Who is Cliff Caskey And Why We Are Declaring A Day For Him

Cliff and Sylvia were married January 20, 1962. In 1963, he received a BS in Agriculture with a teaching certificate from Stephen F. Austin University, and in 1976 graduated Texas A&M University Commerce with a MS in Biology.

Cliff, Sylvia, Britt, Carla, 1 dog, 3 horses, and over 200 show rabbits moved to Hays County in 1977 when Cliff took the position as Hays County Agriculture Extension Agent. He served as Hays County Ag Agent for the next 18 years until retirement from the Extension Service in 1995. His retirement was short-lived, however, since he took the position as City of San Marcos Horticulturist the next day, and served in that position for the next 8 years.

Still not ready to retire, Cliff turned his attention full time to his peach orchard. The Texas A&M Extension specialists had told him several years before that peaches just couldn’t be grown in Hays County, but Cliff believed otherwise. He not only succeeded in establishing his own orchard just south of San Marcos, but supervised the establishment of 4 other orchards in the county. If you were to call The Texas Department of Agriculture at Texas A&M today and tell them you needed help with growing peaches in Central Texas, they would refer you to Cliff. He is known as “the peach man” from Austin to San Antonio and points east and west.

I believe there are three different types of people that spend their life serving on many different volunteer boards. The first are the type that will spend every year of their life serving on as many boards as possible just to pad their resumes and/or ego’s. The second type are people who just can’t say no, and the third are the people who really care and have the knowledge that will benefit each and every position they will ever serve.

After the little time I have spent with Cliff, I will tell you that he is the third type, but not only does he care; he is one of those hard to find worker bees, you know, the doers in life, and the ones that will move mountains (and local government) to do the right thing and to get things done.

If I listed all the different boards, commissions, clubs, or projects he has served or is currently serving on, it would take you an hour to read them all, but I do want to list a couple that most people probably don’t know;

• Started the San Marcos Farmers and is still President, 18 years and counting
• President – McCarty Student Center Board of Directors – 10 years and counting
• Hays County Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Directors – 9 years and counting
• Consultant for the Blanco River Cleanup Project in 2007-2008  
• Implemented and supervised the Hays County Oak Wilt Control Program 1988-1995
• Started Hays County Master Gardeners
• First President of San Marcos Crime Stoppers
• Won “Best in the State” for San Marcos softball fields in 2000
• Designed, engineered and supervised the re-building of the footbridge over the San Marcos River when it was taken out by the 1998 flood
• Designed and supervised the building of the stage next to the San Marcos River
• Currently supervises the maintenance of the landscape in the four Texas Veteran’s Cemeteries for the State of Texas
• In addition to growing and selling his peaches, Cliff still serves as horticulture consultant to the City of San Marcos….

And truthfully, this isn’t even half of the boards, commissions, or projects, local or otherwise that Cliff has given to over the years.

Cliff remains very involved in the community in many ways, and always answers the call when needed… the most recent example is the 2015 Memorial Day Flood.

Cliff got on the phone with the County Commissioners and secured use of the old Hays County Civic Center as a disaster relief distribution center. Within two days, a trailer truckload of disaster relief supplies was delivered to the Civic Center on behalf of the University Church of Christ.

A couple of days later, Cliff coordinated the arrival of a shovel-ready team of volunteers experienced in disaster relief clean up and reconstruction to help our San Marcos neighbors begin the process of rebuilding their homes and their lives. This week a truckload of sheetrock donated by McCoy’s, and a truckload of new appliances donated by the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Organization have been delivered to the Civic Center to go out to the flood victims that registered with University Church of Christ at the Hays County Civic Center.

Most of you probably know his daughter, Carla Caskey-Sisk. Carla has followed the honorable example that her Father set. I mentioned this to Carla recently and she said, “People say that all the time and I have even been told ‘the peach didn’t fall too far from the tree’.” If you know the family, you know that she comes by her sense of humor honestly as well.

Carla Caskey-Sisk owns and operates ColorMix Graphics in San Marcos, which is a printing and promotional company, and just a couple of her national clients have included Sprint and Gold’s Gym, and her list of community service is almost as long as Cliff’s.

This family has given their lives to serving this community and Hays County, and it has always been a huge part of their lives, so much so, not a one of them think it’s anything special.

Not only is it hard to find this level of service from families anymore….but if your blessed enough to know the Caskey clan, you know just how big their hearts are as well, and their personalities are just as big and good as their hearts.