Saturday, September 26, 2015

2015 Pope Francis visits the United States


Shout-out to all the people on the internet who get offended by everything they see.
Easily offended by those offended easily.

1900s Fort Brown and Brownsville area photos from William Hornaday Collection online


 Fort Brown administration building No.4  later used as Brownsville Police headquarters
 Fort Brown barracks were along International Blvd from E Adams to Jefferson St
 The one and half story brick buildings were by Gorgas Drive where UT-RGV bookstore is.   Seven others faced parade grounds from May St 
 This entrance to Fort Brown was where E Elizabeth ended on what id International Blvd today
 Fort Brown cemetery located on property where Ft Brown Motor Hotel was built.  Headstons were removed in 1909 and remains transferred to National Cemetery in Alexandria, LA.
 Look-out tower on edge of Rio Grande
 Back of Fort Brown on Rio Grande
 Area behind Fort Brown where artillery barracks were located - farther back from Calvary barracks.  This was where Brownsville Compress was later built.
 Clearing area behind Fort Brown for garden
 Fort Brown garden
 Fort Brown garden
 Cactus field in South Texas
 Cock fight near Rio Grande
 Boat ferry crossing and water carriers near Rio Grande
 Construction of jacal homes along Rio Grande
 Man making straw hats 
read caption on photo - no info about that - sorry


Biographical Sketch

William Deming Hornaday was born near Plainfield, Indiana on February 4, 1868. He demonstrated an early interest in journalism, and contributed anonymous items to local county newspapers from a young age. As a teenager, Hornaday began selling articles to a series of newspapers across the Midwest and West, including the Fowler (Indiana) New Era, the Columbus (Ohio) Republican, the Denver Times, theSan Antonio Times, and the Memphis (Tennessee) Commercial Appeal. Hornaday moved to Texas in 1889, and found a position as city editor for the San Antonio Express from 1891 to 1895. He would later rejoin the staff of the Express as the paper's Austin correspondent for political and legislative matters from 1899 to 1917. In 1891, Hornaday married Marjorie Rochow, with whom he would have four children.
In 1895, Hornaday began an extended connection with Mexico, initially by editing and publishing the Industrial Journal, a trade newspaper printed in English and Spanish and distributed from Mexico City. He also served as the publicity director for the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (National Railways of Mexico), an important government-run railroad running from Mexico City to the cities of Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juárez on the U.S. border. These associations established Hornaday's reputation among publishers as an expert on Mexican business and politics, and he wrote hundreds of articles on the subject for a number of newspapers and trade journals. At the onset of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, he served as a war correspondent for a syndicate of U.S. newspapers. In this capacity, Hornaday interviewed several of the conflict's seminal figures, including Francisco "Pancho" Villa, Porfirio Diaz, and Emiliano Zapata.
By 1917, Hornaday secured a position with the University of Texas as the Director of Public Lectures and Publicity (changed in 1921 to Director of Publicity). Much of this job entailed publicizing university programs, projects, and employees through the state and national press, usually via press releases and news articles furnished by Hornaday's office. During 1938, for example, the publicity office distributed approximately 80,000 column inches to a variety of newspaper publications in Texas alone. Hornaday's most famous article was a 1923 piece adapted from a scientific bulletin from the Bureau of Economic Geology, which publicized potential oil deposits under university-owned lands in West Texas and ultimately resulted in the development of the highly profitable Big Lake oilfield. He would serve the university in this position for 21 years. In addition, Hornaday was a lecturer for the Department of Journalism from 1917 to 1935. Hornaday also founded and managed the Student's Clipping Bureau, a newspaper article aggregation service that employed female students.
Throughout his career with the University, Hornaday continued to publish articles with newspaper outlets across the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. He also published more technical pieces with specialized journals like Technical WorldMoody's Magazine, and the Tractor and Gas Engine Review. The articles spanned a variety of subjects, but most often concerned themes of agriculture, scientific or technological innovation, commerce, and international conditions. A number of articles resulted from his extensive international travels to Europe, East Asia, and the Pacific Islands, which included two world tours in 1913 and 1921-1922.
After retiring from the University of Texas in 1938, Hornaday continued to publish articles and travel. In December 1942, he suffered a stroke and died in his Austin home.
Sources: "In Memoriam: William Deming Hornaday." http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/2000-2001/memorials/SCANNED/hornaday.pdf. Accessed July 2, 2013; Steussy, Nella Mae. "W.D. Hornaday first told the world about the U.T.'s oil." Daily Texan, October 8, 1939.

1968 ~ Time Of The Season by The Zombies


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Willman's Pharmacy in Brownsville, Texas Early 1900s

 Bulletin of Pharmacy Vol. 26 Jan-Dec 1912

 
Willman's Pharmacy (Brownsville Historical Association archives)
 
 Postcards



Willman home on E Adams and 14th St



 
1907 Brownsville Herald ad
1907
1908
 1923 Brownsville High School Palmetto Yearbook ad
1930 25th Anniversary announcement in Brownsville Herald

Sunday, September 20, 2015

1977 Team Spirit

 1977 Pace High School
 1977 Hanna High School
1977 Porter High School

Saturday, September 12, 2015

A Brush with Greatness at Puente Art Studio

Puente Art Studio 741 E Elizabeth St.  Open Monday thru Saturdays 11 am - 3 pm
Artist Puente next to "The Secret Garden" 2014 Oil on Canvas 60 x 48 in

Puente is a South Texas artist with origins in Mexico City.  Her early recollections of first works are of doodles made with her fingers on the dirt patio at her grandmother's home.  She obtained her love for the visual arts from watching paintings that belonged to her uncle, an artisan who worked with fiberglass and resin.

As she continued her education, she made her way to BellasArtes, La Esmeralda, and San Carlos art schools.  During her life in Mexico City she studied original works by renown artists and attended workshops with the great Mexican Masters, Tamayo and Cuevas.

Throughout her life, Puente has felt the need to express something that she can't entirely grasp unless she has a brush in her hand.  Painting and drawing, whether by inks, acrylics, oils or water media are for her, a means to escape an everyday mundane life into surreal world of fantasy.
Puente turned the floor of the studio into art using an epoxy with sponged on paint and included this insect as a permanent resident of the gallery.
Some works by Oscar Alvarez on display in the main gallery
"13 Grabados" or 13 Woodcuts from David Alfaro Siqueiros.  The orange print on right is "The Tribunal" image 4 from the "13 Grabados" series created while Communist activist Siqueiros was incarcerated in Lecumberri in 1930.  Today Palacio de Lucumberri houses Mexico City's General National Archive.
"Vestigios De Lo Que Fue" 2014 - Acrylic 48 x 48 in
The artists's studio and classroom are at the back of the gallery.  
Pieces from the "Dreams, Hope & Magic" series of oil on canvas paintings which began in 2008
Work in progress and process revelation for the curious.
Puente has a degree from the Universiadad Autonoma de Mexico (Licenciatura en Filosofia y Letras) and from Instituto Nacional de BellasArtes.  Puente has had various Solo exhibitions in the region and in Mexico.  Her work is found in private collections throughout the United States and Mexico.
[Biographical text copied and edited from introductory panel of Puente Art Gallery]

When renovation is an artist's creation.  On behalf of all who advocate the transformation of our downtown buildings, we truly appreciate this addition to the art and historical community of downtown Brownsville, Texas.  The gallery regularly rotates exhibits.  Please drop in or call 592-4390 if you have any questions.  This photo was taken from the Puente Art Studio Facebook page.