Newsletters From 2000
16 Feb
Howdy Ya'll!
Hope Texas weather is cold and crisp right now. It's snowing here in Ireland as we write this. We'll box it up and send it over that way to you!
There's a new search engine on GTT! The search engine will allow you to search the web as well as GTT itself. This search engine is only available on our home page at present but in the coming days, will be added to more and more pages on the site.
Ever fancied being your_name@gonetotexas? Next week, all being well, we'll have details of how you can sign-up for a FREE web-based yourname@gonetotexas e-mail address.
Three quick questions to get your mental Texas memories going...
1. Who wrote "Texas, Our Texas?" (There are two authors.)
2. What's the pledge to the Texas flag?
3. What's the highest point in Texas?
If you know the answers to any or all of these, write in and let us know. You will be featured in next week's newsletter!
"Taking into consideration the scarsity of Tools we have done well in mounting and remounting Guns and other necessary work - If I were ordered to construct a new and effective Fortress on an economical plan I would suggest a diamond with two acute and two obtuse angles - with few men and Guns with a sufficient entrenchment all around such a Fortress with projecting redoubts and Bastions would command all points..."
From a letter written by Green B. Jameson to Henry Smith on 16 February 1836
Trivia Answers...
1. Gladys Yoakum and William J. Marsh
2. Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas one and indivisible
3. Guadlupe Peak
13 Aug
Howdy Ya'll,
Came across an interesting article last week in the Dallas Morning News and wanted to share it with you. We'll put this in two parts, one this week and one next week. Hope you enjoy these tidbits of Texas history as much as we do. If you come across any articles from the newspapers, please pass them along. We already have a few readers who do send us things.
We've got a couple of different discussions on the notice board if you'd like to join us. One is about the Alamo and if you think there are spirits of defenders who haunt it. A question was asked about the Devil's Backbone in Texas and what it is. Also the question has been asked if the Backbone is haunted. If you can help us out, please do.
Newsletter trivia... What Texas "monument" was poisoned a few years back when a man was upset over the loss of his girlfriend? Part of this landmark still exists in Austin. Also what was this monument famous for?
Have a good week!
An old development
Some think city's birthplace was on Cedar Springs site
08/05/2000
By Rick Klein / The Dallas Morning News
On a small patch of land a few miles north of downtown, Dallas' present and future shoot through the area's all-but-forgotten past.
The Dallas North Tollway runs through the heart of what was once Cedar Springs, a community with roots stretching back further than those of Dallas. Just footsteps from where tens of thousands of cars zip by each day is a site that some historians believe marks the true birthplace of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
"People don't realize how important this was," said Eliot Greene, a Dallas contractor who has studied the area's history. "It's critical in the development of the entire region."
Mr. Greene and several local history buffs think they've identified the site of a fort believed to have been built by Republic of Texas soldiers in early 1841 - several months before John Neely Bryan set up his far more famous hut in what would become downtown Dallas. Some historians believe the military fort was the first structure built by men of European descent in what is now the D-FW area.
But that information has never made it onto a historical marker, not to mention the history books. It's not just that this piece of Dallas trivia is largely overlooked in favor of the lore surrounding Bryan and his cabin; the real problem is that nobody knows for sure whether the fort existed.
"It's the lost Mayan temple of Dallas history," Mr. Greene said. "Texas history would love to know: Was the post built?"
Mr. Greene and some fellow amateur historians believe that it was, though it may not have been an imposing structure and it certainly wasn't a lasting one. Still, if it was constructed, the fort would have pre-dated Bryan's arrival as well as the construction of another military post in the fall of 1841 in what is now eastern Tarrant County.
"Maybe it's more of a footnote than anything else," said Michael Hazel, who teaches a local-history course at Southern Methodist University and edits a journal that focuses on Dallas-area history. "It's the sort of thing that would be interesting to be able to document."
To date, that documentation is decidedly incomplete. Historians do know that soldiers dispatched from Austin to chart a military road to the Red River for the fledgling Texas republic visited the area known as "The Cedar Springs" in 1840.
When Col. William G. Cooke and his men arrived at the Red River, he sent several soldiers back south to build a post in the Cedar Springs area. The colonel later told the Texas War Department that he established a permanent post "at the cedar bluffs, on Trinity River."
The area was probably attractive to the soldiers because of an abundance of cedar trees - valued for construction - and the fresh water that bubbles from the ground to this day, Mr. Greene said. He and his troops probably walked along the Trinity River and followed the natural springs that flourished just to the north, he said.
