Fort Worth Characters

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Fort Worth history is far more than the handful of familiar names that every true-blue Fort Worther hears growing up: leaders such as Amon Carter, B. B. Paddock, J. Frank Norris, and William McDonald. Their names are indexed in the history books for ready reference. But the drama that is Fort Worth history contains other, less famous characters who played important roles, like Judge James Swayne, Madam Mary Porter, and Marshal Sam Farmer: well known enough in their day but since forgotten. Others, like Al Hayne, lived their lives in the shadows until one, spectacular moment of heroism. Then there are the lawmen, Jim Courtright, Jeff Daggett, and Thomas Finch. They wore badges, but did not always represent the best of law and order. These seven plus five others are gathered together between the covers of this book. Each has a story that deserves to be told. If they did not all make history, they certainly lived in historic times. The jury is still out on whether they shaped their times or merely reflected those times. Either way, their stories add new perspectives to the familiar Fort Worth story, revealing how the law worked in the old days and what …
Date: October 15, 2009
Creator: Selcer, Richard F.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Written in Blood: the History of Fort Worth's Fallen Lawmen

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In 2010 Written in Blood: The History of Fort Worth’s Fallen Lawmen, Volume 1, told the stories of thirteen Fort Worth law officers who died in the line of duty between 1861 and 1909. Now Richard F. Selcer and Kevin S. Foster are back with Volume 2 covering another baker’s dozen line-of-duty deaths that occurred between 1910 and 1928. Not counting the two officers who died of natural causes, these are more tales of murder, mayhem, and dirty work from all branches of local law enforcement: police, sheriff’s deputies, constables, and special officers, just like in Volume 1. This era was, if anything, bloodier than the preceding era of the first volume. Fort Worth experienced a race riot, two lynchings, and martial law imposed by the U.S. Army while Camp Bowie was operating. Bushwhacking (such as happened to Peter Howard in 1915) and assassinations (such as happened to Jeff Couch in 1920) replaced blood feuds and old-fashioned shootouts as leading causes of death among lawmen. Violence was not confined to the streets either; a Police Commissioner was gunned down in his city hall office in 1917. Even the new category of “vehicular homicide” claimed a lawman’s life.
Date: October 15, 2011
Creator: Selcer, Richard F. & Foster, Kevin S.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

A History of Fort Worth in Black & White 165 Years of African-American Life

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A History of Fort Worth in Black & White fills a long-empty niche on the Fort Worth bookshelf: a scholarly history of the city's black community that starts at the beginning with Ripley Arnold and the early settlers, and comes down to today with our current battles over education, housing, and representation in city affairs. The book's sidebars on some noted and some not-so-noted African Americans make it appealing as a school text as well as a book for the general reader. Using a wealth of primary sources, Richard Selcer dispels several enduring myths, for instance the mistaken belief that Camp Bowie trained only white soldiers, and the spurious claim that Fort Worth managed to avoid the racial violence that plagued other American cities in the twentieth century. Selcer arrives at some surprisingly frank conclusions that will challenge current politically correct notions. "Selcer does a great job of exploring little-known history about the military, education, sports and even some social life and organizations."--Bob Ray Sanders, author of Calvin Littlejohn: Portrait of a Community in Black and White.
Date: November 2015
Creator: Selcer, Richard F.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Marilyn Jean Johnson, March 24, 2014

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Interview with Marilyn Jean Johnson, an African-American resident of Fort Worth, Texas, from Champaign, Illinois, who moved to Texas during the civil rights era. Johnson, accompanied by her neighbor Exie Jean Alaman Morne'y, discusses the differences between life in Illinois and the segregated South, her first instances of discrimination, desegregation in Fort Worth, the Wright Amendment, Juneteenth, neighborhoods and housing, differences between Dallas and Fort Worth, persistent racism, and Carswell AFB.
Date: March 24, 2014
Creator: Travis, Sarah & Johnson, Marilyn Jean
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Bobby Jones, June 19, 2014

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Interview with Dr. Bobby Jones, a veterinarian and epidemiologist from Southlake, Texas, whose family was prominent in the development of the community. Jones discusses his family history, growing up in a rural, segregated community, education at T. M. Terrell, race relations in Southlake, the Jones Annual Picnic, the Jones Gate cafe, the Civil Rights Act and desegregation, and the development of Southlake.
Date: June 19, 2014
Creator: Fichera, Aaron & Jones, John Dolford "Bobby"
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Exie Jean Alaman Morne'y, February 26, 2014

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Interview with Exie Jean Alaman Morne'y, a teacher from Fort Worth, Texas, who lived during the end of the Jim Crow era. Morne'y discusses her family background, attending grade school in Fort Worth, experiences with segregation and discrimination in the 1950s and 60s, attending North Texas State College, working at Parkland Hospital, her marriages and children, moving to California and back to Texas, her career with Fort Worth ISD, church activities and faith, thoughts on child education, and various related stories. In appendix are photos of her high school yearbook and her family, a petition from the Como neighborhood for utilities services in 1924, and her typed family history.
Date: February 26, 2014
Creator: Travis, Sarah & Alaman Morne'y, Exie Jean
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Brenda Sanders-Wise, March 20, 2014

