AROUND TOWN
by Charlotte Kovalchuk · charlotte@myjarrell.com
City Seeks to Honor Jarrell Icons
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Renaming Jarrell roads
hen Jarrell City Council considered whom to rename a portion of FM 487 after, they ran into a problem—too many great community icons to choose from. The city had recently taken over maintenance from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the portion of FM 487 from I-35 to C. Bud Stockton Loop after annexing the area into the city limits. One of the city’s newfound privileges was getting to rename the road portion, and leaders wanted to make sure the honor would go to a local citizen who helped shape Jarrell into the thriving community it is today. “This council thinks it’s very important to honor some of the citizens that created this city or made a significant impact on the city,” City Manager Vanessa Shrauner says. “We’ve come from a very small town to a rapidly growing place. As we absorb County Roads, Ranch Roads and Farm to Market Roads into the City, it affords us an opportunity to rename them and in some cases honor those individuals who have made historically significant contributions to the growth of Jarrell.”
is not unprecedented. Last year, the county renamed CR312 in honor of Felix "Pete" Schwertner (19272014). If you live in Sonterra, you may already know a little about him.
Felix Bernard Schwertner
Pete lived in Jarrell all his life; growing up on 134 acres passed down from his father. He loved being in a small farming community that allowed him to enjoy cattle ranching and share a robust lifestyle with his neighbors. His daughter Susan says he raised his nine children, strict but gently, and has 19 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. "He was always helpful, easy-going, friendly, and a hard worker who enjoyed life." Many in the community knew him from his 43 years of service to the volunteer fire department; 34 of those as Chief. He was always ready to drop what he
Citizens were able to nominate their choice for the new road name, and out of six nominations, two names kept showing up: Al Clawson and Priscilla King.
was doing when the alarm went off; for a resident or
TWO GREAT LEGACIES
a developer who told them he believed the land
a traveler on IH-35, and he led the search and rescue efforts after the 1997 tornado. In 2004, Pete and his brother sold the land to
courtesy Tammy Clawson
Good Samaritan. Passionate contributor. Jarrell promoter. Al Clawson was all these and more, as residents noted in their nominations. Al set roots in Jarrell with his family in 1982, and his business, Al Clawson Disposal, Inc., became the largest private sector employer in town. Al immersed himself in his community by hosting cleanups, donating time and funds to various organizations, proudly attending local functions, hosting fundraisers for friends and neighbors with health problems, and loaning his music and cooking talents at events (he was best known for his brisket). 6
M A R C H 20 21 M Y JA R R ELL M O NT HLY
would eventually have 500 or more homes on it. They laughed and couldn’t imagine such a thing in the place where their cows once grazed. But, a good portion of that land is now what we call Sonterra. His granddaughter, Rebecca Piatt, says, "The renaming of County Road 312 does not just mean the world to his family, but to the entire community of Jarrell. His memory lives on in the fields he farmed, and eventually sold, which are now the homes in Sonterra. As well as the streets of "Old" Jarrell, where he held numerous fundraisers to build the now-retired fire station on Main Street, and upgrade the VFD fire trucks and equipment to better serve the citizens." Susan adds, "My father would want his legacy to be that he was a caring person who would help anyone who needed it. He always put others before himself because that was just the type of man he was. He was devoted to his community."
