Other Stuff That’s Good About Dallas

The new issue of D Magazine posits 119 reasons why it loves Dallas. Some of the reasons were a little on lopsided – for example, the article gives 6 points to Jimmy’s Food Store, an Italian grocery market. Then, it counts 39 reasons in the form of celebrities who used to live here. And for some reason, D Magazine claims that Dallas is the “Hollywood of Reality TV.” Is that really a reason to love Dallas, or to snicker at its wanna-bes?

All in all, though, it was a good list. I give it a lot of points for mentioning Jack Kilby (the inventor of the microchip), and for paying tribute to the Longhorn Ballroom. There is one GLARING omission, however – it said nothing of Dallas’ history, architecture, events, etc. So, I thought I’d write a little something on reasons I love Dallas, with photos, of course.

#1 – The Old Pioneer’s Cemetery in Downtown Dallas.

A wire-wrapped crib for the deceased Annie at the Pioneer Cemetery in downtown Dallas.

You can get an eerie feeling upon seeing this neglected cemetery. Sitting in the middle of some of Dallas’ most prominent structures, the cemetery seems to call out from a more peaceful, simpler time. But with planes droning overhead and trucks thundering across the freeway in the distance, “restful” doesn’t readily come readily to mind here. But I’m not sure the current residents of the cemetery would mind the noise much. After all, they constitute Dallas’ early civic leaders, business people, and benefactors, such as  Sarah Cockrell, James Latimer, and many members of the Stemmons family, for whom Interstate 35 E is named after. Because the Convention Center, City Hall, and other businesses threatened to encroach on the cemetery – the Santa Fe railroad had cleared several graves in the early 20th century to make way for railroad tracks – Frances James of the Dallas Historical Society worked very hard to make this cemetery a city landmark. Mrs. James is the reason for the next entry, actually.

#2 – Dallas Historical Society Tours

Mrs. James conducts the cemetery tours for the Dallas Historical Society. When I went on the tour, we visited the Freedman’s Cemetery in the State Thomas Neighborhood, and we also found the graves of the Millermoore family and their slaves in a backyard in South Dallas. John Neal Phillips, author of Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults, conducts the Bonnie and Clyde Tour every May. Ken Holmes offers tours on fun Dallas history and the Kennedy Assassination.  The incomparable Rosemary Rumbly weds hilarity and history in her tours of Oak Cliff. The tours are very cheap – roughly $45 per person, and includes transportation and a meal – you can’t beat that! By the way, the Millermoore plantation house, built in the Greek revival style and supposedly haunted, now sits at the wonderful Dallas Heritage Village, which is reason #3 why I love Dallas.

#3 – Dallas Heritage Village, especially “Candle Light” in December

The Millermoore mansion at Dallas Heritage Village.

An outdoor museum built on the site of Dallas’ first city park, entering the Dallas Heritage Village is like taking a step back in time. The buildings show not only a time line of Dallas’ historical occupation, but also demonstrate the diversity of the city. The most lovely event of the year, however, is reserved for December. The park is lit up with candles, carolers make their rounds, hot Dr. Pepper and popcorn are served. Each house is open to demonstrate different traditions – a pioneer Christmas in the 1850’s dog-trot farm; Chanuka preperations in the colorful Queen Anne house; and cooking tamales and sweets inside the Mexican-occupied railroad house. For five years now, I start out my Christmas season with a trip to Candle Light at Dallas Heritage Village.

Though there are plenty more reasons to love Dallas, these three are on the top of my list. But I could go on – Keller’s Hamburgers on Harry Hines Boulevard, served on poppy seed buns! El Centro College, with its campus in the middle of downtown! The 7th Floor of the Dallas Public Library! The HUGE aligator snapping turtle that swims in the lagoon at Fair Park and likes to eat donuts!

You can watch a lot of fun things from the parking lot at Keller's Drive In, including hookers and "exotic" dancers getting off work.

Hmm… contemplating these entries was so much fun, I think I’m going to give a “top 3″ for Fort Worth, next!

Cool Schools

I have to admit that I absolutely HATED school, back when I was forced to go. I honestly believed that the worst invention in history had to have been high school. My bias changed once I went to college. Although I never set foot on any ivy-covered campus, the experiences and eye-opening views I discovered in junior colleges and a small, public, regional university helped me to really appreciate the benefits of an education. I liked the college experience so much, in fact, that I now teach at a community college.

