{"id":357072,"date":"2026-07-01T10:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/357072\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:21:30","slug":"one-year-after-the-july-4-flood-kerr-county-shows-signs-of-trauma-and-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/357072\/","title":{"rendered":"One year after the July 4 flood, Kerr County shows signs of trauma and healing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">KERR COUNTY \u2014 Alicia Baker can\u2019t bring herself to clean her daughter\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Eleven-year-old Madelyn \u201cEmmy\u201d Jeffrey left a pile of craft supplies on the floor in their San Antonio home before heading off to the Guadalupe River with her grandparents, where they drowned in the flood last Fourth of July. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">A year later, the pile is still there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Baker, who wears a diamond made from her daughter\u2019s ashes, said seeing the mess allows her to pretend her daughter is away at camp or traveling. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cIf all of her things are gone then I can\u2019t rationalize that anymore,\u201d the 43-year-old said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">When the Guadalupe River swelled into a huge, raging waterway in the early morning hours of July 4 last year, it carved a horrific path of destruction. Baker\u2019s daughter and parents, staying at their one-bedroom vacation house by the water, died along with 116 others in Kerr County. <\/p>\n<p><img a=\"\" after=\"\" alt=\"\" and=\"\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baker=\"\" bola=\"\" center=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234728\" committee=\"\" country=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234728\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Alicia Jeffrey Baker receives a hug after testifying during a joint committee hearing at Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on July 31, 2025. Baker lost her parents Emlyn and Penelope Jeffrey and her daughter Madelyn \u201cEmmy\u201d Jeffrey in the flooding.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"Hill country committee hearing\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0731-Kerr-Flood-Hearing-RB-46.jpg?fit=780%2C520&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0731-Kerr-Flood-Hearing-RB-46.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/hill-country-committee-hearing-21\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" daughter=\"\" decoding=\"async\" during=\"\" emlyn=\"\" event=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" flooding.=\"\" hearing=\"\" height=\"520\" her=\"\" hill=\"\" hug=\"\" in=\"\" jeffrey=\"\" joint=\"\" july=\"\" kerrville=\"\" lost=\"\" madelyn=\"\" on=\"\" parents=\"\" penelope=\"\" receives=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0731-Kerr-Flood-Hearing-RB-46.jpg\"  testifying=\"\" texas=\"\" texas.=\"\" the=\"\" thursday=\"\" tribu=\"\" width=\"100%\" youth=\"\" z=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Alicia Baker receives a hug after testifying during a committee hearing at Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on July 31, 2025. Baker lost her parents Emlyn and Penelope Jeffrey and her daughter Madelyn \u201cEmmy\u201d Jeffrey in the flooding. Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The raging flood toppled old cypress trees that shaded the emerald water where generations of families swam. It washed away cars and entire houses. As one person there put it, the area looked like a bomb had gone off. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Nearly one year later, after months of cleanup and rebuilding, people are still grappling with how to heal both physically and emotionally. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved only slightly more than a fifth of the several thousand applications from Kerr County for assistance, according to a nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/john.laycock\/viz\/July2025CentralTexasFloodDashboard\/Overview\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tracking the data<\/a>. The local community foundation meanwhile <a href=\"https:\/\/rebuildkerr.org\/grantee-info\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">doled out millions<\/a> to groups helping people buy new homes or RVs or rebuild. Others still haven\u2019t decided what to do with their land.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Signs of normalcy have reemerged: Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dance Hall on the river rebuilt in time for its 101st summer season. The Hunt post office, where even the 1,400-pound safe washed away, is going back up, and the Ingram Little League has new fields to play on. Summer camps welcomed back children, eager to keep the magic alive even after 27 girls at Camp Mystic died in the flood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">People returned to the river, to fish, to kayak, to play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Reminders of the flood linger. The iconic Hunt Store and River Inn remain closed. Camp Mystic is shuttered and last week filed for bankruptcy. More than 90 new flood warning sirens that the directors of Camp Mystic raised money for stand ready to blare while six sirens expected to be paid for with state funds have been installed.<\/p>\n<p><img a=\"\" alt=\"\" and=\"\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234729\" county=\"\" crider=\"\" dancehall=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234729\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A yellow \u201cX\u201d painted on the wall of Crider\u2019s Rodeo &amp; Dancehall, a remnant from search and rescue efforts following the Kerr County flood last year, in Hunt on June 12, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 02\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-02.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-02.