Many of the wineries that are peppered throughout the Texas Hill Country have unique tokens embedded within the genetic make-up that creates the unique genius loci written within each notable venue. Locations such as The Rhinory, Grapetown Vineyard and Safari Winery house exotic animals on the premises while stunning gardens can be found woven throughout the grounds at Signor Vineyards and Wildseed. Slate Theory offers an underground wine cave and William Chris built a rising empire inside an original and, over a long period of time, fully-restored 100-year-old farmhouse that initially featured “paint” made from a combination of caliche and goat’s milk. The emblems are often something that is seen or felt, but deep within the hills there’s an unusual relic at Arch Ray Resort that can be heard for miles around if you know just what to listen for, and it’s more than just about the keeping of time. As the hours pass it brings along with it a multitude of metronomes that beat to the seconds and the hours. Clocks and phones, watches and timers are all of reminder of how fleeting the ages can be, but sometimes a sound can reach back into the past or breathe hope into the future…
On any given day when the sun is shining high in the bright, blue sky you might just catch the familiar sound of a crystal clear ringing floating through the air and over the winery rooftops sprinkled around the area of Fredericksburg, Texas. Peeking above the tree line is a tower that rises above the surrounding live oaks and solidly stands as representation of one of Sally Baxters’s most cherished childhood memories. Every hour on the hour the glorious ring of a high-tower bell floats along the sloping landscape that lies within the 300+acre estate of Arch Ray Resort boldly advertising the top of the hour for anyone within earshot. But, for those who know how to listen for deeper meaning, well, they will find that within that glorious clatter there also lies a whispering of the tales of a deep history within the Lone Star State, stories that are not to be forgotten.
It was during the early 1970’s, about five years after the Ogle family had moved from West Texas to the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon in pursuit of a new adventure, that Sally Baker’s family spent a short season in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon. In the beginning, Ray and his wife, Clarice, had purchased a seaside hotel that was the perfect vacation spot for sea-going families searching for a secluded getaway along the rocky coastal region of Salem. The couple lived on the site and spent several years improving the establishment as they built new cabins and trails along the shore. Though they loved the seaside property and the beauty that came with the coastal experience, the couple sold the hotel and, with their profits, they moved farther inland and purchased a farmhouse near the town of Independence, OR.
Shortly after Ray and Clarice settled into their new homestead, Sally (Baker) Baxter’s family made the long distance move into a close-by area so their family could be closer to her grandparents. It was there that they leased a modest farmhouse deep in the Willimette Valley. It was located near the tiny community of Perrydale, a minuscule blip on the map where the grocery store and gas station were the only two notable establishments and the school house shared a single room for the entire middle school age group to meet. Though there wasn’t much to the town, Sally adored this season in Oregon as well as the memories that were established during her childhood during this time, one of which, was the story about a most unusual treasure discovered at a side-road garage sale.
One thing that was undeniable about Clarice Ogle was that she was a level-headed woman who weathered the Great Depression alongside her husband amidst the dry mesas of West Texas where they spent a good majority of their lives. For many years they practiced a modest lifestyle and she wasn’t one to desire excessive things, especially objects that didn’t hold meaning or purpose. Yet, Clarice was also known to be a purusing soul who could recognize a good deal when she ventured across one. It was during the weekends in Independence, she would often go to town to gather things from the store for the week and if she passed a garage sale along the way, well, she was sure to stop. It was during one of these spontaneous visits to a local garage sale that Clarice discovered something spectacular…
When the family reflects back in time, no one is really sure how she got that 400lb. bell into the back of the truck that day, but Sally can vividly reminisce hearing the story repeated over and over for many years. After Sally’s brother, John, hung the bell at the front of the property in Independence, she would see the glimmering instrument welcome all who ventured to visit Ogle Farm. The story about that bell often surfaced in family conversations with Clarice’s ability to share how that fateful day she stumble across the unique find, exuberance always bubbling over as she would weave the tale of her five-dollar garage sale treasure through drifting conversations at the dinner table or over a simple cup of tea.
Though the adventure in Oregon proved to be a short season in the lives of the Baker family (Sally’s immediate family) and the vision for a seaside villa eventually faded into the past, the bell became a generational staple that sojourned alongside the family wherever they roamed. Following Ray’s passing in Independence, the bell arrived back in Texas when Clarice headed back to her beloved homeland. When it arrived in the Lone Star State, it was placed on the property at Betty Baker’s (Clarice’s daughter/Sally’s mother) home in Coyanosa, Texas where Betty served as the post master for many years. From there the metallic ornament moved on to Betty’s final home in Fort Davis and finally on to Bend, Texas where it remains today, still standing tall at the Baxter Ranch where Sally and her husband, Steve, reside. In 2018, when Betty Baker passed away, her ashes were spread under the towering monolith. The family relic became a symbolic monument that brought a perpetual attention the generations of the Ogles who have come and gone while, at the same time, breathing a new wave of family heritage into the future generations.
Today, at Arch Ray Resort, the bell that hangs above the entrance, though not the original garage sale find from Oregon, serves as an important monumental piece hung in honor of that beautiful silver bell that still graces the Baxter Ranch to this day. For some, the hourly gong is just a reminder of the passing time, but for those who understand the true meaning behind the glorious ringing that graces the soft winds that follow along the Pedernales River Valley, the vibrations that spill over the land bring a resounding message of faith, deeply instilled family values and strong Texas roots that have lasted through many ages.