Texas History Minute

(continued from last week's edition)

Jack Hays, a Tennessee native, became one of the most noted of the early Texas Rangers, serving with the group almost from its beginnings during the Texas Revolution in 1836 The actions of the Rangers were widely known and sometimes controversial However, Hays helped make it a respected force on the frontier As war with Mexico approached after Texas became a state in 1845, Hays found that the Rangers were needed more than ever

Dr. Ken Bridges

As the United States supported the Texas claim on the border at the Rio Grande, contrary to Mexico’s claim of the border at the Nueces River to the North, a confrontation was inevitable to occur When the Mexican War erupted in 1846, Ranger knowledge of the disputed territory was important in the early weeks of the fighting The army was still small, so Hays quickly organized six companies of volunteers for the fight Hays and his Rangers rode into Monterrey with Gen Zachary Taylor in the September 1846 battle, capturing a key strategic point in northern Mexico Months later, Hays led Texas Rangers through the mountain passes near Veracruz on the way into Mexico City with Gen Winfield Scott, helping defeat the last Mexican resistance to American forces, often against superior numbers

Hays returned to Texas as a hero

In 1848, the state legislature organized Hays County, just south of Austin, naming it in his honor It was because of Hays and the Rangers that even the design of firearms changed dramatically Hays’s expertise with the Navy Colt Patterson five-shot revolver inspired Samuel Walker and Samuel Colt to produce the six-shot Colt-Walker Revolver

His time with the Texas Rangers soon came to an end Not long after the end of the Mexican War, Hays was appointed as the federal agent for tribes in the Gila River Valley of the New Mexico Territory, which at that time included most of the modern states of Arizona and New Mexico He was respected by both the tribes and settlers in this position, but he looked for other opportunities outside the deserts of the Southwest

As news of the discovery of gold touched off a massive move to California for gold seekers, Hays joined the quest He guided a wagon train through the New Mexico Territory on the way to California, discovering important wagon trails along the way that would take days off the travel time for those that followed. He settled in San Francisco, whic was the epicenter of the Gold Rush At the time, it was the only port or city of any importance in California, though it began 1849 with a population of a mere 500 residents His sister, Sarah, and her husband, Richard Hammond, were encouraged by Hays’s successes to make the trek westward themselves Though Hays did not travel into the mountains to prospect himself, he made a tidy fortune off real estate

In 1850, voters elected Hays to become Sheriff of San Francisco County The city itself had surged past 50,000 residents A newcomer himself, voters trusted him to tame a county almost out of control at the height of its gold fever It would be the only elective office he ever held

In 1853, he was appointed the federal surveyor-general of California As the Gold Rush faded, more settlers entered California focused on the riches of the soil rather than the riches of the mines The position only gained more importance as the economy of California transitioned into agriculture He later moved across San Francisco Bay and became one of the earliest residents of Oakland

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he largely retired from any military activity He contented himself to stay at his estate in Oakland and concentrate on his investments and staying involved in state politics

In the meantime, his family continued to have their own brushes with history. Younger brother Harry became a noted lawyer in New Orleans and a Confederate general during the Civil War, noted for his bravery at the Battle of Gettysburg Their sister’s son, John Hays Hammond, became an ambassador and a mining magnate with interests from Colorado to South Africa in the late 1800s, with their grandson becoming the noted inventor of the radio-guided torpedo and a colleague of Thomas Edison Hays spent his last years tending to his investments and staying active in state politics He died at his home in California in 1883 Today, Hays County is a growing suburban county of more than 200,000 residents The Texas Rangers he led are now far less of a military body and instead an elite police investigative unit, but no less a force to be reckoned with by outlaws

Dr Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

Monday,

Enterprise Photos of the Year

Continued from page 14

31, 2018

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Voted #10. Peyton "Fritter" Streetman says a prayer during a Lady Bulldogs softball game. Photo by Michelle Carney.

The Howe varsity boys played in the same tournament and began with a 37-63 win over Lindsay with J D Thornton leading the way with 17 points The Bulldogs then lost to Muenster, 63-31 with Thornton and Elijah Campbell leading with eight points Howe then closed out the tournament with a loss to Gainesville, 73-68 with Elijah Campbell leading with 22 points.

The Howe Boy Scouts Troop 45 headed out Thursday to Trevor Rees-Jones Scout Camp in Athens Texas, Dec 27 through Dec 31

How can I make sure my travel is affordable?

Hey Taylor - I really want to visit Europe, but I can’t get past the cost I have the money, but I also want to invest more in retirement and other things Is there a way to make travel more affordable or make sure it’s worth the cost?

