Sharing the Joy of Texas History

What joy there is in sharing! I spent most of the winter reading the books I’ll share with you just below. And when the new year rolled around, John and I began traveling to share my books and the stories of my family members featured in them.

The first book I want to share is Jim Brasher’s recently published work about Sam Houston’s encampment along the Colorado River, in and around Beeson’s Landing and Dewees Ford. His book, 11 DAYS ON THE COLORADO is based on his personal research and knowledge of Texas geology. His wife, Amanda, contributed the stunning illustrations. You’ll LOVE reading it!

Meanwhile, Dr. Stephen Hardin completed another heart-wrenching publication titled TEXIAN EXODUS. This work shifts attention away from the battlefield and brings readers along the runaway scrape, with all of its horrors, as told by those who lived through it. (I’ll share more about this a few paragraphs down!)

The third book I want to share with you is SEA OF MUD, by Gregg Dimmick. After so many books which present the winning side of the Texas Revolution, Dr. Dimmick looks at the last few weeks of the ordeal through the eyes (and official military accounts) of the Mexican Army! Now, THIS is a different perspective, and I think it is a fair one. Get the book and see what YOU think!

And then as the new year came on, I linked up with a new friend, Stephanie Schroyer, to share historical thoughts with seniors in several communities. We enjoyed three months of consecutive meetings with groups in Weimar, Schulenburg and Flatonia.

On February 1st I shared classroom time with three amazing historians in San Antonio. We spent the day at Breckenridge Middle School where I shared my poems with teachers of Texas History. And on February 9th we kicked off an interactive book club which met at Majek Winery in Schulenburg on Sunday afternoons for several months. (What fun THAT was, sharing WINE!)

On February 22nd, we attended the 2025 meeting of the Descendants of the Immortal 32. This year’s meeting was held in the Methodist Church in Gonzales, home of the amazing mural painted by Lynne Looney. My artist-friend Sue Pape and her husband Bill accompanied us this year to the convention. I was honored to be included in a grant for a class set of my books to be given to the seventh grade at Ludmila Elementary School in Shiner. I look forward to our work in the fall as I work with Erin Marshall, 7th grade Texas History teacher.

On March 7th we attended the annual convention of the Alamo Historic Society held in the Menger Hotel, just next door to the Alamo. We were impressed by the construction of a new panorama being developed in an expansion of Alamo Plaza. It is a $550 million investment in this historic site, sure to appropriately share the full history of the mission. Inside the Ball Room of the Menger I was again honored to hear Dr. Stephen Hardin (remember I mentioned his book in the opening paragraphs!) confess that “Sidney Gaston Kellogg is my favorite pioneer woman!” I was thrilled to share a copy of my book about his favorite pioneer woman and share that she is my father’s great-grandmother!

In April we continued with the Sunday interactive book club meetings with wine and good company. I was also invited to read my RUNAWAY SCRAPE poem at the meeting of the Gonzales DRT on April 5th. The following Saturday we enjoyed participating in the annual convention of the Texas German Society held in Bellville. And on April 14th we were featured guests for the program of the Yoakum Friends of the Library annual luncheon.

My Lucky Star

In May I was thrilled that the DRT awarded Susan Thomas of New Braunfels their June Franklin Naylor Award for Best Book for Children on Texas History. Her first book, MY LUCKY STAR, is based on her own family’s immigration from Germany. Despite a very active life Susan has pushed herself to complete the daunting task of writing, editing, and publishing something worthy of the reading audience. Her daughter contributed delightful illustrations.

So, as you can see, there are LOTS of opportunities for authors to share!

Susan and I are planning a meeting in June to consider possibilities for helping other authors complete their work with a finished, published product.

The genre may differ, the style may be unique, and you might seek a different audience, but all the work starts with the writing. A trusted community of writers can be a real motivation. If you’re considering putting your story on paper, and if you think you’d enjoy sharing in a small support group, go back to the front page of this website and click on the “contact” option. Share what you have in mind. I’d love to hear from you - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - some place down in Texas!