Merry Christmas, Texas Style

Jason Merlo, photographer
Texas yucca and red oak saplings - Burnet County, Texas

It's how we show our Christmas spirit.

San Jacinto Day! Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!

Veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto at a meeting of the Texas Veterans' Association in Galveston circa 1880. Center row, third from left: Valentine Ignatius Burch of Tyler County, Texas. Center row, second from left: Valentine Burch. Front row, second from right: George Petty of Washington County.

Courtesy the Star of the Republic Museum via the Portal to Texas History.

Via Traces of Texas.

My friend Don never forgets this ... he's the one always reminding me it is San Jacinto Day He has told me many a time:

I try to remember all of these good Texas holidays. They really bring home how unique the state –and future Republic?—truly is. This one is a real holiday, not like Cinco de Mayo. I mean, if you have a holiday to celebrate beating the French, then every day would be a holiday!

Ha! No kidding!

Let's all lift a margarita high to the Texian heroes of the decisive battle of the Texas revolution!

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Celebrating Texas Independence.

Let us raise our margarita glasses high in tribute to the brave heroes of the Texas Revolution.

Let's all celebrate with that classic Texan dish, Cheese Enchiladas. You can get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen where there is a recipe for classic style or casserole style.

Below is a wonderful commentary on Texan distinctiveness which I love to read every year when this holiday comes around.

The Republic of Texas was an ephemeral empire. Like the spring bluebonnets, it bloomed, blossomed, and blanched with the sands of time. But also like the state flower, its scent lingers in the hearts and imaginations of every Texan. A moment ago I referred to Texas nationalism. Many outside the state would, no doubt, find that remarkably pretentious, but those who live here understand the truth of it. Texas existed as a nation for ten years; Texans got used to the idea; and nationalism is a difficult habit to break. The novelist John Steinbeck perhaps said it best:

Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word.

March 2 is a day to celebrate Texas distinctiveness. Now I'm not saying that Texans are better that other folks, but I am saying that we're different. And if a people consider themselves different, they are. March 2 should be to Texans what St. Patrick's Day is to the Irish. But what if you are a Tejano. Should you want to celebrate the day that Texas separated itself from Mexico. You bet! Even as early as 1835 Tejanos were distinctive from other Mexicans. The ranching culture that developed in Texas produced its own clothing, its own music, its own customs, and its own food. Gringos call it "Mexican food," but all one has to do to put the lie to that assertion is to eat the food in the interior - or try to. It is rather bland and not nearly as good as the Tejano food (we might as well call it what it really is) right here at home. We sometimes call it Tex-Mex, but in truth, it's all Tex and precious little Mex. It is found nowhere else on earth. How many things might we say that of? Tejano music is not Mexican; it is not American. It is Texan and is found nowhere else on earth. Tejanos also speak a variety of Spanish called Tex-Mex. But try using it in Mexico City, or worse yet, in Seville. Again, it is a unique language and is found nowhere else on earth. Truth is if you're a Texan - be you brown, black, white, yellow, or red - you don't rightly belong anywhere else. Steinbeck nailed that too. "A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner," he observed. That applies to Tejanos as much as, probably more than, other Texans. After all, whose family has lived here the longest?

Dr. Stephen L. Hardin,
March 2, 1836: The Myth and Meaning of Texas Independence

Preach it! Be sure to go to the link and read the entire article if the subject of Texas Independence interests you. It's far from simple and Dr. Hardin writes about it very well.

Other recommended activities:

• Read Lone Star Nation
• Watch The Alamo

The Expressive Voice of the Longhorn

"No wild animal, or domestic either, has as many vocal tones as the Longhorn. In comparison, the bulls and cows of highly bred varieties of cattle are voiceless. The cow of the Longhorns has one moo for her newborn calf, another for when it is older, one to tell it come to her side and another to tell it to stay hidden in the tall grass. Moved by amatory feelings, she has a low, audible breath of yearning. In anger, she can run a gamut. If her calf has died or otherwise been taken from her, she seems to be turning her insides out into long, sharp, agonizing bawls. I have heard steers make similar sounds. They seemed to be in the utmost agony of something so poignant to them that the utterance meant more than life and would be willingly paid for by death."

J. Frank Dobie, "The Longhorns," 1941

Photo and quote via Traces of Texas

Chili

At first chili was a hellish food for me, but now I almost can swallow it like a Mexican.

German Immigrant Ernst Kohlberg, 1876

letter to family in Germany

Today we're celebrating Texas and here's part of that rich cultural mix which has gone to make our great state so unique. Talk about a culture clash!

Pete's Meat Market

Pete's Meat Market in El Paso, 1979
via Traces of Texas

My favorite thing is the plastic cow head.

It was the sky that welcomed me back

It was the sky that was Texas, the sky that welcomed me back. The land I didn't care for that much — it was bleak and monotonous and full of ugly little towns. The sky was what I had been missing, and seeing it again in its morning brightness made me realize suddenly why I hadn't been myself in many months.

Larry McMurtry

This was just what I realized after Tom and I took a trip years ago to the East Coast. Bursting out of the East Texas piney woods into the open plain as we headed for Dallas, I felt suddenly free, suddenly relaxed, suddenly at home. Yes, that sky and those wide open spaces.

