After church services on Sunday,
March 25, I drove more than 300 miles to New Braunfels. The next morning I
enjoyed a great walk through the historic downtown. For the first time I was
able to tour the 1898 Romanesque Revival courthouse, which was the subject of a
Texas Historical Commission renovation a few years ago. At mid-morning I made
the 30-minute drive south to Fort Sam Houston, pulling into the parking lot at
the golf clubhouse. I've been to the clubhouse three times in the past couple
of years. It's a convenient meeting place, because it's adjacent to the base,
but visitors don't have to go through the trouble of securing admission to the
military post.
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Comal County Courthouse
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Fort Sam Houston Golf Club House |
This time I had been invited to be
the lunch speaker at a meeting of the Retired Officers' Wives and Widows Club.
The last time I had been asked to speak at Fort Sam Houston was to a meeting of
retired officers. Of course I couldn't resist talking about Sam Houston and his
1836 campaign which climaxed at San Jacinto. Sticking to the Sam Houston theme
with the ladies, I discussed his three wives, with special attention to the
love of his life and mother of his eight children. We enjoyed an excellent
meal, and the ladies seemed to enjoy the domestic story of Houston's life.
I returned home that evening,
because I had an appearance on the campus of Panola College on Tuesday. Bill
Offer now heads the history department at Panola. Several weeks ago he asked me
to join him for an onstage interview for students and the public. When I asked
Bill what information I needed to provide him, he smiled and reminded me that
he was a retired Shreveport police captain and was an old hand at
interrogations. Bill joined the Panola faculty a few years ago, and he has been
an energetic and innovative force in the classroom. He has organized a History
Club, and every year I've had the pleasure of interacting with Bill and his
club in one event or another, so I was happy to await my
"interrogation" by a history-minded cop.
It turned out that Bill wanted to
talk about the office of State Historian and about the 70th anniversary of
Panola County Junior College, which first enrolled students for the spring
semester of 1948. Bill advertised the event as "An Evening with Bill O'Neal."
About five o'clock on Tuesday afternoon I brought a number of props to the Q.M.
Martin Auditorium. Bill had reserved the Auditorium from Karen King, head of
the Drama Department, who assigned several of her students to the event. They
arranged two chairs and microphones and decorations on the stage, and when I
showed up with a couple of bags of display items they quickly produced a table
for me. The event was scheduled for 6:15, and as the crowd began to arrive I
introduced myself to the students and visited with old friends from the
community. By starting time an audience of just over 200 had gathered.
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Panola College Auditorium, Larry McNeill in the foreground |
Jasmine Rhan, a lovely young lady
from the Drama Department, introduced Bill Offer and the State Historian.
Jamecia Taylor, a student of Bill's, opened the proceedings with an appropriate
musical selection, "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Bill had several
questions prepared for my "interrogation," then he asked me ten
questions that he had selected from 140 questions submitted by his students.
Later I illustrated my account of State Historian activities with items I've
accumulated during my travels, producing some laughs from the audience. I also
was pleased to introduce to the crowd Larry McNeill, who secured creation of
the office of State Historian from the Legislature during his term as President
of the Texas State Historical Association. Larry and his gracious wife, Rose,
now live in a country home they have built near Tenaha, and it was a delightful
surprise to me that they had come to the event.
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Jasmine Rhan |
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Jamecia Taylor singing "Yellow Rose in Texas" |
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With Bill Offer |
The students seemed impressed at the
role Panola College had played in sponsoring a significant statewide academic
appointment, and when the program hour ended I was asked to pose for photos
with a number of students. Bill Offer later told me that student response to
our program/interrogation had been quite positive, and I was glad indeed that I
had an opportunity to take part in a campus activity.
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