"Hummingbirds like the Tejas best!"... Sam Chiodo  1914-2004

   A feeder legacy featuring timeless style, the "handcrafted metal" Tejas is modeled after the original metal Texas Hill Country hummingbird feeder, and has been produced for over 30 years -- Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine- April 2002.  And if "imitation is the finest form of flattery", then we're flattered that the Tejas has now been copied by no less than four (4)  manufacturers who extrude a plastic version of the Tejas!

    Fifty (50) years ago an old timer in Kerrville, Tx -- Prentiss Swayze -- took the notion to attach an 'old glass I.V. bottle' from Kerrville's Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital to a 'Scotch Tape tin' .... poke holes in the tin... fill the bottle with sugar water, and hang it out for the hummers!

    Sam Chiodo who lived in the Frio Canyon at Leakey, Tx observed this contraption, which put an idea in his head. Sam took the idea to his neighbor, Freddie Franks... a local genius with a lathe, and together began to assemble an assortment of "Rube Goldberg" machines to create the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder.  Creating the Tejas involves a twelve (12) step process... each step utilizing one of the many "Rube Goldberg" machines designed to fashion the Tejas.

   In 1995 the Lewises (Harriet and Marion) acquired the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder business. It's been said that "You have to have something to retire to"... so acquiring the Tejas feeder manufacturing business was a great candidate, and who wouldn't be excited about continuing a tradition like this!

   Since acquiring the business, the Tejas has been 'tweaked' only a bit, as this handcrafted "metal" feeder has already stood the test of time. In 1999 the Tejas acquired a new baked on 'powder coat' finish and new graphics (label) including hummer food recipe. For sturdiness, a brass grommet was inserted between the closure and feeder top for a more secure fit.

Late 2009 finds the Tejas Feeder 'tweaked' once again!  After many years of searching, a sturdy aluminum metal screw cover component was discovered, to be used in construction of  the "new-style" Tejas feeder base.  Beginning spring 2010 the Tejas Feeder features a screw cover feeder base, allowing the feeder base to be opened for cleaning, and aluminum construction, a remarkable metal for its ability to resist corrosion.  A custom made gasket is included with the screw cover feeder base to provide a water tight seal between top and bottom halves of the screw cover feeder base.

So after 30 plus years, still only a few changes have occurred to the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder... and in a changing world, that's not so bad!

   Sam Chiodo passed away Saturday, July 3, 2004 at his home in Kerrville, Texas.  He was 90 years old.  The street he lived on in Leakey is named Hummingbird Hill Lane in honor of his love for hummingbirds.

Tejas review: "Of Hummingbirds and Other Critters"

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