Hello,
I am Joe Sitters great granddaughter, Sylvia. I would also like to receive a copy of the photo of my great grandfather.
I would be more than happy to pay for any printing and shipping costs!
Thank you for all you are doing!
Sylvia Sitters
Sylvia,
Sorry I took so long on this, have two books on the burner and it took me a while to find the photo in my files. I am emailing you a jpeg. Joe Sitters is on the left, Jack Howard standing next, unknown person next and Luke Dowe on the right. Photo made in front of Presidio County Court House, sometime before 1913. This is the photo third from the left at the top of the blog. Im writing a chapter about Joe Sitters in my forthcoming book, “More Little History Of The Texas Big Bend” and really need copies of any other photos or documents the Sitters family may have or know of.
Gj
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On Friday, June 26, 2009, 04:48 PM, David Tiller wrote:
Glenn,
I am very interested in finding the grave site of my Great Grandmother Jettie Smith who was related to the Prude Family and lived in Ft. Davis until her death around 1988. I believe that she was buried in Marfa. I can find no death records of her and remember her 100th birthday party at the Prude Ranch. To be honest, I'm not sure that her first name was Jettie or if that was her proper first name. She lived for many years at the Hotel Limpia. Any information you may have would be appreciated. Thank you, David Tiller
David,
You must know your Grandmother's full name, when and where she lived to start. Smith can be very hard to trace. Ancestry.com is great for this sort of thing. Maybe John Robert can help. Seems like I remember Big Spur mention Aunt Jettie once.
Gj
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On Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 07:39 PM, Derrick Perrin wrote:
I found your story on line about the old ranch and rail line near Valentine. Do you have any other information on the location. I love the history of the area and I am in search of stories about the area.
Thanks
Derrick Perrin
Derrick,
My "Englishmen, Railroads and the San Carlos Coal Mine" is to be published in the Journal Of Big Bend Studies" in the fall. Also is a chapter in my forthcoming book "More Little Known History of the Texas Big Bend".
Gj
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The October 3, 1902 edition of the Alpine Avalanche ran a “card” from Precinct Four Justice of the Peace Max A. Ernst at (old) Boquillas (later La Noria, near the Big Tinaja in the present-day National Park), Brewster County, Texas. One wonders if the good judge might not have been looking ahead toward the era of national “prohibition,” or to even more modern problems such as marijuana, “Zero Tolerance,” and “No Refusal” DWI’s.
The item reads thus: “I have been supplied with a copy of the Grand Jury’s instructions to the Sheriff, Justices of the Peace, Constables and other officers, notifying them that they will be held responsible for any infringement of law in gaming etc. and requiring said officers to report all persons so offending.
“I have also seen the letter of Mr. Halbert, County Attorney, and must say that I, for one, do not believe in anything of this kind, and would if it were not so near the end of my term, tender my resignation. As it is, I shall take good care to inform my friends that I am not a candidate for re election. How a set of twelve good, sensible, intelligent men, such as the last Grand Jury was composed of, came to request such a thing (when they know well enough that it is almost impossible to stop gambling) is beyond me. Why not take a practical view of it and, instead of trying to suppress it, regulate it? As it is, it, will just drive a man out in the woods, which is certainly worse. I think too much of my friends to put any of them in the same kind of a fix I found myself in once in the good old times. Sitting under the branches of a fine old oak, I was absorbed in the fascinating game of poker, losing right along, when at last I found myself behind the top hand (4 jacks) when a gust of wind put us where Moses was when the light went out and ruined my chance of playing that hand.”
“With Mr. Halbert, I believe in enforcing the law, but why jump on the poor “picker” first, and let worse crimes, such as perjury for instance, go unpunished[?] As long as I am a J. P. I will certainly live up to the oath I have taken to fulfill the duties of the office, and I shall report every case I see[,] but I hope my friends will take good care to be playing casino or some other innocent game when they see me coming for I am sorry to say , I cannot claim that I never go where I could see it, as I do love to take a glass of beer at times. After the election, as a private citizen, I shall not be compelled to report anything".
[signed] M. A. Ernst, J. P. Precinct 4.”
Glenn Willeford
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August 11, 2009
Texas Plains Trail Tourism & Preservation Regional Round-up
Upcoming Conference in Plainview August 11, 2009
Dear Glenn,
We are so excited to invite you to our first annual, "Texas Plains Trail Tourism & Preservation Regional Round-Up." In partnership with Preservation Texas, the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the City of Plainview, this one-day event will be filled with relevant information on marketing, promoting your community, social media hints, preserving your Historic sites, plus a sharing of best practice tourism ideas.
Not only will it provide information, it will also be a great opportunity for networking with other community and business leaders within the Texas Plains Trail Region who recognize the economic importance of tourism for rural Texas.
You will leave with renewed excitement for your county and region.
Please help us spread the word by forwarding the invitation to others. We hope to see you in Plainview!
Deborah Sue
Deborah Sue McDonald, Regional Coordinator
Texas Plains Trail Region
Big Region. Big History.Big Fun!
board
board
2009 Texas Plains Trail Tourism & Preservation Regional Round-Up Schedule
When & Where
Date: August 11, 2009
Time: 8:00 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.
Location: Plainview Civic Center
2902 West 4th Street
Plainview, Texas
Regional Round-Up Agenda
8:00-8:30 a.m.- Registration, Coffee, Pastries, & Networking Time
8:30-9:00 a.m.- Texas Plains Trail Welcome
" Promoting Our Region As a Premiere Place to Visit & Live"
Deborah Sue McDonald, Regional Coordinator
9:00-9:30 a.m.- "Wowing You With Website Ideas"
Beth Nobles, Texas Mountain Trail Regional Coordinator
9:30-10:00 a.m.- "Texas Historical Commission Resources & Programs for Your Community"
THC Staff Member TBA later.
10:00-10:15 a.m.- Break (Sponsored by XCEL ENERGY of Amarillo)
10:15-10:45 a.m.- " 'Free' Money for Your Community"
Nancy Cordero, Rural Economic Development, Texas Department of Agriculture
10:45-11:15 a.m.- "Marketing Your Community"
Eric Turner, City of Plainview, Mainstreet/CVB
11:15-11:45 a.m.- "The Power of Partnerships"
Remelle Ferrar, Knox County Visionary Leadership Board Director
11:45-1:00 p.m.- Lunch
1."Captivating the Traveler's Eye, Outdoor Art in the TPTR"
Holle Humphries, Artist, Author, Researcher, Former UT Professor.
2. Special Entertainment
3. Door Prizes.
1:00-1:30 p.m.- "When Hollywood Comes to Our Towns"
Carol Pirie,Deputy DIrector, Film Friendly Texas, Texas Film Commission.
1:30-:2:00 p.m.- "Preservation Matters,and It Begins With Your Neighborhood"
'Promoting the Appreciation of the Historic Resources of Texas'
Krista Schreiner Gebbia, Executive Director, Preservation Texas, Inc.
2:00-2:15 p.m.-Break
2:15-2:45 p.m.-"Thinking Outside of the Box & Best Practices" at Round-Table Talks.
Community members from within the Region.
2:45-3:15 p.m.-Panel Discussion for Hotel Tax, Tour Opportunities, Tourism Dollars.
Sid Shaw-Deaf Smith Chamber, Leslie Matthews-Visit Lubbock, and others.
3:15-3:30 p.m.-Closing Remarks, Door Prizes, and adjournment.
Workshop Fees
$25 per person (Early bird rate) - includes all sessions, lunch, and snacks
$30 per person- (At the door/Later than August 7) - includes all sessions, lunch, and snacks.
Hotel Accomodations
Holiday Inn--806-296-9900 Rate of $86.00 plus tax (Ask for Texas Plains Trail rate)
Comfort Suite--806-293-7700 Rate of $79.99 plus tax (Ask for City of Plainview rate)
For a complete listing of other hotels, restaurants, and shopping experiences in Plainview, visit: http://www.plainviewtx.org.
Many thanks to our partners & sponsors...
PRESERVATION TEXAS
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
CITY OF PLAINVIEW
Also a big thanks to all of the counties for donating the gift-baskets!
Registration Due by August 7, 2009
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NAME (s):__________________________________________________Phone: _________________________
Organization:_______________________________________________E-mail:___________________________
Address: ______________________________ City: ________________________ Zip ____________________
Number attending Texas Plains Trail Tourism & Preservation Round-Up __________$25 per person
__________Grand Total
( ) Check enclosed ( ) Please send an invoice ( ) We will pay at the door.
PLEASE FAX OR MAIL COMPLETED REGISTRATION FORM TO TEXAS PLAINS TRAIL REGION AT:
600 North Main- Borger, TX 79008--- FAX: 806-273-3337---e-mail-- txplainstrail@yahoo.com
Phone: 806-273-0920--Cell Phone: 806-231-3479---Website: www.TexasPlainsTrail.com
Looking forward to seeing you all!
Community Advertising Tables Available-FREE
Tables will be available free of charge for communities within the Texas Plains Trail Region to display and share materials. This will be a great opportunity to "show off" the amazing events & attractions in our 52-Counties.
NOTE: We are also offering "for-profit" businesses & organizations an opportunity to set up their displays for a $20 fee.
PLEASE LET US KNOW AHEAD OF TIME, SO WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH TABLES SET UP.
( ) Yes, my community/county would like to reserve a table.
( ) Yes, my business requests a table for $20.
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ANDRÉS TIJERINA OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS ASKING FOR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS IDENTIFYING TEJANO PROPERTIES, SITES ELIGIBLE FOR LISTING IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
For additional information and a copy of the submission form email him at Andrest@austincc.edu. Title your e-mail as-- SUBJECT: National Register of Historic Places
He will be submitting his report to the Texas Historical Commission by July 15, 2009.
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JUNE 27-28, 2009, MORTON, TEXAS WILL HOST ITS SIXTH ANNUAL TEXAS' LAST FRONTIER HERITAGE CELEBRATION AND BUFFALO SOLDIER ENCAMPMENT.