- Jerry

Hey Jerry - This is a tough one I could go on about how travel and one-time experiences are definitely worth it, and then you could spend a few thousand on a vacation you don’t enjoy The answer to this question has a lot to do with your life and your goals

I do believe travel is an irreplaceable experience and education You can plan your trip around the things that interest you most, especially if you head to Europe That part of the world offers a tremendous variety of cultures, cuisines and sights I won’t guarantee it, but you’ll most likely want to go back after that trip across the ocean

The real question is, what holds you back? You talked about saving for retirement - is the issue that you don’t have much money set aside, or you feel anxious about reaching retirement and not being entirely secure? As you know, I’m a big advocate for maxing out retirement accounts and making sure you have enough put away, but I also urge people to not waste their best planning for life in th 70s If a trip to Londo keep you from contrib your IRA, I think you book that ticket

Travel doesn’t have to expensive as some pe make it With hostels you can skip the ridic y expensive hotels and spend your nights getting a more authentic experience A little research will also help you find the best places to eat that don’t cost an arm and a leg, and I usually find those recommendations beat out the pricier options

You said that you really want to go to Europe and I have no intention of talking you out of that It sounds like that trip is important to you, and I think it’s the type of experience you can’t really put a price tag on As long as you aren’t paying for the whole trip with a credit card and quitting your job without a backup plan, you should take that vacation If you still have economic worries, get a credit card that earns travel points and see if you can’t help yourself out

I think your head is in the right place, so just take a step back and let your heart get involved I hope you’ll send me some great European pictures when you get back, Jerry!

Living with children

Feelings are a wild card On the one hand, the ability to experience deep emotion is one of the things that defines us as human On the other, feelings can be and often are destructive to relationships and even to self Like thoughts and behavior, feelings begin in chaos (check out the toddler), and like thoughts and behavior, feelings require firm discipline lest they become ever more chaotic

In the 1960s, the profession of psychology – my profession –began to focus on and obsess about feelings, especially children’s feelings In graduate school, I learned that children raised in the 1950s and before (me!) had not been allowed to express their feelings freely Their “bottled-up” feelings, starved of ventilation, rotted and became putrid, causing all manner of problems, most notably low self-esteem Through various bogus therapies (e g hitting their parents with foam rubber bats as encouraging therapists looked on and asked the parents how they felt about being hit by their child), children were supposedly assisted toward “getting in touch with” and liberating their long-repressed emotions, thus cleansing their psyches of accumulated flotsam (It is true, by the way, that we baby boomers were not allowed to express our feelings freely For that, we are forever indebted to the common sense of our elders )

America is now forty years into this movement, enough time to have figured out that not one speck of good has come of it Ah, but the mainstream mental health community has yet to figure this out Its true believers continue to encourage children to talk about their feelings The answer to “How do you feel about that?” is, apparently, more important than the answer to “What is the right and proper thing to do about that?”

This sort of approach verifies that the child’s emotions are in some way valid Now, hear me clearly: I am not saying that a child’s emotions are never valid I’m saying that children are, by nature, soap opera factories As such, giving a child the impression that of him is worthy of serious discussion (and that people should adjust their behavior accordingly) is destructive to the child Just as children must be told that certain behavior is inappropriate, so must they be told that the expression of certain emotions is inappropriate.

These days, it is psychologically incorrect to say to a child, “You’re being silly There are children in the world who have real problems, like not having enough food If the worst problem in your life is that someone called you a name, well, sorry to tell you, but I’m not going to give that the time of day I’ve got much better things to do Get a grip, kiddo ”

Those approximate my mother’s words to me on occasions when I was making emotional mountains out of molehills Most people of my generation can testify to similar experiences, for which we are thankful

Which is the happier, more welladjusted child: one who expresses his feelings freely when he doesn’t like the way things are or one who has learned to accept that things will not always be as he would wish? The latter, of course!

Parents routinely seek my counsel concerning the former, describing children who become apoplectic at, say, the word “no ” Invariably, the parents in question are attempting to solve the problem by talking to their kids about – you guessed it – their feelings And, predictably, the more they talk, the worse the problem becomes When they stop talking and begin to demonstrate calm, purposeful intolerance – in the form of penalizing consequences – for inappropriate emotional outbursts, the outbursts gradually stop and, lo and behold, the happiness quotient of the children in question begins to rise

Which is a good thing for all concerned, especially the child. Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond com, parentguru com

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor