History along the Way: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments T he process of writing is in a sense like striking out on a long journey without a highly detailed road map. The authors may have a strong sense of where they started and maybe a vision of where theyare headed, but along the route they often have to stop and ask directions or ask for the best local places to visit. Those stops along the way often make the journey memorable and even more meaningful, and such is the case with this endeavor. Having traveled the roads that led to the first installment in this series, we had some idea of who might be able to serve as guides along the way, and there are a number of dependable ones we contact on a regular basis, whatever the trip.There are those, however, who are unknown when the journey begins, but who somehow become an indispensible part of the project. Together, though, whether old friends or new acquaintances , they all formed a sort of support team that kept us headed in the right direction. Our intent here is to give credit to as many as we can and to thank them publicly for their invaluable and unselfish assistance. First and foremost, we offer great thanks to the staff of theTexas Historical Commission, a place we used to call our second home. It is always comfortable to work with our former colleagues, who we know to be professional, capable, and dedicated. Although we have known manyof them for years and consider them our friends, we received no special attention in our pursuit of historical materials . The kindness they showed us differs in no way from that they convey to the general public. They are a remarkable group of public servants, and we could not have completed this manuscript without theirdirection and insight. In particular, wewant to thank Bratten Thomason, director of the History Programs Division, and Bob Brinkman, marker program coordinator.OtherTHC staff members who provided valuable assistance included Charles Sadnick, Anne Shelton, and Annette Bethke of the History Programs Divi- x acknOwledgMenTs sion, Mark Cowan of the Division of Architecture, and Brett Cruse of the Historic Sites Division. A very special thanks goes to our friend, Kimberly Gamble, the gatekeeper of the marker records, who was always therewith a smile and a good word when wewent in search of files. In terms of general historical research assistance, we are indebted to Terry Shults of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa; Sam Monroe, president of Lamar State College– Port Arthur; Monteel Copple and Yvonne Sutherlin of Port Arthur; brothers Clyde L. Hall of Sherman and Hugh E. Hall Jr. of Winchester ; Ann Morris of Carthage; the Reverend Chris Hines of Bastrop and Nancy Hines Smith of Austin; Ali James of theTexas State Preservation Board in Austin; Gene Preuss of Houston; Jana Beck and Bernice Weinheimer of Gillespie County; Kay Wolf of Hidalgo; the Reverend Jenna Heart of San Marcos; James Patton, Patrick Nolan, and Cheryl Spencer of Huntsville; Barbara Armstrong of Motley County; Matt Renick and Eileen Johnson of Texas Tech University, Lubbock; and Kris Toma, Margaret Vavarek, and Tanesa Scott of Texas State University, San Marcos. Special thanks are owed to a team of interested individuals who provided excellent background information on the field of archeology , and they include William G. Reeder of Wisconsin, Bob Mallouf of Alpine, Solveig Turpin of San Antonio, Carl Williamson of Roberts County, and Vance T. Holliday of the University of Arizona, a valued friend and a former Prather Rat from the distant collegiate past who served as a trusted guide through the world of mammoths and mammoth hunters, not the usual hangout for historians . Archeological assistance and related photographic assistance came from two trusted sources, Carolyn Spock and Darrell Creel of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. While we valued the assistance of each and every person who guided us along the journey, we want to offer special thanks to a few who went far beyond the call of duty to make sure we had the right resources. These are extraordinary people who gave freely of their time and energy, and we appreciate them more than theycan possibly know. In Motley County, our enthusiastic assistant was acknOwledgMenTs xi Marisue Potts Powell, with whom we worked years ago on various marker projects, including the one for Bob’s Oil Well...