Hoover House Reading Book Reduced

“We worked all the time...so busy working that
we never thought about developing an overarching
plan or long term goals the projects just
evolved.”
Before projects were finished and money from rental or property sales contributed
to their livelihood, the Hoover’s early years in Bastrop were consumed
with all types of work. They offered services that coincided with their restoration
work: tackling landscaping jobs, hauling plants and mulch in their old
moving van, its flanks still embellished with the truck’s original graphics of
elephants on a background of faded green. These efforts morphed into Tejas
Landscaping.
Tommy and Judi volunteered their green thumbs to soften the looks of neglected
public areas around town with small beautification projects. they
asked permission to repaint the courthouse gazebo to better match the warm
colors of the adjacent brick jail building.
They obtained real estate licenses and Hoover Properties was born - Tommy, a
broker and Judi, an agent. They contracted their talents as interior designers and
a wallpaper, flooring, and interior decor store, Pine Country Interiors, grew as a
result. All the while, the pair continued to accumulate the funds to buy, fix up
and often reside in their own properties during restoration.
“We worked all the time!” exclaimed Judi. “We were so busy working that we
never thought about developing an overarching plan or long term goals……the
projects just evolved.”
But locals, especially the town’s older and more landed citizens, couldn’t help but
take notice and appreciate the Hoover’s talents and work ethic. It helped that Judi
joined the local historical society, was appointed
to the County Historical Commission and
became fast friends with many of “the history
ladies of the town,” as she calls them.
The couple listened to stories about Bastrop
times and townsfolk during regular domino
matches alongside a retired neighboring postman
and his wife. They befriended the county’s
tax-assessor collector who invited Tommy and
Judi to explore archives kept in the old courthouse
basement and probe the corners of Bastrop’s
past. And from an aging carpenter whose
lineage sank deeply into the previous century,
they gained insight into how the county’s early
homes and buildings were constructed.
“We seemed to be more in line with what the
older people of the community did and with
the knowledge they stored,” sums Tommy.
“We were happy to be welcomed into their
circles.” When the couple purchased a turnof-the-century
home at 608 Pecan Street
and were busy restoring it as their second
Bastrop residence, its former owner, Mason
Chalmers, befriended the Hoover’s and became
their self-described “inspector.” He’d
shower them with advice but often watch
with astonishment as the pair ripped out perfectly good modern materials in favor of retaining
the weathered, crafted woodwork that they often discovered beneath.
This is the house we bought from Mason
- 608 Pecan St
“Mason’s scrap pile became our treasure trove and trading
materials with him was our practice for many years,”
recalls Judi.
“Actually, it was Mason who got us hooked on moving
houses,” says Tommy. “We’d been stumped on how to relocate
an old wash house to another spot in our backyard.
Mason stepped in and showed us how to lay down pipe
and simply roll it into place using the pull of a come-along
winch and a push from the old El Camino.”
But what more greatly widened friendships was the
Hoover’s 1981 purchase and reincarnation of a little brick
garage whose musty, trash-filled bay yawned at the south
end of Main Street. In 1983, the couple opened it as the
1832 Tavern, the first Bastrop establishment to offer liquor
by the drink in decades.