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JULY 2026, Vol 6, Iss. 6

SHARING THE LAKE Hangin’ in the water at Red Beard’s Landing Seguin

THE BEES ARE BACK Lake McQueeney is full and sports are back in action

Exploring Water Fun SUMMER IS ON AT LOCAL LAKES

JULY 2026, Volume 6 l Issue 6

GENERAL MANAGER Darren Dunn

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lizz Daniels

ADVERTISING MANAGER Nick Spence

WRITERS Cindy Aguirre-Herrera Lizz Daniels

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Linda Duncan Nick Spence

Seguin Today is published once a month by: KWED, Seguin Daily News in Seguin, Texas. www.seguintoday.com

THIS ISSUE

JULY 2026, Volume 6 l Issue 6 Temperatures are up, and that can mean only one thing in Texas –– summer has arrived. Grills are going, and in backyards, kids are splashing in pools while their parents catch a much-appreciated break. Summer is a great time for outdoor activities, and Seguin has plenty of options for you to explore. In this issue of Seguin Today, we check out a couple of local options you might just want to check out. From backyard life on the lake to living on Lake McQueeney, we’ve covered two aspects of the local community whose stories are as unique as they are interesting. Seguin Today would also like to take the opportunity to thank our Seguin community for making Freedom Fiesta a huge success. We know it started out rocky with the proposed name change, but your voice won, and the name Freedom Fiesta is sticking around. You, the Seguin people, showed up and showed out for the biggest downtown Fourth of July celebration we’ve ever seen. So whether you were at the mainstage taking in the sounds of Clint Taft and the Buckwild Band, or you were jamming with DJ DTrayne, we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. The people in this community truly are what makes it so special. Cheers to you, Seguin! And may your summer be unforgettable.

Lizz Daniels Creative Director

facebook.com/KWEDradio kwed.seguindailynews @kwed SeguinToday

COVERSHOT

27 7 OPENING THE LAKE TO EVERYONE Sharing the shoreline at Red Beard’s Landing

The Ski Bees hit the water decked in red, white, and blue for their

Fourth of July performance at Lake Breeze Ski Lodge.

FLYING ON THE WATER Celebrating the long-awaited return of Lake McQueeney

EVENTS CALENDAR Community events happening this month

Photo by Lizz Daniels

FREEDOM FIESTA A look back at all the fun at this year’s celebration

Opening the Lake to

EVERYONE Sharing the Shoreline over at Red Beard’s Landing Seguin Story by Cindy Aguirre-Herrera Photos by Lizz Daniels

or the last several years, Lake Placid’s lowered water levels have meant the disappearance of many of the summer’s simple pleasures. And, for families who didn’t live on the lake, they had even fewer opportunities to cool off, launch a kayak, or simply sit by the water on a hot afternoon. But now that Lake Placid has returned, so has the chance to once again create those summertime memories. While many residents are celebrating the lake’s revival, the entrepreneurial spirit of one local family is working to ensure the experience isn’t reserved just for waterfront homeowners. At Red Beard’s Landing Seguin, Chris Nelligan-Davis has opened a slice of his backyard to the public, giving families, friends and visitors a place to dip their toes in the water, paddle a kayak, take a boat ride or simply relax along the shoreline with a beer in their hand. “It’s kind of like I’m giving people access to my private house on the water,” Nelligan-Davis said. “That’s kind of the vibe they get. They’re like, ‘Wow, you’re very welcoming. Thank you for letting us come.’” The Landing came to be after Lake Placid was forced to drain after its “nearly century-old spill gate failed and the dam suffered a catastrophic breach in 2021. Looking for a way to make the best of the situation, Nelligan-Davis and his wife Terri transformed part of his property, which still had a bit of water, into a welcoming gathering place. “We lost our water,” he said. “I thought, ‘Well, we can try and make the best of this—make some lemonade.’ We opened up the swimming hole slash bar in the summer of 2022 and have just kind of been going from there.” Prior to the opening of Red Beard’s Landing, Nelligan-Davis was

