Wise About Texas

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has been a trying time for Texans.  But we've been through much worse.  The harsh climate, tropical ports, lack of medicine, etc. has resulted in Texans enduring several pandemics and epidemics through the years.  From yellow fever to cholera to smallpox, it seems as though we've seen it all.  Texas is sometimes a tough place to live, but Texans have always been tougher.  Hear some stories from prior pandemics in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.

Austin is famous for its music scene.  Willie, Waylon, Jerry Jeff and so many others helped Austin become weird.  But before any of them there was Kenneth Threadgill.  A preacher's son, Threadgill loved music.  He especially loved Jimmie Rogers and his yodel.  Threadgill opened a tavern that provided musicians a place to play, and college kids a place to listen.  Kenneth Threadgill and his hootenanies gave many Austin musicians their start, and launched one hippie girl to superstardom.  Hear about the earliest days of the Austin music scene and get to know one of its pioneers, Kenneth Threadgill. 

In April, 1836, two armies converged at Peggy McCormick's ranch on the banks of the San Jacinto River.  In just 18 minutes, the Texian Army routed Santa Anna and the portion of the Mexican Army he commanded.  Texas was free!  Almost immediately, the area was revered as hallowed ground in the history of Texas.  Visitors clamored to see the place where Sam Houston and the Texians claimed victory in what has been described as one of the most consequential battles in world history...the Battle of San Jacinto.  Now a Texas State Historic Site, you can walk the ground Sam Houston walked and see the place where Texas independence was finally won.  Come explore the Texas Revolution at the San Jacinto Battleground in this interview with Texas Historical Commission personnel in charge of preserving some of the most sacred ground in Texas.

Originally established in 1721 along the banks of the Guadalupe river, Presidio La Bahia was moved to its present location along the banks of the San Antonio river in 1749. Since then it has been a critical location for worship, trade, protection, battle and commerce. The presidio has been taken and re-taken as Texas has earned its reputation as one of the most contested places in North America. Perhaps it's best known as James Fannin's headquarters before his ill-fated attempt to reach Victoria, resulting in the Goliad massacre. The chapel has hosted church services since 1749, and still does today. Fort, community center, and even graveyard, there are few places in Texas as historic as Presidio La Bahia. Join me as I interview site manager Scott McMahon and explore the Texas revolution at Presidio La Bahia.

James Fannin fancied himself an accomplished military commander. But in March of 1836 he had trouble deciding where and when to move. He finally headed for Victoria but decided to stop and feed his animals. Fannin didn't realize how close the Mexican army was but he soon found out. Surrounded, without supplies, desperate, Fannin surrendered to Mexican General Urrea. The battleground where Fannin surrendered was the third historic site acquired by the State of Texas, right after the Alamo and San Jacinto. Enjoy learning what you can see at this sacred site from site manager Bryan McAuley with the Texas Historic Commission.

The twin sisters were two cannons graciously manufactured and donated to the cause of Texas liberty from the people of Cincinnati.  They served Texas well at the Battle of San Jacinto and played a key role in Texas independence.  You can see these great guns of liberty at....wait minute...no you can't.  We've lost them.  Where could they be?  Theories abound, but evidence is thin.  Some say they are buried by a bayou in Houston.  Some say they are in the bayou.  Some say they're in Austin somewhere.  Some think they were sold for scrap.  Nobody knows.  Listen to the latest episode of Wise About Texas and form your own opinion, and maybe start your own search for two of the most important artifacts in Texas history...the Twin Sisters.

Old Washington, better known as Washington on the Brazos, began with a ferry crossing on the Brazos River along the La Bahia road. The convention of 1836 would cement Washington's place in Texas history. In an unfinished building, donated to the convention for free, the Texians declared independence, elected a government and drafted a constitution. In this episode you'll hear from Texas Historical Commission site manager Jonathan Failor as he describes what you can see and experience when you explore the Texas revolution at Washington on the Brazos.

Stephen F. Austin chose to set up the capitol of his colony on the banks of the Brazos River where the El Camino Real crossed the river. He envisioned a major metropolitan area as the center of immigrant activity in his colony. He named the town San Felipe. San Felipe de Austin became the second largest town in Texas before Sam Houston ordered it burned in advance of Santa Anna's army in 1836. It was at San Felipe that land titles were issued, commerce thrived and politics was done. Today, it is a very interesting historic site at which you can get a feel for life in pre-revolution Texas. In this episode, learn more about the San Felipe State Historic Site with site manager Bryan McAuley.

184 years ago, the Texas Army was long on spirit, but short on guns.  Artillery, that is.  How would they take on Santa Anna without some "hollow ware?"  Enter the good people of Cincinnati, Ohio.  They formed a committee, the "Friends of Texas," to support our war effort.  They sent two cannons to Texas and they reached the Texas Army just in time.  Used to great effect at the Battle of San Jacinto, the "twin sisters" disappeared from history.  Where are they now?  Theories abound but nobody has located them yet.  In Part 1, hear the story of how the twin sisters came to be and the important role they played in winning the fight for freedom.