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-02\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" efforts=\"\" flood=\"\" following=\"\" from=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" kerr=\"\" last=\"\" of=\"\" on=\"\" painted=\"\" remnant=\"\" rescue=\"\" rodeo=\"\" search=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-02.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" wall=\"\" width=\"100%\" year=\"\" yellow=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">A yellow \u201cX\u201d painted on the wall of Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dance Hall, a remnant from search and rescue efforts following the Kerr County flood last year, in Hunt on June 12, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" center=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234755\" data-attachment-id=\"234755\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;People enjoy the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas on June 13, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"People enjoy the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-14.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-14.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/people-enjoy-the-guadalupe-river-in-center-point-texas-on-june-13-2026\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" enjoy=\"\" guadalupe=\"\" height=\"586\" in=\"\" june=\"\" on=\"\" point=\"\" river=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-14.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>People enjoy the Guadalupe River in Center Point on June 13, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img a=\"\" alt=\"Texas Tribune reporter Emily Foxhall takes notes on a kayak on the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" center=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234754\" data-attachment-id=\"234754\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Texas Tribune reporter Emily Foxhall takes notes on a kayak on the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas on June 13, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 03\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-03.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-03.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-03\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" emily=\"\" foxhall=\"\" guadalupe=\"\" height=\"586\" in=\"\" june=\"\" kayak=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" notes=\"\" on=\"\" point=\"\" reporter=\"\" river=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-03.jpg\"  takes=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" tribune=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>Texas Tribune reporter Emily Foxhall takes notes on a kayak on the Guadalupe River in Center Point on June 13, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Many say they feel nervous when it rains or haunted by the sounds of screams they heard that night. \u201cY\u2019ALL OK?\u201d ask yard signs around town that encourage people to seek help. Others carry overwhelming grief of losing a loved one. \u201cLive Like Jane,\u201d says a banner on a fence in memory of one victim, camp director Jane Ragsdale. Small crosses by the river marked the places some Mystic campers were found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWe are not recovered,\u201d said Austin Dickson, chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. \u201cWe are in recovery, and there is much more work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A sign on the side of the road in Center Point offers resources for flood relief.\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" center=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234795\" data-attachment-id=\"234795\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A sign on the side of the road in Center Point offers resources for flood relief.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 01\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-01.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-01.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-01\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" flood=\"\" for=\"\" height=\"586\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" of=\"\" offers=\"\" on=\"\" point=\"\" relief=\"\" resources=\"\" road=\"\" side=\"\" sign=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-01.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">A sign on the side of the road in Center Point offers resources for flood relief. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">In the months after the flood, when Baker would go by her family property, she would sit on the ledge by the water and reflect on how calm it was. She felt, in those moments, a familiar peace. This was the river she grew up going to camp by and where she and her husband got engaged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Her fiercely spirited daughter was spending the July 4 holiday with her adoring grandparents. Grandma Penny Jeffrey taught yoga to other seniors and Grandpa Emlyn Jeffrey regularly golfed, dialing his daughters every time he left the course to say he loved them. They picked up Emmy after every day of fifth grade so she could be in safety patrol, helping other kids get to and from car drop-offs. Soon Emmy would start middle school, where she couldn\u2019t wait to learn debate and play sports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">In the early evening on July 3, before eating brisket her grandpa made, Emmy FaceTimed with her mother, who planned to drive out to the river house with her husband and baby in two days. The house, raised on stilts, seemed better prepared to withstand the flood, but the river, choked with debris that included entire houses, swept it away, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Seven months later, Baker said she didn\u2019t let herself think too much about what happened because she didn\u2019t want to get stuck in those negative feelings. She still had her baby and husband to get out of bed for. She celebrated her mom\u2019s 70th birthday as they\u2019d planned, going to the Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York without her. She made Emmy\u2019s 12th birthday pancakes in December without her. