Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

Simmons Bank

The Texas Bucket List – Republic of Texas International Boundary Marker in Carthage

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Carthage – This stop is one of simplest and smallest historical sites we’ve seen in the Lone Star State but it’s definitely one of the coolest.  And it didn’t hurt having one Texas’ most honored historians along for the ride, Bill O’Neal.

Most days you can find Bill sitting in his Carthage home researching or writing about things that happened long ago. This former football coach still has his booming voice and presence but back in 1970, Bill’s life forever changed when he decided to take a job at Panola College. Over his lifetime, Bill has published 53 books and in 2011 he called it a career at Panola.  His first plan for retirement was to write some more books but then Governor Rick Perry had another idea for Bill.

So when you got the call from Governor Perry to be the official State Historian of Texas, what’d that make you feel? “Well, my goodness, I was just simply delighted to serve in that. I’d been a Texas history nut all my life and now I could really get into it. Basically, I turned myself in ambassador for Texas history,” said Bill.

For six years, Bill served as the State Historian of Texas thanks to his wealth of knowledge about the Lone Star State. Being an expert at anything is tough but Bill has a method to making sure he understands the whole story when it comes to history. “My feeling is I can’t write about it until I see it, experience it, see what the place looks like, really looks like, what the wind feels like, what the sounds are like, and so forth. So I always go everywhere I write about,” said Bill.

That includes a small marker in the middle of the woods that not many folks know about out. This curious stone that sits on the border of Louisiana and Texas isn’t a big mystery, but it is one of kind. “It is the only international boundary marker that is in the contiguous United States of the 48-state area,” said Bill.

Now if you’re asking yourself, why is there an international border marker between Texas and Louisiana?  Because any proud, card-carrying Texan can tell you that we were a country once.  But this border dispute started back when it was an issue between Spain and France. Once Texas won its independence from Mexico, it came time to establish the state’s eastern border, that took a little work between Texas and the United States. “When the Republic of Texas began to work that out with the United States of America, the United States had made the Louisiana Purchase, the Republic of Texas joined a commission with the United States and they came up the Sabine River and these commissioners had surveyors with them,” Bill told me.

This marker on the side of Farm to Market Road 31 South was set on April 23, 1841.  From here you can see Louisiana and you can see Texas.  Facing east on the marker, you find U.S. engraved on the stone, making the United States side.  On the west side of the marker you’ll see an RT for the Republic of Texas.

While the Republic of Texas ceased to be nearly 180 years ago, that chapter in our state’s history seems to stick with us through the years proving once again that Texas history is one of kind. So if you’re adamant at seeing all the history that the Lone Star State has to offer, a stop at the very last Republic of Texas international border marker is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!

The Texas Bucket List – Check It Twice – Elissa in Galveston

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GALVESTON – On a dark and dreary April morning back in 2014, we first met the Elissa. Fresh off being repaired from damage by Hurricane Ike, getting to set sail on the official tall ship of Texas was a memorable experience despite the downpour and overcast skies.  It was so memorable as a matter of fact, I had to do it again!  But this time in the glistening sun with an effervescent sea around us!

The glorious sight of the Elissa with her sails unfurled is one of the most amazing things you can see from the shores of Galveston Island.  But being able to be on the ship as it’s pulled through the surf by the power of the whipping winds is truly one of the most remarkable moments I’ve been able to experience on The Texas Bucket List.

“Where else can you go sailing on an 1870 ship in Texas? Nowhere, just in Galveston,” said Mark Scibinico. Scibinico is the Port Captain and Director of Galveston Historic Seaport, and he was his friendly self when we first visited the Elissa in Season 2 of The Texas Bucket List.

A lot has changed since we first boarded back then, when only volunteers and invited guests got to feel the wind go through their hair before it hit the sails.  Today a few more folks get to experience it. “We changed our federal status with the US Coast Guard and we’re now taking people out sailing with us as sail trainees. So, a lot of the people that you see around here have purchased a ticket to come sailing with us, to get the experience onboard the vessel what it was like back in the 1870s,” Mark said. “It’s something we’ve been working towards for a long time. The historical foundation put a lot of time and effort and probably five years’ worth of just every piece of that puzzle in order to make that happen.”

At over 200 feet long with a mast that stands 100 feet above the deck, the Elissa is a magnificent mode of transportation and has been since 1877.  Originally built in Scotland, she’s older than the Statue of Liberty and has seen ports of call all over the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Elissa has seen the sunrise over 52,000 times and none of it would be possible without the crew of volunteers that make this sail possible. “We usually are a crew of about 42. It’s about 30 or 31 of the volunteers, plus the officers and a few of the staff that make up the compliment,” Mark said.

