Traces of Tx (today)

[Shakey Jake]

Per T of T Facebook group:
Today is the 210th anniversary of the bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil. On August 18, 1813, the Spaniards defeated a wannabe Texas republic in the Battle of Medina, ending the filibustering efforts of the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition. The expedition collided with the Spanish royalist army twenty miles south of San Antonio in an oak forest then called el Encinal de Medina. The republican force of 1,400 men was under the command of Gen. José Alvarez de Toledo y Dubois. The royalist army of some 1,830 men was commanded by Gen. Joaquín de Arredondo and included the young Lt. Antonio López de Santa Anna ---- yes, THAT Santa Anna. On the morning of August 18, royalist scouts lured the republican army into an ambush. A four-hour slaughter ensued. Only 100 of the defeated republican army survived, whereas Arredondo lost only fifty-five men. The dead royalists were buried the next day on the way to San Antonio. The bodies of the fallen republicans were left to lie where they fell for nine years. The first governor of the Mexican state of Texas ordered a detachment of soldiers to gather the bones and give them an honorable burial under an oak tree growing on the battlefield. Arredondo then entered San Antonio and proceeded with the harsh pacification of Texas. In San Antonio royalists shot 327 persons and imprisoned women, and in Nacogdoches one of Arredondo's lieutenants carried out a similarly bloody purge. Santa Anna witnessed/participated in this slaughter, and it may be that this is where he internalized his "take no prisoners" ethos.
The crazy thing is that nobody knows with certainty where, exactly, the Battle of Medina took place. You'd think that some archaeological evidence would have turned up. It is believed to have taken place approximately 20 miles south of downtown San Antonio.
There are three historical markers for the battle:
The first marker was placed by the State of Texas for the 1936 Texas Centennial at the southeast corner of U.S. Route 281 and Farm to Market Road 2537 in Bexar County.
The second marker was placed by the State of Texas in 2005 at the corner of Old Applewhite Road and Bruce Road in Atascosa County (29.1087005 N, 98.5386008 W).
The third marker was placed by Robert P. Marshall in 2013 on Old Pleasanton Road south of the intersection with Bruce Road. This marker is based on his own research and not recognized by the state.
There are no photos of the battle, of course, but here's a painting of a young Santa Anna.

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1895, Constable John Selman killed the notorious John Wesley Hardin at El Paso's Acme Saloon. Hardin was born in 1853 in Bonham and revealed a violent personality at an early age. In 1867 he stabbed another youth in a schoolyard squabble, and at age fifteen he shot and killed a black man during an argument. In the fall of 1868 he claimed to have killed three Union soldiers, and within a year another soldier. He killed at least ten others as he made his way up the Chisholm Trail, and then four more upon returning to Gonzales County. After Texas Rangers captured him in Pensacola, Florida, in 1877, he was tried for murder, convicted, and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. While in prison he studied law, and after being pardoned in 1894 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Gonzales County and then in El Paso. In the latter city he took as a lover the wife of one of his clients, and when the husband found out about the affair, Hardin hired a number of law officials to kill him. Selman, an Arkansas native born in 1839, was one of the hired killers, and may have killed Hardin because Hardin had not paid him. Selman was tried for Hardin's murder but released when the trial ended in a hung jury; he died, aptly enough, in a gunfight in 1896. Hardin and Selman are both buried in El Paso's Concordia Cemetery.

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1886, the town of Indianola suffered through the second day of a devastating two-day hurricane. The settlement, on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, was founded in August 1846 and named Indian Point. It was renamed in February 1849 and soon became the second busiest port in Texas (after Galveston). Indianola was the county seat of Calhoun County from 1852 to 1886. With a population of more than 5,000, the town was at the peak of its prosperity when a hurricane struck in 1875, causing great loss of life. The community rebuilt on a smaller scale, but then was almost obliterated by the hurricane of August 19-20, 1886, and the accompanying fire. By 1887 the site had been abandoned.

[Shakey Jake]

Per T of T Facebook group:
Traces of Texas reader Carolyn Miller posted this circa 1956 photo of the Gatlin Brothers ---- Larry, Rudy, and Steve ----- singing on the Slim Willet show in Abilene. I love their matching outfits and little cowboy boots! I don't believe they've quite yet written "All the Gold .... in California" at this point in their careers.
Thank you, Carolyn. Fantastic little slice of Texas history!

[Shakey Jake]

Per T of T Facebook group:
One of y'all sent this into me years ago but didn't include your name or much information other than the filename, which is "Kiowa tipis near Sherman, Texas 1875." I wrote back and asked the sender for more information, never got a response, and it dropped off the table of my consciousness. I just found it buried in my email. I wish I could tell y'all more about it but it's too good NOT to post. Thanks to whomever sent it in. Really cool shot!

