Texas History Minute

Katherine Anne Porter was one of the most noted of Texas novelists. Her career spanned decades, and though her output was limited, it had a profound impact on many aspiring writers from the 1930s through the 1970s

She was born Callie Russel Porter in May 1890 in Indian Creek, a small, unincorporated community in Brown County in Central Texas

Her father was a cousin to Texas writer William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O Henry Brown County also happened to be the home of noted western and horror novelist Robert E Howard Porter was the fourth of five children, but tragedy followed her for much of her early life An older brother had died while still an infant When she was two, her mother died shortly after giving birth to her youngest sister

Distraught and left with four young children to raise, Harrison Porter took his children and moved in with his mother, Catherine Anne Porter

The family spent the next few years living in the modest house in Kyle, a small community just south of Austin From a young age in Kyle, she began writing stories The future writer became very close to her grandmother in those years But in 1901, her grandmother died while taking her on a trip to see relatives in West Texas Afterward, her father moved the family sporadically across Texas and Louisiana Porter’s education became increasingly sporadic, and she never attended high school

In 1906, she married John Henry Koontz, a Lufkin-area rancher It would be the first of five marriages for Porter The marriage was a disaster from the beginning, wrecked by Koontz’s alcoholism Porter reported later that he flew into horrible rages fueled by his drinking She alleged at one point that he threw her down a flight of stairs, resulting in a broken ankle

She left for Chicago in 1914 and filed for divorce, asking that her name be legally changed to Katherine Anne Porter in the process She also picked up a writing job at the Chicago Tribune She even began appearing a few silent film roles as extras while writing a story for Chicago film companies, with one company paying her $12 per day After her divorce was finalized, she married Otto Taskett, a marriage that fell apart within months

At that same time in 1915, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanatorium While hospitalized, she began writing stories full time Her fortune changed when she learned she had been misdiagnosed, and she returned to Texas in 1917 as a society writer for the Fort Worth Critic

The next year, she moved to Denver to write for the Rocky Mountain News But 1918 was also the year of the Spanish Flu Epidemic. More than 500,000 Americans died from the flu that year, including Porter After her recovery, she spent most of the next decade travelling, living mostly in Mexico and New York City Her first published short story, “Maria Concepcion,” (1922) was inspired by her experiences in Mexico

She married three and divorced three more times between 1926 and 1942 As talented as she was, she found writing very frustrating She once said, “I have written and destroyed manuscripts quite literally by the trunkful I spent fifteen years wandering about, weighted horribly by masses of paper and little else ” She published a widely acclaimed and influential collection of short stories in 1930, “Flowering Judas and Other Stories ”

Among her most famous story was the award-winning “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” (1939) This was a collection of three novellas which took place during the 1918 flu pandemic, inspired by her own illness The story was adapted into several television movies in the 1950s and 1960s This was followed up by another short story collection, “The Leaning Tower” (1944)

She spent many of her years from the 1930s onward travelling the world, writing essays for The Nation and The New Republic and writing short stories She met prominent writers, celebrities, and world leaders in her travels However, she only wrote one novel Ship of Fools (1962) took twenty years to write The tale of misfits sailing to Europe in the early 1930s became instantly famous and was adapted into a movie in 1965

In 1965, she published The Collected Stories, her latest anthology. This earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1966 as well as the National Book Award She would continue to write for many more years Porter died at her home in Maryland at the age of 90 in 1980

Her birthplace in Brown County was recognized by the state as a state historic landmark in 1990 In Kyle, the family home continued to stand years after Porter’s death In 1997, the city, along with several local charities and benefactors, bought the old homestead and began renovating it In 2000, it was declared a national landmark and the city established the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center at the home Operating today through a partnership with Texas State University in San Marcos, the organization invites noted writers to speak at symposiums and offers programs to help aspiring writers