These sailors are in charge of raising the sails and making sure the 4 and half miles of rope in the rigging is where it’s supposed to be, but they also get to experience one of the best views on the ship. “It’s an exhilarating feeling for sure. There’s no view like it, they say that that’s as close as sailors will ever get to heaven,” Mark said. “It definitely puts your adrenaline up, but you train for it, you practice for it, and then you get to experience it underway. It’s one of the unique rewards of being a crew member.”

Being on the deck was fine by me, despite a bit of an issue staying upright in choppy waters. But once the ship sets sail it’s all about the sights and lack of sounds. Seeing the skyline of Galveston Island from a few miles out while only hearing the dull roar of a conversation and the uninterrupted gust of wind makes you wonder what it must have been like back in the day, especially when you finally got to pull into port in Texas. “Galveston and Texas, that whole region, is part of the whole reason that state has stood itself up through immigration, through maritime trade, through maritime industry,” Mark said. “One of the things that we forget in the United States is just how valuable the waterfront is today, and then, and that flow of commerce in and out of the state.”

Despite the massive amount of money and time it takes to continuously operate and keep afloat this old boat, the folks at the Galveston Historic Seaport are adamant about keeping the Elissa sailing long into the future. “One of the major reasons to do this is to preserve sailing living history. It’s fine to do it in a vacuum or in a bubble with just yourselves, but what’s the point if you’re not demonstrating to the rest of the world that this is still a vibrant living piece of history?” Mark explained.

This history lesson is well worth a stop and one of my favorite experiences on The Texas Bucket List.  “If you have any kind of interest in sailing or maritime history, you can read about it until you’re blue in the face, you can’t really understand it until you experience it,” said Mark.

The Texas Bucket List – Check It Twice DriveTanks in Uvalde

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When it comes to memorable moments on The Texas Bucket List, the sound and reverberation off a Sherman Tank that I got to shoot is something I will never forget. So, we headed back to the Ox Ranch just outside of Uvalde for another chance to see the amazing animals, enjoy the luxurious lodge and dining facilities, and maybe take another tank for a spin.

“It’s hard to describe how nice it is to see people check their bucket list. They accomplished their dreams,” said Tommy Hartman.  Hartman has been working at DriveTanks since 2020 and he gets out a kick out of working at one of the most serene hunting ranches in the state. “It’s surreal to say the least. I woke up two days ago and there were two giraffes in my front yard,” Tommy said.

A few years back, Tommy saw an ad on Instagram to come work at DriveTanks and he thought it was too good to be true. “Kind of thought it was a joke, so I sent my resume and now I’m here,” Tommy said. “It’s not work, it’s a dream really.”

DriveTanks prides itself on being a hands-on experience were you can drive, shoot, and experience all sorts of historic military machines and historic arms.  Since we last visited in 2017, it’s expanded to offer even more, even a military style barracks for folks to stay on their adventure! “So we’ve added a whole new garage. We’ve probably added right around 10 vehicles, probably a hundred firearms. We got everything from Howitzers, flame throwers, RPGs, all the works,” Tommy said.

Amid the selection of historical weapons was the widely well-known Tommy gun. The Thompson was manufactured originally around 1918, but it was simplified through the years. The particular Thompson that Tommy showed us is the M1928 A1 model, which was one of the first iterations that the US used during World War II. After we figured out it was a little bit too expensive to be issuing to a whole lot of soldiers, we tried to simplify it and that’s where you see the famous M1 version that you see in like Saving Private Ryan and other like video games like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Last time we were here we did the flamethrower. That was exciting. “Oh yeah. The flamethrower is one of those weapons that I always recommend. Because when you see a flamethrower in a movie or a TV show, you’re like, ‘wow, that looks hot.’ But you can’t grasp how hot it is.”

Since I already had a chance to feel the heat, there was another antique firearm that’s been on my bucket list for a long time—the M1 Garand. General George Patton called this rifle “the greatest battle implement ever devised” and it was used extensively in World War II.  “This one was actually manufactured in 1944, so it’s pretty likely that this thing actually did see some combat because we made millions of these things during in the war, and they saw the world over, especially after the war. And then they came back, and they found their way into civilian hands,” Tommy explained.

We headed to the range with the Thompson and the M1 Garand, and I couldn’t wait to test my marksmanship with the M1. “You have eight shots, and as we talked about earlier, when you run out of ammo, you’ll hear that historic ping,” Tommy said.

My first target was at 100 yard.  I nailed it!  Several times in row!  That’s when I spotted a target way out at the end of the shooting range.  I lined up, took the shot and a split second later you could here the ping of the target 300 yards away!

