Collection of stories by forty local writers describing family histories and anecdotes in the Grayson County, Texas area. Each story is preceded by a brief biographical sketch of the author.

Transcript of an interview with Anne Pearsall Karr from Elgin, Illinois, concerning her experiences on the home front during World War II. Karr discusses her youth in Elgin, Illinois; effects of Depression on Pearsall family; college at Iowa State; courtship with Kenneth Karr, her future husband; reaction to Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor; changes on Iowa State campus after American entry into World War II; wartime rationing and Victory Gardens; effects on Pearsall family having a son and daughter in military service; her marriage to Kenneth Karr, early 1944; housing shortage in Corpus Christi, Texas, during World War II; birth of their daughter; wartime entertainment; experiences as a military wife; attitudes toward the Japanese; husband's training as a naval air cadet at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. Appendix includes various photographs [5] pages.

Interview with Thurman Capps, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II.

The task of providing military defense for the Texas Frontier was never an easy one because the territory was claimed by some of the greatest querrilla fighters of all times—the Comanches, Kiowas, Apaches, and Lipans. Protecting a line running from the Red River southwest to El Paso was an impossible task, but following the Mexican War the federal government attempted to do so by establishing a line of forts. During the Civil War the forts were virtually abandoned and the Indians once again ruled the area. Following the war when the military began to restore the old forts, they found that the Indians no longer fought with bows and arrows but shouldered the latest firearms. With their new weapons the Indians were able to inflict tremendous destruction, bringing demands from settlers for more protection. In the summer of 1866 a new line of forts appeared through central Texas under the leadership of General Philip H. Sheridan, commander of federal forces in Louisiana and Texas. Guardians of a raw young land and focal points of high adventure, the old forts were indispensable in their day of service and it is fitting that they be preserved. In and around the forts and …

Volume of twenty-one essays about folklore in Texas, including essays about police burials, railroads, graffiti, folk music, dance halls, and other folklore. The index begins on page 279.

Interview with Ray Ogle, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Ogle discusses the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), railway maintenance work (1944-1945), and his liberation. The Appendix includes photocopies of World War II correspondence provided by Mr. Ogle.

Interview with Alvin Morgan, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944-1945), American air raids, and his liberation.

Interview with Wade Webb, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Webb discusses the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944-1945), and his liberation. The Appendix includes a photocopy of a photograph of Wade Webb and other prisoner-of-war survivors in Calcutta, India shortly after their release [1 p.] and an addendum to Mr. Webb's oral history interview [1 p.].

Travel guide for the state of Texas containing information of interest to tourists including events, parks and historic sites, recreation opportunities, and other attractions. Index to cities and attractions starts on page 278.

Interview with Kenneth Poff, a Army WWII veteran from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, who served with the 1913th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Poff discusses his early life, being drafted and training, shipping out to Townsville, Australia, and landing on New Guinea, fighting attached to the 1st Marine Division for the Cape Gloucester and Hollandia campaigns, constructing and maintaining an airstrip, the Lingayan Gulf campaign in the Philippines, the atomic bomb and VJ-Day, and returning home.

This book contains some Medicine Mound family histories, extracts of news stories from the Quanah Tribune-Chief, and stories from citizens.

Transcript of an interview with Caleb H. Canby, III, a Marine Corps veteran (Scout-Bomber 243, 1st Marine Air Wing), concerning experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Canby discusses his family background and education; decision to join the Marine Corps, 1942; boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina; advanced training at Quantico, Virginia, 1943-44; assignment to Scout-Bomber Squadron 243 at Emirau, Solomon Islands, 1944-45; his work in the flight department processing pilots' flight logs; transfer to Mangaldan, Luzon, 1945; assignment to Mindanao in March, 1945; contraction of hepatitis and return to the U. S.

