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April 7, 2013
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS We are busy planning our April 14th event. We will be celebrating the upcoming arrival of Spring and our 2013 programs with our tea and booksigning. Remember to come and help us start our 2013 season. Darlene Shortridge is our featured artist and Karla K. Morton, Texas Poet Laureate is on a Texas Commission of the Arts Rural Outreach Tour. Both of these creative women promise to entertain and enlighten us. I completed my second trip this past week as I traveled to Wichita Falls for the annual meeting of the West Texas Historical Association. The meeting was a great experience. The program was composed of speakers presenting their research on various topics covering the history and heritage of our West Texas area. I will have topics for my column for a while. If you are an amateur historian or a history enthusiast, you may want to go to this meeting. This group of history professors, lay researchers, or ordinary people like me are friendly, welcoming, and eager to share history with you. I think this will become one of our trips each year to meet our educational requirements. The museum received a gift of a beautiful children's set of china this week and we are planning an display for it. It will be a great addition to our pioneer or recreation area when complete. We are getting closer to our goal for our new addition. It is our intention to get it start soon. So if you want to help, it not too late. HISTORICAL MUSINGS One of the tours we did at the conference was a trip to the Clay County Jail Museum in Henrietta, Texas. I obtained a copy of the Letters from W.W. Carroll to his Sweethear, Anna Douglas in Clarksville, Missouri, from 1876 to 1893. Mr. Carroll ventured to Texas to establish himself as a cattlemen or "some enterprise to produce an income" so he could send for Anna and get married. He worked as the county clerk and was also able to establish a ranch for his family. In two of his letters he reports the activities of the "Indians" and the "town people" "The Indians have been on the war path lately. It was reported here night before last that there were several hundred near here. The report proved to be false. We will have a telegraph one now in a few days. Then we can hear from the Indian reservations at any moment and know when they intend to make a raid, and give us time to prepare and give them a warm reception. August 5, 1876. "A Temperance lecturer came along about 10 days ago and organized a lodge. We're all good Templars now, young ladies and all and in our meetings is the place we have our good times." Sept 10, 1876. A nice glimpse of early life in West Texas. |
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