Texas Artist / Illustrator: Jack Jackson

Did you Know? Artist/cartoonist, Jack Jackson, (1941-2006) was born in Pandora, Texas (Pop 200) but migrated to Austin in the early sixties where he landed a job at the Texas Ranger humour magazine. Jackson became friends there with Gilbert Shelton. (Another 60's icon) and the two soon found themselves heading off to San Francisco to join the "flower power" revolution. In 1969, Jackson, Shelton, and two other Texans, Fred Todd, and Dave Moriaty bought an offset printing press and started the infamous, Rip Off Press, the original underground comix publisher.  (Photo-Jack Jackson)

 

The press published cult favorites from Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers to R. Crumb's Comix and Stories. But history and Texas were never far from Jackson's mind and later set out to produce works of Texas in "real historical terms." Jackson's graphic novels include stories of Juan Seguin and other Mexican-American heroes of the Texas revolution - Los Tejanos; the Karankawa tribe's massacre of the Spaniards - God's Bosom; Sam Houston's time among the natives -Indian Lover: Sam Houston & the Cherokees; the way the Mexicans remember the Alamo -The Alamo: An Epic Told From Both Sides. And my personal favorite: Comanche Moon -The Story of Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker.

 

 It must also be noted that Jackson is the inspiration behind Texas Tales Illustrated, produced by myself and fellow Mineral Wells native, Mack White.

 

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2012

Black-Eyed Peas on New Year's Day

Did you Know? Some believe that the practice of eating black-eyed peas for good luck in the upcoming year dates back to the Civil War. During Sherman's famous march through Georgia, it is widely believed that the General ignored the fields of black-eyed peas while destroying other crops as the pea was a major food staple of plantation slaves. As a result, the black-eyed pea also became a major food source for those left in the wake of the Northern troops.

Black-eyed peas were farmed in China and India in pre-historic times and often eaten by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Records show that the peas were transported from West Africa to the West Indies by slaves as early as 1674. The USDA reports that the peas, (which are acutally legumes) are high in potassium, iron, and fiber. A half cup serving is the same as one ounce of lean meat.

Another explanation of the tradition says that black-eyed peas were all southern slaves had to celebrate with on the first day of January, 1863...the day the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. From that time on,the  peas were always eaten on January 1. Today, black-eyed peas are traditionally served with collard, mustard or turnip greens, pork, and cornbread. And don't forget...each pea represents one day of good luck in the new year, so one must eat 365 peas on New Year's Day to ensure prosperity for the entire year!

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know? ~The Rio Grande

Did you Know? The Rio Grande forms at the base of Canby Mountain, just east of the Continental Divide in Colorado? The river has been known by many names throughout its discovery. The Spanish names are Rio Bravo (wild or bold river) or Rio Bravo del Norte. (wild river of the north) The Keres Pueblo People's name for the Rio Grande was mets'ichi chena or Big River, while the Tiwa Pueblo People's called it paslápaane which also meant Big River. The Navajo People knew it as Tó Baʼáadi (Female River because of its southerly flow - South is female in Navajo cosmology) Other names include: Río de Nuestra Señora from the Hernando de Alvarado expedition, the Río de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and the Río Guadalquivir by the Agustín Rodríguez expedition, and Río Turbio (turbulent river) by merchant, Antonio de Espejo. Juan de Oñate is generally regarded as the first to call it the Rio Grande, when he reached its banks near the future site of El Paso in 1598. To call the river the Rio grande River is redundant as the word Rio means river in Spanish!  (Photo -The Rio Grande near Eagle Pass)

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011.

The Great Western

Did you Know? The Great Western was a nickname given to El Paso Prairie Nymph, (Prostitute) Sarah Bowman. Sarah, who was born Sarah Knight, also used the last names of Bourjette, Bourget, Bourdette, Davis, Bowman, Bowman-Phillips, Borginnis, and Foyle. She came to be known as the Great Western for her height. (Sarah stood six feet two inches tall) The nickname is thought to be a reference to a contemporary steamship of the day also noted for its size. RIP Ford wrote of Sarah, "she has the reputation of being something of the roughest fighter on the Rio Grande and was approached in a polite, if not humble, manner." During the Mexican War it is reported that Sarah offered to wade the Colorado and whip the enemy by herself if Gen. Worth would simply lend her a stout pair of tongs. Sarah is best known for opening a hotel in Saltillo, (The American House) , that she converted to a hospital. During the battle of Buena Vista, Sarah not only rescued wounded soldiers from the battlefield. but also carried them back to her hotel / hospital!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know 3?

 Did you Know? The original county seat of Hardeman County, Texas was Margaret. However in the mid-1880's, the Fort Worth and Denver Railway surveyed the area, and discovered that the town of Margaret was across the Pease River and away from where they wanted their rail lines to run. The rail road officials subsequently laid out the town of Quanah, named after Comache Chief, Quanah Parker. A special election was called, but before the vote, it was established that one could become a resident residency simply by having their laundry done in any Hardeman County town for six weeks. Amazingly, the railroad crews all became voting citizens just in time to vote Quanah as the new county seat! [Photo - Chief Quanah Parker visits Quanah on July 4, 1896. The Fort Worth and Denver Railway station is at the left.]