On December 7, 1941, Mess Attendant Doris "Dorie" Miller was doing laundry, one of the few jobs available to African American sailors in the U.S. Navy at the time.  When his ship came under attack, Miller rushed to help his fellow sailors.  Though not trained, and not allowed, he manned an anti-aircraft gun and engaged the attacking Japanese planes.  For his bravery and his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty, Miller was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross.  But his heroism affected not only the Navy, but the entire military.  Recently, the U.S. Navy announced yet another tribute to Dorie Miller, a Texas war hero.  Learn more about this brave Texan in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.  

 In 1629 a group of Jumano Indians suddenly appeared at a New Mexico mission, eager to learn more about Christianity.  The excited and grateful Franciscan priests wondered what motivated this sudden interest.  The tale the Indians told seemed unbelievable.  A "lady in blue" had appeared to them instructing them to seek out the priests and teaching the Indians the sign of the cross.  That sounded incredible enough but what really stunned the priests was that they had just received a letter from Spain relating the story of a nun telling the exact same tale...half a world away.  Is the Lady in Blue a myth...or a miracle?  You decide in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.  

 In 1891, one cowboy murdered another over the ownership of a brindle bull.  Other cowboys branded the bull so that all would remember the crime.  Some say the bull wanders the trans-pecos to this day, appearing whenever a certain crime occurs.  Hear about a bull branded MURDER in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.

Brian Kilmeade, best known as a host of Fox & Friends and the Brian Kilmeade show, is also a lover of history.  In his latest book, Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers, Kilmeade takes on the story of Texas independence.  As a Texan, I couldn't resist finding out why a New York author might want to write about Texas independence. In this interview, you'll learn why he loves history and how his love of history has shaped his values.  Kilmeade also shares why he believes the fight for Texas independence is so important to the American story.  I hope you enjoy this interview with TV personality and author Brian Kilmeade.  ADVISORY: Because this interview was conducted by phone, the audio is a little loud.

Right after the civil war, women weren't really expected (or even thought capable) to be in business.  But of course, Texas women proved them wrong.  Lizzie Johnson was a school teacher, but she was also a writer and discovered how lucrative the cattle business could be.  So she became a cattle baroness and Austin real estate mogul.  Learn more about the Texas Cattle Queen in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.  

Award-winning author Stephen Harrigan visits Wise About Texas to discuss his new book--a history of Texas titled Big Wonderful Thing. Mr. Harrigan talks about how, as a journalist and novelist, he approached the colossal task of writing an entire history of Texas. Among other topics, he discusses his favorite Texas stories, the impact of our history on Texas, and a writer's view of the Texas history we all love. Learn how one of Texas' greatest writers approached Texas history in this episode of Wise About Texas.

What could be better than a good vaudeville show? A runaway mule, of course! One day in Nacogdoches, it's said that a runaway mule changed the course of comedy history. Is it true? You bet your life…

Ben Kilpatrick was an outlaw.  He rode with Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch into western infamy.  The law caught up with him and he went to prison where he met Ole Hobeck.  They two decided when they got out, they'd go into business together.  Being outlaws, that business was train robbery.  So they set out for the barren landscapes and lonely railroad tracks of West Texas to score big.  But they didn't count on meeting Wells Fargo agents David Trousdale and J.K. Reagen.  They would soon wish they had thought twice...Hear about one of the last train robberies in Texas in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.

Oliver Loving was a trailblazer...literally.  He drove cattle to Illinois, Louisiana, and Colorado.  With Charles Goodnight he blazed a new western trail intended to avoid the Indian threat.  Impatient as he was brave, he rode ahead to Santa Fe and was immediately attacked.  However, he held off hundreds of Comanches while one of his men went for help.  Through luck, or fate, or toughness, or all of it, he survived the attack.  But his wounds were too severe. Before he died, his best friend promised to take his body back to Texas.  Get a taste of the cattle drives, the danger, the bravery, and promises kept in this latest episode of Wise About Texas.      

When Texans talk about the Declaration of Independence, they usually mean the one signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836. Occasionally, we refer to the Goliad declaration of 1835. But there was one before all of them. In 1813, Texans in San Antonio de Bexar declared the province of Texas to be independent. The wording sounds familiar in places but the principals are timeless, and very familiar to Texans and Americans. Learn more about what motivated the Texans of 1813 to declare independence, which ultimately led to the Battle of Medina a few months later. (PHOTO BY BOB OWEN/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS/ZUMA PRESS)

Texas has 254 wonderful counties.  But we might have 284, or maybe we did but are down some.  Or are we?  What???  Learn about counties of Texas that were created, disappeared, were repealed, or maybe still exist.  Oh yeah, we gave a couple to the USA (you're welcome, New Mexico) and Oklahoma stole one.  Learn more in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.