texas – Page 47 – Texas History Notebook

Howard Hughes’ Around the World Flight

Some people may only remember Howard Hughes in his senior years as having been an unkempt, reclusive and eccentric billionaire living in a secluded hotel room in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hughes was born on December 24, 1905 in Humble, Texas to Howard R. Hughes, Sr. and Allene Stone Gano. He was an heir to the Hughes Tool Company. During his lifetime, he was also known as a successful businessman, investor, film director, record setting pilot, among his other achievements.

Mier Expedition

It is easy to think of 1836 as the year that hostilities ceased between Mexico and Texas. Though Texas was an independent republic until 1845, area conflicts continued with Mexico on a fairly regular basis until the conclusion of the Mexican-American War which ended some twelve years later.

Movie Cowboys’ Texas Ties: Some are True, Some are False

Film studios were known for occasionally exaggerating the resumes of their stars back in the early days. One example was the film resume of singing cowboy actor Ken Maynard. His biography said he was born in Mission, Texas when in reality he was born in Vevay, Indiana. It could have either been an inadvertent miscommunication or an intentional statement to give him more of a “Texas” connection, but Maynard (1895-1973) had a long film career, appearing as a western actor in about 90 productions. One biographical paragraph says that Maynard learned to ride horses and rope in Texas when he was a boy, but it is not clear whether the family lived within the state, or if they did, for how long. Maynard is believed to have worked with circus or wild west shows before becoming and served in the Army in World War I. The rest of his resume may well have been factual.

Avenger Field

Avenger Field was active during World War II to train female pilots in the Women Airforce Service Pilots program (WASP). One of the goals of the WASP program was to make use of the talents of female fliers in service in order to free up their male counterparts for combat flying.

Anne Gwynne

The actress known as Anne Gwynne was born Marguerite Gwynne Trice in Waco, McLennan County, Texas on December 18, 1918. Her parents were Jefferson Benjamin Trice and Pearle Guinn Trice. Her father was in a number of businesses, but seems to have worked as a traveling salesman from time to time. They lived at 1308 N. 15th Street in Waco, just outside of the downtown business district.