After finishing the clip, it was time to move onto the Tommy gun. “So, this is the M1928 A1, like we were talking about earlier. This we’re going to be shooting full auto only. So, we’re shooting 45 ACP out of these magazines right here, exactly what they were using in World War II,” Tommy explained.  This rapid fire machine gun made popular by old mafia movies made you truly appriciate the brave soldiers who had to use it in combat.

After being home down on the range, we headed back to the barn to get a look at a few new tanks they have on hand. Tommy showed us the M 41 Walker Bulldog. “This tank was produced in the early ’50s. Believe it or not, this one was actually manufactured by Cadillac. It actually says inside on the data plate,” Tommy said. “This one was manufactured in January of 1954.”

Surprisingly many tanks were built by car companies throughout history.  “A lot of your German car manufacturers that are common today, those actually manufactured a lot of military vehicles. So, the tank was actually designed by Porsche and manufactured by MTU, which is an element of Mercedes. So, it is quite literally you’re driving a Benz,” Tommy explained.

I’d be taking a spin on the Walker Bulldog.  Once fired up, the beast was ready to be ridden.  With Tommy taking the wheel, I settled in the commander position to take ride around the Ox Ranch.

Being able to ride these beasts and experience the tools that the veterans of World War II wielded is more than just an opportunity to do something fun.  It’s a chance to learn the history of the greatest generation that ever lived. “I grew up just hearing a couple of World War II stories. Luckily, I was lucky enough to meet a D-Day veteran and he was on wave one and he was really the one who instilled all this passion within me. And I was like, ‘You went through this, and I don’t hear the story being told a lot, why not?’ And so, I kind of took it upon myself to pretty much devote all my time to that field, just so I can tell their story. That way, what they went through hopefully doesn’t happen again.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – Horny Toad Brewing in Rowena

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Rowena – In the desolate Runnels County, you’ll find the small town of Rowena. This collection of around four hundred folks doesn’t have a whole lot going on in or around it, given its surrounded by cotton fields and farmland. But if you take a walk down main street, you’ll find the town’s most popular location to hang out, the Horny Toad Brewing Company.

“It’s very fitting to have a great brewery here in this town and holding onto that culture that founded it,” said visitor Scott Gonzales.

“We really like the way he brought back a little community in here again,” mentioned local Tony Multer.

Michael McNeill, a fellow Irishman, opened up the Horny Toad back in 2012. His wife is the one who led him to this tiny town. She was born and raised in Rowena.

Interestingly enough, Rowena’s claim to fame is being the birthplace of Bonnie Parker.  It’s also home to the last bank “Doc” Newton ever robbed in 1968. Other than that, there’s not a lot happening here, so when Mike decided to open up a brewery, some people had their suspicions of it working out.

“It’s a crazy thing to do. I mean, everyone thought I was nuts to open a brewery in Rowena, Texas.

“Maybe I was nuts. I don’t know,” joked Mike.

Mike is an army veteran and served for 13 years. He was first stationed in Germany which is where his obsession with grain, hops, yeast, and water began.  “I didn’t realize there were different kinds of beer until I went to Germany and got stationed in Germany. Every town in Germany has their own brewery. And there’s several styles that they drink over there,” Mike noted. “Where before I went to Germany, it was just the fizzy yellow water.”

After Germany, Mike went to Iraq. Then, despite wrapping up his military service, he went off to Afghanistan voluntarily. He stayed there for a year and a half doing contract work, and that’s how he saved up to start his business.  “We’re really, really excited that Mike did this and he has become, I think, pretty close to a pretty good brew master,” joked Tony.

What really makes the Horny Toad unique is a small monument that sits right out front of its façade.  According to Mike, in 1911 Runnels County voted itself dry, which was much to the chagrin of the Rowena population. “In protest, they buried a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of beer and erected a headstone that said Here Lies Our Liberty,” said Mike pointing to the monument outside his brewery.

Today  you can enjoy a delicious Texas beer while reminiscing about the history of prohibition in the shadows of that historical marker. “It’s kind of like a full circle moment. We went from prohibition to now having this awesome brewery right here in our town,” said Alisha Multer.

The Texas Bucket List – Stephen F. Austin Statue in Angleton

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Angleton – No matter what corner of the Lone Star State you find yourself in, you’ll always be right around the corner from some incredible Texas history. Brazoria County is no exception. It was here that Cabeza de Vaca landed in 1528 and three hundred years later, Stephen F. Austin was establishing a colony in these parts. But to hear more of this amazing story, just look for the sizable statue of one of the heroes of Texas.

