Featuring recent selections from our “Throwback Thursday” and other posts on TSLAC’s social media platforms. No subscription required.
July
#OTD July 17, 1945, Clara Driscoll (1881-1945) passed away. Descended from veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto, Driscoll was raised in a wealthy family in the Corpus Christi area. As an educated young woman of eighteen, she turned her interest in historic preservation to the fate of the crumbling buildings left standing on the site of the famous battle of the Alamo. Driscoll financed, with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the purchase of the site and became known as “The Savior of the Alamo.” She went on to engage in other historic preservation efforts, write fiction, serve on various boards and committees, and take over her father’s business interests after the death of her brother.
August
#TBT W. Lee O’Daniel served as Texas governor and United States senator. Born in 1890 in Ohio, O’Daniel came to Texas at age 29 as a sales manager for Burrus Mills, a flour-milling company in Fort Worth. In 1928, O’Daniel took over the company’s radio advertising and started a country music program to promote the flour. O’Daniel hosted the show and organized a band called the Light Crust Doughboys. Many of the musicians who made Western Swing famous, including Bob Wills, got their start in O’Daniel’s band. In 1935 he organized his own flour company to make “Hillbilly Flour” and began to call his band the Hillbilly Boys. The slogan, “Pass the biscuits, Pappy,” made O’Daniel a household name throughout Texas. O’Daniel takes a spin on a bicycle in this undated photo. Read more about “Pappy” here: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/characters/pappy.html
September
#TBT This undated photo of Kilgore’s Texan Theatre may have been taken very soon after it opened in 1931. The 1931 film A Connecticut Yankee starring humorist Will Rogers is advertised as running in June at the theatre. A fire destroyed the building in 1942, and a new theatre was constructed in 1944.
October
#TBT Fall is a time for hayrides and pumpkin carving and celebrations surrounding harvest season. This gentleman is using a horse-drawn plow to harvest peanuts somewhere in Texas. The state is a leading producer of peanuts, which have health benefits for people and are also good for the soil. According to our Dept. of Agriculture, Texas is the only state to produce all four types of peanuts: Runner, Virginia, Valencia, and Spanish.
November
#OTD Originally referred to as Armistice Day, on Veterans Day we honor all those who have served in the U.S. military. Armistice Day celebrated the end of WWI, which was still ongoing when this photo was taken in 1918. The note reads: “Wounded man on the way back to the hospital, 144th Regiment Infantry (formerly 4th and 6th Regiments Infantry, Texas National Guard), Ville-sur-Tierre, France 8-29-18. Signal Corps Photo 24134. Photo by U.S. Signal Corps.” View more images from this collection in the TDA: https://tsl.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_26bce761-1078-437b-9172-f3bff4545619/
December
#TBT Will Austin see snow this year like this day back in January of 1940? Governor W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel and his daughter Molly pose in front of the Governor’s Mansion on a snowy day. The first day of winter is around the corner and time will tell!
For more information about the collections at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, contact ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455.
Follow us here: https://www.facebook.com/tslac | https://www.instagram.com/tslac