World War I brought about a special crisis for many Texans of German descent. Large numbers of German Texans lived in the Hill Country, the Coastal Plains, and the cities of the state. When the United States went to war against Germany in April 1917, some Texans questioned the loyalty of German Americans. The propaganda that depicted Germans as "Vicious Huns" did little to improve relations. There were other factors as well. During the Civil War a group of German settlers who sympathized with the Union tried to flee to Mexico and were killed on the banks of the Medina River. If Germans were sympathetic to the enemy in the Civil War, they might be disloyal again. Also, German immigrants had not necessarily tried to assimilate into the larger Anglo culture. Enclaves of German immigrants existed in Texas in 1917 in which very little English was spoken. Another source of friction between Anglos and Germans was the thorny political issue of prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Generally speaking the Germans were less likely to support prohibition.
The Blue Topaz on our site, unless otherwise noted, is unfortunately not from the Mason County, Texas area . The production of that material just cannot meet our manufacturing demands and is generally very light blue or clear compared to the deeper Blue Topaz we offer.
