Alton C. Allen Historical Conference

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce. 

On Saturday, October 17, it was my pleasure to participate in the Nineteenth Annual Alton C. Allen Historical Conference in Hallettsville. Indeed, it is always a pleasure to visit Hallettsville, with its superb Victorian courthouse and the historical architecture around the square. The annual conference began two decades ago as a genealogical workshop. After a few years attendance remained static, and historian Doug Kubicek spearheaded a move toward a day-long historical conference, featuring speakers on history topics. The annual event is supported financially by the Dickson-Allen Foundation, and it is named for Alton C. Allen, a notable citizen of Hallettsville and a vigorous proponent of this event.

Doug  Kubicek

Doug Kubicek is chairman of the LaVaca County Historical Commission, and he chairs the annual conference. Each year there is a theme. For 2015 the conference theme was “Texas Icons,” and four topics were selected: the Battleship Texas; Flags of Texas; Baseball in Texas; Texas and Western Swing Music. There were four one-hour program segments: two before and two after lunch. Lunch featured an annual staple: homemade chicken noodle soup and chicken salad sandwiches, along with assorted supplementary items. Lunch, as well as snack breaks between the program periods, was prepared by a number of volunteers, while other volunteers set up the spacious American Legion Hall. A small registration fee is charged, and more than 100 attendees customarily are present.

I was invited several months ago by Roger S. Raney, a fellow member of the East Texas Historical Association and fellow attendee of various other history meetings around Texas. Roger and Doug were most gracious in making arrangements for the speakers. Rooms were provided for us at a local Best Western, sound and video systems met our needs, and we were hosted to a Friday night dinner. We each were given book tables, and when I arrived on Friday afternoon I went to the American Legion Hall to set up my table. The next day many in attendance generously bought autographed copies of our books, including numerous volumes for gifts.

The first hour-long session was split by Dr. Kevin Wooten of the University of Houston, and by Kenneth Grubb, who spent a decade working aboard the Battleship Texas moored at San Jacinto. Dr. Wooten gave a presentation of the first U.S.S. Texas, of Spanish-American War fame, while Kenneth Grubb shared his up-close expertise on the 1914 battleship which saw service in both world wars. The second hour of the morning was a beautifully illustrated presentation by Dr. Robert Maberry, author of the superb Flags of Texas.

Roger and Paul Rainey

After lunch I donned a vintage baseball uniform to talk about Baseball in Texas. During the presentation I showed other uniforms and artifacts. Baseball reached Texas before the Civil War, and after 1888 – when the “Texas Base Ball League” was founded – minor league teams have been hosted by over 100 Texas towns and cities, more than any other state. From Tris Speaker to Rogers Hornsby to Nolan Ryan, a parade of Hall of Fame players has come from Texas. There have been incredible exploits and colorful anecdotes. But I left time to dig deep into my prop bag and pull out leather football helmets and venerable jerseys. Football replaced baseball as the most popular sport in Texas, and I felt compelled to offer gridiron lore, along with information about the great female athlete, Babe Didrikson Zaharias of Beaumont, as well as the invention of cheerleading camps in Texas and quick sketches about other sports in the Lone Star State.

The final presentation by Kevin Fontenot, “Texas and Western Swing,” was enhanced by music clips and images – and by lively commentary. Each presentation was well-received, and the audience peppered each of us with questions. It was a terrific day for Texas history buffs. And before we departed the Legion Hall, Doug Kubicek began asking for themes and topics for next year – the Twentieth Alton C. Allen Historical Conference.

Chennault Marker

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce. 

Alumni Center, reception site

A major historical event was conducted by Texas A&M University of Commerce on Wednesday, October 14. Claire Lee Chennault was born in Commerce on September 6, 1893, in a house only three blocks from the business center of town. Although the family soon moved to Louisiana, young Chennault returned to his native Texas as an aviation cadet and an officer in the Army Air Force stationed at bases around San Antonio. Chennault was a daring aviation pioneer and an emphatic advocate of innovative combat tactics. But in 1937, Chennault – only a captain at the age of 44 – was subject to enforced retirement.

