[Postcard featuring Martha Allen and the Parry Sisters]

Postcard featuring Martha Allen and the Parry Sisters. There are three of them, all wearing western clothing and crouching in front of three different saddles. Behind them are several tents.
Date: unknown
Creator: Allen, Martha
Object Type: Postcard
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Postcard featuring Martha Allen and the Parry Sisters]

Postcard featuring Martha Allen and the Parry Sisters. There are three of them, all wearing western clothing and crouching in front of three different saddles. Behind them are several tents.
Date: unknown
Creator: Allen, Martha
Object Type: Postcard
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Sam Myres' El Maida Temple Membership Card] (open access)

[Sam Myres' El Maida Temple Membership Card]

Membership card issued to Sam D. Myres by the El Maida Temple in El Paso, Texas. The card has two bands of green with gold text; in the center, to the left of Myres' name is a round seal for the temple including an image of a star on a pyramid with the temple's name around it.
Date: January 1921
Creator: Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America. El Maida Temple (El Paso, Tex.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Sam Myres' Hella Temple Membership Card] (open access)

[Sam Myres' Hella Temple Membership Card]

Membership card issued to Sam D. Myres by the Hella Temple in Dallas, Texas. The center of the card has a stamp with the Hella Temple seal, which has an image of a pyramid inside a circle.
Date: February 10, 1920
Creator: Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America. Hella Temple (Dallas, Tex.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Sam Myres' Hella Temple Membership Card] (open access)

[Sam Myres' Hella Temple Membership Card]

Membership card issued to Sam D. Myres by the Hella Temple in Dallas, Texas. The center of the card has a stamp with the Hella Temple seal, which has an image of a pyramid inside a circle.
Date: June 24, 1918
Creator: Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America. Hella Temple (Dallas, Tex.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Membership Card from the Arizona Temple to Sam Myres] (open access)

[Membership Card from the Arizona Temple to Sam Myres]

Membership card from the Arizona Temple admitting Sam Myres into the dedicatory services of the Arizona Temple, starting October 23, 1927.
Date: October 23, 1927
Creator: Arizona Temple (Mesa, Ariz.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Photograph of Sam Myres, a man, and a woman]

Photograph of Sam Myres standing between a woman on his left and a man on his right. Myres is wearing a fringed jacket and a cowboy hat. The woman is wearing short sleeve dress with a pearl necklace, as well as a hat with flowers on it. The man is wearing what seems to be a tan police uniform. They are standing outside, in front of a tree. Behind the tree is is a fence and behind the fence is a street with several cars. Myres is holding one of the woman's hands and the man has his arm around Myres. This picture is taken at the Biggs Airforce Base.
Date: unknown
Creator: Biggs Air Force Base & Myres, Sam
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Myres and the 101 Ranch saddle] (open access)

[Myres and the 101 Ranch saddle]

Newspaper clipping that talks about Sam Myres and the saddle that he made for Col. Joe Miller of the 101 Ranch. This saddle was made of hand-carved leather with trimmings of silver and gold as well as 246 diamonds and rubies.
Date: unknown
Creator: Bishop, Curtis
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Sam Myres and his Buscadero Gunbelt] (open access)

[Sam Myres and his Buscadero Gunbelt]

Newspaper clipping that talks about Sam Myres and his role as the inventor of the Buscadero Gunbelt. This belt was extremely efficient due to the fact that the belt "canted the pistol butt forward, and the holster toe backward, permitting the wearer to whip out his pistol efficiently and quickly." It goes on to explain that buscadero means "the one who is hunted" or "the one who was hunted." In the top right of the article, there are two pictures, the one on the left is a headshot of Sam Myres from the chest up. He is wearing a tan suit with a tan cowboy hat. On the left, there is a picture of Captain John R. Hughes of the Texas Rangers who assisted in the invention of the Buscadero belt. In the picture he is wearing suit with a black tie, tan cowboy hat, and white beard.
Date: January 12, 1962
Creator: Braddy, Haldeen
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Certificate from The Council of the Order of High Priesthood of the State of Texas to Sam Myres] (open access)

[Certificate from The Council of the Order of High Priesthood of the State of Texas to Sam Myres]

Certificate from The Council of the Order of High Priesthood of the State of Texas to Sam Myres, consecrating him as a high priest of the Order of Melchizedec. The certificate is a faded yellow with an intricate black border; there is an orange stamp in the bottom left.
Date: December 5, 1906
Creator: Council of High Priests of Texas
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
73rd Texas Legislature, House Resolution No. 577 (open access)

73rd Texas Legislature, House Resolution No. 577

Resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives proposing a moment of remembrance and honoring of Charles R. Griggs who died April 22, 1993.
Date: April 22, 1993
Creator: Counts, David
Object Type: Legislative Document
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Jelly Bryce on his Myres gun belt] (open access)

[Jelly Bryce on his Myres gun belt]

Newspaper clipping that delves into the backstory of Sam Myres and the holster that he made for Jelly Bryce, an FBI Agent in Oklahoma. The article goes on to talk about a time where Jelly squared off with an outlaw and survived due to him being able to quickly fire at the outlaw with the help of his Myres gun belt.
Date: March 18, 1957
Creator: DeLaPlane, Stanton
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Ration Book Holder with Ration Books Inside] (open access)

