INGRAM, Texas – On July 4, 2025, rental property manager Eddie Matthews evacuated approximately 75 people from two different properties in Ingram.
“I’m a little more rested then I was the last time I saw you,” Matthews told KSAT. “I think I was going on two, three hours of sleep in days.”
One of those he rescued was a man from a toppled cabin next door.
“He’s now in an apartment in Kerrville. I helped him move some stuff,” Matthews said. “They’re really special people, and so, sometimes — even in the travesty of all the disaster — you build relationships,” Matthews said.
Matthews has been the person to go out of his way to help others. He is a former camp counselor and teacher at Tivy High School in Kerrville.
His rental management company, Stay Hill Country, allows him to interact with people visiting the Guadalupe River every day at properties like Casa Blanca and River Oaks Lodge.
Last July, he rented a cabin to KSAT’s Courtney Friedman and her family, who left Casa Blanca the day before the tragedy. Days after the flood, Matthews invited KSAT back to survey the damage.
In June, Matthews was proud to show off the work he and the property owners have done over the past year.
His goal was to reopen by spring break, which is exactly what happened.
“People are excited to be back,” Matthews said. “They’re so supportive, and I continue to get calls through the year like, ‘Hey, you going to be ready?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re ready now.’”
Matthews said they’re booked at about 75% of what they normally would have during the summertime, which is way higher than they expected.
Big repairs had to be made at Casa Blanca’s main house, which is one of nine houses on the property.
Next door, at the River Oaks Lodge property, a lot of work had to be done, as well.
“The balcony is a good reference point,” Matthews said as he pointed to the second floor of the building. “The water had reached all the way up to that top. And then the cars that were out here were completely underwater.”
According to Matthews, the basement that had flooded to the ceiling is as good as new after volunteers came in to help treat the entire building’s walls.
Most of Matthews’ focus has been so geared toward rebuilding and the people lost in the flood that he admitted he forgot to check on himself.
“I was having some issues with heart rates and it occurred to me that a lot of it, I think, is that our nervous systems are wrecked,” Matthews said. “Every time the phone would ring, even a few months ago, I would hold my breath. And since I’ve kind of reset on that, I’ve just noticed a big difference.”
Matthews has been able to encourage other struggling flood survivors, who want to be able to celebrate the wins this coming July 4.
“It’s the human condition. I mean, we need the time to grieve, we need a time of honoring, but we move forward,” Matthews said. “That’s what we humans do, right?”
Matthews hopes anyone wanting to visit the Guadalupe River and support the Hill Country communities will book a trip this summer.
Watch the entire One Year after Hill Country Flood special in the media player below:
Read more of KSAT’s Hill Country Floods coverage: