…and it starts this weekend!
The State Fair of Texas features exhibitions, demonstrations, music and cultural events, livestock shows, women’s and children’s cooking and handcrafts, and a whole lot more. Special tickets are available for students and homeschool families (though they go quickly. You might need to put this on your list for next year.)
The Fair is an event, though, and deep fried Twinkies–that’s a cultural experience, right?
I think that I shall never see
A thing so scraggly as the bois d’arc tree.
-paraphrase by me 
Every year as we study geography and Indian cultures, I think of bois d’arc trees. They’re big and scraggly and produce bumpy green fruit about the size of a grapefruit–which they drop all over the ground in the fall.
You might have heard this tree called by some of its other names: Osage orange, hedge apple, or horse apple.
Bois d’arc (pronounced “bodark”) is French for “bow wood.” Native Texans prized the extremely hard wood of the bois d’arc for making bows. A bow made of bois d’arc wood took a long time to make and a lot of strength to pull, but it would spring back and launch an arrow far afield, and it was unlikely to break easily.
Settlers sometimes planted bois d’arc trees close so that their tangled, thorny branches would form a hedge that was “horse high, bull strong, and hog tight.” Because the wood naturally resists decay, it also made good fence posts.
Have you met Big Tex?
The official greeter of the State Fair of Texas was “born” in Kerens, Texas 14 miles east of Corsicana. He began life as a larger-than-life Santa Clause in 1949. That makes him 62 years old this year.
In 1952 he was sold and transformed into a 52-foot-tall cowboy. See that 10-gallon hat? Big Tex is so big, it’s actually a 75-gallon hat!
You know what they say–everything’s bigger in Texas! Read more about this Texas-sized icon here.
The State Fair of Texas runs 30 September-23 October this year and is well worth the trip!
Modern-day cowboys are driving Texas Longhorns up the trail to Kansas in honor of that state’s 150th anniversary, and the wonders of the internet let you ride along!
You can follow their daily blog posts and photo essays here.
The University of Texas tried to interest oil prospectors in 2 million acres of relatively useless land in the Texas panhandle, but for years no one was interested.
A small partnership leased the land, raised funds, and began drilling. Some Catholic sisters were among those who pooled their savings to invest. They gave the company president a package of dried rose petals blessed in the name of Saint Rita, patron of impossible causes. When the derrick was built, he climbed to the top, sprinkled the petals on the west Texas wind, and named the well “Santa Rita” to honor their request.
Always under-funded and in a desperate race against deadlines, the drilling company struggled to survive. The site was remote and progress was maddeningly slow—less than five feet a day through 3000 feet of rock. Finally, after almost 2½ years, the drillers noticed gas bubbles escaping through the water that cooled the drill bits. They stopped drilling for the day, but early the next morning—May 28, 1923—the well came in, spewing a mist of black oil.
The Santa Rita #1 pumped up to 200 barrels of oil per day, and the ancient Permian Basin became a part of Texas’ future.
May 18 (1855) is the birthday of John “Bet-a-Million” Gates.
John Gates came to San Antonio as barbed wire salesman in 1876, but Texans were reluctant to believe the fine wire could contain rough and hardy longhorn cattle.
Gates got permission to fence the town square with his new barbed wire. Billing the demonstration as entertainment, he offered $10 to anyone whose cattle could break through the fence. None of the 35-40 corralled cattle succeeded, and in 90 days Gates sold enough orders to keep the manufacturer busy for more than a year.
Foreseeing a need for steel, Gates patented a steel production process bought by the United States Steel Corporation, America’s first billion dollar manufacturer. He also built the 800-mile Kansas City and Southern railroad, connecting the heartland with ports on the Gulf of Mexico.
Gates used his fortune to back oil exploration near Beaumont, Texas. Two months later on January 10, 1901 Spindletop began gushing 100,000 barrels a day, making Gates an immensely wealthy man. He organized the Texas Oil Company (Texaco) and built the first oil pipeline to carry crude to the coast.
Texas won independence from Mexico when Sam Houston’s army captured Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, but the signing of the Treaty of Velasco (May 14, 1836) made Texas independence official!
commemorates Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Puebla is deep in the heart of Mexico.
The battle occurred long after Texas won its independence from Mexico.
The celebration is not a particularly important holiday in Mexico (outside of Pueblo, of course). This is NOT Mexico’s Independence Day. Mexico won their independence from Spain on September 16th.
BUT in Texas, Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate Hispanic heritage.
Field Trip Idea: Many cities sponsor parades and cultural exhibits to mark el Cinco de Mayo. Plan to attend a celebration near you. If you can’t find a local celebration, why not celebrate with a traditional meal? You may even want to experiment with recipes you can make at home.
Santa Anna’s army marched toward Anahuac, burning Harrisburg on their way. Sam Houston’s army hurried to intercept him. On April 20 both armies arrived at San Jacinto.
Santa Anna expected Houston’s exhausted recruits to rest and regroup, but Houston decided on a surprise attack. At about 3:30 in the afternoon of April 21, while the unsuspecting Mexicans were taking a siesta, Houston led his 910 men with cries of, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” They fired at almost point blank range, scattering the terrified Mexicans who had no time to group for battle.
After the battle, Santa Anna could not be found. The next day, a Texas sergeant apprehended a Mexican in a common soldier’s uniform trying to sneak away under cover. As he brought his captive to General Houston, the other Mexican prisoners recognized him and began to shout, “El Presidente!” Santa Anna was forced to surrender in disgrace.
The Texas rebellion didn’t come to a head until March-April 1836, but six years earlier (April 6, 1830) Mexico passed a law banning further immigration from the United States for all the reasons we discussed here.
The Civil War did not begin until 1861, but the issues of slavery and states’ rights had been debated for years.
Wherever there are human beings, there will be differences of opinion. But how boring would the world be if everyone thought and acted just the same? It would be like trying to paint with just one color.
Field Trip Idea: The Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio tells the story of all the people groups who immigrated to Texas–a tapestry of cultures.
