Southwestern Collection

Peddy (left) and Shivers on their way to the Isle ofCapri. Photograph courtesy Larry McNeill. After undertaking training from May to August 1943, George Peddy, age 51, and Allen Shivers, age 35, graduated together from the School of Military Government in a class of about 100 men. The school had opened its doors on January 1, 1942, at the University ofVirginia in Charlottesville. Modeled on the "Political-Military School" at Cambridge University, England, candidates were recruited for training to handle the civil affairs of countries occupied by Allied Forces. Once overseas, George and Allen stayed in contact, visiting frequently while stationed in Italy, less so once in France. In correspondence to his wife Gertrude, Peddy periodically mentioned Shivers: "My work is very interesting. I see all my good friends every day. Allen paid me a long visit diis morning." (January 10, 1944) "I am going to the front widi a pipeline engineer from Texas on an inspection trip and next Sunday I am taking the day off and am going with Allen and Kincaid on a boat trip to die island celebrated in song and story . . . [Capri]." (February 6, 1944) "Allen dropped in to see me last night, sporting his gold leaves [major]. I am glad he at last got his richly deserved promotion." (July 24, 1944) "... I have enjoyed every line you have sent me and between you and Allen who sends all his [clippings from home] to me, I feel that I have pretty well kept up to date on things political in Texas." (November 4, 1944) "Oh yes! I diink Allen is on his way home to resume his seat in die [state] Senate___ He is a fine boy and I think has a great future in Politics." (December 26, 1 944) "In view ofAllen's radier long and very creditable service, I hardly think his getting out now to take his seat in die Senate will adversely affect him in politics." (February 1. 1945) Southwestern CoiUcäon 2o8Southwestern Historical QuarterlyOctober The 1 1 2th annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association will take place on March 5-8, 2008, at the Omni Bayfront Tower Hotel in Corpus Christi. Under the guidance of chair Light Cummins, the program committee has assembled approximately 100 presentations organized into approximately 40 sessions. There will be presentations on World War II military aviation in Texas, LBJ and immigration policy, blood feuds in Texas, medical history, the Civil War, women's history, religion, the Texas Supreme Court, and art, as well as sessions on the Texas revolution and the Mexican War. There will also be two special sessions: "Ben Procter: Texas Teacher, Mentor, and Scholar," will honor longtime TSHA member and past president Ben Procter;JackJackson will be remembered in the panel "Jaxon: The Amazing Life and Works ofJackJackson." Our traditionaljoint sessions will also be on the program: the Texas Map Society, the Texas Archeological Society, Society of Southwest Archivists , the Texas Catholic History Society, the Texas Folklore Society, the Texas Oral History Association, the Baptist Historical Society, and the Supreme Court Historical Society. The OHA session will be followed by a reception celebrating their organization's 25th anniversary. The Webb Society annual meeting will take place on Friday with chapter reports and three papers. The Handbook of Texas workshop, the Quarterly and publications workshop, the business meeting, and various committee meetings will take place as usual. The Silent Auction ofTexana will be up throughout the meeting, as will the exhibits ofbook publishers and dealers from across the state. This year the Hispanic History ofTexas Project (HHTP) will be meeting with us, their several sessions and special events being interspersed within our own traditional program. To accommodate the increased number of sessions, the 2008 meeting will begin on Wednesday rather than our usual Thursday. The HHTP is a component of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project, which has as its mission the identifying, preserving, and publishing ofdocuments related to the Texas Hispanic heritage. Among the sessions offered in their program are "Tejano Genealogy and Historic Places," a round-table discussion of "The 1969 Cristal Walkout's Student Leadership: The Chicano Movement and Jim Crow's Demise," and a...