Morning reception

Dr. Allan Goodwin conducting the Lion Band

Almost immediately Chennault was employed by Chiang Kai-shek as a colonel and advisor to the Chinese Air Force which was desperately inferior to the aggressive Japanese Air Force. Promoted to brigadier general, Chennault obtained from the United States 100 P-40 fighter planes, which were painted with the most distinctive image of any aircraft of World War II. General Chennault organized and trained the American Volunteer Group (AVG). American pilots and ground crew from U.S. Army and U.S. Navy air forces were recruited at high salaries to challenge Japanese air superiority over China. Pilots were paid as much as $750 per month along with a bonus of $500 for every enemy kill. Nicknamed “Flying Tigers,” the AVG went into action two weeks after Pearl Harbor. Hundreds of enemy planes were shot down by Chennault’s Flying Tigers. The AVG later was incorporated into the United States military and became part of the 14^th Air Force, commanded by Major General Chennault. Chennault was highly decorated.

Ross Volunteer Color Guard

Chennault was married twice and was the father of 10 children. He still is regarded as a legendary hero in China. Chennault maintained homes in Taipei, Taiwan, and near Monroe, Louisiana, where his family moved not long after his birth. He died of cancer in 1958, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Dr. Jones

I was a graduate assistant in the history department at East Texas State University (later TAMUC) in 1968 when a marker was placed at the site of Chennault’s birth in Commerce. Forty-seven years later I was privileged to return to the same site for the dedication of another marker – written in two translations of Mandarin. There are over 16,000 state historical markers across Texas, more than in any other state, and this is the first one in Chinese.

Nell Calloway

TAMUC President Dan Jones determined that the dedication of this marker should be a notable occasion. The university worked in concert with the Texas Historical Commission and the City of Commerce to produce a major historical event.

Flyover!

Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the THC, was in attendance and made appropriate remarks during the dedication. John Sharp, Chancellor of the Texas A&M University system, also was present and offered remarks. A squad from A&M’s Ross Volunteer Company provided a color guard. Brian Bolinger, Executive Director of the Texas State Historical Association, was on hand, along with John C. Crain, Board President of the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas. A strong Asian presence included representatives from the Chinese consulate in Houston, from the Taipei economic and Cultural Office in Houston, and from the Greater Dallas Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce. A number of political dignitaries were present.

1968 marker (left) and 2015 marker in Chinese

The most celebrated attendee was Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Claire Chennault and founder and director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana. Those who had not met her enjoyed making her acquaintance at a nine o’clock reception on the TAMUC campus shortly before the marker dedication. We were ferried by campus shuttle vehicles to the birthplace site, where the TAMUC Lion band was entertaining the growing crowd. Streets were blocked off around the site, and folding chairs and metal bleachers provided seating for of the growing crowd. The color guard presented the colors while the band played the National Anthem. Addressing the crowd were President Dan Jones, Mayor John Ballotti, Chancellor John Sharp, and Nell Calloway. As the speakers concluded, a flyover of a P-40 brought the crowd to its feet, and we all tried to photograph the vintage fighter plane provided by the Cavanaugh Flight Museum of Addison. Following this exciting highlight, many of us posed for photographs beside the 1968 and 2015 markers.

Chancellor Sharp, Nell Calloway, and President Jones

L to r: Mark Wolfe, Dr. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky
(TAMUC History Dept.), John Crain, 
State Historian O'Neal, Brian Bolinger,

The final event of the day was a delicious lunch in the Sam Rayburn Student Center. President Dan Jones welcomed the crowd, then provided me a gracious introduction as an alum and as Texas State Historian. It was my privilege to introduce Nell Calloway as luncheon speaker. A woman of great accomplishment and ability, Nell had made brief remarks at the dedication, but now we had the pleasure of hearing her discuss her grandfather and his career at greater length. She also described the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum, and issued an invitation to all of us.

It was a grand occasion. As an alum of TAMUC, I was enormously proud of my alma mater, and as State Historian of Texas I was deeply honored to have participated in such a memorable historical experience.

