A Six Month Journey in Texas
I realized yesterday that almost six months have passed since we sent y’all and “out and about in Texas” update. After I wrote down every place I’ve been since the January kick-off of the Ranger Bicentennial, I realized why I haven’t written one — I haven’t been able to sit still long enough to do it!
This will be long but I promise it’s dotted with photographs and finishes strong. If you are the impatient type, you can skip to the bottom for the good news and the battle flag. For those of you who like to read these things…on we go!
January marked the birthday of my dear friend and esteemed Trust board member, Dr. Steve Hardin. The most talented military illustrator alive, Gary Zaboly, has illustrated Steve’s excellent books but had never drawn Steve. I sought to remedy that as aa birthday surprise.
Zaboly envisioned an 1830s Hardin, surrounded by vignettes of his pop culture influences. This was the result. How many of these gentlemen (and monsters) do you recognize?
To his credit, Zaboly made sure that I had the artwork in hand before Steve’s big day. Problem was I wouldn’t see the birthday boy until February. So I had to keep the secret and keep the artwork safe for weeks, then transport it to Dallas where I’d see Hardin. More on that in a bit!
I found myself in front of the camera at the end of January, recording a video about the assault trial of Sam Houston’s wife. Since we were in the studio anyway, we recorded a short video about the anti-Ranger scholars the same day. If variety is the spice of life, my life is muy picante!
I took the video footage home for editing and got to work, at the same time doing the research for what would become a 90-minute video exploring the anti-Ranger claims. That was researched, written, and recorded for release on February 20. If you’re not among the thousands of folks who have watched it, watch it here when you have a spare hour and a half!
DID YOU KNOW that for every minute of finished video you see on your screen, fifteen to sixty minutes of editing goes on behind the scenes?
We released the full video about the anti-Ranger folks, then I hit the road for Dallas for the Dallas Historical Society’s Texas History Symposium. Dr. Hardin was presenting on the Runaway Scrape and I had a meeting with board/staff of the Society. DHS generously invited us to attend their evening gala, in the Great Hall at Hall of State.
Dr. Hardin and I are pictured here with David Lee, Director of Education with the Dallas Historical Society. He’s a smart man with a passion for history and a heartfelt enthusiasm for education. I left Dallas determined to foster a fine, lasting friendship with our friends at Hall of State. I am pleased to report that, as of this writing, in June, they’re still speaking to me.
Speaking of Hall of State — guess where you’ll find the grandest diorama of the Alamo during the Battle. Yep. Dallas! I kid you not. In the South Texas Room at Hall of State. Nearly 350 square feet of it. Every figure was handpainted, including the ill fated Alamo cat.
From Dallas, Corpus Christi is a mere seven hour drive. After presenting Dr. Hardin with his belated Zaboly birthday illustration, I started that drive and arrived alive. Back at home, I unpacked from Dallas and packed for something completely different. The itinerary for the week: Austin, El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi.
Little did I know how much the events of this week would busy my hands for the several months. And so it began…
Stop #1: Austin.
Purpose: Texas Public Policy Foundation.
On Texas Independence Day, I received recognition on behalf of the Trust at TPPF’s Texas Policy Summit for digitizing Papers of the Texas Revolution. My thirty seconds in the sun followed a stirring reading of the Declaration of Independence. I had an opportunity to chat with our new Land Commissioner, Dawn Buckingham at dinner, then scooted for the airport in a Central Texas thunderstorm to catch the last flight to El Paso.
The late hour of my flight and the storm created ideal conditions for hurry-up-and-wait. Only one TSA checkpoint was open and may as well have been on the moon. After passing inspection, I headed for my gate. Correction: I tried to head to my gate. The weather was messing with arrivals, so my departure gate changed eight times. I’d walk one way, then my phone would light up. Gate change! I’d walk the other way. Gate change! Eventually I ended up way down yonder at Gate 28 where I’d wait another hour, nursing a suspicion that I’d worn a blister on my heel.
You know those rides at the carnival that would be fun if they didn’t engender some nausea or make you pray aloud that all of the bolts were tightened that morning? My flight was like that. But the plane touched down in El Paso just after 1 a.m. Cue Marty Robbins…
Stop #2: El Paso.
Purpose: TSHA Annual Meeting.
Yes, I have been the most vocal critic of their Chief Historian for two years and yes, the academic sessions schedule at the annual meeting reads like a souvenir program from the Oppression Olympics. But I attend to see friends and to be seen by foes. Beats the heck out of putting criticism out there, then hiding behind a keyboard!