A general event notice is provided below and a news release highlighting the events re-enacting the frontier fort life of the Buffalo Soldiers and their families is attached. For more information contact Dorothy Barker, Chair of Cochran County Historical Commission, jodaphi1@windstream.net, (806) 266-5484 (home), (806) 891-5140 (cell), or Pat Clayton, Chair, Texas’ Last Frontier Museum Board, pclayton@windstream.net, (806) 266-5038.
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JULY 3. BARTON HOUSE CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATED AT THE NATIONAL RANCHING HERITAGE CENTER
Following a private family reunion in the house, the public is invited to join Barton family members from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Anderson Room at the National Ranching Heritage Center. There, Terry Barton of Marietta, Ga., will narrate a PowerPoint presentation about the house and a family history. This will be accompanied by a brief discussion by NRHC curator Robert Tidwell of a Barton House exhibit in the Main Gallery.
The Barton House will be open to the public for tours from noon to 4:30 p.m. For information about the reunion or to set up photos or interviews with family members, contact Dr. Scott White at (806) 742-0498 orscott.white@ttu.edu. For more information about the history of the house, contact Dr. Robert Tidwell at (806) 742-0498 orrobert.w.tidwell@ttu.edu.
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CALL FOR PAPERS, 2010 NEW MEXICO HISTORY CONFERENCE, APRIL 29-MAY 2, 2010, LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO.
Deadline for submissions is September 30, 2009. Proposals may be submitted electronically or by mail. Notification of acceptance will be sent on or about November 1, 2009. Topics on any aspect of the history of New Mexico and the Southwest are welcome. While the range of possible topics is not limited, topics relating to the history of southeastern New Mexico and the PermianBasin region of West Texas and eastern New Mexico are especially invited. Presenters must register as conference participants. Digital projection systems and other usual audiovisual presentation equipment will be available. Proposals will include presenter contact information and vita or biographical summary, presentation title, a brief synopsis, technical support needed, and list of major sources (optional). For additional information, including a cover page for proposals and information about past conferences, please visit www.hsnm.org or contact David L. Caffey, program chair, david.caffey@clovis.edu; P.O. Box 955; Clovis, NM88102.
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Elmer Kelton was released on Thursday from the hospital, is on oxygen, & had a fall in the bath room. He has great difficulty in breathing while fighting pneumonia and other serious ailments He had to go back to the hospital on Friday as could hardly get a breath.
He thinks, after wanting to be "at home," that this time he will try going to a nursing home for a while & perhaps with round the clock care he can gain strength and then go home. I do hope this works out as he himself said, he must get well as he has another book to write & has already done the whole outline. That's forward thinking, looking to the future which I think is half the battle-now if the doctors will try hard to get him well then all will be well. I will send address of Nursing Home when I get it.
We must keep the prayers going and God will answer them. I will try to keep all posted and each of you can share the news with those whom I did not e-mail for lack of address. I know he will appreciate cards & telephone calls.
Peggy
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I recently picked up and read your book Cattle and Dudes... a most enjoyable read. My reason for picking it up was because I am interested in John and Amanda Prude, so I found myself quickly turning to Chapter 4 and trying to learn more about this couple. The reason for my interest is that I am descended from them through their elder son, Claiborne Gentry Prude.
I would like to comment however on some of the information presented about John and Amanda Prude. prior to them relocating to McCulloch Co. from Colorado Co., TX. I have spent a lot of time tracking this family between 1850 and 1880 and I'd like to offer some of that information to you as follow up to what you presented in Cattle and Dudes.
As best as I can tell John Prude was the first person with the surname Prude in Louisiana (De Soto Par). He is listed as a single man in the 1850 federal census as a laborer in the household of Thomas Weaver. For the last 10 years or so, I have debated whether or not this John Prude was the John Prude that came to Texas. Whether he moved there as you say to follow a relative, I have no idea. A 2nd or 3rd cousin does move to Louisiana and is listed in the 1860 census, but during the 1850 census is located in Pickens Co., AL. The children of this cousin do relocate to Texas in and around Ellis Co. sometime later (after 1870). In any event, John in 1850 is a single man having left his family in Pickens Co., AL to arrive in Louisiana by 1850 and then quickly departs for Texas sometime between 1850 and 1851.
In 1851, on Nov 26th, John Prude marries Amanda Jane Maxwell of Fayette Co., TX. Amanda Jane Maxwell is the daughter of Thomas Maxwell who arrived in Texas about 1834. Thomas Maxwell served as a private under William Kimbro during the Battle of San Jacinto and for his services he was given a League and a labor of land which was on the shores of Plum Creek in Gonzales Co., TX. (now part of Caldwell Co., TX). He was also granted 320 acres of land in Fayette Co. for having served in the Texas Army. He sold a quarter of his League and labor to Josiah O'Daniel (his brother-in-law). Josiah died before ever receiving the deed and when Thomas Maxwell died intestate in 1852, the estate of Josiah O'Daniel was suing the estate of Thomas Maxwell for the deed (I must admit here, I don't read legalese all that well, but I think I got the gist of the precedings of the probate court). In Dec of 1852, the wife of Thomas Maxwell, Elizabeth died and it's here we see the first mention of John Prude in the probate records of Fayette County. John Prude is serving as surity for the administrator, George Dismukes, of what is now the Thomas and Elizabeth Maxwell estate. George Dismukes is Amanda's brother-in-law via her eldest (known) sister.
So in brief, 1851ish, John shows up in Fayette Co., marries Amanda, and is quickly embroiled in the probate affairs of the Maxwell estate.
John appears in the tax lists of Fayette county beginning in 1852 through 1856. By 1859, John Prude is found on the tax rolls of Colorado County. In 1860, The Prudes are listed in the 1860 census for Colorado County. Their eldest son Thomas (presumable named for Amanda's father) has died of typhoid (Jun 1859) and the youngest of the orphaned Maxwell children is living in the Prude household. The enumerator for this census, completely misspells their name as "Boreds". From 1859 through 1878, the Prudes reside in Colorado County and nearby Lavaca county. During the civil war, John Prude and the orphaned son of Thomas Maxwell, Robert G. Maxwell, enlist in a reserve company of the Confederate Army known as the Colorado Grays. Other research suggests that Robert G. Maxwell enlisted and served in the 27th Regiment, Texas Cavalry (Whitfield's Legion) (1st Texas Legion), Co D. Entered as a Private and Ranked out as a Private and promptly disappears from the record. As best as I can tell, the Colorado Grays never saw any action and it's highly unlikely that John Prude did anything other than serve as a militia force for ColoradoCounty.
Sometime between 1878 and 1880, the Prudes relocate to McCulloch County where I lose their specific trail to the Davis mountains and southern New Mexico, other than land grants here and there and the gravesite in Weed, New Mexico. In fact I often wondered why Weed? I've visited the site and I can certainly see the appeal of the east New Mexico prairie (Is that still Llano Estacado?). But it never made sense to me why they would leave the Davis Mts., unless it was a second feeding ground. My ancestor, Claiborne Gentry Prude, John's elder son, planted his family in those mountains about 1884 (the time of the big cattle drive) and maintained a ranch southeast of Weed for three generations. In fact, Claiborne's first wife Tennessee Donathan is buried in the same plot underneath that big pine next to Amanda Jane Maxwell Prude in the Weed Cemetery.
John Prude died in 1893 and was buried in Mitchell Co., TX. (I presume he died in Mitchell Co., as well.) His stone can be found in the Colorado City Cemetery.
Anyway, that's the history as I've discovered it. Most of the documents I used were the probate and tax records of Fayette and Colorado County census and land grant records. I still need to scour the earlier Colorado County records and the Gonzales County records for a few more details, but don't have as much time as I would prefer to do so.
I really appreciate your book, it's a fascinating story and really filled in the gaps of the more recent history for me. The sad thing is, I grew up in El Paso, have made many trips to Big Bend, had friends and neighbors that went to summer camp at the Prude Ranch and I have never even visited much less contacted any of my distant cousins
I do have two questions for you. The first is in regards to those persons in the Prude picture found on the cover of Cattle and Dudes. Do you happen to know who all the people are? Is the man sitting in the middle with the beard John Prude (above)? Second, is there anyway I can get a decent copy of that picture be it through the Jeff Davis Archives or some other source? My second question is concerned with reference #174 in your text. Where did you get a hold of a copy of that genealogy text. When I was about 15, a copy was shown to me by my grandmother, but it was quickly returned to it's original owner. I have searched high and low for a copy to examine and short of visiting the Alabama State Archives or the Library of Congress, it is not likely that I will ever see that ancient family history book. Is that a book in the possession of the Prude family or is that found in the archives of Jeff Davis County or something in your own private collection?
Maybe some day, you might be interested in hearing about some of my other ancestors, in particular the Casners, one of whom served as a Texas Ranger and also served in the Texas War of Independence. He sold his League and labor for a horse and saddle. Palm + forehead. Several members of that family wound up in Brewster and Presidio Counties. My direct ancestors moved west to New Mexico.
Rex Jennings
Rex,
I believe Andrew G. Prude to be standing fourth from the left in the above photo. Sorry I do not have a better print in my files and the photo had no original captions. The genealogy text mentioned came from John Robert Prude. Suggest you contact him for a copy. Also, I did several oral interviews with John G. Prude and some years ago donated all of my Prude files and the interviews to Archives of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University in Alpine. Perhaps they can help in your research. If memory serves me correctly, you will find some of the tapes mention the Weed, N.M. Prude relatives. John G, John Robert and I made a trip to Weed and the Prude ranch and graveyard where John G. told the story of that branch of the Prude family on the tapes. Not sure if the tapes have been transcribed.
Gj
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Dear Friends and Members of the Association:
I’ve attached another list of events and announcements for your perusal. They include news that the Texas Historical Commission has released a guide for the Texas Pecos Trail, and a few upcoming events. This Friday (tomorrow) UT Arlington –Ft.Worth is having an opening for its Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker Trail Exhibit. Floyd County will be hosting its Old Settler’s Reunion this Saturday. Also, the National Ranching Heritage Center has announced that registration has begun for its summer youth classes.
