Grand Opening  Cowboy Camp Scrapbook  New Acquisitions Membership Drive 2013 Cattle to Canvas Fall 2013

Spring 2013 ChisholmTrailMuseum.org

He was “convinced that the future freedom Horsemen of the Americas: Tinker Collection and prosperity of the peoples of the Americas depended upon their mutual trust, friendship and cooperation and it was in that spirit that the Tinker Foundation was established.”

In 1959, Dr. Tinker created the Tinker Founda- tion in New York City, and about that time donated his world-class collection of North and South American cowboy and horse-related artifacts to the University of Texas. “We are pleased that after many years of negotiating with officials at the University of Texas at Austin, that they and the Tinker Founda- tion would agree to allow the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum the privilege of exhibiting such a rare collection of ranching artifacts from Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, the United States and Canada,” said Mexican-made spurs demonstrate a high level of craft, and reveal a sense of pride and showmanship. CTHM Chairman Robert Oliver.

fter approximately seven years of negotiating with the Noted Texas scholar and retired Smithsonian University of Texas at Austin, in December 2009 the historian, Lonn Taylor, who is collaborating Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum signed a permanent with CTHM exhibit designers Drew Patterson A and Pony Allen, added, “The loan agreement to exhibit and care for Tinker Collection itself far the world-class Horsemen of the Americas – Xenophobia transcends the local experi- is one of the most deadly ence of cattle ranching in the Tinker Collection. Dr. Edward L. Tinker enemies of peace among nations, for the human race Guadalupe River Valley because (1881-1968), graduated from Columbia has always had a poisonous the Edward Larocque Tinker University, New York, in 1902. After earning tendency to dislike and Collection is a collection of distrust the man from horsemen and cowboy artifacts doctorates in literature from the University another country – the from all over the Americas. foreigner with different ideas of Paris and University of Madrid, and habits – a characteristic One can visit the (Chisholm Dr. Tinker devoted a significant portion of that has caused much Trail Heritage) Museum and bloodshed and suffering in understand that cattle ranching his life exploring Hispanic culture in Latin this world. was not a local phenomenon, America, the Iberian Peninsula and the – Edward L. Tinker but an experience that covered United States. the entire New World.” U Local History Minute

Thomas M. Stell 1856 – 1939 Young Thomas Matthew Stell arrived in Texas in 1858 with his parents, aboard a steamer at the port of Indianola. He was educated at Covey College in Concrete, DeWitt County, Texas and made three cattle drives along the old trail from Cuero to Dodge City before he was seventeen years old. Stell worked as a cowboy on large ranches in Wyoming Territory until he returned to Texas in 1881. Stell married twice, and had five children. Career as DeWitt County Sheriff Tom Stell was appointed Sheriff of DeWitt County in 1892 – still frontier days in law enforcement. Local history connects him with a handful of infamous outlaws of the Old West. According to court records, Sheriff Stell delivered John Wesley Hardin Hardin – fugitive from justice and black- hat folk hero – to serve time for murder in Huntsville Prison. According to Stell’s sister, Nancy, Tom saw Bat Masterson in Dodge City, and was acquainted with Frank James (brother and fellow outlaw of Jesse James). Her account of his career also mentions one good guy – frontier law- man Wyatt Earp – who is imortalized in the 1957 motion picture “Gunfight at the OK Corral.” DeWitt County Family Roots As a very young man, Tom Stell rode cattle to Kansas, Missouri, Montana and Wyoming during the era of the great cattle drives. Stell was hired by Texas rancher J. Frank White to work in Wyoming, which he did for four years before returning to Texas. On his return, he married White’s sister in law, Susan Amanda Kennedy, who died in 1894. The couple had four children. Stell later married Irene Galle in 1896, who lived until 1963. Tom and Irene had a son, Thomas, an artist who w in Dallas. After J. Frank White died, his widow Eliza r Jane became postmistress and later, sta- “During my travels, I had been deeply impressed tion agent in Edgar, Texas. When she passed away in 1936, Tom Stell eulogized by the fundamental likeness between the cattle- his late sister-in-law at Hillside Cemetery horsemen of this hemisphere – the gaucho of Argentina in Cuero. The event drew a crowd from and Uruguay, the huaso of Chile, the gaucho of Brazil, miles around, as Mrs. White and Sheriff the chalan of Peru, the vaquero of Mexico, the llanero Stell were both highly regarded members of Colombia and Venezuela and the cowboy of the of the community. U United States and Canada.” You can view a Texas State Historical Commission Edward L. Tinker marker on Stell’s grave in Hillside Cemetery, Cuero. r the estate of Western fine artist and col- wife Charlene. Museum Acquires Artifacts lector Joe Gish. Recently, I called to chat with Charlene The late Mr. Gish had realized his dream and invite her to visit the Museum this for Collection at Gish Auction of retiring to the Hill Country in 1978, fall for our grand opening. We remi- fall 2005, the Chisholm Trail where he and wife Charlene built a home nisced about her life with Joe, from their

