~ West Texas Historical Association ~
The 86th annual meeting annual was held on April 2-4, 2009, in Lubbock, Texas.
Registration: Registration began at noon on Friday and the first session began at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and concluded at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Program: Presented in 23 sessions were 59 papers and panel discussions. This included the participation of members of the East Texas Historical Association, the Texas Oral History Association, the Permian Historical Society, and the Center for Big Bend Studies.
The 2008 Program Committee was made up of the following members: Robert J. Hall, Connie Aguilar, Tai Kreidler, Freedonia Paschall and Lynn Whitfield.
Facilities: All sessions and the Saturday luncheon were held at the Radisson Hotel.
WTHA's 2009 conference was featured in the May 28th issue of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Read the article. McCamey news also ran an article on April 23rd about the 2009 meeting. The Abilene newspaper ran an article on author Bill Neal winning this year's Richardson Award.
- Early Bird Reception and Dinner from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library on the Texas Tech University campus.
Friday's schedule, April 3, 2009
- Registration began at approximately at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel
- The Silent Auction ran from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Mesa Room of the Radisson Hotel
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Session I: 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. |
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| Santa Fe Room - Twentieth Century Crime in Texas, David Murrah, Rockport, presiding | |
| 1 | The Unsolved Murder of Frank Nand Singh, T. Lindsey Lindsey, Strawn |
| 2 | Muddy Streets and Dirty Deeds: Crime and Punishment in Desdemona, A West Texas Oil Field Town, Joe Grimshaw, Fort Worth |
| 3 | The Hunt Murders in Littlefield Texas, 1943, Christena Stephens, Sundown |
| Adobe Room - The Future of West Texas History, Scott Sosebee, Nacogdoches, presiding | |
| 1 | The Need for a Research Fellowship in West Texas, Glen Ely, Ft. Worth |
| 2 | The Excellence in West Texas History Fellowship, Diana Davids Hinton, Midland |
| 3 | New and Future Interpretations of the Texan West, Ty Cashion, Huntsville |
| Pueblo Room - Changing Times, New Frontiers, and High Expectations: Western Towns, Banking and Jews in the Texas Panhandle, Scott Sosebee, Nacogdoches, presiding | |
| 1 | Carly Du Menil, Canyon |
| 2 | Jan Weston, Canyon |
| 3 | Hillarie Easley-McPherson, Canyon |
| ~Lunch on your own~ | |
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Session II: 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. |
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| Pueblo Room - Texicans, Zombies and Integration, John Caraway, Clyde, presiding | |
| 1 | Why Not Let the Gringos Die?, Lewis Toland, Roswell |
| 2 | El Muerto: Fact or Fiction? Robin E. Clark, Mason |
| 3 | The Smartest Move I Ever Made: Wilbert Montgomery, Abilene Christian University, and the Fight Against Racism in West Texas, 1973-1976, Edward J. Robinson, Abilene |
| Adobe Room - Artists and Architects of the 20th Century Whose Works Emulate The Texan West in Form, Theme and Spirit, Lynn Whitfield, Lubbock, presiding | |
| Panel Members: Troy Ainsworth, El Paso; Holle Humphries, Lubbock; Robert Reitz, Oak Cliff; and J. Tillapaugh, Odessa | |
| Santa Fe Room - Artists and Novelists from Texas, Heather Soyka, Lubbock, presiding | |
| 1 | Paul Ruiz, The Sheep Shearing Artist from Eola, Texas, Gloria Duarte, San Angelo |
| 2 | T. T. Perry, Artist in Stone, Montie Guthrie, Santa Anna, and Tom Bell, Abilene |
| 3 | Novelist Sandra Scofield, Diane Warner, Lubbock |
| ~Refreshments in the pool patio area~ | |
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Session III: 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. |
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| Adobe Room - Bad Guys and Good Guys, James Collett, Midland, presiding | |
| 1 | See No Evil, Speak No Evil: The Central Texas Mob, Ross McSwain, San Angelo |
