Fwd: TSHA Moves to U of North Texas in Denton

Texas State Historical Association

Moving to University of North Texas in Denton

By Jesus F. de la Teja, 2007-2008 President TSHA

[Frank offered this in early spring, and matters are certainly bright in North Texas.]

 

"For the past year, as president of the Texas State Historical Association, I have been working on our departure from the University of Texas in Austin, where we had been housed since the organization was founded in 1897. Those of you interested in the history of TSHA's first century may consult our organizational biography by Richard McCaslin, At the Heart of Texas: 100 Years of the Texas State Historical Association, 1897-1997 (TSHA, 2007). In it, the reader will know that there were past periods of turbulence as the association evolved into its current form.

Founded by among others U.T. historian George Garrison, until 2005 the TSHA always had at its head a member of the university's history department. In 2005 the Center for studies in Texas History, the university unit responsible for collaborating with the association, was transferred from the College of Liberal Arts to the Center for American History. Efforts by the association's officers at the time to negotiate a new status for the TSHA with the university's administration were unsuccessful. In May 2007 President Bill Powers informed the association that given the divergence in interests between the two organizations, the university needed the TSHA to vacate its space in Sid Richardson Hall by no later than the end of the year. Further efforts to gain a reconsideration of the decision proved unavailing."   ....

SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN "Will's Texana Monthly" March 2008.  Request a copy here in the Comments

3:19 to Yuma

Elmore Leonard, the original author of the short story recently again made into a major movie "3:10 to Yuma," preferred the far southwestern scene in Arizona and New Mexico.  But at times, at least twice, his imagination included Texas:  "Along the Pecos" (aka "The Rustler") first in Zane Grey's Westerns (Feb. 1953) and "The Woman from Tascosa" (aka "The Rancher's Lady") first in Western Magazine (Sept. 1955).

Both are in The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard (2007).

Leonard partially credits the movie "Red River" in the 1940's with influencing him to write Westerns.

Battle of Medina Memorial Service

MEDIA ADVISORY                     CONTACT: DAN ARELLANO 512-826-7569

                                                                   

"THE TEJANO BATTLE OF MEDINA "

HIDDEN HISTORY

The public is invited to attend the Battle of Medina Memorial Service at the Longhorn Museum 1959 E. Hi 97, Pleasanton , Texas on Saturday August 16, 2008 from 2-4 P.M.  

 

Maclovio Perez WOAI TV personality will be the Master of Ceremony. Scheduled to speak will be Andres Tijerina, Ph. D. History Professor from Austin and Author of several books, Jose Antonio Lopez Author of "The Last Knight," the story of Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, Dr. Gregg J. Dimmick , Author of " Sea of Mud ."  Dan Arellano, Author of "Tejano Roots," with special guest, Author and Historian, Mr. Robert Thonhoff.

 

Many Mexican-Americans have sacrificed their lives defending freedom and democracy. Over a thousand Tejanos were killed in one battle alone in defense of these causes, but this conflict was not on foreign soil. Not on the beaches in Normandy, not in Korea or Viet Nam, although Tejanos were there, but much closer to home, in South Texas, less than twenty miles from San Antonio. The "Battle of Medina," …the forgotten history of the Tejanos, these first sons and daughters of Texas , unknown and unrecognized for their ultimate sacrifice.

 

This battle was between the Republican Army of the North consisting of nine hundred Tejanos, three hundred Americans, and three hundred Native Americans against a Spanish Army led by Juaquin de Arredondo. A little known fact is that the Tejano leader Colonel Miguel Menchaca, in the heat of battle, had been ordered to withdraw his men, whereas it is said that he responded "Tejanos do not withdraw," and plunged back into the foray. Out of the 1500 that set out to fight only 100 would survive. After the battle another 327 Tejanos would be executed in San Antonio and another 100 would be slain as they fled towards Louisiana , making it the bloodiest struggle for freedom ever fought on Texas soil.

 

Artifacts (swords, cannon and musket balls) will be displayed by local land owners found in recent Archeological digs. The event is free and open to the public.

 

And know it is time to honor those who fought and died for freedom, 195 years ago.

 

The Longhorn Museum is located 2 ½  miles from IH 37 on Hi 97 to Pleasanton , Texas .

 darellano@austin.rr.com  www.tejanoroots.org

One Theater for Sale - Historic!

The Bunny takes your eye to a historic theater in Houston's Heights district.  Any takers?  Good paint job.

http://www.thebunnybungalow.com/2008/07/heights-theater-for-sale.html

Marshall News Messenger and Audio history

Back up in Marshall, my hometown, they've gone and gotten fancified and new.  It's nothing new for historian Ben Z. Grant to pen an article (this time on the importance of the ox compared to the mule, recently vaunted in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly by Arnold Watson.)  Ben writes a good read.  But what I noticed was that beside the article was an AUDIO BUTTON.  I thought it may be an advertisement (due to its position) but lo and behold, there was gentle whizzing and clanking and a mechanical voice began voicing Ben's article to me right then and there.  And it was much better than previous mechanical readers.  Better intonation, selective emphasis, more normal pacing - in short, fairly tolerable.  It moved along faster than an ox and very little snorting.

The "Click 2 Listen" button took me to the active site which was

 

 

READ MORE AND GIVE A LISTEN AT

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/featr/content/features/stories/2008/072708_WEB_Grant_column.html

What'll those Mavericks do next?