That’s why I decided that I’d give a presentation on the history of schools for an adult extension class. I’ve been driving all around the area – particularly through Oklahoma – to catch some old schools with my camera. So many of the schools sit as ruined hulks on the side of the road, or stand abandoned in the middle of towns… which tells a lot about how shabbily we treat history.

The remains of a school on an Oklahoma prairie.

Unlike the Old World, where cathedrals and mosques sit prominently in the hearts of their cities and villages, schools were the centers of communities in the United States.  Contrary to popular opinion today, the U.S. has always valued education, and towns had real stakes in the achievements of their young. One might be Baptist, or Methodist, or Jewish, an atheist or a Quaker, but most people had a child or a niece or a nephew or a favorite neighborhood kid that they wanted to see succeed, and so schools became the great equalizers.

Of course, that’s a rosy view (pun intended, which you’ll understand here in a minute). African Americans, particularly in the South, didn’t enjoy the equalizing effects that education was supposed to provide. At one point, Texas even had a segregated taxing system for schools! Black children were helped through efforts of local citizens as well as by progressive reformers like the Julius Rosenwald Foundation (get the pun?), which distributed funds to help black communities build better school houses and hire qualified teachers.

What used to be a Rosenwald school in Tatums, Carter County, Oklahoma, a freedman's town established after the Civil War.

Education was important for Native Americans as well. While Plains Indians were forced into boarding schools (sometimes far removed from their homes), other tribes, like the Choctaws and Chickasaws, decided on pre-emptive strikes and opened up their own schools, or academies. By the late 1840s, several of these academies served both boys and girls – and even adults, during Saturday classes – all around southeastern Oklahoma.  

Wheelock Academy, the first school established by the Choctaws after their removal to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), is now a National Historic Landmark. The old administration building, built in the 1880s, still stands.

Until the 1940s, many students attended schools inside one room school houses. During bad weather – or after the harvest or planting periods – teachers could have up to 50 students in their classrooms, all squeezed together in a drafty, clap-board covered room. Teachers would have to arrive at least an hour before their students in order to get the stove going,  and would leave only after the school house was clean (naughty kids would help with that chore if need be). Especially for women, teaching could be hard going. Prior to the Second World War, female teachers were expected to be unmarried, and they made about a third of what a male teacher earned.  The efforts of the teacher’s unions helped to bring pay equity throughout the country.

The progressive era (turn of the 20th century) helped to foster the idea of high schools. Until that time, high school diplomas were quite rare – most schooling stopped at the 8th grade. However, reform movements, the push towards standardization of education, the proliferation of colleges and universities, and child labor laws created demand for further education. By the 1940s, attending high school had become the norm, which in turn made them true community centers. An entire youth culture developed around them… homecoming dances, proms, yearbooks, football games, “cruising,” and teen movies and novels created memories and lasting impressions.

The beautiful Denison high school, which anchored the western end of Main Street, was razed in 2007. And now a CVS Pharmacy will occupy the spot! Yea, progress!

Today, our high schools tend to be built outside of the city center. I may not be a sociologist, but I have to wonder…

**** soap box alert ****

… if the reason kids aren’t doing too well in school, including having discipline problems, high pregnancy rates, and lacking in higher learning, may have to do with the removal of schools from the middle of town. New schools tend to be built on cheap land away from business and neighborhoods. Most lack windows, and instead of students seeing their communities when they leave the building, they see the vast gray of parking lots. Some schools – like my high school in Paris, Texas - look almost like warehouses. When kids feel marginalized, might they tend to act out?

Then again, the high school in Lewisville (where I live) sits smack-dab in the center of town, even though it was initially built away from town in the 1960s. Suburban growth will do that to a building. The school is a part of life in this city now, and it’s quite nice, seeing students walk to the drug store, Burger King, library, the grocery store, Sonic – it’s as if my town is anchored to the school. In the Fall, I can hear the football games from my bedroom window, and that’s kid of neat (although I have never watched an entire football game in my life).

While I never did care much for compulsory education, I sure do like its history.

Ghost Hunting

David (my son) and I have become very fond of the show Ghost Adventures, which airs every Friday night at 8 pm (CST) on the Travel Channel.  In this show, three film makers lock themselves inside a haunted location overnight, then use recording equipment to obtain some kind of evidence on otherworldly events. 

While the team on Ghost Adventurescan be annoying, they have inspired us to partake in our own ghost hunting. Not overnight and not in very scary places, mind you – I am way too chicken for that. I once visited the House of Torture at Scarborough Faire and was so freaked out, I clung to this strange woman, who in turn clung to me, and we both made it through only because we kept our eyes shut and our mouths screaming. Due to that terror-ific incident, I keep myself FAR away from anything too spooky, including slasher movies and unlit hallways.

No, our ghost hunting is much more mundane. Over New Year’s, David, Raymond and I visited the Fort Worth Stockyards and stayed at the Stockyards Hotel (I give this hotel 5 stars, by the way). We explored around the stockyards station, which consists of old hog and sheep pens that have been converted, for the most part, into restaurants and shops. Towards the now-defunct slaughter houses, however, the original ramps and halls remain pretty much intact. We poked around and caught these “orbs” on camera:

"Orbs" (either disembodied spirits or dust balls) at the animal loading ramp in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

David was pretty excited to have captured what may be evidence from the other side… or evidence of bad air quality.

The next weekend or thereabouts, I took David to Boggy Depot State Park just west of Tushka, Oklahoma, and to Fort Washita, west of Durant, Oklahoma, to do some more ghost hunting. Boggy Depot is now a ghost town, but used to be the seat of the Choctaw Nation, then for a while, the Chickasaw Nation, until the town was abandoned when the railroad bypassed it and the Chickasaw Nation seat moved to Tishomingo. Fort Washita, founded in 1842, served as a supply stop,military depot, was an important camp during the Mexican American War in 1848.  

I had told David about a strange encounter I once had at the Boggy Depot cemetery, where I had smelled perfume around a headstone, and my camera had gone berserk on me. David wanted to see if he could replicate the experience, or at least find some other kind of unexplainable phenomena. I tacked on a visit to Fort Washita simply because I’ve heard a number of ghost stories about Fort Washita from different people over the years.

Nothing happened at all that day, except that it was bitterly cold, and my sunglasses broke when I played on the teeter totter (don’t ask). David did record some strange sounds on his Digital Voice Recorder, but that was it. We took some pretty interesting pictures, though. One gravesite was especially intriguing:

This child's grave at Boggy Depot is strange... the sandstone tombstone is worn down, so a new stone was placed in front of it. That in itself is not strange. Notice the broken lamp, however. Why's that there?

Just below the headstone lie shards of a fairly old, white plate. I could make out the name "Langdon" on it. The name was stenciled on the plate in blue, and then was glazed and fired, so the plate may have been a family heirloom. The deceased boy's last name was Langdon.

I don’t quite understand the artifacts.  I do respect that each family has their own unique way of mourning, and this may be remnants of their personal grief. The items are interesting and quite mysterious.

So, we didn’t find any ghosts, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop looking. There are a few more places to seek out wandering spirits around here. ..

About Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel died on October 31, 2008. He was and still is one of the most influential writer/historians I’ve come across, and I’d like to pay him a short tribute here.

With his gently probing questions, Terkel was able to get the story behind the story – he used everyday people’s experiences and thoughts to connect with the larger questions in history. A brilliant journalist, he made his interview subject much more than just a regurgitator of facts or numbers. The people he interviewed became a part of history, which allowed the reader to share in history, too.

I find Terkel’s works not just fascinating and informative, but inspriring as well. My favorite of his compilations is “Working,” in which he interviewed people about the work they do. He interviewed preachers, teachers, executives, miners, shop keepers, bookbinders, hookers, police men, pharmacists, and college professors, among so many more. Their thoughts on the nature of work provided much needed introspection to me. They spoke about good work, or just survival work, work that has meaning, work that is soul crushing… they taught me that work is so necessary, yet not necessarily so encompassing that it negates human interaction and truth. I believe that American culture is always striving towards perfection, much to our detriment. If we don’t obtain perfection, we feel as if we’ve lost the game. Thus, we look for the “perfect love” and the “perfect career,” regardless what our needs and desires really are.  “Working” sheds light on this cultural dilemma. It is a completely different kind of labor history, one that is personal yet universal.

Another favorite of mine is the compilation, “American Dreams Lost and Found.” In these interviews, Terkel asks a variety of people from all walks of life what the so-called “American Dream” means to them. The answers are astoundingly insightful, turning the very idea of the “American Dream” up on its head. For many, the dream is not a house, a car, a happy family, and a good job – for almost all the interviewees, the dream is deeper and decidedly more profound. The dream is having a sense of belonging, of doing something that will make a difference, of moving outside of one’s own comfort zone. The answers that Terkel compiled are almost life-chaning, in a way, because the reader ends up comparing his or her own idea of the “American dream” to the versions in the book. I know that’s what I did – I started asking myself what the dream meant to me, and the answers were so different from the standard.

I stress to my students who are interested in genealogy that the best kind of oral history is the kind that Studs Terkel engaged in. It’s not enough to just ask the a grandmother or grandfather only about birth and death dates, funny anecdotes, and assorted trivia. The real story is what occurred behind the scenes, in the hopes, dreams, and realities of an ancestor’s everyday life. Terkel transcended the mere question-answer interview into something more profound, asking questions we should ask each other and ourselves. Studs Terkel was a true American original, and I wish him godspeed. 

Chicago Tribune Obit

He Did It! We Did It!

I tend not to write about politics because a) I don’t really like political discussions, as one cannot change another person’s opinion, anyway, and b) I would rather remain neutral on issues so as to not push away potential customers. But you know what? Forget that. I want to declare from the rooftops, from everywhere and to everybody:

Thank goodness Barack Obama has been elected!

What a historic victory for all Americans…. no, not just for African Americans or liberal Americans, but for all Americans. His triumph is our triumph. He is the new face of the next generations: multi-cultural, open-minded, educated, eloquent. He’s a real American, and that makes you and me real Americans, too. His election has redefined “Americaness” in that the term will no longer be monopolized by over-anxious, racist, and anti-intellectual fundamentalists who cannot see the forest for the trees.

Texas and Oklahoma, with a few notable exceptions, voted overwhelmingly for John McCain. And that’s cool, because I like John McCain. I liked him in 2000, and would have voted for him had he not been overrun by the Rove-Cheney machine. I believe that soon, John McCain will return to his populist roots and fight for what is right, not to garner votes in order to appeal to the radical fringe members of his party.

What bothers me about Texas and Oklahoma is that some, if not most, voters voted for McCain because he was white. They have this irrational fear – and it’s been substantiated by reports in the Fort Worth Star Telgram (and here and here)- that they believe an Obama presidency will lead to a race war, or to the banning of guns, or to a massive re-distribution of their incomes to people on welfare, even though for the vast majority of folks, Obama’s plans (if they make it through Congress) will actually benefit them.

Texas and Oklahoma have a history of racism and bigotry. This irrationality has come to define our whole region, which is embarrassing and so, so regrettable. Paris, TX, the town where I was born, once held spectacle lynchings at the railroad depot and the county fairgrounds. In 1996, the KKK hosted a rally here, and just this past year, a black man was dragged to death in what may, or may not, have been a racially motivated attack. Add to that the horrors of what occurred in Jasper, during the Tulsa race riots, and in the countless towns – Dallas, Sherman, Ardmore Waco-  where lynchings took place, and yet no historical marker tells us about them.

It’s time for the racist legacy to end, because I want to point out, loud and clear, that Texas and Oklahoma also have a very progressive legacy. The Farmers’ Alliance movement began in these states. Populism held particular sway in the early part of the 20th century before the monied interests began campaigns to convince people that a popularly elected government was bad for the populace. Labor unions and Native Americans helped to write the Oklahoma Constitution. Texas had the only closed-shop unionized town in the entire United States.

I believe in the Texas and Oklahoma of Will Rogers, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, Frank Dobie, Willie Nelson, Angie Debo, Samuel Maverick, Wilma Mankiller, Sam Rayburn, and C. Wright Patman. That’s the strain of tolerance, acceptance, and common sense that I hope begins to show up again in this region. These people, and countless others, are the epitome of “Americaness” – they looked out for each other, documented our heritage, worked for the people, exposed corruption, and stayed true to the American idea.

And that’s why I am so excited about Barack Obama’s win. His win is a continuation of the idea. Because that’s what being an American is: it’s not about race, or religion, or the language you speak, or whether you’re upper class or working class. To be an American, one only has to accept, hold true, and defend that beautiful, simple, yet chain-breaking idea: that all men are created equal, and have the right to life, liberty, and finding happiness. 

Barack Obama’s election epitomizes the definition of Americaness, and I’m so, so grateful.

Curiosity is not just killing the Cat

Lately, I have been getting what Laura Ingalls Wilder called “itchy feet:” I’m just so itching to get out of the house and explore whatever suits my fancy – and this curiosity is killing me (hence the witty – cough – title of this post). What with teaching, the preps for teaching, the grading, and the work I’m doing on my books and future classes, I haven’t had much time.  I did go hunting for some railroad relics this past weekend, and found a few, so I’m not destitute for discoveries, yet.

I encountered this ca. 1915 suspension bridge near Sherman, Texas.

But I just bought a 1934 Conoco Map of Texas from E-Bay. Good grief, does that make for some interesting reading. Ferry crossings are dotted all along the Red River, as well as old toll bridges that do not exist anymore. I went to Google Maps (thank goodness for satellite imagry) and was able to find remnants of these toll bridges, so guess what I’ll be doing in the near future?!

There is nothing in the world that comes close to finding places that time has forgotten. These small pieces of the historical puzzle just fill me with absolute wonder. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of exploring the backwaters around here. And believe me, there are some real backwaters to explore.

I guess my interest in the Red River Valley of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana might seem rather mundane for people who live around really old, settled history – let’s face it, the ghost towns I encounter can’t even hold a candle to the ghosts of Pompeii, and the ruins I photograph are rather puny when compared to the cavernous insane asylums of the Northeast. Yes, consider yourselves envied, you people of the history book places. Still, I LOVE the fact that some of the places I encounter may have never been explored at all – it’s almost pioneer-like, in a way. Like woman on the moon or something.

If you happen to read any of these entries and are wondering what the heck I’m talking about, come visit my website, Red River Historian. Also, for a great way to loose yourself for a couple of hours in some fantastic photography and conversation, visit the Urban Exploration Forums. You can also find a kindred spirit in Forgotten New York, a website devoted to exploring the side of New York and its burroughs that urban redevelopment has missed (at least for the moment).

If you know of a cool place you think I’d like, or if you’d like to share what you’ve found, just post a comment!

Don’t Brick Me In

Texas history in my lil' ol' yard!

I lucked out the other day. As I was rooting around on Craig’s List, trying to find cheap bricks to use on the backyard walkway I wanted to build, I stumbled upon this cryptic message:

“Pavers for sale, $70 for 100, these are the heavy pavers used to pave streets in Dallas and Fort Worth.”

My interest piqued, I sent a messge and told the guy I needed 300 – he said he had over a thousand. But I’d need a truck, since the bricks weighed about 8 pounds a piece. The truck was no problem, and after recruiting my husband and son, we drove out on a Monday morning to pick them up.

Was I ever surprised to see what he had for sale:

This man  had over a thousand Thurber Bricks sitting out in a pasture, apparently culled from an old courthouse and the streets surrounding it. I thought I hit the historical jackpot. What a find!

After strenous lifting, we got the bricks on the truck, which groaned under all that weight (it’s an F150, which is a great vehicle, but its bed isn’t made to haul 2,400 lbs!) At home, my son and I proceeded to move the bricks to the backyard – thank the lord for wheel barrows – and set out to make a walkway.

Here's my son David with all the bricks.

I have a plan to get the walkway the way I want it with only half the labor. Laugh all you want, but I just put the pavers on the ground – raked, and fairly level – then I placed landscape frames around them. When the weather gets cooler, I will take dry concrete mix (maybe quick-crete), pour it all along the bricks, sweep it into the crevices, and then add water. If all goes according to plan (and why wouldn’t it? she questioned, famous last words echoing from across time), I’ll have a walkway without having to dig into the impossibly dry ground. See, ain’t I smart?!

When it goes well, I’ll post the finished pictures. If for some reason this plan fails, I’ll still post pictures, but with funny captions or something. (Evidently, the blogging software is having some issues with posting images. I can’t post any now, but I hope to do so soon).

But I think, all in all, it’s pretty nifty that I now have a Thurber Brick path in my backyard.

Summer Plans

Image above is of Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States and the birthplace of the Red River. It is located near Amarillo, Texas. Hah, and you thought the Texas panhandle was flat!

This is turning out to be an exciting summer. I can’t wait to tell the very, very few people who stumble upon my site about all the planning that is going on here in Red River Historian-ville!

First, I bought a Volkswagon Jetta TDI (diesel), and I have begun putting biodiesel B100 in my tank. I now have ca. 80% less emissions than a gas car, and I also get about 40 mpg. Not too shabby! I found a great place for biodiesel in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, http://www.dfwbiodieselinc.com . The station is located along Long Avenue next to 35 W in Fort Worth.  The Sun Travel Plaza in Denton also sells B20, and if you happen to own (or are considering purchasing) a diesel car/truck, you can find out where you can purchase biodiesel in your neck of the woods at http://e85.whipnet.net/alt.fuel/biodiesel.stations.html (this link lists Texas only, but you can snoop around and find your own state).

