Beginning on Tuesday, March 20, I had the pleasure of delivering
history programs to four diverse groups in three communities in four
days, along with two media events. On Tuesday afternoon I drove from
Carthage to Center for the monthly meeting of the
Shelby County Historical Society. In 1835 my great-great-grandparents,
Jonathan and Jinsy Bittick, migrated with their children from Tennessee
to Texas, where they were among the first settlers of future Shelby
County. When I wrote a book about the Regulator-Moderator
War of Old East Texas, the Shelby County Museum provided me with a
great deal of primary material and photos. Through the years I've
offered a number programs to the Shelby County Historical Society at
their museum, and I've developed many friendships with
their members.
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| At the Shelby County Museum in Center |
On Tuesday afternoon a crowd gathered which included several former
students from my Panola College classes. Local radio and newspaper
reporters also were in attendance. I explained that through happy
coincidence, my two most recent books had just been
published almost simultaneously. I gave a quick rundown of Frontier Forts of Texas, a publication of Arcadia Press, before presenting a longer description of John Chisum, Frontier Cattle King,
published by Eakin Press through the Wild Horse Media
Group of Fort Worth. It was my first program on either of these books,
and I received welcome assurance that the presentation was entertaining
and of interest. Attendees bought a large number of books, and my
confidence level improved.
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| Several former students of mine were in the audience. |
I started Thursday morning at the Carthage studios of KGAS Radio,
where I was interviewed on Panola Pride by owner-manager Jerry Hanszen.
Panola Pride is a daily program which runs from 8:30 until 9:00. Jerry
spoke to me about my two new books, as well
as my public lecture that evening at the Longview University Center, as
well as other upcoming events.
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| With Jerry Hanszen, who interviewed me on KGAS Radio |
Later in the morning I drove to the First Baptist Church of
Longview, where I was scheduled to provide a lunch program to the Senior
Adult Group. It is a large and active organization, and by a
coincidence of scheduling they invited me on a day when I
was already going to be in Longview. I spoke about the religious roots
of America, pointing out the central role of churches and preachers in
colonial society, along with the spiritual expressions of the founding
generation.
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| After lunch at First Baptist Church in Longview |
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| Addressing the Senior lunch crowd at FBC Longview |
During the afternoon I went across town to the Longview University
Center, which is a satellite campus of the University of Texas at Tyler.
The Director of the LUC is Dr. Van Patterson, a former colleague at
Panola College. After assuming the controls
at the LUC, Van invited me to initiate a lecture series at his
institution. Van is an industrious publicist, and we had an excellent
crowd. Each subsequent spring Van continued to bring the State Historian
to his campus. This year was my fifth appearance at
the LUC, and I talked about my two new books to an audience that
included a growing number of "regulars" at what has become an annual
event.
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That evening at the Longview University Center,
demonstrating a Jinglebob spur trinket |
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| Part of the LUC audience |
The next morning I drove to the Marshall Public Library for the
opening ceremony of a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, "Hometown Teams."
This sports exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution is sponsored by the
Texas State Historical Association, and the
acting director of the TSHA, Steve Cure, was on hand to introduce the
exhibit to the standing-room-only crowd. Steve pointed out that the TSHA
had arranged for the exhibit to be displayed during the next several
months in seven communities across Texas, and
that Marshall was the inaugural city. The event had been widely
publicized, and Marshall responded with a major turnout.
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| The next morning I was at the Marshall Public Library |
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| Steve Cure of the Texas State Historical Association |
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| Helping to cut the ribbon to the Smithsonian exhibit |
For three decades Marshall supported a professional baseball team
in the Class C East Texas League. I researched and wrote about the East
Texas League years ago, during the period when I wrote a book about the
centennial history of the Texas League. The
East Texas League amassed a rich history until it disbanded, along with
numerous other minor leagues, following the 1950 season. For my program
I brought a great many items of baseball memorabilia, and the
presentation turned out to be lively and filled with
audience laughter. Afterward we staged a ribbon-cutting, and still
later I had a grand time talking and posing for photos with former
students and both old and new friends.
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| With students at the Library |
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| Part of the traveling exhibit |
A busy week concluded Saturday afternoon at one o'clock with a
podcast from Los Angeles. Daniel J. Glenn interviewed me over the phone
for more than an hour. The subject of the podcast was the Wild West, and
my name had been given to Daniel by the Wild
West History Association, of which I am a charter member. Daniel is a
personable and enthusiastic interviewer, and we spent an hour-plus
talking about gunfighters, our favorite Western movies, and a lineup of
lethal Old West shootists which included Billy
the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, Killin' Jim Miller, Doc
Holliday, and Henry Plummer. A fun ending to a fun week during Texas History Month!
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| Daniel J. Glenn, personable podcast master from Los Angeles |