With Brian Bolinger and Mark Wolfe.
The State Historian is associated with the Texas
State Historical Association and the Texas Historical
Commission,  I was pleased to be with both
executive  directors at the same event.

Lunch crowd

Introducing Nell Calloway

Jalinna Jones, wife of the TAMUC president, was surprised
by being named an Honorary Yellow Rose of Texas.

Congratulating President Jones on a stellar event.

ETHA Fall Meeting

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce. 

With ETHA Secretary-Treasurer Chris Gill

Milton Jordan described the origins
of Southwestern University in Georgetown.

The East Association held its fall meeting in Nacogdoches on Thursday-Friday-Saturday, October 8-9-10, 2015. During these three days there were 28 sessions, featuring dozens of papers and several panels. There was a Black History Breakfast on Friday morning and a Women’s History Breakfast on Saturday. On Friday evening the Presidential Address Banquet included recognition of ETHA Fellows, an excellent dinner, and a highly informative program on “Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1939 Train Trip Through East Texas and Beyond.” Following the banquet Mary and Richard Scheer hosted a reception at the Jones House, a superb Victorian home which now is a Bed and Breakfast Inn.  A highlight of the Fall Meeting was the Max and Georgiana Lale Lecture Series, an address by Ambassador Robert Krueger held on the campus of our host institution, Stephen F. Austin State University.

The rich and varied program lineup was arranged by Dr. Scott Sosebee, Executive Director of the ETHA, by Chairman Kyle Wilkison and his resourceful Program Committee and by Association Secretary-Treasurer Chris Gill, who worked ceaselessly before and during the meeting. Her efforts at publicizing the program generated 201 early signups, the first time we have ever enjoyed more than 200 pre-registrants. In all attendance exceeded 240, one of the highest totals in the history of the ETHA.

Dan Utley described the origins of
Mary Hardin-Baylor in his
hometown of Belton.

Sessions were organized by sister organizations, including the West Texas Historical Association, the Texas Folklore Society, the Friends of Nacogdoches, and the Central Texas Historical Association, a new organization headed
by Dr. Kenneth Howell. I was especially interested in the West Texas Historical Association, since I rotated out of the WTHA presidency just last April. WTHA Executive Director Tai Kreidler led off with a revealing paper about an underpublicized rancher, John Hittson. Scott Sosebee read a paper on famed cattleman Murdo MacKenzie that was prepared by Leland Turner (who was absent because of a family emergency) of Midwestern State University. Troy Ainsworth closed the session with a provocative account of an 1889 shooting in Shafter. It was a memorable and thought-provoking session, like so many others during our three days.

With Hayley Hasik, graduate student at SFA.

The Fall Meeting closed on Saturday with the Association Awards and Business Meeting Luncheon. Scott Sosebee read resolutions honoring the lives of members who had passed away during the last year: past presidents F.E. “Ab” Abernethy, Naaman Woodland, and Ted Lawe, as well as Joe Louis Atkins, Bob Quillin, and Diana Campbell. As chairman of the Lock Awards Committee I was privileged to present the following awards: Best Historical Research Book to Jere Jackson, author of Designing Modern Nacogdoches (SFA Press); Best Historical Mixed Media/Photography/Artistic Value Book to Richard Orton, author of The Upshaws of County Line (UNT Press); Educator of the Year to Carolyn White of the SFASU History Department; and Research Grants to graduate students Amanda Carr and Laura Ostteen.

With Scott Sosebee.

At the close of the business meeting, Mary Scheer passed the gavel to incoming president Kyle Wilkison, who invited everyone to the Spring Meeting at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Beaumont on February 19 and 20, 2016. President Wilkison then adjourned the meeting until February 19. 

With Steve Cure and Charles Nugent of the
Texas State Historical Association.

President Mary Scheer.

Research grant awardees Laura Ostteen and Amanda Carr.

The Jones House, site of the Friday night reception.

Scott Sosebee and Tai Kreidler, executive directors
of the ETHA and WTHA, read back-to-back papers
in a Saturday morning session.

 

Incoming President Kyle Wilkison