Japanese Police Visit the Texas Rangers

Posted on May 25, 2023 by ARIS Staff

By Clinton Drake, Reference Librarian

Blue-gloved hand holding a black and white photo of two Japanese men outdoors wearing suits. One man is standing and one man sits on a horse. — *Texas Department of Public Safety photo of two visitors from Japan*.

As we will soon open an exhibit on records related to the Texas Rangers, we are taking an in-depth look at a group of negatives and photographs in the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) photographs collection held at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) that caught our interest. A series of photos show several Japanese police workers observing law enforcement practices of the Texas Rangers, such as smashing gambling machines with hatchets and using a polygraph machine. The seemingly friendly nature of this cultural exchange so shortly after World War II, when the U.S. and Japan were avowed enemies, left us wanting to know more. The last federal internment camp located in Texas that housed Japanese Americans closed just two years before these photos were taken. Typed notations on the upper left-hand corner of two manila envelopes provide clues about the story behind the photos. The notes read as follows:

8-4×5 negatives of
Ranger Capt. Olson and Truman Stone
showing two Japanese how the Rangers
distroy [sic] gambling equipment. Also showing
tear gas gun and cartridge
March 14, 1950

1-4×5 negative of
Kinzo Kimura, Jap[anese] police
lab technician, being
shown the polygraph by
Dee Wheeler.
February 5, 1951

Image of several black and white photos, only one in full view, with the return address portion of a manilla envelope in the bottom right corner. The photo has three men surrounding a viewfinder on a desk. From left to right, Japanese man standing, another Japanese man bent down looking through viewfinder, a white man in uniform is also bent down pointing something out. In partial view, photo shows a Texas Ranger in uniform holding an ax over two gambling machines. A Japanese man in a suit stands behind the machines on the ground. — *Texas Department of Public Safety photos and envelope*.

a white envelope on a table with a photo negative sitting on top at an angle. The negative image is of a Japanese man and a Texas Ranger looking at a polygraph machine. — *Texas Department of Public Safety negative and envelope*.

Knowing the identity of one of the Japanese police workers—Kinzo Kimura—enabled us to add to the story by finding his name in a January 1951 report entitled Weekly Report on Japan to the Far Eastern Commission, noting he had received permission to travel to the United States “to inspect police administrations” by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur had lived in Texas in his youth, graduating from the West Texas Military Academy in San Antonio.

In the same report to the Far Eastern Commission (FEC), Makoto Kataoka was also granted travel for the same purpose and time. A ship manifest confirms that Kimura and Kataoka traveled together on board of the S. S. President Cleveland, arriving at San Francisco on December 16, 1950. Kimura’s destination was listed as “c/o Prof. R. Turner, Mich. St. College, East Lansing, Mich.”and Kataoka’s as “Police Academy, Los Angeles, Calif.” Professor Ralph Turner established a renowned criminalistics program at Michigan State University in 1947. Kimura and Kataoka likely visited numerous criminal justice programs and law enforcement agencies during their visit.

black and white photos side by side. Photo on left shows four men standing around two metal gambling machines on the ground. Man on far left is a Texas Ranger in uniform wielding an ax. In a row are a Japanese man in a suit, another Texas Ranger in uniform and another Japanese man in a suit. They are standing in front of a building with Texas Rangers written across it and Building Number seven. — *Ranger Captain Olson and Truman Stone showing two Japanese officers how the Rangers destroy gambling equipment, also showing tear gas gun and cartridge, March 14, 1950*. Texas Department of Public Safety photographs, 1983/112 E-270-4 and E-207-2.

Two black and white photos side by side, with the photo on the right featuring three men. The first man is a Japanese man in a suit with an ax pointing down at a gambling machine on the ground. There is a Japanese man in a suit watching along with a Texas Ranger in uniform. Three are three metal gambling machines on the ground and the building in the background has Texas Rangers written across it and building number seven. — *Ranger Captain Olson and Truman Stone showing two Japanese officers how the Rangers destroy gambling equipment, also showing tear gas gun and cartridge, March 14, 1950*. Texas Department of Public Safety photographs, 1983/112 E-270-4 and E-207-2.

The FEC was a multinational organization eventually made up of 13 countries led by the “Big Four” Allied Powers—the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Nationalist China—with MacArthur (SCAP) at the helm as de facto leader of Occupied Japan. Created in 1945, the FEC was tasked with implementing postwar governance, reconstruction, and policy making under the terms of surrender of Japan under the Potsdam Declaration. Compliance to all the terms during the occupation led to the Japanese Peace Treaty of September 8, 1951, and concurrently, the conclusion of the FEC.

According to an article by Kazumi Kuzuhara published in the National Institute for Defense Studies (Japan) journal, when most U.S. troops stationed in occupied Japan were reassigned to the Korean battle front, “the National Police Reserve [NPR] of Japan was formed to fill the country’s military vacuum by providing for national defense capability, as well as to serve as a lightly armed national police force”(p. 95). According to Thomas French in his dissertation entitled A History of Japan’s National Police Reserve 1950-1952: Army or Constabulary?, there were several issues affecting the “quality and value” of the training of the NPR, including: a lack of translated equipment manuals, equipment, facilities, and a shortage of qualified US advisory personnel, especially within more specialized units (p. 170).

black and white photo of three men looking at a tear gas gun. on the far left side of the image there is a black fan. In a row there is standing a Japanese man holding a tear gas gun open for loading. Next to him is another Japanese man looking down at the hands of the man on his left. the man on his left is a Texas Ranger wearing a badge and holding to cartridges for the gun. On the table in front of them is a black rotary dial phone, maps, newspapers, photographs, and magnifying glasses. — *Two Japanese officers being shown tear gas gun and cartridge, March 14, 1950*.
Texas Department of Public Safety photographs, 1983/112 E270-3.

Around this time, the U.S. War Department offered Colonel Homer Garrison, Jr., director of the Department of Public Safety and chief of the Texas Rangers, a position on MacArthur’s staff to reorganize the Japanese police force. According to a 1956 article in The Paris News, Garrison declined, stating: “I don’t know how badly I might be needed in Japan, or how much I might be able to accomplish there. But here in Texas, where my interests and duties lie, I do know what needs to be done and how to go about doing it.” Despite turning down the position, Garrison may have obliged the request by inviting Japanese police workers to train under the Texas Rangers and the Department of Public Safety.

According to a 1968 article in The Baytown Sun, “Once, in the early 1950s, Garrison was elected president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. That, in effect, made him the police chief of the world.” Also part of the DPS photographs collection is Colonel Garrison’s 1950s era desk plaque from Japan featuring a dragon and tiger inlaid with abalone on either side of his name. Japan’s NPR was reorganized several times, eventually becoming a branch of the Japanese Army.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carter, Bill. “Garrison, Homer, Jr.” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed April 28, 2023, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/garrison-homer-jr.

Cheavens, Dave. “Law Enforcement Career Proves Really Successful.” The Paris News (Paris, TX), Oct. 21, 1956.

U.S. Department of the Army. Civil Affairs Division. 265^th Weekly Report on Japan to the Far Eastern Commission. MI-001/265. January 12, 1951.

Gale Cengage Learning. Archives Unbound. Records of the Far Eastern Commission, 1945-1952. Online database. N.d. https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/archives-unbound/primary-sources_archives-unbound_records-of-the-far-eastern-commission-1945-1952.pdf

Kuzuhara, Kazumi (2006). “The Korean War and The National Police Reserve of Japan: Impact of the US Army’s Far East Command on Japan’s Defense Capability” (PDF). NIDS Journal of Defense and Security. National Institute for Defense Studies. No. 7. ISSN 1345-4250. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2016.

MacArthur, Douglas. Reports of General MacArthur: supplement. MacArthur in Japan: the occupation, military phase. United States: Center of Military History, 1994.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Francisco, 1893-1953. NARA microform publication M1410, 429 Rolls. NAID 4498993. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787–2004, Record Group 85. The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Texas Historical Commission. “Crystal City (Family) Internment Camp.” Last updated March 13, 2020. https://www.thc.texas.gov/crystalcity.