Best regards, Tai
Tai Kreidler
West Texas Historical Assn
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THURSDAY MAY 7 THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION, FOR THE TEXAS HERITAGE TRAILS PROGRAM, LAUNCHED THE TEXAS PECOS TRAIL REGION GUIDE at the Commemorative Air Force hangar in Midland.
The guide covers 22 West Texas counties, stretching from AndrewsCounty in the north to MaverickCounty in the south and from ReevesCounty in the west to KimbleCounty in the east. Featured attractions include the Monahans Sandhills and the SanSolomonSprings in the BalmorheaState Park.
Source: Odessa American, The (TX) - Friday, May 8, 2009
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10 AM - 12 PM, MAY 22, 2009, OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, THE CYNTHIA ANN AND QUANAH PARKER TRAIL EXHIBIT: "A WOMAN OF TWO WORLDS AND A MAN IN TWO WORLDS". Gallery 76102 is located at the UT Arlington/Fort Worth Center,
1401 Jones Street, Fort Worth, Texas
May 8 - 30, 2009. The University of Texas-Fort Worth campus is hosting the exhibit of photos of these two persons through a project underway by the Lakes Trail Program, in cooperation with a number of partners, including the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau. The exhibit will be on display at the UTA-Fort Worth campus gallery.
Special Guest, Ben Tahmahkera, great great grandson of Quanah, will welcome attendees with a Comanche prayer.
Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker are two of the most widely known names from the frontier days of Texas and the West. Although much has been written about Comanche history and these two persons, there have been few opportunities to see the key photographs of these two historic persons.
The Gallery's information number is 817-292-0365. Gallery hours are Tuesday and Thursday 12 to 6 pm and on Saturday 10 to 2 pm. Special visiting times can be arranged through the Gallery. The exhibit is free!
Contacts:
Jill Campbell, Coordinator of the Lakes Trail Program at 817-559-2288, Douglas Harman, President of the Lakes Trail Program at 817-691-6322 and Clara Ruddell at 214-693-5915. Gallery 76102 is managed by Megan Topham 817-272-5908, and the Gallery’s information number is 817-292-0365.
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SATURDAY MAY 23. FLOYDCOUNTY OLD SETTLERS REUNION,
FLOYDADA TOWN SQUARE
. Events begin at 9AM and include entertainment, various contests, a BBQ lunch at noon and a parade at 230PM. WTHA members Thomas Musser and Nancy Marble will be on hand. Thomas will be demonstrating the art of rope making and Nancy will be hosting visitors to the FloydCountyHistoricalMuseum that features the world famous artifacts from the Coronado Expedition. For more information call 806.983.2415 or email at fchmuseum@texasonline.net
For more information on the Reunion go to: http://www.floydadachamber.com/settlers.htm
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2009 YOUTH CLASSES NATIONAL RANCHING HERITAGE CENTER LUBBOCK, TEXAS. Classes meet July 13-17 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuition is only $25 per class and pre-registration is required. Junior Rough Riders receive a discounted rate at $20 per class.Twelve different heritage education classes will be offered for students in grades 1-6. Classes available for grades 1-3 are: Pioneer Living; Myths and Legends; A Day on the Trail; West Texas Traditions; Living Wild; Painting the Critters of Texas. Classes available for grades 4-6 are: Riding the Trails of the Old West; Let's Rodeo; Western Movie Making (double class, $50); Creating Ranch Masterpieces; Hide Crafters
For more information and to register, or sign-up on the Summer Youth Classes page of the NRHC Web site at www.NRHC.com/SummerYouthClasses.htm.
Contact Emily Arellano with any questions at 742-0498 or emily.arellano@ttu.edu.
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Dear Friends and Members of the Association: Please find below a few upcoming Texas Plains Trail Assn events.
Best Wishes,
Tai Kreidler
West Texas Historical Assn
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PLAINS TRAIL MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009 @ Bertie Fannie Restaurant, 103 South 6th Street, Memphis, Texas. Meetings are open to anyone interested in Texas history, heritage tourism, and historic preservation. Such gatherings are intended to help communities network with regional partners, gain knowledge of marketing strategies, and obtain innovative ideas. 11:00 Welcome & Introductions; 11:15 Program by Memphis Mayor Robert Maddox & Chamber Director Judy Stewart; Tour of the Hall County Museum. 12:00 Lunch ($10 per person) at Bertie Fannie's; 1:00 The Texas Plains Trail Bi-Monthly Board Meeting.
RSVP by MONDAY, MAY 18 at 806-231-3479 or e-mail: txplainstrail@yahoo.com
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TEXAS PLAINS TRAIL TOURISM ROUND-UP CONFERENCE @ THE PLAINVIEW COUNTRY CLUB on August 11, 2009. A list of speakers and specific topics will be released later. The Conference will be designed to provide relevant and useful tourism information and training for community and business leaders within the Texas Plains Trail Region who recognize the importance of tourism for our rural communities. Topics such as marketing strategies, understanding the Hotel/Motel Tax Laws, creating community events, preserving your place, the power of partnerships, grant writing, promoting on your website, and selling your city will fill the 8:30-3:00 day. This will be a great day to show off your community and network with other community leaders! Look for registration details coming soon. REMEMBER TO SAVE THE DATE! AUGUST 11, 2009. Call 806-231-3479 for more information.
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An Open Letter to the Midland Reporter-Telegram
And the Alpine Avalanche
May 8, 2009
Ms. Audrie Palmer (reporter): greetings. I recently saw your May 4, 2009 “‘No Refusal’ weekend nets 21 DWI arrests” article in the Midland Reporter-Telegram (MRT). As a former Texas law enforcement officer with fifteen years experience including state certifications to operate both the Breathalyzer© instrument as well as the so-called Intoxilyzer©, I hereby offer a variant point of view to the one the MRT seems to prescribe.
First, as to instrumentation, I found the old Breathalyzer to have been always consistent and reliable. Not so the Intoxilyser. On several occasions I had to run a number of “tests” in order to gain one that might reasonably have been considered acceptable. I would not take an Intoxilyzer test myself unless I had had only one or two drinks, and perhaps not then.
Second, in my day (ended in 1987) the long-held standard for “intoxication” was 0.10% blood-alcohol content (BAC). As a young officer I was criticized by several senior colleagues for “filing on” drivers who registered only .10% on the instrument unless they had been involved with accidents or incidents. With more experience I came to agree with my colleagues. Few adults are “intoxicated” at 0.10% BAC, much less at the more recent standard of .08%. This lower BAC limit raises questions about why the percentage standard was lowered in the first place. Could it have been that more “driving while intoxicated” arrests and significantly stiffer fines equal more money in the coffers? I suspect so, especially as the state has, or so I hear, been taking most of the punitive dollars away from local governments for use by the Austin bureaucracy -- an acquisition that may, if true, be unconstitutional. (Those who are responsible for representing Texas cities and counties should get off their duffs about this matter.)
Third, one has only to read/watch the news to see the number of police and multiple police officer killings that are taking place across the country. We recall with horror such a tragedy in Odessa just last year. Could these killings be linked to the growing public concept that police services in America no longer exist in order “To Protect and to Serve,” but rather, in order to swell governmental treasuries? I sense that the general population no longer trusts the police, esp. at the municipal, state, and even federal levels, to perform in the best interests of citizens. We do, or should (shouldn’t we?) expect more from our Texas sheriffs because they must answer to an electorate every four years. Keeping the elected sheriff as presiding law enforcement authority in every Texas county by constitutional mandate remains vital to our democracy. To discard the sheriff as chief enforcement officer of the county would be to lay the foundation for an Orwellian nightmare.
Whenever, therefore, I see a county sheriff, as in Midland County, and/or his deputies participating in draconian measures such as a “No Refusal” weekend [that] nets 21 DWI arrests,” I wonder if that sheriff has his head screwed on right. Don’t our sheriffs have more important things to do than entrap the marginally intoxicated? According to your Midland Reporter-Telegram article, Ms. Palmer: “15-16 DPS troopers . . . from as far away as Lamesa, Monahans, and Balmorhea” were on hand at Midland for the recent DWI dragnet. That’s what traffic cops are for, isn’t it? I wonder, could the Midland County Sheriff be over-staffed? Might he not have “sicced” (or, as you adroitly put it: “specifically target[ed]”) his deputies on certain segments of the public just so they’d have something to do? I’d wager that the sheriff neither set up any roadblocks over on Country Club Lane, so-called, nor up on Snob Hill. Now did he? Nor will he unless the constabulary are passing out hot dogs, root beer, and “vote for me” cards. The Midland County Sheriff is, it seems, especially fond of calling names, like “stupid people . . . .” as he, in your article, is quoted as having done. Well, as Forrest Gump put it, “Stupid is as stupid does [and as stupid often says, I might add].”
At any rate, such measures as the “No Refusal weekend” entangle, reek of exclusionism. Let’s get real, here. How many expensive, new vehicles are stopped for anything compared to dirty, older, smoking ones with a brake light out or a sleepy driver at the wheel because he/she just finished a nine-hour shift and desires to hurry home and rest. You know the ones, Ms. Palmer; they tend to be pulled over all the time.
High-muck-a-muck and heavy momma vehicles, conversely, are more often “exempt” from law enforcement inspection. Perhaps those owners should apply for ‘Texas exempt’ license plates? You know, the way farmers do for those virtually free “farm tags’ that go on their $35,000 SUVs. Yes, those Lincolns and Cadillacs come off the factory floor having been well-dipped in non-soluble po-lice repellent: Off, off, OFF!
Your interesting article, Ms. Palmer, indicated that 21 individuals had been arrested for DWI in the most recent round up. Might I challenge you and your editor to check the vocations and economic circumstances of those who were arrested and publish same? I bet there’ll be few, if any, surprises.