This year’s history sessions were the same as those of the last ten years. They were the monophonic cantillation of the academic class — oppression, oppression, oppression — intoned by the usual suspects. But this year, the leadership was different. In late 2022, the Houston history philanthropist J. P. Bryan, had been voted in as Executive Director of TSHA.
Mind you, I didn’t expect a change in tone of the annual meeting because of Mr. Bryan’s leadership, but I visited with friends about their hopes for changes on the horizon. After browsing the silent auction books, I attended the business meeting of the Association on March 3. It was business as usual until it was time to vote for a board nominee.
Y’all know by now what happened next…all hell broke loose. If you don’t know what went down, never fear! Get all caught up here.
I sketched out an article on the business meeting drama in my head the next morning, on the ride from El Paso to San Antonio. At a stop to fill our tank, we bumped into the always-cheerful ladies behind the handsomest magazine in the state, Authentic Texas. Margaret and Tammie manage to be everywhere at once and I love them for it.
From El Paso, Dr. Hardin and I were bound for the Alamo. There was remembering to be done.
Stop #3: San Antonio.
Purpose: Remembering.
March 5 was a day of rest, relatively speaking. The new Ralston Family Collections Center at the Alamo was finally open and we were keen to take a peek. First things first, though. Dr. Hardin and I made a pilgrimage to the oldest eatery in San Antonio where they pour the finest root beer in all the land: Schilo’s.
Fueled by schnitzel, sauerkraut and root beer, we maneuvered across the crowded Plaza. I had attended the groundbreaking for the Collections Center in 2021. The shiny official shovel hangs in my office as a memento of the occasion. I saw it from above in various stages of build-out from rooms at the Emily Morgan. But now I was seeing it in its completed state, locked and loaded, receiving visitors during High Holy Days.
It is a tasteful and modern two-story affair. Artifacts from the Collins and Yena collections are cleanly displayed, awaiting their move to a permanent home across the street. The Collections Center affords the Alamo an opportunity to display some of its treasures while the larger museum is being constructed, after which time the Collections Center will be used for education and traveling exhibits.
March 6 was a day of Texan fellowship and remembrance, followed by a Trust board meeting at the Emily Morgan. Before we departed, we took a moment to remember two special people who have shown their commitment to the mission of Texas History Trust since the day we launched.
Every month, the mailman brings us a sweet card. Written inside the card are personal updates and words of heartwarming encouragement from a USAF veteran and his spitfire wife. That card brings love and a check that will just about cover our digital Texas history library hosting for the month.
I had their most recent correspondence in my bag during this exhausting trip. It reminded me at every turn that everything we do is for Paul and Carol, for their kids and grandkids…for every Texas family like them who seek to preserve Texas history. They are the reason we started a nonprofit in the first place. We snapped a photo on March 6 to let them know they were part of our remembrances. If you’ve lent your support to the Trust, you were there, too.
Stops #4 & #5: Austin and Corpus Christi.
Purpose: Taking the long way home.
With the bulk of the long distance travel behind me, I had only to hitch a ride with Dr. Hardin from San Antonio back to my car in Austin, then drive from Central Texas back to the coast. Corpus to Austin to El Paso to San Antonio to Austin to Corpus in less than a week…yikes! There’s not a minute of it that I’d have missed, but some parts would have been more enjoyable if I had a body double.
The most immediate need back home in Corpus was to get a conversation started with the public about what happened to TSHA in El Paso. Their board was out of joint and the organization was out of compliance with its bylaws. They receive taxpayer money, which compounded matters. I didn’t know what to do about that, but knew I needed to wonder aloud about it and get other Texans wondering, too. I got an article together. That article generated articles from other outlets. Now we had a conversation going!
In mid-March, Mark had a speaking engagement at the Corpus Christi Museum. Sporting the most G. Gordon Liddy mustache anyone has worn since the Nixon administration, Mark showed how Texas was represented to the world in maps and in the 19th century writings of Sweet and Knox.
Fun Fact: when I was a kid, I participated in fashion shows and beauty pageants on that very same stage. Every time I’m in the Museum, all I can think of is how much I hated mascara (still do!) and how uncomfortable I felt in front of the crowd (still do!) There is video of the trainwreck that was my childhood modeling career, such as it was. I have the only copy of that video and I ain’t sharing!
