After a long, arduous summer, including cutting and disposing of a large dead tree in our backyard and Hurricane Claudette, we thought a trip to Colorado would be nice. Since everything was in readiness for the possibility of another storm, we took off for a nine day drive to Colorado Rocky Mountains and back.

Returning home to the suffocating heat and humidity, everything still boarded up for the storm season, it seemed a good time for a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Probably our last extended trip because life’s normal process has a way of slowing us down as we age. We took a week to plan and make reservations to fly from Dallas-Fort Worth airport to Calgary, Canada on the 12th of August. After visiting with family in the Fort Worth area, we parked our suburban in a Fort Worth parking lot, took their shuttle bus to the airport and by 2:30 p.m. mountain time, we were in the cool, dry climate of Canada. What a wonderful change! There had been some concern about entering Canadian Customs since the 9/11 attacks, but a certified birth certificate and driver’s license was all we needed.

We rented a small car (very small) for two weeks and just relaxed. The only problem was, after driving a suburban for several years, a small car took some getting used to, plus three cushions to sit on. Having taken many trips to Alaska and Canada, the Banff National Park and Rocky Mountains are still our favorite place to visit. The rugged mountains have many glaciers and are snow covered all year round. Even though it’s usually warm during the day, when evening comes it’s so cool and pleasant; we hate to go inside. Days are long in the summer so there’s lots of time to enjoy the outdoors.

We visited Kananaskis Village, Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise, these being where the 1988 Winter Olympics took place, then on to Jasper, Hinton and Valemont-about 450 miles and later returned the same route.
Prices are high on food and lodging, but the Canadians fill the plates and we usually try to eat all of it. We’ll worry about a few pounds and choelestrol when we get home. Everything there costs more, but the money exchange is pretty good. We use the credit card so when the statement comes in, the cost is already converted to US dollars and it doesn’t hurt so much.

The lakes are turquoise color, mostly fed by glacial run-off. There are many deep, narrow canyons, breathtaking waterfalls, vivid colored flowers, wild animals and nice clean highways to drive on. The white mountain goats and bull elk are especially interesting. They pay no attention to tourists and just keep on grazing. The goats are normally found at a salt-lick alongside the road. Animals were not plentiful this time because the weather was dry and hotter than usual, also, this time of year they move up to higher altitudes for better food sources. We traveled a little later this year than before.

Our visit to Valemont was special because the King Salmon, also called Cohos, were spawning in a small stream at the edge of town. We could stand on a footbridge overlooking the creek or watch from the creek bank. The water was shallow, perfectly clear, and running over a bed of rock and sand at a gentle pace. The largest salmon were about 36 to 40 inches long and a beautiful red color. Naturally they all die after spawning but their offspring will return in a few years for the same ritual. It’s a spectacular view and we could have watched for hours. A few miles from Valemont we find Mount Robson, highest point in the Canadian Rockies. Due to forest fires this year smoke obscured the mountain views, but we have seen it all in previous years. We just enjoyed being in one of our dream places and remembered hiking a trail around the base of the mountain with a cold, milky stream rushing by. New run-off from the glaciers cause the milky color before it settles out to the turquoise color in the lakes. Alas, that was during our younger, more agile years.

At Columbia Glacier we rod a ice buggy (bus) far upon the glacier to get a real feel of Mother Nature. There we were wearing coats in August, drinking water from the glacier (which is supposed to give you ten extra years of life) and standing in awe of so much ice and snow which never melts. The glaciers are receding but so slowly we couldn’t see a difference within the sixteen years of traveling through the area. As we grow older, we appreciate the wonder of it all so much more.

Late afternoon we rode the Lake Louise Gondolia to the top of the ski slopes. Another awesome view overlooking Lake Louise Village and farther on to Lake Louise Chateau, an enormous, only for the wealthy, lodge. That eliminated us. Even through there were a lot of tourists around the lake, it was so cool and peaceful just to sit and enjoy. Well, maybe I shot a few pictures also, since I always carry two cameras.