U.S. Department of State. The Far Eastern Commission: third report by the Secretary General, December 24, 1948-June 30, 1950. Department of State publication 3945. Washington, D.C.: Dept. of State, Division of Publications, Office of Public Affairs, 1950.

For more information and questions regarding TSLAC collection, please contact the reference desk at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.

Life in the Texas Governor’s Mansion

Posted on May 4, 2023 by ARIS Staff

By Alec Head, Reference Librarian

Many Austin landmarks are associated with Texas government, but few are so distinguished or iconic as the Texas Governor’s Mansion. The mansion was designed and built by Abner Cook after a $14,500 appropriation by the Texas Legislature in 1854. From its picturesque setting overlooking Colorado Street, the mansion has been the home of every Texas governor since Governor Elisha Pease and his family arrived in 1856. Many collections at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) tell the story of this historic home and its legendary inhabitants who shaped the course of Texas history.

Governor’s Mansion, Luck Bros., about 1919. Places Collection, 1/103-80. Prints and Photographs.

Selections from TSLAC archival collections comprise the exhibit Texas Governors and Their Times, 1846-1946, on view in the TSLAC lobby through May 15. The exhibit includes photographs and records of former governors and archival artifacts from the mansion itself. The image below, from TSLAC’s prints and photograph collection, captured the view of the Governor’s Mansion and grounds as seen from the Texas Capitol in 1894.

View of the Governor’s Mansion and fenced-in grounds in 1894. Southwest from the Capitol, 1894. Art Work of Austin, 1/002-27. Prints and Photographs.

Former First Lady Jean Houston Daniel and co-author Dorothy Blodgett published a history of the mansion in 1984 and donated their extensive research materials to TSLAC.

Brochure for the book, The Texas Governor’s Mansion: A History of the House and Its Occupants, by Jean and Price Daniel and Dorothy Blodgett, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 1984. Texas Documents, L1900.8 T312gom.

Many others have published works on the history of the Texas Governor’s Mansion that are a part of TSLAC’s library collections. A selection of the titles are listed below and are also on display in the Reference Reading Room.

Title	Author	Call Number	Collection
Abner Cook, master builder, 1814-1884 : his life, labors, and legacy	Petticrew, Andrée	720.924 C771a	Main
A History of the Texas Governor’s Mansion	Neeley, Linda	725.17 N292h	Main
Courage, charm, and character: the story of the first ladies of Texas and the historic gown collection at Texas Woman’s University	Hartzog, Martha	391.2 H259c OVER-T	Main
Dining at the governor’s mansion 1st ed.	McQueary, Carl	641.59764 M242d	e-Book online
First Ladies of Texas: The first one hundred years, 1836-1936: a history	Farrell, Mary	976.406 F247F	Main
Furnishings of historic interest in the Governor’s Mansion	Daniel, Jean	917.643 D224	Main
Identified with Texas: The Lives of Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and Lucadia Niles Pease	Whitlow, Elizabeth	Z N745.8 W590i c.1	Texas Documents
Ma’s in the kitchen : you’ll know when it’s done : the recipes and history of Governor Miriam A. Ferguson, first woman governor of Texas	McQueary, Carl	976.4061 F381M	Main
Miriam : the southern belle who became the first woman governor of Texas	Paulissen, May	976.4061 F381P	Main, e-Book online
Please pass the biscuits, Pappy : pictures of Governor W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel	Crawford, Bill	976.4063 OD1p	Main, e-Book online
The Governor’s Mansion of Texas : a historic tour	Alexander, Drury	725.1702 G7462	Main
The Governor’s Mansion of Texas : a tour of Texas’ most historic home	Herndon, Dealey	725.1702 G746 1997	Main
The Governor’s mansion of Texas and its furnishings	Hamer, Marcell	917.64 H178g	Main
The power of the Texas governor : Connally to Bush	McCall, Brian	Z UA380.8 M124po	Texas Documents, e-Book online
The Texas Governor	Welch, June	976.406 W444t	Main
The Texas Governor’s Mansion : a history of the house and its occupants	Daniel, Jean	L1900.8 T312gom	Texas Documents

For more information about our collections and services, please contact the reference desk at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.

