Episode 71- The Strawberry Capital of Texas

 Today, we’re headed to a place where strawberries are more than just a snack… they’re a way of life, filled with history, culture, and people. 

 FREE RESOURCE

References

https://www.poteettx.org/834/History-of-Poteet

Linda Peterson, “Poteet, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed April 11, 2025, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/poteet-tx.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

https://khfarmpoteet.com/our-story

https://poteetstrawberryfestival.com/growers/

Music/Sounds by Pixabay

Starting Jingle Sound Effect by Shiden Beats Music from Pixabay- Jingle Slide Guitar

Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hello and thank you for listening to Texas History for Kids. We're changing things up here at Texas History for Kids. I've gotten quite a few emails with questions and suggestions from you guys. So I've asked my new co-host and daughter, Zoe, to help me with a new section of the show. And we're calling it The Big Question. What's your favorite fruit? I'd have to say watermelon, but without seeds.

SPEAKER_00: 0:57

Mine too. But my second favorite is strawberries. Want to know an interesting fact? Sure. Did you know strawberries are the only fruit with their seeds on the outside? And not just a few. One strawberry has about 200 tiny seeds. Interesting,

SPEAKER_01: 1:19

because today's story leads us to a very tiny town. So we are headed to a place where strawberries are more than just a snack. They're a way of life and are filled with history, culture, and people. This is the story of the Poteet Strawberry Festival. Down in Atascosa County, Texas, just 30 miles south of San Antonio, sits a tiny town called Poteet. Population? Hmm, about 3,000 people. Let's compare numbers here. I know 3,000 people sounds like a lot of people, but for a town, it's quite small. A high school football stadium in Texas can hold way more people than that. Here's an example. Some Texas high school stadiums hold 10 to 20,000 fans, enough to fit the entire town of Poteet in there three times over. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for something a little sweeter. Strawberries, and lots of them. Because Poteet isn't just another Texas town, it's the strawberry capital of Texas. And the story of how that happened? Well, as with all things, it's rooted in history and flavored with the little Texas legends. But why strawberries and why here? Long before there were strawberry festivals, carnival rides, or strawberry tacos, there was Francis Marion Poteet. In the 1880s, Francis M. Poteet brought his family to settle in the area. He wasn't just a pioneer. He was an explorer, a post writer, a blacksmith, a farmer, and a rancher. In fact, he ran the first post office right out of his blacksmith shop. And because everyone in the area came to pick their mail from Mr. Poteet, the whole town eventually became known by his name. But it wasn't Francis Poteet who made this town famous for strawberries. That credit goes to Henry T. Mummy. Or Moom. I'm not sure. A businessman who bought Poteet's general store and saw something others didn't. Mummy discovered artesian wells in 1904. Water that bubbled up from deep underground. Now, facts. Fresh, clean water combined with the area's sandy soil created the perfect conditions for something special. Guess what it is? Yep, strawberries. Now, Mummy was one of the first to grow them here. Before long, strawberry fields stretched across the land and farmers realized they found a sweet treasure right beneath their boots. So in 1911, he opened up the Poteet Coal and Sand Company mine, hoping to make the town rich in minerals also. But nature had other plans and water began seeping into the mine shafts, flooding the tunnels and making it too expensive to continue. But Mummy wasn't going to give up. Instead, he refocused on farming. And soon, Poteet became a busy center of commerce for area farmers. They didn't just grow strawberries. They grew peanuts, onions, watermelons, all thanks to the irrigation from Mummy's artesian wells. But strawberries were always in the forefront. And by 1948, it was time to celebrate. That's when Poteet kicked off its very first Strawberry Festival, a three-day event filled with food, music, and, of course, community pride. The very first festival king was Harold A. Aigner, and that tradition still continues today. Every spring, the festival returns, bigger, sweeter, and more famous than ever. drawing visitors from all over Texas to taste a little slice of Poteet's history. The town became known as a strawberry capital where tourists could view a water tower resembling a strawberry, as well as a 6-foot-tall and 1,600-pound world's largest strawberry. So today, thousands of people pour into the small town of Poteet, Texas every spring to enjoy those parades, rodeos, music, and yes, strawberries on just about everything. Strawberry cake, strawberry ice cream, strawberry jam, strawberry lemonade, strawberry hot sauce, strawberry tacos, you name it. I can go on and on and on. A strawberry has a spot on it or inside it. Today, the Poteet Strawberry Festival is one of the largest agricultural festivals in Texas. And it's not just about the food either. They have scholarship programs where it helps local students gain access to be able to go to college later on. It provides live Tejano and country music and of course, the famous strawberry shortcake contest, where locals make their own strawberry shortcake and the public decides who the winners are. So even though strawberry shortcake might be the favorite, let's not forget what the main dish is. Strawberries! The Strawberry Festival also has a berry contest all on its own. I did my research and found there are several farms in Poteet that make their living growing strawberries. The Poteet Strawberry Growers Association or PSGA was formed in 2019 and represents over 40 growers across Atascosa County. Now, I think I would eat all of my profits. Just how do they do it? Well, for many, it's in their genes. We can't talk about the Poteet Strawberry Festival or Poteet without mentioning the growers and the farmers themselves. Although there are over 40 of them, I'll mention a few here. One is near and dear to my heart. The first one is 4G Reyes Farms, which has been growing strawberries for four generations since 1970. Another healthy farm is KH Farms in honor of the patriarch of the family, Kenneth Hoffman, whose lifelong dream came to fruition when in 1945, he purchased 10 acres in Poteet and immediately began farming. Who would have thought by 1952, he would be the largest strawberry grower in all of Poteet? KH Farms now kindly offers pick your own strawberries on Saturdays and Sundays in the spring. Finally, a big shout out to Kossub Farms, who graciously hosted Poteet Elementary's first grade students on a field trip back when I was a teacher there. Let me tell you, My students were so thrilled that they got to pick their very own berries right off the farm. They learned how to carefully walk through the rows without damaging the other plants and they also learned which ones were ripe for the picking and which ones were not. We enjoyed visiting and feeding their hungry goats and even enjoyed a picnic right in the middle of the strawberry fields. It's a great experience and I urge you to enjoy it as well. Casa Farms is a seventh generation family owned business and a beautiful colleague of mine, Miss Brianna Callahan, who is part of that family. I even heard she might be starting her very own strawberry farm. I'll have to get back with her on that one. So here's a very big thank you to all of those strawberry field workers and farmers, because without them, we wouldn't be able to enjoy such a tasty treat. For a complete listing of the strawberry growers in Poteet, Texas, visit poteetstrawberryfestival.com forward slash growers. So the next time you bite into a strawberry, remember, in Texas, even the sweetest stories have roots in history. That's all for today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and tune in next week where we'll uncover more Texas histories and legends. Stay curious.