Perhaps no other industrial technology changed the course of Mexican history in the United States—and Mexico—than did the coming of the railroads. Tens of thousands of Mexicans worked for the railroads in the United States, especially in the Southwest and Midwest. Extensive Mexican American settlements appeared throughout the lower and upper Midwest as the result of the railroad. Only agricultural work surpassed railroad work in terms of employment of Mexicans. In Traqueros, Jeffrey Marcos Garcílazo mined numerous archives and other sources to provide the first and only comprehensive history of Mexican railroad workers across the United States, with particular attention to the Midwest. He first explores the origins and process of Mexican labor recruitment and immigration and then describes the areas of work performed. He reconstructs the workers’ daily lives and explores not only what the workers did on the job but also what they did at home and how they accommodated and/or resisted Americanization. Boxcar communities, strike organizations, and “traquero culture” finally receive historical acknowledgment. Integral to his study is the importance of family settlement in shaping working class communities and consciousness throughout the Midwest.

The Texas Folklore Society has been alive and kicking for over one hundred years now, and I don’t really think there’s any mystery as to what keeps the organization going strong. The secret to our longevity is simply the constant replenishment of our body of contributors. We are especially fortunate in recent years to have had papers given at our annual meetings by new members—young members, many of whom are college or even high school students. These presentations are oftentimes given during sessions right alongside some of our oldest members. We’ve also had long-time members who’ve been around for years but had never yet given papers; thankfully, they finally took the opportunity to present their research, fulfilling the mission of the TFS: to collect, preserve, and present the lore of Texas and the Southwest. You’ll find in this book some of the best articles from those presentations. The first fruits of our youngest or newest members include Acayla Haile on the folklore of plants. Familiar and well-respected names like J. Rhett Rushing and Kenneth W. Davis discuss folklore about monsters and the classic “widow’s revenge” tale. These works—and the people who produced them—represent the secret behind the history of the …

Semi-weekly newspaper from Gilmer, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Wharton, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Brownwood, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and A123 Systems, Inc. collaborated on this project to develop a better understanding, quality control procedures, and safety testing for A123 System’s nanocomposite separator (NCS) technology which is a cell based patented technology and separator. NCS demonstrated excellent performance. x3450 prismatic cells were shown to survive >8000 cycles (1C/2C rate) at room temperature with greater than 80% capacity retention with only NCS present as an alternative to conventional polyolefin. However, for a successful commercialization, the coating conditions required to provide consistent and reliable product had not been optimized and QC techniques for being able to remove defective material before incorporation into a cell had not been developed. The work outlined in this report addresses these latter two points. First, experiments were conducted to understand temperature profiles during the different drying stages of the NCS coating when applied to both anode and cathode. One of the more interesting discoveries of this study was the observation of the large temperature decrease experienced by the wet coating between the end of the infrared (IR) drying stage and the beginning of the exposure to the convection drying oven. This is not a desirable situation as the temperature gradient could have …

This project addressed multiple aspects of the aluminum melting and handling in die casting operations, with the objective of increasing the energy efficiency while improving the quality of the molten metal. The efficiency of melting has always played an important role in the profitability of aluminum die casting operations. Consequently, die casters need to make careful choices in selecting and operating melting equipment and procedures. The capital cost of new melting equipment with higher efficiency can sometimes be recovered relatively fast when it replaces old melting equipment with lower efficiency. Upgrades designed to improve energy efficiency of existing equipment may be well justified. Energy efficiency is however not the only factor in optimizing melting operations. Melt losses and metal quality are also very important. Selection of melting equipment has to take into consideration the specific conditions at the die casting shop such as availability of floor space, average quantity of metal used as well as the ability to supply more metal during peaks in demand. In all these cases, it is essential to make informed decisions based on the best available data.

Photograph of a group of performers wearing Santa hats and standing on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. They are looking towards the conductor during a performance. One musician in the background is holding an open binder. They are all standing on a black stage.

Photograph of two unidentified performers on stage with an orchestra visible in the background during a performance on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The performers are wearing Santa hats and red scarves. One is gesturing in the air with her hands. A large green banner decorated with red string lights and ornaments behind them.

Photograph of three singers at the front of the stage in front of the band at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The singers are wearing Santa hats and a red scarf with black outfits. A green banner decorated with red string lights and ornaments hangs behind them. The photo is taken from underneath the performers.

Photograph of a background woman holding a microphone while an out of focus orchestra performs in the foreground during the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The orchestra members are playing clarinets. Most of the performers are wearing red shirts.

Photograph of a section of the band seated on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The musicians are wearing red and white outfits while sitting in front of a large green banner decorated with a candy cane. The musicians are facing towards the conductor with a soloist standing behind them in a red dress.

Photograph of a section of the band sitting on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The band members are all wearing red, black and white outfits during the performance. The musicians are playing on a darkened stage.

Photograph of two unidentified performers on stage with an orchestra visible in the background during the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The performers are wearing bright red Santa hats that are shining underneath the stage lights. They are standing and performing around a darkened stage in front of a band and choir.

Photograph of a section of the band with French horns, saxophones, and trombones at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The section members are wearing red and black outfits while looking at the conductor during a performance. The members of the choir are wearing Santa hats while standing behind the band.

Photograph of the saxophone section playing on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The musicians are all dressed in black, white and red outfits. Two of them are also wearing glasses as they look up at the conductor.

Photograph of several musicians on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The camera is focused on an unidentified singer wearing a Santa hat while holding a microphone. In the foreground are blurry band members accompanying the performance.

Photograph of several musicians on stage together wearing Santa hats at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The musicians are clapping and talking with one another as they prepare for a performance on stage. They are all wearing black attire.

Photograph of two unidentified singers holding microphones and performing on stage with a choir in the background during the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The performers are wearing bright red Santa hats and black formal outfits. Two of them sing while facing each other.

Photograph of a saxophone player in the band on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The saxophone player is wearing a black jacket and is sitting behind a flute player wearing a red shirt. They are performing on a darkened stage.

Photograph of saxophone players on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The musician is sitting with a saxophone and wearing a black jacket. A large green banner with red string lights decorating the exterior.

Photograph of a section of the audience clapping and standing after the show at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The audience is enjoying the show while cheering around an auditorium filled with red seats.

Photograph of a section of the audience clapping and standing up after the show at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. The audience is enthusiastically cheering around red seats in the auditorium.

Photograph of a section of the band seated on stage at the 20th Annual Christmas/Kwanzaa Concert by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on December 15, 2012. Two band members are wearing red outfits as they look towards the conductor during a performance. One of them along with another in the background are wearing glasses.