A really great two weeks until that unbelievable flight back to DFW airport on Tuesday, August 26th. I didn’t like to fly before and I like it even less now. It was to be a 3 1/2 hour flight, but, nearing Amarillo, the pilot learned there was a thunderstorm over the airport, so for quite some time we were circling over Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Oklahoma City and finally had to land in Tulsa to refuel. There were 13 planes ahead of us and it took at least two hours, just sitting there, before we were in the air again. At last, we were on our way to DFW, a short flight. A beautiful landing in a beautiful airplane, but, with all the delays, no available gate. almost three hours later, just sitting there again, we had a gate but the ground crew had gone home. Pretty soon another crew came on duty and about 1:00 a.m. after eleven hours on this airplane, with only one bag of pretzels, soft drinks and ice water, we collected our luggage and proceeded to catch the parking lot shuttle back to our suburban in Fort Worth. Too late – they wouldn’t run until morning.

Catching a shuttle to a nearby hotel, we were checked in about 2:00 a.m. After a short sleep, a hotel shuttle back to the airport, and a parking lot shuttle back to our car, we arrived at my sisters home around noon on Wednesday. The three of us had a good nap and some food, so by this time it all seemed like a dream (or nightmare) and was just something to laugh about. I made a vow never to fly again, but, thinking it over, maybe I would consider just one more flight. Alaska next summer? That is, if our health and fiances hold out.

On Thursday we had an uneventful drive back to Edna, mowing the yard there, then on Friday on to POC and all the heat and humidity, yard work and other everyday, boring routines. Oh well, it’s home, and we love it. (except hurricane season).

Clyde and Nelda Holloway called Port O’Connor home for 37 years. After Clyde’s passing in 2013 at the age of 95, Nelda relocated to the Fort Worth area to be near family.
Nelda, age 90. fondly remembers her years in Port O’Connor and keeps up with what’s going on via Facebook.

The December meeting for Calhoun County Democratic Club will be held Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at the Calhoun County Library, in the community room, 200 W Mahan St., Port Lavaca.

Social/potluck is at 5.30 p,m, and the meeting starts at 6:00 p.m.

Got questions? Concerned about democracy? Come and join us.

You can RSVP for our monthly meetings here: mobilize.us/calhouncountydemocrats/event/457242/
More info:
CalhounTXDemocrats.org

Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale, for whom the present city of Stockdale in Wilson County was named, served briefly as governor of the state of Texas in the final days of the Confederacy. Stockdale was born in Russellville, Kentucky, in 1823 or 1825; he studied law and was admitted to the Kentucky Bar. He came to Texas in 1846 where he practiced law in Anderson, Grimes County, before moving to Indianola in Calhoun County. Most citizens of Calhoun County have been unaware of Stockdale’s connection to the county, although he had served as the county’s representative in the Texas Senate from 1857 to 1861.

Besides practicing law, Stockdale was an active politician, serving as an executive member of the 1861 Secession Convention held in Austin. During the Civil War, he was an aide to Governor Francis R. Lubbock from 1862 to 1863. His support of Texas’s secession from the Union and his subsequent service in the Confederacy likely was a contributing factor in his being denied the honor of an official portrait in the Capitol.

His tenure as governor was the shortest one in Texas gubernatorial history, in that he only served from June 12, 1865 to June 17, 1865, He became acting governor after the flight of the then Governor Pendleton Murrah to Mexico after the fall of the Confederacy. Before becoming Acting Governor, Stockdale had served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas after being elected in 1863. It was this office in which he was serving when he was called upon to serve as the Acting Governor. Stockdale served in that capacity only until Andrew J. Hamilton arrived in August of 1865, having been appointed provisional governor by President Andrew Johnson. Nevertheless, Stockdale was a member of the committee that met Hamilton, escorted him into Austin, and handed him the keys to the Texas archives and the Capitol.

When he left office, Stockdale returned to Calhoun County; he remained active in politics. At one point in his political career in 1868, he was a member of the Texas Senate and, in the Constitutional Convention of 1875, he served on the committees of judiciary and land grants; he also participated in debates on the establishment of a free public school system in Texas. Stockdale was also a delegate to several national Democratic conventions and at least one state Democratic convention.

