The last several years movie location scouts have been roaming Texas to ferret out rural western settings. Somehow they've missed a small town in Texas Hill Country with a main street authentic enough to shout, "Hey y'all, Billy Bob lives here!" This prosperous but laid back town is Schulenburg (population 2600) and since 1951 it has been the home of Temple Israel. But this is not its first locale.

In fact, this unusual congregation could be called the wandering shul. It has always been known as the Tri-County Jewish community, and for good reason. Founded long before Temple Israel was built, the congregation had another name, and was headquartered in two different county seats in neighboring counties before making Schulenburg its permanent home.

The congregation began 22 miles away in Columbus, the county seat of Colorado County According to a congregational history written by Dr.Abraham Shinedling in 1960, Orthodox services were held there by 1880. As many as 20 Jewish families resided there by the 1890's. Though they met in private homes, they had a Sefer Torah which moved even more than the congregation. It was originally purchased by Joseph Edmonds of Houston and presented to a short-lived Orthodox congregation in Montgomery, Alabama. By 1903 Edmond's daughter Susan and her husband, Leo Steiner (who moved to Columbus right after their 1903 marriage) presented the Torah as a gift to the Columbus congregation. It was treasured and used for services there, and then it moved along with the congregation, for nearly 50 years, to Hallettsville (pop. 2, 345), county seat of Lavaca County.

Around 1905, the congregation leased a building in Hallettsville and acquired a name; Beth Asher. The name was chosen democratically - a man named Asher won the privilege of naming the congregation by contributing the highest amount of money (reported to be between $24 and $50) toward expenses for the "new" congregation.
The then-Orthodox group occupied the first floor of the Odd Fellows Hall for an annual rent of $10. Dr. Shinedling's account suggests that the first Bar Mitzvah occurred in 1907. He also reported that though little is known about the congregation between 1910 and 1940, the Golden Rule Sunday School began in 1932, and the first confirmation was celebrated in 1938. This indicated a shift to the Reform movement, which is what Temple Israel is today.

In 1945 the congregation decided to reorganize, writing a new constitution and by-laws based on those of a Reform congregation in Houston. When the newly formed group first met on April 19, 1946 in Hallettsville, they chose the name Temple Israel "to replace
the disliked Beth Asher". Columbus, Hallettsville, La Grange, and Schulenburg each had six or seven families and Weimar had four or five., Though there were over 30 families, unusual circumstances were the catalyst for the construction of the temple building.

The Odd Fellows of Hallettsville had outgrown their space and decided to move to new quarters. They sold their land, and their building, which was moved to a new location. So at a meeting at the American Legion Hall in Schulenburg on December 9, 1946 the congregation first discussed building a new temple of their very own. A questionnaire was sent out and with the majority vote of 26-4, it was decided to build in Schulenburg, the geographic center of the Tri-County group. As current President of Temple Israel David Vogel says, “We put the ‘schul’ in Schulenburg”.

The post WWII red brick contemporary Temple Israel was designed by the architectural firm of N. Strauss Nayfach & Company, architects. When Mr, Nayfach died in 1950, Leonard Gabert of Houston was hired to complete the job as architect. Gabert had designed other small-town Texas synagogues in Baytown and Wharton. He was able to create a very functional modern structure that has a sanctuary open in back to the social hall, a kitchen, a small office and a very small classroom. There are two sections of individual seats, divided by a center aisle. The Sefer Torah once again made the move, along with a piano, from Hallettsville, in time for the dedication of the new little temple on September 16, 1951. The $35,000 structure had been built on a little over half an acre of land donated by Jewish Schulenburg natives Hirsch Schwartz and his sister Amy Schwartz Lake (now of New Orleans). Dues were then $20 a year. Hirsch Schwartz was later to serve as Schulenburg's mayor from 1963 until his death in 1981.

By the mid 1950's, Sarah Lippman already had begun to joke that she was the Shammash, looking after day-to-day maintenance inside and outside Temple Israel. Mrs. Lippman, a 58-year resident of Schulenburg, and now widowed, is the only member of Temple Israel
actually living in Schulenburg, but she still feels the same way. She says," We're just one big family...I'm the only Jewish person left in town...I'm very ecumenical. Everyone enjoys it when I have a group there (at the temple)."

Temple Israel usually has a first night seder during Passover, according to David and Vickie Vogel. The Vogels of La Grange (population 4,500, and made famous as the location of the musical "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas") are the current president and secretary-treasurer respectively of Temple Israel. David Vogel says that today's congregation has "a sense of a real close-knit extended family. The members have a real affinity for the congregation." Their experience has been one of a very supportive membership. They have a light-hearted take on the smallness and low-key demeanor of their group. "We like to say that the opportunities for leadership are unlimited. Anyone who ever dreamed of being president of a congregation or of leading services can do it. We're very democratic. Our board is the entire congregation." That means all 19 members.

David Vogel points out that it is interesting that other congregations with more members have closed, such as nearby Wharton. He continues," We're kind of like an animal that goes into hibernation, operating at a low rate of energy. We're low maintenance, which allows us to go on for long periods of time."

The good news is that the membership gently ebbs and flows. Though someone will move away, occasionally a new member joins. And at the end of May, 2002 the Vogels got a call from a man with a family, whose second home is a farm in the Hill Country, who wants to join. He has another Jewish friend with a farm too, who might be interested in joining. When asked by the prospective member how often Temple Israel has services David Vogel responded, “We can have them as often as you want." With entirely lay leadership, everything is possible. Now that's services at your service.

The Vogels feel that Temple Israel will continue on easily and comfortably because of additional memberships from retirees moving to this beautiful agricultural area, as well as the weekend gentleman Jewish farmers with families. Temple Israel is a surprising find. Next time you are driving I -10 between San Antonio and Houston, just drive one mile south on Highway 77 to placid, but welcoming little Schulenburg. There you'll find the wandering shul, at home on the range.

Sources for this article: Congregational history compiled by Dr. Abraham Shinedling in 1960 and re-edited by Vickie Vogel in 1997; phone interviews with Sarah Lippman , and David and Vickie Vogel; The Schulenburg Sticker, September 9, 1999; Website of Texas Small Town Synagogues by Robert P. Davis.

This article was originally printed in the Dallas Jewish Week, July 11, 2002 in Sherry Zander’s column “I Brake For Synagogues”.