• Lebh Shomeah: A History, A Mission
• Jean Bretault, OMI (1843-1934)
• The "Big House"
• The Kenedy Family Chapel
• The Kenedy-Turcotte-Lytton Cemeteries
• The "Cowboy Cemetery"
• The Original Kenedy Home
• THE LEBH SHOMEA WEB SITE

LEBH SHOMEA:

A History, a Mission

By Fr. Francis Kelly Nemeck,OMI

The history of Lebh Shomea House of Prayer in Sarita, Texas, begins with the "Cavalry of Christ' (for more info on the Cavalry, click here) back in the 1850's shortly after the French Oblate missionaries arrived in Brownsville. On the Texas side of the Rio Grande River, which separates the United States from Mexico, the Oblate horseback apostolate fanned out in three geographical directions: (1) along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Roma and on to Laredo; (2) along the Gulf coast as far as Corpus Christi; and (3) out into the vast sand-dune covered interior stretching up through Raymondville to Kingsville and over to Hebronville. The natives called that immense stretch of some 4,000 square miles (approximately the size of Connecticut) "Wild Horse Desert."

About the same time, Mifflin Kenedy and Richard King arrived in south Texas with a small fleet of ships. They made a great deal of money ferrying passengers and running guns up and down the Rio Grande and to ports around the Gulf of Mexico. When the Civil War broke out, they transported cotton and other supplies out of northern Mexico for the Confederacy. After the war, however, Kenedy and King decided to get out of the shipping business and into the grandscale acquisition of old Spanish land grants. Kenedy bought up approximately one million acres along the Gulf coast between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, while King acquired close to three million acres of interior tracts. Between the two of them, they owned most of Wild Horse Desert.

In the 1880's Kenedy chose the highest sand dune in the vicinity of Baffin Bay (half Way between Corpus Christi and Brownsville) to serve as the site of his ranch headquarters. Actually, the elevation is only 37 feet above sea level, but it was nonetheless the highest point for miles in any direction. The first house built on the site was a relatively modest wooden structure shaped like a riverboat. The ranch operation grew by leaps and bounds, eventually employing some 200 cowboys and their families. The sand dune and surrounding area was called La Parra (meaning "grape vine" in Spanish) because of the abundance of wild red grapes in the vicinity.

The Kenedy Ranch became an integral part of the Oblate horseback apostolate. Jean Breteau, OMI -- or Padre Juanito as he was affectionately known by the rancheros -- had the coastal route at the time. (He is the center man in the famous photo of the seven mounted Cavalry of Christ members.) Padre Juanito made a special point to visit the Kenedys and to evangelize their employees on each trip up and down the Gulf coast. Breteau personally signed the official document dedicating the Kenedy family chapel in October 1897. This chapel is still used each Sunday and on major feasts like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day not only by the Lebh Shomea community, but also by persons from neighboring ranches.

The present Casa Grande or "Big House" -- a massive multi-story stucco building with a lookout tower and Gatling gun on top during the 1920's and 30's -- built around the time of World War I by Mifflin's son, John Gregory, Sr., on the same sand dune in the place of the original wooden structure. His wife, Marie Stella Turcotte, who was of French descent from Louisiana developed a special affection for Jean Breteau. She admired greatly his gentle kindness toward all the people on the ranch, regardless of position or social status. She was deeply impressed by his unwavering commitment to putting their spiritual needs ahead of his own comfort and ease, by his straightforward integrity toward everyone, by his willingness to risk his health and even his life for the sake of the gospel. When Marie Stella realized that neither of her children -- Johnny, Jr. and Sarita -- could have children of their own (and hence that there would be no natural heir to the Kenedy estate upon the death of the last one), she spoke to her daughter about bequeathing their homestead and surrounding acreage to the missionary society to which Padre Juanito belonged. Thus, when Sarita Kenedy East died on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes 1961, she did in fact will to the Oblates her ranch headquarters with the specification that it be "used for some religious purpose."

Not quite knowing what else to do with the property, the administration of the Southern U.S. Province at the time moved St. Peter's Novitiate from the Rio Grande Valley to La Parra in December 1961. In the early 1970's, however, when religious vocations began to dry up all over the western world, the provincial administration decided to join the other four U.S. Provinces in a central novitiate in Godfrey, Illinois. This decision forced the original question to be posed again: What to do with the inheritance at La Parra? As Cliff Blackburn's Provincial Council deliberated the issue, Fred Sackett, OMI, suggested: "Why not make it into a House of Prayer?"

