Traces of Tx (today)

[Shakey Jake]

Not much on today's agenda so I'll just do tomorrow's a day early! December 28th, 1946 Edgar Winter was born in Beaumont, TX. A multi-instrumentalist playing saxophone, keyboards, and percussion he never attained quite the notoriety as his recently passed brother Johnny Winter. Here's a link to one of his iconic performances of this century with Rick Derringer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lprFCcpaswo

[Shakey Jake]

A little over 163 years ago the man in this photo, Juan Cortina, rode into Brownsville and seized control of the town. Cortina, whose full name was Juan Nepomuceno Cortina Goseacochea but who had nicknames like Cheno Cortina, the Red Robber of the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Robin Hood, was a Mexican rancher, politician, military leader, outlaw and, ultimately, a folk hero. He had established himself as a champion of Mexicans living along the border in the years after the Mexican War. The incident that ignited the first so-called Cortina War occurred on July 13, 1859, when Cortina saw the Brownsville city marshal, Robert Shears, brutally arrest sixty-year-old Tomas Cabrera, who had once been employed by Cortina. Cortina shot the marshal in the impending confrontation and rode out of town with the prisoner. Early on the morning of September 28, 1859, he rode into Brownsville again, this time at the head of some forty to eighty men and seized control of the town. Five men, including the city jailer, were shot during the raid, as Cortina and his men raced through the streets shouting, "Death to the Americans" and "Viva Mexico." Over the next several years Cortina fought Texas Rangers and U.S. regulars. His band threatened the stability of the Valley until 1861, when he was finally defeated. Thereafter he confined his activities to Mexico, where he died in 1894.
(Source: Traces of Texas Facebook Group)

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1845, the United States Congress voted to annex Texas. Statehood was first proposed in 1837, but was rejected by President Martin Van Buren. Constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico were the reasons given for the rejection, but antislavery sentiment in the United States undoubtedly influenced Van Buren and continued to be the chief obstacle to annexation. Under President James Polk the United States Congress passed the Annexation Resolution in February 1845. Texas president Anson Jones called the Texas Congress into session on June 16, 1845, and a convention of elected delegates met on the Fourth of July. Both the Texas Congress and the convention voted for annexation, and a constitution was drawn up. The document was ratified by popular vote in October 1845 and accepted by the United States Congress on December 29, 1845. On February 19, 1846, President Jones of the Republic of Texas handed over control of the new state government to Governor James Pinckney Henderson.

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1880, the infamous "Diamond Bessie" case concluded when a Jefferson, Texas, jury acquitted Abraham Rothschild of murder. When a well-dressed man and woman calling themselves "A. Monroe and wife" got off the train and registered at the Brooks House in Jefferson on January 19, 1877, events were set in motion that led to the first big-name trial in Texas. A. Monroe was in reality traveling salesman Abraham Rothschild, the son of Meyer Rothschild, a Cincinnati jeweler, and the woman posing as his wife was a prostitute named Bessie Moore. "Diamond Bessie" was found murdered in the woods near Jefferson several weeks later, and Rothschild was arrested for the crime. After two and a half years and two sensational trials that involved most of the prominent lawyers in East Texas, including future governor Charles A. Culberson and future congressman David B. Culberson, Rothschild was finally acquitted in 1880. Since 1955 a courtroom drama relating the story has been presented each spring as part of the Jefferson Historic Pilgrimage. More reading about the incident can be found here:
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/ent ... rder-trial
Source: TSHA

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1980, Armadillo World Headquarters held a final New Year's blowout before closing its doors to await demolition. The celebrated Austin music venue was a concert hall in a converted National Guard armory in downtown Austin. It opened its doors in August 1970 and quickly became the focus for much of the city's musical life. AWH reflected the emergence nationwide of countercultural forms of music typical of its time. With a capacity of 1,500, the hall featured a varied fare of blues, rock, jazz, folk, and country music in an informal, open atmosphere. In 1980 the demands of the downtown real estate market brought an end to the Armadillo.
Source: TSHA
https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/ ... cert-table

[Shakey Jake]