[Shakey Jake]

Traces of Texas reader Barbara McAleese generously shared this stellar 1965 image of her cousin, Marsha Askins Young, competing in a rodeo at age 14 on an appaloosa named "Cochise." Marsha lived on a ranch near Pumpville at that time. What I love is the sheer focus and concentration seen on her face. Cochise looks pretty focused, too. Those moments in life when you are singularly consumed by the task at hand and oblivious to anything else are some of the very best. Do y'all agree?
Anyway, thank you, Barbara. It's a magnificent action shot.

[Shakey Jake]

A "two-fer" today:
One of the classic giants of jazz, Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden born in Vernon, Texas (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was not only the top pre-bop trombonist (playing his instrument with the ease of a trumpeter) but one of the best jazz singers too. He was such a fine musician that younger brother Charlie (an excellent trumpeter) was always overshadowed.
Jack started on piano at age five (his mother Helen was a ragtime pianist), switched to baritone horn, and finally took up trombone when he was ten. Teagarden worked in the Southwest in a variety of territory bands (most notably with the legendary pianist Peck Kelley) and then caused a sensation when he came to New York in 1928. His daring solos with Ben Pollack caused Glenn Miller to de-emphasize his own playing with the band, and during the late-'20s/early Depression era, "Mr. T." recorded frequently with many groups including units headed by Roger Wolfe Kahn, Eddie Condon, Red Nichols, and Louis Armstrong ("Knockin' a Jug"). His versions of "Basin Street Blues" and "Beale Street Blues" (songs that would remain in his repertoire for the remainder of his career) were definitive.
Teagarden, who was greatly admired by Tommy Dorsey, would have been a logical candidate for fame in the swing era but he made a strategic error. In late 1933, when it looked as if jazz would never catch on commercially, he signed a five-year contract with Paul Whiteman. Although Whiteman's Orchestra did feature Teagarden now and then (and he had a brief period in 1936 playing with a small group from the band, the Three T's, with his brother Charlie and Frankie Trumbauer), the contract effectively kept Teagarden from going out on his own and becoming a star. It certainly prevented him from leading what would eventually became the Bob Crosby Orchestra.
In 1939, Jack Teagarden was finally "free" and he soon put together a big band that would last until 1946. However, it was rather late to be organizing a new orchestra (the competition was fierce) and, although there were some good musical moments, none of the sidemen became famous, the arrangements lacked their own musical personality, and by the time it broke up Teagarden was facing bankruptcy. The trombonist, however, was still a big name (he had fared quite well in the 1940 Bing Crosby film The Birth of the Blues) and he had many friends. Crosby helped Teagarden straighten out his financial problems, and from 1947-1951 he was a star sideman with Louis Armstrong's All-Stars; their collaborations on "Rocking Chair" are classic.
After leaving Armstrong, Teagarden was a leader of a steadily working sextet throughout the remainder of his career, playing Dixieland with such talented musicians as brother Charlie, trumpeters Jimmy McPartland, Don Goldie, Max Kaminsky, and (during a 1957 European tour) pianist Earl Hines. Teagarden toured the Far East during 1958-1959, teamed up one last time with Eddie Condon for a television show/recording session in 1961, and had a heartwarming (and fortunately recorded) musical reunion with Charlie, sister/pianist Norma, and his mother at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival. He died from a heart attack four months later and has yet to be replaced.
Source: Scott Yanow

[Shakey Jake]

Per T of T Facebook group:
This photo shows Ed Powell making his final statement before being hanged on Sept 29, 1891, in Gatesville, Texas. Seated next to him is Jim Leeper, who is also about to be hung. They had been convicted of murdering a Pidcoke cotton farmer who was returning from Gatesville with his cotton proceeds. (https://www.historictexas.net/city/pidcoke-texas) The presumed motive was robbery. The evidence was mostly circumstantial, but Leeper and Powell were well known hell-raisers, so they were tried and convicted. Powell said, "I am dying for the crimes another man convicted." I can't find out what Leeper said, if anything. You can make out the edge of the trapdoor in this photograph. In a few minutes it will give way and these men will be hung. This is the only legal hanging to ever take place in Coryell County, by the way. Also, there is a fascinating historical footnote: the Coryell County Attorney who prosecuted the two men, Frank Partridge, was on a train back home when the train somehow passed his stop, so he leaped from it and struck a bridge abutment. He died about a week later.