“I do have people that come down here from Nacogdoches and they’re amazed when they see the statute, and they pull over and they have to get a picture, and they always tell me, ‘We’re coming back with all of our school gear, so we can take a picture. We didn’t know that we had a statute too.’,” joked James Glover, the historic site manager at the Stephen F. Austin-Munson Historical County Park.

When I first meet James, I wondered if he was a time traveler from the past. “My boss tells me that I was dug up from an 1835-time capsule,” joked James.

James is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to the incredible history of Brazoria County and here it’s all about Austin and his colony. “Of course, we’ve got a giant statute of the Father of Texas out front, so we have to focus on him. I decided our focus on this site is pretty much what the original brainstormers for this site had thought of, was the era that influenced what Austin did here, and how far his influence actually carried,” explained James.

The statue of Stephen F. Austin was built by famous Texas artist David Adickes, who also constructed the massive Sam Houston statue you can find in Huntsville. But, how does he compare to the Sam Huston statue in Huntsville?  “According to the sculptor, four feet taller. I haven’t gone out and measured the two, but I’ll take Mr. Adickes’ word for it, since he built both of them,” stated James.

While his statue may be a bit bigger, in James’ eye’s, Stephen F. Austin had a much bigger role in making Texas what it is today. “I would say, although I am a bit biased, infinitely more important,” said James.

Austin was instrumental in settling Texas and that all started in 1821. “He came in, took an area that didn’t have anything, nothing here, and turned it into the most successful financial, as well as tranquil community, or area of Texas,” explained James. “All told, it is said that Austin settled about 6,000 individuals in Texas before he died,” stated James.

The history of Texas centers around Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, two men with massive statues that might have had a bit of a rift once Texas won its Independence. “Two guys who really were not fans of each other,” said James.

“That’s exaggerated,” said Texas historian and businessman J.P Bryan. Mr. Bryan is actually related to Stephen F. Austin and has an incredible collection of Austin’s paperwork to settle Texas at the Bryan Museum in Galveston.

“They were, for two men who were ambitious, and wanted to have as much control as possible, over events of the time, politically, they were certainly not enemies. They had periods of time where they were very compatible, shared sentiments about the same thing,” explained Bryan.

And that shared sentiment set the stage for the reason we call Stephen F. Austin the father of Texas. “Two days after Austin’s death, on the 27th of December, Sam Houston wrote a eulogy and had it published in a Telegraph and Texas Register at the town of Columbia, and in it he says, ‘The father of Texas has passed.’ That was the first time he was called, The Father of Texas,” explained James.

So head down to Brazoria County to see the Father of Texas overlooking the lands of the Lone Star State and toast to his Texas sized accomplishment of making Texas, well Texas. “It does represent the Father of Texas and the guy who set up the first successful, Anglo Colony in Mexican Texas at the time, and actually has some very important sites for what later became the Republic of Texas, and ultimately the State that we now enjoy, and they get to meet me,” expressed James.

The Texas Bucket List – San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site in La Porte

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La Porte – On the east side of Houston, along the bustling Buffalo Bayou, you’ll find the lively ship channel along a little section of La Porte.  With a rampant number of refineries in the area, it’s sort of shocking to come across one of the most sacred sites in Texas here. But when you see the spire of the San Jacinto Monument standing tall amongst the smokestacks, you know you’ve reached one of the most significant spots in the whole state, the San Jacinto Battleground.

“The battle that took place here had a big impact, and having people understand how one 18-minute battle here, really did impact the world,” explained Lisa Struthers, the library director.

Lisa Struthers, David Avila, and Andy Smith took us on a journey of the San Jacinto Battleground where on April 21, 1836 General Sam Houston and 800 Texian soldiers defeated Santa Anna’s force of 1,400 and proclaimed Texas its own nation.

“Being a Mexican-American Tejano born here, I kind of thought, back then I’d probably go be on the Texian side, helping those men at the Alamo, or here at San Jacinto. I just always loved Texas history,” said David Avila.  David is the interim director of the museum and has been working here for 22 years.

“My father’s side of the family is from Zacatecas. Santa Ana was down there in Zacatecas before coming here to Texas, putting down a revolt over there. And again, for some reason I’m thinking, well, I probably would have been on that. I imagine my family being on that rebellion side,” said David.

“Interesting to hear the stories about people, why people did what they did, what their lives were like, just kind of really interesting to me,” said Lisa.

“We look at Texas history beginning with the Spanish conquest of Mexico, so some of our earliest things are pre-Colombian artifacts. Since the last veteran who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto died in 1913, we cover up through that time period,” explained Lisa.

