Take it easy with this slow ride through Gonzales history

History is a big deal. It has been around a long time, it will outlive all of us, and hopefully we will contribute to its narrative in some positive way.

Gonzales has no worries when it comes to proving its bona fides. It has been a part of a few different nations, has sent many of its sons and daughters into famed conflicts across the world, so it is much more than a sleepy wide spot in the road.

The problem is that there are many roads that lead through town, ferrying passengers this way and that. Much competes for the attention that they have. People are busy and history suffers.

It is easy to drive around the two town squares and the old houses, to dismiss the “Driving Tour” signs as something you will have to do one day, but not today. “It’ll be there later,” you may say. Why not slow down — perhaps a whole hour — look up from your phone and have a look around?

If you have been to a big city, you know that tours aren’t cheap — and there’s usually a crowd. The guide may be an intern, so why on Earth would you be able to get the exact opposite here in Gonzales, at almost any time? Because Leon Netardus cares about this place.

Netardus meets his guests at the Chamber of Commerce where you quickly discover he is happy to see you in his town, and very excited to tell you all about it. His mid-size SUV is your tour bus for the next 45 minutes and he is your personal guide through over 160 years of history.

It was 1942 when Netardus arrived in Gonzales, from Victoria with his family when his father’s work required the transfer. Someone with that many years in town should know something about the place. Save for a stint in the U.S. Army in Japan right after hostilities ended and college at St. Mary’s in San Antonio, Netardus has been here ever since.

As the tour rolls out from the Chamber, he begins, “Feel free to ask questions, and I’ll feel free to make up answers.” His humor shows that after 18 years of guided tours, he isn’t in it for the money. “We’re gonna have fun,” he continues.

It’s true. He does this out of love for his city and does not accept money for his services. If a rider offers payment, he directs them to donate to the Chamber or the Jail Museum.

“I did get home one time and found some money in the cup holders,” Netardus explains. “Somebody had put some money in there and the next person thought, well, that’s where you put the money so they put some money in it, and I didn’t find it until I got home.”

The tour glides by with references to the Crystal and Lynn theaters, the Randle-Rather Building, the Squares, mention of J.W. Harding’s law office in the Masonic Building. Antiques, industry, saloons —And the houses.

Did you know that there are New Orleans Raised Cottages here? Or that the Houston house has been on every architecture television show, as well as This Old House magazine?

“There are 11 cities in the Unites States where you can see big, beautiful historic homes,” he says of the magazine article’s statement. “Gonzales was the only town listed in Texas.”

One could easily mistake Netardus as a real estate salesman, for he knows just about every year a house on the tour was constructed. There is one from 1845, 1851, 1896, the renovated one from 1898, the 1911 house on the left….

“I had a fellow that asked, ‘How can you remember all the dates on these houses?’’” Netardus muses. “I told him, you don’t know if I’m giving you the right dates or not, do you? He said ‘Yeah, I’ve been watching those signs and so far you’re all right.’”

Leon also loves plants. There are Chinese rain trees, Esperanza, purple sage and ocean cedars, and “the largest magnolia tree in town.” He probably knows more about the properties he mentions than the people living on them.

As the tour passes the Memorial Museum, he pauses to reflect upon the amphitheater out back. He graced its stage once upon a time.

“I was the leading man and I got the girl,” he mentions of his turn in the play ‘Affairs of State’ from some time back. “Now, I’m just an old codger,” but, he has “been in dozens since then.”

One play, in particular, is another visible extension of his historical hobby. You may recall “Gonzales: The Beginning”, the account of the area’s legendary history which was performed during the Come and Take It festivals and other historical events over in the Gonzales County Courthouse. It entertained audiences at the University of Texas, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in Houston. The play even enjoyed a a four-show run at the Alamo.

“So, we were telling the Gonzales story around Texas,” Leon said, clearly enjoying the accomplishment. Fellow thespians in the troupe included Bob Buchard, Vickie Frenzel and Louis Wellman. For his part, Leon played Gonzales founder Green DeWitt, a character he landed because in his words, “was the only guy in town who looked to be over 200 years old.”

Has anyone ever wondered about the cannon over by the DAR house on St. Louis, the site of the future Veteran’s Memorial?

“The cannon is from World War I, but I tell everybody that we still have it aimed at Mexico,” he says smiling. It is a great quote that encompasses so much about the allure this town holds on history, with bits of legend, mystery and hyperbole wrapped into the narrative.

Folks from all over the country and the rest of the world have made their way into Leon’s tour. With the recent news that rock star Phil Collins, drummer and lead singer of the band Genesis, had donated his world-class collection of Texas revolution-era artifacts to the Alamo, the realization of why people come here becomes clear.

“They’ll make their way to the Alamo, they’ll get the story there,” Netardus explains. “They say we ought to go to Gonzales. And then they come down here and they get this part of the story.”

Those visitors would be greeted with many sights that Netardus points out on tour: colorful Victorian paint schemes, stained glass windows, stone quarried from the eastern part of the county and the small metal rings where residents of an earlier time would hitch their horses. It’s all still there, just waiting to be admired.

The large homes, easily a fascination with people passing through, were the fruits of large families that made their money in cotton and cattle. Many homes were built in competition with one another, for things did not cost as much as they do now.

“We’re gonna sashay over this direction and I’m going to let you look at this monument by that fence,” Netardus says as we do a U-turn to a simple marker next to a simple fence and a couple of small peach trees. The spot happened to be exactly where the early settlers of Gonzales buried that famous canon that fired that famous shot. Just right there, off the Square, where hundreds of people pass by every day, waiting to be discovered again.

As the tour wound down and the history sunk in, Netardus continues on why he does this.

“I retired in 1992 — Dec. 31 — and I went into real estate. But that interfered with my fishing and tennis, so I finally had to quit. But I wanted to stay busy, and I loved showing people the town. So I’ve been doing it ever since. Seven days a week, and I get a big kick out of it.”

He is not the only person who donates so much of their personal time to this civic cause. Leon’s good friend and local history buff Paul Frenzel also leads guided tours for visitors eager to learn more about this little place with so much to tell. If you have a friend in town you want to impress, these gentlemen will be glad to oblige.

“I have had people tell me that this is the best tour that they have taken, and I feel good about it,” he says. “So that is very rewarding when you get that kind of reaction to the deal.”

The only irritant that was evident, besides the grand dilapidated residence on the edge of town that could be such a showcase of the city’s success, was when the tour rolled to a stop at what he called “the International Speedway of Gonzales.” Concerning stop signs and hurried drivers, “They don’t take it seriously, they consider it a mild suggestion.”

You know, slowing down in this city might not be a bad thing. A person might just learn something they’ve been meaning to their whole life.