Episode 16: Fredericksburg, the Napa of Texas - with Kohlie Frantzen

Liss’N Kristi

This time, we welcome Kristi's favorite cousin, Kohlie Frantzen, for a journey through the originally brutal - but now charming - history and modern dynamics of the town of Fredericksburg, Texas. As descendants of the town's founding families, we reminisce about our childhood, sharing stories of our ancestors' grit as this once-dangerous outpost became a flourishing 21st century destination for families, and the visiting enthusiasts for its expanding wine industry. Texas wine now rivals Napa Valley for its quality and production.

Kristi and Kohlie swap childhood stories. Then, moving to the present, we hear how Kohlie has helped his college-age children navigate the application maze, weighing the merits of military service against traditional education in a post-COVID world.

00:00 - Start

00:11 - Introducing Kohlie

01:24 - Kohlie's family original settlers in Fredericksburg late 18th century

03:19 - Luckenbach

04:03 - "If you grew up in Fredericksburg, you did something wrong"

04:09 - "But now, it's in the top destinations in Texas" especially for wineries

09:24 - "The place is so welcoming, when you show up there, you're family"

09:35 - Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves "the authenticity of Texas"

10:55 - Frisco TX and the original box ranch (in the TV Show, Dallas)

12:32 - Going back for the Eclipse

13:30 - "Kristi and I were like the runts of the litter, but she was the Rodeo Queen"

14:15 - "I only fly jets, but it looks like a nice plane to me"

16:58 - "I missed my calling"

18:36 - Patience - the girl in the pick-up truck with a pistol

20:15 - The camp out before the eclipse, and the gunpowder in the shed

21:00 - "If you're a parent, your job is to become obsolete"

24:06 - "I hear how hard life was, when I go back to Fredericksburg"

25:15 - "Back then Germans were blamed for the war, nobody wanted them"

25:36 - The Fredericksburg Smokehouse and the sausage

26:20 - "There was all kinds of crazy stuff going on, on those farms in the middle of nowhere"
27:25 - Working in the oil business was a risk
29:06 - How much of our mothers' qualities are passed on to our girls?
29:50 - The college application process and "gamesmanship"
32:35 - Getting up at 2 a.m. to launch college applications, and changing questions post COVID
35:04 - Military Service - 4 years of tuition
36:18 - Michelle Obama's Foundation and leveling the college "playing field"
38:05 - "I'm named after a gas station"