“It kind of encompasses a lot of Texas right here,” stated site manager Andy Smith. Smith is a 5th generation Texan, Andy took us around the 1,200 acres of the battleground.  “The historic significance of it is outstanding, but it’s also natural beauty. There are spots where you can forget you’re in the middle of the metropolitan Houston area and actually transport yourself back to 1836 and you can kind of feel what those men felt like,” explained Andy.

During the battle, 9 Texian soldiers lost their life while 630 Mexican soldiers lost theirs, a lopsided win that sealed Texas’ Independence. “This is the Brigham Monument. This was the first real memorial placed here at San Jacinto. This was put up in 1881 on the grave of Benjamin Rice Brigham, but his compatriots that fell at the battle of San Jacinto were buried nearby. So this was to honor the men who died on the Texas side at the Battle of San Jacinto, or were wounded and died from those wounds a little bit afterwards and were ultimately buried here. So this is the oldest monument in the park,” explained Andy.

To honor the significance of the battle on its 100th anniversary in 1936, a large Obelisk was built in the middle of the battlefield and yes, it’s bigger than the Washington Monument. “Everything’s bigger in Texas, and nothing’s bigger than this monument. Nothing’s bigger than this battlefield,” stated Andy. “The blueprints say it is 570, but a survey done in 1990, I believe, showed that it is a 567. I don’t quite remember,” stated Lisa.

Inside the museum you’ll find all sorts of artifacts, with General Sam Houston looking over them in Stephen Seymour Thomas’ original painting of him that stands over 12 feet tall. “People started donating things to the museum. Things that their grandparents had collected, their ancestors who lived here during the Texas Republic had. And so it ended up that we had a good number of things that we can now show to the public,” explained Lisa.

“We have a ring that Sam Houston’s mother gave to him. When he was a teenager, he joined the army and his mother gave him two gifts, she gave him this ring right here, which is inscribed with the word honor inside. The reason it’s inscribed with honor, she said, ‘This should be a creed that you follow for the rest of your life.’ And he wore that ring until his death. But that’s a very nice piece of history that we have there,” explained David.

Now a trip to the San Jacinto Memorial wouldn’t be complete without getting a sky-high view of the battlefield. The Battle of San Jacinto didn’t just gain Texas its independence, it led to Texas becoming a state which helped the U.S. achieve its Manifest Destiny, completely changing the landscape of the world.

“If you’re a Texan, you got to come to San Jacinto. I don’t understand why this wouldn’t be first on your bucket list. If it wasn’t for San Jacinto, there would be no Texas. There’s just no two ways about it. We’d be part of Mexico. All the other battlefields are significant, but this is number one,” expressed Andy. Andy’s passion personifies how true Texans feel about this powerful place in Texas lore.  The commitment to freedom over tyranny.  The commitment to Texas independence.  A commitment to the ideology that is Texas and the people who fought for that as Sam Houston said on the night before the battle.

“We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope! Rally to the standard, and be no longer the scoff of mercenary tongues! Be men, be free men, that your children may bless their father’s name.” – Sam Houston

The Texas Bucket List – Deputy Bill Hardin in Cleburne

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Cleburne – The wild west was a lot different back in the 1800’s. The images we have of law enforcement prior to police cars can be somewhat preconceived. But if you head to the Chisholm Trail Museum in Cleburne, you can still get that western shootout show and get a look at what old school law enforcement was really like.

“This museum is dedicated to law enforcement. Originally, it was going to be about Texas Rangers. We were able to acquire a number of photographs that you see around the walls,” said David Murdoch.

David Murdoch is the chairman of the museum and the Chaplin for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, he was excited to showcase a unique section of the museum that tells about the life of a unique Texas lawman, 98-year-old Deputy Bill Hardin.

Now Bill’s not on any most wanted top 10 list but he does take the case when it comes to another title. “I’m the oldest working police officer in the world. I’ve been a police officer longer than anybody in the world,” stated Deputy Bill Hardin.

How long exactly? “I started February 1st, 1947. These stripes represent five years of peace. At 70 years worth of stripes, he’s got 74 years. And in June, we can add another stripe. So, he’ll have another five-year stripe,” explained David.

“Really been a pleasure, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done with the exception of a time or two where things didn’t go just exactly right,” said Bill.

Born on March 1st, 1923, Bill joined the Fort Worth police department in the 40’s after spending his rookie years with Breckenridge PD and back then things were a lot different for those behind the badge.  Walking his beat was the norm and two-way radios were not a thing. “They had mailboxes on the posts, telephone posts, uptown. And you took the brass key, and when you opened the door and picked up the phone, the dispatcher answered you. You told him what you needed.  Usually, you had a drunk in one hand, and trying to hold him and talk to the dispatcher. That didn’t work out too well, but that’s the only communication they had,” explained Bill. Bill relieves his memories as a young policeman with vivid detail and crystal-clear clarity as if these events that happened a lifetime ago, took place just the other day.

