TSHA Annual Meeting

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 8-10, I had the pleasure of attending the 122nd Annual Meeting of the Texas State Historical Association. Almost 700 members of the TSHA gathered at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center and Spa in San Marcos. The TSHA staff, headed by Chief Operating Officer Steve Cure, were extremely busy operating the event. Dr. Frank de la Teja, who served as the first State Historian and who now is the Interim CEO of the TSHA, energetically and cheerfully made himself available to the TSHA membership and staff alike. There were 26 exhibitors, from several university presses to Kenston Rare Books, from the Texas Catholic Historical Society to the Texas Oral History Association, from the Bexar County Historical Commission to the Wharton County Historical Commission.

Monte Monroe at the Registration Desk

Texas Ranger Specialist Jody Ginn

In the Exhibition Hall, Kent Calder and Byron Price of the University of Oklahoma Press speak with Donaly Brice, Former Archivist at the Texas State Library



TSHA Exhibit Table



UNT Press Director Ron Chrisman

For nearly three days attendees enjoyed a buffet of historical programs and panels in more than three dozens sessions. I gravitated to an excellent presentation delivered by Scott McFarlane, a native Texan whose career has taken him to Columbia University.  Scott's program was, "Prisons and Plantations: An Environmental History of the Trinity River." The Trinity River is the eastern boundary of Navarro County, where I was born and raised. When I talked to Scott beforehand, he informed me that he is a regular reader of this blog, thereby keeping up with Texas history events from New York City. Another session which was of particular interest to me was, "Texas History: A publishing Roundtable." Three experienced publishers informed a large crowd of the state of non-fiction book publishing in Texas. We gained the latest information from Kent Calder (University of Oklahoma Press), Jay Dew (Texas A&M University Press), and Ron Chrisman (University of North Texas Press).

Dick's Classic Cars provided a superb evening for historians

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Note the open rumble seat in this Model A Roadster

With Steve Cure, Chief Operating Officer of the TSHA

 

 

A highlight of the Annual Meeting was the Thursday evening reception of the President Elect, Sarita Hixon. The event was held at Dick's Classic Car Garage and Museum, which displays a splendid collection of vintage vehicles in pristine condition. The Friday Fellows Awards Luncheon  featured a thought-provoking paper by retiring TSHA Chief Historian Randolph Campbell, "A Sea of Blood and Smoking Rain, Sam Houston and Slavery."  Three new TSHA Fellows were introduced: Glenn Sample Ely, Kenneth Hoftape, and Guadalupe San Miguel. Bradley Folson was presented two book awards for Arredondo, Last Spanish Ruler of Texas and Northeastern New Spain. J.P. Bryan presented Texas History Teacher of the Year Awards to Mike Bailey of the Omar Bradley School of the Northeast ISD, and to Dr. Jerry Thompson of Texas A&M University. The H. Bailey Carroll Award for best article in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly was presented to Michael D. Wise of the University of North Texas for "Seeing Like a Stomach: Food, the Body, and Jeffersonian Exploration in the Near Southwest, 1804-1808," SWHQ (April 2017). 

With Light Cummins, my predecessor as State Historian

 

The State Historian is a member of the Education Committee

 

The new TSHA Fellows: Glenn Sample Ely, Guadalupe San Miguel
and Kenneth Hoftape

Mike Campbell delivering the keynote at the Fellows Awards Lunch

Other special events included a Women in Texas History Lunch, a Graduate Student Mixer, and a Book Lover's and Texana Collector's Breakfast. On Saturday afternoon a chartered bus provided transportation to the Witte Museum in San Antonio. All in all it was a grand weekend, one which makes us anxious to attend next year's TSHA Meeting in Corpus Christi, on February 28 through March 2, 2019.

Frank de la Teja, the first State Historian and currently Interim CEO
of the TSHA

Scott McFarlane, who delivered an excellent paper on the Trinity River

The Publishers' Roundtable was headed by Kent Calder (University of Oklahoma Press), Ron Chrisman (UNT Press), and Jay Dew (Texas A&M University Press)