Can you spot the third man?

Click on the photo (or the link below) to see the photo larger.

This 1915 photo of three men with a giant pecan tree somewhere near San Antonio appeared in @NatGeo magazine a few years ago. And, yes, that's right: THREE men. Can you spot the third one? This is one huge pecan! They can live 200-300 years and reach 150 feet tall in the right conditions.

Traces of Texas

Mr. Lee Wing

Mr. Lee Wing, via Traces of Texas

This is via Traces of Texas which, as far as I am aware, is only on Facebook. For those not on Facebook, here's the story that goes with this wonderful photo.

Circa 1900, Mr. Lee Wing, owner of a Chinese laundry in El Paso. The story of the Chinese in El Paso is not generally known: I will relate it in further detail in a subsequent post. Suffice to say that quite a few Chinese laborers were brought in to build the railroads, particularly in south Texas. When the job was completed, many of them remained in El Paso which, to this day, has a vibrant Chinese community. In fact, if you go to the Concordia cemetery in El Paso, there is a large, walled off, separate section for folks of Chinese descent ----- the only such section that I am aware of in any cemetery in Texas.

Big Bend in the Haze

Jason Merlo Photography, Big Bend

This looks more like an impressionist painting than a photograph. Simply beautiful.

"I'm from Texas"

A man from Iowa or Illinois will say "I'm from the Middle West"..a Georgian or a Mississippian may admit to being merely a Southerner...but no Texan, given the opportunity, ever said otherwise than "I'm from Texas."

J. Frank Dobie, Texan

Indeed, very true!

State Tree, State Nut, State Pie — Pecan!

Texas State Horticulture Society, January 1916

From Traces of Texas, where we learn:

Traces of Texas reader Blair Krebs is the Executive Director for the Texas Pecan Growers Association and of course he loves studying the history of pecans in Texas. And why not? After all, it is the state tree, state nut, and state pie. This year the Pecan Growers Association is celebrating their 100-year anniversary and has been going through their archives to celebrate at their show from July 18-21 in San Marcos. They found the attached photo of the Texas State Horticulture Society meeting that took place in January 1916. The group merged with others to become the Texas Pecan Growers Association.

This is particularly appropriate since we were sure to take smaller highways when we went to Fredricksburg last weekend. One place we always enjoy driving through is San Saba, the "Pecan Capital of the WORLD!" 

The pecan orchards around town are impressive and the "Mother Pecan Tree" has been used to produce many great pecan varieties. I love knowing where some of the pecans may have come from that I use year-round.

The stars at night are big and bright. Deep in the heart of Texas.

Via Traces of Texas

Right hand and left hand

The Texas Quote of the Day:
"Hell, Judge ... I've got that much in my right-hand pocket."

"Then look in your left-hand pocket and see if you can find two years in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth."

----- Exchange between Galveston bootlegger John Nounes and Judge Joseph Hutcheson after the judge fined Nounes $5,000 in May, 1926

Via Traces of Texas

A cool summer morning in the Texas Panhandle

Taken by Traces of Texas

H-E-B - Prepared to handle any emergency, including Covid-19

Craig Boyan: Starting in January, we’ve been in close contact with several retailers and suppliers around the world. As this has started to emerge, we’ve been in close contact with retailers in China, starting with what happened in Wuhan in the early couple of months, and what kind of lessons they learned. Over the last couple of months, [we’ve been] in close contact with some of our Italian retailers and suppliers, understanding how things have evolved in Italy and now in Spain, talking to those countries that are ahead of us in the curve. We’ve been in daily contact, understanding the pace and the change and the need for product, and how things have progressed in each of those countries.

Justen Noakes: We modeled what had been taking place in China from a transmission perspective, as well as impact. As the number of illnesses and the number of deaths were increasing, obviously the Chinese government was taking some steps to protect their citizens, so we basically mirrored what that might look like. We also took an approach to what we saw during H1N1 in 2009, and later got on top of it. Our example was if we were to get an outbreak, specifically in the Houston area, how would we manage that, and how would we respond with our current resources, as well as what resource opportunities would we have.

Texas Monthly

I've mentioned before how much I love the Central Market and their parent grocery H-E-B. This (free) story shows why. They were planning, they were ready, they are considerate of their employees. And they kept my store stocked. Outstanding.

Just one more reason to love Whataburger ... and Texas

Photo: Anita Kay Duran / Facebook

Whataburger Delivers Food To H-E-B Workers Working Long Hours to Keep Shelves Stocked

Whataburger decided to help out their fellow Texans working at H-E-B in New Braunfels by bringing them food.

H-E-B has been dealing with a ton of customers panic buying as fears of coronavirus grow, which has led to a major shortage of supplies and tons of long hours for H-E-B workers trying to keep the shelves stocked for customers.

The long lines didn't stop Whataburger workers from helping, though. They brought tons of food to their fellow Texans in their time of need.

Texas Memes

A Kiss for a Horse

14-month old Jeanne Anne Evans kisses her horse near Marfa, Texas, in 1955.
Traces of Texas

Bluebonnets

Bluebonnets, taken by Jason Merlo

A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets

Julian Onderdonk, A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets, near San Antonio, 1918
via Arts Everyday Living