[Ration Book Holder with Ration Books Inside]

Ration book holder used to protect individuals' ration books "From Loss or Mutilation." The business listed on the front of the holder is "Ed Dodds Grocery & Market, No Long waits - No short weights" in Roscoe, Texas. The instructions on the back read: "Open your family's War Ration Books to center page and inset into this holder by slipping them in under band."
Date: 194X
Creator: Ed Dodds Grocery & Market
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Newspaper article featuring Sam Myres and three saddles made by him] (open access)

[Newspaper article featuring Sam Myres and three saddles made by him]

Newspaper clipping featuring Sam Myres and three of his saddles made by the S. D. Myres Saddle Company. His article is featured in the El Paso Herald-Post and contains a picture of Myres standing behind the three saddles. The saddles were made to be givent o the boy and girl grand champions and the girl reserve champion of the Southwestern Championship Kids Rodeo.
Date: August 14, 1950
Creator: El Paso Herald-Post
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Card from the El Paso National Bank]

Card from the El Paso National Bank that reads "Congratulations! from a friendly bank". There is a photo on the left side of the card with two men posing behind decorative S.D. Myres saddles.
Date: unknown
Creator: El Paso National Bank
Object Type: Postcard
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Sam Myres' El Paso Pistol Club Membership Card] (open access)

[Sam Myres' El Paso Pistol Club Membership Card]

Membership card issued to Sam Dale Myres by the El Paso Pistol Club, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association of America.
Date: April 1, 1951
Creator: El Paso Pistol Club
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Article about Sam Myres move to the West to chase business opportunities] (open access)

[Article about Sam Myres move to the West to chase business opportunities]

Newspaper clipping that features an article about Sam Myres decision to move his business out of Sweetwater, Texas to El Paso, Texas. This decision was made due to the lessoning of ranchers that could be found in that area of Texas with more innovation coming about to make moving to other places easier and more opportunistic. The article goes on to talk about Myres son, Bill, who took on the business once his father had passed.
Date: August 26, 1986
Creator: Francis, Otis
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from C. K. Griggs to Charles R. Griggs, March 27, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from C. K. Griggs to Charles R. Griggs, March 27, 1945]

Letter from C. K. Griggs to his son Charles R. Griggs concerning daily life back home; the letter actually is written by Charles' mother as she says "Daddy and I were hot and hostess at the USO for Sunday night." Later she discusses the new lace cloth being made and saying that cloth at home runs "from 10 cents to 25 cents per yard."
Date: March 27, 1945
Creator: Griggs, C. K.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from C. K. Griggs to his Son, April 12, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from C. K. Griggs to his Son, April 12, 1945]

Letter from C. K. Griggs to his son, Captain in the 49th Armored Infantry Battalion, Charles R. Griggs. Among the other things discussed, Mr. Griggs mentions the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that had happened that evening, and the assumption of the new president Harry Truman.
Date: April 12, 1945
Creator: Griggs, C. K.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from C. K. Griggs to his Son Charles R. Griggs, April 8, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from C. K. Griggs to his Son Charles R. Griggs, April 8, 1945]

Letter from C. K. Griggs to his son Captain Charles R. Griggs telling him that they are not worrying too strongly about him while he is away; his parents did not want to think they did not care about him. C. K. Griggs describes what is going at home, "Otto Carter is home from the Pacific, he and Lillain Pratt are to be married soon."
Date: April 8, 1945
Creator: Griggs, C. K.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter to Captain Charles R. Griggs from his Parents, March 15, 1945] (open access)

[Letter to Captain Charles R. Griggs from his Parents, March 15, 1945]

Letter to Charles R. Griggs from his parents wishing him a happy Easter while he is overseas. The bulk of the letter discusses daily life back home in Texas, including their work on the house and yard; at the end they ask Charles to send them the address of a boy in his company that is without parents as they would "like to be mother and dad to him." The back of the letter has a quote that reads: "My Easter prayer for you is this: That you may have a goodly part Of all the beauty of the day - Its joy, its hope, its peace of heart!"
Date: March 15, 1945
Creator: Griggs, C. K. & Griggs, Mrs. C. K.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, July 3, 1962] (open access)

[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, July 3, 1962]

Letter to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs from his wife, Ingrid, back home. Ingrid tells him that she has just finished "painting the upstairs bathroom" and that it was exhausting work. Finally she tells him: "Be sure you don't let your lecherous eyes linger on anybody keep if all for me."
Date: July 3, 1962
Creator: Griggs, Ingrid
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, June 15, 1965] (open access)

[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, June 15, 1965]

Letter from Ingrid Griggs to her husband Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs regarding daily life back home, recently they had a picnic with a church group. She says that her and the kids are going to visit her sister as her husband is "working 96 hours a week."
Date: June 15, 1965
Creator: Griggs, Ingrid
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, June 23, 1965] (open access)

[Letter from Ingrid Griggs to Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs, June 23, 1965]

Letter from Ingrid Griggs to her husband Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Griggs regarding daily life back home and that she had to use a check to get a birthday present for James. Ingrid also notes that she has made $15 by mowing yards, and paid someone to take out a lot of trash cans.
Date: June 23, 1965
Creator: Griggs, Ingrid
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History