| 2 | No Reason to Kill: The Search for Sheila Elrod's Killer, Russell S. Smith, San Angelo |
| 3 | The Girvin Social Club: Fiction Not Fact, Guy Edward Mills, Midland |
| Santa Fe Room - 20th Century Social Movement in the U. S. - Mexico Borderlands, J. Tillapaugh, Odessa, presiding | |
| 1 | When They Came: Militarization, Conflict, and Race along the Texas-Mexico Border, 1916, Miguel Levario, Lubbock |
| 2 | Nos Retiramos Desde Hoy a la Vida Privada: Villismo and the Construction of Agricultural Colonies, John Eusebio Klingemann, San Angelo |
| 3 | Educational Activism in the Texas Borderlands, 1930-1940, Maritza de la Trinidad, Canyon |
| Pueblo Room - Historical Lubbock and the Ozark Trail Assn., Bruce Glasrud, Seguin, presiding | |
| 1 | The Nicolette Hotel & the Founding of Lubbock, Ashley Pettiet-Richey, Norman, OK |
| 2 | The Greatest Armistice Day in Lubbock: Texas Tech 1924, H. Allen Anderson, Lubbock |
| 3 | William "Coin" Harvey & the Ozark Trail Association, Marilyn Collins, Fayetteville, AK |
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Session IV: 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. |
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| Adobe Room - Geographical Musings: Music, Place and Texas, Andy Wilkinson, Lubbock, presiding | |
| 1 | A Resounding Landscape: West Texas in Recorded Popular Music, Curtis Peoples, Lubbock |
| 2 | Hell in Texas: Crossings between Sin and Salvation in Texas Folk Songs, Ken Baake, Lubbock |
| 3 | Sweet Abilene, I've been so Long in Coming: Abilene in Song, Joe W. Specht, Abilene |
| Santa Fe Room - Joint Session - Permian Historical Society, Peggy Kelton, McCamey, presiding | |
| 1 | Frontier Service of Stephen Carpenter, James Collett, Midland |
| 2 | Remembering Paul Patterson's Humor - Up Close and Personal, Evelyn Stroder, Crane |
| 3 | Desegregating Two Community Colleges: Test Cases in West Texas, Daniel Cade Allen, Midland |
| Pueblo Room - Borderland Studies, John Eusebio Klingemann, San Angelo, presiding | |
| 1 | Whiting and Poli Explore the Big Bend, 1849, Glenn Justice, San Angelo |
| 2 |
Construction of a Border
Wall, Mathew Aycock, San Angelo
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- The President's Reception, honoring Shirley Eoff, begans at 6:00 p.m. at the Lubbock Women's Club at 2020 Broadway
- Dinner begans at 7 p.m. at the Lubbock Women's Club at 2020 Broadway. President Shirley Eoff, San Angelo, presiding
- Presentation: The evening program begans around 8:00 p.m. with guest speaker Ty Cashion presenting "The End of Texceptionalism: The Lone Star Mind & Notions of a Usable Past"
Saturday's schedule, April 4, 2009
- Registration ran from 8:00-11:00 a.m. in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel
- Silent Auction rans from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Mesa Room of the Radisson Hotel
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Session V: 8:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. |
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| Pueblo Room - Sifting Through West Texas and the Best Student Essay, Peggy Hardmann, Portales, presiding | |
| 1 | Muleshoes and Mysteries, Bob Burton, Synder |
| 2 | My Five Favorite Finds: Paleo Artifacts from the Western South Plains, Gene Lynskey, Whiteface |
| 3 |
Best Student Essay: Prisoners Among Prisoners: Conflicts at Camp Barkeley, Texas, Ruth Ann Shirley, McMurray University |
| Santa Fe Room - Itinerant Printers, Star Gazing and "The Cinderella Kids", Brendan Tynan, Lubbock, presiding | |
| 1 | Printers of West Texas, Bruce Cammack, Lubbock |
| 2 | The McDonald Observatory: Science in West Texas, David Gossman, Lubbock |
| 3 | Weldon B. Chapman and the Lubbock High "Cinderella Kids", Bill Tynan, Lubbock |
| Adobe Room - Longhorns, Ranching Heritage and Aviation, TBA, presiding | |
| 1 | The Yates Family Legacy: The Preservation of a Texas Icon, Texas Longhorn Cattle, Frank Sharp, Abilene |
| 2 | Beyond the Windmill, Scott White, Lubbock |
| 3 | Gibbs Field and Winfield Airport in Fort Stockton Before and After WWII, Betty Hargus, Fort Stockton |
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Session VI: 9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. |