Few Oblates had any idea what a House of Prayer was supposed to be or to do. Yet, the idea received immediate consent, partly because it got the Southern U.S. Province off the hook. The House of Prayer proposal provided an obvious "religious purpose" for an otherwise huge empty facility. Besides, what else could the Oblates do with that sand dune surrounded by countless other sand dunes, mesquite patches, oak motts and palm groves? Thus, after the last class of novices made their vows in the summer of 1973, Herve' "Tom" Marcoux, OMI, took over as director of the fledgling enterprise and immediately took off around the country, trying to discover what other Houses of Prayer are/do. Charlie Banks, OMI, held down the fort in his absence. That summer, Danna Gauthreaux, OMI, also joined the Oblate Community at La Parra as treasurer and general overseer of the vast and complex physical plant. It was principally Marcoux who proposed the name for the House of Prayer. He was inspired by Solomon's response to Yahweh: "Give your servant lebh shomea [a listening heart] so as to be able to discern" (1 Kings 3:9).

The idea of Houses of Prayer was the brainchild of Bernard Haring, CSSR, who first broached the notion publicly in 1965. The proposal caught on like wildfire, and within a few years it turned into an international movement. The concept peaked the interest of many persons reading the signs of the times with regard to the renewal of religious life after Vatican It. Among them were Thomas Merton, OCSO, Margaret Brennan, IHM, and Ann Chester, IHM. The basic idea of an apostolic congregation having a House of Prayer was this: With the enormous changes in religious life that were occurring in the 1960's, certain perennial values needed to be safeguarded and witnessed within religious institutions. Those values included silence, solitude, prolonged solitary prayer, the leisure to study the masters of spirituality, all within a supportive community of like-spirited and praying persons. People availing themselves of such places could be lay, religious or clerics from a diversity of ecclesial affiliations and religious traditions. Each House of Prayer would have a "core community" to provide stability, continuity and hospitality.

Tom Marcoux and Danna opened Lebh Shomea to any group or individual who came seeking spiritual renewal. They tried Cursillos, Charismatic Prayer meetings, Marriage Encounters, A.A. and 12-Step Retreats, etc. Yet, nothing worked on a long-term basis. La Parra was too remote, too hard to find and too wild for most city-dwellers. Moreover, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley had their own renewal centers which they could barely fill. Why add another? Thus, within a few months Marcoux came to the conclusion that the highest sand dune near Baffin Bay was not much good for anything except encountering God in silence and solitude; in other words, contemplation. And so it remains.

Marcoux, a recovering alcoholic with a couple of years sobriety at the time, could see the handwriting on the wall; that is, the intensity of the silence and the solitude could drive him to drink again. As for Danna, he was hoping for an Oblate community with more interaction and camaraderie. Both men went on to other ministries after approximately a year-and-a-half. With the passage of time, a number of Core Members have come and gone. Three, however, have remained: Kelly Nemeck, OMI, Marie Theresa Coombs and Maria Meister. Kelly joined Tommy and Danna in November 1973 after a five-year stint in Canada and France. Marie Coombs arrived in March 1974. She was a Presentation Sister in temporary vows from Newfoundland, Canada. Maria Meister arrived in September 1976 from the Poor Clares in Omaha, Nebraska, via Zambia and Chicago. She was also in temporary vows. Each Sister discerned eventually an eremitical vocation while at Lebh Shomea, and during the provincialship of Mike Pfeifer, OMI, they became canonically recognized hermits with a special association with the Oblates. That association was ratified in October 1984 by Fernand Jette' OMI, Superior General.

Most simply put , prayer is the ministry of Lebh Shomea. Our specialty, if one can put it that way, is communion with God in silence and solitude within a vast ecological wilderness teeming with astounding beauty and creative possibilities.

In Oblate terms, we, the Core Community of Lebh Shomea, would describe our mission this way: Responding to the call of Jesus Christ heard through people's need for a place to which they can go off in order to be alone with God, we are a "community," a "house" and a "school" of prayer. Not only are we a renewal ministry within the Province, but also we embody a unique lifestyle within the Oblate Congregation. This lifestyle is contemplative-eremitical. It has evolved gradually out of the initial apostolic-communitarian thrust of certain Oblates and out of the personal vocations of certain non-Oblates called by God to participate in key aspects of the Oblate charism.