Preservation Week: Free Webinars

Posted on April 27, 2023 by ARIS Staff

For Preservation Week this year we are highlighting webinars offered for free from the American Library Association‘s CORE division. CORE sponsors Preservation Week and provides helpful resources for cultural heritage professionals and the general public. Two upcoming webinars focus on support systems available for preserving collections after crises and disasters. CORE also provides access to recordings of past webinars dealing with other aspects of preservation, such as family history, community archiving, and sustainability.

The following webinars are on offer for 2023:

There When You Need Us: Crisis Collecting Support
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 / 1:00 p.m. CT
Kara McClurken and Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn are presenting about the work of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Crisis Collecting Assistance Team and the Crisis, Disaster, and Tragedy Response Working Group. [Details and registration]

Networking Strategies Improve Disaster Readiness
Thursday, May 4, 2023 / 1:00 p.m. CT
Steve Pine is presenting about networking for disaster as part of the Texas Collections Resource Alliance (TX-CERA). Steve is a founding board member and current president of TX-CERA. [Details and registration]

For past webinars on preservation topics, visit: https://preservationweek.org/past-webinars/

County Boundary Histories in Texas Statewide Records Project Publications

Posted on April 19, 2023 by ARIS Staff

By Clinton Drake, Reference Librarian

When Texas became an independent republic in 1836, the 23 municipalities created under Mexican colonial rule were converted to counties and further divided as settlement continued, leading to the current 254 counties in the state of Texas. The newest county is Kenedy, created from Willacy County in 1921. Counties as we recognize them today have most likely not always had the same boundaries. There are a variety of resources to assist researchers in determining how a county was formed and where to look for records if boundaries have changed over time.

One often-overlooked resource for researching county boundaries are the maps created in the 1930s and 1940s by the Texas Statewide Records Project. As part of the Work Projects Administration (WPA), the federal relief program to provide jobs during the Great Depression, the Texas Statewide Records Project was a community service program that employed historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers to prepare inventories of unpublished government records.

Project workers created inventories for each county, often including a map showing which geographic areas of the county had undergone boundary changes. For instance, the Index to Probate Cases Filed in Texas No. 25 Brown County provides the following map of Brown County showing eleven areas that either previously belonged to another county or were lost to the creation of new counties. In total, six additional counties are identified as potential sources for records.

Brown County map from, Index to Probate Cases Filed in Texas, no 25, Brown County, 1941.

[Click image for larger view of the Explanation of the Map Areas]

Many of the inventories created by the Texas Statewide Records Project and its affiliate programs (including the Texas Historical Records Survey) can be found in TSLAC’s library catalog with individual entries for each county.

Index to Probate Cases of Texas: Click for TSLAC catalog records for the series entitled Index to Probate Cases of Texas created by the Texas Statewide Records Project.

Inventory of the County Archives of Texas: Click for TSLAC catalog records for the series entitled Inventory of the County Archives of Texas created by the Texas Historical Records Survey. (Note that select volumes from this series are available online through the Portal to Texas History.)

Bibliography:

Nance, Joseph M. , “Texas Historical Records Survey,” Handbook of Texas Online, Accessed August 02, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-historical-records-survey.

Texas State-wide Records Project. Index to probate cases of Texas : no. 25, Brown County, November 19, 1878-November 7, 1938. San Antonio, Tex. : The Program, [1941].

The Celina Record (Celina, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 9, 1941, newspaper, January 9, 1941; Celina, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth773502/m1/1/: accessed August 2, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Celina Area Historical Association.

For more information and questions regarding TSLAC collection, please contact the reference desk at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.

TSLAC Research Fellows Announced

Posted on March 8, 2023 by ARIS Staff

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 TSLAC Research Fellowship in Texas History: Cecilia N. Sanchez Hill, Angus McLeod, and Halee Robinson. The fellowship includes a $2,000 stipend and is awarded for the best research proposal utilizing the collections of the State Archives in Austin.