Liddy ‘Stache Update: As of the time of writing, the mustache is gone. That chunky caterpillar on Mark’s upper lip didn’t jive with the Texas heat, I’m guessing.
While the conversation grew about the TSHA debacle, I researched two Texas stories that would become videos. Disparate subjects again. This time, I prepared myself to talk about Dr. Ashbel Smith eating black vomit in 1839 and the young lady who would come to be known as the Buda Flapper Bandit nearly a century later.
A note on costuming: it seemed like a good idea at the time! Much less so during the editing process.
There were just enough hours in the few days at home edit the video footage before the road called again. The call came from Austin again.
The Texas State Library and Archives hosted a reception to celebrate a lobby exhibit on the first century of Texas governors, their families and lives. Governor Abbott’s wife, Cecilia, presented ably as did representatives of the Governor’s Mansion. I saw some old friends. I saw some friends who are old (you know who you are!) and made a couple of new ones.
When the festivities were over, the spring air was cool and the sun was setting on the Capitol. Evenings such as this paper over the general unpleasantness of Austin.
The following day, we had a Texas History Trust planning meeting. Hours of brainstorming about what we intend to achieve, how we’ll raise the money to do the most for Texas, and how to raise awareness of the Trust. I learned much from/about my fellow board members and I drank enough coffee for four people.
March 25th was a big day for the ladies at DRT…the grand opening of their long-awaited Republic of Texas History Center! The facility will be the premiere resource for early Texas genealogy research and offer two public-facing exhibit spaces, one of which will educate the kiddos about Texas history.
What a happy thing to see the event so well attended by generations of DRT. Daughters, daughters of Daughters, and even a few Sons. Ken Raney (SRT) acted as emcee and provided a sword with excellent historical provenance for the ladies to use to cut the official ribbon. What a guy! After the official ceremonies ended, I was blessed with a big hug from Martha Fleitas — gracious Texas lady, history maven, my Other Mother. (We are standing on her handiwork in the photo below!)
Some lineage societies are simply that: fellowship clubs for people who meet certain DNA requirements. The Daughters, however, bear the special burden of promoting and preserving the history of early Texas. They are stewards of historic buildings, cemeteries, and archives. They provide educational materials to Texas public schools. And they provide these gifts to all Texans, with or without that Republic DNA. We hope the beautiful new History Center serves them well as they serve the people of Texas.
I hadn’t spent many days in Corpus in weeks and wouldn’t be there for much of April. Ideal time for an office move, right?
Yep. The fifth floor suite that housed our history gallery for five years would no longer be ours. The building sold and the new owners intended to turn our top floor offices into apartments. So we moved. The research library, production tables, framed maps, map chest, desks, computers, lobby, large format printers, the video studio…pared down and moved. In a hurry.
We stayed in the same building, though. That made it all much easier, but no less sad.
The move brings us to the beginning of April in our timeline. The Trust was holding an event in Dallas on April 08. We began moving offices on April 01. When name badges and programs need printing but computers aren’t set up…that’s top notch event planning. When you have to transport half a video studio to Dallas, shouldn’t the pieces be scattered across several boxes in Corpus? When a big task requires your undivided attention, shouldn’t you be distracted with a move? Of course! Isn’t that how everyone does these things?
We were a week away from our first public event and my office was boxed up!
The event was an Easter weekend celebration of Papers of the Texas Revolution and our new digital edition of it. This invaluable resource, out of print since the 1970s, was finally getting a new lease on life and we wanted to celebrate in style. Dallas Historical Society again showed their commitment to all Texas history by helping us throw a world-class reception at Hall of State.
Some of you drove in from all over Texas to savor this Texas history moment with us. You may spy yourself in the teaser video below. God bless all of you who were there. For those of you who missed it, you may view the full presentations that Dr. Hardin, Dr. McCaslin, and I delivered on April 08 from this page.
With our big day in the rearview mirror, I had some breathing room in my head and a low stress event to look forward to. On April 15, we welcomed the board of directors of the Texas Navy Association to town for their quarterly meeting. Mark and I are Admirals in the Texas Navy (Zavala Squadron) so it only seemed right that I act as ambassador for the guys and gals of the TNA board.
I arranged for the meeting attendees and other TNA members to meet in the Ada Wilson House on Ocean Drive. You may know it as the house Farrah Fawcett once lived in or “that castle-looking house” you’ve driven by a hundred times. I’m a native of the Coastal Bend, but this was the first time I’d ever seen the inside of that home. A good time was had by all and we sold a ton of TNA merch to benefit the Association.