 

Did you Know? HideTown was a bufflo hunter's trading post in present day Wheeler County, Texas. The town was originally named for the fact that residents used buffalo hides to construct their dwellings. Later, the town camed to be called, Sweetwater. In 1876, Sweetwater was home to the infamous Sweetwater Shoot-out in which Bat Masterson shot and killed Sgt. Melvin King after King had killed local prairie nymph, Mollie Brennan. After the town applied for a Post Office in 1879, it learned the name Sweetwater was already being used in Nolan County, Texas. Legend holds that the town fathers dispatched a rider to nearby Fort Elliot (located at the time in the Eastern Panhandle of Texas) to find out an Indian word that meant Sweet Water. A Cheyenne scout supposedly offered up Mobeetie as the translation. Some insisted at the time that the Cheyenne had the last laugh on the "Buffalo Hunters" and their town as Mobeetie actually meant Buffalo Dung!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know 2?

  

 Did you Know? Even though our current Governor portrays it otherwise, the governor for the State of Texas has very little power within the halls of government. The real power resides in the office of Lt. Governor. The reasons go back to reconstruction and the reconstruction governors who held office after the war. The most notable was Edmund Jackson Davis. Davis, a radical Republican during Reconstruction, was controversial to say the least for the times. Davis held a commitment to the civil rights of black people. As such, Davis was naturally despised by racists. Davis was defeated by the Democrat Richard Coke in his bid for reelection. Davis contested the results and refused to leave office. As a result, Governor-elect Coke was forced to enter the Capitol by a ladder propped up against a second floor window. Davis called on President Grant for help but Grant refused to send troops to Texas. Davis left the capital in January 1874. On his way out, he locked the door to the governor's office and took the key with him. Coke entered his office with the help of an axe. In 1875 Texans held a constitutional convention to replace the Constitution of 1869. In 1876 Texans adopted the state's present constitution which was designed to prevent any possibility of having the changes forced on them by reconstruction, such as the power wielded by reconstruction governors, ever happen again. The Governor's duties, expanded during the Davis term were limited and dispersed among a number of independently elected offices who did not have to share the same political affliation as the governor. Republican's would not hold the Governor's office until almost a century later when Bill Clements was elected in 1978! Photo - Edmund Jackson Davis. 

Did you Know? In 1620, María de Jesús de Agreda, a Franciscan nun, also known as the Lady in Blue (The nuns' habit was brown with an outer cloak of coarse blue) would often lapse into a trance state in which she believed she was transported to far away lands where she taught the Gospel to wild pagan-like people. In July 1629, a group of Jumano Indians from West Texas appeared at the Franciscan Co...nvent of Isleta. (Near present day Albuquerque) The Jumanos had a basic understanding of Christianity, and were seeking more religious teaching. When asked how they learned about the religion, they responded that, "The Woman in Blue had taught them." Photo - María de Jesús de Agreda, The Lady in Blue.

Did you know? Balmorhea, Texas got its name as a result of a disagreement by the town's four developers. The men, Mr. BALcome, Mr. MORrow, and the RHEA were on a train when the argument broke out. A quick thinking conductor suggested using the amalgam. The town is best known for sharing its name with the Balmorhea State Park, home to the San Solomon Springs even though the springs are located 4 miles south of Balmorhea in Toyahvale. The springs, a little known Texas treasure, flow between 22 and 29 million gallons of water each day. The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936 and 1941.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know?

Did you know? James Britton "Brit" Bailey, a Kentucky legislator, arrived in Texas in 1821 after being investigated for forgery. Brit entered Stephen F. Austin's Brazoria Colony as a member of the Old 300. He later fought at the Battle of Jones Creek in 1824 and the Battle of Velasco in 1833. However, Brit never gained the respectability he so coveted in Texas. He died in 1832, an alcoholic reclus...e by some accounts. His last request was that he be buried standing up, his gun on his shoulder and a jug of whiskey at his feet. It was reported that Brit said of this strange request - "Bury me standing up, facing west, so no one can look down on me even in death." After his death, residents reported seeing a ball of light near his grave site. many believe the eerie light, known as Bailey's Light, was Brit's ghost in search of more whiskey!

 

 

Did you know? John Lang Sinclair of Boerne, Texas composed: The Eyes of Texas in 1903. Sinclair, a student at the University of Texas wrote the song on a piece of scrap laundry paper at the request of his roommate, then band director, Lewis Johnson. Johnson needed a lively tune for a minstrel show to benefit the University track team. Sung to the tune of, I've Been Working on the Railroad, Sinclai...r's title lyrics were taken from UT President, Dr. William Lamdin Prather. Prather constantly warned students around campus that, "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You." The UT Student's Association copyrighted the song in 1936 as the official school song. Today many still mistake the song for the official state song!

 

 

Did you know? Sophia Porter, who participated in the Runaway Scrape, claims to have arrived at San Jacinto after the battle and nursed Sam Houston's badly wounded ankle. She married Holland Coffee in 1839. The newlyweds traveled north to the Red River and Coffee's Station. They established Glen Eden Plantation and the town of Preston. During the Civil War, she earned the nickname, the Confederate ...Paul Revere, for her ride across the Red River to warn Col. James G. Bourland, that Northern troops were at her plantation and searching for him. Legend says that Sophia plied the Northern troops with wine to keep them inebriated while she rode to warn Bourland. Today, Glen Eden sits at the bottom of Lake Texoma!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011