Schlinke, Charles A.

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men leave a mark on a place by takin' from it. Charles A.

Schlinke left his mark by givin' to it, and that's a different kind of story altogether. Born in Posen, Germany, in 1863, young Charles came to the United States with his family in 1869, following his father, who had already put down roots in Weesatche, over in Goliad County. The family had crossed an ocean, and Charles wasn't finished movin' yet.

By 1885, he purchased property from his own father, and in that same year he married Martha Kleiman, who had also been born in Germany before making her way to Texas. Two people, same journey, different roads, same destination. Together they built a life and raised eleven children in DeWitt County.

Eleven. That alone is a full-time occupation, but Charles Schlinke was just gettin' started. Soon after marrying, he purchased 3,948 acres in DeWitt County.

Not a small plot, not a starter farm. Nearly four thousand acres. He raised horses, mules, and donkeys, bred and sold as working livestock and for riding, and in 1893, he became a United States citizen.

Now here's where the character of the man starts showin' through, because land and livestock aren't the whole story. When the local school building burned down, Schlinke donated two acres of his land to the county school trustees for school use, and residents built Valley View School on that donated property. He believed in education, and when belief needed to become action, he reached into his own holdings and handed something over.

Then there was the road situation. Schlinke was the spokesman for landowners who were protesting the building of a road through their property, a man they trusted to stand up and speak. And when it came time to resolve the matter, he donated his own land for the road.

The advocate became the solution. He was also a founding member of the Lindenau Scheutzen Verein, the Lindenau Shooting Club, established in 1901. That organization still exists, sponsoring shooting competitions with nearby clubs and providing fellowship through feasts and dances.

A community anchored together by marksmanship and good food, and Charles Schlinke was there at the founding. His wife Martha passed away in 1931, and in her memory, Schlinke donated the property for this very park. He gave land for a school, for a road, and for a place where people could simply gather and rest, and that last gift he gave in the name of the woman he'd built everything with.

Charles A. Schlinke died from illness in 1940, remembered, as the marker says, as a man devoted to his family, his community, his church, and his business. Nearly four thousand acres, and what he's remembered for is what he gave away.

What the marker says

CHARLES A. SCHLINKE (1863-1940) COMMUNITY LEADER AND BUSINESSMAN CHARLES A. SCHLINKE PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEWITT COUNTY. BORN IN POSEN, GERMANY, SCHLINKE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES WITH FAMILY IN 1869, FOLLOWING HIS FATHER, WHO SETTLED IN WEESATCHE (GOLIAD CO.). IN 1885, CHARLES SCHLINKE PURCHASED PROPERTY FROM HIS FATHER AND MARRIED MARTHA KLEIMAN, WHO WAS ALSO BORN IN GERMANY BEFORE IMMIGRATING TO TEXAS. THE COUPLE HAD ELEVEN CHILDREN. SOON AFTER MARRYING, SCHLINKE PURCHASED 3,948 ACRES IN DEWITT COUNTY, AND IN 1893 HE BECAME A UNITED STATES CITIZEN. HE RAISED HORSES, MULES AND DONKEYS FOR SALE AS WORKING LIVESTOCK AND FOR RIDING. A BELIEVER IN THE VALUE OF EDUCATION, SCHLINKE DONATED TWO ACRES OF LAND TO COUNTY SCHOOL TRUSTEES FOR SCHOOL USE AFTER THE PREVIOUS BUILDING BURNED DOWN. RESIDENTS BUILT VALLEY VIEW SCHOOL ON THE DONATED PROPERTY. SCHLINKE WAS ALSO A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE LINDENAU SCHEUTZEN VEREIN (LINDENAU SHOOTING CLUB), ESTABLISHED IN 1901. THE ORGANIZATION, WHICH STILL EXISTS, SPONSORED SHOOTING COMPETITIONS WITH OTHER NEARBY CLUBS AND PROVIDED FELLOWSHIP THROUGH FEASTS AND DANCES. SCHLINKE WAS OFTEN CALLED UPON AS AN ADVOCATE FOR HIS COMMUNITY. IN ONE INSTANCE, HE WAS THE SPOKESMAN FOR LANDOWNERS PROTESTING THE BUILDING OF A ROAD; TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, SCHLINKE DONATED HIS OWN LAND FOR THE ROAD. HE ALSO DONATED PROPERTY FOR THIS PARK IN MEMORY OF HIS WIFE, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 1931. IN 1940, CHARLES A. SCHLINKE DIED FROM ILLNESS AND TODAY IS REMEMBERED AS A MAN WHO WAS DEVOTED TO HIS FAMILY, COMMUNITY, CHURCH AND BUSINESS. (2008)