ENDURING SPIRIT
It’s a beautiful thing to hear a small Texas town wake up. First a quiet concert of songbirds, then church bells, and finally, the salutations of locals as they converge on the square for breakfast at a café or a trip to the courthouse. As the sun rises higher over the square, so does the hum of everyday life.
These days, COVID-19 has subdued that hum as residents adjust to new safety measures. Courthouse squares are quieter, and some storefronts have closed. But the pulse of these towns beats strong. More often than not, locals know one another—their stories, celebrations, and heartaches. During these challenging times, the denizens of Texas’ small towns are protecting their health while improvising new ways to sustain their economies.
Consider Mason, a town of about 2,300 residents nestled on the edge of the Hill Country, 9 miles north of the Llano River. On a Sunday in April, my husband and I walked the empty town square, where handwritten notes in shop windows listed phone numbers for placing call-in orders. Murphy Creek Cellars, a Texas wine shop and tasting room, was open for takeout, including an expanded menu of frozen dishes to diversify its offerings during quarantine.
Mason’s empty square felt unusual. Typically, shops and restaurants buzz with locals, and, increasingly, tourists, many visiting from nearby Fredericksburg for