In Heritage Museum partnered with with an adjacent log cabin to house Joe’s early days in McAllen. During his thirty the Cuero Cultural & Heritage expanding collection. The cabin show- years working in the Valley, Charlene Foundation and Humanities Texas cased his treasure trove of cowboy arti- said, “he nearly drove everyone nuts, to host a lecture titled, “My facts, pre-1920s antique talking about retiring to the Texas Hill Love is a Rider: America’s firearms, Western art County.” In her home in Fredericksburg, Affair with the Cowboy.” Noted and collectibles, eventu- Charlene keeps a bookcase of mementos Texas scholar and retired ally becoming a small dedicated to Joe. There, she displays Smithsonian historian, Lonn museum. Joe relished “pewter statues of sheriffs and marshals, Taylor, presented the lecture to his role as guide and a pair of miniature boots, and family pic- curator, especially since some 25 attendees in the Trust tures.” Of her late husband Joe, Charlene some of the artifacts Texas Bank community room. shared her sentiment, “he was a very had back stories – like Since that initial partnership special guy. No one ever had an unkind with the Museum, CTHM and the cowboy vest worn thing to say about Joe.” Taylor have continued building by Gary Cooper in a a relationship, which led to a Hollywood movie. The centerpiece of the Joe Gish collaboration in 2006 and 2007 “No one ever had an As a young fine artist, Collection was leather - fine show when Taylor facilitated a select unkind thing to say Mr. Gish acquired his saddles, saddlebags, boots, holsters, committee of board members about Joe.” earliest pieces as props gun belts, and chaps, many of which and community stakeholders – Charlene Gish for his Western-themed were purchased by the Chisholm Trail to create the Museum’s paintings, but he soon Heritage Museum at the Gish Estate Concept Plan. found his true passion in researching Auction. Because Gish began collecting One of the Museum Concept Plan’s and acquiring the artifacts themselves. cowboy artifacts years before the gen- prime objectives is to acquire authentic He set aside painting to build his col- eral public caught did, his collection Western and cowboy artifacts for devel- lection in the early 1970s, at a time was known throughout Texas and the oping exhibit material. That opportunity when Western objects were relatively American West as one of the finest arose in February 2012, when represen- affordable and accessible to the hobby private collections in the country. CTHM tatives of the board acquired many fine collector. Gish passed away in 2011, is pleased to have many of these rare artifacts at auction in Fredericksburg, leaving what had become a rare and spe- objects on display when the Museum Texas. The auction presented pieces from cial memorial to cowboy culture to his opens in November 2013. – R. O. Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum

2012 Master Auctioneer and volunteer Joe Adams shares his wisdom. or a week last summer, Cuero’s kids unplugged from games and tv and F tried on the cowboy life! Volunteers treated the campers to traditional camp crafts, rope skills, story time, and authentic camp cooking.

Sue Sulsar Travis Glidden oversees expert rope tying.

and camper show off a brand design.

Van Hargis, horse trainer Good guys wear black!

Saddle making demonstration

Cowabunga! Longhorn fever…

Roping skills! Saddlemaker Tod Slone teaching roping basics.

Who wants biscuits?”

Sue Sulsar and and fellow volunteer enjoying the festivities.

Travis Glidden Carolyn Leist leads a leather tooling workshop. showing them the ropes.