 

SMU's Clements Center for Southwest Studies

The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies

http://www.smu.edu/swcenter/

Extracts from the webpage inform us

Director: David J. Weber

"Established in fall 1996, SMU's Clements Center for Southwest Studies promotes  research, publishing, teaching, and public programming in a variety of fields of inquiry related to the American Southwest."

The Center's operations include

CENTER OPERATIONS

Current Newsletter

Newsletter Archive

2008-09 Events

Benefactors, Advisors & Staff

Community Fellows

Consortium for Southwest Studies

RESEARCH & STUDIES
Research Fellows

Ph.D. program

Graduate Students Research Grants

Dissertation Fellowship

Clements Center-DeGolyer Library Research Grants

Call for Papers!

PUBLICATIONS

Books on Southwestern American

Library of Texas

Clements Book Prize

PUBLIC EVENTS

Symposium

Brown Bags

Current Events

Lectures

SMU's Southwestern Studies Consortium

From the Southern Methodist University and its Clements Center

http://www.smu.edu/swcenter/consort.htm

Consortium of Southwest Centers

"The Clements Center initiated the formation of  a Consortium for Southwest Studies consisting of similar centers throughout the region.  The Journal of the Southwest, published at the University of Arizona, and The Journal of Southwestern American Literature, published at Texas State University, will now appear as publications sponsored by the new consortium. The directors of the respective centers are linked via e-mail and hope to exchange ideas as well as publications."

 

Clements Center for Southwest Studies

 

Members in addition to the  the Clements Center are:

Austin College: Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies
 Colorado College:  Hulbert Center for Southwestern Studies
 Fort Lewis College: Center of Southwest Studies
 The Southwest Center, University of Arizona
 Texas State University:  Center for the Study of the Southwest
 Texas Tech University: Center for the Southwest
 University of New Mexico:  Center for Southwest Research
University of Texas at Arlington:  Center for Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography,
 

Way Out West Book Festival

The Alpine Avalanche newspaper plans a series of article on the participants of its "Way Out West Book Festival" August 8-9 on the Sul Ross campus  The first installment begins

" By Arlene Griffis / Special to the Avalanche

"This week, we'll focus on Lee Merrill Byrd and her husband, Bobby, both of whom will be at the festival as publishers and as writers. They are co-founders of Cinco Puntos Press in El Paso. The business, started in 1985, is a nationally-known, independent, literary press that specializes in publishing literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and books for kids) from the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico and the American Southwest."

READ MORE ABOUT IT http://www.alpineavalanche.com/articles/2008/06/30/news/news10.txt

 

Tejano Music Collection - Dallas

Pegasus News tells you:

Dallas librarian educating masses about Tejano music

By Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista

 

AN EXTRACT :

"A librarian with the Al Dia newspaper, Carolina heard that the annual Tejano convention was coming to Dallas next month and she thought it was a shame that Dallas didn't have more more to show for our strong, but little appreciated, connection to the homegrown music genre.

Luckily, Carolina met a couple of Tejano collectors with some "amazing" collections and a Tejano artist photographer who were all willing to share what they had with Carolina to jumpstart the creation of the first in a series of community Tejano projects.

Billing the series, "Tejano Progressions," Carolina tells Latina Lista that the first project is a photo exhibit that will be on display throughout the month of August on the fourth floor at the downtown branch of the Dallas Public Library."

READ MORE ABOUT IT

 

UT Football Movie

UT Longhorns play Marshall University's Thundering Herd

http://smu.scout.com/a.z?s=357&p=2&c=771506

Texas Non-fiction Writers organization and retreat

Who are these people?

The Texas Nonfiction Writers organization says of itself: "Who are the members of Texas Non-Fiction Writers?  People from Texas who write non-fiction. People who write non-fiction about Texas.

Of course, our favorites are people from Texas who write non-fiction about Texas. But we're not all that picky. We even suspect that there are some fiction types lurking in here somewhere."  Read more at http://www.texasnonfiction.org/cms/

 

The Texas Non-fiction Writers have planned an Ocober retreat.  See the fullsomely informatlive brochure at http://www.texasnonfiction.org/cms/docs/retreatbrochure2008.pdf

At Boerne October 24 and 25, 2008 at the Cibolo Nature Center -

The Program Chair will be Jeff Morgenthaler, the fulcrum of the organization

Program includes

Michael Erard - Language for Writers

James L. Haley - Writing Texas History

Kathleen Hudson - Performance: Songs & Stories

Elmer Kelton - Writing a Memoir

Joe Nick Patoski - A Non-Fiction Career

Barbara Ras - One Author at a Time

Andrew Sansom - Writing About Your Passion

Rusty Shelton - Working With a Publicist

Jan Wrede - Writing About Things that Grow

Mockingbird Books Publishers

Mockingbird Books is project of the Texana Foundation

at http://www.mockingbirdbooks.com/ we read:

"Mockingbird Books is a micro-publisher of adult non-fiction about Texas. History, nature, memoirs, essays, regional guides and other creative non-fiction.

Our purpose is to promote interest and excellence in Texana non-fiction. We are the publishing imprint of The Texana Foundation, a Texas non-profit corporation. In addition to publishing, the foundation hosts innovative book events that explore the rich heritage and culture of Texas.

Our first three books are all by Jefferson Morgenthaler, an award-winning author and founder of The Texana Foundation. Having seeded the foundation with those titles, we are actively seeking submissions from other authors. Look for new titles in the coming months.

We're doing this because quality trade publishers of Texana have virtually disappeared. As the publishing community shrinks, the ranks of readers and writers may thin. A vibrant Texas publishing community is an important element of preserving what makes Texas special."

