Spring 2009
Heritage Brazos Brazos Sharecroppers, 1930s
B R AZ O S
ANNUAL MEETING OF
THE BRAZOS HERITAGE SOCIETY Saturday May 2, 2009 10:00-12:00
Bryan Public Library The Meeting Will Feature the Lecture
"An Early Attempt to Tame the Brazos" by
Wendy Patzewisch Ph.D. Come and hear the fascinating story of the Burlson County levy, an important but little-known chapter in the history of American civil engineering, blues music, and the heritage of the Brazos Valley. Business meeting will follow. Refreshments served.
H E R I T A G E
S O C I E T Y
President’s Column I’m afraid members may have the impression that the Society has been dormant since it hosted the Independence Day celebration in Heritage Park last July. We were, I must admit, thrown off our stride by the regrettable resignation of our Executive Director, Amanda Hermes, in August, but the Board has pressed ahead with several projects. We reviewed plans to improve plantings and fixtures in Heritage Park, implementation being contingent on funding. We rescued the Heritage Society web site from Internet limbo, and contracted with Bronius Motekaitis to renovated, expand, and maintain the site. We continued to support restoration of historic districts, most recently endorsing a $2,000 Brownfield Cleanup Grant application (since approved by the EPA) to convert the old Foodtown site on North Main Street to a park. We were also a major underwriter for the Brazos Valley Regional History Fair, held this year at Washington on the Brazos. Perhaps our greatest accomplishment, though, has been enlistment of a new Executive Director, Ulrike Smith. Ulrike will introduce herself in the next article. The fact that Ulrike and I share the same last name is no coincidence, since we are, as they say, man and wife. Ulrike’s connection to the Heritage Society is, it so happens, more longstanding than my own, as she has in past years helped with Independence Day celebrations, house tours, and Holiday Teas. When Amanda resigned, the Board was for some time dumbfounded as to where we could find someone with the requisite energy, organization, personality, and commitment to history. Eventually it dawned on me that my wife is the most energetic, organized, and personable person I know, who also happens to possess a BA in History from TAMU, to have lived in the East Side Historic District for more than a decade, and to be an unparalleled champion of Historic Downtown Bryan. So I nominated her, leaving the decision to the other Board members. I applaud their choice, and trust that our members will come to understand and share the confidence we have in Ulrike. Jonathan M. Smith President
From the Executive Director Let me introduce myself. My name is Ulrike Smith and I am excited about my new position with the Brazos Heritage Society. I was born and raised in Graz, Austria. My home town is a beautiful, well-restored medieval city, with an old town center that hosts a magnificent number of well-preserved houses, shops, streets and parks. Most Austrians are very proud of their heritage and I certainly was raised that way. While I was dating my now husband, I attended the KarlFranzens university in Graz, where I studied law. Once I was married and moved
to Bryan, I went to T.A.M.U and earned a degree in history and international studies. I have always cared for and loved history in all its forms. I believe in protecting and preserving heritage, especially nowadays. We live in a world where everything is changing very rapidly, and this makes us vulnerable, because we often don’t know where we belong. We need to make the younger generation aware of the past, it’s significance, and the importance of protecting it. I am a mother of three young children, and I want them not only to understand heritage, but to care about it. I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past nine years and I feel this position will let me have an outlet for my interests, while not interfering with family life, which is very important to me. My hope and goals for the immediate future of the BHS are as follows: First, the web site needs to be up dated. A person has been contacted and hopefully we can get that started in April. Second, we need to focus on educational programs for young and old. Hopefully the Heritage Society will be able to work closely with schools to help children be aware of our local heritage. Third, I see a need for the Society to participate in the First Friday events that are held monthly in downtown Bryan—possibly sponsoring historic walks. I will describe some more ideas in the next newsletter. I look very much forward meeting members at our annual meeting on May nd 2 , and to getting to know my position better. I very much appreciate any input or ideas you might have, and hope that you will not hesitate to contact me. My telephone number is 822-5326, and my e-mail address is ulrikesmith@msn.com. Ulrike Smith Executive Director
Carnegie Echos
Books Published by the Brazos Valley Heritage Society If you don’t already own this beautiful and informative books, you may purchase them at the Annual Meeting on May 2. Or order them from the BHS.