Aug 12 – 16, 2013

Scenes from The Alamo The Nagels demonstrate an important piece of cowboy life with their authentic chuck wagon. 2012 Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum Membership

Scout | $1000 Kevin & Molly Fowler Regina Garcia – H-E-B Lester & Burdine Giese Avi and Sandy Hahn Ghosh Bill & Coylene Oliver and Family, 746 Ranch Bobby & Patsy Goebel Dr. Heather J. Kopecky Weldon Goebel Paul & Dorothy Guthrie – Point Man | $500 Don & Mattye Lou Stiles, Sr. Triple O Ranch Bill & Franke Albrecht Matt & Amy Thigpen Skip & Terry Henkel – Ted & Frances Aven Missi Thomas Los Sueños Ranch Pat Hickey Barlow Susan Wallis Dr. James R. Herbst II & Jesse Rivera Buddy Billups Ann and Robert Watson Randy & Sylvia Jochim – George & Kathy Bishop Matt Watson McDonalds of Cuero Bill & Nancy Blackwell Mike & Kim Weaver Jim & Beverly Kuecker – Diamond K Services Dr. & Mrs. W. Grant Braly Milton Weikel David & Paola Lloyd Mary Gayle Brindley Jode Zavesky David & Diana Burrow Ronnie & Lynn Luster SWING RIDER | $250 Paddy & Bettye Burwell Howard & Rosemary McElroy Curtis & Betty Jo Afflerbach Tracy Post Cliburn Milt & Kathy McLeod Travis & Peggy Basham – Charles Cole III William & Margaret McNinch The Basham Ranch Kathy Crim Alton & Sara Meyer Michael & Debra Benge Errol John & Shirley Dietze A. J. Simpson & Mike Mixon Lovel & Avis Ann Blain – Mrs. Lem Duderstadt Blain Cattle Co. Charles & Jean Nagel – Nagel Ranch Sid Duderstadt Joe Bland – Morgan Dunn O’Connor – Bill & Janet Fly O’Connor & Hewitt Foundation Bissett Ranch Partnership Stacy Gasch Jimmy & Betty Ann Borchers – Alex and Nance Oliver Ricky & Lindy Gohmert Borchers Ranch Dan and Harriet Peavy Rosemary Harrison Jay & Cheryl Bramlette Nathan & Suzie Post John & Carol Hildebrand Barry & Beverly Breaux Glenn & Linda Ruschhaupt – Paul & Cindy Holcomb Richard and Chris Carbonara – Ruschhaupt Plumbing Co. David Kleinecke JHC Insurance Marvin & Norrean Sager Barbara Kuck Paul & Cathy Celauro – David Scott – Duncan-Williams, Inc Melvin & Janey Lack Cuero Creek Ranch T.C. & Erna Lee Simon Tess Liberto Charles Cole III Ann Rice & Bubba Steen – Dr. Autumn Lind Dr. Gary & Mary S. Cox – Coastal Steen Cattle Company Skincare and Wellness Center Linda Miller Gary Dunnam & Sharon Steen John & Emily Davis Judd & Patricia Miller Jerry & Judie Stevenson Chip & Mary Dence – Margaret Molleston Ron & Kay Walker – East End Builders Anthony Scott Noble Querencia Ranch Bill & Verlinde Doubleday – Robert Oliver Sundowner Farm Mike Weber John Pierce Blake & Kathy Dunn – Mary Fanett Wheeler Bill & Katherine Reilly Dunn Services, Inc. Billy & Debbie White Bucky & Dee Sager Roxanne Elder F. West “Smokey” Wilson – Jack Daniel Shurden Hershal and Trudy Ferguson – Wilson Ranch David & Bea Smith River Bend Ranch Mark & Betty Zgabay – Rock N Z Jeff Steen Walter & Judy Fisher Michael Zuber 2012 Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum Membership