already operating Red Beard’s Boats. The business allowed him to quit his 9-to-5 to captain boat rides around Lake Placid. However, after the draining of the lake in October 2021, he was forced to redraw his business plan – ultimately giving way for Red Beard’s Landing at 933 Reiley Rd. Now, with the lake restored, visitors can once again do it all – this includes swimming, renting kayaks and paddleboards, chartering a pontoon or ski boat, or simply settling into a picnic table next to the water. He says over the last few years, folks were only able to enjoy the lower lake levels by placing chairs in the water and small kayak trips, but now that the water is higher, folks can enjoy the full experience of being on the lake. For Nelligan-Davis, this idea has always been more than just operating a business. “In my opinion, it’s kind of what life is about. Sharing and getting along with each other. It just wouldn’t seem right if I kept it all to myself,” he said. More than anything, Nelligan-Davis hopes people leave with the feeling that they’ve spent the day at a friend’s lake house rather than a commercial attraction. “The last few days I’ve heard it described as a ‘Cheers in the water,’” he said. “Everybody kind of shakes hands and says hello when you first come down.” That welcoming atmosphere is intentional -- even down to the absence of televisions. “I don’t have TVs down there,” he said. “I don’t want people just staring at screens here. I want actual human interactions to happen.”

Although appointments are required for boat rides and water recreation activities, Nelligan-Davis says those who just stop by the Landing can also rent kayaks, paddle boards, tubes and splash mats by the hour or day. The cost to come out and swim at the Landing is $10 per person. Plus, at the business, folks can cool down even more with cold beer, wine, margaritas, soda, plus an assortment of snacks. But as another South Texas summer heats up, NelliganDavis says the greatest part of the comeback on Lake Placid isn’t the water itself. “Being able to share what I have brings me joy,” he said. “Just being able to give a little bit to some people that maybe don’t have access to it. They’re very appreciative of it, and that’s payment in itself.” To reserve a boat ride with Red Beard Boats or for more details on Red Beard’s Landing Seguin, visit redbeardboats. com or call 210-823-8347. •

The BEES

are BACK!

Flying on the Water

Celebrating the Long-awaited return of Lake McQueeney Story & Photos by Lizz Daniels

magine losing your favorite pastime. Whatever it is, whether sports, dance, gaming, or crosswords –– it’s just gone, and you don’t know when, or if, you’ll get it back. If you can imagine this, you might have an idea of how life on Lake McQueeney has been for residents the past several years. In 2023, the lake was drained to make necessary repairs to the dam, but those repairs resulted in a loss of community and lifestyle that no one was fully prepared for. When the water went down, friends were separated, and livelihoods changed. Everything changed, really. When your life is based around the water, and there is no water, what do you even do? Josh Wright lives on Lake McQueeney and is a member of the Ski Bees organization helping put on ski shows at Lake Breeze Ski Lodge. For him, the draining of the lake was a personal tragedy. “It was your favorite hobby pulled away from you,” Wright said. “Kind of like the carpet being pulled out from underneath you. You just never really know what you have until it’s gone. But part of it feels like we never left, honestly. It’s great to have this back because this is our community. There were some people we didn’t see for three years. They

lived three miles away from us, on the other side of the lake, but that was a thirty-minute drive, and now it’s like a three-minute boat ride. People changed while the water was down. Kids grew up, people got new jobs and different ways of life, and some of us paused and took a different path, while others just waited it out.” Wright said now that the water is back, it’s a bit of a foreign feeling –– surreal. Lake residents changed so much of their lives during the time the water was down that, when it came back, it was almost a shock to have their old lifestyle back. “Being back on the water is kind of a foreign feeling,” Wright said. “We’ve been tortured for so long, I don’t even know how to explain it. Now that we’re back on the water, I’ve been trying to get back to our way of life –– our lifestyle out here. It is a lake; we all have lake houses, and this stems around the community, but it’s a lifestyle that we all choose to live, to be on the water –– to be a part of anything on the water. People like Wright felt isolated from their community without the lake to visit friends. Lake resident and Ski Bees board member Jimmie Price is one of those who tried to make the best of a bad situation.