To date they have four books Boerne, The German Settlement of the Texas Hill Country, La Junta de los Rios, and The River Has Never Divided Us.

Texana Foundation

From their webpage we learn -

 

"The Texana Foundation is a Texas non-profit corporation that encourages interest and excellence in Texas non-fiction.

Formed in 2007, the foundation is funded through public and private contributions, grants, event revenues and book sales. The foundation is tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), and qualified contributions to the foundation are tax-deductible under relevant sections of the Code.

The foundation is the owner of Mockingbird Books, a publisher of Texas non-fiction, and is the sponsor of Texas Non-Fiction Writers, which supports writers with networking, newsletters and conferences. The foundation also coaches writers (including young writers) and hosts innovative book events that explore the rich heritage and culture of Texas.

The foundation's premiere upcoming event, hosted through Texas Non-Fiction Writers, is the Texas Non-Fiction Writers' Retreat 2008 on October 24 and 25, 2008, in Boerne, Texas."

 

http://www.mockingbirdbooks.com/texanafoundation.org/

Historic Cemetery Workshop in Houston

The Texas Historical Commission occasionally visits county historical commissions and presents a workshop on historic cemeteries.  The workshop in August will be in Houston through the Harris County Historical Commission, through the liaison of Trevia Beverly.  The workshop will NOT accept registrations at the door, PRE-REGISTER.

DAY of event:  August 23, 2008 – Tracy Gee Community Center

3599 Westcenter Drive * Houston, Texas 77042

Public is Invitred! Make your $25 check payable to 2008 Cemetery Symposium

mail to Trevia W. Beverly at 2507 Tannehill Dr, Houston TX 77008

fuller information  treviawbeverly@comcast.net 713.864-6862

PROGRAM

 

Cemetery Preservation – Gerron Hite, THC Cemetery Preservation State Coordinator

As Texas' economy and population expands, there is an increasing demand for the development of land for residential, agricultural, and commercial uses.  Historic cemeteries are threatened in rural as well as in urban settings. Learn how individuals interested in local culture and history and a commitment to saving the physical remnants of their community's heritage can prevail. 

   

RIP Guardian Program – Anne Shelton, THC RIP Program Coordinator

The letters RIP are commonly found carved on gravemarkers, bidding the deceased an earthly wish for eternal rest in peace. RIP is also one of the Texas Historical Commission's (THC) cemetery preservation initiatives: Record, Investigate, Protect. Learn how the RIP Guardian program assists cemetery preservation volunteers and how to get help for your project. 

   

Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) Designation – Annette Bethke, HTC Program Specialist

The THC developed the Historic Texas Cemetery designation program to address the problems of destruction, neglect and illegal removal of historic cemeteries. Official recognition of these family and community landmarks highlights their importance and hopefully will encourage further preservation. During this session, THC staff will walk you through the HTC process and application step by step. 

 

Attorney Donald Burger will discuss Texas Cemetery Law and field Q&A.

 

Harris County interests will be addressed by Trevia Beverly, Chair of HCHC Cemetery Committee and others.

 

SEE ALSO http://www.thc.state.tx.us/cemeteries/cemdefault.shtml

San Jacinto on the Daily Flag

The Daily Flag Blog once  ran a series of articles by Larry Hendrick on the Battle of San Jacinto and its maps.  The first installment is at

http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/04/26/san-jacinto-battleground-maps/

Texas Stamp Designer Don Adair

A GREAT IMAGE!

In the Daily Flag blog, Deborah Hendrick reports on the designer of the Republic of Texas stamp designer.  That's a modern commemorative stamp, that is.  Don Adair is the guy.

http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2008/07/24/don-adair-artist/

And Don has his own website http://don-adair.com/Home.asp

 

Bullock Texas State Museum and Gift Shop

In case you're saving saving and will not be driving to Austin to visit the Bob Bullock Texas State Museum, you can still purchase some genuwine commodities from their "Museum Store."  http://www.texasstatehistorymuseumstore.com/  They have some hot categories.  But for regular readers, you can pick the lamp or bookends as a modest gift to the Parlor host:

It's only $1,170.00 It's only $440.00

Other-wise Browse their Catalog by Category:

clothing

children's items

executive gifts

jewelry

books

Texas CDs

kitchen and dining

home decor

novelty items

texas: the big picture

texas capitol ornaments

 

Angel Rivera on Texas Poet Laureat

In her Gypsy Librarian Blog, Angel, currently of Tyler, holds forth on our offical poet, Larry Thomas.

http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/05/poetry-awards-and-meeting-texas-poet.html

Comic Books and Texas

Comic Book Resources includes a database of varied related sources.  If you search the database, you find 509 hits for the word "Texas."

http://www.comicbookresources.com/

Some of the hits are

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Remember The Alamo (The One With ...
At least, that's how it went down in the world of "Texas Strangers. ... "Poppycock,
I say, and hopefully we can prove that with 'Texas Strangers.'" ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=9020

Comic Book Resources > Preview: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ...
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Raising Cain #2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Raising
Cain · Enlarge. Story by: Bruce Jones; Art by: Chris Gugliotti ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=412&disp=table

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Preview: "Texas Strangers" #1
Mar 19, 2007 ... Image Comics has provided CBR News with a preview of "Texas Strangers" #1, arriving in stores this Wednesday. Of course, it wouldn't be CBR ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=9701

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Wizard World Texas: 'JLA/Avenvers ...
During the "JLA/Avengers" Q+A at Wizard World Texas this weekend, writer Kurt
Busiek jokingly referred to himself and legendary artist George Perez as "the ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=2883

