Contemporary Texas History

A few front pages from Texas history on July 22. World War II news, elections, the Legislature, and more are covered in these front pages. #Texas

A few Texas front pages from July 21, 1969. #TXhistory #Texas

The July 25, 1957 Lubbock Avalanche Journal carried a story about two court clerks who saw a UFO that looked like a turkey roaster while walking the streets of Lubbock.

Cases of UFO sightings in Houston throughout the years houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…

Fredrica Kla Bada Brown was a student from Liberia who graduated from Lawrence in 1917. Following her graduation from Lawrence, she became Dean of Women at Wiley University (now Wiley College) and helped found the Phyllis Wheatley branch of the Y.W.C.A. in Indianapolis.

One of the biggest days in Texas history today. 105 years ago today women in Texas voted — 2 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. And it is a wild story of how Minnie Fisher Cunningham helped pull it off.

"JUSTICIA PARA SANTOS": 50 years ago today, Santos Rodriguez was killed by a Dallas police officer who played Russian roulette while questioning the 12-year-old boy. WFAA is marking the tragedy with a special, 30-minute program, which airs tonight at 7. wfaa.com/article/news/l…

A Ford f-5 pickup truck with a model of the Liberty Bell in the back. Painted on the truck's bed rail is the motto "Save For YOUR Independence - Buy U.S. Savings Bonds." 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Unknown date, but from WWII period. #txlege

In March 2018 -- 61 years after he first played the Statler Hilton in downtown Dallas -- Tony Bennett returned to reopen the Commerce Street hotel. He was 91 years old. And he was spectacular. Godspeed, Anthony Dominick Benedetto. dallasnews.com/arts-entertain…

@TracesofTexas scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewconten…

@TracesofTexas His son, W. Walworth Harrison also wrote a history of Greenville. Will N. Harrison is also credited with coming up with the slogan “Blackest Land, Whitest People,” which hung on a sign in that city for many years. The story is told in W.W. Harrison’s book.

The Texas Quote of the Day: "Compliments of W.N. Harrison to Miss May Moulton, and would be pleased to accompany her to a party this evening at the residence of Edward Schiff, July 22, '81. Greenville, Texas." ----- Future Greenville businessman and community leader Will Harrison courts his future wife, May, with old-fashioned manners, 1881. Don't you just love how formal they were back then? Incidentally, because I am rather obsessed/crazy/neurotic when it comes to Texas history, I wondered what happened to Will Harrison. It turns out he died at the young age of 56 in 1916. The manner of his death was tragic. Per his obituary: "Examination of the room readily revealed how the tragedy occurred. Earlier in the night Mr. Harrison undoubtedly had thrown the bedspread toward the foot of the bed and the fringe caught on the valve of the gas heater which was beside his bed. Later in the night when it became cooler he drew the spread up about him, which pulled the valve on the heater about half way open, permitting gas to escape. Both windows in the room were up from the bottom, but the door had blown shut and the room gradually filled with gas." Shown here: Will Harrison's grave marker in Greenville's East Mount Cemetery

Splettstoesser shot Waller in front of the post office. It is believed Splettstoesser shot Waller because he was paying attention to one of his daughters. Waller was survived by his widow and two daughters. (3/3)

Waller was transported to a Houston hospital where he died of gunshot wounds to the chest and legs. A railroad clerk, Will Splettstoesser, 55, turned himself in immediately after the crime and was later charged, although it isn’t clear if he was ever tried or convicted. (2/3)

Did you know a candidate for statewide office in Texas was once murdered while on the campaign trail? Edward Rex Waller, 34, a former Weslaco city manager, was shot in Trinity while campaigning for state treasurer on May 23, 1934. (1/3)

Both The Defender and Dallas Express published newsy notes often filled with the names of community members and their out of town relations, church happenings, school events, and more. These were sent in by their local agents in towns where the paper was sold. Subscribers sent the information to the local news agent who compiled it.

Finding primary sources that describe everyday life in Black communities across Texas from the 1920s-1950s can sometimes be difficult. Two sources provide both historical facts and information useful to genealogists with regard to Black communities during this time: The Chicago Defender, and the Dallas Express. (1/2)

⬇️FROM TAMI'S INTERN...⬇️ Local news sure has changed! In a shimmery gold suit, a @KPRC2 reporter warns of the growing #Houston population and the negative effects of this growth. #texas #archives #TAMITurns20 #houston Click to watch the full video ⬇️ texasarchive.org/2022_00048

Texas newspapers of the early 1930s often tracked the flights of aviator Wiley Post, who was born near Grand Saline. (Handbook of Texas: bit.ly/3Ok6nxA) Post was a pioneer in high altitude flight. He was killed with humorist Will Rogers in an Alaska plane crash in August, 1935.

📰: Brenham Banner Press, July 18, 1933 (2/2)

What farmer had the first bale of cotton in the county and how much it sold for was an annual news story for more than a century across all Texas counties where cotton is grown. As it became easier for newspapers to reproduce photos, a photo was often included. (1/2)