Nancy Draves

Granddaughter of Rudolph W. Menger (R. W. Menger, Secretary-Treasurer and advertising director of H&H, 1912–1962). Calls Gustav P. Menger “Uncle Gus” — confirming she descends from R. W., making G. P. her great-uncle. San Antonio resident.

Contact: [on file with the curator]

Identity and genealogy

Nancy Draves descends from R. W. Menger via his daughter Charlotte (m. William Belcher) — confirmed by Nancy’s 30 May 2026 email and corroborated by the family genealogy worksheet photographed at the 28 May 2026 listening session (photo 01). The maternal-line chain:

Rudolph W. Menger × Charlotte Malone Menger (d. 1935 or 1936) → Charlotte (Belcher) (Nancy’s mother) × William Belcher (1928–2014, Nancy’s father — her father’s brother George Belcher was her mother’s first husband) → Nancy Draves

(Nancy’s father had recently passed as of December 2014 when she found large burlap H&H coffee bags in his garage. The Dec 2014 timing was the trigger for her first contact with the project — the bags were origin-labeled, not H&H-branded; offered for donation to the factory display.)

Maternal-line uncles

R. W. and Charlotte Malone Menger had at least three children together:

• Charlotte (Belcher) — Nancy’s mother
• Steve G. / Stephen G. Menger — survived R. W.’s 1985 death; living in Canyon Lake at Ted’s 1987 death
• John Menger — predeceased R. W.; died at 301 Primera after a long illness; otherwise undocumented in the KB; first surfaced in Nancy’s 30 May 2026 email

Plus Nancy’s three half-uncles from Charlotte Malone’s first (pre-Menger) marriage — surname not Menger; raised by their grandmother (“Great Grandma Malone”) at 301 Primera after Charlotte’s 1935/1936 death; names and dates undocumented.

Resolved open question (2026-05-30): prior framings here listed Nancy’s parent as “Charlotte Belcher or Steve G. Menger” — the May 2026 sources resolve this in favor of the Charlotte (Belcher) line. Steve and John are Nancy’s maternal uncles.

Public interview — the Mengers (8 Nov 2024)

Nancy gave a ~35-minute public interview to Berit Mason (“berit mason interviews”) on the Menger family and hotel — digest · transcript + local video. It confirms her line (mother Charlotte Menger Beler; Dr. Rudolph Menger her great-grandfather) and fills in biography: independent Texas historian and author (the Kitty Anderson Civil War diary, Texas Tech UP 2017), former teacher, and painter/artist — a German-drawn picture she found ~10–15 years ago sparked her turn to historical research. She holds 1869–71 German letters between Dr. Rudolph and Simon Menger (mostly untranscribed — a primary-source lead). The interview also named Simon Menger (the soap-works Menger) as Dr. Rudolph’s father — a reading since confirmed by contemporary documents (the Draves 19 June 2026 scans), superseding the KB’s former “Johann/Augusta” parentage on Dr. Rudolph’s page — see TODO-49 (resolved).

Husband: Tim Draves

Lecturer, Department of History, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), San Antonio (2008–2026; retired 2026, per May 2026 home session). Continuing work on UIW’s Journal of the Life and Culture of San Antonio. Office: AD 358. Email: draves@uiwtx.edu. Phone: (210) 852-0786.

• MA, U.S. History, UTSA (2005); BA English Composition/Economics, Beloit College (1976)
• Editor, Journal of the Life and Culture of San Antonio (UIW, 2005–present)
• Road Scholar Program presenter, “Signature City: San Antonio” (2012–present)
• Research focus: Texas history, particularly San Antonio in the 19th century
• Awards: Denise J. Doyle Award for Teaching and Service (2016); TSHA Mary Jon and J. P. Bryan Excellence in Education (2009)
• Writing a book on Mary Menger — Nancy Draves’s great-great-grandmother, the Menger Hotel co-founder Publications (complete as of 2026-05-21):

Research priority: The 2006 Journal of Life and Culture “Mary Menger” article predates the 2020 TSHA revision by 14 years and may contain details revised or cut in the published handbook entry. The Three San Antonio Women curriculum guide is worth identifying — if Minnie Menger is one of the three, it may contain a short biography drawing on Tim’s family access. The “Common Thread” chapter in the Trinity University Press volume (2018) could place H&H in broader San Antonio commercial history narrative.