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Lansdale & Fox talk "Pigeons From ...
As "Pigeons From Hell" is largely the story of a house, Lansdale believes a sense
of place is vital to telling the story in comics, and his Texas background ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15926

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Wizard World Texas: Paul Dini ...
Comic Book Resources - Daily Comic Book News, Reviews, Previews, Commentary and
Message Boards.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=2869

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: CBLDF announces second appeal ...
CBLDF announces second appeal refused in Texas shop owner 'obscenity' trial ...
In a setback for First Amendment rights, the Texas Court of Criminal ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=1597

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Antony Johnston talks "Dead Space ...
Feb 4, 2008 ... I should point out, however, that the original idea for "Texas Strangers" ...
The future of "Texas Strangers" is in a state of flux at the ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12439

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Pirates + Cowboys = "Galveston"
It's centered in Galveston Island, Texas, where LaFitte actually lived in a
mansion with cannons on ... Texas English vs. pirate English: which will win?" ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17210

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: Artist Angel Medina signs ...
Sep 30, 2005 ... So it came together during the Wizard World Texas show? ... I think this was a year before the meeting with Marvel, at that same Texas show. ...
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=5741 

Wintry Reads for the Summer

Chillin' with a good book can work wonders:  Here's how to turn the page on another blazin' North Texas summer: Pick one of our wintery reads and go chill by the pool.  By ALYSON WARD in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

This was a nice survey of wintry books to read during the summer.  None were Texana.  What would you select as cooling Texana?

 

 

San Angelo Downtown Preservation

Plan for downtown development drafted

By Paul A. Anthony (Contact)  Sunday, July 20, 2008 http://gosanangelo.com

"A wide-ranging plan to preserve and rehabilitate downtown San Angelo is coming together, as a partnership between the city and the Texas Historical Commission nears an end.

The Visionaries in Preservation program has produced a draft Preservation Action Plan that will guide city officials and activists in their efforts to enhance downtown development.

"We can't do it all in one year," city Development Services Director Shawn Lewis said. "What we're trying to do is create some guiding policy documents."

The plan lays out goals that include the following key measures:

• The creation of an incentives package for downtown development, particularly downtown residential development.
• The promotion to realtors and developers potential sites for development into downtown loft living space.
• The beautification of downtown gateways and corridors."

READ MORE

http://gosanangelo.com/news/2008/jul/20/plan-for-downtown-development-drafted/

Kunati Publisher's Blog and Texans

The new publisher Kunati's webpage seems to be blog.  That's different, fine.  The seach box for "Texas" brings up 40 hits, mostly about their authors.

 

"ForeWord named Kunati Books the first Independent Publisher of the Year at the Book of the Year Awards in BEA, this year in L.A. "The new honor was created to celebrate ForeWord's tenth anniversary and to recognize Kunati's innovation and fearlessness... Kunati is one of today's most innovative independent publishers... It has been called a "publisher to watch" by Booklist and "impressive" by Publishers Weekly, now Kunati is ForeWord's 2007 Independent Publisher of the Year..." ForeWord Magazine  

 

http://www.kunati.com/

Lubbock Theater History

A-J's Kerns looks at Lubbock's theater history

By William Kerns | A-J ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Sunday, July 20, 2008
"I arrived in Lubbock in the fall of 1970. One of the first things I did was buy a newspaper and search out the movie ads, at which point I was astonished to find an old Italian western double feature booked at a theater called the State, located on Texas Avenue.

That would become my first movie experience in Lubbock."

READ FULLER STORY AT

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/072008/loc_306794172.shtml

Stagecoach Sesquicentennial at Fort Davis

Stagecoach Travel Sesquicentennial at 150 Years

Celebrate the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach

Big doings for September, visit Fort Davis for the Butterfield Sesquicentennial events, see http://www.fortdavis.com

Travelling Exhibit - Naval Installations

 

 "Pictorial History of Texas Coast Naval Installations"

Pictures and memorabilia and recollections
The exhibit can be borrowed via Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport

Currently showing in Kerrville, down by the Earl Garret Docks

http://www.texasmaritimemuseum.org/

 

Theater - Alamo

A play entitled: 'The Phantom Of The Alamo,'

The show began back on June 18th 2008 and runs through July 25th 2008.

Days and times for this event are: Wednesdays at 10:30 AM and Fridays at 7:00 PM. For tickets, you can call: 210-227-2751 and enjoy!

Phantom Of The Alamo
Magik Theatre
420 South Alamo
San Antonio, Tx. 78205
Telephone: 210-227-2751

Archive Workshop in Houston

TAKING ARHCIVES TO THE STREET

The Basics of Archives - by the Archivists of the Houston Area

A Practical, One-Day Workshop for those who work

with historical records but are not trained archivists!

Learn:

�� What historical records are—and aren't.

�� How to protect your collections from theft.

�� How to deal with copyright issues.

�� How to take care of historical records so they are

preserved and can be used in the future.

�� How to decide what to keep.

�� Where to go when you need help. . .

and much, much more.

Attend this workship to learn basic practices you need to follow so that you can

collect, protect, and help people use the historical treasures in your care.