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Looking at the river, Baker felt betrayed. How could she still love a place that violently took three people she cherished?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThere are two truths,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThis bad thing happened, but it is not a bad place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Living with grief<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">People have lived with the loss in different ways. Joseph Rounsley, 40, kept working, finding comfort getting away to the taxidermy supply store where he\u2019d started helping with tasks such as mowing the grass and prepping hides at age 10. He kept the business running, maybe taking orders for mannequins for deer heads or sheep eyeballs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">But Rounsley couldn\u2019t forget how he watched his brother, 27-year-old Julian Ryan, die during the flood, when their mom called Rounsley on FaceTime. Ryan and his mom, Marilyn Ryan, along with Ryan\u2019s girlfriend, her son and their baby, were stuck in a bedroom of his mom\u2019s mobile home near the river as it filled with water on July 4. The children floated on a mattress. The mom thought they would all drown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Julian Ryan punched through a window to try to help them escape. He turned to his mom, white as a ghost. Blood gushed from a wound on the inside of his elbow. His mom slapped him to try to keep him alive, screaming.<\/p>\n<p><img a=\"\" alt=\"Joseph Rounsley sits for a portrait in the showroom of Jet\u2019s Taxidermy Supply, where he works, in Kerrville, Texas on June 12, 2026. Rounsley lost his brother Julian Ryan in the Kerr County flood on July 4, 2025.\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" brother=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234737\" county=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234737\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Joseph Rounsley sits for a portrait in the showroom of Jet\u2019s Taxidermy Supply, where he works, in Kerrville, Texas on June 12, 2026. Rounsley lost his brother Julian Ryan in the Kerr County flood on July 4, 2025.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 24\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-24.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-24.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-24\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" flood=\"\" for=\"\" he=\"\" height=\"586\" his=\"\" in=\"\" jet=\"\" julian=\"\" july=\"\" june=\"\" kerr=\"\" kerrville=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" lost=\"\" of=\"\" on=\"\" portrait=\"\" rounsley=\"\" ryan=\"\" showroom=\"\" sits=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-24.jpg\"  supply=\"\" taxidermy=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" where=\"\" width=\"100%\" works=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Joseph Rounsley in the showroom of Jet\u2019s Taxidermy Supply, where he works in Kerrville, on June 12, 2026. Rounsley lost his brother Julian Ryan in the Kerr County flood on July 4, 2025. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cI watched him say he loves us, he\u2019s not going to make it,\u201d recalled Rounsley, who lived in Kerrville and couldn\u2019t get to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Julian Ryan lost too much blood. His mother held his body as the water in the mobile home neared the ceiling and finally went down. \u201cHe\u2019s my forever hero,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Now Rounsley had to keep going without his athletic, outgoing brother who loved hot wings and Corona. They would no longer go fishing together. Ryan would no longer cheer at middle school football games for Rounsley\u2019s son. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">After the flood, which ruined the floor of his own house too, Rounsley and his son moved in with his mom in a donated AirBnb in Kerrville. The scene of his brother dying kept replaying in his mind, keeping him from sleep. Marilyn Ryan, 57, eventually went back to her job as a caregiver for her former neighbor. They both got tattoos in his memory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">In March, grant money and their own GoFundMe helped with a down payment on a new home in Kerrville, far from the river. His mom wanted to stay close to Julian\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Rounsley hung a portrait of Julian just inside the entry. They arranged other framed photos of the family with him on a table below it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ll never celebrate Fourth of July again,\u201d Rounsley said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">* * *<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">In the neighboring city of Ingram, the restaurant and bar where Ryan worked reopened but the adjoining RV park behind it remained empty. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Lorena Guillen, 55, and her husband bought the site as a retirement project several years ago. They rented 54 sites in the RV park to short- and long-term tenants, who became a community. The couple took over the restaurant, called Howdy\u2019s, when existing operators moved out. Guillen taught employees her recipes, including her Texas whiskey pork belly chunks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">On June 30 of last year, she and her husband had finally paid off their investment in the restaurant and became profitable, she said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThis place was rocking; sometimes you couldn\u2019t find a table on a Friday or a Saturday night, and it was crazy,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cAnd then Fourth of July happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">July 3 was an amazing day. A customer recorded a video of people dancing while a band played in the sunlight on the patio at Howdy\u2019s, which is decorated like a honky tonk. Some in the video would be among more than 30 people who died that night at the RV park next door, HTR TX Hill Country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Guillen remembers being awakened by the red and blue of flashing emergency lights early on July 4.