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Interview with Brenda Sanders-Wise, a former student of I. M. Terrell High School from Fort Worth, Texas. Sanders-Wise discusses her average daily routine at the school, integration, her family history, Juneteenth and black culture in Fort Worth, church life, experiences of segregation and discrimination, and contemporary racism. In appendix is a photo of a public art installation commemorating black railroad employees at the TRE Station in Fort Worth.
Date: March 20, 2014
Creator: Williams, Tessa & Sanders-Wise, Brenda
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, August 12, 2003

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Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Fort Worth, Texas. Hudson discusses his family background, joining the 124th Cavalry and transfer to the 112th, work as a cavalryman before activation, activation and the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to Townsville, Australia, amphibious assault on Arawe, New Britain, falling ill and returning to the States, the character of troops, equipment, rivalry with the Marine Corps, and acts of bravery. In appendix is a list of Hudson's fellow soldiers, the places he served, descriptions of the equipment mentioned in the interview, and the 112th's service chronicle.
Date: August 12, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T. & Hudson, Lloyd F.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Inga Pennock, January 27, 1990

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Interview with Inga Pennock, a Holocaust survivor from Berlin. Pennock discusses her family background, experiencing antisemitism and the start of Nazi rule, trying to leave Germany and hiding, increasing violence, Kristallnacht, losing family, fleeing to Shanghai, Japanese occupation and the ghetto, working as a nurse for the Japanese, living conditions, liberation, and life afterwards.
Date: January 27, 1990
Creator: Rosen, Keith G. & Pennock, Inga
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Salvador Espino, September 26, 2007

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Interview with Fort Worth city councilman Salvador Espino as part of the North Texas Immigrant Rights Movement Oral History Project. The interview includes Espino's personal experiences about childhood and education, having a career a computer consultant, accountant, and attorney, volunteering for Catholic Diocese, and running for a seat representing District Two on the Fort Worth City Council. Espino also discusses the district demographics and priorities, the creation of Latinos Unidos, and his involvement in Fort Worth's 2006 immigrant rights march. The interview also includes an appendix with an article written by Espino.
Date: September 26, 2007
Creator: Moye, Todd & Espino, Salvador
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Dennis Dunkins, March 8, 2006

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Interview with Dennis Dunkins, African-American alumnus of North Texas State University. The interview includes Dunkins' personal experiences of childhood and education, enrolling in North Texas, majoring in Industrial Technology and his graduation in 1963, having a career with General Motors, as a business owner, and with Fort Worth ISD. Additionally, Dunkins speaks about off-campus life in "Shack Town" and support from black citizens of Denton, social life among African-American students and relations with white students and faculty, efforts to desegregate public facilities in Denton, and his summer jobs with Texas & Pacific Railroad Company. The interview includes a photograph of the University of North Texas Trailblazers in 2005.
Date: March 8, 2006
Creator: Yancey, Sherelyn & Dunkins, Dennis
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Robert Stewart, March 27, 2003

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Interview with jazz musician Robert "Bob" Stewart. In the interview, Steward speaks about his early interest in music, his first drum set, first professional job with the Shorty Clements Band, attending college, his employment as a disk jockey, his definition of jazz, playing with the Charles Scott Band in fort Worth, after-hours clubs in Fort Worth, jazz's role in bringing together black and white musicians, various jazz clubs and venues in Fort Worth, musicians unions, the lack of full-time employment opportunities for jazz musicians in Fort Worth, the Fort Worth jazz scene, and peculiarities of Texas jazz and the "Texas Sound." The interview includes an appendix with photographs.
Date: March 27, 2003
Creator: Brown, Peggy Brandt & Stewart, Robert
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Joe Cole, January 20, 2004

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Interview with photojournalist and artist Joe Cole. The interview includes Cole's personal experiences about the Texas International Pop Festival. Cole talks about his parents' reaction to changes in the Sixties, his introduction to marijuana, his attraction to the music of the Beatles, his initial introduction to the Fort Worth hippie culture, his views towards the Vietnam war, obtaining an agricultural exemption from his local draft board, Sixties music and its message, his comments about the Chicago Transit Authority, Canned Heat, and Led Zeppelin, activities of the Hog Farm, drug usage at the festival, festival security personnel, "bad trip" tents, skinny-dipping in Lake Dallas, and the lasting influence of the festival on his life.
Date: January 20, 2004
Creator: Tittle, Dennis & Cole, Joe
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Johnny Case, March 5, 2003

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Interview with jazz pianist Johnny Case. In the interview, Case talks about his family's acquaintance with Ernest Tubb, his early interest in rhythm and blues, how his parents, Elvis Presley, and local radio stations influenced his musical career, learning to play the piano and his interest in jazz, early gigs in Oklahoma and northeast Texas, his family's move from Paris, Texas to Dallas and his playing gigs at several clubs there, moving to Fort Worth, his collaboration with Tom Morrell in producing the 'How the West Was Swung' albums, his comments about the demise of western swings, gigs and clubs in Fort Worth, his transition from playing western swing to jazz, various jazz artists, okaying for African-American audiences, avant-garde jazz and its promoters, difficulties in making a full-time living as a jazz artist in Fort Worth, his employment at Sardine's Italian Restaurant in Fort Worth, the Caravan of Dreams and the resurgence of jazz in Fort Worth, his relationship with the local musicians union, Texas jazz, and the evolution of jazz in Fort Worth. The interview includes an appendix with an article, Case's discography, and Case's notes on various jazz musicians and venues.
Date: March 5, 2003
Creator: Brown, Peggy Brandt & Case, Johnny
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Seth Bailey, December 12, 2007

