< Previous70 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 GARDEN VARIETY with sharp spines and big green leaves and white flowers. “This looks like something from Dr. Se- uss,” she said. Another favorite is the hidden ginger, which produces interesting flowers in a variety of colors. Tish marks each one of the plants because in the winter they die down and vanish. But the rhizome, or root, is alive and reemerges in the spring. “I have to mark each one or I will forget where they are and plant something on top of it,” she said. Along the back of the garden is a large col- orful rangoon creeper, which loves the heat and the sun as it climbs up a trellis. This plant is covered in blooms with flowers emerging white, turning pink by nightfall and are a deep red by the next day. They’re a favorite for birds, bees and other pollinators. Another crawling vine is an air potato vine with large heart-shaped leaves. This plant is considered invasive by many gardeners, but Tish likes the appearance of the plant’s leaves and controls it in a trellis she made. Fifteen years ago, Tish and a friend en- rolled in an art welding class at Alvin COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 71 (Clockwise from left) Tish and Jim Reustle live on 3 acres in Friendswood, but they only nurture a garden surround- ing their pool and two manmade ponds in their yard; waterfalls flow into the ponds, and water lilies, with their large pads, provide hiding spots for the Reustles’ fish; blooms cascade down a large Rangoon creeper. The blooms change from white to a deep red; hidden ginger is one of Tish Reustle’s favorite plants.72 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 GARDEN VARIETY Community College and learned how to make unique pieces of yard art. She frequently visited scrap metal businesses, finding “treasures” she would incorporate into her art. The garden is filled with her creations, as well as some furniture she made inside the house. Each is different and special to her. She even set up a small welding shop at her home to work on special projects. “I’m not a great artist, but I just like to have fun doing this,” said Tish, a retired nurse who taught at San Jacinto College in the vocational nursing program. To fill in spots in the garden, she added some ornamental millet, a butterfly bush and a variety of bromeliads, which are red and speckled green. She also has white, yellow and red crown-of-thorns and a purple Texas sage that flows down a rock wall adjacent to the ponds and a bridge, where lily pads cover the water and attract frogs and snakes. One wall inside her covered patio is the orchid garden. A dozen orchids in various stages of growth hang from boards or in pots near an assortment of air flowers and colorful bromeliads attached to sheets of wood. Three different shades of pink/orange bougainvillea fill a large pot near the garage. Tish uses rain barrels to fill the ponds and water some of the gardens. She and her granddaughter decorated several of the barrels, giving them another way to display their artistic abilities. “Before the freeze, this was like a jungle,” said Tish, pointing to the tall stump of a queen palm, which died after the 2021 Win- ter Storm Uri and now holds a large round pot of flowers. “But now I am picking only those cold-hardy plants that will last through a freeze or this hot summer.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 73 S h r i m p S h r i m p F e s t F e s t y ' a l l c o m e ! LiveMusicstartsat4:30pm FeaturingPerformingArtists: THELINEUPAMANDASOLIS SELENA TRIBUTE SINGER (From top) A curved, metal bench and metal sculpture made by Tish Reustle. (Opposite, from top) A covered patio shades outdoor seating as well as Reustle’s staghorn ferns and orchid garden; crown-of- thorn plants in a variety of colors bloom in pots. “I’m not a great artist, but I just like to have fun doing this.” TISH REUSTLE74 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 GALVESTON 222 Kempner 409-763-4641 GALVESTON - WEST END 13680 FM 3005 409-737-1488 TEXAS CITY 905 Logan 409-948-1771 SANTA FE 13227 FM 1764 409-925-3800 FRIENDSWOOD 601 S. Friendswood Dr. #103 281-819-4280 LEAGUE CITY 2225 Phillips Road, Suite 100 281-332-3521 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 75 PARTICIPATING LOCATIONS PRESENTED BY WITH SUPPORT FROM NONPROFIT ARTS SPACES GALVESTON ARTS CENTER 2127 STRAND • GALVESTONARTSCENTER.ORG GALVESTON ARTIST RESIDENCY 2521 MECHANIC • GALVESTONARTISTRESIDENCY.ORG GALVESTON ART LEAGUE GALLERY 2117A POSTOFFICE • GALVESTONARTLEAGUE.COM GALVESTON BALLET 2301 MARKET • GALVESTONBALLET.ORG NIA CULTURAL CENTER 2217 STRAND, SUITE 101 • NIACULTURAL.ORG GALLERIES & ARTIST STUDIOS ELIZABETH PUNCHES STUDIO & GALLERY 410 23 RD ST • ELIZABETHPUNCHES.COM G. LEE GALLERY 2217 STRAND 107 B • GLEEGALLERY.NET PROLETARIAT GALLERY & PUBLIC HOUSE 2221 MARKET • PROLETARIATGALLERY.COM QQ ARTSPACE 3622 85TH ST • QQARTSPACE.COM RENE WILEY GALLERY 2128 