Today's post comes from the Traces of Texas Facebook group. There are a few of these "Painted Churches" in the area around Schulenberg, Shiner and Mouton (German and Czech communities). Most of them are open to the public and have a donation box for those wishing to help with the inordinate amount of upkeep these take. We had a "Painted Churches Ride" when I belonged to the Southern Cruisers, and it was one of the best attended rides. I'll also post a web link so those of you wishing to do so can get a peek at these marvels.--Jake
Isn't it great to find a little slice of relatively unknown Texas history as you're just passing by? Traces of Texas reader Travis Witt was out on FM 532 near Moulton, Texas when he spotted this old church, the St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Following the Civil War and Emancipation, the small but vibrant African American population around Moulton began to be served by missionaries of a newly formed offshoot of the Methodist Church called the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. In 1867, Reverend E. Hammitt became the first Black AME minister in the county, riding a large circuit that included Moulton. In 1887, the modern-day city of Moulton was laid out and founded by Samuel and William Moore. At that time, the brothers donated a plot of land to the city’s black population in the southeastern part of Moulton. On this land, the faithful erected a small one-room church. Often referred to as Moore’s chapel by many locals, the little church nourished the religious needs of the black community.
Following the end of World War I, the church became the African American school for the community. More space was needed so, in 1921, the church trustees purchased land and erected a new building for the church and school. Although the space offered few amenities, the congregation flourished here for decades. In 1948, the Moulton Independent School District built a new school for the district’s black children. Due to disrepair, hurricane and flood damage, a new church was built in 1962 under the leadership of Rev. W.O. Johnson and Joseph Parker. After several more decades of faithful religious and community service, the migration to urban areas caused the membership of the church to decline.
St. Paul’s AME Church reluctantly closed its doors in 2007. Although the church is no longer in operation, its 120 years of service as a spiritual beacon remains in the hearts of the community.
Thank you, Travis. Really a neat old structure!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pa ... ORM%3DVDRE

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1936, musician Roger Miller was born in Fort Worth. He had no formal musical training and apparently never learned to read or write music. After service in the army, during which he entertained troops in a Special Services country-music band, he moved to Nashville, where he did odd jobs and played in back-up bands for such entertainers as Minnie Pearl and Ray Price. After Miller won a contract as a drummer with the Faron Young organization, other performers began singing his songs. In 1961 he first made the country top ten as a performer with "When Two Worlds Collide," co-written with Bill Anderson. He moved to Hollywood, where his singing career took off in 1964. "Chug-a-lug" and "Dang Me" were hits in both country and pop categories. The next year Miller scored a series of bestsellers: "King of the Road," "Engine, Engine No. 9," "Kansas City Star," and "One Dyin' and a-Buryin'." NBC featured Miller in his own weekly variety show, which fared well in 1966 but subsequently lost out in the ratings and was cancelled. Miller won eleven Grammy awards, both as composer and performer, in the categories of contemporary and country and western. In 1985 he received five Tony awards for his score to Big River, a musical based on Huckleberry Finn. He died in Los Angeles on October 25, 1992.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c7D0YsgnrE

[Shakey Jake]

Came across this photo of boys hanging out in front of a store in Tomball, Tx in 1945. You can just imagine what kind of mischief they're thinking about getting into! I bet one of them has a slingshot in his hip pocket! I can relate as I grew up in a small town as well. Tomball isn't that small these days with a population of 12,500 or so in north Harris Co. The area is growing fast as urban sprawl is making its way north on Texas 290. It's definitely a summer photo with the boys in their bare feet. Maybe some fishing in a tank pond is on tap later in the day. Anyway, I thought it to be a little Norman Rockwell "ish".

[Shakey Jake]

Today's entry comes from the Traces of TX Facebook page:
The old Rupley Hotel and the adjoining 1893 M. Diegel Building in Victoria, 1930s I think. I'm willing to wager that those hamburgers were mighty tasty! The buildings, which were located at 208 S. Main St., were bulldozed in November 1974 and a parking lot was built. There's a nice mural overlooking the parking lot today. Here's a recent Google street view:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A ... bpd0gEbXaW

[Hatchdog]

I was able to make my screen larger and the kid on the left sitting on the crate has a look on his face that just screams, “trouble”. Probably grew up to be a respectable member of society.