Event and Exhibit Calendar
Texas Contemporary Artists Series: Leigh Anne Lester
July 18 - Oct. 25

Touching the Lives of Texans: The AIDS Memorial Quilt Comes to San Antonio

Aug. 15 - Sept. 20

Museum News
Touching the Lives of Texans: The AIDS Memorial Quilt Comes to San Antonio
The AIDS Memorial Quilt celebrates the lives of individuals who succumbed to AIDS. Launched in 1987, the quilt provides a creative means for remembrance and healing – serving as a memorial, an educational tool and a community arts project.

A recent update to the longhorn exhibit at the Institute of Texan Cultures explains how the institute's steer, T-Bone, is connected to film legend John Wayne.

T-Bone, as the institute formally named him in 1986, was one of the last longhorn steers in John Wayne's herd. In the era of Wayne's Western films, full herds of longhorn cattle were difficult to come by, so Wayne began to build a herd of his own from longhorns bred in Texas and Arizona. As Wayne's health declined, much of his herd was sold.

One of the buyers was Louis M. Pearce, Jr., a Texas oilman and member of the institute's development board. Pearce had met "The Duke" while the actor was still a prominent screen presence and thought it would be novel to own some of his longhorns. Pearce said T-Bone was the herd's last steer. Upon the steer’s death, Pearce had the longhorn prepared for display and donated it to the Institute of Texan Cultures.

T-Bone's new installation places him against a background of rugged West Texas brush and mesas. Accompanying text describes the steer's ties to John Wayne and expands on the story of the longhorn breed in Texas.

T-Bone will remain on the exhibit floor as an educational resource, telling the story of how longhorn cattle became icons through their contributions to Texas history and culture.

Did You Know?
Water Feature is Both Attractive and Eco-Friendly
When the Texas Pavilion, home of the Institute of Texan Cultures, was built for the 1968 World’s Fair, one of the building’s unique features was the massive water feature at its entrance. Named Confluence Fountain, honoring HemisFair’s “Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas” theme, the fountain was designed to symbolize the merging of the many different cultures in Texas by allowing the water to flow through 25 channels separated by different shaped granite blocks into the basin of the fountain pool.

The infrastructure of the fountain is fascinating. Because the first floor of the institute sits below the water table, between 150,000 and 200,000 gallons of ground water must be pumped from beneath the building daily. This is the water that supplies Confluence Fountain. Ground water originating from natural springs beneath the building is pumped to the fountain, then to the city’s storm drains. This forward-thinking water management plan allows the museum to operate Confluence Fountain year-round, even during periods of city-wide water restrictions.

Texas History Moment
The Battle of the Nueces
Just outside of Comfort, Texas, is a monument that reads “Treue Der Union” (TROY-der-OON-yen), which means “true to the Union.”

Many German immigrants settled in the Texas Hill Country in the early days of Texas statehood. They established communities including farms and ranches, and even signed the only peace treaty ever upheld with the Comanche Indians. Many of these settlers took great pride in being anti-slavery and pro-Union.

On the eve of the Civil War, German communities voted overwhelmingly against secession, and when they were outvoted, some groups attempted to make it to Mexico for a fresh start. In a dangerously patriotic demonstration on July 4, they organized a German pro-Union battalion with several hundred men from different counties.

From Aug. 10 – 18, 1862, the Confederates killed 32 of those German-Texans bound for Mexico. After the war was over, several citizens solemnly gathered the bones of the fallen and buried them at this site near Comfort.

Sources:

Biggers, Don H. German Pioneers in Texas. Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg Publishing Co., 1925.

Lich, Glen E. The German Texans. San Antonio: The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures, 1981.