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Interview with Seth Bailey, veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as part of the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. The interview includes Bailey's personal experiences of childhood and education in Athens, Texas, enlisting in the U.S. Army, basic training at Ft. Benning, Georgia, including experiences in Ranger Indoctrination Program and injuries sustained in "jump school," as well as his combat experiences in Karbala, Ramadi, and Al Asad. Bailey also talks about his family's tradition of military service, his assignment to a unit in Darmstadt, Germany, his deployment to Iraq and performance of long-range surveillance missions, continuing struggles with injury from basic training, with the Army health care system, and with substance abuse. Additionally, Bailey discusses his treatment at the Walter Reed Army Hospital, being discharged from the Army, returning to Arlington, Texas, and gives his opinions regarding the benefits of military service and regarding women in the military.
Date: December 12, 2007
Creator: Russell, Amy & Bailey, Seth
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Rick Dale, November 26, 2007

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Interview with U.S. Marine Corps Pilot Richard Dale as part of the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. The interview includes Dale's personal experiences of childhood, education at Baylor University and Texas A&M, attending training at Camp Pendleton, California, Quantico, Virginia, and officer candidate school. Additionally, Dale talks about his decision to enter the Marines aviation program, his assignments to various naval air stations, the particulars of "tailhook" aviation, and his civilian career with Northwest Airlines. The interview also includes an appendix with a photograph and an active duty summary.
Date: November 26, 2007
Creator: Bristow, Lauren & Dale, Richard C.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with James Gayle, July 15, 2006

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Interview with African American North Texas State University alumnus James Gayle. The interview included Gayle's personal experiences of childhood, playing basketball at Fort Worth's all-black Terrell High School, attending North Texas and enrolling in the ROTC program, and his experience as a boarder in "Shack Town" neighborhood of Denton. Gayle talks about the comparison of race relations in Artesia, New Mexico, and Waco and Forth Worth, Texas, the "neutral" stance of NT administration toward black students and the "self-support" system among students, as well as his relationships with professors and white students, and his perception of what he gained from his NT experience.
Date: July 15, 2006
Creator: Cervantez, Brian & Gayle, James
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Steve Wingo, February 25, 1993

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Interview with Steve Wingo from Weatherford, Texas concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Wingo worked at camps in Fort Worth, Texas (Company 1816) and Lubbock, Texas (Company 3820).
Date: February 25, 1993
Creator: O'Day, Buckley & Wingo, Steve
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Verle Oringderff, January 10, 1991

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Interview with Verle Oringderff concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Oringderff worked at a camp in Littlefield, Texas (Company 3802). Interview includes information about Oringderff's schooling and childhood as well as the effects of the Great Depression on his household.
Date: January 10, 1991
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Oringderff, Verle
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Sam Hayes, March 4, 1993

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Interview with Sam Hayes, a veteran of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Groveton, Texas. Hayes talks about his childhood, experiences during the Great Depression, and experiences joining and serving the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Date: March 4, 1993
Creator: Hodges, Ann & Hayes, Sam
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Chester E. Hudson, October 12, 1993

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Interview with Chester Hudson concerning his experiences before, during, and after his employment in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Hudson worked at camps in Calico Rock, Arkansas (Company 4747); Walcott, Arkansas (Company 3799); and Ozone, Arkansas (Company 1708). Includes an appendix.
Date: October 12, 1993
Creator: Polatti, Gaylon & Hudson, Chester E.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Betty Andujar, September 12, 1993

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Interview with Betty Andujar, a political activist and former legislator, concerning her views of the impact and significance of women on the development of the Republican Party in Texas (1960-1990). She also discusses the evolution of the GOP in Texas, her personal political philosophy, and her views on abortion.
Date: September 12, 1993
Creator: Strickland, Kristi & Andujar, Betty
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with R. A. Wolfe, March 18, 1994

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Interview with R.A. Wolfe concerning his experiences during and after his employment in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Wolfe worked at camps in Waxahachie, Texas (Company 878) and Dallas, Texas (Company 2896).
Date: March 18, 1994
Creator: Gonzalez, Linda Ott & Wolfe, R. A.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with John L. Ruddick, February 24,1993

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Interview with John Ruddick concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression. Ruddick worked at a camp in Brownwood, Texas (Company 849). Appendix includes a photocopy of Ruddick's CCC Enrollee's Record of Training and Experience. Interview includes information on Ruddick's parents as well as his life before joining the CCC and an appendix.
Date: February 24, 1993
Creator: Brantley, Janet G. & Ruddick, John L.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library