Texas: Not Just Cowboy Art When I first moved to Texas in 2009, I figured that local museums would mainly feature paintings with cowboys, Indians and longhorns, especially in Fort Worth since that Texas city claims to be, “where the west begins.” Only Michelangelo Painting in the Western Hemisphere So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that north Texas museums have well-rounded collections featuring a wide variety of art – from ancient times up through the present. Fort Worth, in fact, is home to the only Michelangelo painting in the western hemisphere! The painting, filled with fascinating-yet-creepy creatures, was painted…
Tag: history
Bad Santa Sparks Massive Manhunt in Texas One of the biggest manhunts in Texas state history was for none other than Santa Claus. But before I go further, let me set the scene: Dead Bank Robber Reward Program While “Wanted: Dead or Alive,” is the phrase commonly associated with bounty posters, back in 1927, the Texas Bankers Association (TBA) did away with the, “or alive,” clause and began offering a reward of $5000 for each dead bank robber that citizens or law enforcement could produce. Called the Dead Bank Robber Reward Program, this bounty was in response to a massive crime…
German Culture is Part of Texas For some reason, when people speak of immigrants to the USA, New York’s Ellis Island gets all the press. We tend to overlook the fact that the port of Galveston in Texas brought many newcomers to our country, as well. Starting in the 1830’s, for instance, tens of thousands of Germans came to Texas. Although their cultural influence extends across the state, most of them settled in the Hill Country (near Austin), creating towns such as Fredricksburg, Boerne (pronounced, “bernie”) and New Braunfels. While the German flag never flew over Texas, its language and…
Texas is full of historic graveyards and I love exploring them. I rarely visit modern cemeteries, unless there is someone famous buried there or a particularly unique headstone to check out. For the most part, newer graveyards lack the history, the beautiful old trees, and the finely crafted headstones and monuments of the older ones. Yesterday, however, I checked out a graveyard that has only been around since 1982. What made me curious about Smoke Rise Farm (11330 Mountain View Drive, Azle, Texas 76020) is that it’s a pet cemetery. I’d never seen an official animal graveyard before, so I…