While his days of dropping the hammer or throwing a bad guy behind bars are behind him, he still gets to work on cases thanks to having a mind that’s like a different kind of steel trap.  “I’m a reserved investigator. My office is right across from the secretary and the sheriff’s right over there. He told somebody he put me up there so he can keep an eye on me,” joked Bill.

“Bill is such a … he’s such a young-minded person in an old man’s body,” said David. “He recalls all of the stories. He recalls his career. He’s a great asset to the county because when something comes up where they need the information back in the day, they don’t have to go look in the archives. They can just ask Bill, and he usually has names, and dates, and places. It is. It’s amazing. It’s truly amazing,” explained David.

Why is he still doing it?  “I love people,” stated Bill. “That’s really what makes you like police work … when you’re able to save a life or help somebody. In my time, I have helped a bunch,” said Bill.

“I’ve had young people come to me. Like, the young girls that were into prostitution and doping. I’ve had those girls come in there … not one, but several, say, ‘Mr. Hardin? Do you remember me?” And I said, ‘No, I’m sorry. I don’t.’ And they tell me who they were. She said, ‘You helped me get off of drugs. I’m off of drugs and I’m married.’ Talk about making you feel good. It really makes you feel good,” expressed Bill.

Being able to hear Bill tells these stories of nearly a century of police work makes you realize the unreal things he has been a part of.  From busting up big drug rings, horrific cases of homicide, and even having to guard the grave of Lee Harvey Oswald.

“He’s a great representative for the law. He really is,” stated David.

What did Bill think about a museum for your service?  “Well, I’m humbled,” stated Bill. “It’s still the most rewarding job, and it’s the only job that I know of that you’re required to give your life to save somebody else. A fireman’s the same way. They have to do it. But everybody loves the firemen, but nobody likes the policeman because he gives you tickets,” joked Bill.

The Texas Bucket List – Mission Espiritu Santo in Goliad

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GOLIAD – Goliad is a sacred site for Texans.  Presidio La Bahia was our first stop on The Texas Bucket List a few years back, but across the river from the famed fort is another stone structure that was built at the same time back in 1749.

“In the 1700s, Spain came to Texas when it was wild land,” said Brenda Justice, Superintendent of the Goliad State Park and Historic site. “It’s a lot of fun working here. It is hallowed ground. It’s a very special, beautiful place,” said Justice.

The site includes Mission Espiritu Santo, the ruins of Mission Rosario, and the El Camino Real Visitors Center.  So, we think this place may require at least three or four stops on The Texas Bucket List!

It all starts on the banks of the San Antonio River with Mission Espiritu Santo which back in the 1930s was a pile of rocks until a local judge decided it needed to be resurrected from the rubble. “It was used for different functions until in the 1930s, when Judge White, our local county judge of Goliad County worked really hard to get the National Park Service to designate it a national park. When that happened, that is when the Civilian Conservation Corps- they were able to come in and restore it,” said Justice.

The craftsmen who came to restore the mission were predominantly World War I veterans and first built the cottage to have a place to stay and to brush up on their Spanish architecture.  “This is The Keeper’s Cottage. Construction was finished in 1937, and this is where the architects of the Mission Espiritu Santo Reconstruction worked.  They lived here and this was actually in essence their proving grounds. They got to experiment on architectural style and practice their trade before they went and lay their hands on the historic Mission Espiritu Santo,” said the parks lead interpreter Cody Edwards. “What you see here is the culmination of visits throughout our nation and even into Mexico of Spanish Missions. This is where they experimented with their craft before moving onto the real deal,” he said.

It took six years to finish the mission, but once completed the site had the same sacred feel as it did back in 1700s.

“The Spaniards, the Franciscans especially, had a very particular style. I think you can see it in the arched rooms and even the roped walling up there. Arch supports and things of that nature, they tended to be very ornate, and that is definitely something that’s visible here too,” said Edwards.

The mission was home to the Aranama Indians. “Their reconstruction efforts really gave us a better view, a broader view of what life in the Mission might have been for Aranama Indian,” said Edwards.

“When Mission Espiritu Santo was built here in 1749, at its height it had over 300 or so natives living in the site. It was kind of like its own little town. They did all kinds of spinning and weaving and whatever they needed, like a little city to survive. They taught them their way of life, the Spanish way of life, and they provided food for their families. They had a shelter over their heads. There were incentives to stay in the Mission. When it was good times and the animals were abundant, the hunting was good. They could leave and they just wouldn’t come back,” said Justice.

