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Features
“The greatest show from Earth”, is Hernan Contreras’ description of star gazing. Contreras is a member of the Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society (JSCAS), an organization of amateur astronomers. Their fascination of viewing the night skies and its glorious sights has been shared with the public at star parties held each October and March at Fort McKavett State Historic Site in Menard county for the past 12 years.
The city and county of Hamilton were created in 1858 by the Seventh Texas Legislature, which specified that both the county and county seat would be named for General James Hamilton. Hamilton was a former congressman and governor of South Carolina who took an interest in Texas during the 1836 war for independence, and loaned the new republic $216,000 to help finance its struggle. After Texas became independent, he invested heavily in Texas land, and although he never set foot in Hamilton County, he owned several sections of land in the county that would bear his name.
Stories & Photos
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Pam Konopka has her fingerprints on Texas history, both literally and figuratively. Not only has she had the unique experience of going piece- by - piece through the dusty artifacts in the curator’s vault at the Alamo in San Antonio, but she designed and led a total makeover of Alamo Memorial Hall last summer. Directing more than a hundred volunteers from the Daughters and Children of the Republic of Texas, she transformed the hall into a warm and inviting room for meetings.
William Carl “W.C.” Jameson has lived a life that most Americans can hardly imagine. A cowboy, student, lifeguard, dock worker, radio announcer, soldier, treasure hunter, singer, songwriter, musician, storyteller, artist and prolific author, he has managed to earn a living for years by doing whatever he chooses while hardly ever punching a time clock or sitting in an office.
Sixty years ago, a Scoutmaster named Joe Williams was looking for a good program to involve the older boys of Boy Scout Troop 81 in Uvalde. He read about the Koshare Indian Dancers, led by Buck Burshears in La Junta, Colorado, and decided to start his own group, called Comanche Club Indians, in 1950.