T ASTE OF THE TRAIL Tempi McLeod Drag RIDER |Family $100 2012 Honorary Gifts MEMBERSHIP Tempi McLeod – Jay Banning Lynn Bishop Parkside Family Clinic Joyce Albrecht Margaret Bluntzer Sue Sulsar Albrecht Cattle Company Chad and Sarah Meyer Bill Braden Henry Sheppard Lawrence & Linda Anzaldua – Darrell & Pam Morrow Rancho Pancho, DeWitt Co. Will & Chandra Carbonara Al Ebert William Murphy IV Floyd Doehrman Juana Avery John & Judy Clegg Dale & Becky Murray Rosemary Sheppard David & Debra Baros Mr. & Mrs. Joe Cohen Tim Pennell Jeff Steen James & Bonnie Barton Jim & Margaret Conrad Sarijane E Stanton and West T. & Margie Bell William E. Pinckard Dr. & Mrs. Dan D. Dugi, Jr. 2013 Membership Mary Gayle Brindley John & Laurie Pokluda – Clete & Kathleen Ernster to date John G. Pokluda Surveyors Frank & Margo Flack David P. & Mignon Brown Point Man | $500 Kenneth & Chris Buenger Michael & Susan Pope – C. J. Garland 2H Ranch Bill & Nancy Blackwell K B Ranch Kyle & Marsha Gibson Raleigh & Vicki Coppedge Erwin & Annette Rath – John & Carol Hildebrand Rath Propane Gas Company Vic & Velma Hoffman Rick & Gale Doak A. J. Simpson & Mike Mixon Shannon & Gay Ratliff Mary Alice Holcomb Eric & Dawn Draper – Billie Liesman Robert Oliver – Bellevue Ranch Freund Funeral Home Dr. Raymond R. Reese Dr. Fred Lykes SWING RIDER | $250 Pat & Karyn Elder Robert and Dorothy Reichard Cowbuddy Ranch Robert & Kerry Rhotenberry – Lewis & Charlotte McFadin, Jr. Charla Borchers-Leon William & Mary Beth Finney, Sr. Courtyard Gallery Fain & Janie McDougal & Robert Leon Daryl & Lisa Fowler Bill & Caroline Sabin William & Maxine Montgomery Michael & Susan Pope – 2H Ranch John & Kathy Frels Jeanine Baker & George Sayre Dr. & Mrs James E. Pridgen Leonard & Penni Gietz Rosemary Blackwell Sheppard Andria Rucker Drag RIDER |Family $100 Dan & Candy Glidden Tod & Lonna Slone – Arlyn Seiler Slone Saddles Jean Barth Albright – Greg & Sara Gossett – Sue Sulsar Riverplace Farms Darryl & Nancy Stefka Ful-O-Pep Feeds Helen R. Walker Judd & Patricia Miller Paul & Myrna Hassfield Don & Linda Stiles, Jr. – Ranch House Spirits & Gifts Wes Wallis Sue Sulsar Pat B. Hedgcoxe – Ted & Sheryl Winslow PBH Land Company, Ltd. Lee & Kay Tillman Ctrocke CardwelL STore Reif & Anne Hedgecoxe James Wearden WRN A GLER| $50 business $100 Ava and Mal Hermes Richard & Holly Weber Buddy & Susan Barnes Sue Prudhomme – Museum of the Coastal Bend Allan R. & Neva Irwin Rick & Bonnie Wheeler William & Louise Marie Cusack – Lost Creek Ranch Roseann Jacob Barry & Sondra Wineinger 2013 Honorary Gifts Terrell West Dahlman Shirley and Gary Janssen Darlene Wyatt Henry Sheppard LeOlive Rogge Al Ebert Kevin & Mary Keating – Louis & Kerry Yaeger – Q-Rare-O Market Los Caballos Floyd Doehrman BOUCKARO | $25 Rosemary Sheppard Kirk & Polly Laging Ctrocke Cadwelr L STore Carolyn Arrington Dick Slack bus sines Renvia Lander $100 Sandi English Margaret Conrad Kay Lapp – Cuero Chamber Roberta Blank – Ryan’s on Main Bonnie Chisholm Helten Charles Hadlicka of Commerce Agriculture & Steve & Dr. Phylis B. Canion – Visitor’s Center Linda Henderson Chanky Van Eman Organic Emporium Mike Wheat Daryl & Diane Lassig Lynda Hobbs Lloyd & Karon Copeland Lias J. Steen Ryan Leatherbury – Alvin & Joann Jendrzey Lewis S. Fisher – Henry Sheppard Weston Solution Fisher Heck Architects Michael & Arlene Martignoni Lindy Gohmert Joe Loiacono II Ilene Gohmert – Richard Parks Robert Oliver Ramsey & Pam Longbotham Ilene B. Gohmert, CPA Zenna Chisholm Snowden Albert Meta Hausser Jack Marr Carol & Dr. Robert Beer, David & Mary Sue Sparks – Dot and Jerry Hoffman – E-7 Ranch William “Bill” Cusak, Jr. Howard Mays A Taste Above Charles E. Cole Judy McAda Jerry and Dot Hoffman Verlin & Colleen Trautwein Kerry McCan Sue Prudhomme – Steve & Sarah Waldrop Lynn Bishop Julie and Bob McCan Museum of the Coastal Bend Sue Sulsar Cattle to Canvas: Six Stars in the Texas Sky r