In virtue of our mission, we follow a collegial model of leadership in which men and women together collaborate as equals in communal living and in Christian service. We focus our resources on the unmet needs of God's People drawn to deepen their communion with the indwelling Trinity in a desert setting. Above all, we offer intense silence and solitude to people called to the House of Prayer. We can accommodate up to twenty-five guests at a time. We afford the support of a praying community and of competent spiritual direction, together with the possibility of in-depth study of and research in both Eastern and Western spirituality.

People come to the House of Prayer from great distances and at considerable expense. Some guests are grappling with the loss of a loved one, a recent divorce, a change of lifestyle or career. Others come to deepen their prayer life, to straighten out their priorities, to discern new vocational horizons. We are ecumenical in our appeal, prophetic in our stance and holistic in our approach to spiritual renewal and healing. Our ministry is caring, hospitable and focused on the needs of the individual Christian. The Core Community of Lebh Shomea and those who assist us represent all segments of God's People. We embrace and model full participation and collaboration of both laity and religious in our lifestyle and apostolate.

Why are places like Lebh Shomea important, and what is their future in the new millennium?

One characteristic of the latter part of the twentieth century has been the fact that in so many areas material progress has reached a maximum or a saturation point. For example: Automobiles can go much faster than is safe to drive. There are so many television channels that it boggles the mind trying to choose among them. True, computers will get a little smaller, and Intel processors will get a bit faster. But, for the next thousand years what will be the direction of Progress?

We at Lebh Shomea, and many others, believe that Progress will move in the direction of quality, and ultimately of Spirit. As urban sprawl eats up more open spaces and natural habitats, as the world-wide-web inundates us with mega information, as the global population adds another billion or two, more people will need authentic silence and genuine solitude for sanity's sake, if not for the sake of the Kingdom within.

Another characteristic of the latter part of the twentieth century has been the unprecedented advances in the understanding of the dynamics which underlie human relations and interpersonal relationships. Certainly, group sessions and community interaction have an important contribution to make in the overall healing and maintaining of personal relationships. Yet, psychologists and sociologists appreciate perhaps better now than at any other time in history that some silence and solitude constitute the necessary ground for intimacy with self, others and God. The silence and the solitude afforded by places like Lebh Shomea contribute profoundly to the nurturance of both human and divine intimacy.

Yet another characteristic of the latter part of the twentieth century has been a widespread awakening to ecological values and a sense of the cosmic. At Lebh Shomea a veritable ecosystem of animals, insects, birds and a rich variety of vegetation co-habit the property with us. True, the bobcat may not lie down with the rabbit just yet, and we still do our best to eradicate cut-ants, fire-ants and mosquitoes- Nonetheless, direct personal contact with the natural world incites in people an awareness of the interconnectedness of all creatures, which in turn leads to a heightened sense of God transparent in all creation.

Thus, with the oncoming years, what Lebh Shomea has to offer will become only more valued, more needed, more a gift of God to Oblate apostolic community and to the Christian community at large.

Father Jean ("John") Bretault (pronounced "Bre-to'") -- known affectionately by the ranchers along the Gulf coast between Corpus Christi and Brownsville as Padre Juanito ('Father Johnny") or Juan de /a Costa (John of the Coast") -- was born in 1843 in Autun, France. He made his vows as a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate in 1870 and was ordained a priest two years later. Shortly afterwards, he was sent to Texas and became a member of the famed "Cavalry of Christ." This was a band of Oblate missionaries who rode horseback up and down the Rio Grande River and along the Gulf of Mexico coast to evangelize the far-flung ranches of South Texas from the mid-1800's till the early 1900's. Padre Juanito rode the range for Christ and the "least" of God's people until his death on May 31, 1934 at La Lomita, near Mission, Texas.

One of Padre Juanito's missionary stop-overs along his Gulf coast route was the ranch at La Parra, owned and operated by the Kenedy's. He would pass through here every few months on his way up from Brownsville toward Corpus Christi and again on his return. Each visit would last several days, during which time he would evangelize the two hundred or so Mexicans who worked for the Kenedy's as cowboys, cooks, gardeners, maids, etc. Padre Juanito would celebrate Mass, catechize the children, bury the dead, baptize the newly born, anoint the sick, witness marriages and just generally visit with the people. In fact, he was on hand for the dedication of the Kenedy family chapel on October 20, 1897 -- the same Sacred Heart Chapel, where we still celebrate Mass on Sundays and special feasts.

