Well, if you’re looking at Arlie Dean Kendrick, you’re also looking at country.
He is the sort of person who knows his neighbors and their families by name. He embodies a genuine desire to look out for one another as a community. He has pride in where he comes from. These are rare qualities in a world that has become constantly fixated on self, but Kendrick is keeping them caring alive as the new mayor and long-time resident of Bellville, a small city nestled between Houston and College Station, which is the seat of Austin County.
“I used to be able to tell you who lived on every street and in every house in Bellville, but I couldn’t tell you that anymore,” Kendrick said. “I still know all the old timers, and they still know me, but knowing everybody? Maybe half.”
That’s not a figure to smirk at, considering the population of Bellville is nearly 4,300 people.
Born and raised in Bellville, Kendrick has proudly lived all of his 69 years there. And although he and his wife, Terri, have vacationed in countries such as Greece and Turkey, they have always come back to their home in Bellville, where they have both worked, served the community and raised a family – three adult children and three grandchildren – during their 42 years of marriage.
“Growing up, I always saw my dad helping other people, having a passion for assisting others and making Bellville a better community,” Kendrick’s daughter, Karlie Beach, said. “And I think that rubbed off on all three of us kids. We all strive to do that in some capacity, and I think that came from both of our parents and how they raised us.”
Kendrick is certainly no stranger to public service. Over the years, he has been a dedicated civil servant, serving for six years as an alderman on Bellville’s City Council and for 27 years as First Assistant Chief within the Bellville Volunteer Fire Department. He also worked for the City of Bellville for a total of 36 years. But his most recent role has been stepping into that of the town’s mayor.
It’s hard to find many people in any small town who know as much about that town and its people as Kendrick does about Bellville, and that’s not bragging. It’s just a plain fact. Although he retired from the city in 2018, his recent return to its familiar halls seemed destined, given his dedication to Bellville as a life-long resident, his extensive historical knowledge of and with the town, and his personal relationships with more than half its residents.
“It seemed like it was just inevitable that he would at some point become the mayor,” said Jason Smalley, Bellville’s Chief of Police. “He's worked so long for the city and as a firefighter. He's one of the few people around here who knows the layout of our city. He’s just Mr. Bellville.”
Now 51, Smalley was a teenager when he met Kendrick and credits him as one of the few people in Bellville with encyclopedic knowledge of the town’s infrastructure, as well as local history going back generations.
Kendrick ran for mayor and won without having to do more than throw his proverbial cowboy hat into the ring. No one ran against him. Kendrick was elected unopposed, which is no surprise to many town residents.
“I think that shows the confidence the people of Bellville have in him that he had no opponents,” fellow Bellville City Council member Betty Hollon said. “Arlie’s concern is for the town of Bellville and its future. He’s a very friendly, outgoing person, and I think everybody knows he is always willing to do what’s needed.”
From the time he was a small child, Kendrick grew up living the life of the ‘small town southern man’ Alan Jackson sang about. A small-town cowboy, in this case, who had no desire to wander too far from Texas, let alone his beloved Bellville. His family all lived in Bellville. Riding horses, rodeo, raising cattle, roping and steering calves are in his blood, traits passed down to him by his father, John Arlie Kendrick, who died in a horseback riding accident when Kendrick was just 6 years old.
“Because of my dad's accident, it was always a struggle for me with Mama for her to let me ride horses,” Kendrick said. Yet he has kept that passion alive on the 66-acre farm he and Terri own just outside of Bellville, in addition to their in-town residence.
Today on the farm, the couple owns three horses and raises cattle. Terri Kendrick, a retired educator, remarked that the grandchildren especially enjoy visiting the farm. “To them, coming to Bellville is like going to Disney World. They love coming here,” she said.
When they aren’t on the farm or at city hall, the Kendricks might be found showing a home to a prospective buyer as realtors for Bill Johnson & Associates or out antiquing.
In his free time, Kendrick also enjoys refurbishing old air motor windmills, primarily for decorative use. He developed the passion as a youngster.
“There was an older gentleman who asked me to help him restore windmills, and I used to drive through the countryside and see old broken-down windmills lying there in the field, and I wanted to restore them.”
The windmill Kendrick’s grandfather owned was destroyed during Hurricane Carla in 1961, but Kendrick eventually salvaged the tower and other parts from the old windmill to restore it to its former glory. The windmill now stands tall and graceful in the Kendricks’ backyard.
But with his new position as mayor, there isn’t much time for windmill restoration anymore, and Kendrick said it is a hobby he will probably have to set aside.
Along with the city council, Kendrick’s current agenda is the implementation of several street repair projects the city is undertaking to improve the quality of life for its citizens.
Although Bellville owns its utilities, there are areas of town in need of maintenance. The city recently finished the re-routing of water mains under Main Street, also known as Highway 36.
In addition to its annual $14.5 million budget allotted to run its various departments, to reconduct worn electrical lines, resurface streets, and replace old water and sewer lines, the city was approved for a grant of nearly $1.2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a COVID-19 relief bill, to purchase a new water well.
The grant’s funds are distributed through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program, which allocates money to state and local governments to help communities recover from the effects of the pandemic by investing in various essential services, including infrastructure.
The improvement projects are slated for completion by the end of the city’s next fiscal year on September 30, 2026.
About the writer
Lakendra Lewis is a freelance writer and book editor based in San Antonio, Texas. Her articles focus on the arts, including music, theater, television, and film. She also has a passion for telling other people's stories. Lakendra’s articles have appeared in a variety of South Texas publications, including Edible San Antonio Magazine, Latino Leaders Magazine, The Texas Observer, and RIO Magazine.
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