Welcome back to “Think, Texas,” your free weekly digital newsletter about all things Texas past.
Our newsletter has been on hiatus for a few weeks, but the team is back and ready for action. As you can see, "Think Texas" comes with a new look.
In this week's column, Michael Barnes chats about three fresh ways to access Texas history, including this revamped newsletter, an expanded podcast and a new book.
Not long ago, “Think, Texas” readers were tickled by the three columns published on the “Best Songs About Texas.” We ended up with four lists in all.
What are the 20 best songs about Texas?
‘Waltz Across Texas’ with these great songs about the Lone Star State
‘Beautiful Texas’: Readers shout out these songs about the Lone Star State
If you missed these columns, check to see if your favorite song is listed. Who knows? We might revisit the topic.
Questions? Tips? Send your Texas history questions, tips and comments to Michael Barnes at mbarnes@gannett.com.
Miss a column? Go to our column archives.
Miss a newsletter? Go to our newsletter archives.
Sign up: To get the free Think, Texas weekly digital newsletter, go to the American-Statesman newsletter page, or that of your hometown USA Today newspaper in Texas.
Happy trails,
The Think Tank
THE COLUMN
At times, it feels like the "Think, Texas" team — which includes editors, photographers, printers and digital experts — is running a little history factory.
It started ages ago with a blog — remember blogs? — a grab bag of old photos, fond memories and burning questions about the city's past. Our former social media editor dubbed it "Austin Found."
That blog evolved into a short weekly print column — no more than 500 words — accompanied by a historical image.
Little did we know that readers — old-timers and newcomers alike — would respond so warmly to the subject.
The columns grew in size and scope. In 2015, the best of those longer columns were collected into a book, "Indelible Austin: Selected Histories," published by Waterloo Press, the imprint of the Austin History Center Association.
That initial volume did so well — for a small press — it went into a second edition.
That was followed in "Indelible Austin: More Selected Histories" (2018) and "Indelible Austin: Volume 3" (2019). More news to come on that front.
In 2019, the national leadership of our chain — now part of the USA Today Network — set into motion "Think, Texas," a free statewide digital newsletter about Texas history.
This weekly column, available in print and online, is part of that effort that gathers stories from more than a dozen Texas papers in the USA Today Network.
In 2020, Austin360 Radio host J.B. Hager and I put together a podcast called "Austin Found," named for the former city-based blog and column.
Each week, we riff on one of the stories collected in "Indelible Austin."
It is a breezy format — we laugh a lot — but we don't turn a blind eye to the darker chapters of the city's history.
Today, we can share good news on all fronts. READ MORE
THE PODCAST
On this week's Austin Found podcast, Michael Barnes and J.B. Hager chat again with native East Austinite Lonnie Limón. He could have worked anywhere in the country after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. But eventually, Limón moved to back to Austin, where he is closer to relatives — more than 3,500 of them.
HOMETOWN HISTORY
· From Abilene: Cowboys’ Christmas Ball is a West Texas tradition
· From Alice: Historic 1800s Rancho Las Animas up for sale
· From Amarillo: Black History Month: Matthew “Bones” Hook
· From Austin: Hit the fabled Chisholm Trail with these 10 books
· From Brownwood: Rediscovering a mural as big as all outdoors
· From Corpus Christi: South Texas’ ranching heritage still going strong
· From El Paso: 1894 front page documents Wild West gunfight
· From Glen Rose: The cyclone of 1902 nearly wiped out Glen Rose
· From Lubbock: Tascosa: toughest town of the Wild West
· From San Angelo: Cowboys among the most colorful characters in West Texas
· From Sherman: Gail Davis, a historical American cowgirl
· From Stephenville: Texas history makes Stephenville a ‘Cowboy Capital’
· From Waxahachie: Ellis County Rural Heritage Farm receives grant
· From Wichita Falls: Herd manager shares Texas longhorn history
FUN TEXAS FACT
On March 17, 1884, Frank "Bring 'Em Back Alive" Buck, hunter, author and film maker, was born in Gainesville, Texas. He travelled over the world trapping and transporting exotic animals to zoos and circuses. He wrote at least seven books and produced several motion pictures about animals and his adventures. Buck died in Houston on March 25, 1950. (Texas Day by Day / Texas State Historical Association) READ MORE
TEXAS TITLES
We recommend: “The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight” by Aaric S. Eisenstein
When the pandemic hit, Eisenstein hit the birding trail. He combined his new discoveries, mostly in Central Texas, with Jewish wisdom seen in the beauty of birds. READ MORE
Thanks for reading,
Michael Barnes, Columnist
Email: mbarnes@statesman.com
Twitter: twitter.com/outandabout
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dive into Texas history in 3 fresh ways
