon.

Inductee Frank Anderwald was a Bandera native who was a true cowboy. A rancher and owner of the guest ranch, Twin Elm Ranch, he not only promoted the cowboy way of life but he lived it every day.

For the guests who had the good fortune to stay at the Twin Elm and as a member of the Bandera County Chamber of Commerce and the Bandera County Visitors and Convention Bureau, he showed why Bandera is known as the Cowboy Capital of the World.

As a member of the San Antonio Livestock Trail Riders Association, he took Bandera on the road, serving as trail boss of the Cowboy Capital Trail Ride for 24 years leading them on their annual trek to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.

Fellow Bandera native, Bruce Montague, led a life that could have been a Hollywood movie. He was born into a prominent Bandera family, where he learned how to ranch, but his outgoing nature led him to want to entertain, so he formed a country and western band with his brothers and learned how to entertain the crowds with his trick roping.

But duty to his country called out, and he left to serve his country and became a hero for the heroism he showed during combat - not only in World War II but in the Korean War as well, earning him 23 air medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross.

No matter where he went in the world, the Texas spirit never left him and he became known as the Cowboy Soldier.

The next Texas Hero is a man of many talents, artist Jack Moss. Not only did he coach generations of young men in the official sport of Texas (football), but he is a well-known Western Artist who has exhibited his work all over the state of Texas.

After many years of successful coaching and a public school career, he retired with his wife to Llano, Texas.

Unfortunately, his wife passed away soon after. It was then that Jack rediscovered his talent for art.

Growing up in West Texas, he was always with a pencil in his hand sketching cattle and the cowhands’ at work, which is the inspiration for his watercolors. He has won several awards in art shows, including the San Antonio Art League Spring Show, J.R. Mooney Debut in San Antonio and the Humble Art League in Humble, Texas.

He has also been featured in Southern Living Magazine, Texas Monthly Magazine, and The Hill Country Magazine.

Moss established the Western Artists Round-Up, a consortium of western artists from around Texas who exhibit together at museums and art shows. He also owns The Gridiron Gallery, located in a historic building in Llano, Texas.

Barbara Mazurek is a much-loved Rancher and Cowgirl. Barbara has said, “Ranching is a way of life. It’s a Legacy.” And she has dedicated her life to this credo.

She grew up in the legendary ranching Mansfield family, the daughter of Bob Mansfield and niece to rodeo great, Toots Mansfield. Her grandfather, Ed, donated the land to the county to create our rodeo arena, Mansfield Park.

Barbara carried on the family tradition of ranching with her own ranch where she raised livestock including angora goats on the Mazurek Family Ranch, which has been in the family since the mid-1800s.

Through 4-H, she taught and mentored younger generations. The former teacher is passionate about educating kids that, as she puts it, “food and fiber doesn’t come from Walmart or Dairy Queen. We need to teach our kids what agriculture does for them.” And she did just that.

For keeping the ranching heritage alive and for her decades of service to the community, Barbara has been awarded numerous awards.

In 2001, she was honored as the Hometown Hero for Bandera and this year she was recognized as Texas County Agricultural Agents Association’s Man of the Year, only the second woman to receive this award. And she is the featured Cowgirl in the annual Bandera Cowgirls 2021 Calendar.

Along with the ceremony, each inductee will have a display area in the museum’s Hall of Heroes with items that highlight their life and career. This display will be on view until next year’s inductions.

The museum is located at 510 13th Street and the ceremony is free and open to the public.

Bandera’s National Day of American Cowboy celebration will be held the next day on Saturday, July 24, on the Bandera County Courthouse lawn.