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

Our greatest honor and privilege

When we are truly in love with someone, nothing can keep us from them It sounds like the beginning of a beautiful romantic love story doesn't it? Actually, it is a love story, but its between us and God The Lord is inviting us today to spend more time with him and to fall in love with him so deeply that nothing in this world can interfere with this bond of holy intimacy We can be as close to God as we want and be filled with His Spirit with a constant awareness of his presence if we choose him as the love of our life If this is what you are seeking today, then you have found the meaning and purpose of your existence Our free-will decision to refuse is the only obstacle that can prevent us from becoming what Jesus died for us to be y Holland

The Christian life includes having a passion to be with Jesus every moment and if we do not have this, somewhere we have drifted away As we draw nearer to him, he will open our spiritual eyes and allow us to see and know His plans Our attitude exposes the vast difference between living in a default religious experience or becoming a sincere follower of Christ The question for all of us is how much of God do we want and how desperate are we to know him?

And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all Acts 3:6 your heart” Jeremiah 29:12-13

Verse of the Week

Our nature comes fully equipped with the ability to be infatuated and controlled with whatever we love and is more than willing to bow down to whatever is our highest priority We usually deny that we are our own king, which helps to explain why we rarely consider the fact that idolatry has more to do with the one we see in the mirror than an external influence or master God will compel but does not force anyone to worship him and according to his truth, the dark side also abides by the same principles In other words, you and I are constantly being influenced and choosing whom we will serve and obey every moment.

The more that God is on our mind the more we will become like him When all is said and done, and we stand before his throne, the amount of our conscience we allowed him to occupy will reveal what meant the most to us We realize it’s difficult to serve and worship someone we cannot see, and our carnal desires hates the idea of submitting to anything that interferes with our independence

The school of Christian living is our daily classroom and within our prayers should be the request to understand what we are learning Without wisdom, knowledge is just a collection of facts, and in the Christian journey it’s not how much we know, but how much we apply We love and worship God not because of what he can do or how much he will give, but simply because we are infatuated with who he is Our joy overflows when we meditate about his love, as our broken and contrite heart releases a sweet-smelling aroma in the beauty of his holiness It is with trusting innocence that we can snuggle into the lap of our loving heavenly Father, where we are content as he places his arms around us and gently holds us and gives us his peace that passes all understanding In the essence of his glory we become supernaturally entwined with the creator and ruler of the universe who longs to mold us as soft clay on the potter’s wheel This miracle of transformation can happen when we sincerely abandon our old nature and embrace him as the Lord of our destiny Only then can our life finally begin its humble decent so that Christ can increase and be manifested within us If we want more of God, we must choose to deliberately pursue him Spending time with him allows us to know Him personally and to learn more about our calling When he becomes the focus of our purpose, the awareness of His presence will become as natural as breathing To know God is the meaning of our existence, to worship him is our most precious gift, and to love him is our greatest honor and privilege “Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you

Tips on buying homeowners insurance

Living with children

Taylor Kovar

you have any tips.

Hi Taylor - My husband and I are deep into the process of buying our first home and we’re looking into the insurance part of it I find the whole thing pretty daunting and was wondering if

Eileen

Hey Eileen - Congratulations on the new house! Purchasing a house is a huge decision and unfortunately it isn't as cut and dry as we all wish it could be Insurance is one of those things that makes the process difficult and detracts from some of the fun, but it’s a necessary evil Here are a few things to think about that will hopefully help you along and make sure you’re well covered

1 Compare deductibles In the early going, when you’re looking between different possible insurers, comparing deductibles can help narrow the field Higher deductibles will mean lower premiums, but lower deductibles will make a big difference when you really need the coverage to kick in Looking at different providers, see what deductibles are available and then, with those numbers in mind, see how much you can realistically afford in premiums I think you’ll end up with better coverage if you think about the deductible first and the premium second because you’re less likely to go with the most basic option

2. Replacement versus cash value In the event of a loss, you have the option to collect in either replacement or cash value Actual cash value pays out the depreciated price for your home and possessions, so this option usually comes out to be less than the replacement cost Because of this, insurers prefer and typically offer lower premiums for the cash value option If you meticulously detail and document everythi home, this could be a g option since you’ll hav chance of getting adeq compensated for lost p and possessions Again come down to what yo can afford each month you personally value y property