Summer is going to be busy, too. In June, I’ll be attending a workshop in Michigan on the history of the Ford company’s dealings with labor issues. This workshop is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (http://www.hfcc.edu/landmarks/). I’ve got a ton of reading to get done by the time of the workshop, which will last a week. Hmm, maybe I should be reading instead of blogging…?

I also have two, possibly three trips planned, in addition to teaching a summer class. I will be making my final Bonnie and Clyde (see: http://www.redriverhistorian.com/clydeart.html ) trip in June, where I’ll be visiting sites in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. Then, I’m taking the annual pilgrimmage to Galveston to enjoy sun and surf at the Red Neck Riveria. Towards the end of summer, I’m hoping to take a week and a half to travel out west: I want to visit the Petrified Forest National Park (http://www.nps.gov/pefo), Grand Canyon National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grca) , the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car Exhibit at Primm Valley Casino in Nevada (http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside_lasvegas/getawaycar.html) , Zion National Park (http://www.nps.gov/zion), Durango, Colorado (http://www.durango.org/), and Boise City, Oklahoma, where travelers and cattle drivers left their names on autograph rock along the Santa Fe Trail (http://www.nps.gov/archive/safe/fnl-sft/photos/okpages/phook.htm). I’ve planned the trip so that I can drive through Monument Valley (http://www.monumentvalley.com/), too. Man, I’m hoping that all works out schedule-wise and I’ll be able to do that.

Anyway… my books are coming along quite nicely, too. I should have them ready to go by the end of summer, hopefully.

Hope that whoever is out there (you are welcome to comment, I won’t bite!) will also have a great, safe, and not-too-hot summer!

Peace!

List of Things to Do

I am trying to make my site into something bigger. I dont’ like to work for anyone except me, so my ultimate goal is to be self-employed by doing what I love. I’m sure I’m not alone in that wish! I’m going to try my darndest to make it a reality.

I guess the problem is that “what I love” just happens to be history and writing – not very lucrative areas. It’s not that I care about making a lot of money, but it would be nice to make a living off of my interests and not starve while doing it.

I currently have  a business plan in place that involves creating a small, regional press (Red River Historian Press) that will publish regional histories, travel guides, and vintage how-to guides. I also am slowly amassing inventory for a “mobile store” that I want to set up at area festivals. Further, I’m hoping to create a “mobile classroom,” which involves offering fun classes to retirement homes and such.

It just seems like all my efforts are in slow motion. What with work, the house, and the constant “What ifs…?” swimming in my head, it seems like I’m not doing enough to really make a go of this.  So, I thought that if I put all this out on my Blog – even if NO ONE is reading it, which is okay – I will find myself a lot more committed.

• For my site: I need to update and revamp my bookstore; add a page about the Cane River National Heritage Area; add links to Louisina and Arkansas on the Itinerary Page. 
• For my store: I need to buy a color laser printer; more books, maps, and postcards; and some trinkets to sell.
• For my classes: I need to mail out the brochure and cross my fingers!
• For the Press: I need to finish the two books I’m writing; get a proof reader to go over them; take an In-Design class and then tweak the books using that software; find a printer; and then find more authors who I can publish!
• Marketing: once the Press is underway, I want to get the word out through columns, giving presentations, sell the books to museums; and having a PR-kind of person help me with press releases.

Aargh. I’ve got big plans and time’s a-wastin’.

Additions to My Site = More to Explore!

This old plantation store between Shreveport and Natchitoches, Louisiana, is where sharecroppers, who were paid with scrip, would buy what they needed from the plantation owner.

I’ve always meant to add information on Lousiana and Arkansas to my site, but time constraints have never allowed me sufficient time to explore those areas as much as I wanted. Which is funny, because most of my family lives in eastern Texas and Louisiana.

I decided that this year, I will include Louisiana and Arkansas into the “fold” – after all, my site is called Red River Historian. And the river certainly runs through those states, too! The Red River has a real presence in Louisiana’s history, and althogh my focus has been on western history, I’ve made the committment (and it wasn’t hard to committ, anyway) to learn and discover more about southern history.

It’s strange how until recently, the history of the US South has not been a big interest of mine. I think it stems from the proliferation of histories that deal with the South. The South is arguably the most-studied region in US history, especially the antebellum and Civil War periods, and somtimes it’s hard to wrap my head around it. I’m not a big Civil War fan, so I will continue to “gloss over” the war except when necessary, but I am interested in the periods of Americanization after the Louisiana Purchase.  So this is good news… it means I have a lot more exciting things to discover!