Three generations of Kenedys -- Mifflin (1818-1895), John Gregory, Sr. (1856-1931) and Santa (1889-19611 -- took a special liking for the old missionary. They were deeply impressed by his simplicity, his sincerity and his self-sacrificing dedication to God's little people. As time progressed, it was especially Sarita's mother -- Marie Stella Turcotte Kenedy (1862-1940), herself of French ancestry -- who broached the idea of bequeathing to the Missionary Oblates the ranch headquarters, or "Big House," at La Parra and some surrounding land, together with the family beach house on Baffin Bay. She had realized that neither of her chilldren -- John Gregory, Jr. (1886-1948) nor Sarita -- could have children. Thus, there would be no natural heir when Johnny, Jr. and Sarita passed on. Marie Stella arranged with her son and daughter to make the bequest which specified the main house and its adjacent land be used "for some religious purpose in connection with the normal activities of the Missionary Society." Sarita died of cancer on February 11, 1961, and the Oblates moved their novitiate from Mission, Texas, to La Parra in December of that year. in June 1973 the novitiate was transferred to Godfrey, Illinois, and the former Kenedy Ranch headquarters became the site of Lebh Shomea House of Prayer.

THE "BIG HOUSE

This imposing stucco structure has been known over the years by various names: "la Casa Grande (or the "Big House"), the "Kenedy Mansion," the "Main Residence," the "Kenedy Ranch Headquarters," the "La Parra Ranch Headquarters," and in Sarita Kenedy East's own words: "my Ranch Headquarters."

Mifflin Kenedy formed the Kenedy Pasture Co. in 1882 and began ranching La Parra at that time. He personally chose this site as the future headquarters for the ranch. Even though this mound is only 37 feet above sea level, it is the highest point for miles in any direction. Mifflin, having been an experienced seafaring captain for much of his life, understood well the importance of high ground when it comes to torrential rains and hurricanes. Although he never actually lived here, Mifflin commissioned the building of the original frame structure, a spacious fourbedroom home.

After Mifflin died in 1895, his third son, John Gregory, Sr., bought up all the land which at that time constituted the Kenedy Ranch, approximately a half million acres. He honored his father's wish and made this site the ranch headquarters. He decided also to move by oxen and mules the existing frame home to a location some 200 yards due east. He wanted to erect a much larger and more sturdy structure on this mound. Thus, in 1918 he and a couple of hundred workmen began building by hand this huge stucco facility and the garage about 100 yards west of here. The project took about five years, reaching substantial completion in 1923. All the construction material, tools and equipment were shipped by barge from Corpus Christi down the Laguna Madre to a spot on the beach of Baffin Bay called "the Wharf." There everything was off-loaded and hauled by oxcart the five miles to this site. The outside walls at the base are reinforced concrete, IS inches thick.

You are standing at the back of the house. The front faces east because of the prevailing southeast breeze off the Gulf. It is the custom among the ranchers of South Texas that they receive their guests and friends through the back door or kitchen. The front door is reserved for formal occasions.

John Gregory, Sr. and his wife Marie Stella Turcotte occupied the suite of rooms at the south end of the second floor. They built an oratory off the west side of the master bedroom. You can see its stained-glass window in the form of an elliptical cross, depicting Jesus in the Garden. Their daughter, Sarita, and her husband, Arthur Lee East, occupied the suite of rooms at the north end of the second floor. Even after her parents and husband had died, Sarita retained the same suite. The middle three bedrooms were reserved for guests, There are some 10 bedrooms and baths in the house, half of which were used by servants.

At the peak of the Kenedy Ranch operations there were in the Big House: chandeliers, crystal champagne glasses, Persian rugs, four-poster beds, Louis XIV furniture and valuable paintings; not to mention one of the six authentic death-masks of Napoleon Bonaparte, a hidden two-story safe-vault, a secret get-away tunnel and a Gatling gun in the tower. In the immediate vicinity were bunkhouses, ail commissary, a chapel, several cemeteries, various barns, a carriage house, ablacksmith shop, a dairy, an icehouse, a smokehouse and an artesian-well-powered turban to generate electricity. Around the grounds were gardens, both vegetable and flower, a tree nursery, chicken coops, pig sties and stables for, quarter horses. In the pastures were Santa Gertrudis cattle, deer, turkeys, nilgai, javelinas, coyotes, wild cats, road runners, buzzards and birds galore; not to mention a fair share of diamond back rattlers and coral snakes. There were also cowboys, fence crews, gardeners, cooks, maids, handymen, carpenters, plumbers, painters, electricians, mechanics and chauffeurs, many of whom lived with their, families in the nearby "Colony."