Interview with Lloyd C. Cross, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the submarines USS S-45 USS Sunfish, USS Spearfish, USS Pogy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Pre-war duty aboard the USS California and the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes, 1935-39; Submarine School, New London, Connecticut, 1940; his responsibilities as a fireman; various patrols in the Sea of Japan.

Book discussing the Mexic-Arte Museum's exhibition "Young Latino Artists," including the program for the gallery opening event, a list of featured artists, artist statements, and a curator's statement.

Transcript of an interview with Iliff D. Richardson, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences as a guerrilla fighter in the Philippine Islands during World War II. Richardson discusses his assignment to patrol-torpedo boats in the Philippines, 1941; orders from General Douglas A. MacArthur to establish a clandestine radio network to maintain communications with Commander Southwest Pacific after his evacuation from Corregidor; his role in plotting Japanese minefields in Leyte Gulf prior to MacArthur's return in 1944; pre-invasion weather reporting from Leyte to MacArthur's headquarters; dealings with Filipino guerrillas; transfer to stateside duty and his work with the Industrial Incentives Division of the Navy Department; and the sale of rights to the book about his adventures, "American Guerrilla in the Philippines."

The personal narrative of Elizabeth Scott Scrivner Dickson of Paris. Includes family stories from the Paris Fire of 1916.

Book commemorating Family Land Heritage Day with descriptions of the honorees from 1994 to 1995 -- including important dates, people, and biographical information -- along with an index and other related information.

Transcript of an interview with Louise Pearsall Canby, a Navy veteran from Elgin, Illinois, concerning her experiences as a member of the WAVES during World War II. Canby discusses her personal background, her decision to join the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and her experiences as a code breaker working with Enigma and German submarine codes. Includes appendix that consists of various photographs and two documents, [5] leaves.

Book containing information about the Civil War in Texas, including the story of the Nueces Massacre and oral histories from individuals living in Texas during the Civil War. The index begins on page 64.

Edited collection of transcribed letters written to and from Caroline Cox Morgan with the addition of contextual information and notes about the family history. Index starts on page 172.

On August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman ascended the University of Texas Tower and committed what was then the largest simultaneous mass murder in American history. He gunned down forty-five people inside and around the Tower before he was killed by two Austin police officers. During the previous evening he had killed his wife and mother, bringing the total to sixteen people dead and at least thirty-one wounded. The murders spawned debates over issues which still plague America today: domestic violence, child abuse, drug abuse, military indoctrination, the insanity defense, and the delicate balance between civil liberties and public safety. "An outstanding job of chronicling one of the most significant cases in the annals of American crime. . . . Lavergne skillfully researched, documented, and analyzed a case that in many ways defined the concept of ‘mass murder’ . . . will likely become a classic in anyone’s library of true crime editions."--James Alan Fox, Dean of Criminal Justice, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, and an authority on mass murder

Book containing recommendations and lessons learned from many of America's best companies on how the federal government can improve its efficiency and customer focus.

Transcript of an interview with William W. Pearsall concerning his experiences on the homefront as a teenager in Elgin, Illinois, during World War II. Pearsall discusses his education and childhood in Elgin; local reaction to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; air raid drills and blackouts; attempts to make people war conscious; spy hysteria; censorship of mail; harassment of German Americans; gasoline rationing; scrap drives; war bond drives; Victory Gardens; rationing of tires; scarcity of automobile parts; black market activities; clothing shortages; Boy Scout activities; effects of having a brother and sister in the military; wartime entertainment for teenagers; high school war bond dances; V-E Day celebrations; V-J Day celebrations; attitudes toward Japanese; and the adjustment of his brother and sister to civilian life. Includes appendix with photographs [3 pages].

An autobiographical account by Captain Winifred Quick Collins of her early life, the integration of women into the United States Navy, her Navy career, and her accomplishments in the service. The book focuses on Captain Collins's experience as a woman in a predominantly male division of the US military, as well as the history of women in the Navy. Includes a forward Arleigh Burke