Christmas Eve 2010 In The Texas Hill Country

As it has a habit of doing from time to time during the winter months, a cold front blew into the Texas Hill Country today, just in time to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. Although the morning temperature today was still in the 50’s, the rain made it feel much colder. And, on a day like this, most everyone in the hill country should take on an even greater understanding and appreciation of the hardships the Native Americans, Spanish explorers, and early settlers of the hill country faced when the weather turned cold. Actually, one does not even have to go back that far in time, as hill country folk did not even begin to receive electricity until the 1930’s, when the hill country’s favorite son, Lyndon Johnson, made it a reality.

Christmas Eve in the Texas Hill Country is no different than a lot of places around the country I guess, given the ample supply of shopping and outlet malls which cater to the last minute Christmas shopping "insanity" which seems to strike so many people this time of year. But unlike a lot of places, the hill country provides an alternative, should you choose to seek it.

My dog and I headed out into the remote solitude of the hill country this morning in an attempt to distance ourselves from cash registers, blinking lights, wrapping paper, and frenzied people. The cold and rain did not deter us in our quest to avoid the very worst things the holiday season brings, those being, commercialization, greed, the exchange of money, and stressed-out families. Except for the ever-present deer and birds found in the hill country, we did not run into another living thing on our journey, and that, to me, made for a successful day. It was, as it should be.

The quiet solitude of the hill country, the cold rain, and the companionship of my dog, gave me time to slow down, and reflect on the meaning of Christmas one day in advance of the day itself. Instead of last minute scurrying about and standing in long lines waiting to purchase something for someone that will no doubt be forgotten by noon on Christmas; I did something far more important. I took a few hours on the day before Christmas to find a quiet place in these historic hills to truly think about why Christmas Day is celebrated, and what it means for all of us.

PEACE.

The Clash Of Cultures And The Webster Massacre

Historically, the Comanche did not make many friends, even among fellow Native Americans. The Comanche were a force to be reckoned with, however, for hundreds of years in what is now the American West and Mexico.

Skilled with horses, the Comanche were both proficient traders and brave warriors. The Comanche traded and fought with a host of diverse people and political powers from around 1700 until the late 1800’s, but were finally overwhelmed by the expansion of the United States as it pushed west.

One of the most famous and bloody clashes involving the Comanche occurred in Texas in 1839 (the exact date is disputed). The Webster family, along with some traveling companions, left Virginia for a new life in the West. While heading through Texas, they were attacked by Comanche warriors along Brushy Creek, in what is now Williamson County, just east of present day Leander, Texas.

The attack left all the men in John Webster’s party dead. Webster's wife and two children, one boy and one girl, were captured. The wife and daughter later escaped, and his son was safely ransomed. This was a happy ending, perhaps, to a not so happy confrontation between two very different cultures.

Although John Webster lost his life in the Comanche raid in 1839, his daughter, who survived the attack but was captured, lived until the age of 93, before passing away in California in 1927. The last Comanche warriors finally surrendered to authorities in the 1870’s.

While many pioneers continued to move west to eventually establish the western boundry of the United States in California, most of the remaining Comanche eventually settled in Oklahoma. During World War II, like the Navajo code talkers who befuddled the Japanese military, and made such an important contribution to this country in the Pacific, the Comanche code talkers were equally important in Europe confusing the German military.

The violent struggles in Texas of long ago, which helped produce events like the Webster Massacre, emanated from collisions of much different cultures. Today, the victims of the massacre lie peacefully in a common grave in a cemetery along the eastern edge of the hill country, a mile or so due east of Leander.

The Pecan Tree Proves Everything Is Bigger In Texas

For the past month, as they typically do this time of year, pecan trees all over the hill country have been dropping their nuts. The commercial growers have large stands of the trees, of course, which supply a vast human marketplace wanting the pecans. But, wild pecan trees are also found in the millions throughout rural areas of the state, and in and around the cities and towns of Texas, where the nuts fall indiscriminately on the sidewalks and yards for the birds and squirrels to consume. Most Texans know that the pecan tree is the state tree of Texas, but few may realize just how far back the relationship between this tree and the land go.

The tree, native only to North America, is believed to have had its origins in what is now Texas and parts of northern Mexico. Fossils of the tree, pre-dating human activity, have been found in the area. And while, over time, the native trees eventually spread north up the Mississippi River Valley and east along the Gulf of Mexico, the migration all started in Texas.

The first native people to the area recognized the value of the pecan as a food source, and made their way through the region during the latter part of every year to collect the nuts which would help sustain them during the winter. Later, as the first Europeans began exploring and settling the region, they also recognized the value of the pecan tree for both food and the utilization of the tree’s wood for other purposes, including furniture, tools, and fuel for fires. Later, the stands of these trees were cleared for other agricultural uses. In time, it all took its toll, and by 1900 or so, the large stands of native pecan trees, which had flourished since before the advent of humans in the area, were in real danger in Texas.

Recognition was finally given to the tree for its importance to Texas in 1919, when it was officially proclaimed the official state tree of Texas. Today, Texas is one of the leading producers of pecans in the United States.

Pecan trees have been known to live for a thousand years, produce nuts for hundreds of years, and grow to well over one hundred feet. As already noted, they initially provided food for native populations, and later, a source for both food and wood helping America establish its presence on the frontier.

Today, the pecan trees provide both employment and enjoyment for people who consume the sweet nuts in candy, pies, fresh out of the shell, roasted or salted. The wood is still used today, both for making furniture, and for the smoking of beef, sausage, chicken, pork, and fish. And, for all those trees in yards across Texas, they provide great shade from the scorching Texas sun.

People in Texas like to brag about how “everything is bigger in Texas.” But, if truth be told, the biggest things in Texas have always been the pecan trees, not just because of their physical size, but in all that they have provided over thousands of years to sustain life, and more recently, to furnish great pleasure to people through the gift of their nuts and wood.