Thriving community
Those amenities encouraged the development of the community of Cedar Springs, which was founded in 1843 a few miles north of Dallas. While Cedar Springs' name today remains in use only in connection with the road that links downtown to Dallas Love Field, it was once a thriving community, healthy enough in fact to challenge Dallas in an election for the county seat in 1850.
Preston Trail - now Preston Road - was Cedar Springs' main thoroughfare, and two historical markers on opposite sides of the Tollway near Lemmon Avenue commemorate the settlement. Mr. Greene said he believes the community developed just east of the original fort - if, of course, there was a fort.
Historical evidence on the post is scattered and sketchy. Despite Col. Cooke's assertion that the fort had been built and manned, he never saw the structure himself. He simply ordered its construction and headed back to Austin.
An 1841 map of the area between Austin and the Red River showed just one man-made structure in what would become Dallas County: something called "Post on Trinity" in an area marked off as "Cedar Springs." (Dallas was literally not yet on the map.)
Still, the mapmaker probably was relying on secondary reports when he drew in the post, Mr. Greene said. The short-lived republic never formally garrisoned a fort in the area, though that may have been because Texas was strapped for resources at the time, he said.
(to be continued next week)
Trivia Answer...
The Treaty Oak
24 Sep
Howdy Ya'll,
Hope your week has gone smooth and you're ready for more information and trivia from us here at GTT.
Congratulations to Dorothy Lowe and Virginia Brown for correctly knowing the Mother of Texas was indeed Jane Long, wife of Dr. James Long. Way to go, ladies!
Newsletter trivia for this week...with the elections going on right now, we'll go for a presidential question. Which president was born in 1890 in Denison, Texas? Hope to hear from you on this one!
We got this "Ode To Texas" from Yellowrose and thought you might enjoy it as we did:
The devil wanted a place on earth
Sort of a summer home
A place to spend his vacation
Whenever he wanted to roam.
So he picked out Texas
A place both wretched and rough
Where the climate was to his liking
And the cowboys hardened and tough.
He dried up the streams in the canyons
And ordered no rain to fall
He dried up the lakes in the valleys
Then baked and scorched it all.
Then over his barren country
He transplanted shrubs from hell.
The cactus, thistle and prickly pear
The climate suited them well.
Now the home was much to his liking
But animal life, he had none.
So he created crawling creatures
That all mankind would shun.
First he made the rattlesnake
With it's forked poisonous tongue.
Taught it to strike and rattle
And how to swallow it's young.
Then he made scorpions and lizards
And the ugly old horned toad.
He placed spiders of every description
Under rocks by the side of the road.
Then he ordered the sun to shine hotter,
Hotter and hotter still.
Until even the cactus wilted
And the old horned lizard took ill.
Then he gazed on his earthly kingdom
As any creator would
He chuckled a little up his sleeve
And admitted that it was good.
Twas summer now and Satan lay
By a prickly pear to rest.
The sweat rolled off his swarthy brow
So he took off his coat and vest.
"By Golly," he finally panted,
"I did my job too well,
I'm going back to where I came from,
Texas is hotter than Hell."
Ain't it the truth!!
Have another good week and let us know what is happening in your part of the world.
1 Oct
Howdy Ya'll,
And a happy October to all of you. May there be a chill in the air wherever you are.
Congratulations to Calico Lace, Dorothy Lowe and Virginia Brown correctly guessed the answer to last week's newsletter trivia. The question was... What president was born in Denison, TX and they all said Dwight D. "I like Ike" Eisenhower. Way to go, ladies!
This week's trivia... What infamous moll was born on this day (October 1) in 1910? She and her partner would reek havoc in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas before their deaths in an ambush led by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. Let us hear from you!
Found this little article in the Houston Chronicle on Texas Rangers' badges. Thought we'd pass it along...
Old West collectors beware: Badges advertised as Rangers' likely aren't.
By KELLIE B. GORMLY
Associated Press
DALLAS -- After the Badland Rangers re-enact the adventures of the famed Texas Rangers, spectators often approach group leaders to show off their prized Ranger badges.
Some people say they paid several thousand dollars for a badge that a real Ranger supposedly wore, dating to the 1800s. Others have versions that look similar to the modern badge, an encircled star.
Unfortunately, most of the badges are fake. And illegal, to boot.
Informing the embarrassed, angry owners isn't easy, said Jim Ryan, leader of the Badland Rangers, a group sanctioned by the state to wear the frontier battalion badge during performances.