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| Santa Fe Room - Itinerant Printers, Star Gazing and "The Cinderella Kids", Brendan Tynan, Lubbock, presiding | |
| Panel Members: Theodore Lawe, Dallas; Bruce Glasrud, Seguin; Joe Atkins, Dallas; and Gwendolyn Lawe, Dallas | |
| Adobe Room - Joint Session - Center for Big Bend Studies - Fabrics of History in the Big Bend of Texas, William "Andy" Cloud, Alpine, presiding | |
| 1 | Stories on Stone: Rock Art of Historic Texas Indians, Reeda Peel, Alpine |
| 2 | Los Indios Del Despoblado: Historic Native Cultural Manifestations of the Eastern- Trans-Pecos of Texas, Richard Walter, Alpine |
| 3 | Big Dreams in a Poor Land, David Keller, Alpine |
| Pueblo Room - The Conscious Transformation of the Southern Plains: Empire, Eradication and Electrification, Paul H. Carlson, Lubbock, presiding | |
| 1 | South Plains Land Colonization: The Fallow Empire of W. P. Soash, Philp G. Pope, Lubbock |
| 2 | Eradicating the Competition: Predator and Pest Extermination on the Southern Plains, Aaron Riley, Lubbock |
| 3 | Establishing Connections: The Rural Electrification Administration in Lubbock and the South Plains, Sarah Barwinkel, Lubbock |
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Session VII: 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. |
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| Pueblo Room - Architecture in Texas, John White, Lubbock, presiding | |
| 1 | Mabel Welch, El Paso's First Woman Architect, Troy M. Ainsworth, El Paso |
| 2 | Castle Builder of West Texas: Abilene's Architect, David S. Castle, Gary L. Lindsey, Abilene |
| 3 | The "Jackson Block" in Downtown Sonora: Architecture & Ornament as Investments in Turn-of-the-Century Sutton County, Texas, Richard Wright, Laredo |
| Santa Fe Room - West Texas Oil & Gas Studies at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Diana Davids Hinton, Midland, presiding | |
| 1 | Permian Basin Petroleum in the 1930s, Andrew James Hopskotch, Odessa |
| 2 | We Did What We Could: West Texas Oil and World War II, Daniel Cade Allen, Midland |
| 3 | Important Changes in Texas Oil & Gas Leasing Since 1945, Christopher Buck, Midland |
| Adobe Room - Methodism, Home Schooling and Meeting Your Maker, Garry Nall, Canyon, presiding | |
| 1 | When Methodism Grew Mightily: The Church's First One Hundred Years in Northwest Texas, David J. Murrah, Rockport |
| 2 | From Log Cabins to the TEA Party: A History of Homeschooling in Texas, Becky Matthews, San Antonio |
| 3 | History Through the Undertaker's Doors in Concho Valley, Texas, Suzanne Campbell, San Angelo |
- Lunch and Business meeting took place from 12:45-2:00 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel. Out going WTHA President, Shirley Eoff, presents, "Three Cups of Tea - West Texas Style"
- An afternoon tour of the historic sites of Ransom Canyon and Slaton, Texas. Highlights included stops at the Mercy Center, the city square, and the Harvey House. The tour included van transportation, museum fees, and evening dinner.
P.O. 41041
Texas Tech
University
Lubbock, Texas
79409-1041
Ph. 806-742-9076 wthayb@ttu.edu
WTHA 2009 Annual Meeting
Paul Carlson congratulating Fred Rathjen in honor of being named a Fellow of WTHA. Photo by Gene Preuss
B. W. Aston presenting Paul Carlson with a plaque in honor of being named a Fellow of WTHA. Photo by Gene Preuss.
Dr. Clint and Siva Chambers by the traveling Bosque Redondo exhibit that he curated. Photo by Gene Preuss.
2009 program cover: Titled The Crystal Tree, Lubbock artist Bob Chennault completed this acrylic painting in a six hour span as a tribute to Lubbock's legendary Mulberry Tree that lived from 1892-1996. Once located outside the city limits on the Caraway Ranch, the tree was eventually engulfed by Lubbock, to be found at the intersection of 50th and Indiana. As Chennault noted, "It stood for 104 years -- through ice storms, tornado, sand storms, summer rains, lightning and two World Wars, but progress and old age took its toll. It stands no more." However, the windmill still exists, moved from its original location to a place across the street, and remains as one of Lubbock's oldest structures.