Where: University of St. Thomas

When: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8:00—3:00

Cost: $35—includes all workshop materials and lunch

Contact: Sarah Canby Jackson at 713-368-7640 or sarah.jackson@itc.hctx.net

��Receipts will be provided to all participants to confirm registration. Directions will be included with the receipt.��

Audiobooks

Audiobooks have become rather common

Audible.com offers a variety.  I checked their search box for Texas and over a hundred titles emerged- fiction, non-fiction, each usually several hours of sound.  You'll also find old radio bits, "Tales of the Texas Rangers" narrated by Joel McCrae back in the 1950's.  Try

Texas City, 1947: A Story from 'Jesus Out to Sea' (Unabridged)  By: James Lee Burke   short story from James Lee Burke's story collection, Jesus Out to Sea. Burke is one of the country's most acclaimed and popular novelists....

or Goodnight, Texas (Unabridged)   By: William J. Cobb   Goodnight is slowly being swallowed by an increasingly lifeless sea....

or

God's Man in Texas  By: David Rambo  A pointed look at organized, merchandised religion... 

or A Strong West Wind (Unabridged)   By: Gail Caldwell   Caldwell was born in Texas, in a land of plains so vast they frightened her. Turning to books for each poignant change in her life, she eventually became what her mother could not: a writer.... 

 

 http://www.audible.com/

Texas Romance Writers

Linda Mooney's Other Worlds of Romance blog is featuring Texas Romance Writers during July of 2008.  She's at http://lindamooney.blogspot.com/ for example see

http://lindamooney.blogspot.com/2008/07/from-texas-authors-of-romance-fiction_18.html

Michael Levy Actually Leaves - Evan Smith - President of Texas Monthly

Evan's the educated looking fellow with glasses and the slicked back hair.  You may have watched him doing the video interviews for TM.  He joined TM in 1992 and enjoyed a string of promotions.  Levy sold TM to Emmis in 1998.

Here's a few links from my feed

 

Evan Smith Named President and Editor-in-Chief of TEXAS MONTHLY
MarketWatch - 20 hours ago
"TEXAS MONTHLY has a distinguished history, one that was created and sustained by Mike Levy," said Gary Thoe, president of Emmis Publishing. ...
Smith succeeds Levy as chief of Texas Monthly Bizjournals.com
all 28 news articles

History of the Western in 500 words

"Westerns have strong tradition" from the Library on the Move column

By CAROL HERRINGTON IN THE The Palestine Herald
[The article begins]

"PALESTINE — James Fenimore Cooper (1789 – 1851) is considered the first writer of the "western" novel. His "Last of the Mohicans" (1826) popularized the plight of Native Americans with an almost romanticized vision. His heroic frontiersman, Natty "Hawkeye" Bumppo bridges the gap with camaraderie and friendship. We may not think of ourselves as readers of "western" literature, but we all read Cooper when we studied American literature in high school."

Carol goes on adding Ned Buntline, Zane Grey, Owen Wister, Louis L'Amour, and finally Texan Elmer Kelton who got his start as an agricultural journalist and is now King Kelton - Penman of the West.  Nice tidy summary. Carol suggests you visit the library.

READ MORE FROM THE ARTICLE
or browse the Herald http://www.palestineherald.com/

Burning the Children in the Mansion

I've not said much about the burning of the Texas Governor's Mansion; it's a shame, accidents happen, bad people do bad things, and all that. But it wasn't an accident.  An arsonist burned it after Governor Perry repeatedly refused to advocate an adequate budget for the Department of Public Safety.  Now I suppose keeping a financial halter on Big Brother can be a fine task, but somewhere, it would be good if we had sufficient public monies to keep the government from burning itself down. 

What's ticked me off is the "Plan."  Yes, we all knew we'd need a plan to restore the mansion - and it may take an additional $40 million beyond the current $10 already earmarked for its previous re-modeling.  We've all been quietly accepting the inevitable price tag.  But the Austin Spin Society has tricked the Governnor's wife into asking the school children of Texas to re-build her home (for which her husband wouldn't support adequate security) while the Perrys live off an extra $10,000 a MONTH stipend to live elsewhere.  My Gawd, Anita, tell those folks to go sit behind the barn in this steam oven weather and cook themselves a new brain?

I say the big rich folks who've crammed the "no new taxes" down everybody's throat ought to just plainly pony up for the needed cash.  Somebody oughta shake down the housing, construction, insurance, and security industries that pay for Perry's campaigns.  If they don't have it fixed by the next campaign, it'll be the biggest, most photographed, plainest indictment of the current party's tenure.

Now having said that, our children do need to be proud of the mansion.  But they shouldn't be made to feel guilty about fixing it.  Besides, haven't you heard, most school children are from poor families.  Adults burned it, adults should fix it -  FOR the children.  It's called being the adult.

Here's a few recent links from my feed:

 

Texas' first lady rallies for Mansion restoration effort
Houston Chronicle, United States - Jul 15, 2008
It's important to get schoolchildren involved because "this is their history," she said. The Legislature will have to appropriate funding next year as part ...
Fund created to restore Texas Governor's Mansion 12:57 PM CT Dallas Morning News
First Lady Anita Perry's fund won't be enough to restore the Texas ... Austin American-Statesman
Fund Set Up To Help Rebuild Governor's Mansion WOAI
KXAN-TV - 1200 WOAI
all 64 news articles

 

[Now I'll return to my usual, quietly taken milk toast and gruel in a cardboard bowl.]

Lindsay Baker Awarded for Wind Power Heritage

Tarleton museum director receives award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  July 9, 2008

"STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS—The American Wind Power Center in Lubbock, Texas, recently recognized T. Lindsay Baker with the Billie Wolfe Award for the preservation of wind power heritage. Baker is a professor at Tarleton State University and is also the director for Tarleton's W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas.

