The Elm Grove Dairy farm (open access)

The Elm Grove Dairy farm

Pamphlet printed by the owner of the dairy when he was trying to sell it. Notes the improvements on the dairy, price per various acreage, buildings, and terms of sale.
Date: January 15, 1904
Creator: Ladell, A. H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Last Days of Camp Wolters, 15 August 1946 (open access)

The Last Days of Camp Wolters, 15 August 1946

This pamphlet describes the last eight months of Camp Wolters, during which time it was closed down, and its personnel were transferred to positions in other places.
Date: August 15, 1946
Creator: Coing, Edward E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
COBRA Report for Brooks City Base (open access)

COBRA Report for Brooks City Base

Public Document - DISREGARD RESTRICTION HEADER AND FOOTER - COBRA report compiled regarding costs for operation vs. closure of Brooks City Base.
Date: August 15, 2005
Creator: United States. Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Sarah T. Hughes, 1969 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Sarah T. Hughes, 1969

Interview with Judge Sarah T. Hughes, a former state legislator, state district judge, and federal district judge from Dallas, Texas. In the interview, Hughes discusses her experiences during her time as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. She covers a few of the many milestones of her political career, including her appointment as the state district judge by Governor James Allred, her unsuccessful congressional campaign against Adlai Stevenson in 1956, and her nomination for Vice President in 1952. Hughes comments on women's rights the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in 1960, the Kennedy assassination, and her personal thoughts and experiences concerning women's rights.
Date: January 15, 1969
Creator: Gantt, Fred & Hughes, Sarah T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with William J. Lawson, 1968 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William J. Lawson, 1968

Interview with William J. Lawson, a former executive assistant to Governor W. Lee O'Daniel, who was the former Secretary of State for Texas. In the interview, Mr. Lawson, who is from Austin, Texas, discusses his appointment as executive assistant to O'Daniel in 1941. He also describes his role and associations with the administration at the time, as well as his impressions of O'Daniel. Mr. Lawson expresses his personal views and experiences when it comes to relations between O'Daniel and the Legislature, the Democratic State Executive Committee, patronage, the Senate, and also when O'Daniel was appointed Secretary of State.
Date: March 15, 1968
Creator: Gantt, Fred & Lawson, William J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Grace W. Cartwright, November 15, 1989 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Grace W. Cartwright, November 15, 1989

Interview with farmer-rancher and community activist Grace W. Cartwright, originally from Wise County, Texas. In the interview, Cartwright recollects her early days in rural Texas as well as her student days at North Texas State Teachers College, marriage, early job positions, and her work in the agriculture and land conservation fields. Cartwright discusses her many successes as a community activist, such as her appointment to the Texas Tourist Board, Texas roads beautification, her appointment by President Harry Truman as a delegate to the White House Conference on Youth and Children, her role in the creation of a parks system in Weatherford, Texas, and several others.
Date: November 15, 1989
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E.; La Brecque, Suzanne & Cartwright, Grace W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Oscar H. Mauzy, December 1, 1969 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Oscar H. Mauzy, December 1, 1969

Interview with former Democratic Texas Senator Oscar H. Mauzy, an attorney from Dallas. The interview includes his personal experiences and views as a member of the Special Sessions of the Sixty-first Legislature.
Date: July 15, 1970
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Mauzy, Oscar H.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Erma Peace, November 15, 1991

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Interview with Erma Peace, a former student at the Frederick Douglass Colored School in Denton, Texas. In the interview, Peace describes what it was like attending the school, and includes details concerning the facilities, extra-curricular activities, the layout of the school, teachers and the principal, and activities. Peace comments on segregation in Denton.
Date: November 15, 1991
Creator: Glaze, Michele & Peace, Erma
System: The UNT Digital Library
University of North Texas Budget: 2003-2004, Volume 1 (open access)

University of North Texas Budget: 2003-2004, Volume 1

First part of the budget for the University of North Texas regarding funds in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. This volume contains a breakdown of expected profits and expenses for general university and administrative departments as well as individual colleges and departments. Index is in Volume II, starting on page 1175.
Date: August 15, 2003
Creator: University of North Texas
System: The UNT Digital Library
University of North Texas Budget: 2003-2004, Volume 2 (open access)