Fourth, and perhaps most important, whatever happened to our concept of the individual’s constitutional rights? Is the DPS-controlled Texas Breath Alcohol Testing Regulations system, which was approved (1969) under the condition that anyone could, subject to reasonable penalties (suspension of driver’s license), refuse any type of an administered blood alcohol test, have today been supplanted? If so, tell us by whom? Do citizens realize, or even care, that the forceful taking of blood involves bodily invasion with a foreign object, to-wit: a needle and syringe. (We are not talking “free-flowing” blood here.) And when that invasion is performed by another party against the will and without the consent of the victim, what is it if not abusive conduct at the hands of the state. It may, indeed, be a form of rape (“Abusive and improper treatment; violation” – New American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed.). Without question, such action on the part of law enforcement denigrates one’s humanity and, along with that disesteem, flouts her/his concept of freedom and dignity, both as an American and as a child of the Enlightenment. Can this IN-vasive conduct by both police and health care providers really remain “as of nothing” in comparison with water boarding, sleep deprivation, and other NON-invasive tortures administered at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and God knows where else? I think not. And all of THIS against our own citizens who are under investigation for nothing more than misdemeanor traffic-related offenses? What on earth has happened with our sense of priorities in this formerly great state?
“Equal Justice Under Law” is carved in stone above the colonnade fronting the United States Supreme Court Building. That pledge and the Bill of Rights to our national Constitution, particularly the 2th, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments, demand that such medieval practices be forever halted. “Our” Texas State Senate has, I’m informed, already passed a statute legalizing theses practices. The Texas House has not done so. We should let our Rep. Pete Gallego and other the House members know that we are aware what is going on, and that it must stop.
Glenn Willeford
Alpine & Chihuahua City, Mexico
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FIRE BURNS ON WESTWARD SLOPE OF SIERRA VIEJA
LOW FLYING SINGLE ENGINE PLANE SCOUTING AND SPRAYING THE FIRE IN MUSGRAVE CANYON
(Candelaria, Texas, 12p.m., 5-14-09) A large fire is presently still burning in the Sierra Vieja as aircraft continue to drop fire retardants this morning. The fire, said to have been started yesterday by “illegal aliens trying to block their pursuers.” Early this morning the fire crossed over the rimrock heading westward and continues to burn about 16 miles west of Valentine. From below the rimrock, the fire appears to be a little south Viejo Pass and is burning in a fire front perhaps a miles wide as it sweeps over the mountains. Moderate but gusty winds, especially in the higher elevations, are spreading the fire into Musgrave Canyon below the rimrock. The fire seems to be spreading out of Musgrave Canyon in spite of efforts to extinguish it. Atop the rim, firefighters are using larger aircraft and bull dozers to fight the fire. The Presidio Valley above Candelaria is filled with smoke. I approached the fire it started to crest over a hill a few miles away. Since the fire was burning in my direction with the wind fanning the flames as two small aircraft dropped fire retardants in the nearby canyon, I decided it best to retreat.
Gj
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MAY 17 THE ANNUAL HISTORICAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE MASON COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION will include noted western history writers and historians. Subjects vary but generally deal with historical events tied to Mason County. Past symposiums covered the Hoo Doo War (Mason County War), Indian Captives, post civil war reconstruction, Cattle Drives in Mason County and Fort Mason. The conference this year features topics that include German Immigration: Texas, the Hill Country and Mason. The meeting will take place at 2 PM at the Mason High School Auditorium.
Speakers include Paul Burrier who will take about "The Nueces Massacre/Battle: Myths and Truths," and Billy Mohr who will discuss "John Meusebach and the German Adelsverei," and Billy Mohr grew up near Soldier’s Waterhole in McCulloch Country and graduated from Rochelle High School. Pat Parsons will be the moderator. She was the past President of Caldwell County Genealogical & Historical Society. She is co-editor of the Biggs Family Newspaper.
Contact Information: Jan Appleby, Chairperson, Mason County Historical Commission, 3491 Franks Road, Mason, Texas76856, Phone: 325-347-6583, Email: janell@ctesc.net; Jane Hoerster, Historian Emeritus, Mason County Historical Commission, POB 524
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Friends and Member of the Association:
Please find a list of upcoming and previous events from the region. Events include the May meeting of the Midland Genealogical Society, The Boss of the Plains Award dinner hosted by the Ranching Heritage Association (Lubbock), the Annual Championship Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival (Throckmorton), the Texas Historical Commission tour of West Texas, and a Hispanic History Forum (Las Vegas, NM).
Best wishes,
Tai Kreidler-Executive Director
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THURSDAY 7 PM MAY 14 MEETING OF MIDLAND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY @ 902 Dengar, Midland. Presentation: “Interlibrary Loan: Taking advantage of it successfully” by Becky Narango, Interlibrary Loan Librarian
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FRIDAY MAY 15. BOSS OF THE PLAINS AWARD. San Antonio businessman Red McCombs has been selected to receive the 2009 Boss of the Plains Award from the Ranching Heritage Association. It will be presented during an award dinner following a 6:30 p.m. reception, this Friday, May 15, at the Lubbock Country Club,
3400 Mesa Road. Individual tickets for the Boss of the Plains Award reception and dinner are $50 each. A reserved table seating six is $500; a table seating eight is $750. Call or e-mail Tim Bynum at the NRHC at (806) 742-0498 or tim.bynum@ttu.edu
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FRIDAY/SATURDAY MAY 15-16. 7TH ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTER FESTIVAL in Throckmorton, Texas. For more information go to - http://www.worldchampionshiprockymountainoysters.com/
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SATURDAY MAY 16. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BISON COOKOFF IN SANTA ANNA, TEXAS. For info, contact Montie Guthrie at 325.348.3826 or montieg@web-access.net, or call the Park Committee at 325.348.3535 or gtedmiston@web-access.net .
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SATURDAY, MAY 16. TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF TO TOUR TEXAS’ LAST FRONTIER COUNTIES
On Saturday, May 16, 2009, the CochranCounty and Hockley County Historical Commissions will host board members and staff of the Texas Historical Commission (THC) on a bus tour of historic points of interest in Cochran, Hockley, Lamb, and BaileyCounties. The THC representatives will be meeting in Lubbock and had expressed an interest in touring historic sites in the Texas’ Last Frontier counties west of Lubbock. The tour is jointly sponsored by the CochranCounty and Hockley County Historical Commissions and the Texas’ LastFrontierMuseum in Morton. John and Bette Hope, members of the Hockley County Historical Commission, are the principal tour organizers and coordinators.
For more information, contact Dorothy Barker, Chair of the Cochran County Historical Committee, jodaphi1@windstream.net, (806) 266-5484, or John or Bette Hope, Members, Hockley County Historical Commission, jdhope@llano.net, (806) 894-4062.
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SATURDAY MAY 16. HISPANIC HISTORY FORUM (3RD IN SERIES), LAS VEGAS, NM, 1 - 2:30 PM @ Highlands University, Las Vegas, in Laveo Sanchez Hall. Admission is free. Co - hosted by the City of Las Vegas, LunaCommunity College and Highlands University.
PROGRAM:
· Dr. Robert Himmerich will give an overview of THE TREE OF HATE, about the origins of the Black Legend and its meaning for Hispanics today.
· Mike Scarborough, retired attorney, will present a special powerpoint: FACTS LEFT OUT - new information about the U.S. handling of the lands grants - which goes beyond the 2008 Response by New Mexico Attorney General David King’s Office to the 2004 GAO Report to Congress on The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and New Mexico Land Grants
· A special Land Grant Panel will discuss the new information presented by Scarborough.There will be a Q@A session at the end.
Information contact: Dr. Henry J. Casso 505 294-4157; Elmer Maestas emaestas1@comcast.net
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Eric Joffrion, Chairman of the Coleman County Historical Commission, reported on the possible loss of its two post-mounted traffic signals in downtown Coleman.
Tai Kreidler
Executive Director
West Texas Historical Association
To all of you interested in seeing Coleman County retain its charm and uniqueness.
Another of our wonderful old Coleman County assets is in danger. Coleman’s City Council, at their May 7, 2009 meeting (this Thursday, 5 p.m. at City Hall), will be discussing the removal of the two post-mounted traffic signals in downtown Coleman. These signal mounts are the only two remaining of several that were installed in the county seat during the 1920’s. There are less than two-dozen of these post-mounts left in the United States, AND COLEMAN COUNTY HAS TWO OF THEM. As a bonus, the signals themselves are Sargent-Sowell signals made in Grand Prairie, Texas in the 1960’s. Instead of removing these fixtures, we should be bragging about them.
Coleman’s utility department cites three reasons for removal:
1. According to them, the signal controls are worn out and replacement parts are hard to find.
2. Moisture getting into the old signals adds to the problem.
3. The signals no longer meet Code.
There are ways to overcome these problems that will be discussed at the council meeting. Please come to this meeting and show your support for preserving these wonderful old fixtures that are a part of what makes Coleman County a unique visiting experience.
Don’t worry about missing dinner. After the council meeting, Coleman County’s Historical Commission will be meeting at 7 p.m. at Heritage Hall with a program on the history of Mozelle. There will be snacks.
Thanks,
Eric Joffrion
325-669-5946
ejoffrion@verizon.net
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A recent book by John G. Sotos, M.D. poses some very interesting historical questions about the 16th President of the United States. In “The Physical Lincoln” published last year, Dr. Sotos suggests President Abraham Lincoln was suffering from terminal cancer and would have died from the disease within a year of his assassination. Dr. Sotos is attempting to persuade the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in Philadelphia to allow DNA testing of a sample of Lincoln’s blood on a pillowcase in the museum’s collection. Why is this important? See the below links:
http://www.physical-lincoln.com/index.html
http://www.physical-lincoln.com/importance.html
http://www.physical-lincoln.com/books.html
Gj
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Dinner, music and entertainment at Fort Concho Commissary
(Dinner provided by Kenny Blanek Catering Co.)
Thursday, May 21, 6:30 to 8:30 pm--$25.00 per person
You’ll hear Mr. Kelton give a talk, and you’ll meet Raul Ruiz, the artist commissioned to sculpt a bronze statue of Kelton to be placed in the new Tom Green County Library! There will be other speakers. You’ll also get to preview the limited edition 9-inch bronze bust of Kelton, and the limited edition 12-inch bronze replica of the statue. These premiums will be available for sale*.
