1/31/2013 Daily Image: River Walk Umbrellas II Giving credit where credit is due, a photography student of mine produced an image like this (only better) during a class I was teaching in Cedar Hill. That’s what gave me the idea to find the right vantage point for this shot. River Walk Umbrellas II San Antonio…
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This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives and Wikipedia) Brewmeister Opens Future Landmark Hotel January 31, 1859 On this date in 1859, William Menger opened his hotel, now a landmark, on Alamo Plaza in San Antonio. In partnership with Charles Philip Degen, he also operated a brewery on the site. The hotel is…
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This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Lightnin’ Hopkins Dies January 30, 1982 On this day in 1982, blues singer Sam (Lightnin’) Hopkins died of cancer. Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, in 1912. At age eight he made his first instrument, a cigar-box guitar with chicken-wire strings. By ten he was…
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1/29/2013 Daily Image: Texas Star While staying with some friends at Possum Kingdom Lake for the Fourth of July weekend, I went out for a sunrise walk in search of interesting images. I found this stamped steel Texas star lying in the gravel, having fallen from the tree on which it normally hung. The dappled…
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This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Texas Votes to Secede January 29, 1861 On this day in 1861, the Secession Convention of the state of Texas voted overwhelmingly to secede from the United States. South Carolina had seceded in December 1860. The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln precipitated the fall of…
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This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Future Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Born in Texas January 29, 1908 On this day in 1908, Alton Stricklin, County Music Hall of Fame musician, was born in Antioch, Texas. He joined Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1935, after Bob…
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This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Texas Astronaut Killed as Space Shuttle Explodes January 28, 1986 On this day in 1986, the world watched in horror as the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. Seven American astronauts were killed, including Texas resident Judith Arlene Resnik. She was the second American woman astronaut and had…
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1/27/2013 Daily Image: Tower of the Americas At 750 feet tall, the Tower of the Americas is 86 feet taller than it’s more famous contemporary, the Seattle Space Needle. The restaurant at the top continuously rotates 360 degrees to offer one of the best views of San Antonio. Designed by San Antonio architect O’Neil Ford…
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This day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Record-Setting Sharpshooter Dies in San Antonio January 27, 1945 On this day in 1945, Elizabeth Toepperwein died in her home in San Antonio. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882. At eighteen, while working in a Winchester factory, she met Adolph (Ad) Toepperwein,…
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This day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Murphy Earns Medal of Honor January 26, 1945 On this day in 1945, Audie Murphy, the most-decorated soldier in United States history, earned the Medal of Honor by single-handedly repelling a German attack. The Texas native enlisted in the United States Army in June 1942.…
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