Texas History Minute

opportunities He resigned in 1855, began ranching and resumed his law practice.

As tensions between North and South flared, he was drawn back into politics He was elected to the state legislature in fall 1859 as a Unionist Democrat determined to keep Texas in the Union The Texas Hill Country and the Red River Valley were known for their strong Unionist stands After the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in fall 1860, secessionists began driving southern states from the Union

Gov Sam Houston was also a devout Unionist, at one point declaring that Texas had shed its blood to get into the Union Hancock stood with Houston against the forces of secession, but it soon became clear that Texas Unionists were far outnumbered among voters and legislators Houston reluctantly called for a secession convention and a later vote Texans voted overwhelmingly for secession, and the secession convention demanded that all officeholders swear an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy or their elected offices would be declared vacant

For Hancock, political expediency did not matter Principle was what as stake He refused to take the oath supporting the Confederacy Like Houston, Hancock was expelled from his office by March 1861.

He remained a conscientious objector throughout the Civil War, often moving from one place to another. He still worked as an attorney, practicing only in Texas courts and refusing to try cases in Confederate courts After the Confederate draft was enacted, officials began looking for him to press him into the army Hancock fled to Mexico in 1864 rather than serve, still determined to support the Union By the spring of 1865, he was in New Orleans when he learned of the Confederate surrender and returned home Hancock returned to politics, serving in the 1866 State Constitutional Convention, working to make Texas part of the United States again In 1870, he was elected to Congress, representing most of Central Texas Much of his work in Congress dealt with policies relating to the treatment of Native Americans Settlers on the frontier had long been enraged with the fights between settlers seeking new lands and the tribes determined to defend their own lands Hancock’s stances toward the tribes were harsh, echoing the policies of President Ulysses S Grant and many other westerners at the time He supported the policy forcing tribes on the reservations, pushed legislation cutting rations provided by the federal government, and pushed laws allowing hunting parties to leave reservations only when accompanied by the army

He was defeated for re-nomination in 1876 He returned to Congress in 1882, served one term, and declined to run again in 1884 He retired from politics altogether, but he enjoyed a lively law practice He remained an active and popular presence in Austin courtrooms, sometimes defending the most notorious clients He died in Austin in July 1893 at the age of 68

Howe Community

Howe Community Librarian

Melissa Atchisson gave an update to the city council on Tuesday on circulation counts, budget, attendance, and volunteers

She reported that the circulation of books is up from 34,405 to 37,590 from the previous year Atchisson attributed that to the growth of the amount of students at the elementary and middle school campuses Also increasing was eBooks from 2,022 to 3,071 and Audiobooks up from 98 to 135 Videos were down from the previous year which was attributed to the growth of online movie companies such as Netflix

Overall, the circulation was up from 38,712 to 42,826

The budget of the Howe Community Library is comprised of a partnership with Howe ISD, the City of Howe, and Grayson County Congruent with other Howe programs, volunteers and hours were way down from a year ago Attendance programs were up with child and adults, but down in the youth category

The overall gate count for city patrons was up from 7,762 to 9,775 New library cards issues went up from 86 to 103

Defense was the name of the game on Saturday as the Bulldogs held the Tom Bean Tomcats to negative total yards of offense Howe scored on the first play of offense on a 37-yard reverse to Cooper Jones Jones also caught the 2-point conversion from Jacob Campbell Campbell and Jones connected for a 38-yard

Howe's third and fourth grade advance to Super Bowl with win

The Howe third and fourth grade Bulldogs played Leonard in the semifinal round on Saturday The 'Dogs lost to them in the regular season 26-0 However, they were able to shut them down and win 136 and advance to the Super Bowl to be played at noon in Howe this Saturday

It was 13-0 when the clock it 00:00 but a penalty gave them a free play from the one yard line in which the Tigers scored It took the entire team putting in a very good practice week to get ready for the game and the coaches credit the kids that ran the scout teams for the starters

This win was a true team effort but there is no contention for the highlight of the game The boys ran a flea flicker pass play they have named “monkey wrench” for a touchdown The team said it was a big morale boost to have Coach Simmons on the sidelines.

Howe will play Collinsville in the sSuper Bowl at noon on Saturday at Bulldog Stadium in Howe The Bulldogs beat the Pirates, 19-13 in the regular season on Sept 23 touchdown pass to give Howe an early 14-0 lead

In the second quarter, Garren Lankford scored on a 49-yard run to up the lead to 20-0 Braden Ulmer ran the opening second half kickoff back 53 yards for the score Ulmer also caught the 2-point conversion pass from Cambell to give Howe the 28-0 lead

Marshall Larsen scored the games final touchdown on a 27-yard sweep He also scored the 1-point conversion for the game's final score of 35-0

The coaches said that the nonstarters who worked so hard in practice running scout team were the biggest reason for the win They want to thank the parents for the true team spirit they have shown as well as their great kids

The Bulldogs are 8-0 and have outscored their opponents 282-14 They will play Blue Ridge (8-1) in the Super Bowl at 2pm in Howe

Howe's first and second grade end season with 14-0 loss

good start Luke Lopez, Sabian

Acevedo, and Kevin Bateman all had a good game running the ball Lopez had a couple of touchdown runs longer than 50 yards Both teams traded touchdowns back and forth and finished with a 18-18 tie

The seventh grade played a hard fought game They controlled the time of position throughout most of the game and pounded it on the ground Ryan Hough had a big night catching the ball and secured a touchdown catch Austin Haley threw for a touchdown and ran one in on a quarterback sneak Carson Daniels ran hard all night and scored a touchdown as well Matthew Hayes, wearing Tate Harvey's jersey number 15, had a

24 18

The eighth grade played one of their best games of the year If it wasn't for a few costly mistakes they very well could have won the game Kelyan Jaresh had a touchdown run and ran the ball well all night Clay Parish made some good plays from the defensive end position and had a couple of tackles for loss along with Jaryn Grisham Ethan Lopez returned an option pitch for a defensive touchdown that brought the Bulldogs right back into the game late Eli Wilson had a touchdown scamper after running the ball well on a long drive Final, VA 34 - Howe 20

Submitted by the Texoma Patriots

The Texoma Patriots are inviting the public to join them at their next meeting which takes place next Monday, October 23, at 7 p m at Buck Snort BBQ in Downtown Van Alstyne The top will be the seven amendments to Texas Constitution on the November 7 ballot The speaker will be Texas House Representative Larry Phillips - District 62 The address for Buck Snort BBQ is 224 E Jefferson, Van Alstyne TX

Larry Phillips, Texas Representative, District 62, has once again volunteered to come explain and answer the questions about the amendments to the Texas Constitution that require voter approval before they take effect

Election Information: First Day of Early Voting Monday, October 23, 2017

Last Day of Early Voting Friday, November 3, 2017

ELECTION DAY, Tuesday, Nov 7, 2017 - 7 a m to 7 p m

Have you heard about ANTIFA? The group will show a short film explaining the movement

Everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend the meeting. The barbecue buffet will be open at 5 pm so they invite you to come early to eat