April 21, 2017 (Friday) SAN JACINTO DAY
As I grew up in Houston, our family would make periodic trips to the San Jacinto monument and the adjacent picnic grounds. All my father’s brothers and sisters and their children would meet together in different places like that from time to time throughout the year. The monument and its museum memorialize the Battle of San Jacinto. The monument reaches the same height as the Washington Monument. The star was added at the top to make sure it was tall enough to accomplish that.
This picture of my daughter, Dianna, when she was a teenager, represents my feeble attempt at trick photography. She is nearly touching the tip of the San Jacinto Monument. It was intended to look like the monument was only about 1 1/2 feet tall, but my skills as a trick photographer left a lot to be desired. I had a great model, though, right?
The monument was built in 1936, as part of a public works program that provided jobs during the Great Depression. It commemorated the battle of San Jacinto, which won the Independence of Texas as a Republic. The battle was brief, but the victory was decisive. For nearly ten years after that 1836 victory, Texas was a nation all its own, but became one of the United States on December 27, 1845.
The famous amusement park, “Six Flags Over Texas,” refers to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America.
Texas now boasts a population of more than 25 million people, and some people expect the population to reach 50 million by 2050, 33 years from now.
In the early days, the people of Texas fought the Mexican army and native American tribes. Today the biggest battle of the day for many is the freeway traffic. It’s a tough fight for planners as they try to keep up with the traffic, providing adequate roadways. This probably is one of the biggest challenges Texas faces.
Texas is no longer an independent nation, but we like to celebrate having become one for a while, 181 years ago.