texas – Page 2 – Texas History Notebook

Lubbock Tornadoes – May 11, 1970

Spring is often a vulnerable time for West Texas residents when supercell storms pass through the area. Newspapers noted that two people were killed the evening of May 6, 1949 when a tornado struck the north side of the small oilfield community of Sundown, roughly 45 miles west of Lubbock in Hockley County. The next morning, reports announced that two individuals were killed including a young Church of Christ pastor and his three year old daughter. Two more unnamed people were reported missing. Several others were injured and more were said to be trapped in the rubble but no more fatalities were reported. All the missing individuals were located. That same night, tornado activity, part of the same huge storm, was reported in Morton and the wheatland outside Dalhart but there were no fatalities. Near Dalhart, the tornado was said to be on the ground for about twelve miles, but it only destroyed crops. About two weeks later, a twister dropped down in the Soldier Mound community a few miles north of Spur, killing one person and injuring several others. The fatality and a number of those injured were in a residence that was destroyed. A small child, a grandchild of the deceased, was found 100 yards away from her, the but miraculously the child was uninjured. A Baptist church and five farm houses were also destroyed, but there were no other fatalities.

“Dallas” – The Television Series

“Dallas” was a prime time CBS television series in the U. S. which ran for 14 seasons. It first aired in 1978 and ran its final episode in 1991. Internet Movie Database numbers the total episodes at 356. It was created by David Jacobs (1939 – 2023). The clipping below aired in various newspapers on or about April 2, 1978, timed to coordinate with the series premier, now called “Digger’s Daughter.”

Elizabeth Powell

As San Jacinto Day, April 21, approaches it is interesting to reflect on the events of those days and the people who participated in them. Author Gregg J. Dimmick has written several books about that time. In his recent volume, “Sea of Mud: The Retreat of the Mexican Army After San Jacinto, An Archaeological Investigation,” he described the days that followed April 21, 1836 as they pertained to the Mexican Army. The author noted that General Vicente Filisola was second in command to Santa Anna when the Mexican leader was captured. Filisola was camped elsewhere, to the west and near the current community of Thompsons, near the Brazos in Fort Bend County. Thompsons got its name from a crossing and ferry that once was operated by a Thompson family there. Filisola’s forces were to serve as a rear guard for Santa Anna. The General had just been informed of Santa Anna’s defeat, though the whereabouts of Santa Anna were yet unknown. Filisola decided to gather his troops even further west near the current community of Kendleton, more than half the distance between Richmond and Wharton.

Santa Claus Bank Robbery

Friday, December 23, 1927 in Cisco, Texas began like any other day in the Eastland County town. People were going about their business and finishing their Christmas shopping when around noon, four bandits stepped into the First National Bank of Cisco and announced that there was a robbery. The next day, an eye witness named Marion Olson gave his account as reported in the December 24, 1927 issue of the Fort Worth Record Telegram. Marion was a recent graduate of University of Texas at Austin and was home to visit his family during a Christmas break from a semester of Harvard Law School.

Charles Bellinger Stewart

Charles B. Stewart was born February 18, 1809 in Charleston, South Carolina to Charles and Adriana Bull Stewart and was the second of their two children. His full name was Charles Bellinger Tate Stewart. Charles was about eleven years old when his father died in Georgia in 1817 and was not quite twenty years old when his mother died in 1825.