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1946, Olin Teague began his thirty-two-year tenure as a United States congressman. Teague was born in Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1910. As a child he moved with his family to Arkansas, where he earned the nickname "Tiger" for his play on the high school football team. He attended Texas A&M University, from which he earned a bachelor's degree in 1932, and worked in the College Station post office until 1940. In that year he enlisted for active duty in the army, receiving a commission as a first lieutenant. He took part in the Allied landing at Normandy in 1944, and became, after fellow Texan Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. He was discharged from the army in 1946 with the rank of colonel and won a special election to fill the vacant seat for the sixth congressional district. In Congress, Teague became noted for his championship of veterans' issues and his support of the space program. He retired at the end of 1978 because of poor health. In addition to several slight strokes in recent years, he had undergone the amputation of part of his left leg as a result of injuries suffered during the war. In 1980 the VA hospital in Temple was renamed for him. Teague died of a heart attack and kidney failure on January 23, 1981, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

[Shakey Jake]

Here's one from T of T Facebook group. Anecdotally, the Aggie band still had a penchant to try and steal the visiting band's equipment back when I was at TCU in the early 70's. We had a particularly bad football team and beat them at Kyle Field my first year at TCU (1972). We were 2-5 in conference play and 5-6 overall. We definitely weren't supposed to win the game. We beat them 13-10. The game was played in College Station and the Aggies were out for revenge. I think there must have been a "bounty" on TCU band hats that year as some of our hats were taken off heads as we exited the stadium by some Aggies. They raced up to where we were coming through and either tried to reach down and take them off our heads or, more boldly, just run up and try to snatch them. We caught on pretty fast and removed them to carry in hand. Now here's the post:

Traces of Texas reader Judd Perry's grandfather, Edward Joseph Perry, went to Texas A&M in 1919 and left behind a pretty neat scrapbook. This is one of the photos. It appears that for some reason the A&M band has absconded with the Baylor band's drum. What rascals they must have been! Seriously, this is a really neat photo. Judd scanned quite a few pages from the scrapbook and I will be posting more of the photos over time.
I would love to just step into this photo for about five minutes, listen to this band, and drink in this scene. Time travel can't get here fast enough for me.
Thank you, Judd! I love it!

[Shakey Jake]

I've posted about this feud before but on this day in 1870, in a particularly violent chapter of the infamous Sutton-Taylor Feud, a detachment of Texas State Police under the command of Jack Helm arrested Henry and Will Kelly of the Taylor faction on a trivial charge and shot them. The Sutton-Taylor Feud, the longest and bloodiest in Texas, grew out of the bad times following the Civil War. The Taylors were descendants of Josiah Taylor, a Virginian who settled near Cuero in DeWitt County. His sons, Pitkin and Creed Taylor, and their sons, nephews, in-laws, and friends were the mainstay of that faction. The other party, originally centering on the Texas State Police, took its name from William E. Sutton, a native of Fayette County who had moved to DeWitt County. The feud began either in 1866 or 1868, depending on which actions are considered part of the quarrel. Women of the Kelly family witnessed the 1870 murders of Henry and Will Kelly, and their story caused such a public outcry that Gov. Edmund J. Davis could not ignore the outrage. Helm was suspended in October and dismissed in December, but killings associated with the feud were recorded as late as 1876. More about Helm can be found here: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/jack-h ... as-lawman/

[Shakey Jake]

On this day in 1990, Texas blues musician Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash on the way to Chicago from a concert in Alpine Valley, East Troy, Wisconsin. Vaughan was born in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas on October 3, 1954. His exposure to music began in his childhood, as he watched his big brother, Jimmie, play guitar. Stevie's fascination with the blues drove him to teach himself to play the guitar before he was an adolescent. By the time he was in high school, he was staying up all night playing guitar in clubs in Deep Ellum, a popular entertainment district in Dallas. Vaughan moved to Austin in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s he and his band, Double Trouble, had a solid regional reputation. His career took off in the 1980s, and his work eventually garnered four Grammy Awards. Vaughan was killed at the height of his career. More than 1,500 people, including industry giants such as Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Stevie Wonder, attended his memorial service in Dallas.

One of my personal favorite albums is a Stevie Ray and Albert King recorded in Toronto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7A12LuA8-U

[Shakey Jake]

Lordy, I don't know how I missed this. It's only a week late but here it is anyway! (I have to add that Patsy was my first crush when I was about 7.)
This Day In Music Aug 21 1961 - American country singer Patsy Cline records then-struggling songwriter Willie Neslon's song "Crazy", in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Crazy" is a song written by Willie Nelson and popularized by country singer Patsy Cline in 1961. Nelson wrote the song while living in Houston, working for Pappy Daily's label D Records. He was also a radio DJ and performed in clubs. Nelson then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, working as a writer for Pamper Music. Through Hank Cochran, the song reached Patsy Cline. After her original recording and release, Cline's version reached number two on Billboard's Hot Country Singles, also crossing to the pop chart as a top 10 single.
Cline's version is considered a country music standard and, in 1996, became the all-time most played song in jukeboxes in the United States. "Crazy" was covered by many artists; different versions reached the charts in a variety of genres. The song was featured in television shows, while many publications have included it in their all-time best songs lists. The Library of Congress inducted Cline's version into the National Recording Registry in 2003.