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Community members look at the damage caused by the flood on Louise Hays Park in Kerrville on July 5, 2025.\" class=\"image-compare__image-before\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1920\" id=\"234744\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0705-Hill-Country-Floods-BB-66-scaled.jpg\" width=\"100%\"\/><img alt=\"Louise Hays Park in Kerrville, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" class=\"image-compare__image-after\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1920\" id=\"234747\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-24-scaled.jpg\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Community members take in the damage caused by the flood on Louise Hays Park in Kerrville on July 5, 2025. | Louise Hays Park on June 13, 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Rousing her husband, Guillen hurried outside to find the roiling river rising. A family was stuck on the RV park\u2019s island, where she loved to walk her dog. Her husband tried to help them across a small pedestrian bridge to safety. They had two children with them. He urged them to throw one to him, but they couldn\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">In a moment, the river rose like a wave and swept them all away. Her husband\u2019s flashlight lanyard caught on what he thinks was rebar, which saved him. Only later did he tell Guillen what happened to him. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Months passed helping tenants file FEMA claims and working with search and recovery before Guillen saw a psychiatrist. Her anger was taking a toll on her marriage and her employees at Howdy\u2019s. She panicked if she ever saw someone walk to the island with children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">At her damaged home the night after the flood, she noticed the silence without RV park guests lighting fires or playing music. She and her husband eventually moved to Bandera, about a 30-minute drive away, but she couldn\u2019t leave her customers altogether and she had a mortgage to pay. She\u2019s thinking about putting an amphitheater and flea market where the RV park used to be \u2014 nothing to be used overnight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful place,\u201d she said. \u201cHow can we walk away?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Deciding to stay<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Survivors of the flood all had to make choices: Should they rebuild? Should they move? Could they love the river again?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">James Trolinger, 61, and Brenda Espinoza, 57, decided to stay. They lived in a home low on the slope of a hill behind the main road that winds along the Guadalupe River from Ingram. The couple woke on July 4 after a warning call from a neighbor and found their floors wet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The river tumbled their furniture and covered their floors and counters in inches of mud. They wearily retold their story of loss in order to get donated gift cards. They built back their wardrobes largely with donated clothes. Eventually, they moved into another neighbor\u2019s empty house and committed to rebuilding.<\/p>\n<p><img a=\"\" after=\"\" alt=\"Mike Trolinger, a retired San Antonio Police officer from Kerrville, and his wife Brenda Espinoza outside of their home in Ingram on June 12, 2026. The couple renovated their home after the Kerr County flood caused significant damage.\" and=\"\" antonio=\"\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" brenda=\"\" caused=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234782\" county=\"\" couple=\"\" damage.=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234782\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Mike Trolinger, a retired San Antonio Police officer from Kerrville, and his wife Brenda Espinoza outside of their home in Ingram on June 12, 2026. The couple renovated their home after the Kerr County flood caused significant damage.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 27\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-27.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-27.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-27\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" espinoza=\"\" flood=\"\" from=\"\" height=\"586\" his=\"\" home=\"\" in=\"\" ingram=\"\" june=\"\" kerr=\"\" kerrville=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" of=\"\" officer=\"\" on=\"\" outside=\"\" police=\"\" renovated=\"\" retired=\"\" san=\"\" significant=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-27.jpg\"  stand=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" their=\"\" trolinger=\"\" width=\"100%\" wife=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Mike Trolinger, a retired San Antonio Police officer from Kerrville, and his wife Brenda Espinoza outside of their home on June 12, 2026. The couple renovated their home after the Kerr County flood caused significant damage. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The land mattered to them because it had been in Trolinger\u2019s family for more than a century. Trolinger and Espinoza had met decades ago when he worked as an undercover narcotics officer for the Kerr County Sheriff\u2019s Office and she was a dispatcher at the Kerrville Police Department. They reconnected and had early dates fixing up the house and sitting around the fire pit. They married on the deck in 2021. Together, they ran a restaurant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Now Trolinger learned to dry out the home and use disinfecting spray to prevent mold. The couple saved some of Trolinger\u2019s uniforms. A volunteer helped Espinoza search for her missing charm bracelet with a metal detector, and, when they couldn\u2019t find it, she returned with a new one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cI can\u2019t keep living in fear,\u201d Espinoza decided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The two got back into their home by April. When it storms, Espinoza does puzzles or adult coloring books to calm down. Sometimes she wakes up screaming, afraid to touch her feet to the floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">She still hasn\u2019t walked down to the river. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">* * *<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Not far away, Michelle \u201cCoach\u201d McGuire, 57, lived with friends for the first few weeks. She\u2019d woken July 4 to the sound of her house creaking under the pressure of the flood and reached for her phone to find her bedside table floating. Was this a nightmare?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The former high school volleyball and basketball coach rented her house in Hunt starting in 2023. She\u2019d already been in the area for seven years, spending some of those summers coaching at nearby Camp Waldemar. Just the day before the flood, she\u2019d been out fishing, feeling grateful for where she lived.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The frigid river swept McGuire away. She clung to a wall, then a tree.<\/p>\n<p><img a=\"\" alt=\"Michelle McGuire, a survivor of the Kerr County flood on July 4, 2025, in Hunt, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234735\" county=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234735\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Michelle McGuire, a survivor of the Kerr County flood, in Hunt on June 12, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 12\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-12.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-12.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-12\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" flood=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" july=\"\" june=\"\" kerr=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" mcguire=\"\" of=\"\" on=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-12.jpg\"  survivor=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Michelle \u201cCoach\u201d McGuire, a survivor of the Kerr County flood, in Hunt on June 12, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">McGuire told God she didn\u2019t want her mom to bury her. Rescuers later found her on that tree limb some 30 feet up in the air, alive, wearing the t-shirt and shorts she\u2019d slept in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">McGuire, who is Catholic, couldn\u2019t believe the crucifix she wore on a thin chain still hung from her neck. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Immediately, her pastor sent someone to check on her. People gave her clothes and money. Friends loaned her their car and one offered her the use of the house of a grandparent who had moved to assisted living.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">McGuire never thought about leaving; her friends here felt like family. She worked as a caregiver for a woman in her 80s and didn\u2019t want to abandon her either.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Grant money let her buy the house where she was staying, the first one she\u2019s owned, built on a hill where she felt safe. She invited her friends for monthly game nights. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">She\u2019d seen her life hanging in the balance. Never a warm and fuzzy person, she started to hug a little more, even more grateful for what she had.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cMy story is a message of hope,\u201d she tells people who ask her to share what happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Back in business<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The river didn\u2019t just destroy homes. More than 300 businesses needed help after the flood. They\u2019ve been supported by grants, no-interest loans and donations, but it isn\u2019t always enough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Brother and sister Neal Secor, 55, who lives in Boerne, and Mandi Secor Lipscomb, 49, who lives in Austin own a cluster of riverside cabins called Waltonia on the River, built on land that has been in the family for a century. The water rose an astounding 50 feet on the property, according to a surveyor. But everyone got out the night of the flood, thanks to a renter whose family had been coming there for generations who was watching the river and raised the alarm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cI was just really in shock,\u201d Lipscomb said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe that it had really happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Siblings Mandi Secor Lipscomb and Neal Secor at Waltonia On The River in Ingram, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" and=\"\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234736\" data-attachment-id=\"234736\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Siblings Mandi Secor Lipscomb and Neal Secor at Waltonia On The River in Ingramon June 12, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 21\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-21.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-21.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-21\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"586\" in=\"\" ingram=\"\" june=\"\" lipscomb=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" mandi=\"\" neal=\"\" on=\"\" river=\"\" secor=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-21.