September 2012 The CTHM mounted a rare exhibit of works by six significant Texas artists: Buck Schiwetz, Berthold “Tex” Schiwetz, Charles Shorre, Kyle Polzin, Tom Stell, Jr., and Al Barnes. The Board of Directors of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum hosted a reception honoring the artists in the upper level Community Center. The exhibit showcased artworks celebrating ranching and cattle, landscape, and natural beauty, spanning a hundred years.

Left: Katie’s Saddle, Kyle Pozin. Oil on canvas. From the private collection of Richard & Angelina Wagner.

Alton & Sarah Meyer, Imogene & Carlisle Stokes

Al Barnes

Kevin and Brenda Coleman Artists Al Barnes and Kyle Polzin with Sharon Steen

Chip and Mary Jane Dence

Kyle and Leigh Polzin

Shannon Steen Mann and Jeff Steen Many thanks to the artists and sponsors for supporting this very special cultural event. Special thanks to Sharon Steen and Event Coordinator Patricia Strobel Miller. Sponsors The Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum Robert Oliver Sharon Steen and Gary Dunnam Judd & Patricia Miller Collectors T. Michael O’Connor, left Bill Blackwell Gary Dunnam Pat & Karyn Elder William C. Foster Lester & Burdine Giese Mike Webber Pam Nelson Harte Mary Lance Robert Oliver The Bobbie & John l. Nau collection Frank & Pat Nelson The Charles Schorre Family lias J. “Jeff” steen sharon dincans steen richard & Angelina Wagner John & Joyce Zimmerman