Stockdale was also active in business and had been since he came to Indianola in 1846. In the late 1860s in Indianola, he promoted the development of a refrigerator car for shipping beef. He was also the president of the Indianola Railroad and listed as assets of over twelve miles of new track completed, two locomotives and other rolling stock, depot buildings, shops, and grounds at Indianola.

Sometime after 1873, Stockdale moved to Cuero where he practiced law and promoted the Cuero Land and Immigration Company. He lived in Cuero with his second wife, Elizabeth Schleicher, whom he married when she was 17, and with whom he had three children. His first wife, Elizabeth Pryor Bankhead Lytle, died in April, 1865, before he became governor in June. He died on February 4, 1890 and is buried in Russellville, Kentucky.

In 1946, the Texas legislature ordered a painting of a portrait of Stockdale which was then hung in the gallery of Texas governors in the Capitol. For many years, Stockdale’s portrait was not displayed in the State Capital in Austin until the persistent efforts of organized advocates resulted in that portrait being hung there and Stockdale was formally recognized as a former governor in 1846 when the Texas Legislature ordered a portrait hung in the portrait gallery.

Curiously in 2016, a senior communication studies major at Texas Christian University was arrested after he broke into the Texas Capital during the renovation of part of the building and threw the portrait from the third floor, damaging it to the tune of $10,000. Tanner Graeber was the culprit’s name although his motivation for the act has not been established. The portrait has since been restored to the gallery of portraits.
Submitted by Russell Cain

A female wild Turkey
Photo credit: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

While doing my doctoral research, I spent many days tromping around in the middle of a pine forest in Mississippi.  The pine trees were planted in rows, some with really thick plants underneath that you couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of you at a time, and some open and vibrant with flowering and fruit vines.  I saw a variety of wildlife in those woods, ranging from birds to toads to bobcats.  But the one animal that I always steered clear of was the wild turkey.

Wild turkeys used to be quite abundant in Texas, but overhunting and habitat destruction caused their numbers to sharply decline in the late 1800s.  Thankfully, turkey numbers have been largely restored in eastern Texas.
The turkey is a gallinaceous bird, meaning it is in the same order of birds as domestic poultry and other game birds like grouse.  Turkeys are easily identified, though it’s likely more people have seen one served at Thanksgiving than actually alive in the wild.  Turkeys have strong feet and legs, and short wings that allow them to fly quickly but only for short distances.  Most people know turkeys by their tail, which is well developed and creates a beautiful fan and by the wattle, the flap of bumpy red skin that hangs down off of a male’s face.  But what always worries me the most are the formidable spurs that become apparent when I get a look at a turkey’s leg.
Each physical adaptation has a purpose. Turkeys use their large tail during flight, for stabilizing, steering, and braking.  Equally as important, the tail serves another purpose – as a display for attracting mates and establishing social status and dominance hierarchies.  Wattles allow the bird to get rid of excess heat on hot days.  Wattles can also turn bright scarlet during mating displays, or blue when approached by a possible predator.  Spurs are used to establish dominance and for defense, with the size of the spur often indicating an older turkey.  Spurs are made of keratin, similar to a rhinoceros’s horn or a bear’s claws.
During the turkey’s breeding season, hormones ramp up and male turkeys can become defensive and aggressive.  Turkeys may even try to dominate or attack people they view as a threat or subordinate, and may start trying to peck, follow, and intimidate people who get too close.  And those spurs on their legs can do some damage!  Imagine being chased by a turkey; I haven’t had the pleasure yet but I’m sure it could be quite unsettling.  One of the researchers I worked with a while back said wild turkeys were one of the few things that he always avoided in the woods because of these behaviors.  Turkeys can be bold and yet easily scared, but not once they are already running towards you!
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, see if you can find a wild turkey out in the country before you sit down to enjoy one at your table.  They really are amazing birds, even if they aren’t as vibrant in color as many of our songbirds.  Turkeys provide both economic and social value, and are predator and prey at different points in their lifecycle, which enhances ecosystem biodiversity wherever they live.  This year, give thanks for the return of one of the traditional game species, and stop and appreciate the many benefits they provide.