University of North Texas Budget: 2003-2004, Volume 2

Second part of the budget for the University of North Texas regarding funds in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. This volume contains a breakdown of expected profits and expenses related to board designated funds, instructional fees, and service fees. Index starts on page 1175.
Date: August 15, 2003
Creator: University of North Texas
System: The UNT Digital Library
University of North Texas System Budget: 2003-2004 (open access)

University of North Texas System Budget: 2003-2004

Budget for the University of North Texas System (including the UNT Denton, Texas campus, UNT System Center in Dallas, Texas and UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas) regarding funds in the fiscal year 2003-2004, summarizing costs for institutional support, staff, board-designated expenses, and other items. Index starts on page 47.
Date: August 15, 2003
Creator: University of North Texas System
System: The UNT Digital Library
University of North Texas Requests for Legislative Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 (open access)

University of North Texas Requests for Legislative Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015

Report submitted by the University of North Texas to the Texas 81st regular legislature requesting appropriations to fund university programming and activities. It includes an overview of the university's goals, summaries of appropriations requests for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, and supporting documentation.
Date: October 15, 2012
Creator: University of North Texas
System: The UNT Digital Library
University of North Texas Requests for Legislative Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (open access)

University of North Texas Requests for Legislative Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011

Report submitted by the University of North Texas to the Texas 81st regular legislature requesting appropriations to fund university programming and activities. It includes an overview of the university's goals, summaries of appropriations requests for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and supporting documentation.
Date: October 15, 2008
Creator: University of North Texas
System: The UNT Digital Library

Pride of Place: a Contemporary Anthology of Texas Nature Writing

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Since Roy Bedichek's influential Adventures with a Texas Naturalist, no book has attempted to explore the uniqueness of Texas nature, or reflected the changes in the human landscape that have accelerated since Bedichek's time. Pride of Place updates Bedichek's discussion by acknowledging the increased urbanization and the loss of wildspace in today's state. It joins other recent collections of regional nature writing while demonstrating what makes Texas uniquely diverse. These fourteen essays are held together by the story of Texas pride, the sense that from West Texas to the Coastal Plains, we and the landscape are important and worthy of pride, if not downright bravado. This book addresses all the major regions of Texas. Beginning with Roy Bedichek's essay "Still Water," it includes Carol Cullar and Barbara "Barney" Nelson on the Rio Grande region of West Texas, John Graves's evocative "Kindred Spirits" on Central Texas, Joe Nick Patoski's celebration of Hill Country springs, Pete Gunter on the Piney Woods, David Taylor on North Texas, Gary Clark and Gerald Thurmond on the Coastal Plains, Ray Gonzales and Marian Haddad on El Paso, Stephen Harrigan and Wyman Meinzer on West Texas, and Naomi Shihab Nye on urban San Antonio. This anthology will …
Date: January 15, 2006
Creator: Taylor, David
System: The UNT Digital Library

Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas, Volume 3, 1840 - 1841

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This third volume of the Savage Frontier series focuses on the evolution of the Texas Rangers and frontier warfare in Texas during the years 1840 and 1841. Comanche Indians were the leading rival to the pioneers during this period. Peace negotiations in San Antonio collapsed during the Council House Fight, prompting what would become known as the Great Comanche Raid in the summer of 1840. Stephen L. Moore covers the resulting Battle of Plum Creek and other engagements in new detail. Rangers, militiamen, and volunteers made offensive sweeps into West Texas and the Cross Timbers area of present Dallas-Fort Worth. During this time Texas's Frontier Regiment built a great military road, roughly parallel to modern Interstate 35. Moore also shows how the Colt repeating pistol came into use by Texas Rangers. Finally, he sets the record straight on the battles of the legendary Captain Jack Hays. Through extensive use of primary military documents and first-person accounts, Moore provides a clear view of life as a frontier fighter in the Republic of Texas. The reader will find herein numerous and painstakingly recreated muster rolls, as well as casualty lists and a compilation of 1841 rangers and minutemen. For the exacting historian …
Date: March 15, 2007
Creator: Moore, Stephen L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas, Volume 2, 1838 - 1839

