Texana

Comics fans know that Popeye the Sailor is strong to the finish because he eats his spinach. But what many people don’t know is that Popeye is from Victoria, Texas. Elzie Crisler Segar (1894-1938) was from Illinois, and he went…
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When it comes to advertising taglines, Texans have put their stamp on things. To cite one example, a 1980s American Express television commercial featured then-Dallas Cowboys football coach Tom Landry. Sports fans today might remember Landry for his coat, tie,…
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Many Texas cities are named in honor of someone. Austin, Houston, and Lubbock are three examples. For whom Dallas was named, however, isn’t so clear. One can make the case for any, perhaps all, of the following historical figures. Joseph…
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Liendo Plantation is off U.S. 290 between Hempstead and Prairie View, and can be easy to miss if you’re not actively looking for it. Today it’s a working cattle ranch, but it has a fascinating history. Liendo Plantion was established…
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Gov. Mark White served from 1983-87 and is perhaps best remembered for his support of educational reform in Texas, including the “no pass, no play” law. We had met on a couple of instances, perhaps most notably when I was…
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Last week, Houston-area newspaper readers learned of the decision of the Houston Press, an alternative weekly newspaper, to cease publishing a print edition and publish exclusively online. Officials said their decision was based on the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey…
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Ask the sports fan in your family about the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, and chances are you’ll get a variety of answers. The stadium has been around a while, so a variety of answers is understandable. For many fans,…
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San Antonio has its share of famous architecture. It has the iconic (the Alamo), the historic (the missions), and the modern (the Tower of the Americas). The Tower Life Building sits to the west of the Tower of the Americas…
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Texas-OU weekend is here, and among the pomp and circumstances of the football game is the playing of the University of Texas alma mater, “The Eyes of Texas.” Here are some things you might not know about the song: 1….
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Susannah Dickinson Hannig wasn’t the only survivor of the Alamo, but she was perhaps the most famous. Like many early Texas settlers, Susanna Wilkerson came from Tennessee. She married her husband, Almeron, there in 1829. They came to Texas in…
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