Critical connection: UIW is the University of the Incarnate Word, founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. The Menger Family Collection cited in Tim’s TSHA article is held at the Archives of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word — the UIW archives. Tim has been on campus since 2008 and almost certainly has direct working access to this collection. This makes him the single most efficient path to the Menger Family Collection primary sources.

Nancy Draves’s published work

Published editor. Texas Tech University Press published A Promise Fulfilled: The Kitty Anderson Diary and Civil War Texas, 1861 (October 2017, 192 pp., Lou Halsell Rodenberger Prize series, ISBN 9781682830031). She is the editor, not author — the primary source is the 1861 diary of Kitty Anderson, daughter of Colonel Charles Anderson (the San Antonio Unionist who argued against secession before the Menger Hotel). Research funded by the 2009 Lawrence T. Jones III Research Fellowship in Civil War Texas History (TSHA). The book is the basis for a direct publisher relationship with Texas Tech UP. Full record: 2017-draves-a-promise-fulfilled-ttupress.

She is a member of the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Also published a Handbook of Texas entry for Kitty Anderson on the Portal to Texas History.

Publisher bio (TTUPRESS): “Nancy Draves is an independent Texas historian from a family settled in San Antonio since 1846.”

Co-authored public history with Tim Draves: Bexar County during the Civil War — ArcGIS StoryMap published February 24, 2021, hosted by Bexar County GIS. 10,369 views as of May 2026. Covers the Civil War in San Antonio across 17 sections including the secession debate at Alamo Plaza before the Menger Hotel (Nov 1860) and the December 1865 Menger Hotel ball marking the U.S. Army’s return. Full text registered as 2021-draves-bexar-county-civil-war-storymap. URL: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b73395fed62648a2966d88e4b9dc0d6c

Correspondence and contact history

Email archive (2014–2026)

Fifty-three .eml threads (Nancy/Tim Draves ↔ Brett Elmendorf), exported from the curator’s mail archive 30 May 2026 and registered as nancy-draves-email-archive-2014-2026. Originals: raw-archives/correspondence/. 27 iPhone JPEGs extracted for local reference (not Jekyll): nancy-draves-email-archive-photos → raw-archives/correspondence/photos-draves-email/. Jan–May 2015 paraphrase also in 2015-nancy-draves-bkb-research-notes.

December 13, 2014 — First contact

Found the H&H website; emailed factory@withlime.com: “I saw your site today and I am very curious and excited about your project.” Second email same day: “I am Rudolph Menger’s granddaughter.”

December 15, 2014 — Substantial letter

Key passages:

• “The Mengers have a wonderful story which is very rich in San Antonio entrepreneurship and creativity. But with that being said they were also very good, hardworking, FAITHFUL and extremely modest people.”
• “I was in the building as a child but remember little.”
• “My Uncle Gus was a real power house and had quite the personality. He did write an account for the family about those early years in coffee and your site prompted me to re-read their story last night.” — G. P. Menger’s first-person family narrative of H&H’s early history exists and Nancy Draves has/had access to it.
• “He is writing a book on Mary Menger my great great grandmother or Rudolph’s Grandmother.”

December 18, 2014 — Factory visit

Nancy Draves and Tim visited 601 Delaware in person. She had not been in the building since childhood.

December 19, 2014 — Post-visit

“We really enjoyed our day and we thank you both so much for the tour and your time. It was just the best day and the high light of our week.” Offered to donate a large burlap coffee bag from her father’s estate.

February 1, 2015 — Writing collaboration

Expressed interest in writing stories about Menger history for the H&H website. Was researching what Jabez Burns roaster William Hoffmann used. The curator encouraged her; no output documented.

