On the Courthouse Square

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Gonzales 2

There are several books and collections featuring the Courthouses of Texas.  But most of those focus on the courthouse structure itself.  Red finds that what is contained in the courthouse square (or grounds in some places) is much more interesting that the actual building.

In Jeff Davis County, there is the incredibly detailed miniature statue of Sgt. Manuel Gonzales – aka “Fort Davis’ One Man Army”.  His heroics in World War II are chronicled as well as his many honors.  Gonzales received about every possible citation other than the Congressional Medal of Honor including the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star.

Red is baffled by some of the items left in honor of Sgt. Gonzales and why this statue is so small.

Today in Texas History – July 19

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From the Annals of the Minor Outlaws – In 1878, Sam Bass was shot when his gang was scouting Round Rock for a planned robbery of the Williamson County Bank.  He was surprised by Texas Rangers who had been tipped off about the robbery by gang member Jim Murphy.   One story has it that the Rangers were holding Murphy’s father – who was ill and being denied treatment. Another claims that Murphy betrayed Bass for the reward money.  When Bass came into town, he was approached by Williamson County Deputy Sheriff A.W. Grimes who asked the gang to surrender their guns.  Grimes was shot and killed.  As Bass attempted to escape he was shot by Texas Ranger George Herold and then by Ranger Sergeant Richard Ware.  The next day Bass was found propped up against a tree and brought back to Round Rock.  He died two days later on his 27th birthday. In Texas, Bass was a largely unsuccessful criminal never making a big score but caused a great deal of panic and earned notoriety.  He had previously worked in a sawmill, as a cowboy, and as a freighter.   Legend has it that after squandering money earned on a trail drive, he recruited a gang and began robbing stagecoaches and railroads.

Round Rock now celebrates Sam Bass days and

Today in Texas History – July 18

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From the Annals of the Army – In 1917, construction was begun on Camp Bowie.  The U.S. Army base was named after  Jim Bowie.  The camp was located in the Arlington Heights neighborhood about three miles west of downtown Fort Worth and was established by the United States War Department as a training site for the Thirty-Sixth Infantry Division.  Including the rifle range and trench system, the Camp covered more than 2,100 acres.

Over 100,000 troops trained at Camp Bowie.  On April 11, 1918, the Thirty-sixth went on parade in Fort Worth.  The parade lasted  four hours and was attended by an estimated  225,000 spectators, likely making it the biggest parade in Fort Worth’s history. The Thirty-sixth left for France in July 1918, after which the camp was used as an infantry replacement and training facility.

After the Armistice on November 11, 1918, Camp Bowie was designated a demobilization center.  Once the demobilization was concluded, the Camp was closed on August 15, 1919. The only remaining vestige is in the name Camp Bowie Boulevard which runs through the site.  After the camp closed it was quickly converted to a residential area, as builders took advantage of utility hookups left by the army.

Quote for the Day

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“Let no one be mistaken Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised, and discarded.  It cannot be pacified or ignored for it will destroy a set of principles that has lifted more people out of poverty than any force in the history of the civilized world and that is the cause of conservatism.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, before he saw the light and the possibility of continuing to suck at the government teat as a fixture in a Trump regency.   Red wonders how yesterday’s cancer so quickly becomes the star to which Perry now hitches his wagon.

How Would a Secession Vote Go Today?

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In 1861, the brown counties voted to remain in the Union, the blue counties voted to leave the Union while the yellow counties had no returns. Via the Texas Almanac

After Brexit, Texas Secessionists are newly emboldened.  So how would a secessionist vote go today in Texas.  A 2009 Rasmussen poll puts support for secession at about 25%.  In 1861, delegates to the Secessionist Convention voted 166 to 8 in favor of leaving the Union.   Red guesses that secession would be overwhelmingly defeated today, but the hardcore secessionists are not simply going away.

Today in Texas History – July 7

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From the Annals of the Border Wars –  In 1842, Texas troops defeated a Mexican invasion at the battle of Lipantitlán. The battle was one of several that occurred during the early days of the Republic of Texas as Mexico attempted to reassert control.  The Mexican forces were commanded by Antonio Canales Rosillo. James Davis, adjutant general of the Army of the Republic of Texas, and Capt. Ewen Cameron led a mutinous and poorly contingent. Yet the disorganized Texans succeeded in repelling the incursion.

Paxton’s Pals Pay to Keep Politician out of Pokey

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“Friends” of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave him almost $330,000 to help pay for his legal defense against felony securities fraud charges, according to Paxton’s most recent filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.   Paxton’s personal financial statement establishes that he is funding a high-profile criminal defense team with the help of so-called friends and associates.  And not a single one of those friends and/or associates expects a single favor in return for helping keep Paxton out of the pokey.

 Paxton is using a loophole in the state ethics laws that allow state officials to keep gifts from people who are allegedly not seeking anything in return.  Under state bribery laws, elected officials are not allowed to receive gifts from people or entities subject to their authority.  But as attorney general, Paxton has authority over a wide range of legal issues and controls the state’s largest law department   Nonetheless,  Paxton sought an exception allowing “gifts from family members and those ‘independent’ of an officeholder’s ‘official status.’” In essence if this passes muster, Paxton will be allowed to tap a few rich folks for unlimited sums of cash to pay his attorneys based on the idea that none of these folks have an interest in getting anything in return because they are long time friends, buddies, pals and confidants of the state’s embattled top lawyer.
And Red has a bridge to sell you.

Today in Texas History – July 6

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From the Annals of Sugary Goodness –  In 1923, the Dr Pepper Company was officially incorporated in Dallas. Dr Pepper was first made in 1885 in Waco.  Wade B. Morrison, owner of Morrison’s Old Corner Drug, employed a pharmacist named Charles Courtice Alderton  who in addition to filling prescriptions served soft drinks to customers. Alderton’s experiments with combinations of fruit extracts and sweeteners produced one extremely popular flavor.   Morrison named the beverage after Dr. Charles T. Pepper, a physician and pharmacist for whom Morrison had worked in Rural Retreat, Virginia.

Red seldom drank anything else as a youth.  He still enjoys the occasional Diet Dr Pepper.

UT Baseball – A Model of Stability

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For Red’s lifetime, UT-Austin has had three Head Baseball Coaches.  Bibb Falk, Cliff Gustafson and Augie Garrido.   After UT reassigned 20 year veteran Garrido to other duties after failing to make the playoffs 3 out of the last 5 years, the School will have only its 5th baseball coach in the last 100 years.  Red guesses that if new coach David Pierce gets the average 25 year run for UT baseball coaches, he will consider himself well ahead of the game.

Pierce, most recently head coach at Tulane for two seasons, is a self-described “slow-talking Texan” who doesn’t yet have 200 total wins in a career spent mostly as an assistant and just five seasons as a head coach.

Pierce was introduced at a news conference on Thursday one day after being hired away from Tulane.  Pierce who has had stations in Texas high schools and at Rice remarked that taking over as the Longhorns’ coach at age 53 “a special day, a special journey.”

There will be pressure on Pierce to perform as the once-hot Longhorn baseball program now seems to be an afterthought on campus with dwindling fan interest.  A quick return to the College World Series would help. As his predecessor Garrido — the winningest coach in college baseball history — liked to say “Omaha is the standard” at Texas.