Event coordinator Patricia Miller, Robert Oliver and Beverly Hadley

Al Barnes and William Harte

Mike Webber Watercolor Gang Rides Again: Taste of the Trail Donors Texas Light Exhibit at CTHM Hearty thanks to the many businesses and individuals who generously supported Taste of the Trail 2012. April 2013 Watercolor Gang artists Clay McGaughy, Underwriters Finis Collins, Gordon West, and Lee Ricks have been Bellevue Ranch painting together for almost fifty years. Their enduring TDECU, Your Credit Union collaboration in plein aire painting – painting outdoors, Partners Chevrolet Buick GMC in the landscape – has earned them a loyal fan base in Cindy & Paul Holcomb San Antonio and the region. Each artist has a unique Gina & Paul Holcomb, Jr. style. “Otherwise, we’d all paint like Norman Rockwell,” Patricia & Judd Miller quipped McGaughy in a recent interview. Weaver & Jacobs Constructors, Inc. Cuero National Bank, Branch of First National Bank of Shiner This spring’s exhibit, Texas Light, celebrated DeW itt Coun- Charles E. Cole and daughter Brooken ty landmarks and landscapes, cowboys, native wildflowers and more. The collection included recent works painted on Live Auction Donors Dr. Gary Cox – Costal Skincare and Wellness Center site in Cuero and the local area. Proceeds from the exhibit TDECU, Your Credit Union Kathy Crim Kathy Crim and sale benefited the CTHM. ■ Johnny Dietze Diana & David Burrow Evan & Courtney Blackwell Epstein Tim Pennell Travis Glidden Denise & Jeff McMahon Lindy Gohmert Cindy & Paul Holcomb Dorothy Guthrie Karyn & Pat Elder Van Hargis Nancy & Bill Blackwell Melissa Harrell Dee & Bucky Sager and Family Rosemary Harrison Judy & Walter Fisher Roseann Jacob John F. Pettit, Jr. Sharon & Mickey Krenek Charles E. Cole Dr. Autumn Lind Charlotte McFadin – Charlotte & Lewis McFadin LyndonWest Interior Design Charlotte McFadin – Shelly & Cody Pennell LyndonWest Interior Design Dian Malouf Micheala & John Meche Torin Bales Fine Jewelry Valerie Cole Melson Live Auction Committee Patricia Strobel Miller Bellevue Ranch Robert Oliver HollyWeber, Expressions Floral & Gifts Rhonda & Randy Pakebusch Randy Evans, Haven Restaurant Sue Porter – Rawhide in Doss, Texas Rick Doak Suzie & Nathan Post Carol & John Hildebrand Judie Stevenson Kathy & George Bishop Lee Ricks: detail, Near Charco Amy & Matt Thigpen Rosemary Harrison – Rose & David Thigpen RAMRO & RJ Cattle Co. Paula Winter Vanessa Cole – Vacation Villas of Mexico 125 Main VCS Companies Banhof Café Rocket Oilfield Services GVEC Power Up Program Awards $20,000 Cuero County Club Henry Rifle Company Dawn’s Light Photography The Guadalupe Valley Electric Coop, through their Power Silent Auction Donors Don Bravo Mexican Restaurant DuncanWilliams, Inc. – Up grant program has awarded CTHM $20,000 for its Nancy & Bill Blackwell Investment Bankers Betty Bludworth & Family multi-purpose Outdoor Education Resource project. The Fit Strong United CrossFit Vanessa Cole – Vacations of Mexico Friends of the CTHM GVEC Power Up grant program is funded through the Ful-O-Pep Feeds GVEC Charitable Foundation, which collects funds from Gram’s Attic participating members of the cooperative who agree to “ Best one yet, Impressions of Santa Fe right Paint?” Invensys Operations Management have their monthly electric bill rounded up to the nearest James Avery dollar amount. Maida’s Main Street Kaffee House & Deli Marriott – Houston Slated for completion by mid-June, the Museum’s multi- Rosie’s Mexican Restaurant purpose green space is located behind the Museum’s Spoetzl Brewery historic building and annex and will provide space for a Sullivan’s of Houston The Cooking Depot multitude of outdoor activities, including the popular The Pump House – Riverside Bar & Grill Cowboy Camp which will be held August 12 – 16, 2013. Wagner’s Hardware Wilson Clements Antiques The green space is part of a larger project that includes Woodhouse Day Spay approximately 55 new off-street parking spaces for the Museum, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, and the northern sector of Cuero’s Downtown Historic District. ■ Pride in Community: A Driving Force Construction Update hatting with Susan Hamilton Wallis in her Chome in April, I learned a lesson in pride in community as Mrs. Wallis reminisced about her life in Cuero and DeWitt County. She and her late husband Jack shared many decades of leadership in the community, but she remains unassuming about their contribution. Susan was born in Cuero to Mary Sue (Graves) and Graham Hamilton. After graduation from Cuero High School, she attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1946 with a Bachelors degree in Science. A tennis champion, Susan coached tennis in Austin for several years before onstruction of permanent exhibit space is well Susan Hamilton Wallis returning to her hometown of Cuero, where she under way. Cuero-based Weaver and Jacobs continued to provide private tennis lessons. Two of CConstructors have leveled the floor, erected her Cuero tennis students, Charlotte Zimmerman walls for exhibit cases, painted and wired the and Joyce Towery, won first place in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 4,000 SF gallery. state-wide tennis competition. Austin-based Drew Patterson and Pony Allen are Local Roots in Agriculture Ranching and