Opinions

Susan and I were invited to a fund raising event for the Boys and Girls Club of Brown County. It was at the 3 Springs Ranch near the community of Zephyr. It was overcast when we left on a Saturday morning and on the way down the highways were lined with gold wildflowers that stretched across the pastures almost to infinity, creating a glorious sight. The state has had the most impressive wildflower display all spring.

I’ve always enjoyed Zephyr. Long ago the word apparently was used to describe a gentle west wind. When some sarcastic surveyors were in the area and were caught in a blizzard they named the place Zephyr.

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This Week In Texas History

Max was a birthday shy of his teens, when he decided apparently on impulse to run away from home and make a profession out of riding the ponies. Author Clay Coppedge came up with the explanation Max offered many years later:

“It was a hot day, and I was barefooted. Suddenly the urge hit me. I had to go with the horses. So, clad in blue jeans and without a word to my parents, I climbed aboard a freight car with the horses and was off to Baltimore.”

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In rural America, farmers and “rural lifestylers” are often neighbors. Seeking a place to better raise their children, to retire in peace, or to escape the continuing anxiety of the city, they move to the country and build a house on a 2-acre plot.

A wire fence separates them from a grass pasture or corn field. As the ‘stylers grow accustomed to the habits and chores around the neighboring farm, they sometimes can be helpful. But unfortunately, their efforts can sometimes turn awry!

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By the end of May 1837, the demobilized majority of the Texas Army was either headed for home or looking for work in the Lone Star Republic, much to the dismay of a reckless general who wanted to fight another round with Mexico.

The swift victory at San Jacinto robbed hundreds of American volunteers of their share of the glory. They had not come all the way to Texas to toast other heroes and stubbornly stuck around in the hope of getting in a few licks of their own.

In the fervent belief that an army was a terrible thing to waste, Felix Huston lobbied loud and long for taking the war to the Mexicans. Since his bellicose rhetoric was music to the ears of the disappointed latecomers, the ambitious adventurer became their unofficial spokesman.

A medical doctor friend of mine was recounting his experiences in Africa as a volunteer for a church missionary program. He said it was very satisfying for the soul but his biggest problem was communicating with the patients. He gave me an odd look and said it gave him a begrudging respect for veterinarians.

Several ago I made a trip to Australia. Grand folks, hospitable and definitely livestock people. However, it did take me several days to get used to the language. It’s like you’re talkin’ Spanish to Italians...they sound so much alike, you actually think you’re communicating!

A cowboy is the way he is because he works with stock. He’s learned it’s best to ease along To find the rhythm in their song And not to fret if days are long ‘cause cows don’t punch a clock.

That separates him from the crowd that keeps a job in town That stack the boxes all in rows Or bolt the knobs on radios But when the evening whistle blows They lay the hammer down.

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Tumbleweed Part Owner of Texas

Harlingen has been recognized as one of the most affordable cities in the United States.

“That’s one of the attractions because the dollar does go a lot further here,” says Cheryl LaBerge, who formerly worked for the city of Harlingen as downtown coordinator and now conducts walking tours of downtown Harlingen. “Our climate is a big part of the reason that people are attracted here. You know Harlingen, we like to say, is the tropical playground of Texas because you can do so many things in the great outdoors year round: birding, golfing, fishing, you name it.”

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Even as he issued an order on May 25, 1865 for all county sheriffs to protect state and Confederate property, Gov. Pendleton Murrah feared there was no stopping looting in the post-Civil War chaos.

When news of Robert E. Lee’s surrender reached eastern Texas by word of mouth in late April 1865, soldiers started to desert in droves. Gen. Magruder, the Galveston commander, reported on the 29th that scores of demoralized troops were disappearing every night.

The evacuation of the island on May 21 set off an unruly stampede as the last traces of military discipline evaporated. Hundreds of soldiers, most carrying weapons, streamed inland in an ugly mood.

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This Week In Texas History

On May 16, 1864, Granbury’s Texas Brigade fought one of many rearguard actions to protect the Confederate withdrawal to Atlanta.

A key component of the famous Confederate contingent was the Waco Guards. Like fellow secessionists throughout Texas and the South, the fighting men of Waco went off to war in a close-knit company of blood kin, friends and neighbors.

Their founder and leader was 30 year old Hiram Bronson Granbury. Since coming to the Central Texas town ten years earlier, the Mississippian had been admitted to the bar and elected to the local bench. A photograph taken on the eve of the Civil War shows Judge Granbury’s two most prominent features: a shock of thick, unruly hair and the piercing eyes of an intense young man.

Tumbleweed

The Texas Mountain County has had one of its most beautiful blooming seasons. Bluebonnets started showing in January. The ocotillo was bright red. The prickly pear came later but showed off its yellows, pinks and purples. I was there in mid-April, just past the height of the bloom, but pale bluebonnets almost the color of lilac lined the highway from Fort Stockton to Marathon.

I spent Tuesday night in the historic Gage hotel. Before dinner I toured the Gage Gardens, a botanical masterpiece in a dry country. Wednesday morning I saw the whimsical Eve’s Garden, a bed and breakfast. Next I visited with Danny Self, who has the Marathon Motel.