It is somewhat reminiscent of the song about the boy named Sue — because he too, sorta, got even in the end.
If you look in The Handbook of Texas Online, you will find the father of the donor of Runge Park, Henry Runge Sr., had a younger brother who was called “Long” Runge and Henry Sr. was called “Short” Runge.
Henry Sr. moved to Indianola, where he established a general store in a tent and quickly became one of the most prominent and successful businessmen in Texas.
He married Julia Hornung, and they had six children. One of them, Henry J. Runge, founded Arcadia, which is now a neighborhood in Santa Fe.
In 1866, Runge Sr. and his family moved to Galveston.
Runge Sr. died in Galveston on March 16, 1873, leaving a 75-page will. It was said to be the longest will ever probated in Texas.
I like to think that Runge Sr. would have uttered on his death bed, “That’ll teach ’em to call me Short.”
But let me get back to Henry J.
The town site of Arcadia was laid out by Henry J. Runge in 1890.
Dairy farming was one of the major agricultural activities in the area.
After the creation of Runge Park, Arcadia hosted the annual Galveston County Fair at the park.
The fair grew in popularity and size so much so that it outgrew the space available at Runge Park. It was then moved to the larger Jack Brooks Park site.
The Galveston County Fair had its origin as an agricultural fair that emphasized the dairy industry, which was of such prime economic importance in the area at the time.
Other amenities on the park that are typically Texan are the covered riding arena and two rodeo areas — well, after all, this is Texas.
The Little League Complex contains four ball fields. They are, appropriately so, named for Joe Kelly Tombrella. This is a name commonly associated with Galveston County parks during their “acquisition” period.
He served as chairman of the County Beach and Park Board of the county park system from 1980-87.
The fields were named for him not only because he had served as chairman of the county parks board but for what he did later.
In his “life after parks,” he operated a private business through which he sponsored one of the first four Little League teams that used this field as their home field — and this really started something.
At present, there are 15 Little League teams that call Runge Park and the JKT ball fields home.
Runge Park consists of 20 acres on which are a great variety of facilities, one of which is a covered picnic pavilion that just cries out to be used for family gatherings or communitywide events.
Ten acres of the park were set out in the original plat of the town of Arcadia. Later, a contiguous 10 acres were purchased by the county.
The transfer of title for the original 10 acres to the county by the Runge heirs contained a reversion clause.
This apparently was the first of its kind for donated property — it set a precedent that is followed to this day when donations of property for public use are made.
Arcadia is in what was Stephen F. Austin’s fourth land grant, according to the Handbook of Texas Online.
It was at that time, most likely, a treeless land of coastal prairie.
Local lore, according to Mr. Charles Meek, a man I have found to be a walking encyclopedia (as well as the author) on the subject of the history of Arcadia, has it that Henry Runge initiated the tree planting.
These are now the majestic old oaks that adorn the grounds, arguably the most picturesque to be found in Galveston County.
Tom Linton is a member of the Friends of Galveston Island State Park.
