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Doing Business in Small Town Texas
by Rachael Jones
From Hollywood to Wall Street, Texas Exes are carving their names into the annals of popular culture, business, and politics. A little bit of innate determination and a Texas education has launched thousands into successful careers in the biggest of cities and the most competitive of fields.
But for some, bigger is not always better, especially when it comes accompanied by traffic jams, long lines, and waiting lists. Some prefer a slower, more mellow pace. So, after studying at the largest university in the country, and in one of the most vibrant cities in the nation, some spread their wings and fly... straight back home. There they build lives and businesses and cultivate communities in towns only a fraction of the size of the University itself.
Like other Texas alumni in the news, these people are leaders in their communities (one serves as mayor), serving on boards and councils, raising money for scholarships-giving back. They own or manage businesses, provide employment for others, weigh in with their opinions on local decisions. In this issue we profile a handful of those alumni who have chosen to do business to the beat of a different drummer-the one keeping time in small town Texas.
The Oldest Profession…in Comanche County
Approximately 120 miles northwest of Austin lies the small farming town of Comanche, population 4,000. In late February, the weather is unseasonably warm and dry, and the hill country, though still beautiful, shows signs of the recent drought. The setting sun casts a golden light on the façade of one of the county's landmarks, a 1960s brick building, clay-colored with a teal-green sign. The building houses the local paper, The Comanche Chief. A wooden bench and a bright yellow newspaper vending machine invite passers-by to sit down and read, and no doubt many in this small town do.
Longtime editor and publisher of the Chief, Jim Wilkerson, III earned his BBA in 1967 and is a third generation Longhorn. A tall, attractive man, Wilkerson's most striking features are his easy smile and aw-shucks demeanor. His fresh looks and bright blue eyes hint at the power of clean air and "living right." He and his wife Nancy are proud to be central to the history of "Comanche County's Oldest Business Institution".
The story goes, according to the Wilkersons, that in 1873 the founders of the paper drove an ox-pulled cart to Georgetown and bought a used printing press. Since then, the people of Comanche have gotten their weekly dose of local news from the Chief, and since the early 1920s it's been delivered to them by the Wilkerson family. Wilkerson's grandfather James, who bought the paper in the early 1920s, was a Latin teacher in Comanche known for his love of reading. Wilkerson suspects it was this, and the hope of making money, that moved his grandfather to buy the paper. Jim Wilkerson II took over for his father after studying journalism at UT and was publisher until his death in 1973. That's when Wilkerson III inherited the newspaper. While at UT, Wilkerson studied marketing and had no plans to return to Comanche to work on the paper. In fact, he worked for several years in Austin after he graduated selling airtime for KNOW radio. But, the growth in Austin and the opportunity to buy a small paper, The DeLeon Free Press, just 16 miles from Comanche, led him to move back home.
"I thought I'd always want to stay in Austin," says Wilkerson. "But, boy, it just outgrew me. The traffic was so bad it was unbelievable." Given the recent boom in Austin, his comment seems ironic, but during his years in Austin, the city, and especially the University, grew dramatically.
"When I was a freshman, there were 18,000 students. The year I graduated I believe there were 40,000," remembers Wilkerson. "During that time you went to school on Saturdays and you went at night because there wasn't enough classroom space. By the time I was a senior, they had instructors that were younger than me-they just couldn't keep up with the growth."
One of his most vivid memories of the Business School is a computer programming course in FORTRAN. "The School of Business had one computer, bigger than this room, down in the basement," explains Wilkerson. "And the lines you had to wait in to punch your little card out were unbelievable. You might wait five hours to do your program."
No waiting is only one of the things Wilkerson loves about Comanche. He treasures the slower pace, the security, and the sense of community. And, publishing the local paper means he truly knows everyone and virtually everything that goes on in the small town. The most difficult part of his job, he says, is having to print unfavorable stories involving people he knows. That, and what to put on the front page week after week. "We always have enough news for everything but the front page," says Wilkerson, laughing. "Newspapers would be a whole lot easier if they didn't have front pages."
Wilkerson is optimistic that despite the growth of the Internet, the Chief, and printed newspapers in general, will still be around in 20 years. He believes newspapers offer something tangible that you just can't get from a computer screen; and at least for now Comanche residents can still read the paper quicker than they can get online. Without the high-speed service offered in larger metropolitan areas, the Internet is just not that alluring for small town folks. "Folks in small towns are a lot more connected to their neighbors and community and they'll always want local news."
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Everybody's Got to Eat
In 1975, Belinda Kemper, BBA 80, and her husband John had the opportunity to buy the Cottonwood Inn in Marble Falls. Located on Lake LBJ, the Cottonwood had 40 cabins, a restaurant, and a marina. They were both in their third year at the Business School, but it was a chance they couldn't pass up.
"When we bought the Cottonwood, we never intended to run the restaurant," says Kemper, a native of Marble Falls. "We had it leased out to a couple who decided to just up and leave one night."
"So John and I went in there the next morning and I said, 'I guess I'll go to the kitchen, and you work out here.'" Her first order as the Cottonwood's new cook was for a 'basted' egg. She jokes that not only could she not boil an egg, she'd never heard of basted eggs. She called her father-in-law in a panic, and he explained that basting an egg was similar to poaching an egg, except instead of water, you used butter or oil. After a few tries and several broken yolks, Kemper says she basted an egg that she could serve to her guest.
"That was the beginning of my cooking career," she says, laughing. The Cottonwood experiment lasted just four years, and then Belinda returned to UT to complete her degree. But the couple soon reentered the restaurant business, purchasing the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls in 1981. Established in 1929, the restaurant had six or seven owners before the Kempers, but none lasted as long as they have. And they've built it into one of the most successful restaurants in Central Texas: it's been featured in Texas Monthly, Southern Living, and many other national magazines.
The Bluebonnet enjoys broad appeal, catering to everyone from Hell's Angels to dignitaries, and according to Kemper is almost always full. "We've been serving 1,000 people a day for a long time, and for a place that until recently only sat up to 150, I think that's pretty amazing." Last Christmas, the Kempers closed the restaurant for two weeks to add another dining room to accommodate growing demand.
"The previous owner was really adverse to change, regardless of potential profit," says Kemper. "Whenever he got tired, or his feet hurt, or he wanted to go fishing, he'd run everybody out and lock the door. Even if it was four o'clock in the afternoon." Keeping regular hours, employing a reliable and loyal staff, and putting in lots of hard work has paid off for the couple. Although she never dreamed of running a restaurant when she was young, Kemper says the restaurant's success allows her to pursue other interests. "I wanted to be an art historian," she says. "Now, I get my art history in by traveling. We'll be able to spend a month in Italy this summer and for that I feel really fortunate."
The down side to the restaurant business, and something Kemper thinks many people don't realize, is the long hours and sacrifice it takes to make a restaurant profitable-to reach the point at which you can take a month off. "Not only do you have to get in the merchandizing, you have to produce it and you have to market it and distribute it-all in one business. Also, when everyone else is celebrating holidays and vacations, you're working."
Marble Falls is one of the most popular recreational spots in Texas. Although the population of the town itself is only 5,000, according to Kemper, the retail industry in the area serves about 30,000. "I don't think it's very typical as far as your small towns go," says Kemper. "Marble Falls is such a dynamic town. We have people from all over the world and all walks of life who live out here."
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