SEATS ARE LIMITED—RESERVE YOURS NOW!
Tickets for this event are available at the following locations:
San Angelo Area Foundation—947-7071; Cactus Book Shop—659-3788, Tom Green County Library—655-7321;
Fort Concho Visitors Center—481-2646, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce—655-4136
PLEASE NOTE: ALL TICKET SALES CASH OR CHECK---NO DEBIT OR CREDIT CARDS!!
You can also send your check –payable to “Elmer Kelton Statue Fund”. Your check will serve as your RSVP, and your tickets will be held for you at the door. Deadline for mail-in ticket sales is May 15th.
*For more information: www.saafound.org – click on “Special Projects,” then click “Elmer Kelton Statue Project”
[Proceeds of this event will benefit the Elmer Kelton Statue Fund.]
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I recently happened upon a copy of the playbill as per the Sul Ross State University Department of Fine Arts & Communications Theatre Program “Presents La Victima.” I wish to clarify one matter printed at the top front page of the program. This is not a “criticism,” per se. Many others have made the same error, so, Fine Arts & Communications Theatre, please take this as constructive advisement. The mistake reads: “A civil war raged in Mexico from 1910 to 1920. More than a million Mexicans (about ten percent of the population) were killed during that civil war.” The aforesaid claim is not factual.
What is factual? The Mexican army under President Porfirio Diaz was small as were revolutionary groups. During the first phase of the war (the Madero Revolution) a force of 1,200 -1,500 combined men was a large contingent. More were involved in the second phase, what we call the “fight to save the Revolution [from the usurper Gen. Victoriano Huerta].” There was significant revolutionary action among the evolving “middle class” in the first two phases. After the Aguascalientes Convention late in 1914 when self-proclaimed “First Chief” of Mexico Venustiano Carranza separated his “Constitutionalist” followers from the rest, the armies became larger due to “la leva” (involuntary conscription) and the inclusion of “red” Sindicalistas in the Federal District and from population centers including Mexico D.F., Estado de Mexico, Guanajuato, Cuernavaca, Queretaro, and so on.
Gral. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and other important Conventionists also grew their armies through the summer and autumn of 1915 until Villa faced ultimate defeat at Agua Prieta, Sonora, in November. This third phase, which lasted five years, was no longer revolution, but civil war. Major battles between divisions being now a thing of the past, deaths and other casualties became fractional in comparison with previous times. Villa and others were, by then, conducting nothing more than guerrilla warfare against the government of Carranza; a comparative few die in such episodes. My point rests here, most battle deaths occurred between early 1913 and late 1915. If someone claims one-million battle deaths took place during the Mexican revolutionary epoch (1910-20) one is then inferring that one-million combatants, more or less, were killed in battle over a three-year period. Frankly, there is no way that could have happened. These post-1915 combats were most often company-sized groups of rag-tag soldiery going up against other brave men who were, generally, armed with inferior rifles and used up artillery. To exacerbate the difficulties, there existed a dearth of dependable ammunition.
The “more than one-million killed” statement is the misleading result of assuming statisticians perusing Mexican census figures. Indeed, the 1920 Mexican census showed a population loss of about 1,000,000 citizens from the 1910 enumeration. What these evaluators failed to take under consideration were, in the main, two events. First, hundreds of thousands (nobody knows exactly) Mexicans fled northward across the Mexico/United States border in order to avoid involvement in the Revolution. Much of the Hispanic population of the Southwestern United States traces roots to this, the second major migratory exodus from northern Mexico. (The first large migration took place during the mining boom.)
Second, and most important, the pandemic of Spanish-influenza that struck the world in October 1918 killed a minimum of 3% of the populace in Old Mexico. Quite probably, a more accurate figure would range near 5% of that base. (If one has doubts about these figures please consult various articles on the matter in the Journal of Big Bend Studies, SRSU Center for Big Bend Studies. Dr. Paul Wright has waxed especially prolific on the matter.)
My wife, a M. D., Ph.D., with the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, and I spent several days at the Oficina Central de el Registro Civil in Cd. Chihuahua studying the Libros de Defuncion (de la ciudad) and found that 1,106 persons were registered as having died of influenza or “neumonia,” a direct outgrowth of the illness, in the city from the second week of October through part of January, 1919. At a population of about 30,000 that amounted to 3.6 or 3.7% (+/- .3%) of the city population. No one pretends to believe that all the influenza deaths were recorded, however.
Dr. Paul Wright, for example, utilizing U.S. Manuscript Census records for 1910 and 1920 as well as other data says, at minimum, 2.8% of the Mexican-origin population residing along the Rio Grande/Bravo in the Big Bend died in the pandemic. Reporting in Brewster and Presidio Counties was, due to distance and a variety of other factors, poor. As many as 5 or even 6% of those recent immigrants from Mexico may have died of the Spanish flu. The United States, however, suffered a one per cent loss of life across the board. That, according to one source, amounted to about 700,000 persons.
Thanks to funding from the Center for Big Bend Studies, Dr. Gerald G. Raun and I spent several months during 1998 researching and photographing Big Bend cemeteries and burial sites. More than 60 cemeteries were visited. Most of those were in isolated locations with no informative literature available to the public; in addition, the death records in the three target counties were examined, those domains being Brewster, Presidio, and Jeff Davis counties. Many hundreds of small, formerly lost or abandoned graves/graveyards spot the lower Big Bend and Big Bend National Park; not a few of those are in array of tombs four, six, eight, ten or twelve in number all alike exhibiting similar wear patterns which may date the burials to the same time frame. Even though a wave of typhus in the 1930s took a number of lives, and a girl died of smallpox at McKinney Springs (now in the national park) during 1945, these numerous look-alike burials most likely contain victims of the Spanish influenza. In almost none of those did we find records of death on file at the county courthouses. Our findings are available at the Archives of the Big Bend and in published format at other locations. Even though the Texas Legislature required the maintenance of such records beginning in 1902, the clerks and/or their deputies proved to have been lax in reporting. In Jeff Davis County the death record books we were allowed to examine indicated that no person died of influenza in the county during the pandemic, which is, of course, ludicrous.
In World War One 53,402 U. S. military personnel died in battle; in fact, fewer military men were killed in battle than died of Spanish flu during the same period. In that war (1917-18) these men had braced the most effective war machine ever invented. In Vietnam (my war) 47,763 USA military personnel suffered death in combat, and that was over an eleven-year period against a highly-skilled enemy with more than twenty years battle experience who utilized state-of-the-art insurgent-available weaponry. In all wars the USA has ever fought prior to current events we have lost 576,120 military men and women. Needless to say, the one-million person count for battle deaths in the Mexican Revolution is exaggerated to the point of disbelief. In truth, it is difficult to conceive that battle deaths in the Mexican Revolution reached the 100,000 figure, much less “a million.”
Glenn Willeford
2009-04-27
Chihuahua City & Alpine
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The Pecos County Historical Commission was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at a special reception during the Texas Historical Conference on April 16, 2009, held at Lakeway Resort on Lake Travis. The award recognizes county historical commissions that have demonstrated a dedication to several of the THC`s programs as well as preservation efforts that leads to understanding both local and state history. This award has been received by Pecos County for the last five years in a row. The Executive Director Larry Oaks made the announcement that this commitment demonstrates an enthusiasm for saving the real places of Texas for future generations to enjoy.
STATE CONTACTS: Debbie Head, 512-463-4565, debbihead@thc.tx.us: Amy Hammons, 512-475-2692, amy.hammons@thc.state.tx.us.
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Dear Friends and Members of the Association:
Here are a number of news and meeting updates from the region. It includes the Fort Stockton Historical Society banquet (April 28), Texas Tech Press’ Literary Lubbock Dinner (May 1), opening of the Clint Chamber’s Santa Fe exhibit (May 1), The Red River Valley Museum gala (May 1), The Edwards Plateau Historical Association conference (May 2), The Spring Roundup for The Parker House Ranching Museum (May 15), The Annual Historical Symposium of the Mason County Historical Commission (May 17), and The Annual Homecoming at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas (May 23).
Best wishes,
Tai Kreidler
Executive Director
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FRIDAY MAY 1 DUMAS, TEXAS. THE CLINT CHAMBERS EXHIBIT highlighting the Santa Fe Trail will be opened.
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FRIDAY MAY 1 LITERARY LUBBOCK MAY 1 5:30P TO 9:30P AT MERKET ALUMNI CENTER - TEXAS TECH CAMPUS
Featuring recent Texas Tech University Press authors:
--John O. Baxter (CowboyPark: Steer-Roping Contests on the Border)
--Nasario García (Brujerías: Stories of Witchcraft and the Supernatural in the American Southwest and Beyond)
--Rosanna Taylor Herndon (The Line From Here to There: A Storyteller’s Scottish West Texas)
--Shirley Gordon Jackson (A Place to Be Someone: Growing Up with Charles Gordone)
--A. Michael Powell and Shirley A. Powell (Cacti of Texas: A Field Guide)
--Dorothy Allred Solomon (In My Father’s House A Memoir of Polygamy)
Price: $55 per ticket; $440 table for eight
Phone: (806) 742-2982
Reception and visiting with authors, 5:30-6:30
Dinner and author presentations, 6:30-8:30 pm
Signing and visiting with authors, 8:30-9:30 pm
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FRIDAY MAY 1. THE RED RIVER VALLEY MUSEUM will hold its gala and Art show For more information contact Red River Valley Museum -
4600 College Drive- Vernon, TX76384, Phone: 940-553-1848 Fax: 940-553-1849, Mary Ann McCuistion, Director rrvm1@yahoo.com,Karen Jones, Asst. Director rrvm2@yahoo.com
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SATURDAY MAY 2 AT ROCKSPRINGS THE EDWARDSPLATEAU HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION to present program on Indian captives, fight at Green Lake and the Devil’s Sinkhole
- The Edwards Plateau Historical Association has announced plans to hold its Spring meeting on Saturday, May 2, at the Woman’s Club building in Rocksprings. The meeting will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m., followed by the program at 10:00 o’ clock. Three historical papers pertaining to Edwards County history will be presented and include “Clinton Smith’s, The Boy Captives, “The Fight at Green Lake” and “The Devil’s Sinkhole”. Speakers will be Edda Raye Moody of Rocksprings, Harold D. Jobes of CedarPark, and Dr. Ben Banahan of Rocksprings.