[markiver54]

Great song. I love her version.

[Shakey Jake]

Great song. I love her version.

I admit that I was in love with her when I was 7 or so. I made my mom buy her records and play them for me. I wasn't allowed to use phonograph. We had one of those Magnavox televisions with the am/fm radio and phonograph combinations. I still have all her recordings on CD and on my ipods. It's a bit funny for some when they hear Godsmack then Patsy when I shuffle the playlist.
Jake

[markiver54]

[Shakey Jake]

From the T of T Facebook group:
Marlin, Texas was somewhat of a mecca for major league baseball spring training after the turn of the last century. The Chicago White Sox were there, and so were the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Athletics. But the New York Giants remained in Marlin the longest, holding their training camp there for 11 seasons. Here we see All-time baseball pitching great Christy Matthewson warming up at the New York Giants spring training camp in 1916. Matthewson is, of course, in the MLB hall of fame, having won 30 games three straight seasons and being among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, ranking in the all-time top 10 in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and earned run average.

[Shakey Jake]

A "two-fer" day. I was thinking of Clovishound and his macro journey when I saw this. Here's another post from the T of T Facebook group:
Texas is beautiful in many aspects. Today's Beautiful Texas photo comes from Traces of Texas reader Ben Roeder, who was nice enough to send in this photo of a praying mantis on a support post on his mother-in-law's place near Jefferson, Texas.

[Shakey Jake]

Huddie William Ledbetter, better known as "Leadbelly." Huddie was one of the most influential blues musicians of all time and, as such, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though he was born in Louisiana he spent a good portion of his life in Texas, in part because he was incarcerated here on several occasions. He received his first musical instrument, an accordion, as a gift from an uncle after he had moved to Texas with his father and mother, and he played on the streets of Dallas with such legends as Blind Lemon Jefferson. His signature instrument was the 12-string guitar. He was convicted of murder and while imprisoned at Sugar Land he first heard the song "Midnight Special." While at Sugar Land he impressed Texas governor Pat Neff and was pardoned after serving the minimum sentence of seven years. You can read more about him at various places on the internet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IjPmIEgeIU

[Shakey Jake]

Here's more information on Sugar Land's Central Unit. It was closed in 2011 and sale of the property was finalized in 2016 with the idea of expansion for the Sugar Land Airport. I toured the Central Unit while it was still in operation while attending the Sugar Land Citizens Police Academy back in 2009. At that time, it housed prisoners who were about to be released from the system:

Following the Civil War when Texas could not afford to keep its prisoners in Huntsville, the state sought to lease convicts to planters, said Theresa Jach, a Houston Community College history professor who studied Texas prison farms. In 1878, convicts from across the state were leased to Imperial Sugar owners Col. Edward H. Cunningham and Col. Littleberry Ambrose Ellis, according to “The Texas Department of Justice’s Central Unit Main Building and its Historical Significance” by Don Hudson. The Central Unit received $75,000 from the leasing deal while Cunningham and Ellis could also lease out prisoners to other planters, Jach said.

"In 1880, [Cunningham and Ellis] had over 1,000 convicts that they were working on their own plantations,” she said. “Then there were about 1,100 more that they were leasing out to other planters, so they’re making tons and tons of money doing this.” Jach said the conditions were deplorable, the work was hard and prisoners died as a result. The property includes a cemetery for inmates without families to claim them. She said prisoners were separated by work ability and race, but it was mostly black prisoners incarcerated for petty theft who were working the fields, Jach said.
“The average lifespan of a convict leased on a sugar plantation is about seven years, so it’s really brutal,” she said. “There’s a lot of horrible mistreatment going on and so the state starts to think, ‘Wouldn’t it be better if we owned the farms, and we worked the convicts and grew the sugar and make all of the money?’”

Cunningham and Ellis sold the Imperial farm to the state in 1908, and sugar from the land was processed at Imperial Sugar on Hwy. 90. The state constructed the Central Unit Prison’s Main Building that stands today in 1932 for $350,000. Until then, inmates lived in out buildings that had vermin and often flooded, according to Hudson. Over time, prison work moved away from agriculture as a means of rehabilitation and focused on vocational endeavors beginning in the 1960s. “Convicts worked from ‘can till can’t’ in extremely filthy and brutal environments until the 1960s,” said Sandra Rogers, curator of collections at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville. “This was true for Blue Ridge [in Missouri City], Retrieve, Ramsey, Darrington, Clemens, Eastham, Harlem [now Jester State Prison farm] and Ferguson farms.”