Talking Texas History

Scott and Gene visit with Galveston local historian Joe Pellerin about hurricanes, the Emancipation Proclamation, cemeteries, and the Houston Astros!

Gene and Scott talk with Texas Tech University Archivist Lynn Whitfield about selecting and writing 100 Years, 100 Voices (Texas Tech University Press, 2022), commemorating the 100th anniversary of Texas Tech University. Cisco College Professor John Caraway - host of the Cisco Compass podcast-- and Midwestern State University Professor Leland Turner sit in on the conversation.

100 Years, 100 Voices at Texas Tech University Press https://www.ttupress.org/9781682831557/100-years-100-voices/

Texas Tech 100th Anniversary webpage https://100.ttu.edu/

Gene and  Scott talk with the host of the Cisco Compass podcast, John Caraway. They discuss Abilene, Texas, and how John started his podcast.

Listen to the Cisco Compass on Buzzsprout https://www.buzzsprout.com/2078480

Gene and Scott talk with José María Herrera, director of publications with the Texas Council for the Social Studies (TXCSS), about assisting social studies teachers with content and preparing pre-service teachers for the classroom.
The TXCSS is an affiliate of the National Council for the Social Studies.
Learn more about the Texas Council for the Social Studies at https://www.txcss.net/
Contact Dr.  Herrera at [email protected]

In this episode, Scott and Gene conclude their discussion on modern Texas history books

In part I, we discuss the following books: 

• Gregg Cantrell, Feeding the Wolf: John B. Rayner and the Politics of Race, 1850 - 1918 ( New York: Wiley - Blackwell, 2002) https://a.co/d/eRVqMQx
• George N. Green, The Establishment in Texas Politics: The Primitive Years, 1938 - 1957 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984)
• https://a.co/d/171ZG9f
• William Owens, This Stubborn Soil: A Frontier Boyhood (New York: Scribners, 1966, currently out of print) https://a.co/d/9V6AYke
• H. G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2015) https://a.co/d/cjybgIg

There are hundreds of books on 19th Century Texas history, but if you're interested in the last 100 or so years, there are some really good books on the Lone Star state in the 20th century! In this episode....which turned into a two part series, Scott and Gene discuss what they think are some good books to get you started on learning more about modern Texas history.

In part I, we discuss the following books: 

• Twentieth Century Texas: A Social and Cultural History, edited by John Storey and Mary Kelley (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2008). https://a.co/d/cCfDQBy
• Debbie Mauldin Cottrell, Pioneer Woman Educator: The Progressive Spirit of Annie Webb Blanton (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1993).  https://a.co/d/83HW7Vl
• John Bainbridge, The Super-Americans (New York: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, 1972).  https://a.co/d/hASq0bM
• Roberto Trevino, The Church in the Barrio: Mexican-American Ethno-Catholicism in Houston (Chappel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006).  https://a.co/d/eDy3arM
• Kathleen Blee, Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008),  https://a.co/d/cuCAMHC
• Guadalupe San Miguel, "Let All of Them Take Heed:" Mexican Americans and the Campaign for Educational Equality in Texas, 1910 - 1981 ( College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2000). https://a.co/d/blR4Yey
• Richard A. Garcia, Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class: San Antonio, 1929 0 1941 ( College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2000).  https://a.co/d/3McugVK

February is Black History Month, and at the ETHA 60th Fall Meeting, Gene and Scott talked with  ETHA Fellow and past President Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe (2018-2019); Dr. Yvonne Davis-Frear, 2nd Vice President and Fellow, and Board Member Dr. Ron Goodwin. We remember Theodore “Ted” Maxwell Lawe (1942-2015) who served as the first African American president of the ETHA from 2008-2009, and his ongoing legacy.

Gene and Scott talked with representatives from three regional university presses at the ETHA fall meeting in Nacogdoches in October 2022. They discussed the changes regional presses experienced during COVID, and provide potential authors with some insights about the publishing process:
John Brock, Sales and Marketing Manager, Texas Tech University Press (https://www.ttupress.org)
Ronald Chrisman, Director, University of North Texas Press (https://untpress.unt.edu)
Thom Lemmons, Editor in Chief, Texas A&M University Press (https://www.tamupress.com)

Gene and Scott talk to historian Deborah Liles, the W.K. Gordon Chair of Texas History at Tarleton State University, about her stained glass business and transitioning to a PhD in History. She discusses her research on slavery on 19th century West Texas ranches. She also discusses her influences at the University of North Texas, Randolph B. "Mike" Campbell and Richard B. McCaslin. We also talk about public perceptions about history.

Scott and Gene learn about Texas German history and Christmas traditions from Tara V. Kohlenberg, the Director of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives in New Braunfels.
After learning a bit about the history of German immigration to Central Texas in the 1840s, they discuss traditions like Sankt Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day),  Adventskalendar (the Advent calendar), German Christmas treats Stollen, Lebkuchen and Glühwein, and the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market)

For more information about New Braunfels history, or planning a visit, contact the Sophienburg Museum and Archives at https://sophienburg.com.