Tyler Sesquicentennial Workshop

This past Saturday, Vicki Betts and I participated in a Civil War Sesquicentennial workshop presented by the Texas Historical Commission; for me it was a work event. I arrived Friday evening and met up with Vicki for dinner. After dinner we drove around town looking at houses and all the blooms, particularly the tulips. Of course I did not bring my camera with me.  We also drove by the house where Kate Stone lived for a time when she refugeed to Tyler during the Civil War. Kate didn't like Texas much, calling it the dark corner of the Confederacy. The house is now a museum and has been added to and redone so it doesn't look much like it did when Kate was there. The gates to the museum park were closed so I couldn't get up close to get any photos. I'll have to go back.

The workshop was part of a grant from the Society of the Order of the Southern Cross to present information on sesquicentennial events in Texas. This year's workshops focused on the preservation and interpretation efforts at Palmito Ranch, the last battle of the Civil War. It was also to include a talk from the Smith County Historical Society and a planned living history at Camp Ford in 2013. Unfortunately, signals got crossed, the message didn't get out, and the historical society did not show up. Three members of the public were there. That was ok.

The workshop was held at the historical society's offices at the Carnegie Public Library in Tyler. The bottom floor of the building is a museum of Smith County history and the archives. The second floor is an auditorium with a stage and great acoustics. Vicki and I tag-teamed an edited version of my Texas Civil War home front talk from the 1860's conference a couple of years ago. I read the narrative and Vicki picked up the quotes. It was a lot of fun and those there seemed to enjoy it.