January–May 2015 — BKB research notes (compiled 2026-05-25)

A separate Obsidian clip in the curator BKB vault captures email threads not fully distilled in the correspondence history above. Registered as 2015-nancy-draves-bkb-research-notes. Key additions:

• S. P. Stevens — December 1962 letter to R. W. Menger thanking the Menger brothers for his first San Antonio job ~1937; “coffee sign spots” in San Antonio, Laredo, Lubbock, New Mexico; met wife Elizabeth in Laredo 1941; Cool Crest mini-golf sign attribution; Gus Menger portrait by Stevens in Round Rock cousin’s home
• Chris Jasso — country shipping clerk by 1936; 1970–71 letters on Continental-era cans and Burns Jubilee roasters sold to Monterrey (see Chris M. Jasso)
• G. P. Menger notes — December 1962 asset sale to Continental; 10-year building lease; Albert (“Sonny”) may have stayed as president post-sale
• Market lore — Chase & Sanborn salesman (alive 2015): Tejanos called H&H “a-chi y a-che”
• Houston plant — Houston Port Book, November 1939: distributing/roasting at Patrick Shipside Warehouse, manager F. H. Kelley (see Houston distributing plant)
• Factory design — confirms Noonan & Company architect, George W. Mitchell builder (already in KB via newspaper sources)

May 2, 2015 — Photo scanning offer (first)

Offered the two large Summerville Photos for scanning. Described large employee photo as “September 14, 1924” at this time.

March 24, 2018 — Witte sighting

Spotted Sam Houston Coffee in the Witte Museum “Confluence” display; emailed the curator: “thought of you today when we saw it.”

June 16–18, 2015 — Photo wave (email archive)

Twenty-eight iPhone photo forwards with captions — ledger pages, 1942 price sheets, Delaware factory group shots (with employee IDs for R.W., Gus, T.J., Louis, Albert, Chris Jasso), family portraits, 331 Burnett stationery, tea handbills, 1927 Fiesta float, Minnie portrait/obit, and related material. Full caption index in nancy-draves-email-archive-2014-2026. The H and H/The Old Ledger (17 Jun): payroll ledger c.1929–1948, 14¾ × 16¾ in., operations + salaries + vehicles + equipment.

November 27, 2015 — Company history via cousin “Posey”

Email RE: Coffee Company etc (archive): fire from roaster heat when “off”; Minnie sole owner after W. R. Hoffmann’s death; Sen. Harry Hertzberg advised incorporation with Merchants Coffee Co.; six brothers as shareholders (Edward and August silent); younger sister Margaret not in company; formal “Mr. Ted / Mr. Rudy / Mr. Gus” address convention.

January 30, 2019 — Handbook of Texas proposal

• Proposed writing a Handbook of Texas entry for Minnie Menger; offered to co-author with the curator. A separate H&H Coffee entry was mentioned as a future possibility.
• Member of TSHA; planning to attend their February conference.
• Resumed work on manuscript Indelible Impression: Texas 1821–1861 (distinct from the published Kitty Anderson diary volume).
• The curator’s response not documented; entry was apparently not written.

2024 (before June 4) — Photo scanning offer (second)

Re-contacted after years. Now describes the large employee photo as “September 14, 1929” (see date discrepancy note below). The curator replied June 4, 2024.

May 28, 2026 — Listening session (Draves home, recorded)

Curator held a listening tour session with Nancy Draves and Tim Draves at their San Antonio home — ~4 hours, recorded (MacWhisper transcript on file). Nancy read aloud from G. P. Menger’s family narrative (“Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow”); showed the 1936 Summerville picnic print and other family photos; confirmed she holds Chris Jasso letters (with roaster drawings) and Duley Rundell correspondence. Tim supplied UIW / Sisters of Charity archive context. Summerville scanning and paper copies not completed on visit day.

Compiled notes: Interview — Nancy and Tim Draves · Source register: 2026-05-28-nancy-tim-draves-listening-session · Photo index: 2026-05-28-nancy-tim-draves-listening-session-photos

May 28–30, 2026 — “Lemons” email exchange

Brett wrote Nancy and Tim on the evening of the listening session (28 May, 10:34 PM) with notes on lemon-juice flavor design — Darcy O’Neil’s lemon phosphate soda, Kevin Kos’s super juice technique, and the “Lemon Wiki” as Brett’s term for his KB-grounded LLM. Brett’s signoff “Life Is My Experiment” (the word LIFE in particular) triggered Nancy’s 30 May 2026 reply.

