How Remington’s bronze “The Stampede” came to the library

It’s an understatement to simply announce the generous gift of a Remington statue to the Dripping Springs Community Library by a long-time patron.

Similarly, it would be a disservice to our readers to omit the story behind this gift…so we’ll begin this article with the familiar, “Once upon a time,” because this story is actually a fairytale, a love story and an adventure. Or, perhaps it is a chronicle to rightfully take its place among Dripping Springs’ legends and lore.

It began more than 25 years ago when an Austin interior designer – Lynnda Colby, an attractive business-owner -- met Dripping Springs rancher/real estate developer H.C. Carter at a New Year’s Eve party, hosted by the dean of the art school at The University of Texas.

As Lynnda recently recalled, “The first time he asked me to dance, I was smitten at first touch”. Once you danced with HC Carter, you knew had been danced with. 

Born in Fort Worth, Lynnda grew up in Lubbock where, as she put it, “everybody knew what they were supposed to do.” Like most girls of her era, Lynnda grew up with a love for the outdoors and chose “Gone with the Wind” as her all-time favorite movie. But early in her life, she also found a passion for making things, taking something simple and making it beautiful…foreshadowing the successful business – Colby Design – the talented interior designer began in Austin in 1989.

“We met again during a hayride (I didn’t realize, at the time, it was his ranch hosting the event). After several months of friendship, we began dating…..the rest is history.

Who was H.C. Carter?

But who was this man, this handsome, fun-loving Texan who had swept the vivacious blonde off her feet? 

H.C. Carter was born July 17, 1933 in Mexia. Because his father was a superintendent in the construction business, the Carter family moved wherever building was happening, particularly during the Depression years. By the time H.C. graduated from high school, he had attended 17 different schools. 

Not an easy life, especially for a teenager, but it offered valuable experience for the young men who learned to make friends easily and with people from all walks of life.

He attended San Angelo College on a rodeo scholarship before continuing his education in architecture at The University of Texas, but quickly found another conduit for his ambitious dreams.

“One summer while he was framing a home, H.C. saw a salesman drive up in a big, air-conditioned car. Wiping away sweat with his already-soaked shirt, the young aspiring entrepreneur took no time in sorting out the obvious.” 

That day, H.C. Carter discovered real estate. Relying on his healthy work ethic (up and on the job at 4 a.m.) and his growing network of friends in the early 60's, he established Carter Homes -- building and selling homes in the Crestview, Brentwood, Allandale, and Balcones West neighborhoods. 

“He was a tough businessman, but if he told you he would do something, you could take it to the bank…and he was generous to a fault,” Lynnda continued, adding a story to illustrate his compassionate nature. “The foreman at the ranch hired a man to mow the grass and cut back some of the shrubbery. When the man began working, H.C. noticed he was constantly rolling the lawnmower over rocks. When he asked the foreman why the man was hitting so many rocks, the ranch hand explained the man had cataracts but was, otherwise, a hard worker.

“H.C. asked the foreman to take the maintenance man to a prominent eye specialist. His cataracts were removed and his vision, restored before he returned to the ranch. Without fanfare, H.C. had paid the bill for the complete stranger.”

Over the next decade, H.C. added the title of founding partner in Paragon Properties, a commercial brokerage firm, to his growing resume’. His development company -- Carter Investments -- built and/or developed the 26 Doors Shopping Center, more than 2,500 apartment units, and other office, retail and specialty projects.

“H.C. believed in giving back to his community,” Lynnda explained, so he always made time to do that, serving on the boards of Brackenridge Hospital, the Paramount Theatre and the UT School of Architecture.

Aside from building successful businesses, this proud Texan’s true passions were ranching, breeding longhorns and devouring Texas history. While author James Michener was gathering information for his epic novel "Texas," the writer spent many hours, seated in a front-porch rocking chair, enjoying the Hill Country vistas of Carter Ranch, discussing trail rides, cattle drives and Texas history with H.C. 

“Mr. Michener told H.C. he gave him more acknowledgements in his book than any other sources in any of his other books,” Lynnda said, “and he added, ‘Carter, if this book’s a failure, it's your fault. I've never given so many acknowledgements in print to anyone.’”

Often described as the archetypal “Renaissance Man,” (a cultured individual with interests and knowledge in a broad area of topics), one magazine writer concluded, “the perfect day for H.C. Carter would be attending an all-day cattle sale and then attending a black-tie charity event that evening…a man whose circle of friends is made up of the famous and the power brokers, the movers and the shakers from Austin to Washington, the governors, congressmen, presidents and influential business men and women.”

H.C. had few boundaries. If he liked you – he liked you…and it seemed he had friends everywhere he went. On a trip to Paris, as he and his wife were strolling in the heart of the city, a voice came from across the street: “H.C. Carter…is that you?” It was a friend from the California cattle industry.

‘Camelot’ on a Cattle Ranch

Lynnda Colby, who would become H.C.’s wife, companion, best friend, partner and care-giver for the next 25 years after that first dance, soon learned her husband had a strong appreciation for all forms of Western art and the traditions and romance of the American West, values she embraced as her own. “I remember the first time H.C. took me to see Carter Longhorn Ranch. We crossed the dam and were met by the most pristine and peaceful expanse of land where, in my imagination, I could see cowboys herding cattle and pioneer families by the wagonload, looking for places to put down roots,” she related. “It was breath-taking!

