Opinions

By Bartee Haile

Disgruntled Democrats, rural rebels and a handful of breakaway Republicans cast their lot with the Greenbacks on Mar. 14, 1876 at the organizing convention of the Texas branch of the new third party.

The devastating depression triggered by the Panic of 1873 shook American society to its core. Out of this crisis arose the Greenback Labor Party with its catchy slogan “More Money, Cheaper Money.” Nothing ailed the crippled economy, the Greenbacks argued, that a massive influx of paper currency could not cure.

First among blue-collar workers in the industrial Northeast and then in the ranks of impoverished southern farmers, the mighty movement spread like wildfire. Within a matter of months, the upstart party challenged both Democrats and Republicans.

Seven thousand volunteer glider pilots were a vital part of the US Armed Forces during World War Two. Most of them were trained at South Plains Army Air Field in Lubbock.

“The gliders were a delivery method for groups of men or heavy artillery or equipment that couldn’t be dropped in by parachute. The advantage was that you could deliver them to one location. Paratroopers are really effective if you want to spread them out over a mile or so, but with gliders you could get them in a specific landing point.”

Sharon McCullar is curator of the Silent Wings Museum located near the Lubbock airport. The museum used to be in the metroplex but was relocated to Lubbock.

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by Bartee Haile

Two months after surviving a mid-air ordeal that earned him the Medal of Honor, Lt. “Red” Morgan flew the lead B-17 in the first bombing raid on Berlin on Mar. 7, 1944.

Born in 1914 at Vernon a stone’s throw south of the Red River, John Cary Morgan did most of his growing up in Amarillo. But he finished finish high school at New Mexico Military Institute at the insistence of his father, a prominent attorney.

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He’s kind to his wife when the market goes up

His children think that he’s neat.

The implement dealer sits by him in church And his banker waves on the street.

Salesmen treat him like he was a king The hired man asks for a raise.

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by Bartee Haile

In the eyes of Texas and the whole South, the Hero of San Jacinto failed a loyalty test on Feb. 28, 1854 by voting against passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill.

Negotiations with the Plains tribes, which concluded in the summer of 1853, opened 13 million acres north and south of the Kansas River to immediate settlement. When Congress convened in December, legislation was introduced for organizing the vast new region. By the time the bill reached the U.S. Senate, amendments had been added dividing the domain into the Kansas and Nebraska territories and, more importantly, leaving the question of slavery up to the future inhabitants. The second refinement effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, which for more than three decades had prevented the westward expansion of Dixie’s “peculiar institution.”

Dear Baxter,

As a fellow veterinarian, I am hoping you can help me. My wife Nancy has two cow dogs that will readily obey commands to sit and stay until they get near a cow. Then they chase the critter and can’t hear a word we say. It’s very obvious to me that they go deaf near livestock.

So, what’s your diagnosis? I’ve considered cow dander allergies, pour on irritation and ear infections to name a few. If possible, send a note or RX.

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By Bartee Haile

The Sheridans of Denton, Texas brought their fifth and final child into their modest home on Feb. 21, 1915 and gave the baby girl the name Clara Lou. Looking back on her formative years in the North Texas town, the self-described “tomboy” once recalled with unmistakable pride, “I can whistle through my fingers, bulldog a steer, light a fire with two sticks and shoot a pistol with fair accuracy.” She also played basketball well enough to make the women’s team at the local college. Not the usual skill set for one of the most glamorous actresses of Hollywood’s “golden age.”

By Baxter Black

I read somewhere that the average “practice life span” of a large animal vet is eight years. After they quit L.A. practice they go into small animal practice, government work, industry, university, research or some other less hazardous profession.

Every L.A. veterinarian you know can tell “war stories” that curl your hair! Its not surprising when you realize whenever the vet is called out to look at a bull, a horse or a heifer, the critter is sick or hurting. And when it’s not, the vet is gonna do something to it that will hurt or make it uncomfortable!

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by Bartee Haile

FIGHTIN’EST TEXAN FIGHTS HIS LAST BATTLE

When the news of Tom Green’s pending promotion to major general trickled down through the ranks on Feb. 18, 1864, the men of the Texas Cavalry Brigade gave their popular leader three rousing, heartfelt cheers.

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By Baxter Black

Nobody rides the Mountain top when Winter’s locked her jaws. The Mountain bears the brunt alone, his shoulders to the claws. She carves great gashes down his flank like butchers flensing sheep

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