Tiffany Schreiner’s The Legend of the Cosmic Cowgirl is  what she calls “a poetic tale for all ages of the rowdy, resilient and pioneering spirit.” 

She should know. A sixth-generation Texan, she is the direct descendant of Captain Charles Armand Schreiner, the Father of Kerrville. According to his biography by Michael Bowlin entitled “Captain Charles Schreiner, Father of the Hill Country,” tragedy struck the Schreiner family soon after arriving in Texas. Gustave Adolph Schreiner, his wife and five children arrived in Hot Wells, near San Antonio, on Sept. 23, 1852. Just 18 days later, Gustave was dead, the victim of a rattlesnake bite to his neck. Less than four years later, Charles’ mother died during an epidemic.

By that time, Charles, just aged 16, was on his own. He joined a Texas Ranger company, serving for more than two years. He then went into the cattle business in Kerr county and married Mary Magdelena Enderle, taking her back to the ranch in Kerr County. In his lifetime, he amassed more than 500,000 acres, his ranch bearing the famous name Y.O. Ranch.

He opened the first bank in Kerrville and operated a successful mercantile as well as his cattle business. He was also philanthropic, donating $5 million to causes in and around Kerrville, earning him the title “Father of the Hill Country.”

In 1917, he donated land and money to establish Schreiner Institute in Kerrville. The Schreiner Institute opened in 1923.  Military training at Schreiner Institute ended in 1971 and in 1971 it was renamed Schreiner College. It was renamed Schreiner University in 2001.

Schreiner University celebrates its Centennial Sept. 15-18 at the campus in Kerrville. Tiffany will launch her book during the weekend. It is available on amazon at http://bit.ly/3sBRG0e.

Tiffany says the book expresses her love of Texas, of back roads, big skies and bigger hearts.

It takes big hearts to turn tragedy into a gift, which is what happened in 1984 when Tiffany’s baby brother Charles A. Schreiner V died at 11 months of congenital heart failure. His grandparents, Jim and Daurice Bowmer, turned the tragedy into a magical place for children. They donated the land near Youngsport for Baby Charlie’s Fishing Camp. Over four decades, Baby Charlie’s Fishing Camp became Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children and is today Variety of Texas’ Peaceable Kingdom Retreat, which serves more than 4,000 children each year with camps, day trips and other special programs.

Tiffany has resilience herself, overcoming long COVID, which has left her with migraines but hasn’t broken her spirit. She is currently working with the Texas Ranger Historical Association on the Bicentennial of the founding of the Texas Rangers when Texas was still a part of Mexico. She launched Sirenafest and is volunteer for the San Marcos Mermaid Parade. She is also the director of investor relations and historic special events for Stagecoach Properties in Salado, where she grew up, remembering it as a small village of artists, historians and dreamers.

And she has a new dream for Salado, centered around the Cosmic Cowgirl of her new book. The Cosmic Cowgirl is, of course,  her daughter Harper. She worked with Sheryl Russel for creative direction and Addison Joyner for illustrating the book.

In addition to the release of her new book The Legend of the Cosmic Cowgirl, Schreiner is working on a new event in Salado.

The Imagineers Rodeo on Royal and Stagecoach, hosted by Lonesome Dove Events, will be Oct. 28, a day full of what Schreiner calls “Cosmic Cowgirl and Cowboy Dreaming.” Proceeds from the event will benefit CASA of Bell County. CASA is the acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA volunteers are the voice of children who are in the foster care system. They “advocate for the best interest of a child in foster care. They are then appointed by a judge to represent and advocate for a child’s best interest, both in the child protection system and in life. CASA volunteers are each assigned to help one child or set of siblings at a time, so they are able to focus on giving each child or sibling group the individualized advocacy and attention they deserve.”

“I can’t think of anyone more deserving of our life and support,” Schreiner said.

Schreiner is seeking sponsors for the day-long event. To find out more about the Rodeo on Royal and Stagecoach, call Schreiner at (254) 466-5018.

Details of the event will unfold in the coming weeks, but Cosmic Cowgirls and Cowboys will be central to it.