A short business meeting will be held at noon with President Faith Grote of Llano in charge. Registration is $12 per person and includes a catered meal at noon. The meeting is open to the public, but reservations must be made by Saturday, April 25th with Margaret Gaver, P. O. Box 271, Junction, Tx 76849; telephone 325-446-2477. If there is enough interest, a trip to the Devil’s Sinkhole is planned immediately after the meeting. Cost is an additional $6.00 per person and includes bus fare. This is half-price as the bats will not be seen at this time of day. Advance registration for the trip is necessary in order to make necessary arrangements. For additional information, contact Sherry Ned Jenkins, 830-683-2411 or Frederica Wyatt at fwyatt30@yahoo.com.
Source: Rocksprings Record April 26, 2009
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FRIDAY MAY 15 THE SPRING ROUNDUP FOR THE PARKER HOUSE RANCHING MUSEUM will be held at The Willows featuring the music of Jerry Dugan and West Wind and the authentic West Texas cuisine of the Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang. A live auction and exhibits will be also be held. Advance tickets only. Contact Richard Cummins @ The Parker House Museum at 432-335-9918; phmuseum@cs.com
The Willows is located at
1116 County Road
127 West, Odessa, Texas79765, 432-563-9500 ph, 432-563-0748 fax
info@bookthewillows.com
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MAY 16. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BISON COOKOFF IN SANTA ANNA, TEXAS. Buffalo! Feast on the meat of the massive beasts that roamed the Old West at Funtier Days World Championship Bison Cook-off in Santa Anna, Texas. Set between the twin peaks at Santa Anna- no, not the Mexican General-- the Comanche War Chief whose people fed on the same sumptuous briskets you’ll be enjoying -- the competition features some of the best tournament cookers in the Lone Star State. The Santa Anna Historical Development Organization's annual fund raiser is sanctioned by Texas Bison Association and West Texas Barbecue Association. Arts and crafts, games, rides, homemade pies and ice creams, and of course, buffalo. Fully accessible. For info, contact Montie at 325.348.3826 or montieg@web-access.net, or call the Park Committee at 325.348.3535 or gtedmiston@web-access.net .
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MAY 17 THE ANNUAL HISTORICAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE MASON COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION will include noted western history writers and historians. Subjects vary but generally deal with historical events tied to Mason County. Past symposiums covered the Hoo Doo War (Mason County War), Indian Captives, post civil war reconstruction, Cattle Drives in Mason County and Fort Mason. The conference this year features topics that include German Immigration: Texas, the Hill Country and Mason. The meeting will take place at 2 PM at the Mason High School Auditorium. Speakers include Paul Burrier who will take about "The Nueces Massacre/Battle: Myths and Truths," and Billy Mohr who will discuss "John Meusebach and the German Adelsverei," and Billy Mohr grew up near Soldier’s Waterhole in McCulloch Country and graduated from Rochelle High School. Pat Parsons will be the moderator. She was the past President of Caldwell County Genealogical & Historical Society. She is co-editor of the Biggs Family Newspaper. Contact Information: Jan Appleby, Chairperson, Mason County Historical Commission, 3491 Franks Road, Mason, Texas 76856, Phone: 325-347-6583, Email: janell@ctesc.net; Jane Hoerster, Historian Emeritus, Mason County Historical Commission, POB 524
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SATURDAY, MAY 23RD HOMECOMING 2009 AT AVENGER FIELD IN SWEETWATER, TEXAS.
The National WASPWWII Museum honors the Women Airforce Service Pilots each year with a day-long open house followed by a barbecue dinner. The open house is free. Dinner tickets are $30 for non-members; $25 for members; WASP are free. Call 325.235.0099 to order tickets for the dinner which begins at 7 p.m. Featured dinner speaker is Major Bridget McNamara, Deputy Director of Staff, 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB. Bridget earned her wings in 1998. She is the first female B-1 Weapons School instructor pilot and has experienced three deployments.
Among other things lining up for the day:
9:30 Annual Meeting of Members Brunch - free to all current members
10:00 Origami Gliders and Airplanes with Terry Minami - free activity for all ages
10:00 Static Displays of WWII Aircraft at Avenger Field
10 - 5 Displays by Dave and Beverly Vargo and the Winged Commandos
10 - 5 Books for sale by authors Nancy Robinson Masters and Sarah Byrne Rickman
10 - 9 Silent Auction of WWII Memorabilia and Books
11:00 Informal visits with WASP
2:00 Andy Hailey, son of WASP Lois Hailey will speak on “The Biggs Five, the First Five Tow Target WASP Assigned to Biggs Army Air Base in El Paso, Texas.”
National WASP WWII Museum, P.O. Box 456, Sweetwater, Texas 79556, 325.235.0099
Located at: 210 Loop 170, Sweetwater, TX
Press Release: February 17th, 2009
http://waspmuseum.org/2009/02/17/homeco ... -may-23rd/
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Fort Stockton Pioneer April 26, 2009, FOURTH-GRADERS MARK TEXAS HISTORY DAY
Fourth-graders from the Fort Stockton and Buena Vista school districts celebrated the history of Texas during Texas History Day at the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum Friday. The event was sponsored by the Fort Stockton Historical Society, and included period educators and guests who gave presentations and demonstrations on various aspects of Texas and Pecos County history. Martha King, the curator of the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum and Historic Fort Stockton, told the students that in 2003 the Texas Legislature made March Texas History Month.
"That's why we're here," King said. "Teachers, students, we want you to get hyped up like we are about our history." King was one of several re-enactors in period dress that represented the late 19th century of Texas and PecosCounty history. Included among the re-enactors were the Fort Stockton Living History Unit's Robert Preston, who spoke to groups of students about the life of soldiers on the frontier in the late 19th century, and Roberta Dunn, who also sang "Texas, Our Texas," accompanied by the band Texas Country out of Wickett.
Jim Tinkler made a presentation on the chuckwagon that he had on display in front of the museum, and also spoke about the life of cowboys during the period. Levin Porter, a local 4-H member, talked to students about horses and saddles. The presentation included having students. "We're fortunate and lucky to have people put on something like this," FSISD assistant superintendent Ralph Traynham told the fourth-graders. Two FortStockton fourth-graders, Jacob Short and Tyler Wolfe, also read short presentations on Texas history.
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Here are a few news items of interest.
Best wishes,
Tai Kreidler,
Executive Director
West Texas Historical Association
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RICK BASS READING. 7:00 PM, APRIL 23, 2009, International Cultural Center Auditorium, International Cultural Center Auditorium. Texas Tech University, 601 Indiana Avenue. There will be a reading, book signing, and reception with award winning writer and environmentalist Rick Bass. A Texan by birth, Rick Bass lived in the remote Yaak Valley of Montana for over 20 years. Diezmo, his novel about the ill-fated Mier Expedition into Mexico in 1842, was praised by Kent Haruf as “a vivid, graphic, harrowing tale,” and his most recent book, a memoir titled Why I Came West, is nominated for a National Book Critics Award. Bass has been praised by critics for his powerful descriptions of landscapes and the intricate relationships between his characters, which mirror, at times, the grandeur, beauty, and unpredictability of the natural world. No Admission Charge.
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FORT CHADBOURNE DAYS LIVING HISTORY EVENT, MAY 2ND, 2009, 9:00 - 4:00 A.M. Enjoy an educational fun day at FortChadbourne. There will be cavalrymen, infantrymen, artilleryman, buffalo hunters, archeological excavations, sutlers, antique tractor hayrides to see the buffalo (new babies are born this month), black powder shoot, Fort Hood and their gatling gun, antique gun display, food vendors and live entertainment and much more. Fort Chadbourne is located 12 miles north of Bronte, TX on Hwy 277 halfway between Abilene and San Angelo. Admission cost: $5 adult; Children under 12 free; $4 military and seniors. For more information, please contact call 325-743-2555 or email fortchad@taylortel.net or go to the website: www.fortchadbourne.org.
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TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION HONORS BREWSTERCOUNTY WITH THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD, April 16. AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Historical Commission (THC) recently recognized BrewsterCounty with the 2008 Distinguished Service Award. The honor was presented during a special reception Thursday, April 16 at the THC’s 2009 Annual Historic Preservation Conference in Lakeway. The award recognizes county historical commissions (CHCs) that have demonstrated a dedication to several of the THC’s programs as well as preservation efforts that lead to a greater understanding of state and local history. “The commitment of Brewster County’s preservation efforts demonstrates an enthusiasm for saving the real places of Texas,” said THC Executive Director Larry Oaks. “Your service has helped to enrich the lives of others through history, ensuring the preservation of our state’s past into the future.” CONTACTS: Debbi Head, 512.463.4565, debbi.head@thc.state.tx.us; Amy Hammons, 512.475.2692, amy.hammons@thc.state.tx.us.
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TEXAS ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY (TAS) FIELDSCHOOL JUNE 13-20, 2009.
CANYON, TEXAS—Adults, teachers and kids alike can work side-by-side with professional archeologists to unearth historical treasures at the Texas Archeological Society (TAS) Field School June 13-20, 2009. The school provides outstanding programs for all ages regardless of prior experience. Some 500 archeologists will participate in the TAS Field School, which will be held in Ochiltree County near Perryton, to provide participants with a unique experience to learn and work on a real dig site alongside professional archeologists. The excavation and research involves the large Antelope Creek Phase Village (AD 1250-1500), Colonel Andrew Evan's 1868 military supply depot, and other nearby sites. The diversity of sites will allow participants to look into different time periods and cultural adaptations. Workers can participate excavation, pedestrian and metal detecting surveys, or in artifact processing laboratories. Participants must be members of the Texas Archeological Society; a family membership is $70.00. For more information and to register, go to http://www.txarch.org/Activities/fschoo ... /index.php or contact the Archeology Department at the Panhandle-PlainsHistoricalMuseum at (806) 651-5231. The Courson Archeological Research and Harold Courson family play host to the field school this year. Andrea Porter 806-651-2235 aporter@pphm.wtamu.edu
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Music and the history of the Work Projects Administration (WPA) at Texas Tech Museum. The music of Woody Guthrie and others of the 1930s and '40s captured the struggles and emotions of the American people facing severe economic hardships. That music and the history of the Work Projects Administration (WPA) will be featured at 6:30 p.m. April 23 in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium of the Museum of Texas Tech University.