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This second volume of the Savage Frontier series focuses on two of the bloodiest years of fighting in the young Texas Republic, 1838 and 1839. By early 1838, the Texas Rangers were in danger of disappearing altogether. Stephen L. Moore shows how the major general of the new Texas Militia worked around legal constraints in order to keep mounted rangers in service. Expeditions against Indians during 1838 and 1839 were frequent, conducted by militiamen, rangers, cavalry, civilian volunteer groups and the new Frontier Regiment of the Texas Army. From the Surveyors' Fight to the Battle of Brushy Creek, each engagement is covered in new detail. The volume concludes with the Cherokee War of 1839, which saw the assembly of more Texas troops than had engaged the Mexican army at San Jacinto. Moore fully covers the failed peace negotiations, the role of the Texas Rangers in this campaign, and the last stand of heroic Chief Bowles. Through extensive use of primary military documents and first-person accounts, Moore provides a clear view of life as a frontier fighter in the Republic of Texas. The reader will find herein numerous and painstakingly recreated muster rolls, as well as a complete list of Texan …
Date: March 15, 2006
Creator: Moore, Stephen L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Bad Boy From Rosebud: the Murderous Life of Kenneth Allen Mcduff

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In October of 1989, the State of Texas set Kenneth Allen McDuff, the Broomstick Murderer, free on parole. By choosing to murder again, McDuff became the architect of an extraordinarily intolerant atmosphere in Texas. The spasm of prison construction and parole reforms—collectively called the “McDuff Rules”—resulted from an enormous display of anger vented towards a system that allowed McDuff to kill, and kill again. Bad Boy from Rosebud is a chilling account of the life of one of the most heartless and brutal serial killers in American history. Gary M. Lavergne goes beyond horror into an analysis of the unbelievable subculture in which McDuff lived. Equally compelling are the lives of remarkable law enforcement officers determined to bring McDuff to justice, and their seven-year search for his victims. “Texas still feels the pain inflicted by Kenneth Allen McDuff, despite the relentless efforts of law enforcement officials to solve his crimes and bind up its wounds. Bad Boy from Rosebud is an impeccably researched, compellingly detailed account of the crimes and the long search for justice. Gary Lavergne takes us directly to the scenes of the crimes, deep inside the mind of a killer, and in the process learns not only …
Date: July 15, 1999
Creator: Lavergne, Gary M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Stan Kenton: This is an Orchestra!

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Stan Kenton (1911–1979) formed his first full orchestra in 1940 and soon drew record-breaking crowds to hear and dance to his exciting sound. He continued to tour and record unrelentingly for the next four decades. Stan Kenton: This Is an Orchestra! sums up the mesmerizing bandleader at the height of his powers, arms waving energetically, his face a study of concentration as he cajoled, coaxed, strained, and obtained the last ounce of energy from every musician under his control. Michael Sparke’s narrative captures that enthusiasm in words: a lucid account of the evolution of the Kenton Sound, and the first book to offer a critical evaluation of the role that Stan played in its creation. “Michael Sparke’s book, the first general history of the Kenton Orchestra, is the best evaluation yet of Kenton’s 40-year musical development.”—The Wall Street Journal
Date: May 15, 2010
Creator: Sparke, Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library

Tales From the Big Thicket

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Edited collection of writing about the Big Thicket area in Texas, including geographic descriptions, anecdotes, historical accounts, and other aspects of the people and features of the region. Index starts on page 235.
Date: February 15, 2002
Creator: Abernethy, Francis E.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Behind the Walls: a Guide for Family and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

