Too Pretty To Get A Name
BY PHIL HOUSEAL, Contributor
A dozen miles northeast of Boerne lies a subterranean setting so beautiful, the founders couldn’t come up with a name it deserved.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Cave Without A Name.
Yes, that is the name it was given in a contest held shortly after its accidental discovery in 1935 by three children (more on them below). The winning entrant explained that “the cave was too pretty to give it a name.”
Cave Without A Name has to be inch for inch the most beautiful in the world. The cave boasts 2.7 miles of passages, with the public area comprising six large rooms a quarter of a mile long. The central Queen’s Throne Room is the most spectacular, featuring a colorful backdrop of stalactites and stalagmites, columns and draperies. The cave is “live” in that it continues to grow from water still feeding its formations.
My first visit to the cave back in 1985 was magical. When I called to ask what time the tours started, the owner at the time, Eugene Ebell, said gruffly, “When you get here,” adding “bring a camera” before he hung up.
The elderly caretaker gave me a reverent tour through this underground wonderland with the care of someone who had been through it 30,000 times. He pointed out the hibernating bats, the soot from a Prohibition-era moonshine still, and even tapped out a tune on the “bacon strip” rock formations. I remember him mentioning that locals used to hold concerts and meetings in the cave.
That became relevant when Thomas Summers purchased the property in 1998. Summers preserved the natural beauty while bringing it up to standards as a destination. He improved the roads, added bathrooms, and upgraded the grounds with a pavilion, picnic tables, camping areas, and hiking trails through native-friendly landscaping.
The most innovative development was putting live music inside the cave eight times a year. Yes, you can walk down 126 steps and sit in 66-degree temperature to listen to styles of music from Bach to Tibetan singing bowls. Thomas has been offering concerts in the Queen’s Throne Room for more than two decades. The natural dome acoustics and picturesque backdrop is attracting a regular schedule of performers from eclectic fields of classical, popular, rock, world-beat, a cappella and instrumental music.
“I think there is a need for it, and the people who come truly appreciate it,” Summers notes. “The acoustics are spectacular.”
Concerts now occur around solstices and equinoxes, and at other significant times of year. Seating is limited and every show sells out. Regular performers include Axiom Quartet, Rahim Quazi Trio, the Texas Cellos, Sounds of the Seasons, Rudi & The Rudiments, and The Three Tenors.
I have sat in on several of those cave concerts, a full 30 years after my first visit. Little has changed, which is not surprising as the cave is tens of thousands of years old and time is measured in drops of water.
The band on the night of my first concert experience, Celebration Circle, presented an hour-long concert. Listening to music in a cave is an immersive experience according to vocalist Sarah Gabriel, who has been performing here with of the Celebration Circle Band for eight years.
“The Throne room is so resonant, it’s incredible,” she says. “It’s amazing to go into this space and celebrate the turning that native people have done for eons before us. To reconnect with the earth; to be in the womb of the earth, it’s a powerful thing.”
Even for performers who have toured the planet, playing inside a cave offers a unique platform unrivaled by any world stage. Violinist Dominika Dancewicz, who has performed around the world, calls playing in the Cave “one of the greatest adventures.”
“To be able to play music in a cave is such a treat,” she says. “It helps to explore the potential of the instruments on a different level. That type of acoustics is just not possible to produce anywhere else. Audiences are always absolutely blown away by what a violin can do.”
Many bands switch off the cave lights mid-concert to let audiences experience a short soundscape in the total darkness that can only be found underground.
“It’s awesome,” offers one guest who has been attending concerts here for three years. “Both the acoustics and the music. The cave is a beautiful place to have a concert.”
Chris and Eva have returned several times.
“It’s just a place like no other,” says Eva, who is a trained classical musician. “To go into this huge beautiful space underground, and to participate in this amazing sound that comes from any of the groups we’ve heard–I don’t think there is any way to describe it other than to experience it. It is as good as any concert hall you’ll ever play in.”
Emerging after the concert into the starry Hill Country evening almost feels like rebirth.
History
That is an apt metaphor, considering the discoverers of this natural wonder. Mary McGrath Curry, who has since passed away, was 6 years old when she and her two brothers, Harold and Jimmy, set off on their journey toward the center of the Earth.
“We were very adventurous children,” she told me in 2015 on a trip back to the cave at age 86. She shared her story about finding the cave: As they searched for the lost sheep, they first stumbled upon a moonshine still sitting beside a hole in the ground, evidence bootleggers knew about this hidey-hole long before. The resourceful kids tied knots in a rope and anchored it to an oak tree. They clambered down the rope to the first of three ledges. There they found three old wooden ladders that each led to a lower level. When they reached the bottom level, they crawled to the right.
“We saw a massive room with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites,” Curry said, her voice still tinged with wonder 80 years later. “There was an ethereal light there, so it was bright inside the cave. I remember wandering to the left, where there was a stream running through it.” (A brochure describes how the cave was named for its beauty. A student in a local contest called it the Cave Without A Name because it was “Too pretty to have a name!”)
The last previous time Curry visited her cave was in the 1990s. While acknowledging the changes from her childhood memories, she was gratified the world could see the wonder that she discovered. Thanks to the work of the current owner and staff, the public can share that wonder at any upcoming concerts, or at anytime for that matter.
The location boasts RV and Camping facilities upgraded for the recent solar eclipse, hiking trails, covered pavilions, and a gift shop. They often host school groups and educational organizations, and the grounds can be rented for weddings, parties, reunions, and other gatherings.
But at the heart of it all is the cave itself, quietly waiting to host its next concert and to show new visitors that it truly is a cave too beautiful to give a name.
—————————————————————————————————————-Upcoming 2024 concerts:
A Taste of the Mariachi Extravaganza; Saturday, October 12
Gli Unici – Three Tenors perform Music of the Night; Saturday, October 26
Songs & Prayers – Joseph Kuipers; Saturday, November 9
Sounds of the Season 2024 – Tinsel; Saturday, November 30
Nordic Christmas – Texas Cellos; Saturday, December 7
-Tickets, tours, hours, days, and other information: cavewithoutaname.com 830-537-4212.
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