The American Wind Power Center is the largest museum of wind power history in the United States. It was officially dedicated in June 1998, but was the culmination of many years of efforts on behalf of Wolfe, who was a professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock."

Read more at Tarleton State University Media Relations

http://www.tarleton.edu/scripts/press/display.asp?id=2389

Cherokee Memorialize Struggle in East Texas

Cherokee-Texas Militia Battle Memorial Today In Van Zandt County

"REDLAND — The American Indian Cultural Society will hold a memorial ceremony at 4 p.m. today at the Van Zandt County site of a battle between Cherokee tribes and Texas militia." 

Read more at

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080712/NEWS01/807120317
 

Texas Digital Library Receives Award

http://media-newswire.com/release_1068759.html

"(Media-Newswire.com) - The Texas Digital Library, a collaborative effort of 18 universities in Texas, will receive the 2008 Higher Education Excellence Award from the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications ( TASSCC ). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to information technology within State of Texas government and higher education entities.  Representatives of the Texas A&M University Libraries  will receive the award during the TASSCC Annual Conference Aug. 12, in Galveston.

The Texas Digital Library is a multi-university consortium providing digital infrastructure to institutions of higher learning in Texas.  TDL supports a fully online scholarly community for its members and the widespread availability of their intellectual capital.  As one of the four founding members, Texas A&M is a leading participant in development and research, such as the scholarly services currently offered through TDL. "We are honored that the Texas Digital Library has been selected for this award.  It confirms the importance of collaboration in creating a virtual library of untapped resources for teaching, learning, and research, "commented Colleen Cook, dean of the Texas A&M University Libraries.

Cook noted that under the leadership of John Leggett, associate dean for digital initiatives, the TDL recently received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services ( IMLS ) for $824,686 to create a statewide repository for electronic theses and dissertations."

Native Americans Oppose Monument to Subjugation

AP Texas News

July 13, 2008, 8:33AM
Film shows fight over El Paso conquistador statue

By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

"— DALLAS — When a renowned artist proposed creating the largest bronze equestrian sculpture ever made, El Paso leaders thought the project would help beautify the border city while honoring a founding father.

Instead, the monument depicting Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate divided El Paso residents along ethnic and social class lines, evoking protests, arguments and tears. One councilman even believes his opposition to the statue cost him his re-election.

The drama caused by the statue is featured in the documentary "The Last Conquistador," which airs nationally Tuesday on the PBS series P.O.V. The film is part of Art&Seek, a series by Dallas' KERA focusing on arts, journalism and community."

Read More from the Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5885667.html

 

"Little Whorehouse" in NY

The Ithaca Journal recommends we come to NY:

"For the fourth show in the 2008 summer season, Cortland Repertory Theatre will present one of America's favorite musical comedies, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The show will run for three weeks from July 16 to August 2.

Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson points out that this is the first time CRT has presented the well-known musical in the theatre's 37-year history. "'Whorehouse' is a terrifically fun show, with great music, lots of foot stomping dances and a really wonderful, touching story as well." Thompson says. "The characters are larger than life - everything is bigger in Texas, as they say - but at the same time there are some heart-tugging moments. It really has a strong message about the strength and perseverance of women, and also how easily the public can be manipulated by mass media."  More at

A sword of the Revolutionary War on auction?

From the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Auction will offer chance to own piece of Texas history

By BILL HANNA  billhanna@star-telegram.com

"For lovers of Texas history, it doesn't get much better than an artifact linked to the Battle of the Alamo.

And this weekend in San Antonio, a sword that is believed to have belonged to a defender in the legendary battle, along with scores of other historical items, will be part of the Frontier Times Auction.

Sword found near Bastrop

The sword was recovered along the Colorado River near Bastrop in the early 20th century. Other artifacts that were excavated at the site belonged to a Mexican regiment led by Gen. Antonio Gaona, which was in San Antonio shortly after the Battle of the Alamo."  Read More About It in http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/753962.html

Bid online at http://www.liveauctioneers.com/

See it at http://www.1bid2.com/westernauction/sword.html

Relocate Battleship Texas?

July 10, 2008, 11:18PM
Storm signals fly over old ship
Galveston tries not to take sides on bid to relocate Battleship Texas

By HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

"GALVESTON — A feud over moving the battleship USS Texas from its moorings at the San Jacinto Battleground shifted into the Galveston City Council chambers Thursday, but council members wanted to stay out of the fight.

Most of the numerous private groups associated with the battleground and the battleship want to keep the ship in La Porte, where it has been berthed for 60 years. But at least two groups want it moved to Galveston and prepared a resolution for consideration by the council.

The council delayed voting on the resolution to make it clear that the city is not taking sides in the dispute, but merely wished to be considered as a port for the Texas if the Legislature decides to move it."  Read more from the Chronicle                http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5882181.html

Purloined Bowie, Travis Letters to Return

AP Texas News

July 10, 2008, 6:02PM
State to get historical letters from Bowie, Fannin

© 2008 The Associated Press

"AUSTIN — Two historical letters documenting early battles in the Texas Revolution against Mexico must be returned to the state, a state district judge has ruled.

The two letters came to the attention of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in 2004, when Sotheby's placed them up for auction. The estate of Irma Lou Wilcox agreed to pull the items for a details examination.

State Archivist Christopher LaPlante determined that the documents were not legally released and must have been improperly removed from the Texas State Archives.

The state sued the Wilcox estate to reclaim the documents. The 58th State District Court in Beaumont on Wednesday ordered they be returned to the state."

