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Lone
Star Diary - Texas History Columns |
The
Adventures of Spencer Houston Jack 10-6-09
Students and researchers of
Texas history are inundated with information about the heroes of the Texas Revolution.
But more often than not, the history books don’t tell us much about ordinary soldiers
who also served Texas in the cause of freedom. One such man was Spencer Houston
Jack... Texas
outlaw Sam Bass inspired tall tales 8-24-09
He was only 27 years old when
he met his maker, but during his short life he became the subject of cowboy songs
and tall tales which were told around many a campfire in Texas...Early
Cattlemen saved Texas from financial ruin 7-10-09
After the Civil War,
Texas and the rest of the South were in a bad economic situation. The war had
drained the resources of the defeated states and when the soldiers returned home,
they found it extremely hard to make a living. But Texas had an untapped resource
roaming wild on the open range – longhorn cattle provided an industry that grew
to become the largest in the state. Hallettsville
was booming in the early 1900s 3-17-09
With the construction of a new light
system in the summer of 1900, Hallettsville started a nine-year run of development
that included the construction of new buildings, the beginning of new businesses,
and renovations to existing structures... Hazel's
Whip 2-13-09
I came across several articles
in the old Hallettsville Herald that I found to be very interesting, if not downright
hilarious... Recollections
of a Mier Expedition Survivor 1-18-09
Pearl
Harbor attack teaches a valuable lesson 12-11-08The
story of Emil Kreklau's self-propelled fan 11-1-08Terrible
Memories of Hurricane Carla 10-13-08One
saloon for every editor in old Hallettsville 8-29-08All
Veterans Should Be Honored 8-8-08Former
slave recalls memories of old Lavaca County 7-7-08Longhorn
Branded Murder 1889 6-2-08
The
life and times of F.W. Neuhaus 5-8-08Warrior’s
Weekend at Port O’Connor, Texas 4-10-08The
adventures of John Himes Livergood 3-20-08Black
Cowboys 2-3-08Mystery
Creatures 12-24-07A
time to honor our military veterans 11-9-07Is
Jesse James really in that Missouri grave? 10-4-07Old
Tunes Bring Back Memories 8-8-07Deaf
Smith - Eyes of the Texas Army 7-5-07Remembering
the Bastrop Chronicler 5-19-07
John Holmes
Jenkins
Letters
from the Alamo 3-27-07Yoakum's
Soda-Pop War 1-24-07It's
a Wonderful Life 12-6-06"The
Grand Old Lady On The Square" Lavaca County Courthouse 10-18-06The
Demise of Bad Man Buckley 9-1-06
During the days of early Texas, there
were many a scoundrel packing guns and causing panic and mayhem amongst the town
folk. Hallettsville had one of the worst of these villains..A
True Texas Woman 7-20-06The
Most Distinguished Tramp 6-21-06Murder
of Local Doctor During Reconstruction 5-22-06The
Half-breed Savage 4-20-06
Quanah ParkerThe
First Shot May Have Been Second 3-18-06
'Come and Take It' and the Battle
of Velasco
Texas
Rangers and the Battle of Plum Creek 2-19-06The
Old Iron Bridges of Lavaca County 1-19-06Christmas
is a special time 12-20-05Hallettsville
Photographer Left a Legacy of Memories 11-18-05
Henry Jacob Braunig Black
Soldiers in the Confederate Army 10-17-05Wild
Woman of the Navidad 9-13-05
"The Navidad isn’t really much of a
river, as rivers go – it’s not very famous and can’t be compared to the stunning
Guadalupe or majestic Colorado, when it comes to beauty. But the little old Navidad
just might have a claim to fame that the others can’t equal. You see, the Navidad
has a past of mysterious and wild creatures, of the two-legged variety, living
along its winding path...."
The
Man From Nickel: Leslie Jones Askey 8-19-05
The classic example of an
entrepreneur.
Rustlers
and outlaws were common in early days 7-19-05
"Folks living in Lavaca
County in this day and time might be surprised to know that back in the 1870’s,
1880’s and 1890’s this was quite a wild place..." Bunting
Family Cemetery 6/15/05Richard
Gaertner's Story 5/14/05
Every town needs a storyteller and Moulton is
fortunate to have a mighty good one in a feisty fellow named Richard Gaertner.
Thomas
Lenz 5/2/05
"All three of the high-school pals saw action in Vietnam
– two survived and one, Tommy Lenz, would die a month after his 21st birthday
and just a week before he was due to come home. He had volunteered to go on a
mission to replace a man who was ill..."