A week at home base allowed me to rest and recharge again for the road.
In Austin, on April 27, I sat in on the Texas Historical Commission’s Historic Sites Committee meeting. I was following up on our December video about radical political books being sold at sites run by THC in Brazoria County. The issue was addressed at the meeting, albeit in an inconclusive way. Although progress had been made, I put it on my list to follow up again. That’s the only way these things get done.
Next mission: stay awake and get to Houston for the San Jacinto Symposium. Check in to the hotel, quick-change in 15 minutes and head to the TSHA Patron’s Dinner at the Bayou Club.
In the midst of all the travel and activity between March 3 and this day, April 28, the conversation about the board imbalance at TSHA had continued to grow. I had, by way of a records request, learned that TSHA’s Chief Historian, Walter Buenger, is still drawing $180k per year though his contract had expired in the Fall of 2022. We circulated a petition to have him evaluated by the Executive Director, Mr. J.P. Bryan.
At the Bayou Club dinner, which some of you attended with us, I was asked to introduce Mr. Bryan before his speech about Tejanos in the Texas Revolution. I put my taco down and went to the podium, trying to sort out what I might say. I needn’t have worried. My dysfunctional relationship with microphones being what it is, nobody could hear me! Mr. Bryan fared better at the mic, which was what truly mattered. I didn’t mention the Chief Historian petition to him. I wanted to package up all the signatures and send it to him when we were finished.
The next morning, Mark, Dr. Hardin and I drove out to Pasadena for the San Jacinto Symposium. That was on Friday, April 29. I returned home on April 30 and got ready for the work week ahead.
The current President of TSHA, Nancy Baker Jones, had called an emergency board meeting for May 1, presumably to have the academic-dominated board vote to not just fire J. P. Bryan as Executive Director, but to do away with that position entirely. Not only was the board composition in violation of the bylaws, but the actions they were attempting to take would further violate the bylaws.
I was up early on the morning of the 1st, to get some work done before the phone started ringing after lunch with news of the meeting’s outcome. Imagine my surprise when the phone started ringing not long after the meeting was to have started. Seems Mr. Bryan sought a temporary restraining order to keep the illegitimate board from meeting and a judge had signed it an hour before the meeting was to start. President Jones and the other board members were served notice by the court via email, just as the meeting was convening.
HOLY CROW! As soon as the pertinent documents were available on the court portal, I downloaded and read them, then put it together in an article to update y’all. This was a big deal.
I’ll repeat: This was a big deal. Why? Because other than our exposing the inane statements of TSHA’s Chief Historian for two years, nobody had challenged the academics. Now they were being told that the bylaws of an organization are not mere suggestions, open to academic interpretation—they mean what they mean.
A hearing was set for May 12. We went to Galveston. There was no hearing. A continuance was granted. The new date was May 19. Then May 30.
The last continuance freed me up to attend the retirement ceremony of my friend, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, from the Marine Corps after 29 years of service as an aviator. Travis is the son of former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, also a retired USMC aviator.
The ceremony took place on the Lexington and I promise you there was not a dry eye in the place. Travis and his family are a credit to Texas, and to military life generally. It was an honor to be included in his transfer to humdrum of civilian life.
On May 30, the TSHA hearing took place in Galveston. The judge agreed that the board is not in compliance with its bylaws and that the organization would not be harmed if he granted an injunction to keep them from acting before the case goes to trial.
The trial date has been set for September 11 in 10th District Court in Galveston, pending the results of a change of venue hearing in August. If the trial is moved, it will move to Austin, but the Galveston judge’s decision will go with us no matter where the trial is held. (Look for a separate article on how the academic historians have melted down since the hearing.)
And finally, a special flag.
One of the Trust’s founding donors had a battle flag made for the Trust! He and his wife came to Corpus to present us with it on Flag Day. Can you believe someone would do such a thing? Isn’t it handsome? He said he chose “Texas Volunteers” instead of our logo on the field of blue to represent each and every one of you marching next to us in defense of honest history.
So that’s where we’ve been. Every mile on the road…every meeting…every research hour…every article…every video…is 100% funded by donations from generous Texans who care about history. If you fit that description and want to keep us on the road, doing the most for Texas, donate HERE.
God & Texas, y’all!