Read More About It from the Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5881839.html

Galveston County Newspaper Microfilm

THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS reports ....

 

Paper donates 95 years of microfilm to library

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News (Galveston County) Published July 9, 2008

TEXAS CITY — The Galveston County Daily News' recent loan of 95 years of newspaper microfilm gives Moore Memorial Public Library patrons an unprecedented look at the city's history.

The microfilm begins with May 1, 1909, the first edition of the Texas City Times, and concludes with Nov. 6, 2004, the final edition of the Texas City Sun.

Aside from a few missing reels, the donation gives library patrons easier access to the city's history-making headlines, including the infamous Texas City Disaster of April 16-17, 1947.

The paper's donation also included a machine used to view and print pages from the microfilm.

Les Daughtry Jr., The News' vice president of sales and advertising, was publisher of The Sun from 1984 to its merger with the The News.

"We've been looking for the opportunity to get the microfilm in the hands of as many former Texas City Sun readers as we could, and we thought the local library would be the place to do that," Daughtry said."

 

READ MORE HERE

Gonzales Museum in Bad Condition

THE GONZALES INQUIRER reports

 

Historic museum needs help: Famed local structure in state of disrepair; will cost $3 million to fix

By GREG LITTLE/publisher@gonzalesinquirer.com

The historical museum in Gonzales is in bad physical condition.

That was the conclusion given last Tuesday night by an expert who made a presentation to the Gonzales City Council.

Chris Hudson of Volz & Associates of Austin, the firm hired to do a master plan for the museum, said there are many problems at the museum and they are going to need to be addressed as soon as possible.

The problem?

It will cost around $3 million to completely fix the historic building.

Hudson said the "biggest problem" at the museum is standing water under the crawlspace. He said there are no vents on the bottom part of the museum,resulting in water erosion at the foundation.

"The concrete on the underside is falling apart," he said.

He said there is also bad soil erosion as well as foundation settlement in the amphitheater.

"If something is not done fairly soon, there will be more problems to deal with," said Hudson."

 

READ MORE HERE

Kerr County Sesquicentennial History

The West Kerr Current series reports on Kerr County history ...

 

Wellborns' long history filled with fortune, fate and farming

Two generations of the Wellborn family — father Thomas (1864-1942). right, and son Henry (1898-1974) — spent their lives ranching in Kerr County. Thomas and his siblings were orphaned young when his parents, Albert Lemuel and Virginia Wellborn, died, and the children were taken in by their grandmother Emeline Moore Coldwell and uncle, Capt. Neal Coldwell, who managed their estate. Albert arrived in Kerr County at around 1859, served in the Civil War, and eventually accumulated a good deal of property which his heirs inherited upon coming of age.

EDITOR'S NOTE — This is the 125th of a series of articles marking Kerr County's sesquicentennial.

By Irene Van Winkle

West Kerr Current

Albert Lemuel Willborn (1825-1873) was reputedly the first of his kin in Kerr County, coming from his birthplace in South Carolina by way of Kentucky. When he and his wife, Virginia Moore (1838-1869), died, they left three small children orphaned, who were taken in and raised by a famous Texas Ranger — Capt. Neal Coldwell of the Frontier Battalion. (See West Kerr Current story, June 5, 2008.)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ MORE HERE

US Govt Blogs

Apparently the US government is now using the blog format to dispense information, see a list of some at the "360 degree digital influence" blog http://blog.ogilvypr.com/?p=379

One such blog at the National Parks Foundation does have a search box; "Texas" brought up a lot of Lady Bird Johnson.  See http://blog.nationalparks.org/

I've not have the chance to search for Texas government blogs.

East Texas Christian Writers Conference Report

Donna Van Cleve in her blog reports: on Marshall convocation.

 

Texas Review Garrett Prize

 

 

Write a collection of short stories or a short novel (up to 250 pages) and win a prize - the George Garrett Fiction Prize Competition!  It's that easy.  Well, not exactly, it needs to be good.  Doesn't have to be set in Texas, but can be.  The deadline is September 15, and the entry fee is $20.  The financial prize is $200, and it's publication by the Texas Review Press there at Sam Houston State University.

 

See the previous winners detailed at http://www.shsu.edu/~www_trp/ggfp.html
Meg Moceri Sky Full of Burdens

Jacqueline Bautista Fiestas

William Harrison Texas Heat and Other Stories - Good Texana

Gail Mount Pitching Tents - Good Texana
Mark Brazaitis An American Affair

Steve Sherwood Hardwater

John Cottle Blessings of Hard-Used Angels
Thomas Cobb Acts of Contrition

Naton Leslie Marconi's Dream
Roger Hart Erratics

Don Meredith Wing Walking 
Peter Leach Tales of Resistance

See the details at

http://www.shsu.edu/~www_trp/documents/Garrett_Guidelines.pdf

 

July 4th and Texas Annexation

 

On the festive occasion of July 4th, the day of American independence, one can also reflect on some primary documents from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/texmenu.htm

Texas - From Independence to Annexation

Texas Independence - Documents

Address of the Honorable S. F. Austin, Delivered at Louisville, Kentucky, March 7, 1836

The Texas Declaration of Independence : March 2, 1836

Treaty of Velasco : 14 May 1836

Texas-American Diplomacy

Convention to Terminate Reclamations : 1838

Texas-American Boundary Convention : 1838

Texas Annexation : Documents

The Treaty of Annexation - April 12, 1844

Joint Resolution of the Congress of the United States, March 1,1845

Inaugural Address of James K. Polk : March 4, 1845

Joint Resolution of the Congress of Texas, June 23, 1845

Ordinance of the Convention of Texas, July 4, 1845

Message of President Polk, May 11, 1846

Joint Resolution of the Congress of the United States, December 29,1846
 

Interactive Alamo?