Sarita died on February 11, 1961, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. She bequeathed to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate this house, the family chapel and cemeteries, together with surrounding acres to be "used for some religious purpose in connection with the normal activities of the Missionary Society." In December 1961 the Oblates moved their novitiate (a year of preparation before a perspective candidate takes "first vows") from Mission, Texas to La Parra. This site then became known as "St. Peter's Novitiate." In June 1973 the novitiate year was transferred to another location out of state, and this complex of buildings and environment became Lebh Shomea House of Prayer. (Lebh shomea" is Hebrew for "listening heart." In 1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asked of Yahweh: "Give your servant a listening heart so as to be able to discern....')

On October 20, 1897, at the request of John Gregory, Sr. and Marie Stella Turcotte Kenedy, this chapel was blessed and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Peter Virdaguer, Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville. This structure served as the family chapel for the Kenedys and the focal point of worship for the many employees of the ranch headquarters at La Parra.

The bell (from one of Mifflin Kenedys ships) and the Stations of the Cross were blessed at the same time as the dedication of the chapel. The wooden baptistry and the main altar are also original furnishings. The pews, the statues and the paintings (including a 41435 Sebastian del Piambo "Emmaus" scene and a sixteenth century Amerigi da Caravagio "Madonna and Child") were added by the family after the completion of the "Big House" some 25 -years later.

The chapel has undergone two extensions: one by Marie Stella (the sanctuary where the two altars are presently located) and the second by Sarita Kenedy East (the sacristy behind the main altar). The first Mass celebrated in this chapel after the initial extension was the funeral of John Gregory, Sr. on November 7, 11931.

The first priest who ministered in this chapel was Jean Bretault, OMI. He was a member of the famed "Cavalry of Christ," a band of missionaries on horseback who served the spiritual needs of the ranches along the Rio Grande (between Brownsville and Roma) and along the Gulf Coast (between Brownsville and Corpus Christi). Bretauit was affectionately known as "Juan de la Costa" or simply "Padre Juanito." It was due mainly to the Kenedy familys deep appreciation for his self-sacrificing dedication to the "rancheros" up and down the coast that Sarita bequeathed to the Missionary Oblates Of Mary Immaculate this chapel, the ranchof "Headquarters" and surrounding acres.

THE KENEDY-TURCOTTE-LYTTON CEMETERIES

The cemeteries to the west of Sacred Heart Chapel (the "Kenedy-Turcofte Cemetery") and to the east (the "Lytton Cemetery") contain the final resting places of various members of the Kenedy family and certain in-laws.

There were three generations of Kenedys at La Parra Ranch. The patriarch of the family, Mifflin (1818-1895), and his wife, Petra Vela (1825-1885), bought the land, but neither of them lived here. The second generation consisted of John Gregory, Sr. (1856-1931) and his wife Marie Stella Turcotte (1862-1940). They moved by oxen and mules the original frame house to its present location (approximately 100 yards east of this chapel). On the former site of that frame house they built the present stucco "Big House." John Gregory, Sr. and Marie Stella had two children: "Johnny, Jr." (1886-1948) and Sarita (1889-1961). Johnny married Elena Suess (1889-1984), and eventually moved into the original frame house. Sarita married Arthur Lee East (1882-1944), and occupied the "Big House." Neither couple had any children.

Mifflin and Petra are buried in Brownsville. They had six children, of whom only two survived them. These were John Gregory, Sr. and Sara Josephine, who married Dr. Arthur Spohn. Sara Josephine and her husband are buried in Corpus Christi. John Gregory, Sr., his wife, their two children and their spouses are buried in the Kenedy-Turcotte Cemetery. In the southwest corner of that cemetery are the graves of two brothers of Marie Stella: George Henri and William Turcotte with the latter's wife, Amilie Bossier (first row). Two of William and Amilie's three children, Stella and Louis Edgar, Sr. (cousins of Johnny and Sarita), together with their spouses, are buried in these cemeteries. Stella and her husband, Lee Hargis Lytton, Sr., together with Lee, Jr. and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, are buried in the Lytton Cemetery. Louis Edgar, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Anderson, are buried in the Kenedy-Turcotte Cemetery (southwest corner, second row).

