The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988 Page: 263
619 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
ings. Dedicated to a legendary Texas lady of letters, Katherine Anne
Porter, this anthology consists of nine essays that take a look at rural
Texas, the changes that have taken place, and what these mean to pres-
ent and future residents of the state. The book is graced by several pho-
tographs of the rural scene, including images by June Van Cleef.
Al Lowman takes us on a tour of Texas by exploring the origin and
significance of place-names, from Eden to Uncertain. He shows how
historians can study place-names to trace migration patterns; linguists,
to document foreign-language influences; folklorists, to discover local
customs; and scientists, to discern plant and animal life, minerals, and
general terrain. In "Cotton, Cattle, and Crude: The Texas Economy,
1865- 1980," James B. Smallwood, Jr., offers an overview of the transi-
tion from a pioneer, self-sufficient economy to modern-day agribusi-
ness and industrialization, and the influences exerted by fencing, irri-
gation, tenancy, price supports, mechanization, and science. The disap-
pearance of the little frame house on the prairie has caused Clarence C.
Schultz to examine vernacular architecture. He analyzes the ways in
which the log and plank homes of the Anglos, the Fachwerk of the Ger-
mans, and the jacal and adobe huts of the Mexicans reflected the social
and cultural traditions of the resident ethnic groups, natural topo-
graphical conditions of the various regions, and the available building
materials and technologies. "Women on the Land," Betsy Colquitt's es-
say, explains why the landed heritage has been a more compelling in-
fluence in Texas literature than cities. Francis Edward Abernethy re-
veals the ways in which folk music planted the seeds that gave rise to
modern country and western music. In "A Folk-Group Sampler," Karl
Weigand looks at what makes the South Texas Mexican American dis-
tinctive; Joe S. Graham considers rural blacks; Joseph Wilson, the Texas
Wends; and Dona B. Reeves-Marquardt, the Hurnville Germans from
Russia.
Several essays deserve mention for rising above the rest. Glen E. Lich
explores the contradictions between the myth and reality of Texas. A
state that has in so many ways romanticized its wide open spaces now
has three of the ten largest cities in the United States; urbanization
keeps relentlessly devouring the rural landscape and imposing city
ways on the countryside. The ecological disruptions caused by growth
are the focus of Del Weniger's paper. Despite memories of dust storm,
drought, and flood, humans continue to assault the environment with
newer and more damaging weapons. The bulldozer and dragline have
squeezed out the axe and match, and man has littered the roadside
with billboards, junkyards, and honky-tonks. Finally, Martha Mitten Al-
len finds rural women far more complex and diverse than the popular
stereotype of the isolated wife doing little else than house and farm263
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988, periodical, 1987/1988; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101211/m1/303/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.