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" waltonia=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Siblings Mandi Secor Lipscomb and Neal Secor at Waltonia on the River on June 12, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The brother and sister demolished seven damaged cabins, with cleanup help from the Ingram football team and Secor\u2019s friends from the construction business, among others. Churches provided trays of food for the many volunteers. Friends helped Lipscomb  research grants and a guest started a GoFundMe to pay for rebuilding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Not until February did they know they would be able to open again this summer. They\u2019re down to five guest cabins, three of them refurbished. That\u2019s as far as the money got them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cI think a lot of us haven\u2019t had a chance to even process emotion,\u201d Secor said. \u201cWe\u2019re too busy trying to get it back to something.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Their great-grandfather had first built a fishing retreat at the site to teach others about land management. The siblings grew up there. They remember how families used to stay up late playing ping pong, and how their grandparents would host the adults for card games and flick the pavilion lights off outside to signal quiet time. All that remains of the family home now is the chimney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">They wanted to protect this legacy even if it didn\u2019t make financial sense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWe can\u2019t be the ones to blow it,\u201d Lipscomb said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">***<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Scott Towery, 67, still lives surrounded by the damage at River Inn \u2014 historic condos he manages near the headwaters of the south fork of the river that owners often rented. He was the first person in Kerr County to dial 911 to warn about the flood. One visitor there died on July 4 as Towery tried to evacuate guests up the hill, before boosting people up onto the roof.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The condo owners in November voted to rebuild the units just as they were, rather than sell, and they\u2019re waiting for architectural designs. The owners are all helping to pay for the work. July 4 bunting still hangs outside. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">One unit owner sold without coming back for their family\u2019s things. Towery and his wife decided to move to a house across the street. It took them months before they could even talk to each other about the disaster. <\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Scott Towery at the River Inn in Hunt, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234734\" data-attachment-id=\"234734\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Scott Towery at the River Inn in Hunt on June 12, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"Scott Towery at the River Inn in Hunt, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-10.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-10.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/scott-towery-at-the-river-inn-in-hunt-texas-on-june-12-2026\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" inn=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" on=\"\" river=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-10.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" towery=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Scott Towery at the River Inn on June 12, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">But Towery can tell many guests and owners are eager to return. He fielded constant calls after the flood from people wondering when they can book a room again. He expects owners and renters to be able to return at the start of 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">He updated his voicemail: \u201cCurrently we are not operable and it will be some time before we will continue our operations. Please bear with us during this difficult time.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Recently, the iconic concrete slide next to the river got fixed. So did the small dam that creates their swimming hole. In May, workers dug 5,500 tons of rock and sediment out of the river, leaving one large limestone rock to remember the disaster by. He\u2019s planned to get outdoor lights redone next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThat makes you feel like you\u2019re doing something,\u201d Towery said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Glimpsing hope<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">At Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dance Hall, the fading light on the second Friday in June illuminated smiling faces and long hugs. Kids ran across the new dance floor. A musician strummed her guitar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Owner Tracy Moore had been at the restaurant since around 8 a.m., cooking beans and okra, prepping her tartar sauce and cleaning her fryer. As the restaurant opened, Moore warmly welcomed guests. They included retired lawyer Ross Rommel, 78, whose family took him to Crider\u2019s as a baby. Years later, he and his wife Deborah, 77, used to come here to dance the cotton eyed joe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWe have Crider\u2019s back,\u201d Deborah said, smiling.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Tracy Moore takers order at Crider's Rodeo &amp; Dancehall in Hunt, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234731\" crider=\"\" dancehall=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234731\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Tracy Moore takers order at Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall in Hunt on June 12.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 04\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-04.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-04.