Dynasty On The Texas Plains

My son asked me to write the things I did while growing up. The two chapters I thought I could write became forty-four chapters. My memories are happy moments, as I grew up during the Depression in a wonderful Christian home six miles south of Littlefield, Texas. The moment my Father saw me, he called me his Plains Angel. My Mother was a kind and thoughtful person with a precious disposition and always spoke with positive words. Living with my brothers and sisters was like having my best friends with me at all times. Life was great even with the sandstorms turning our daylight to darkness, planting black-eye peas instead of cotton because of little rainfall, gathering eggs from tall haystacks, hoeing cotton from dawn to dusk, and learning how to preserve fruits, vegetables, and meat for our winter food. My Father was a great farmer and helped provide electricity and a party-line telephone system to our rural community. He is known as Mr. REA (Rural Electrification Administration) in Littlefield, Texas. I researched my Littlefield School system in 1913 and found Mr. George W. Littlefield had donated land for a one-room school building. Ms. Willie Armstrong taught school in April, May, and June with a yearly salary of forty dollars. My dream to help children and fill their lives with sunshine came true the day I began my teaching career in Plainview, Texas. After writing about World War I, World War II, and the following wars, I have a better understanding what my two brothers and other family members must have endured. I am thankful my three wonderful sons – Terry, Dale, and Randy with their adventures at home, church, school, Scout trips, did not have to experience the pain of war. My life has been blessed with a wonderful husband, three great sons that are successful, a great daughter-in-law, and two precious grandchildren, Trevor and Lane. My joyful memories growing up on a Littlefield farm with my wonderful family gave me the foundation I needed for my life’s adventures and accomplishment. Bonnie Faye James Gaston

100 of the most gorgeous hikes in the Lone Star State! The big sky country of Texas calls hikers of all kinds to its trails. With over 80 parks, 56 wildlife management areas, nine natural areas and 28 historic sites and parklands, this vast state offers a plethora of hiking options to choose from. Regions covered include the Panhandle Plains, prairies and lakes, piney woods, Gulf Coast, South Texas Plains, Hill country, and Big Bend country. This two-color guide includes elevation profiles, sidebar tips, topographic maps, and a handy Hikes-at-a-Glance chart to help readers find the hikes they want quickly and easily. Whether you're planning an extended backpacking trip through the northern cross timber or a short day hike just outside of town, this new guidebook presents a wonderful variety of iconic Texas trails.

John Magne, a powerful fourth-generation ranching patriarch, is faced with a financial crisis. Descended from a long line of masters of influence and manipulation, he deftly executes a plan that reaches deep into Washington, D.C. and state house politics and powerful New York Investment Banks. Against his overwhelming political power, stands one unwilling and unwitting ex-government worker, with a deep aversion to conflict and a record of running from it...and five determined women, each on different missions, all converging on a shocking conclusion. Laguna is a mystery set in our times, in a world where truth has become irrelevant, redemption impossible and murder is just business. Or so it seems...

REA’s TExES Social Studies 7-12 (232) Test Prep with Online Practice Tests Gets You Certified and in the Classroom! Teacher candidates seeking certification to become social studies teachers in Texas public schools must take the TExES Social Studies 7-12 (232) test. Written by Dr. Dean Ferguson, a nationally recognized test-development expert based at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, our prep provides extensive coverage of the exam’s seven domains and 26 competencies. In addition to a thorough review, this test prep features a diagnostic test and 2 full-length practice tests (1 in the book and 1 online at the REA Study Center) that deal with every type of question, subject area, and skill tested on the exam. Our online tests offer timed testing conditions, automatic scoring, and diagnostic feedback on every question to help teacher candidates zero in on the topics that give them trouble now, so they can succeed on test day. REA’s test prep package includes: - Comprehensive review of all content categories tested on the TExES Social Studies 7-12 exam - Online diagnostic that pinpoints strengths and weaknesses to help focus study - 2 full-length practice tests based on actual exam questions - Practice test answers explained in detail - Proven study tips, strategies, and confidence-boosting advice - Online practice tests feature timed testing, automatic scoring, and topic-level feedback REA's TExES Social Studies 7-12 (232) is a must-have for anyone who wants to become a social studies teacher in Texas.

Texas convicts and inmates have made the Texas prison system the most colorful in the world over the past 150 years. T

The lawmen in this book were serious offenders against the laws they had at one time sworn to uphold. Their skills were honed in range wars and family feuds and polished along the cattle trails, in the saloons and banks, and on the trains of the West. More than one kicked out their lives at the end of ropes strung up by citizens who were outraged by their abuse of the trust that went along with the badge they wore. These are their stories.

In the summer of 1881, Robert Justus Kleberg rode across the hot, dusty South Texas brush country to the palatial home of Capt. Richard King to consult with the cattle baron about attending to his legal affairs. On that same journey, the young lawyer also first laid eyes on Alice King, “Princess of the Wild Horse Desert.” Neither of their lives would ever be the same. Published for the first time in this book, the love letters written by Kleberg to Alice Gertrudis King provide a glimpse of the lives of two of the most influential people in Texas history. Editors Jane Clements Monday and Frances Brannen Vick have also provided generous documentation and annotation of these important primary documents from the Special Collections at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, affording historians and interested readers an insider’s view of one of the world’s greatest ranching empires as it transitioned from its founders to the next generation. Letters to Alice: Birth of the Kleberg-King-Ranch Dynasty represents the only existing collection of letters between any of the great Texas cattle barons and their wives. Although a great deal is already known about the ranch and its development, Monday and Vick present for the first time Robert Justus Kleberg’s personal perspective on his first meeting with Alice King, their early courtship, the difficulties obtaining her parents’ permission to marry, and the poignant time surrounding Captain King’s death.