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Annual Ranch Day @ Natl Ranching Heritage Center. Spend some time in the Old West during the NationalRanchingHeritageCenter’s 39th Annual Ranch Day, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., April 25. Admission to the day’s events is free, but donations are strongly encouraged. A hamburger lunch will be available at a small price. For additional information about Ranch Day, call Emily Arellano at the NationalRanchingHeritageCenter, (806) 742-0498. Ranch Day activities such as: Chuck wagon food samples; Games from bygone times; Horseback riding; Viewing cattle in the shipping pens by the train and depot; Pioneer crafts will be demonstrated Ranch music and dancing; Children can decorate a May Pole set up outside the one-room schoolhouse; Make your own rope; Use a hand-wringer clothes washer; Learn to rope a steer; Participate in stick horse rodeo. Enjoy dinner at Cagle Steaks On Thursday, April 23 5:30 to 9:30 10% of the price of every meal purchased will be donated to Ranch Day! Go to www.caglesteaks.com to see their menu. Cagle Steaks is located on West Fourth Street and FM 179 in Lubbock.
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The Permian Basin Historical Society annual meeting will be held April 25 in the Petroleum Museum in Midland. Presentations include topics covering Crane, Texas, Lillie Midkiff- Pioneer Woman, and Desegregation in West Texas, a history of the Flache-White Ranch, and the Women's Air Force Service Pilots and Avenger Field. More information and registration materials can be obtained from the Web:http://permianhistoricalsociety.org/
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CASETA Symposium and Texas Art Fair. The Symposium and Texas Art Fair will take place May 1-3 in Austin. Register for the Symposium online at www.caseta.org.The cost of the Symposium us $150 for CASETA members and $200 for non-members, plus the optional cost of lunches. Make you hotel reservation now before the group rate of $139/night expires.
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Will James: The Hays Collection @ PPHM. Its first stop on a national tour, Will James: The Hays Collection is presented in an exhibition organized by PPHM June 27. A. P. Hays, who has studied and collected James’s work for over 60 years, and his wife are honored to share their fine collection of 95 original works of art (including at least one illustration from each of James’s 27 books), a complete first edition set of James books, movie posters, lobby cards and his 1894 Winchester. Born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault in Quebec, Canada, in 1892, the artist began drawing at an early age and dreamed of becoming a cowboy. In 1907 at age 15 he went west, first to Alberta and Saskatchewan, then to Wyoming, Nevada, and Idaho, where he learned to cowboy. By 1923, he had begun submitting his drawings and stories to magazines such as Sunset, Scribner’s and The Saturday Evening Post. James quickly wrote and illustrated four books published in the 1920s--Cowboys North and South (1924), The Drifting Cowboy (1925), Smoky (1926), and Cow Country (1927)—and became a celebrity. He moved to a Montana ranch in 1927, continuing to write, paint and draw. The pressures of his success proved too much, and he became an alcoholic and died at age 50 in 1942. The exhibition will be on display through September 20.
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Alamo Kitsch @ PPHM. April 21, 2009 CANYON, TEXAS--In Remembering the Alamo, 1836-2009, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum Curator of History Bill Green shares his personal collection of Alamo kitsch dating from the 1880s through today. The exhibit opens October 10, 2009, in the Mary E. Bivins Gallery. The souvenirs, kitsch and artifacts in the exhibit will show the evolution of the Alamo as one of the most familiar Texas icons. The exhibit continues through March 12, 2010. CONTACT: Andrea Porter 806-651-2235, aporter@pphm.wtamu.edu
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National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Receives Grant. FORT WORTH, TX - The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (formerly the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from Walmart to help fund the museum's educational program, "Cultural Heritage Youth Workshops," for the 2008-2009 school year. The financial support from Walmart will ensure minority and at-risk youth in the Fort Worth community will be able to benefit from the important educational experience of learning about the diverse, significant cultural contributions to the settling of the Western Frontier of the United States by minority cowboys, frontier families and the U.S. Buffalo Soldiers as well as be exposed to positive role models. For more information go to-- http://www.cowboysofcolor.org/ and/ or contact Director Rich Robinson-- rich@cowboysofcolor.org
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ABILENE AUTHOR RECEIVES AWARD FROM HISTORY GROUP
ReporterNews.com - Abilene,TX,USA
“Abilene author Bill Neal won the 2009 Rupert N. Richardson Award for the best book on West Texas history for “From Guns to Gavels: How Justice Grew Up in ...
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/a ... ory-group/
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THE ARCHIVES, GENEALOGY, AND REFERENCE/DOCUMENTS READING ROOM OF THE TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION is undergoing a multi-year renovation of its main facility in Austin, the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and LibraryBuilding. Learn more about the renovation at www.tsl.state.tx.us/renovation.
Known closings are announced at 512-463-5455. Patrons are encouraged to call before visiting, especially during the next month.
The Archives, Genealogy, and Reference/Documents reading room of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission was closed most recently April 13-15 and April
20-22.
For more information contact Diana Houston, Assistant Director, Information Services Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, dhouston@tsl.state.tx.us, 512-463-5426
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April 30, 2009. THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO WILL BE HOSTING A SYMPOSIUM commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Historical Society of New Mexico and the 100th of the Museum of New Mexico. The day will feature scholars and historians discussing the intertwined origins and histories of these two institutions and the resulting impact on New Mexico. April 30, 2009. The Historical Society and the Museum of New Mexico symposium will be held at the St. Francis Auditorium of the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe on Thursday, April 30, 2009 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and is co-hosted by the Society and the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum. The Symposium is also supported by a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities as a We the People project. It will be free to the public and will be the opening event for the 2009 New Mexico History Conference which follows on May 1 and 2, 2009 at the Santa FeCommunityConvention Center.
For more information about 150/100 Symposium and the New Mexico History Conference the public should visit the Historical Society's web site www.hsnm.org.
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THE CENTER FOR THE SOUTHWEST ANNOUNCES LECTURE 4 IN THE 2009 BORDERLANDS LECTURE SERIES.
This series of four lectures presents scholarship on the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands region by scholars working in both Mexico and the United States.
April 30, 2009. The fourth and final lecture will be delivered by Dr. Sarah Cornell, Assistant Professor of History University of New Mexico. Her lecture is titled, "From Borderlands to Transnational History: Race, Slavery, and Freedom in the U.S. South and Mexico, 1810-1910," and will be held Thursday, April 30, 2009, in the UNM Student Union Building, Santa Ana A and B, at 3:00 p.m.
For more information on the 2009 Borderlands Lecture Series, or other events sponsored by the Center for the Southwest, contact us at 277-7688, or email: cntrsw@unm.edu
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The Dallas Morning News is reporting that archaeologists have unearthed large numbers of artifacts including unfired musket balls, bayonets and various other cavalry items near the site of the 1836 battle of San Jacinto. The discovery is said to have established the location of where Mexican troops surrendered to the Texas army following the famous battle that led to Texas independence. The findings are a great example of how archaeology can be used to prove or disprove the accuracy of historical accounts. For more see:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... defc4.html
Gj
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Friends, Press and inquiring minds,
I'd like to personally invite you to one of the last FREE public screenings of my documentary "El Corrido: The Two Sides of the Song".
It was presented last weekend with outstanding support as the feature film for Texas Tech's colloquium on Professional and Academic Perspectives on Hispanic Media and Audiences.
The details are as follows:
Monday April 20th
Reception / Mixer at 5:15 pm
Presentation of "El Corrido" at 6:00 pm
Q & A at 7:00 pm
Mabee Auditorium, University of the Incarnate Word
Donnie Meals
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Thursday, February 28, 2008, 04:24 PM
Glenn,
I am researching some family oral history which occurred in Presidio, likely in the summer of 1917. I am looking for a newspaper/official account of this event. Can you suggest some directions/web sites?
Regards,
Hugh Fletcher
In the summer of 1917, Presidio County deputy sheriff John Fletcher Rawls, a rancher in the Casa Piedra area of Presidio County, Texas was wounded in a shootout in the Anaya Cafe on Main Street in Presidio , Texas. The gunmen were renegade members of the US Army who were protecting the border against Pancho Villa. Rawls, commissioned by Sheriff Ira Cline, of Presidio County, Texas was the only lawman in the immediate area and alone, challenged the band of seven armed men when he discovered them in a back room of the cafe with the waitresses who had been taken prisoner for sexual purposes. The waitresses were daughters of the owner, part of a family that had taken refuge in Presidio to avoid the revolution that was taking place in Northern Mexico, particularly in their home state of Chihuahua. When Rawls opened the door to the back room the shoot out began. Rawls tripped on the step to the room which was raised above the ground floor level of the main floor, and as the shooters ran past him, as he scrambled to get up off the floor, they unloaded their service pistols into him, escaping but leaving the girls unharmed. They were never identified or tried as their identities were never known. Somehow Rawls lived, although severely crippled. After a year of hospitalization with a huge amount of doctor bills, Rawls sold his ranch and moved to El Paso, Texas He died in Austin, Texas Dec 21, 1958. After the revolution, the Anaya family returned to their home in Chihuahua.