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-04\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" moore=\"\" on=\"\" order=\"\" rodeo=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-04.jpg\"  takers=\"\" texas=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Tracy Moore takers order at Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall in Hunt on June 12. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img a=\"\" alt=\"Community members fill Crider's Rodeo &amp; Dancehall on a Friday evening for the weekly fish fry in Hunt, Texas on June 12, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234732\" crider=\"\" dancehall=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234732\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Community members fill Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall on a Friday evening for the weekly fish fry in Hunt.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 05\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-05.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-05.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-05\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" evening=\"\" fill=\"\" fish=\"\" for=\"\" friday=\"\" fry=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" members=\"\" on=\"\" rodeo=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-05.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" weekly=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>Community members fill Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall on a Friday evening for the weekly fish fry in Hunt. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img a=\"\" alt=\"Patrons fill the seats at Crider's Rodeo and Dancehall for the weekly fish fry.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234788\" crider=\"\" dancehall=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"234788\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Patrons fill the seats at Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall for the weekly fish fry.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260612 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 06\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-06.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-06.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260612-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-06\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" evening=\"\" fill=\"\" fish=\"\" for=\"\" friday=\"\" fry=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" members=\"\" on=\"\" rodeo=\"\" seats=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260612-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-06.jpg\"  texas=\"\" the=\"\" weekly=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>Patrons fill the seats at Crider\u2019s Rodeo and Dancehall for the weekly fish fry. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Courtney Compton and her husband Brian, both 49, had worked for Moore here, he as a bouncer and she as a bartender. They\u2019d married on the property in 2011.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s so good to be back,\u201d Compton said, to no one in particular, as she looked around.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">More than four feet of water had flooded Crider\u2019s. When Moore saw the damage later that morning, she shut the door and walked away, not ready to deal with it. But she knew they would rebuild. Eventually they powerwashed and sanded the wood from the walls, pieced the counter back together and tried to scrub the floodline from the windows. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Cut from the metal beneath the new bathroom sinks are the words: \u201cDANCIN\u2019 FOR NAYNAY\u201d \u2014 a tribute to the daughter of Moore\u2019s niece who died at Camp Mystic. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s been a long haul,\u201d Moore had said. She explained that they could never have recovered like they did without the time, work and financial and emotional help from Crider\u2019s generations of supporters. She felt glad to be open again. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Businessman John Dunn walked to a table to wait for his catfish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThe emergence of Crider\u2019s at this time, in the absence of everything else in Hunt that you would normally have, is special,\u201d Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Dunn and his wife Vikki, who moved here from Houston, had bought another nearby local landmark, the Hunt Store, in 2013, wanting to be part of a place that defined the town. The hamburger spot, with its river stone walls and cedar posts, was a community gathering place; it hosted steak nights and pizza nights, and an employee in his 80s opened the store at 7 a.m. for the old-timers and others to get their coffee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Dunn and his wife sold the store several years ago, but kept living in the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The flood stripped away much of the store\u2019s walls. Dunn served as president of the Hunt Preservation Society, which then helped with recovery. Now he and his wife are also leading the store\u2019s rebuild.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Instead of \u201cHunt Store,\u201d the letters near the roof now say \u201cHunt Strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d Vikki Dunn said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">* * *<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The next day, a sunny Saturday morning at Camp Waldemar on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River, some 300 girls from fourth through 11th grades rode horses, swam and fenced, while their field day teammates cheered. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Here, the cypress trees still had their bark. Bugs and birds sang. Here, spared from the worst rains, no one had died and no cabins with campers had flooded. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Waldemar owner Meg Clark knows other camps with fewer resources face challenges greater than her own. Waldemar is steeped in a legacy of generations of families sending their daughters to the secluded spot on the river, sometimes signing them up at birth. Even after the flood, their high retention rate only fell by a few percentage points for the second term. <\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Meg Clark, owner and executive director at Camp Waldemar, in Hunt, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" and=\"\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" camp=\"\" clark=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234739\" data-attachment-id=\"234739\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Meg Clark, owner and executive director at Camp Waldemar, in Hunt on June 13, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 30\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-30.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-30.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-30\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" director=\"\" executive=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" on=\"\" owner=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-30.jpg\"  texas=\"\" waldemar=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Meg Clark, owner and executive director at Camp Waldemar, on June 13, 2026. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img alt=\"Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar in Hunt, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" camp=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234742\" data-attachment-id=\"234742\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 35\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-35.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-35.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-35\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" during=\"\" fork=\"\" guadalupe=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" north=\"\" of=\"\" on=\"\" practice=\"\" river=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-35.jpg\"  swim=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" waldemar=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<img alt=\"Campers during fencing practice at Camp Waldemar in Hunt, Texas on June 13, 2026.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" camp=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234741\" data-attachment-id=\"234741\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Campers during fencing practice at Camp Waldemar.&lt;\/p&gt;&#10;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 33\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-33.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-33.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-33\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" during=\"\" fencing=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" on=\"\" practice=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-33.jpg\"  texas=\"\" waldemar=\"\" width=\"780\"\/>Campers participate in fencing practice at Camp Waldemar. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Because of the state\u2019s new camp safety laws, Clark built six new cabins among the others on a hill. The camp boosted its emergency supplies, buying more generators, radios and backup food and water. All full-time staff went through trauma-informed training and CPR training. They\u2019re partnered with their own meteorologist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">But Clark is well aware that some camps didn\u2019t reopen this summer, including Camp Mystic. She\u2019s among those, including many who live locally, who feel like the focus after the tragedy has been only on Camp Mystic and missed the broader story of the other lives lost and the larger toll.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">For Clark, it matters for kids to have a place without phones and do cartwheels on the lawn, where they can learn basic life skills and be themselves apart from the social pressures of school. At Waldemar, girls have to make their bed and pick up the trash and raise the flag. They have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cThis has to keep going,\u201d Clark said. \u201cIt has to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar.\" aperture=\"\" at=\"\" baz=\"\" camp=\"\" class=\"wp-image-234803\" data-attachment-id=\"234803\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-meta=\"{\" data-image-title=\"20260613 Kerr Co Flood Anniversary BB 34\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-34.jpg?fit=780%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-34.jpg?fit=2560%2C1922&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/20260613-kerr-co-flood-anniversary-bb-34\/\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" during=\"\" fork=\"\" guadalupe=\"\" height=\"586\" hunt=\"\" in=\"\" june=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" north=\"\" of=\"\" on=\"\" practice=\"\" river=\"\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260613-Kerr-Co-Flood-Anniversary-BB-34.jpg\"  swim=\"\" texas=\"\" the=\"\" waldemar=\"\" width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Campers during swim practice on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River at Camp Waldemar. Brenda Baz\u00e1n for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KERR COUNTY \u2014 Alicia Baker can\u2019t bring herself to clean her daughter\u2019s bedroom. Eleven-year-old Madelyn \u201cEmmy\u201d Jeffrey left&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2327,12257,2270,4187,4035,287,27,29,293,28,6473],"class_list":["post-357072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-environment","tag-flood","tag-guadalupe-river","tag-kerr-county","tag-kerrville","tag-politics","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-legislature","tag-texas-news","tag-well-a-homepage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}