Learn American History Through Online Time Machine by Lily Chaos

Lily informs us a an interactive game, invented by a Houstonian, through which kids will learn history, as if they'd been there.  One of the illustrations is of the Alamo.

 

Read more from the investorspot.com

Songwriter Bob McDill - Interview

Texas Songwriter Bob McDill Talks About His Many Hits

Legendary Tunesmith Submits to Rare Interview at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

July 4, 2008; Written by Edward Morris

 

You know his songs, read more from CMT about it.

 

 

Texas Tech Southwest Collection

The Lubbock Centennial is pulling out all the stoppers.  Here's a nice summary of the Southwest Collection and Special Collection's Library from New Channel 11.

 

The Southwest Collection - Preserving Our History

"Almost all of the old pictures shown during our Centennial Tour this week came from the Southwest Collection and Special Collections Library.

The 78,000 square foot building, which is on the Texas Tech campus between the university's library and agriculture pavilion, is one of the finest collection libraries in the nation. From sports and natural history to the history of the performing arts, the Southwest Collection houses thousands of reels of microfilm, original manuscript materials, military documents, books and business records.

More than 750,000 pictures have been cataloged for historical preservation. "The Southwest Collection itself is 23 million leaves of manuscript materials relating to the history, culture and economy of this place. Our rare books component is the largest academic rare books library within a 96,000 square miles of this place," said Monte Monroe with the Southwest Collection.

The Texas Tech Board of Regents formally established the Southwest Collection in 1955, but the school's first librarian, an avid historian, started collecting material when Texas Technological College was founded.""

UTSA Photo Collection

A UTSA newsrelease kindly reminds us that

Photo archives in demand by businesses looking for historic Texas images

By Lynn Gosnell
Special Projects Writer

"(July 3, 2008)--When the set designers of the iconic Texas movie Lonesome Dove needed to depict the Lone Star State circa cattle-drive era, they turned to the Photo Archives of the Institute of Texan Cultures Library, located at the University of Texas at San Antonio."

 

A further extract reveals ""We serve a wide variety of patrons," said Yu Li, UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures librarian and the person in charge of the photo archive, which comprises more than 3.5 million images from the history of San Antonio, South Texas and the Border region.

Every week Li and her staff take calls and emails from around the world requesting information or permission to use the images. ITC Library staff field well more than 1,500 commercial requests for images every year, Li said."

 

Read more

http://www.utsa.edu/today/2008/07/ITCphotoarchive.cfm 

 

Judy Alter on Mysteries

Judy Alter's column on "Texas Letters" in the Dallas Morning News 5/6/08 focuses on women mystery/detective novelists. She names Texans Allana Martin and the super writer Suana Wittig Albert who use Texas settings, and Deborah Crombie and Carole Nelson Douglas who do not.
Read more at Judy

High School Football Bibliography

The Texas Sports Hall of Fame pays special attention to high school sports and Jay Black has compiled a bibliography of almost 50 titles on football.

 

Curator Jay Black's introduction reads:

"The following is a list of books about Texas High School Football that are contained in the museum's collection. I hope that it proves useful as a starting point for research on the subject. I'm sure that there are plenty of team histories that have been written that I am not aware of. If you know of a book that should be included in this list please contact me at jay@tshof.org."

 

The first few titles are

Ball, Jim. Thundering Herd, Arlington High School Colts Football: The First Half-Century. Arlington : Jim Ball, 2002, 190pp., wraps.

Bedichek, Roy. Educational Competition: The Story of the University Interscholastic League. Austin : University of Texas , 1956, cloth.

Benne, Bart. The Best High School Football in the Country, A History of Plano , Texas , high school football from 1900 to the present. Dallas : Taylor Publishing Company, 1989, 220 pp. cloth.

Bissinger, H.G. Friday Night Lights, A Town, A Team, and a Dream. New York : Addison-Wesley, 1990, 355 pp., cloth.

Blount, R.E. "Peppy". Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Play Football. Austin : Eakin Press, 1985, 292 pp., cloth.

Breazeale, George. Tops in Texas , Records and Notes on UIL State Football Champions, 1920-1992. Austin :  Martin Communications, 1993, wraps.

Bynum, Mike.  King Football, Greatest Moments in Texas High School Football History.  Epic Sports Classics, 2003, 672 pp., cloth.

 

Read more at http://www.tshof.org/highschool/bibliography/

Texas Historical and Literary Blogs Project

We're compiling a list of "Texas Historical and Literary Blogs," because there appears to be no such bibliography now.  To date we have about 60, adding one or two each week or so.  I'm guessing the total may be about 75.  Searching methodology has been diverse.  The picking has been odd at times and refreshing at times. 

The list has gotten long enough to be more convenient by category so the categories at present are

 

Wills General History, Literature, and Reference

Agents, Editors, Publicists, Consultants, etc.

Architectural Preservation

Classroom Experiments

Commercial Expressions

Culturally Merging / Verging on Historical or Literary Historical Interests

Literary Interests & Writers

Reading Clubs

Adapted Format

 

The final work will be released in August as a monothematic issue of Will's Texana Monthly.  The final work will invclude some annotation for each and possibly a graphic from each blog if the imagery does not add too much to the file size.

 

Do please feel free to suggest blogs.