Nancy’s reply opens with the 301 Primera ceiling-rail mystery (Uncle Ted’s overhead-rail rig in the upstairs bedrooms, removed by Nancy’s parents during the post-1985 renovation; likely an end-of-life-care assistance device for Great Grandma Malone and John Menger) and closes with Nancy’s c.1957 ghost-story of Great Grandma Malone’s apparition in the same bedroom. Major new material — see the Lemons email digest, the new Charlotte Malone Menger and 301 Primera records, and the corresponding sections on Rudolph and Ted Menger.

The same exchange resolves the long-standing Charlotte Belcher vs. Steve G. Menger open question on Nancy’s maternal-line parent — confirmed Charlotte (Belcher) line; Steve / Stephen G. and John are Nancy’s maternal uncles.

May 30, 2026 (PM) — Brett outbound: “cards on the table”

Follow-up in the Lemons thread — index-card pile at Startup corner; full topic list from the visit; one email per topic going forward; no response required. Registered: 2026-05-30-brett-lemons-cards-on-table-reply. Archived: raw-archives/correspondence/2026-05-30_brett-elmendorf-lemons-cards-on-table-reply.eml.

Next email — discussion points (drafting)

Curator shorthand to expand before sending:

1. Detroit techno — factory robots — “do the doo.” Sensory/cultural framing for the 601 Delaware plant as a working factory; the roaster room as a rhythm machine. Pitch this as a narrative angle for the book or museum interpretation.
2. Trade proposal: catalog your collection ↔ teach me how to write a book. Offer to formally inventory and digitize Nancy’s family materials (Summerville photos, G. P. Menger narrative, Chris Jasso letters, burlap bags, “incredible letters” man) in exchange for her mentorship on book authorship — she is the published author (Texas Tech UP, 2017) and the curator is not.
3. AI tools we could set up together — markdev, gimmeChat, lemon wiki. Offer to stand up shared AI-assisted tooling so she can work the family archive at her own pace without learning new software cold. (Tool names are curator shorthand — confirm/rename before sending.)

The two Summerville Photos

Both large-format panoramic prints, by Summerville Photo, San Antonio:

Photo 1 — Employee group, exterior:

• Dimensions: 21×10 inches
• Title (printed on photo): “Office Sales Force and Plant Employees Hoffman Hayman Coffee Co. San Antonio Tex. Sept. 14, 1929”
• 48 employees seated/standing in front of two enormous background signs
• Nancy Draves recognizes individuals including one man she describes as having “wrote some pretty incredible letters you may want to copy”
• Date discrepancy: In her May 2015 email Nancy Draves described this photo as dated “September 14, 1924”; in her 2024 email she says “September 14, 1929.” The 1929 description is more detailed and recent; the 1924 reading may have been a misread. Note: 1924 would place this at the 331 Burnett Street plant; 1929 is also Burnett Street (Delaware not built until 1932). Either way it predates the Delaware Street facility.

Photo 2 — Annual Picnic:

• Dimensions: 28×10 inches
• Title (printed on photo): “Employees Annual Picnic Aug. 9, 1936”
• ~100 people in a park setting in front of 4+ H&H vehicles; children in front
• Nancy Draves’s mother appears in this photo as a child — a Gen-4 Menger child
• Nancy Draves’s favorite of the two
• 1936 = Delaware Street plant era (built 1932)

Neither photo has been scanned. The 1936 picnic print was shown in person at the May 2026 home session (partial identifications on tape); scanning still pending.