"They get a little hacked off sometimes because they paid big money for it," said Ryan, a resident of the South Texas town of Sabinal. "The only real Ranger badges we see are on the chests of the Rangers who come to visit us during our event."
Experts say Ranger badges abound, mostly in Internet auction Web sites, catalogs, pawn shops and gun shows -- and many are mere wannabes.
Buyers from other states or countries may end up disappointed. Texas buyers usually have no idea their purchases are not only fake but illegal.
"It's like telling someone, I'm sorry, you have a terminal disease," said Byron Johnson, director of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. "They're either not familiar with the law or they're not aware of how rare these things are."
A state law passed in 1989 prohibits buying, selling, trading, manufacturing or possessing Ranger badges within Texas -- if they look "deceptively similar" to the modern Ranger badge, which was designed in 1961.
The law allows a few exceptions, such as permitting people to keep their trinkets if they already had them when the law passed. Badges acquired under these circumstances, however, must be kept in the owners' homes "in a decorative state" and cannot be sold or traded.
The law also allows badges to be used for some dramatic presentations, like those of the Badland Rangers.
The only legal, commemorative badge is embedded in non-destructible plastic to prevent unauthorized use and is sold at the Waco museum, the official repository for the legendary lawmen. A state-authorized badge maker creates them from old Mexican coins, museum officials said.
Violations of the law are typically Class A misdemeanors. Impersonating a law enforcement officer can be either a misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, when the impersonation is intended to make someone submit to authority.
The experts note that few buyers intend to impersonate law enforcement officers. Most just want a symbolic trinket of the law enforcement agency that has carried an allure of prestige and mystery since it started in 1823.
"It's an extremely important and powerful pop culture image -- and people want things associated with the Texas Rangers," Johnson said.
Ryan agreed, adding that Old West junkies are often Ranger memorabilia collectors.
"I believe it's just the infatuation of people wanting to buy what they think are honest-to-goodness Ranger badges," he said.
Most vendors of the so-called antique Ranger badges falsely claim their product is either an actual officer's trinket or a replica of an authentic mold, Johnson said. He recently saw an advertisement for a historical badge made out of antique copper pennies -- and no known Ranger badge has been cast of that material.
Authentic antique Ranger badges do exist, Johnson said, but the odds of finding one are astronomically low. Most authentic antiques are in the museum or with the Rangers' families. There were only 36 Texas Rangers in 1935 -- the year the Rangers became a part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. During many periods of Ranger history, the lawmen did not even wear badges.
Museum officials inform Texas badge owners about the law, but take no action because they are not law enforcers. "Our interest is to prevent more people from spending money on something that's a fake," Johnson said.
Hope your week is healthy and prosperous.
Until next week...
Trivia Answer...
Bonnie Parker
19 Nov
Howdy Ya'll,
Hey, how about that election? Wonder when, or if, it will ever be decided?
Last newsletter we asked the question... Who was the dentist from Georgia that had a practice on New Elm and Market St. in Dallas? John Henry Holliday, known far and wide as Doc, was correctly answered by the following:
Billy "Clanton" Naylor
That Doctor was one John Henry Holliday, who was from Valdosta, not Atlanta. He was born in Griffin, Ga. which is now part of Atlanta, but the family moved to Valdosta before the war. He was graduated from the Philidelphia College of Dentestry in, I believe, 1872, and was diagnosed with incurable consumption (TB) and told that he had about 6 months to live. He was also told that if he would go "Out West" that the drier climate might prolong his life. Well, unknown to most folks back then, Dallas wasn't really "Out West" as far as climates go, so, Doc went to Dallas, where the climate wasn't really any different than Georgia. He did have an office on Elm, which is now called "Deep Ellum". His health did not improve, and he was coughing so much, that clients were afraid to let him do dental surgery on them, so, he started plying his other trade, gambling and drinking. Floating around in Texas, he ended up in Ft Griffin, "The Flats", right outside of what is Abeline. It is completely gone now. This is where he supposedly met and befriended Wyatt Earp.
The rest is history ...
Jerry Martin
The dentist is question is John H. Holliday D.D.S., who went on to become known as " Doc Holliday " the tubercular frontier gambler and gunfighter. Doc left Dallas suddenly, as the result of the killing, and wander out West to where he quickly developed his reputation. His friendship and business arraignments with Wyatt Earp & his brothers lead him to participate in the famous shoot out at the O K Corral.