“Not having the lake was not fun,” Price said. “We thought we were going to be doing a lot more on the water. We all got our fishing boats and things like that in the water, and then we realized how much of a social activity it had all been before. The lake was really quiet. It was weird to not hear boats and music and the people. One thing we did have though, was while the lake was dry, we would come out here and play in the rapids and just hang out while the kids and dogs play. It was funny to look at the GPS in your cars, and it showed you driving through the lake full of water on the map.” Driving through the lake bed is no longer an option, however, as the lake is back to full with a little help from late-spring rains. The water now bounces and splashes with wake as speedboats zoom around and skiers return to the water. “When the water came back, it came back fast,” Price said. “We were fortunate enough to get all that rain, about eight inches; we would have had some form of high water event, but all it did was fill us and Lake Placid up at the same time. We were very, very fortunate for that. We had some issues with debris at first, but at this point it’s pretty well back to normal.” Now that the wake is back on the lake, excitement fills the air at Lake Breeze Ski Lodge where Price drives a boat for the Ski Bees. When the water returned, it was a community event filled with strong emotions, according to both Wright and Price. “When it first came back, we all had to relearn each other’s names,” Price joked. “But really it was exciting. We were at a friend’s house, and the neighbor lady saw a boat out, and she came over and was in tears just to see a boat on the water again. Losing the water was hard. It was like losing your favorite thing in the whole world. We lost not just the lake, but suffered a loss of community. But it’s finally back, and we couldn’t be happier.”

A full lake doesn’t just mean boats up and down the waterway, or the return of music to docks; it also means the return of the famous McQueeney Ski Bees who have been largely out of commission due to the lake drain. But time certainly didn’t shrink the crowds they draw. For their Fourth of July show, a mass of spectators lined the shores of Lake Breeze Ski Lodge eager for a peek at what the skiers had in store. Ski Bees Board President Lacey Gosch was on hand helping organize things as the Ski Bees prepared for the show, and shared some insight into what the past several years have been like for the organization. “As a club, we did a lot of things to make sure we were ready while the lake was down,” Gosch said. “We maintained the ski equipment, we had the ropes, and we had plans ready, like putting the ski jumps in the water. We worked over the course of the water being down to make sure all those pieces were in place so that when the water came back, we could just pick up where we left off. It seems like we would have lost a huge amount over the past four years, but yet, it’s kind of like riding a bicycle –– it’s something you just don’t forget how to do. We’re starting to see the growth; we’re starting to see the acts get better each week, and it’s just really exciting to see. The community is so excited to have everybody back and to have Ski Bees back on the water, ready to grow. I really look forward to the next couple of years as we continue to grow the organization and continue to add skiers.” As the Ski Bees show commenced, skiers took to turbulent water to perform their skills. Some things have changed, especially the ages of the younger performers. While the water was down, kids that hadn’t skied yet grew up, while others just didn’t get any practice in. This had led to a time of regrowth for the Ski Bees. “I think probably one of the biggest changes we’ve seen is that we have so many skiers that were younger skiers,” she said. “And now it’s years since they’ve seen the water and the shows. So what’s really interesting is they remember. Being able to see them on the water, doing some of the acts that