agriculture are in her blood. Her leading the exhibit design and installation. With great-great grandfather, John Hamilton, brought young Alex Hamilton, Sr. (her the focus of transporting our visitors back to the great-grandfather) from their home in Kentucky to DeWitt County in approximately early days of south central Texas, they will bring 1848 – soon after Texas became the 28th state. Growing up on their DeWitt County ranching history – where cattle were wild, the ranch, Deer Creek, Alex began his business career as a merchant in Clinton, moving dangers many, and brave settlers few – vividly to to Cuero around 1872 to become one of the new county seat’s first business owners. life. Visitors will be immersed into the world of the Alex Hamilton, a founder of the First National Bank of Cuero, was also keenly native vaquero, and of the migrant farmers from interested in ranching. He built the first cattle dipping vat in the county, and was the eastern United States, Europe and Mexico, among the first to import registered Hereford cattle from nearby Missouri in the whose stories became Texas legend. U 1890s. Susan remarked, “Herefords are still my very favorite breed of cattle,” but due to the advance of photosensitis disease in white-face cattle, “we went black,” and began breeding Black Angus. ConocoPhillips Contributes $4,500 Life in the Community After Susan and Jack married, they raised a family in Cuero. All three children, Wes, Cheryl, and Sue, were born in Cuero and attended The ConocoPhillips Lower 48 Business Unit held Cuero schools. Jack and his father, also deeply rooted in ranching and agriculture, an award presentation at Coastal Bend College in raised “broad-breasted bronze” turkeys, shipping eggs nationally for breeding. Beeville on March 19th where the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum was awarded a $4,500 grant. An avid skier for many years, Susan shared stories of skiing the Colorado Rockies. CTHM was one of several dozen non-profit recipi- Perhaps her athletic gifts were inherited from her father, Graham Hamilton, who set ents, including rural fire departments, Boys and a world record in javelin as a varsity letterman at the University of Texas. Girls Clubs, and other social services taking place Continuing to serve her community, Susan served as the first woman trustee on in DeWitt and surrounding counties. the Cuero School Board – a landmark accomplishment, also serving on the Cuero Country Club board and vestry in Cuero’s Episcopal Church. This generous grant will be used to complete the Museum’s multi-purpose green space, which is The Wallis family has shown vital support for the Chisholm Trail Heritage being constructed behind the historic building Museum. Visitors will begin their tour in a section underwritten by Susan and annex. When complete, the green space and her family, “Ranching Heritage in the Guadalupe Valley,” an overview of our will be used for a multitude of outdoor events, unique geographic area featuring a Guadalupe River Valley landscape. A large including the Museum’s popular, Cowboy Camp, case in the introductory wall will display signature artifacts of the region. Also which was established by board member Candy underwritten by the Wallis family, “Turning Grass Into Beef” features native Glidden several summers ago. grasses found in the 1870s and 80s along the Guadalupe River; the exhibit also highlights several prominent ranching families of the great cattle drive era. Cowboy Camp brings together approximately 35 to 40 local and area young people who learn the Cuero and the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum are greatly indebted to rich traditions and practices of early ranching, individuals like Susan Wallis. Susan personifies pride in community, and her horse-etiquette, and rural Texas life in the late contributions to the preservation of the ranching and agricultural legacy of 1800s. Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum is this region will surely be appreciated by countless guests to the Museum. grateful for ConocoPhillips’ philanthropic Thank you for your invaluable support! – R.O. U contribution. U Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum Box 866 | Cuero, Texas 77954 (361) 277-2866

Mission Statement

The Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum’s mission is to preserve the ranching and Western culture of South Central Texas through interpretive exhibits, research, and educational programs.

The CTHM is a 501(c)(3) corporation.

ChisholmTrailMuseum.org

CTHM Board of Directors SAVE THE DATE!

O fficers Paddy Burwell Advisory Board Charles Cole III Robert Oliver, Chair John Hildebrand Errol John Dietze Diana Burrow Patricia Miller, Vice Chair Candy Glidden Patsy Goebel Bill Blackwell, Treasurer Lindy Gohmert Gay Ratliff Sue Sulsar, Secretary Gerard Gonzales W. C. “Bucky” Sager Judy McAda Jeff Steen Executive Director Tempi McLeod Mario Vazquez Beverly Hadley Amy Thigpen CPA M. A. Thomas Ilene Gohmert Kay Walker Legal Counsel James Crain III

To book our Community Center for your next fundraising event, Grand Opening Celebration business meeting, or festive Weekend of November 22 | 23 social gathering, please contact Friday Chamber Orchestra Gala Beverly Hadley (361) 277-2866. Saturday Festive Block Party