Calico Lace
I'd say I needed a "Holiday" - but my teeth are just fine, thank you.
Also correct were Colonel Sir Harry Flashman and Carrla and James Wright. Thanks you all for writing in and giving us the tidbits.
This week's trivia... His first victim was killed when this Texan was only 15, later in life he would shoot a man for snoring too loud. His father was a Methodist minister, but alas, the son did not follow his footsteps...even after his killing started, he became a lawyer. Who was he?
Going to be in Texas for a holiday or taking a Thanksgiving-Christmas break? Here are a few events going on in the next week or two...
WALKWAY OF LIGHTS
Nov. 19-Jan. 2. Marble Falls. 830-693-4449. free. Stroll the shoreline of Lake Marble Falls on a self-guided walk through a holiday wonderland featuring more than 1 million twinkling lights on 125 sculptures.
WONDERLAND OF LIGHTS
Nov. 22-Dec. 30. Marshall. 903-935-7868. Entrance free; tours $5; skating $6. Opening ceremony 6 p.m. Nov. 22, downtown square in front of courthouse. Narrated bus tours and carriage tours leave nightly from downtown information center. Ice skating on downtown square daily.
UPTOWN HOLIDAY LIGHTING
Nov. 23. Houston. 713-621-2011. free. The 15th annual event will illuminate Houston's West Loop skyline with more than a half-million lights, an electric-light parade and fireworks choreographed to holiday music, plus a 40-foot singing Christmas tree, holiday entertainment and Santa. Parade route is along Post Oak Boulevard from Westheimer to Uptown Park Boulevard.
LONE STAR HOLIDAY RIVER PARADE AND RIVER WALK LIGHTING
Nov. 24. San Antonio. 210-207-6700. free.The annual event begins with a parade of decorated and illuminated floats; then the switch is thrown, and more than 100,000 lights form a canopy over the River Walk. Fee to watch from the River Walk.
CHRISTMAS HILL COUNTRY LIGHTING TRAIL
Nov. 24-Jan. 1. Blanco, Bulverde, Burnet, Canyon Lake, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, Goldthwaite, Johnson City, Llano, Marble Falls, Mason, Round Mountain. 830-997-8515.free. Millions of lights will make miles of memories for families that follow the Hill Country's Christmas Lighting Trail. Activities in each of the 12 communities include parades, Christmas-tree lightings, carriage rides and choral concerts.
GALVESTON HARBOR PARADE OF LIGHTS
Nov. 25. Galveston.Convention and Visitors Bureau, 409-763-6564. free. The fourth annual event will feature a colorful boat parade of lighted and decorated sail and power boats of all sizes sailing through Galveston Harbor from the Yacht Basin to Seawolf Parkway bridge, with viewing along Pier 21. The public can participate by riding on the Colonel paddlewheeler for $10.
Until next time ...
3 Dec
Howdy Ya'll,
Welcome to another week of Gone To Texas. Hope your Thanksgiving was good and you got your fill of turkey until Christmas.
Our last trivia asked... His first victim was killed when this Texan was only 15, later in life he would shoot a man for snoring too loud. His father was a Methodist minister, but alas, the son did not follow his footsteps...even after his killing started, he became a lawyer. Who was he?
And we had a great response of correct answers!
Billy Clanton Naylor
John Wesley Hardin, who else??? He practiced Law at El Paso and was shot in the back of the head and it exited out his eyeball, in 1895. A friend of mine has one of his law business cards.
Calico Lace
John Wesley Hardin. Think his daddy named him after one of the founders of the Methodists?
Red Lankford
Answer to this weeks trivia is John Wesley Hardin. My wife is a descendent of the Hardins as she was a Hardin before our marriage.
Also Jerry Martin and Colonel Sir Harry Flashman sent in their correct responses of ol' Wes Hardin.
This week's question... A remarkable gunman, a flamboyant dresser, he died in San Antonio with Ben Thompson at the Vaudeville Variety Theater in March 1884, the result of an ambush. His ranch was near the border town of Eagle Pass. Who was this gunman born in Collin County, TX in 1854? Write us and let us know!
Now for a lighter note. We received this from Carrla and James Wright. In view of what is happening to the presidential election, we thought it appropriate to reprint it here...
"Spinning Yarns"
Tipper Gore, an amateur genealogical researcher, discovered that her husband's great-great uncle, Gunther Gore, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Tennessee in 1889. The only known photograph of Gunther shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription:
"Gunther Gore; horse thief, sent to Tennessee Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Tennessee Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889."