3 Consider bundling If you already have car insurance and you feel like your provider takes good care of you, bundling home insurance with that same company might offer you the best savings. Two policies are better than one in the eyes of the insurer, so you stand to get a pretty nice discount on your premiums There are pros and cons that come with bundling, and I’ve laid those out in more detail in a post on GoFarWithKovarcom My main advice is to bundle with caution and don’t get too excited when you see a huge discount

Insurance is tricky but important As long as you do your homework and shop around you should be able to get what you need Keep asking questions and good luck with the new home!

Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar com, or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901

Q: We have two married daughters, one of whom is adopted The biological daughter has two children who, we recently discovered, have been told that it is wrong to call our adopted daughter “aunt so-and-so” because she is not really family Nor, according to our biological daughter and son-in-law, is her husband an “uncle ” We’re planning an upcoming visit with our biological daughter’s family How should we deal with this?

A: Forty-three years of writing this weekly column and I thought I’d heard it all until now

First – and I really don’t need to tell you this, obviously – your adopted daughter is legally your daughter She is not, say, twenty percent your daughter; rather, she is one hundred percent your daughter Her legal status is not reduced relative to her sister’s because she is adopted

If in your will you were to assign half of your estate to each of your two children, and your biological daughter claimed the entire estate, asserting that she is your only child, said challenge would not succeed in a court of law In other words, the terms “adopted” and “biological” are simply adjectives That, by the way, is straight from the so-called “horse’s mouth,” the horse in this case being a federal judge

The argument/claim can be turned around Your adopted daughter could claim that she was specifically chosen to be your daughter, that your biological daughter was the product of mere chance; therefore she (adopted daughter) is your only true child Yes, that argument is absurd; nonetheless, it is the equivalent of your biological daughter’s equally absurd argument

It may be that your biological daughter and son-in-law are simply and innocently mistaken, but I strongly suspect there’s more going on here than meets the eye I would wager that this “mistake” is the upshot of long-standing jealousy on the part of your biological daughter

Let’s face it, a disproportionate amount of attention goes to a new sibling when he or she enters a family – whether by adoption or birth If, as I suspect from the wording of your question, your biological daughter is your first child, she may not have exactly welcomed her adopted sister with open arms Instead, she may have felt displaced, deprived of attention that she felt “belonged” to her, and harbored a good amount of resentment as a result To put this another way, she may have long felt that “biological” is a synonym for “real ”

Assuming I am correct, there is a volcano smoldering beneath this issue I doubt there is a way of correcting what your grandchildren have been told without uncapping the volcano One option, therefore, is to ignore it. But sweeping matters of this import under a proverbial rug rarely works for long Sooner or later, this is going to have to be dealt with

In that regard, there are two aspects to the overall issue: legal and emotional The legal aspect can and should be addressed by a legal expert That, relatively speaking, is the easy part The emotional aspect is the tar pit In my estimation, a reasonably sane discussion and resolution of the pertinent issues is going to require mediation by a very experienced family therapist

Even suggesting that is likely –pardon the mix of metaphors – to set the pot boiling Brace yourselves

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 Society

BROWNWOOD – June 19, 2019 –

Howard Payne University honored 223 students for academic success during the spring 2019 semester Students must earn a 4 0 grade point average to be named to the President’s List, a 3 65-3 99 grade point average to be named to the

Dean’s List and a 3 5-3 64 grade point average to be named to the Honor Roll

From Howe were Lindsey Krueger, President’s List, Benjamin Olin, Honor Roll, and Tyler Olin, Honor Roll

Howe's O'Brien graduates from TWU

Texas Woman’s University held Spring 2019 commencement ceremonies May 10-12

The Denton ceremonies, which included candidates from TWU’s

Dallas Center, took place in the Kitty Magee Arena in Pioneer Hall

Taylor O'Brien from Howe graduated with a BGS in General Studies

Howe Girl Scouts travel to NASA