Unpublished primary sources she holds or held

1. G. P. Menger’s family narrative — first-person account titled “Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” (also described as a handbook for H&H Coffee Company). Nancy read from it at the 28 May 2026 home session; title and scope now confirmed on tape. Not yet scanned or shared.
2. Chris M. Jasso letters — correspondence to R. W. Menger including roaster drawings; confirmed held May 2026 (see 2026-05-28-nancy-tim-draves-listening-session).
3. Duley Rundell letters — mother’s pre-marriage boyfriend; series mentioning H&H delivery fleet and company respect; held May 2026.
4. Family photographs — brought the 1930s factory group shot to the December 2014 visit; 1936 picnic Summerville print shown May 2026 with partial identifications.
5. Correspondence archive — references a man in the 1929 photo “who wrote some pretty incredible letters you may want to copy.” May be distinct from the Rundell letters; identity still open.
6. Burlap H&H coffee bags — large bags from her father’s estate; origin-labeled (not H&H-branded); offered to donate one in December 2014.
7. G. P. Menger sale notes — December 1962 Continental terms (may be part of the “Great Oaks” document or separate).
8. Houston Port Book clip (Nov 1939) — now in project as 1939-11-port-of-houston-magazine-hoffmann-hayman-houston-plant; Nancy Draves’s 2015 paraphrase verified against primary
9. H&H payroll ledger (c.1929–1948) — 14¾ × 16¾ in.; operations, salaries, vehicles, equipment; Jun 2015 email photos; offered for in-person review
10. Minnie/William US-trip postcards — honeymoon travel correspondence (Sep 2015 email)
11. 1927 Fiesta float snapshot — grandmother possibly in frame (Jun 2015 email)

Open questions

• Which of R. W.’s children is her parent — resolved 2026-05-30 via Nancy’s email: descends through R. W. → Charlotte Malone Menger → Charlotte (m. William Belcher) → Nancy. Steve / Stephen G. and John Menger are maternal uncles.
• Charlotte Malone Menger’s death year — 1935 or 1936? Two May 2026 sources disagree (the genealogy worksheet shows 1935; Nancy’s email says 1936). Bexar County 1935–1936 death records would resolve.
• John Menger — dates and cause of death undocumented; he predeceased Rudolph at 301 Primera
• Three half-uncles from Charlotte Malone’s first marriage — names, dates, and first husband’s surname all undocumented; SA marriage records 1910s–early-1920s would resolve
• The 601 Delaware ceiling irregularities Brett mentioned to Nancy at the visit (which prompted her email-reply ceiling-rail story) — what are they, and is the Primera-Delaware parallel coincidence or a real cross-vendor link?
• Format of “Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” — typescript per the 28 May 2026 photo of page 1, but page count and authorship date (post-1972 per the subtitle) still need direct confirmation
• Scan Chris Jasso letters and roaster drawings
• Who is “the man who wrote the incredible letters” in the 1929 photo — distinct from Duley Rundell?
• Was the Handbook of Texas Minnie Menger entry ever submitted or published?
• Have the two Summerville Photos been scanned since the curator’s June 2024 reply?

Collaboration opportunities

• Scanning the two Summerville Photos — immediate, low-friction ask; already agreed in principle twice
• G. P. Menger’s family narrative — the single most important unpublished primary source in the project
• Handbook of Texas entry for Minnie Menger — she proposed it; she has the TSHA membership and format familiarity
• Co-authored book — she is a published author (Texas Tech), TSHA member, has family oral history and artifacts the curator cannot access independently; the KB provides the research depth. Trinity University Press and UT Press both publish Texas regional history.

See also

People

• Charlotte Malone Menger — her grandmother
• Chris M. Jasso
• Ernesto Gonzales
• Gustav P. Menger — her great-uncle (“Uncle Gus”)
• Menger Family
• Rudolph W. Menger — her grandfather
• Theodore J. Menger — great-uncle; rigged the ceiling rails at 301 Primera
• Minnie Menger Schlosser

Places

• 301 Primera — Grandpa Rudolph’s house; Nancy’s mother inherited and renovated it
• Houston distributing plant
• UIW Archives — Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
• UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio)
• Witte Museum

Companies

• Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

Synthesis

• Nancy Draves email archive (2014–2026)
• Nancy Draves email photos (27 JPEGs)
• G. P. Menger Family Narrative
• H&H and the Tejano Market
• Mystery § Producing a book
• Summerville Photos (1929 and 1936)
• Company Organization

Future

• Listening Tour — Family Network
• Listening Tour — The Book
• Listening Tour

Book

• Historical Interviews
• Interview — Nancy and Tim Draves

Operations

• Collection Site Visit — Artifact Photography & Story Capture