After letting Al Gore and his staff of professional image consultants peruse the findings, they decided to crop Gunther's picture, scan it in as an enlarged image, and edited it with image processing software so that all that's seen is a head shot. The accompanying biographical sketch was sent to the Associated Press as follows:
"Gunther Gore was a famous rancher in early Tennessee history. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Tennessee railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Gunther passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."
Have a good week and let us hear from you.
10 Dec
Howdy Ya'll,
Christmas is fast approaching...fifteen days and counting.
We had a few people answer correctly last week's trivia question... A remarkable gunman, a flamboyant dresser, he died in San Antonio with Ben Thompson at the Vaudeville Variety Theater in March 1884, the result of an ambush. His ranch was near the border town of Eagle Pass. Who was this gunman born in Collin County, TX in 1854?
Ramblin' Rose
On the road that lead to his ranch he posted a sign reading "THIS IS KING FISHER'S ROAD. TAKE THE OTHER ONE." Evidently somewhat of a wit, he once said, "Fair play is a jewel, but I don't care for jewelry." John King Fisher was the author of the above words. One of the more colorful outlaws of the old west, who made his home in Eagle Pass, TX.
Jerry Martin
Who else but the old Rascal ...King Fisher.
And we also had Col. Sir Harry Flashman write and correctly answer the question. Thanks to all who wrote in.
This week's question... He shot Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, killing him with one of the luckiest shots in history. By the time he was 36, his kidneys were failing and he knew he was dying. he bought a grave in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth for $20 and is buried there. Who was this short gunfighter? Let us hear from you!
And leaving you with this bit of Christmas information from Kerrville...
History of holidays shown in miniatures KERRVILLE -- From pagan to Christian holidays, the evolution of winter celebrations has been painstakingly re-created in a series of eight miniature exhibits by Hunt artist Dolores L. Petersen.
Petersen said she created the exhibit, titled The Many Ways of Christmas, because she was "appalled by the lack of spirituality in the holiday season."
The display shows how the Christian meaning of Christmas has become hidden under layers of commercialism.
Petersen worked on the eight miniature scenes for six years, beginning with a celebration of ancient pagan Sumerians. With help from her husband, Tom, Petersen made almost everything in the scenes, including the models, backdrops and accessories.
Each miniature was carefully researched to ensure the historical accuracy of the decor, celebration, costumes and beliefs.
The exhibit is shown at the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center in the old post office building located at 228 Earl Garrett. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Do you have a Christmas-related event going on where you are right now? Let us know by posting it on the discussion board or write to us.
Have a great week and get that shopping done!
19 Dec
Howdy Ya'll and a very Merry Christmas to you!
Seems like Christmas gets here quicker and quicker every year, but just ask an eight year old and they'll tell you it takes forever.
Last week's trivia question was... He shot Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, killing him with one of the luckiest shots in history. By the time he was 36, his kidneys were failing and he knew he was dying. He bought a grave in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth for $20 and is buried there. Who was this short gunfighter?
The answer, of course, was Luke Short. We received these words of information last week...
Phyllis Eccleston
The answer to this week's question is Luke Short. In another famous gunfight, Short killed Charlie Storms on the streets of Tombstone, after Bat Masterson's attempts to intervene between the two men were unsuccessful. Short died (of "dropsy," according to contemporary accounts) in Geuda, Kansas. Ironically, in Fort Worth's Oakwood Cemetery, his grave and Courtright's are only a stone's throw apart.
Colonel Sir Harry Flashman
That Gentleman Lawman/Gambler/Pistolero Luke Short!
Virginia Brown
Luke Short shot Jim Courtright in front of the White Elephant Saloon. They are buried within spitten distance of each other in Oakwood Cemetery.
Thank you all so much for sending all this in. We appreciate the time you take to write to us!
Now for this week's question... Pushing sixty when he became the "Law West of the Pecos," he usually ended his sentencing with "...and may God have mercy on your souls." Who was this lawman who was infatuated with the girl "in his wallet"? Let us hear from you!
This will be our last newsletter for the year 2000. We're taking the holidays off to rest and recuperate. Also we have heard back from people about sending in pictures of Christmas lights. If you have any, please send them. We'd love to share them with folks here in Northern Ireland who don't decorate the good ol' American way!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We leave you with this picture sent to us by Calico Lace. If you go out for New Year's Eve, you might consider this as your designated driver!
Joni and Kevin
Texasrose and Texasrogue
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