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Texas holds one in every nine U.S. inmates. Behind the Walls is a detailed description of one of the world's largest prison systems by a long-time convict trained as an observer and reporter. It spotlights the day-to-day workings of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-what's good, what's bad, which programs work and which ones do not, and examines if practice really follows official policy. Written to inform about the processes, services, activities, issues, and problems of being incarcerated, this book is invaluable to anyone who has a relative or friend incarcerated in Texas, or for those who want to understand how prisoners live, eat, work, play, and die in a contemporary U.S. prison. Containing a short history of Texas prisons and advice on how to help inmates get out and stay out of prison, this book is the only one of its kind-written by a convict still incarcerated and dedicated to dispelling the ignorance and fear that shroud Texas prisons. Renaud discusses living quarters, food, and clothing, along with how prisoners handle money, mail, visits, and phone calls. He explores the issues of drugs, racism, gangs, and violence as well as what an inmate can learn about his parole, custody …
Date: December 15, 2002
Creator: Renaud, Jorge Antonio
System: The UNT Digital Library

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.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Johnson-sims Feud: Romeo and Juliet, West Texas Style

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In the early 1900s, two families in Scurry and Kent counties in West Texas united in a marriage of fourteen-year-old Gladys Johnson to twenty-one-year-old Ed Sims. Billy Johnson, the father, set up Gladys and Ed on a ranch, and the young couple had two daughters. But Gladys was headstrong and willful, and Ed drank too much, and both sought affection outside their marriage. A nasty divorce ensued, and Gladys moved with her girls to her father’s luxurious ranch house, where she soon fell in love with famed Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. When Ed tried to take his daughters for a prearranged Christmas visit in 1916, Gladys and her brother Sid shot him dead on the Snyder square teeming with shoppers. One of the best lawyers in West Texas, Judge Cullen Higgins (son of the old feudist Pink Higgins) managed to win acquittal for both Gladys and Sid. In the tradition of Texas feudists since the 1840s, the Sims family sought revenge. Sims’ son-in-law, Gee McMeans, led an attack in Sweetwater and shot Billy Johnson’s bodyguard, Frank Hamer, twice, while Gladys—by now Mrs. Hamer—fired at another assassin. Hamer shot back, killed McMeans, and was no-billed on the spot by a grand …
Date: August 15, 2010
Creator: O'Neal, Bill
System: The UNT Digital Library

Bill Jason Priest, Community College Pioneer

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There are few things that are purely American. On that short list are baseball and the two-year community college. Bill Jason Priest possessed skill and acumen for both. The better part of his life was spent developing and defining the junior college into the comprehensive community college. His contributions earned him a prestigious place in the annals of higher education, but his personality was not one of a stereotypical stodgy educator, nor is the story of his life a dry read. After working his way through college, Priest played professional baseball before serving in Naval Intelligence during World War II. His varied experiences helped shape his leadership style, often labeled as autocratic and sometimes truculent in conservative convictions. The same relentless drive that brought him criticism also brought him success and praise. Forthright honesty and risk-taking determination combined with vision brought about many positive results. Priest’s career in higher education began with the two-year college system in California before he was lured to Texas in 1965 to head the Dallas County Junior College District. Over the next fifteen years Priest transformed the junior college program into the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) and built it up to seven colleges. …
Date: February 15, 2004
Creator: Whitson, Kathleen Krebbs
System: The UNT Digital Library

Captain John H. Rogers, Texas Ranger

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John Harris Rogers (1863-1930) served in Texas law enforcement for more than four decades, as a Texas Ranger, Deputy and U.S. Marshal, city police chief, and in the private sector as a security agent. He is recognized in history as one of the legendary “Four Captains” of the Ranger force that helped make the transition from the Frontier Battalion days into the twentieth century, yet no one has fully researched and written about his life. Paul N. Spellman now presents the first full-length biography of this enigmatic man. During his years as a Ranger, Rogers observed and participated in the civilizing of West Texas. As the railroads moved out in the 1880s, towns grew up too quickly, lawlessness was the rule, and the Rangers were soon called in to establish order. Rogers was nearly always there. Likewise he participated in some of the most dramatic and significant events during the closing years of the Frontier Battalion: the Brown County fence cutting wars; the East Texas Conner Fight; the El Paso/Langtry Prizefight; the riots during the Laredo Quarantine; and the hunts for Hill Loftis and Gregorio Cortez. Rogers was the lawman who captured Cortez to close out one of the most …
Date: March 15, 2003
Creator: Spellman, Paul N.
System: The UNT Digital Library