Converting the natives to Catholicism and providing them a place to stay was not the only function of the facility.  Mission Espiritu Santo also happened to be the first mega cattle ranch in Texas. 40,000 heads of cattle grazed around the mission in an area bigger than Delaware. “That’s really interesting. You never think about missions and cattle herding,” Shane McAuliffe, host of the Texas Bucket List said. “That’s true,” Justice said. “That’s where they had Vaqueros, the Indians and the natives that learned to be vaqueros and cowboys, and they would go out and take care of the cattle and such,” said Justice. “They were strong and rugged cattle that … today you see Longhorns, which were kind of the remnants of that Spanish cow that they brought over from Spain,” she Justice.

The mission closed in 1830 and lasted 81 years but connecting to this part of Texas history helps you understand just how long the Lone Star State has been explored by European settlers and how they helped shape our identity as Texas. “To know that this was one of the first places that Europeans came through, and they tried to establish colonies and such and mission sites-That’s my favorite part. I love it,” said Justice.

“Goliad’s State Park & Historic Site to me is all about identity and protecting the legacy of what came before us. That is central to being Texan,” said Edwards.  “To me personally and professionally, this is a bucket list park for me to work at. To know this site is to be a better Texan, in my opinion.”

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – Charles Goodnight Historical Center in Goodnight

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Goodnight⁠—40 miles southeast of Amarillo is the small community of Goodnight. Only about 20 people live here today, but before the yellow city was painted on the map, Goodnight was a good-sized town of about 300 folks who flocked here thanks to Charles Goodnight.

“Charles Goodnight may be the perfect icon for Texas. Great…in ideas, and stature, and success,” said Karli Fields. Karli guided us around the home that Goodnight built for his wife Mary Ann back in 1887. “Without Charles and Mary Ann being here in the 1800s, people probably would not have settled here. It’s a harsh terrain, and without anyone being established, I don’t think anyone would have survived. And we’re right on the edge of what was Comanche territory,” said Karli.

Charles Goodnight is known as the father of the Texas Panhandle. He helped established the Goodnight-Loving Trail, invented the chuck wagon, founded the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon, and thanks to wife, saved the Southern Plains bison. “He didn’t understand what ‘take a break’ meant,” said Karli.

The historic homes sits less than a mile from the rim of Palo Duro Canyon, a place Goodnight spent a great amount of time during his cattle career. He was constantly out on cattle drives, so Mary Ann held down the fort in his absence. “They called it the Castle on the Prairie. And to imagine being out in our very flat landscape, riding in your wagon for days and days and seeing absolutely nothing. And then coming across this house with a nice woman that would keep you and feed you, would be a send out here in the plains. In the middle of nowhere, then this big gorgeous house,” said Karli.

Although the house sits out on the prairie, the Goodnights spared no expense. The immaculate home includes fine furnishings, decor and even stained glass. “I’m not sure how much it cost to build this home, but it is a 2,900 square foot home,” she said. Charles did not spend much time indoors, even when it came to sleeping. “I love the sleeping porch upstairs. It’s such a unique feature. It’s a perfect view, as well, of the Palo Duro Canyon,” continued Karli, “Old cowboy, being indoors was probably a little tight for the man because he was over six feet tall and he always stayed outdoors. I’m sure he had a nice buffalo robe.”

Mary Ann made sure the home had fine furnishings, but just like any good ol’ boy, Charles had a man-cave. “This is Charles Goodnight’s den or his office, and there is no sissy wallpaper back here. This was his man cave. Charlie would sit back here and smoke his cigars,” said Karli. “He also sat back here to be interviewed by J. Evetts Haley and Laura V. Hamner. Let’s see, Quanah Parker has been here to visit him, and they did end up being friends.”

It’s been said that behind every great man is a great woman, and for Charles, it was Mary Ann. “She saved the bison. She was an amazing woman. She was tough. She was dedicated. She lived in a dugout with the man, even though she was from a wealthy family. She educated her cowboy. She loved her cowboy. She treated each and every challenge she met on the High Plains, as the only woman and the only person here for many years, with the open and happy heart. With her little bitty, five feet tall, she was tough,” she explained.

These two icons who set up shop in one of the most desolate parts of Texas, made the most of their short time here in the Lone Star State.  Today, you can find Charles and Mary Ann in a family plot just down the road from their historic home. Seeing how they lived and imagining what it was like all those years ago makes the Castle on The Prairie a royal relic on The Texas Bucket List.“I think it’s important for everyone to come visit here, especially Texans, because I know we all love Texas, and we’ve got to see every little piece of it,” said Karli. “This is a huge part of the panhandle. It’s a huge part of our history.”