they saw their older brothers and sisters and other people in the community doing –– all in all, the show has changed in that we are kind of having to regrow because of the time off the water. So as we begin to grow, we have skiers that were really working to develop their ski skills, teaching them some things that have just been lost with time. This is all because they haven’t had it year after year to grow up with the older skiers.” Likely the biggest change to the show nowadays is the speed at which tricks are performed and the time between performers, but Gosch said this is all intentional to help younger skiers learn and master new skills. “The show is a little bit slower than it used to be before, but some of that is by design to allow our skiers the time to grow athletically in the sport,” Gosch said. “But then it’s also to grow the club and to really bring the interest back. With each week, we have started to bring back acts that we used to do as we are able to train these kiddos. We’ll remind them like, ‘Hey, do you remember this,’ and they’re like, ‘no,’ but when we start to describe it, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah! I remember so and so used to do that,’ and then they get excited and want to try it. We’re really moving forward; however, one thing I can say is that McQueeney has such a great community. There are so many skiers with the organization being around as long as it has that they’ve kind of come back. During this time, to come and ski and really show what they can do and help train these younger skiers is really a testament to the community.” The Ski Bees and their surrounding community have certainly put in the work to bring the show back. On the Fourth, skiers both young and old raced around the lake waving American flags in all kinds of formations. The Bees even accomplished one of their most challenging tricks –– a three-tier stack of skiers. This is all proof of the hard work and effort they put in during the lake’s draining and return. The show was a spectacle, just like it has always been, and more than likely, will always be. And as for life on Lake McQueeney –– well, it’s back, folks, and residents couldn’t be more ecstatic to have their favorite pastime back for good. •

JULY

Upcoming events and special promotions happening locally!

To promote your event on this page contact advertising at 830-379-2234 or email communitycalendar@kwed1580.com

FeaturedEvents Events Featured New Braunfels Food Bank Tired Parents Club CASA of Central Texas Foster On July 26 from 2pm to 3pm there will Job Fair be a social club for parents with specia Care Simulation Job seekers are invited to meet with multiple local employers during a Job Fair hosted by the New Braunfels Food Bank and Workforce Solutions Alamo on Wednesday, July 22. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon upstairs at the New Braunfels Food Bank, located at 1620 S. Seguin Ave. in New Braunfels. Attendees are encouraged to bring copies of their resume and dress professionally for the opportunity to connect with area employers who are hiring.

Kids Summer Art Classes

The Seguin Art League is offering Kids Summer Art Classes featuring “Hippos, Crocodiles and Cobras… Oh My! The Art of Ancient Egypt.” Instructor Jamie Aven will teach students about the art and symbols of ancient Egypt while they learn to draw and paint exotic animals and plants. Classes for ages 5 to 9 are offered July 7-8 or July 9-10 from 10 a.m. to noon. Classes for ages 10 and older are offered July 7-8 or July 9-10 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants may choose one two-day session for $60 or attend all four days for $120. All supplies are included. To register, call the Seguin Art League Gallery at 830-305-0472 during gallery hours, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

needs. The club invites you to ask you questions and socialize amongst families of different abilities at this support group meeting. Parents, caregivers and family members are welcome. The event will be held at Casa Wesley located at 306 E. Gonzales St, Seguin. Light refreshments and snack provided. For questions visit autismbeyond22.com

Seguin Conservation Society Golf Tournament

The Seguin Conservation Society invites golfers to take part in its annual Golf Tournament on Friday, Aug. 14, at the newly renovated Max Starcke Golf Course. The two-person scramble begins at 9 a.m. Registration is $110 per player, with entry forms available at Starcke Furniture. Registration and payment are due by Friday, Aug. 7. Proceeds benefit the Seguin Conservation Society and its ongoing efforts to preserve and promote the community’s history. For more information, call 830-379-4622 or visit seguinconservation.org

CASA of Central Texas will host a free Foster Care Simulation from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at Gruene United Methodist Church, 2629 E. Common St. in New Braunfels. Participants will experience the challenges and realities of the foster care system through an interactive simulation. Registration is required. For more information, visit casacentex.org.

Summer Reading Experience Underway at Seguin Public Library The Seguin Public Library is inviting readers of all ages to participate in its 2026 Summer Reading Experience, “Unearth a Story.” The free program features books, activities, special events, and opportunities to win dino-mite prizes throughout the summer. Children, teens, and adults are all encouraged to join. Registration is available in person at the library or online at Seguin Public Library Summer Reading Experience. No library card is required to participate. Participants have until Aug. 6, 2026, to complete their activity boards and be entered into drawings for raffle prizes.

When life happens. Our urgent care is right here.

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