Old
Turner Hotel Uncovered by Hallettsville Fire 3/21/05 Macario
García, Veteran of D-Day 2/16/05The
Lost Treasure of Padre Island 12/11/04Remembering
Leesville 10/15/04
Survivor tells of dreadful ordeal... A captive of the Comanche 9/8/04
The Horrors of Bataan 7/17/04
The story of one survivor... Brazoria
County brothers make guns for the South...
The Dance boys and their guns
6/9/04The
Angel of Goliad 5/19/04
"A tenderhearted Mexican lady who will forever
be remembered for her many acts of kindness during those dismal days of the Texas
Revolution."Richard
Kimble and Almaron Dickinson, Heroic hat makers at the Alamo 5/12/04Savior
of The Alamo... Remembering Adina De Zava 4/20/04
"If it hadn't been for her efforts, the Alamo might well have been
replaced by a parking lot."
The
history curse... It's got to be true or I'm not interested! 9/1/03
"It
seems to me that these moviemakers should strive for authenticity when it comes
to portraying history. Anyone who studies Texas history can tell you that these
"true" stories are an adventure all their own."
This
family tree has roots made of cedar 8/03
The early cedar choppers didn't
really maintain a home - many lived out of a wagon, sleeping in tents and traveling
from one cedar brake to another ... Living off the land, they hunted their meat
....
The
story of Gregorio Cortez 7/03
He was considered a hero by the Mexican
people; to the Anglos he was the "sheriff killer" and needed to be hung.
Eyewitness
to the Battle of the Alamo -
An Unidentified Mexican Soldier's Personal Account
of the Historic Struggle 9/5/01Midget
sub commander tells of his role in the attack on Pearl Harbor 7/17/01
Glad to be first Japanese prisoner of war!
The
Killing of John Wesley Hardin 5/6/01
"...There are several different
versions as to how Hardin was killed. ... Regardless of which version is true,
the fact remains that John Wesley Hardin died as he had lived - violently. ..."
The
Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836 4/19/01
Saturday, April 21, 2001,
will mark the 165th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Because of the eventual
consequences of this encounter, the battle is considered, by many historians,
as one of the most important in world history.
1st
Lt. Loye James Lauraine, Jr. 4/8/01
"He was young, only 26 years
old, when he gave up his life to save others...... He was a hero and was posthumously
awarded this nation's second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross. ....."
Life
and Times of a Goliad Survivor 3/24/01
".....
the young man could have avoided all the misery he endured at Goliad because the
Mexicans offered all captured Germans the opportunity to join their cause - Ehrenberg
refused the offer saying that he considered himself a Texan......"
A
Survivor's Account of the Goliad Massacre 3/11/01
"There is a day in Texas history that quite possibly could be considered
one of the most tragic. On that day, March 27, 1836, General Santa Anna ordered
the execution of some 380 Texas army soldiers - they were prisoners of war. ....."
Life
on the Trail 2/12/01
"The cowboy
legacy is very much alive in Texas and it has been that way for a long time. After
the Civil War, times were tough in Texas and throughout the South. Men returning
from that devastating conflict found it hard to make a living. Texas, it seemed,
was short on everything; everything that is, but cattle. ....."
The
Crusty Old Baptist 1/29/01 "Little
Butch" Comes to Gonzales, Texas 1/15/01 The
Great Elephant Stampede 1/8/01 The
Lost Cannon of Lavaca County 12/18/00 Riding
the Stage, in Old Texas - Stagecoaches from Gonzales to Galveston 12/6/00
The
Wreck of the Acadia - This blockade runner sleeps with the fishes just off
the coast at Surfside 11/21/00Wild
Times in Old McDade - Outlaws and vigilantes in McDadeDogs
in Church - Vintage wit from Gonzales County 10/27/00 Mass
Grave in Gonzales (1905) - Still a mystery today 10/10/00
From
Cost, Texas to Normandy Beach - A World War II hero 9/26/00
Bailey's
Light - A Brazoria ghost tale 9/15/00 The
Alcalde Hotel, Gonzales, Texas - Rooms with a past 9/3/00 |
Published
with author's permission. Since September, 2000
Murray Montgomery is a photographer and writer based in Hallettsville.
See more of his stories on the Internet at: http://montgomerystudio.com/lonestar/lsd_contents.htm.
Lone Star Diary also appears regularly in these Texas newspapers:
The Gonzales
Inquirer, the
Hallettsville Tribune Herald, The
Moulton Eagle, The
Shiner Gazette, and The
Yoakum Herald Times. |
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