The Texas Bucket List – Ragland Piano Company in Texarkana

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Texarkana—Though you may not know the term Ragtime, chances are you’ve heard The Entertainer, a tune with roots right here the Lone Star State. The Entertainer is one of 44 original ragtime pieces penned by Scott Joplin, a composer born in Texarkana in 1868.

Howard Gustafson III is piano technician and owner of the Ragland Piano Company in downtown Texarkana. He understands and appreciates the legacy Joplin left behind. “Scott Joplin gave us an entire genre of music that it crosses racial barriers, age barriers, time barriers. It’s wide appeal. So, certainly being a part of his formative years, Texarkana can lay claim to bringing the world that style of music,” said Howard.

It’s fitting to find Howard in this old piano store doing things with pianos Joplin would never believe. What’s crazy about Howard’s piano pursuit is that there’s no strings attached. “It’s kind of interesting. What we do here is kind of two extremes. A hundred year old technology, cutting edge technology, very little in the middle,” he explained. 90% of Howard’s business at the Ragland Piano store doesn’t involve tuning or tightening strings, but rather replacing them all together. “Here’s an example of a high end digital mechanism that we’ll incorporate in some of our custom built… This will actually be put inside a piano shell, whether an upright or a grand piano,” he said.

 

“We went through this phase where we’re like, we have all these pianos nobody wants. Let’s make other stuff out of them, and that has transitioned into, hey, we can still make them musical instruments. So, now let’s repurpose them as digitals,” Howard explained. Hitting the right note doesn’t take precise measurements with ears anymore, which is a good thing for Howard. “I tell people, as you see me shuffling around right here, I can’t really sit still long enough to tune a piano. I have to be taking something apart or putting something together,” he admitted.

This is somewhat new to this piano technician that got his start with his father back in 1985. “There’s always been piano players in the family, instrument players in the family. My father is probably most responsible for me being a piano technician today because we took the family piano apart. He had an interest in how pianos worked and so I helped him do that. We vacuumed it out and kind of peeked inside of it, found some old coins underneath the keys,” said Howard. “Between what I learned with him in the shop behind the house for a dollar an hour, I kid you not, and then working at that music store, it kind of built the foundation to move to Texarkana and then open a piano store.” Howard honed his ability to repair pianos because for him, it wasn’t too tough. “One real benefit of working on pianos is if you know how to fix one note, you can fix the other 87,” he said.

Playing the instrument was a whole other ballgame. His parents weren’t sure it was the right path for Howard so he started teaching himself and you’ll never guess the first piece he picked up. “First song I ever learned was by Scott Joplin,” said Howard. “As a 14-year-old kid wanting to learn piano lessons to convince his parents, I picked up a book of the collected works of Scott Joplin, picked out a song and played it. That’s in Memphis, Tennessee, 300 miles away. I had no idea what Texarkana was.”

“Over the summer, I learned how to play the first part of Scott Joplin’s Entertainer….” he said. “I had enough musical knowledge that I would count up the staff and say, okay, that’s an A and I put my finger on the A. I’d count and find the next note and I would learn what chord that was and then I’d just progress through the first movement or two of The Entertainer. That persuaded my parents to let me take piano lessons and get some degree of education, which of course has benefits me today.”

The legacy that Joplin left behind and Howard’s love for music, push him to keep his hankering for harmony and plead to parents to never let their children refrain themselves from learning a refrain. “That’s where part of the music business has gone is parents don’t give them that little nudge and say, yeah, you’re going to take a year of piano lessons. We’re all like letting little Johnny and little Susie pick out what they want to do. Oh, we don’t want to crowd them any,” claimed Howard. “People need to encourage their children to take a step that’s uncomfortable and they’re going to expand their boundaries and music is part of that.”

This piano man practices what he preaches by passing along his passion to his three boys. “They are actually in college. Did not cost dad one penny. Thank you boys,” he continued, “…When I would drop them off at their mom’s house and I’d be getting their instruments out of the car, I would hand one of them an instrument. I’d say, ‘What is this?’ The proper answer was not my trombone or my saxophone. The proper answer was my ticket to college and it worked… Music has some real benefits and piano was the foundation for that for them.”

Howard keeps plugging away on the pianos with the knowledge that history and technology are behind him. “Anytime a family comes in and they’re buying a child a starter instrument, I think somebody showed Scott Joplin his first piano. What if that had never happened? Arguably would we have jazz because that’s kind of a derivative from ragtime,” he said. “I’m very conscious of what I’m part of…It’s an honor to be part of that progression in that person’s life and their musical journey.”