Longhorn Village Toasts Its First Anniversary

By Tim Taliaferro in Blog on August 18, 2010 at 1:52 pm

At Longhorn Village, an anniversary is celebrated in style: with cheerleaders, a champagne toast, a jazz trio, and a sparkler-topped, Texas-shaped cake.

And so it was Tuesday as the Steiner Ranch retirement community involved with UT and affiliated with the Texas Exes celebrated its first year of existence.

Many of the 160-plus residents wore burnt orange to the party; other fitting University touches included appearances by the cheerleaders; Texas Pom squad; Hook ‘em, the mascot; and musicians from the Butler School of Music.  

John Henderson, the second-oldest living former Longhorn football player, spoke about why he and his wife, Charlotte, were among the first to move into the community last year. After meeting at UT in 1939, the couple moved to Baytown, but they resolved to retire to Austin someday.  

Since moving into the community, the Hendersons celebrated their 70th anniversary, and John celebrated his 97th birthday. “We look back every day,” he said, “and thank our lucky stars we selected Longhorn Village as a place to come.”

Longhorn Village was 10 years in the making. “At that time, a lot of people thought it was a really far-fetched idea,” said Bill McCausland, Texas Exes chief operating officer. “We knew there was a need for this community, and we put our resolve behind it.”

McCausland recalled how the very first depositor came up several years ago, shook his hand, and said, “My name is George, my apartment is on the third floor, and you tell everybody that’s where the party will be.”

Today the party continues, with 36 resident committees and more than 270 activities offered every month, from exercise classes to museum outings.

Henderson’s favorites are no surprise: chartered buses to Longhorn football games.