Hill is a PhD candidate at Texas Christian University and has conducted research at the State Archives for her dissertation project. The fellowship allows her to continue her inquiry into the history of educating Mexican American students in 20th century Texas, including new questions about the development of and approaches to teaching Mexican American students along with issues of their identity and social, economic and political mobility.

McLeod is a doctoral student working toward a joint degree in education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He will continue his research at the State Archives to complete his dissertation in 2024. His project examines the origin and development of the school finance system in Texas between 1821-2016 and fills a gap in the historiography of education.

Robinson is currently a PhD candidate at Princeton University. Her dissertation focuses on the Texas penal system, community and citizenship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She explores the relationship between the penal system and lives of everyday Texans.

The awards the awards were presented at the Texas State Historical Association’s (TSHA) Annual Meeting in El Paso on March 3.

The TSLAC Research Fellowship in Texas History is administered in partnership with TSHA and made possible by the generous support of the Texas Library and Archives Foundation.

Declaration of Independence Broadside

Posted on March 1, 2023 by ARIS Staff

After delegates gathered at Washington-on-the-Brazos in March of 1836 to form the new government of the Republic of Texas, they sent a handwritten copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence to the town of San Felipe de Austin for printers there to produce a broadside version for wider distribution. The printers were Baker & Bordens, a small company that handled other orders from the Texas government and published the newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Register. Baker & Bordens took the order to publish 1,000 broadsides of the Declaration of Independence from Mexico. They also printed the text in the March 12, 1836, edition of their newspaper, where they apologized for neglecting to add the names of two signers of the document, including the author of the declaration, George Childress.

July 6, 1836, printing record, Baker & Bordens. Texas Secretary of State public printing records, 1835-1836.

The State Archives has in its holdings an itemized record with charges for producing the Declaration of Independence, along with the Travis Letter written from Bejar (the Alamo) on February, 24, 1836, and the announcement of the fall of the Alamo. (Click the image below for a closer view of these items.)

Close-Up: July 6. 1836, printing record, Baker &Bordens. Texas Secretary of State public printing records, 1835-1836.

The disruptive activities of the Texas Revolution during that time caused citizens to flee their settlements, and the printed handbills of the declaration were largely lost to history. The State Archives acquired its copy as part of the Mirabeau B. Lamar Papers in 1909. Lamar was the second president of the Republic, and the document certainly would have been significant to someone in his position.

Main Broadside, Texas Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836. Mirabeau B. Lamar Papers, 1909/001-344.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, several printed forgeries of the broadside were created and eventually sold to collectors as originals. When a rare book dealer, W. Thomas Taylor, noticed a suspicious number of broadsides coming up for sale he began comparing copies. In his 1991 book, Texfake: An Account of the Theft and Forgery of Early Texas Printed Documents, he identified 12 original copies of the broadside in libraries, museums, and private collections and ten forgeries. The Lamar copy at the State Archives has been authenticated as a genuine imprint and was featured in a 1995 Antiques Roadshow segment on the topic. One tell-tale sign of a forgery is the word “denies” is misspelled as “donies.” In addition to the broadside version of this historical document, the State Archives also preserves an even rarer copy of the hand-written manuscript.

Read the full transcription of the Declaration of Independence here: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/republic/declaration.html

THRAB Presents Free Finding Aid Workshops

Posted on February 21, 2023 by ARIS Staff

Introduction to TARO: Encoding and Submitting Finding Aids

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) presents free training opportunities on encoding finding aids to enhance the collection access efforts of historical and genealogical societies, archives, museums, libraries, colleges, local governments, and other institutions who hold Texas’ archival collections. Through these workshops, archivists will learn the hands-on basic skills needed to participate in the Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO) finding aid platform, www.txarchives.org. Trainers will offer day-long workshops in Lubbock (3/20), Edinburg (4/17), and El Paso (5/25). Registration is free but limited to 15 participants at each site.

