The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966 Page: 138
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
reading, is well printed and superbly bound. The attractive dust
jacket shows a three-dimensional pictorial map of Waco in the
post Civil War Era. Certainly this book will have its greatest ap-
peal in Waco and McLennan County. Room should be found for
it, however, on the shelves of all collectors of local and county
history. Public and school libraries also should find it a valuable
addition to their Texas collections. One of the fine contributions
that this book could make, other than its great historical value,
would be to act as a spur to other local historians to compile such
a volume about their city and county. HAROLD B. SIMPSON
Hill Junior College
Wind Swept Land. By Carl L. Avera. San Antonio (The Naylor
Company), 1964. Pp. xii+,89. Illustrations, bibliography.
$4.95.
This pleasant anecdotal account of nineteenth century life in
Palestine, Texas, is confined chiefly to the activities of the "gentry"
of this East Texas community. Author Carl L. Avera has combed
a variety of diaries, memoirs, reminiscences, letter collections, and
newspaper files to recreate a picture of social and cultural life in
the Anderson County metropolis. As he largely ignores the com-
mon man, the life which the author describes is a pleasant one
indeed.
Avera traces the development of Palestine from its beginnings
in 1846 to the turn of the century and after through a series of
vignettes. In the early days, when the town was nestled snugly
around the log courthouse, it was said to have presented a "rough
and rugged sight." The town grew and by 186o boasted a variety
of stores, several saloons, a number of churches, a hotel, and a
weekly newspaper. Visitors noted that it was "improving very
fast."
The word pictures of the Civil War years feature the excite-
ment accompanying the formation of companies for the Confed-
erate army, parties for the officers and men, and the departure of
the troops for the war with a "Hooray for the Bonnie Blue Flag."
Palestine knew little of the war except for the casualty lists and
the shortage of coffee; so it is not so strange that the war seemed
to end "abruptly." The account of reconstruction is replete with
the occupation by Yankee troops, the indignation of the local138
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 69, July 1965 - April, 1966, periodical, 1966; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117144/m1/158/?rotate=0: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.