DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the official marker for Dr. Edgar Alfred Grist, as the Texas Historical Commission has it recorded. Now, most folks in Texas have heard of Wurstfest — that big sausage and beer celebration down in New Braunfels that draws crowds from across the state every year.
But I'd wager most of those folks have no idea the whole thing started with a letter from a young man to his father. And that father was a veterinarian. Pull up a chair, because this story has more layers than a good brisket.
Edgar Alfred Grist was born in 1915, raised in Austin, and by 1937 he had earned his degree in veterinary medicine from Texas A&M College. He headed to New Braunfels, opened a practice at 637 West San Antonio Street, and became the first licensed veterinarian in Comal County. First.
That means when a farmer had a sick animal or didn't know the first thing about disease prevention or proper nutrition, there was one man to call. And Grist wasn't the kind of doctor who waited in an office. He went out to the farms himself, checked on the animals, educated the farmers — the kind of hands-on presence a community like that needed badly.
Now, 1937 also turned out to be significant in a more personal way. That same year, a woman named Elizabeth Ann Wille — Betty, to those who knew her — walked into his newly opened practice with her sister's dog. She was born in 1919, which made her a young woman, and she apparently made quite an impression.
The marker doesn't spell out every detail of what followed, but Betty Wille and Edgar Grist ended up building a life together in Comal County. Sometimes a dog is just a dog, and sometimes a dog changes everything. Grist's ambitions didn't stop at the county line.
After receiving a scholarship to study sanitation, he went to work for the Texas State Health Department Food and Drug Division. Then, in 1943, he was elected Texas State Veterinarian. Think about what that meant in practice.
Slaughterhouses across the region were operating with precious little regulation, and they were regular sources of sickness because of it. As state veterinarian, and also serving as the city meat inspector, Grist enforced sanitary practices on those local slaughterhouses. He wasn't making friends with everyone, but he was keeping people alive.
In 1949, Dr. Grist bought 20.3 acres out at 727 North Live Oak Avenue and built the New Braunfels Veterinary Hospital, opening his practice there in 1950. And the county kept him busy.
Through the 1950s, he was out battling rabies outbreaks and anthrax outbreaks — two words that should get your attention — all while continuing to educate community members on healthy practices. The man did not slow down. Now here's where the story takes a turn that nobody would have predicted.
Dr. Grist received a letter from his son, John. John was describing German village festivals — sausage, beer, dancing, the whole affair.
New Braunfels, as the marker notes, was already a prolific sausage making area. Something about that letter clicked. Dr.
Grist had an idea: replicate it. Bring that festival to New Braunfels. Wurstfest launched as a one-day event in 1961.
One day. And it has since grown into a multiple-day event that benefits the local economy and numerous charities. A letter from a son to his father.
One day of sausage and dancing. And it became something that has outlasted the man who dreamed it up. In the 1970s, Dr.
Grist retired from veterinary medicine and became the county sanitarian. His last decades were filled with civic work. He passed in 1994.
Betty lived on until 2007. The marker says his legacy lives on not only in the community but throughout the entire state. That's not bragging — that's just the ledger.
First vet in the county. State veterinarian. Disease fighter.
Sanitarian. And the man who read a letter and said, why not here? Why not us?
Every time the smells of sausage drift across New Braunfels and the music starts up, that's Dr. Edgar Alfred Grist, still showing up.
What the marker says
Raised in Austin and having received a degree in veterinary medicine from Texas A&M college in 1937, Dr. Edgar Alfred Grist (1915-1994) served the community of New Braunfels and Comal County in many ways throughout the mid-twentieth century. Grist was the first licensed veterinarian in the county and could often be found on-site at farms, checking on animals and educating farmers on disease prevention and good nutrition. He met Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Wille (1919-2007) in 1937 when she brought her sister’s dog into his newly opened practice at 637 W. San Antonio Street. After receiving a scholarship to study sanitation, he began working for the Texas State Health Department Food and Drug Division. In 1943, he was elected Texas State Veterinarian. In this position, and as the city meat inspector, he enforced sanitary practices on local slaughterhouses, which were often sources of sickness due to lack of regulation. In 1949, Dr. Grist bought 20.3 acres at 727 N. Live Oak Ave. and built the New Braunfels Veterinary Hospital, opening his practice in 1950. In the 1950s, he battled rabies and anthrax outbreaks in the county and continued to educate community members on healthy practices. After receiving a letter in which his son, John, described German village festivals with sausage, beer, and dancing, Dr. Grist had the idea to replicate the festival in New Braunfels, a prolific sausage making area. “Wurstfest” was a one-day event in 1961 but has grown to a multiple day event benefitting the local economy and numerous charities. In the 1970s, Dr. Grist retired from veterinary medicine and became the county sanitarian. His last decades were filled with civic work. His legacy lives on not only in the community but throughout the entire state. (2022)