The statue of St. Francis of Assisi in the Lytton cemetery is from Mary Elizabeth Lytton's rose garden in Sarita. It was donated by her children.

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, located at the northwest corner of the Kenedy-Turcotte Cemetery, was build by the Kenedy's in the late 1920's. The rock was imported from the Texas Hill Country, presumably from around Austin.

Approximately a mile southeast of this chapel is the "Cowboy Cemetery." This is a burial site of Kenedy Ranch employees and their families, dating back to the early 1900's.

THE "COWBOY CEMETERY"

Although in official records it is known as "La Parra Ranch Cemetery," this site, located some three-quarters of a mile southeast of the Big House, is popularly referred to as the "Cowboy Cemetery." In the heyday of Kenedy Ranch operations, this field was the final resting place of most of the vaqueros and their families who lived and worked at La Parra. The Spanish-speaking cowboys themselves, however, had other ways of designating this fenced-in area:

Campo Santo ("holy field" or "holy ground"),
Panteon ("Pantheon" or "resting place of the dead"),
Cementerio de los Kenederos ("cemetery of the Kenedys'employees").

Ordinarily, the funerals for the cowboys and the members of their families were held in the Kenedy family chapel. The coffins were then transported to this cemetery by horse-and-buggy, or in the post World War 11 era hearses were sometimes used. The Kenedys would give all the cowboys on the ranch the day off so that everyone could participate in the funeral and burial service. The Kenedy family would also attend. The economic structure at the time was such that the Kenedys directly looked after all the medical expenses of their employees from the cradle to the grave.

Many, if not most, of the graves are unmarked, especially those of infants. When they were fresh, the graves had simple wooden crosses with the names and dates of the deceased sketched on them. Those wooden crosses have long since disappeared. Homemade concrete headstones were also used. Many of these concrete markers have endured, but the painted names and dates on them are no longer visible. In more recent times, however, rock or granite headstones have become popular. Most of these were furnished by the families of the deceased.

The first graves were probably dug in the 1880's. Among the oldest headstones that are legible is that of Fabia Reojas (1810-1895). One of the most recent headstones of a person connected with the Kenedys is that of Delfina Ruano (1901-1982). Among the dozens of others, one reads family names like Cano, Castillo, De La Rosa, De Leal, Estrada, Garcia, Garza, Maldonado, Rodriguez, Salazar, Salinas, Vela. Most of the remembrances on the headstones are very simple and in Spanish. An exception is that of Isaac Hodges which reads "Born in Macon, GA. Died May 18, 1910 at La Parra Ranch." Perhaps he was just passing through, as indeed each of us is.

The Original Kenedy Home

This lovely white frame house was the original Kenedy home. It was built in the late 1880's on the site where the present "Big House" (the white stucco building some 200 yards to the east) is located.

Even though Mifflin Kenedy picked out the site and commissioned the construction of this building, he never lived in it. Rather, this became the home of Mifflin's his third son, John Gregory, Sr., and his wife, Marie Stella Turcotte, some time after their marriage in 1884. The young couple had three children: one died in childbirth, the second received the name John Gregory, Jr. -- "Johnny' for short -and the third was called Sarita.

Around the end of World War 1 (1918) John, Sr. and Marie Stella decided to build a much larger home which would accommodate guests and live-in servants. (This frame house had only four bedrooms.) The Kenedys had this frame structure moved by mule and oxen from its original site to its present location. It took about 200 animals a month to accomplish the task: centi meter-by-centi meter.

Sarita and her husband, Arthur Lee East, ended up living in the "Big House." But after a year or two there Johnny and his wife, Elena Suess, moved over to this building and lived here for the rest of their lives. Elena survived her husband by some 35 years. When she died in 1984, she bequeathed this building -- together with the surrounding acreage and the structures thereon -- to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (of Corpus Christi, Texas).

The front of this building faces south, and, if you stand back far enough, you can see that its facade resembles a riverboat -- one of the ships in Mifflin Kenedy's fleet that he used to steam up the Rio Grande during the mid-1800's. You are currently standing at the west side door. It is a time-honored custom among the ranchers of South Texas that they receive their guests and friends through the back or side door. The front door is reserved for more formal occasions.