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The Austin Statesman, Austin, Texas
Tuesday April 4, 195_

"Burnet Man Has Pushed Hill County Development"
by C. A. Nelson, Special Writer

"BURNET, April 4.-- When speaking of Burnet's growth and progress one cannot help but dwell on W. H. Smith, who has been responsible for much of the city's development. ¶ Smith, a native of the Hill Country, was born in Johnson City Dec. 19, 1886. When he was small his parents moved to Gonzales where he attended elementary schools. His parents moved back to the hills when he was 14 years old and he received his high school education at Marble Falls.¶ Forty-four years ago, following graduation from high school, Smith came to Burnet to open a cedar business. Eight months of handling cedar was enough. He resigned to accept a job in the dry goods department of one of the local general stores.¶ Evidently the drygoods business got a firm grip on Smith for he remained in it until 1933. Then he purchased that section of the store from the original owners and the W. H. Smith Department Store came into being.¶ Smith married a Burnet girl, the former Miss Liza Corker, and the couple have three daughters and a son, Ralph H., who is now a partner of his father. The firm name has been changed to W. H. Smith & Son.¶ During the war years, from 1942 to 1945, Mrs. Smith ran the store while Smith was office manager for the Burnet Graphite deposits.¶ He was one of the organizers of the Burnet Chamber of Commerce in 1924, and for four years was its secretary. One of his proudest possessions is a white gold watch presented to him by the Chamber for outstanding work in getting the State Legislature to pass laws creating the Lower Colorado River Authority.¶ The Burnet group seemed to be fighting a losing battle but they kept on fighting for what they thought were the best interests of the Hill Country and Texas. Their enthusiasm and energies bore fruit and others saw they were in the right. Hence, Smith is given the credit for helping the farmers, ranchers and sportsmen of Texas and also assisting in making Central Texas an attraction for tourists.¶ Smith had been interested in the Longhorn Cavern from the first. He watched prisoners, brought from Huntsville clean out the many miles of caves on through to the work done by the CCC in beautifying the grounds, the taking on of the caverns by the state and creation as a state park.¶ At the time the State Highway Department was considering work on Highways 29 and 281, and the encircling of small towns was then in vogue. Smith was mayor of Burnet and he put up a battle to ensure that the two highways not only went through his city, but intersected there. He won the battle and these two modern paved roads have been a great asset.¶ Smith is known as a "work horse" in organizational work, and besides being a past mayor of Burnet is past president of the Chamber of Commerce, past master of the Masonic Lodge, was superintendant of the Sunday School of the Baptist Church for 13 years, for four years was president of the Burnet School Board.¶ For relaxation Smith joins his wife and children, along with friends, and spends quiet hours at his summer cabin on the shores of Lake Buchanan.