About the training:

Introduction to TARO: Encoding and Submitting Finding Aids is a workshop designed to serve anyone learning how to encode archival finding aids using the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard in XML but focuses on the local guidelines and participation logistics for the state consortium for finding aids, Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO). The morning session will provide basic information on EAD and the standards used with it, as well as background on TARO. The afternoon session will include hands-on time using an XML editor (or alternatively, using ArchivesSpace) to build a valid EAD XML finding aid file and uploading it to TARO.

In 2020-2021, TARO underwent significant changes and upgrades, which this workshop will address, so it will be useful even to those who are familiar with the previous version of TARO. This includes required tags and attributes, suggested subject browsing terms, and a new way of uploading and managing files. Participants will learn how XML tags work, what the EAD tags are, how to validate an XML file, how to use the TARO Best Practices Guidelines, and how to upload files to TARO. Detailed handouts and sample files will allow participants to continue their practice after the workshop. Trainers Robert Weaver, Amy Bowman, and Amanda Focke will lead these hands-on workshops.

Locations and dates:

March 20, 2023 | Texas Tech University, Lubbock |10am-4pm
April 17, 2023 | UT-Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg | 10am-4pm
May 25, 2023 | UT-El Paso | 10am-4pm

For contact information and to register visit: https://forms.gle/dJnhApWtew Jgy3cf6

The National Historical Publications & Records Commission funds THRAB programming.

Apply for Free Registration to AASLH Basics of Archives Online Course

Posted on February 15, 2023 by ARIS Staff

Through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) has partnered with the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) to offer free registration to their popular online course, Basics of Archives from March 27 – April 28, 2023. Meant for those with little to no archival experience, this self-paced course takes place over five weeks, with lessons covering the essential components of archives work from acquisition to outreach. The time commitment is about 15-20 hours to be completed within the five-week period.

Registration is limited to 30 attendees residing in Texas and working for a repository or organization charged with preservation responsibilities but lacking in formal training. Preference will be given to employees or volunteers of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, or smaller institutions that serve rural areas and receive little or no funding for professional development. THRAB may limit registration to one person per institution to allocate space equitably.

Apply by March 10, 2023

Apply Now

The National Historical Records and Publications Commission (NHPRC) funds THRAB programming.

THRAB Offering Free Preservation Assessments for Rio Grande Valley Region

Posted on February 7, 2023 by ARIS Staff

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) has announced that it is accepting applications from libraries and archives in the Rio Grande Valley for free professional preservation assessments. As part of its ongoing efforts to provide education and support to archival repositories in the state, THRAB, with support from the National Historical Publication and Records Commission (NHPRC) will provide funding for three professional preservation assessments in the Rio Grande Valley region during the spring of 2023.

Archives, libraries, museums and other cultural heritage repositories preserving and providing access to historically significant archival collections are encouraged to apply. Special consideration will be given to those located in the counties of Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron and Hispanic-serving institutions.

Selected South Texas repositories will receive a professional preservation assessment free of charge. THRAB has contracted with Rebecca Elder Cultural Heritage Preservation of Austin to conduct the on-site reviews of facilities, environments and collection needs and produce a brief assessment report for each repository with short and long-term recommendations. Areas of review include building and environmental conditions; general collection needs; storage and shelving; exhibits (if any); and emergency planning and security. The report will prioritize the recommendations and provide essential documentation to support any future funding requests, including grant applications, to accomplish the projects.

THRAB will review the final assessment reports and work with the institutions to identify appropriate grants or other means to address the recommendations. THRAB will monitor progress of the institutions and provide advocacy support. THRAB intends this initiative to be a pilot project to engage and support underfunded repositories.

Applications can be made online by visiting www.THRAB.org or clicking on the button below. The deadline is March 1. Successful applicants will be notified by April 1 and will make arrangements with Rebecca Elder Cultural Heritage Preservation for assessments to be completed by June 1.

Apply for Preservation Assessment

The nine-member Texas Historical Records Advisory Board was established in 1976 by Governor Dolph Briscoe. It enables the state to receive monies from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission in support of archival and records management programs and serves as a catalyst for improving archival and records storage conditions within the state.

The National Historical Publications & Records Commission funds THRAB programming.