Hugh
The following is a response to the above account from Monty Waters:
Glen,
You published e-mail from Hugh Fletcher in February 2008. He sought more information on a shoot out involving his grandfather in Presidio Texas. I have since spoken with Hugh Fletcher and his son Tyler (of Fletcher’s books in Salado). I have done more research into the career of my grandfather, A. G. Beard, a law enforcement officer in Presidio County from 1916 to about 1920. I think the story of Fletcher Rawls and my grandfather are connected, beyond the fact that they were both law enforcement officers at the same time and in the same place, though I’ll admit I can’t prove it. Written below is what I do know. I won’t try to attach or insert footnotes here but unless otherwise indicated, all of my information comes from documents and published sources I have reviewed.
I can provide a bit more detail on the events described in Hugh Fletcher’s e-mail about his grandfather’s brush with death. First, this probably did not happen in 1917. He dates it as during the tenure of Presidio County Sheriff Ira Cline, who did not take office until 1918. Cline served until 1921 after losing the 1920 election to Jeff Vaughn. His grandfather, Fletcher Rawls served both Cline and his predecessor, Milton Chastain as deputy for many years and was certainly involved in the violence of the times. The Alpine Avalanche published a story on October 14, 1914 with the following headline: “Fletcher Rawls killed Marin Dominquez, a bad and treacherous Mexican, at a dance held at the Rock House.” The “Rock House” (aka Casa Piedra) was very near Rawls’ ranch in southern Presidio County. Sheriff Chastain, in May 1917 recommended Fletcher, his brother Tom and his nephew (Tom’s son) Jack for “Special Ranger” commissions, which could usually be obtained by having the local sheriff request them from the governor. Chastain cited the Rawls’ proximity to the border as the reason for their request, and also cited Fletcher Rawls’ nine years of service as a deputy to him. Governor Ferguson granted the request and all three Rawls got commissions, which allowed them to carry firearms openly, and assist the local ranger company when needed, though they were not on the state payroll. Ultimately these commissions were surrendered when a new governor and new adjutant general took over in the wake of Ferguson’s impeachment, and only Tom Rawls bothered to renew. This is probably because the other Rawls received or resumed their commissions as Presidio County deputies and didn’t need them.
Hugh Fletcher wrote that the incident occurred in the summer. His son Tyler remembered his great grandmother telling him she was in class and was called out and told something terrible had happened to her father. He thought it was during the school term. For reasons I give below, I think they were both correct, and the incident happened in May of 1919.
Hugh told me that his grandfather borrowed a new holster from his nephew Jack, before the incident, and his gun stuck in his holster, making it impossible for him to draw his weapon. This explains the lopsided outcome of the gun battle. He also told me his grandfather’s interest in the woman in the café was not entirely professional. He thought his grandfather, single at the time, was sweet on one of the women who worked there. He asked his grandfather what happened to the men who committed this act of violence against him and was told that they “were taken care of by friends,” and wouldn’t elaborate.
On August 5, 1919 my grandfather, A.G. Beard, Charlie Craighead, and Jack Rawls were indicted by the Presidio County grand jury for “robbery with firearms, assault to murder . . . [and] threat against life and false imprisonment.” My grandfather had been honorably discharged from Jerry Gray’s Marfa-headquarted company of rangers in March 1919, and sometime thereafter he took a job as town marshal of Marfa. Charles Craighead, another former ranger, had a long and “colorful” career in Texas law enforcement. He was a son of a former Wilson Co. sheriff, brother to ranger Pat Craighead who lost a leg in the “San Benito shootout” in south Texas that took the lives of a deputy sheriff and ranger. Charles Craighead, shortly thereafter took the life of a Mexican suspect, for which he was indicted and acquitted on grounds of self-defense. In 1915 he was involved in the shootout with members of Chico Cano’s gang that took the lives of Eugene Hulen and Joe Sitter. As of May 21, 1919 he resigned a position as an inspector for the Texas Cattle Raisers Association, and the special ranger commission that went with it, to become a Presidio County constable. Jack Rawls was 21 years old, had recently married and become a father. He was the son of Tom Rawls, a prominent Presidio County rancher and county commissioner. His involvement in a violent escapade with two veteran law enforcement officers seems out of place unless, as I assume, it was directed against parties he blamed for his uncle’s wounds.
But I know very few facts about what caused these indictments to be issued, aside from what is written in the grand jury report. All of the files concerning it are missing from the Presidio County courthouse except a few entries in court minutes, which are summarized below. The incident obviously happened sometime prior to August 1919. The grand jury mentioned that crime, and “lewd women” were a problem in Presidio County. It also chastised local law enforcement officers for taking the law into their own hands, instead of reporting criminal activity to the grand jury. This remark suggests that the victims of the violence were not entirely upstanding citizens.
Beard family folklore suggests that A. G. Beard got in trouble for using too much force in shutting down a local business that my 100-year-old cousin has variously described as a “gyp joint” or a “house of ill repute”. The owners were influential and caused him to lose his job as marshal (the indictment is not mentioned). Could these assaults relate to the Anaya café?
There is one other tantalizing clue. In ranger force Special Order 21, which announced my grandfather and others were to be honorably discharged in March, they were specifically made eligible for future service should openings occur in the force. By April Gray’s company was again recruiting rangers, and it is likely my grandfather tried to re-enlist. I infer this because on May 24, 1919 Captain Gray wrote to his friend, Captain Roy Aldrich in Austin (who would need to approve any reenlistment) a cryptic letter, which said “This is on the Q.T. Don’t have beard [sic] put in my company until you see me personal. There has ben [sic] something doing out here.” After his signature Gray wrote “Destroy this don’t file it away.” I suspect the “something” Gray referred to was the incident that caused Beard, Rawls and Craighead to be indicted two months later.
In addition to the indictment, in August Beard, Craighead and other ex-rangers and law enforcement officials became suspects in a July 30th robbery of a Mexican payroll officer of $21,600, mainly in gold coins. No one was ever indicted for this robbery, but the suspects are all identified in internal [federal] bureau of investigation documents examined by historians Sadler and Harris. The other suspects included Sheriff Ira Cline, his brother Buford, prominent local rancher Jesse “Buck” Pool, ex-rangers Boone Oliphant, and Andy Barker (nephew of long time Presidio sheriff Dud Barker). The last three were all participants in the 1918 “Porvenir massacre”.
If Craighead and Beard did share in the proceeds of this robbery, they would need it for bail and lawyers. Charges were eventually dropped against Jack Rawls. Craighead spent part of this period in Hebbronville where his brother was by now sheriff. After lengthy delays he pled guilty, in 1921 to a charge of aggravated assault. The record does not disclose what sentence, if any, was imposed on him.
My grandfather A.G. Beard never stood trial. All we know for certain is that in early 1920 he was still living in Marfa and told the census taker that he was employed as a peace officer. But by the spring of 1922 we know he was working as security for an American oil company in Tampico, Mexico. It is probably not coincidental that the ex ranger captain under whom he served for two years, James Madison Fox, was also employed there. Fox resigned from the rangers in June, 1918 following the firing of five of his men for their actions at Porvenir. Fox held a variety of jobs until he returned to the rangers as a captain in the mid 1920s under the patronage of the newly elected Miriam Ferguson.
As noted by Hugh Fletcher, the injuries to Fletcher Rawls ended his career as a Big Bend rancher, but his brother and nephew continued to ranch there until the 1950s. Beard eventually returned to Texas, and in 1923 married my grandmother. He died in 1941 and is buried in Austin. Charlie Craighead resumed a career with the Cattle Raisers where he served many years. He died in Hebbronville in 1951. In the late 1950s the Texas Legislature funded a pension for rangers of their era and both Beard’s and Craighead’s widows received ranger pensions until they died.
Thanks for the update Monty. Unfortunately no microfilm exists of the Marfa New Era newspaper of those days since it burned in a fire sometime in the 1930's. The El Paso Public Library has microfilm and an excellent index of the El Paso Times which may contain some info about the shoot out. Newspaperarchive.com also has El Paso Times. Gj
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Our dear friend and colleague Gerald Raun passed away March 25, 2009 in Alpine, Texas. He will be greatly missed. Services are to be announced later. Gerald Raun was born July 14, 1932 in Maryville, Missouri. After living in Lincoln, Nebraska, San Francisco, California and Tulsa, Oklahoma his family moved to Odem, Texas, where he graduated from high school in 1949.
Gerald enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin in 1956 and received an M.S. in Zoology in 1958 and a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1961. His thesis was an ecological study of the terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates of Palmetto State Park, a moist, relict area in Central Texas. He was awarded a Welder Wildlife Foundation Fellowship and spent three years at the Welder Wildlife Refuge near Sinton, Texas, where he completed the fieldwork for his dissertation, a study of the population dynamics of the wood rat, Neotoma microus.
Gerald was appointed Curator of Zoology at the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, in 1960, where he served until accepting an appointment as Assistant Professor of Biology at North Texas University in Denton in 1967. He was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 1970, moved to Angelo State University in San Angelo as Professor and Head of the Department of Biology. He remained at Angelo State until 1978 when he resigned and entered private business.
He became involved in advertising, including positions with the San Angelo Standard Times and the Thrifty Nickel. He became publisher of the Devil’s River News in Sonora, Texas and in 1989 moved to Alpine as publisher of the Alpine Avalanche. He retired in 1993 and returned to research interests including Trans-Pecos cacti and the history of the Big Bend, particularly as affected by the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920.
Gerald served for almost ten years as Editor of the Texas Journal of Science and was a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the Texas Academy of Science. He held offices as Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Texas Herpetological Society. He was a member of the Board of Scientists, Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, the Advisory Council of the Center For Big Bend Studies, and also served on the Center’s Editorial Advisory Board. He was an adjunct Professor of Biology at Sul Ross State University and served on the Alpine City Council.
He authored two books, one book chapter, several monographs and over 50 scientific articles dealing with amphibians, reptiles and mammals of Texas, and more recently on cacti. He has also authored several historical articles, which have been published in the Journal of Big Bend Studies. In 1997, Raun completed an index for the Journal, and most recently he completed another index for the publication (volumes nine through nineteen) to be published later this year.
Condensed and edited from “Spotlight on Gerald and Dian Raun,” in La Vista de la Frontera—Newsletter of the Center for Big Bend Studies, Summer 1997, Sul Ross State University.
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