POSTOFFICE • RENEWILEYGALLERY.COM OTHER WALLS EATCETERA 408 25 TH ST • EATCETERATX.COM EATCETERA AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE 123 25 TH ST GALVESTON RAILROAD MUSEUM GALVESTON FISHING COMPANY 2509 MARKET ST • GALVESTONFISHINGCOMPANY.COM MARMO MARKET AT MARMO PLAZA 2121 MARKET ST • MARMOPLAZA.COM TSUNAMI EXOTIC TEQUILA EMPORIUM 2314 STRAND • YAGASCAFE.COM/TSUNAMI SATURDAY AUGUST 26 | 6 9PM SATURDAY AUGUST 26 | 6 9PM *PARTICIPATING SPACES AS OF JUNE 2876 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 Veronica and Brett Von Blon created a spacious, second-floor living space in the 1905-06 C.F. Marschner Building in downtown galveston they call home. COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 77 HOMEPORT ‘SO MUCH FUN’ Islanders transform bottling company building into a cherished home story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS V eronica and Brett Von Blon don’t live in a house. Their island home is in a building. And they refer to it as The Compound, because their two-story structure on a dou- ble lot with high fences in Galveston’s down- town area provides them with the comfort and security of a fortified sanctuary. The couple used The Compound as a weekend getaway since 2013 but transitioned to full-time island residents four years ago. They transformed the former bottling com- pany factory and later car museum into their home with room for their sons’ families and five grandchildren to visit. The two-story building was constructed in 1905-06 for Charles F. Marschner, a German immigrant, who was the proprietor of Texas Bottling Works, makers of Celebrated Iron Brew, Southern Favorite Sassafras Beer, Cherry Blossom soda and Orange Crush. At the time, Marschner bought the lot on Mechanic Street, the bottling company was across town on 33rd Street, near his home on Avenue N. The structure was built by Otto Haase, another German immigrant with a specialty in brick construction, evident today by the decorative brickwork, arched windows, heavy moldings around the win- dows and the stepped brick parapet wall with corbelled brick cornices and finials. Although Marschner died before the build- ing was completed, his widow, Marie, later married Albert Mahr of St. Louis, hired to manage Texas Bottling Works.78 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 HOMEPORT Marie’s children ran the business and created Triple XXX Bottling, which was housed in the building until the mid-1950s. Royal Crown and Nehi Bottling continued in the building until 1965. But in 1989, David Taylor, an auto man from Houston, opened the David Taylor Cadillac Museum in the building. It closed sev- eral years later and the building was purchased, rehabbed as a residence. The Von Blons remodeled it again to its present condition. The majority of their living is done on the second floor, where the kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom are. The once open space was divided into rooms and period-sensitive details were added: old doors, rustic cabinetry, COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2023 79 recycled furnishings and lots of histori- cal data made available to them by the previous owner’s family. “I’ve always liked urban downtown buildings,” said Brett, a former home builder from Houston. The couple had been eyeing the building for quite a while before they were able to buy it. When they finally could make a deal for the purchase, the fun was just beginning. The restoration took about five months. “We didn’t want to recreate the building, but we wanted to capture its character,” Veronica said. And when the couple moved to Galveston, they retired from their business. But then they got interest- ed in the Model-T electric cars and started a new business, Carriage Haus Rentals, where they rent by the hour or day neighborhood electric vehicles. Their business on Broadway, just a few blocks from their home, wasn’t the retirement they envisioned. “Now we are only working seven days a week,” Veronica said. Visitors enter the home and 3,400-square-foot building from a rear upstairs door, which overlooks the courtyard. The only way into the courtyard is through the narrow alley, and a large garage in the rear of the property houses the family’s golf cart and vehicles. The backyard, with a large pool and covered outdoor kitch- en, is adjacent to the courtyard. Once inside, the transformation becomes real. Upstairs is the open concept of living room, dining room (Right, from top) Veronica and Brett Von Blon have turned the historic Texas Bottling Works building into their downtown Galveston oasis; photos of Alfred Marschner’s daughters are displayed in the home. Marschner’s father, C.F. Marschner, owned Texas Bottling Works. (Opposite, from top) One side of the courtyard features a pool with a waterfall wall; artwork, photos, documents and artifacts telling the history of the former Texas Bottling Works building are displayed in the home.Next >