“More than once, I awoke to horses already saddled and ready to ride to a beautiful site on the ranch, where H.C. had started a campfire and was cooking breakfast for the two of us, in time to witness a Hill Country sunrise,” she said, “and he never missed a morning, arising first and returning from the kitchen with our morning coffee,” Lynnda remembered. “Truly, he treated me like a queen – but that was H.C. Carter. Wherever he was, whomever he was talking with, he made them feel like the most important person in the room or at the cattle auction or a fundraiser for something he believed in.” 

Back in the earlier part of the 20th century, Texas longhorn cattle had become a nearly extinct breed, but after their resurrection, the Texas Longhorn Cattle Breeders Association was organized in the late 1960s. H.C. was a founding member, along with his good friend, Charlie Schreiner, II of the Y-O Ranch, and when he married Lynnda, the two of them were regular participants in many association-sponsored events, including those they hosted at the Carter Ranch.

H.C. Carter stepped into the competitive circles of longhorn cattle breeding with 10 animals he purchased from Schreiner and the Y-O Ranch. Several years later, his steer – Speck – won the World Championship – three years in a row. “my husband taught me to love longhorns as much as he did. They, truly, are gentle giants, good natured and actually ate out of our hands.”

The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association, as H.C. told one reporter, “was focused on maintaining a registry of longhorns as well as producing beef for America’s tables.” Unless and until the demand for the naturally lean longhorn steaks increases in U.S. households, he said, breeders would not find raising longhorns profitable.”

“After I married H.C., we made the sprawling ranch house our own, adding a living room and sprucing up the existing structure so we could host more gatherings,” his wife shared, “but both of us also loved entertaining outdoors because of the natural beauty of the surrounding ranch land.” 

“To most visitors, the Carter Ranch seemed to have emerged, as one Austin reporter described, “straight out of a Larry McMurtry novel, complete with a herd of 125 longhorns.” Then he added, “Actually, it's a property straight out of ‘The Alamo’ movie because, for the 2004 film, set designers erected wood backdrops of a town with a church, saloon and general store on the Dripping Springs’ ranch acreage.” 

Giving Back: Library Fundraisers

Fast forward to the beginning of the present day library. In 1996, the couple held the first fundraiser for a new Dripping Springs Community Library building at Carter Ranch when Susan Richardson and H.C. put together a guest list – mainly from Austin. For $125 per person, guests were treated to dinner under the stars as well as western entertainment including a cowboy performing rope tricks and a band for listening and dancing on the pavilion.

Proceeds from that fundraiser became seed money for the new building (the library at the time was housed in a room at the high school).

The next year, the fundraiser was called “The Gathering,” and artists of some renown were invited to set up booths and sell their work with a percentage going to the library fund. This second event attracted more musicians and bands, all donating their time and talent to the cause.

The group of patrons and volunteers worked longer and harder each year to make each fundraiser more successful than the last…and with this kind of dedication along with the commitment of their many patrons, reaching their goal of a stand-alone library was only a matter of time.

In three years, The Gatherings at Carter Ranch generated $130,000 and had netted a grant for matching funds, pushing a library building closer to becoming a reality. 

“After the first party, people really understood what we were doing and got on board with these fundraisers, which became not only became a real community effort,” Lynnda remembered, “but it also was good for everyone involved – the artists, musicians and those attending -- and many people contributed to making these events exciting and successful, people like Doyle Fellers, owner of an Austin ad agency who donated artwork, logos and programs for each event, and Jim Polkingnhorns, architect for library, who donated plans for the new building.”

Beginnings and Endings

The Dripping Springs Community Library building opened at 501 Sportsplex Drive in 1998. Today, the staff, Board of Directors, patrons and Friends of the Library continue to focus on their vision: To promote life-long learning for all residents of the Dripping Springs area, and their mission: To provide free access to print and electronic materials, music, information and reference services, educational and cultural programs and meeting spaces for all ages and interests. 

Sadly, in mid-2016, after devoting 80-plus years to paving his way from meager beginnings to a life filled with personal and financial success, giving back to his community and sharing decades of adventures with the love of his life, H.C. Carter’s life ended after an extended illness, Lynnda by his side, every step of this difficult journey.

“I always knew I would be taking care of H.C., but when you love someone, you just do it. You don’t think about it,” she explained. 

After she had moved back to Austin, H.C. Carter’s widow called Library Director Marcia Atilano with a question: she owned a bronze by renowned Western artist Frederick Remington, titled, “The Stampede.” It was the artist’s last sculpture, completed in 1909, depicting a determined cowboy on horseback attempting to handle a trio of stampeding bulls. “Would this be something you’d like to display?” she asked. In the process of moving, Lynnda had decided she didn’t want to move the statue to Austin, and that it should stay in Dripping Springs.

The provenance of the bronze was unmistakable. “I told Marcia I would love for the community to enjoy it,” she said, “and I think H.C. would love the idea. Then, after a pause, she added: I just hope books will continue to be published and they won’t soon be all digital. I have loved reading – holding the books in my hands – all my life.”