“Wine, whiskey and song.”  I don’t know where that line originated.  It doesn’t show up in wikipedia, and isn’t credited to anyone that I know of.  It must be old though, because beer is obviously missing, and even though beer has been around for a long time, its popularity seems to have surged in the last century from being a poor man’s home brew, to being a popular beverage all over this country, and a number of western European countries.  Nevertheless, alcoholic beverages are an important part of the live music experience for most music lovers.  That leads me to the question “which came first, the chicken...” well, you get it.  Both have been around for a long time, and seem to go together most of the time.

     Bars use music to get us in to buy drinks, and concert promoters serve alcohol to music listeners.  If you go to the ballet, opera, or classical music concert, they all have at the very least, wine in the lobby.  Even in biblical times, there are stories about celebrations that mostly include music and wine.  Many of us have childhood memories of sitting around in someone’s home or backyard, listening to songs sung with an acoustic guitar, or no instrument at all.  I think that is where the foot stomping had to originate.   Something as simple as “foot stomping” is a mystery of sorts.  Why do people have the urge to do it, and why is it more fun when you have had a couple of favorite drinks?   All we know is that it is fun.  You know, like why does a dog wag his tail.... because he can.  

     My love for music started when I was very young... maybe 5 or 6.  By the time I was 6, I was taking piano lessons.  I looked forward to getting home from school every day to practice.  That was the beginning of when I “crossed over” from being a listener to being a player.   I don’t play piano very much any more, but I do play Bass guitar in a rock and blues band, and I like to drink a beer or two when I play.   I have been asked many times if it is as much fun to perform as it seems.  And I always give the same answer:  “If you remember going to a rock concert or live performance and looking to the stage during a show, marveling at how much fun it is for you to be listening, and wondering how much fun it would be to be on the stage at that moment.... I can tell you, it is one of the most fun things a person can do with clothes on.  It must be fun, because unless you write a hit song and sell a bunch of albums, there is barely enough money in it to break even, but only if you are good.  I love it, and I get to play in a band with my son.  Which leads me to this story.

     Last spring, I was copied on some emails from my sister and some cousins from my paternal grandmother’s huge family.  They were exchanging information about one of our ancestors by the name of Charles Gustav Fitze.  I had heard of him over the years at family reunions, where my great aunts and great grandmother spoke of their grandfather and how he, a music teacher, had immigrated here.  The emails prompted me to embark on a small adventure to Waverly, Texas.  He had immigrated from Prussia in 1840 to Alabama, to avoid the Prussian draft, and moved with some friends to the area known as Waverly in 1860 when it was formed.  Waverly is 7 miles east of New Waverly on FM 150.  He and some others formed an educational institution called The Waverly School, and he was the music teacher.  He taught piano and violin.  So I rode out there to see what it was, and browsed the cemeteries in the area to look for family names.  There is quite a large cemetery right down the road from the church they built in 1860, which is still used today.  I didn’t find anything else particularly unusual, just some dirt roads in the woods that intersect where the old town used to be.  While in the area, I went down the road to the Backwoods Grill on FM 1725 and had a beer with Jessica, then rode home.  Of course I went on the motorcycle.  

     So as it turns out, Charles Fitze was a very interesting guy.  He published six musical works, one of which, as best I can tell, is the original Texas Star Shottisch.  At the top of the sheet music, it says:  “ to His Excel. Gov. F. M. Pease, and Ex Pres. Miral Lamar.  I think the Boston publisher misprinted Lamar’s first name.  He is credited in Texas history as being the first violin teacher in the region, and bringing “fiddle music” from Europe to Texas.  It seems he taught a significant number of people how to play the fiddle.  After the Civil War, he moved over by Goodrich to a place on the Trinity River called Drew’s Landing, where he and some friends set up a trading settlement.  So I take it upon myself to credit him with a significant role in the creation of Texas “foot stomping” music and Texas backyard music sessions.  Fitze’s other musical works are all Texas country music, and each of the others is dedicated to one or more women in the Waverly and Goodrich areas, their family names being Elmore, Hayes, Scott, and Goodrich.  It seems old Charles was quite a womans’ man.  He fathered 22 children, and outlived 3 wives.  His polkas, waltzes, shottischs, and love songs tell the tale.

     Sometimes it takes a while in life to discover things about ourselves and our families.  I wonder if my son and I got the music gene from Charles Fitze.  I think I know something about the joy of sharing music with people, and I am sure he ultimately left a mark on thousands of people in future generations.

     Next time you ride by Waverly, turn in the loop off FM 150, at the green sign, and go see that old church.  Know while you stand there that this area was a place where socials were held, beverages were consumed, and some very early Texas music was born.  And if you feel like stomping your feet next time a tune grabs your attention, do it.