Texas Governors: Indelible Ann

Posted on January 25, 2023 by ARIS Staff

By Traci Reece, Reference Librarian

As legislators and staff return to the Texas State Capitol for the start of the 88th Texas Legislature, we’re looking back at the legendary Texas Governor Ann W. Richards. Thirty-two years ago this month, Governor Richards was inaugurated as the 45th Governor of Texas. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has in our collections papers, photographs, and publications connected to Texas governors dating back to the first chief executive of the state, including Richards.

Cover: Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards by Meghan P. Brown and Carlynn Whitt

Last fall, TSLAC’s Texas Center for the Book selected as the Texas Great Read for 2022 the new picture book biography about Governor Richards, Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards by Meghan P. Browne and illustrator Carlynn Whitt. The author spoke about her work and the importance of the TSLAC collections in supporting her research in the promotional video for the Texas Great Read, which also includes images of Richards from our State Archives.

Texas Center for the Book interview with Meghan P. Browne for the 2022 Texas Great Read, Indelible Ann.

Browne is not the first author to publish a book on Richards. Our library stacks contain numerous titles focusing on the governor, some of which are currently on display in the Reference Reading Room. See below for a list of featured titles.

Title	Author	Call Number	Collection
A love letter to Texas women	Bird, Sarah	Z UA380.8 B532Lo	Texas Documents, e-Book online
Ann Richards : “a woman’s place is in the dome”	Stumpff, April D.	920.7 R390a YALL	Reference Reading Room Collection
Capitol women : Texas female legislators, 1923-1999	Jones, Nancy Baker	328.764 J722c	Main
Claytie and the lady : Ann Richards, gender, and politics in Texas	Tolleson-Rinehart, Sue.	976.4063 T578C	Main
Indelible Ann : the larger-than-life story of Governor Ann Richards	Browne, Meghan P.	976.4063 B814in YALL	Reference Reading Room Collection
Let me tell you what I’ve learned : Texas wisewomen speak	Pierce, Paula Jo	920.72 P611L	Main, e-Book online
Let the people in : the life and times of Ann Richards	Reid, Jan.	Z UA380.8 R272LE	Texas Documents, e-Book online
Molly Ivins can’t say that, can she?	Ivins, Molly	070.92 Iv5m	Main
Storming the statehouse : running for governor with Ann Richards and Dianne Feinstein	Morris, Celia.	923.2764 R39M	Main
Straight from the heart : my life in politics and other places	Richards, Ann.	973.927 R39S	Main
The great Texas wind rush : how George Bush, Ann Richards, and a bunch of tinkerers helped the oil and gas state win the race to wind power 1st ed.	Galbraith, Kate	Z UA380.8 G131gr	Texas Documents, e-Book online
The thorny rose of Texas : an intimate portrait of Governor Ann Richards	Shropshire, Mike.	976.4063 R39S	Main
Where is Sam Houston Buried? : A Tour of the Graves of the Governors of Texas	Swearingen, John	923.2764 SW31w	Main
With Ann : a journey across Texas with a candidate for Governor	Bonar, Ave.	923.2764 R39B	Main
Women and Texas history : selected essays	Downs, Fane	305.4 W8423	Main

To search for these books and more, visit our library catalog. If you are interested in checking out a title from this post, please visit the Reference Desk or contact your local library about borrowing books through the interlibrary loan program. Call us at 512-463-5455 or send an email to ref@tsl.texas.gov with your questions about our collections.

Governor Richards, press conference with Harley Davidson, May 21, 1992. Governor’s activities, 1991-1995, 1992/095-2-1, TSLAC Current Events Photographic Documentation Program Collection. TSLAC.

I did not want my tombstone to read, ”She kept a really clean house. I think I’d like them to remember me by saying, “She opened government to everyone.” Ann Richards, from Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards by Meghan P. Browne and Carlynn Whitt.

Explore Our Collections

Visit us online or at our library to see documents and images from the first century of Texas governors in Texas Governors and their Times, 1846-1946 on exhibit at TSLAC through May 15, 2023.

See more Featured Collections blog posts for additional women’s history topics:

Out of the Stacks

News and Information from the Texas State Library and Archives