~ West Texas Historical Association ~
Summary of WTHA Annual Meeting-  Alpine, Texas

The 82nd West Texas Historical Association annual meeting was held on March 31- April 2, 2005, at Sul Ross State University, in Alpine, Texas.

Registration:  Registration began at 12:00 p.m and was ongoing until 4:30 p.m. The first session began at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and concluded at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Program:  The preliminary program called for 47 presentations in 6 sessions, which included the participation of members of the East Texas Historical Association.

Facilities:  All sessions and the Saturday lunch was held on the 2nd floor of the University Center Building on the Sul Ross State University campus in Alpine, Texas.

The 2005 Program Committee was made up of the following members:  Shirley Eoff, Brenda Haes, Judy Parsons, and Bruce Glasrud.

The 2005 Local Arrangements Committee was made up of the following members:  Travis Roberts, JoAnn Pospisil, and Larry Francell.
 Overview of the Sessions and Events
Thursday's schedule, March 31, 2005
  • Early Bird Reception and Dinner at the Holland Hotel, Alpine, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Friday's schedule, April 1, 2005

  • Tour from 9:00 a.m. to noon of the Museum of the Big Bend or the Chinati Foundation Art Collection.
  • The Board Meeting took place in the University Center, room 210, from 8:30-10:00 a.m.
  • Registration began at approximately at noon in the Main area of the 2nd floor of the University Center, Sul Ross State University.
  • The Silent Book Auction ran from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Session 1A entitled, True to the Code: Riding for the Brand in West Texas History, was chaired by Keith Owen, Lubbock Christian University, and included the following papers:

  • "Say It Ain't So or History a la 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,'" by Keith Own, Lubbock Christian University
  • "Defending Myth in West Texas History," by Michael Whitley, Lubbock Christian University
  • "The Buffalo Hunters Were Here, or There: Amateurs, Professionals, and the Politics of History," by Kregg Fehr, Lubbock Christian University

Session 1B entitled, Texas Rangers in Elmer Kelton's Rusty Shannon Novels, was chaired by Kenneth Davis, and included the following papers:

  • "Zealots and Vendettas: Character and Conflict in Elmer Kelton's Texas Ranger Novels," by Becky Matthews, San Antonio
  • "Historical Background of Comanche-Anglo Personal Connection in Elmer Kelton's Texas Ranger Novels," by Lou Rodenberger, Baird
  • "Standing Proud from a Buckskin Line to Jericho's Road," by Lewis Toland, New Mexico Military Institute

Session 1C entitled, Caring for Body and Soul in West Texas Communities, was chaired by Judy Parsons, and included the following papers:

  • "L. R. Millican: The Baptist Warhorse of the West," by Joe Early, Cumberland College, Williamsburg, Kentucky
  • "The Art of Medicine 100 Years Ago," by Robert L. Carr, Lubbock
  • "Impatient Tuberculosis Treatment: A Case Study in West Texas," by Katie Plum, Angelo State University

Session 2A entitled, Ethnic Groups in West Texas History, was chaired by Bruce A. Glasrud, and included the following papers:

  • "Black Troopers and the Staked Plains Horror of 1877," by Paul Carlson, Texas Tech University
  • "The T-Anchor Ranch and Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory: The Cowboys and the Indians," by Brenda L. Haes, Texas Tech University
  • "From Survival to Revival: The Tiguas and Kickapoos of Western Texas," by James M. Smallwood, Oklahoma State University, Emeritus

Session 2B entitled, Imagery in West Texas: Myth or Reality, was chaired by Gretchen Adams, and included the following papers:

  • "Guten Tag, Pardner: German Author Karl May and the American West," by Matt Tippens, Texas Tech University
  • "The Power of Cowboy Myth and Imagery at the Lubbock National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration," by Scott Sosebee, Texas Tech University
  • "Elmer Kelton and the Code of the West: The Western as a Classic but Evolving Art Form," by Susan Blassingame, Lubbock Christian University

Session 2C entitled, Civil War and Frontier Outposts, was chaired by Lynn Whitfield, and included the following papers:

  • "The Civil War in West Texas," by Glen Ely, Fort Worth
  • "Old Soldiers Fade Away: Confederates Buried in San Antonio," by Jim Matthews, San Antonio
  • "Fort Quitman," by J. Mike Laverde, El Paso

Session 3A entitled, Progressives in West Texas, was chaired by Scott Sosebee, and included the following papers:

  • "Murdo Mackenzie and Theodore Roosevelt: Progressive Leaders on the Cattle Frontier," by Leland Turner, Texas Tech University
  • "Post City: Utopia or Industrial City?" by Sam Prose, Texas Tech University
  • "'Rejecting Mediocrity:'" The Marfa History Club and Reform in Presidio County, 1899-1920," by Kevin Motl, Texas A&M University

Session 3B entitled, Drought and Water Conservation, was chaired by Janet Neugebauer, and included the following papers:

  • "The Evaporating Frontier: Drought and Northwest Texas, 1854-1865, by Kevin Z. Sweeney, Wayland Baptist University
  • "The Life and Times of A. A. Meredith," by Rusty Hawkins, Texas Tech University
  • [Student Essay Award Winner]

Session 3C entitled, West Texas- People and Places, was chaired by Monte Monroe, and included the following papers:

  • "John Duncan Young, Vaquero of the Brush Country," by Roy Young, Apache, Oklahoma
  • "The Llano Estacado," by Sandy Hoover, Texas Tech University
  • "Jack Stilwell, Army Scout and Plainsman: West Texas Connections," by Clint Chambers, Lubbock
  • The President's Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. at the main lobby of the Holland Hotel, downtown Alpine.
  • Dinner begins around 7 p.m., also at the Holland Hotel.
  • Presentation: The evening program begins around 8:00 p.m.  Guest speaker Ted Gray, author of the award-winning book, "The Working Cowboy," will present "Local Resident and Working Cowboy."

Saturday's schedule, April 2, 2005

  • Registration began at approximately at 7:30 a.m. in the Main area of the 2nd floor of the University Center, Sul Ross State University.
  • The Silent Book Auction ran from 8:00 1.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Session 4A entitled, East Texas Historical Association Session, chaired by Archie P. McDonald, and included the following papers:

  • "The Murder at Potters Point," by Bob Bowman, Lufkin
  • "'Yes, Your Honor, But He Needed Killing': Percy Foreman for the Defense," by Mark Barringer, Stephen F. Austin State University

Session 4B was the Center for Big Bend Studies Session, and included the following papers:

  • "The Assassination of Pancho Villa," by Ruben Osario, Sul Ross State University
  • "The Maneuver Division: U. S. Mobilization During the Madero Revolution, 1911," by Gerald G. Raun, Alpine
  • "A Chihuahuan Revolution: Francisco Villa's Division del Norte," by John Klingemann Franco, University of Arizona

Session 5A entitled, Cattlemen, Sheepherders, and Businessmen in West Texas, was chaired by Travis Roberts, and included the following papers:

  • "Cattlemen vs. Sheepherders in West Texas," by Bill O'Neal, Carthage
  • "Through the Eyes of David Williams: West Texas Pioneer," by Shannon Sturm, Angelo State University
  • "John Twohig, West Texas Landowner and Texas Patriot," by Suzanne Campbell, Angelo State University

Session 5B entitled, Railroads and Airmen, was chaired by Wes Sheffield, and included the following papers:

  • "South Plains Army Airfield, Silent Warriors," by Jake W. Sheffield, Burleson
  • "Train Crash at Crush, Texas," by David Scott, Lubbock Christian University
  • "Caboose Tales," by Wayne Lease, Garland

Session 5C entitled, Artistic Interpretations of West Texas Landscapes and Restoration of Historic Sites, was chaired by Gloria Duarte, and included the following papers:

  • "Whipple's Pacific Railway Survey of the 35th Paralle," by Larry Francell, Sul Ross State University
  • "Why Donald Judd in Marfa, Texas? The History and Allure of Texas Light and Space on Artists," by Holle Humphries, University of Texas
  • "This Old Hotel," by Becky Davidson, Texas Tech University

Session 6A entitled, Frontier Justice and Injustice, was chaired by Tom Crum, and included the following papers:

  • "More Than One Way to Skin a Cat... Or to Win a Murder Trial," by Bill Neal, Quanah
  • "Divorce, Murder, and Mayhem in Early San Angelo, by Shirley M. Eoff, Angelo State University
  • "Who Was Who Under Those Hoods: An Analysis of the Membership of the Amarillo Klan, Bruce Cammack, Texas Tech University

Session 6B entitled, Native American Populations and Warfare in West Texas, was chaired by Tiffany Fink, and included the following papers:

  • "The Populations of the Spanish Missions on the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River," by Robert H. Jackson, Spring
  • "Treacherous, Deceitful, or Just Plain Smart? Lipan Apache Warfare in Spanish Texas," by Thomas A. Britten, UTB-TSC
  • "W. B. Anglin, Texas Ranger and 'Last' Comanche Victim in Texas," by Robert R. Truitt, Jr., Midland
  • Lunch started at 12:30 p.m. in the University Center Building, Sul Ross State University, 2nd floor. WTHA President Preston Lewis, presided, and the presentation "The WASP Who Fell from the Sky" was given.
  • The Tour at Fort Davis began at 5:00 p.m. for the "From Retreat to Tattoo" event.
  • Dinner was served at the Indian Lodge Historical Site at 8:00 p.m.
  • The Star Party was held at McDonald Observatory at 9:30 p.m.

P.O. 41041
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
79409-1041
Ph. 806-742-9076 wthayb@ttu.edu

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