Get Ready for the
Annual BHS
Independence Day Celebration In
Heritage Park
The Carnegie History Center, being a part of the Bryan+College Station Library System, may have its roots and main interests in the past, but we also have to keep up with the present. To that end, the Library System is migrating (an interesting use of the word, specially because we are not physically moving books) to another online library vendor. The new system is called Polaris. By the first of May our online web pages should have a new look with the same functionality. Beginning the first of March our cataloging systems were placed on hold, and will not restart until the new system is "up and running." We at the Carnegie are not involved with system administration and its concomitant headaches, for which we are exceedingly grateful! In my usual persona, and looking back to the time we first "went on line," I am very grateful to, first, not be an administrator; second, to remember the main library fire as being back in the distant enough past; and third, to be very grateful we have had the interim years of experience in working with an online system. We went online with guidance, but much about online systems (like genealogy and local history) can only be learned the hard way (by the "seat of the pants.”) Sounds like life doesn't it? Please be patient with the library system as we grow. The libraries will need to be closed for several days in April in order to install some computer components and programs, and to train staff in the usage of the new system. If you should encounter problems once we "go live," please do let us know and bear with us as we endeavor to undo the inevitable kinks. Nan Ross Carnegie Librarian
A Visitor to Bryan in 1869 The following extract appeared in an article published in the Houston Union on April 4, 1869. The Union was a Republican newspaper and the correspondent had traveled to Bryan to organize a local branch of the Republican Party. This was not a popular undertaking in 1869—hence the note about being “Ku-Kluxed”—but he did manage to enlist around 40 “Union men.” In 1869 Bryan was the terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and so the market for all of central, west, and north Texas “Bryan, from its situation and surroundings, is one of the finest places we have visited on this route, having a population of about five thousand, all apparently wide-awake and energetic. Trade is brisk at this point, judging from the constant activity and good nature of the business men. Wagon trains from the country are continually arriving with cotton and hides, and returning freighted with merchandise for the enterior [sic]. The country about here is rolling, well wooded and picturesque: the location high and healthy. The objectionable feature we have noticed is rents and overcrowded hotels, and the bad temper of old Boreas, who had been holding a grand carnival for the last day or two. We should like to hear a geological report on the past conditions of this country, as we cannot fail to be surprised at the number and variety of
Can you spot the towns that no longer exist? (Source: Route to Texas [Detail] International and Great Northern Railroad, 1878)
petrified objects with which the place abounds. Wood, converted to solid stone, is everywhere abundant, besides which we were shown some fungus, and enormous egg[s], also petrified—the soil is a sharp sand, filled with pebbles whose worn and polished surface shows them to have been at some time subject to constant actions of the waves. It seems a pity that so fine a place should be abandoned as it will comparatively be when the CRR [Central Railroad] shall be extended to Calvert, which by the way we are informed by a gentleman highly connected with the road will be effected in almost one month, though we doubt very much if business will be transferred to that point before fall . . . . Court is sitting here this week, in consequence of which the gamblers have been pouring out of town and the lawyers into it for some days past. We have not been Ku-Kluxed as yet”
Membership Renewal The Brazos Heritage Society depends on its members to sponsor events and promote historic understanding and historic preservation in Brazos County. Membership dues are tax deductible. Please indicate your membership level, complete the membership form, and return it with your check at your earliest convenience. ____
Family Membership
$15
____
Individual Membership
$10
____
Business Membership
$75
____
Heritage Club
$100
Name: _________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________
E-mail ________________________
Check here if you would like to volunteer at BHS events
Don’t get left in the dark! Come to the Annual Meeting of the Brazos Heritage Society on May 2
Immigrants to Texas, camped in the woods near the Brazos. (Source: Taylor, Through Texas, Harpers Magazine, 1879)
Brazos Heritage Society P.O. Box 1776 Bryan, Texas 77806