Archives

Born August 17th

Aug17

davycrockett
He was born August 17, 1786, the fifth of nine children, in a small cabin near the Nolichucky River in Tennessee.

When he was twelve, he spent four days in school, had a fight with another boy, and left home to escape a licking from his dad.

In addition to the four days, he had only six months of formal schooling.

He was married twice, had two sons, fought the Creek Indians, served in the Tennesse legislature, and then became a US Congressman.

His rifle was named “Betsy,” and his motto was: “Be always sure you are right, and then go ahead.”

If you’ve figured out who it is with a birthday today, you also know, of course, when and where he died. Hint: I’ve seen the place, and my children know the stories of the men who died there.

Sam Houston and Texas Independence Day

Mar2

Sam Houston was born on March 2, 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He spent a great deal of time with the Cherokee Indians as a youth, and he enlisted in the US Army during the War of 1812. He quit the army to study law and was elected to Congress from Tennessee in 1823 and again in 1825. In 1827, he was elected Governor of Tennessee. Because of an unhappy marriage (?), he resigned as governor and went to live with the Cherokees. He moved to Texas in 1832. He was a delegate to the convention that met at Washington-on-the Brazos in 1836 to declare independence from Mexico. Did he influence the convention to declare this independence on his birthday and four days before the fall of the Alamo? Probably not, but it would make a good story. Houston led the Texican army in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, and they defeated the Mexican forces under General Santa Anna. After this, Houston became President of Texas, congressman to the Texas Congress, president again, Senator from the state of Texas to the US Congress, and Governor of Texas. He was forced to step down from the governor’s office when he opposed secession in 1861.
This ends your free Texas history lesson for today. Go to Lone Star Junction for more information on the great state of Texas. (We Texans are not known for modesty about our state or our heritage, and I’m proud to be Native Texan!)
Texan authors I know and enjoy: Louis Sachar, Diane Stanley, Janice Shefelman, Leon Hale, Elmer Kelton, Joan Lowery Nixon, James Michener, and others. Do you know any other good authors from Texas?

Can Anything Good Come Out of San Angelo?

Jan28

I found this meme on Amanda’s blog The Living Room. She asks us, for her Thursday Thirteen (yes, I’m a day late and a dollar short, as usual) to “name thirteen places in our hometown that you would take the rest of us to if we visited, and why.” I live in Houston, but my hometown, where I grew up, is in West Texas. San Angelo, Texas, The Wool Capital of the World. Many people think that there is nothing in San Angelo worth visiting or seeing. I’m about to prove them wrong.
1. Central High School. This is the high school I graduated from. It is also one of the first high schools in Texas to be built in a campus style, multiple buildings spread out over an acre or so of land, back in the 1950’s. It even has trees.
2. Fort Concho.

“Established in 1867, along the banks of the Concho River, Fort Concho was built to protect frontier settlements, patrol and map the vast West Texas region, and quell hostile threats in the area.
In June 1889, the last soldiers marched away from Fort Concho and the fort was deactivated. After 22 years Fort Concho’s role in settling the Texas frontier was over.
Today, Fort Concho National Historic Landmark encompasses most of the former Army post and includes twenty-three original and restored structures. Fort Concho is a historic preservation project and museum which is owned and operated by the City of San Angelo, Texas.”

3. Zentner’s Daughter Steak House or Zentner’s or DunBar Cafe or . . . Why is it that there are so many restaurants in San Angelo where you can buy an excellent chicken fried steak with cream gravy and so few elsewhere? Those frozen things that are mostly crust with some kind of ground up meat inside are NOT real chicken fried steak.
4. Cactus Hotel. This 14 story hotel was Conrad Hilton’s fourth Texas hotel built in 1929, and it was disentegrating as I was growing up. However, it’s been restored and is used as a cultural center and has a children’s art museum on the first floor.
5. Concho Riverwalk. We go here to prove that San Angelo does have water and beauty.
6. Santa Fe Crossing. A railroad museum, shops, and a senior citizens center.
7. Sunken Garden. In West Texas, you have to cultivate flowers and water them—frequently. Another beauty spot.
8. M.L. Leddy Boot and Saddlery. I don’t know what the in-crowd carried at your junior high school, but when I was in junior high everybody who was anybody had a leather notebook with their name hand tooled on the front. And the notebooks came from Leddy’s. I want to see if they still have them. You might enjoy the handmade boots and saddles.
9. Lake Nasworthy. Again, we are showing you that water is available in West Texas. Plus, there’s a park where we used to drive really fast over this dirt road, and if you did it just right your car would fly over the low places in the road. No, we were not any more hard up for entertainment than teenagers in any other place!
10. Tom Green County Library. I used to work there, and I like libraries.
11. Hudman Drug Store. It had a real old-fashioned soda fountain, like you see in the movies.
12. San Angelo Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. The San Angelo version is not all glitzy with big name singing stars like the Houston one. But if you want to see a rodeo and a lot of animals, San Angelo is the place to go around the beginning of March.
13. Harris Avenue Baptist Church. The last time I visited, my home church was still a Southern Baptist church with hymnals and sermons and a choir and a piano and an organ. Even if you don’t care for that sort of worship, everyone should participate in at least one 1960’s style Southern Baptist worship service soon because they’re an endangered species. Oh, and as far as I can tell, Harris Avenue Baptist Church doesn’t have a website. No surprise there.

Don’t Call Me

Oct18

Texans can sign up for the state’s no-call lists for free — on the Internet. The Texas Public Utility Commission announced Friday the offer is good for new signups and for renewals. More than 1 million people have registered for the Texas no-call lists since they could begin signing up in January of 2002. The PUC said the no-call list registrations as of Jan. 1 will begin to expire, depending on the enrollment date. Registrations were good for at least three years. Because of administrative costs, Texans who sign up or re-enroll for the lists by phone or mail must still pay a fee. The Web site to register online is www.texasnocall.com.

I will definitely do this. I only have time to talk to people who want me to get my carpet cleaned or my house exterminated or who want to sell me something at MY convenience, not theirs.

Juneteenth

Jun18

Those of you who aren’t Texians may be unfamiliar with this holiday, celebrated tomorrow on June 19th, but I’ve heard about it all my life.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

Juneteenth is an official state holiday in Texas and it will be celebrated tomorrow, mostly by those of African American descent, with picnics, prayer services, carnivals, parades, and other festivities. Oh, yes, a typical Juneteenth celebration usually involves barbecue, watermelon, and red soda pop. Happy Juneteenth!