This Day in History April 16, 1971

I won't say much about this day's feature.  When I was a music teacher in Texas,  learned much about the young lady whose birthday is celebrated today.  It was always a bittersweet lesson to share with my students.  On this date in 1971, Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born.  She went on to become an unbelievable Hispanic musician, and she was killed by her fan club president.  Jennifer Lopez brought her story to life in the fantastic film Selena.  Watch the tribute film below that her brother and his group did ten years after her death.  (Don't worry that it is all in Spanish.  He is basically remembering his sister and thanking everyone for their support through the last ten years.  I figured that out, and I don't even speak Spanish.  I always had to explain that to my students.  Her husband is also featured in this video.  He has long hair, and you might be able to figure out who he is.)



For more info:
http://www.biography.com/people/selena-189149

This Day in History November 18, 1999

By Texas A&M University.Zscout370 at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

I remember this tragic story, and I was living in Texas when this happened.  It was on this date in 1999 that a terrible tragedy occurred at Texas A&M University.  There had been a long-standing tradition of a bonfire on this campus, and it all came to a horrible end on this date.  At 2:42 A.M., the bonfire that consisted of 5000 logs and stood about 40 feet high collapsed.  Twelve were killed, and 27 were injured.  This ended the tradition officially at the university.

For more information, please check out:
http://bonfire.tamu.edu/
http://www.myspace.com/umat88/blog/449862741#!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggie_Bonfire

This Day in History February 26, 1998

Okay, I admit it.  I used to have no life whatsoever, and I watched Oprah.  Yes, I did.  I actually enjoyed her show.  Crazy, isn't it?  And I remember this extremely well.

I watched the original show where Mad Cow Disease and the possibility that U.S. beef had this disease were discussed.  I was horrified to discover that cattle were fed heated manure mixed with their regular feed.  I don't really remember Oprah saying that she stopped eating hamburgers because of the show, but I guess she did.

And the Texas cattlemen sued her.  I couldn't believe it!  Give me a break.  The price of beef went down all because of Oprah?  And now she was guilty of defamation?  I remember that she moved her show to Texas, and since we were going to be moving to Texas, I watched those shows religiously.

When the verdict came down, and the jury ruled in Oprah's favor, I was so excited for her!  As she said:  "Free speech rocks!"  This is one time when I think the court system actually worked correctly.  I guess is helped that she was able to get the best legal counsel, but it makes no difference in my opinion.  The lawsuite was ridiculous, and even though I am no longer and Oprah fan, I still am glad she won.

Here is some more information, if you are interested:
http://edition.cnn.com/US/9802/26/oprah.verdict/
http://www.examiner.com/today-history-in-national/today-history-february-26-oprah-beat-cattlemen-jesse-jackson-said-hymies

This Day in History January 18, 1925

Being a former Texan (and the fact that we are currently awaiting our biggest snowstorm in the Pacific Northwest in years), I found this story quite interesting.  You can see here a picture of the state of Texas, and  Wichita Falls is featured prominently.  And it just so happens that on this date in 1925, a record was set in Wichita Falls, one that is somewhat unusual for this part of the country.

Wichita Falls received 9.8 inches on that auspicious day.  It is its snowiest day on record so far.  Maybe one day that will change.  I have to admit that is a lot of snow.  They are only predicting somewhere around 6 inches or so.

To verify this information, check out these sites (if you are so inclined):
http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-wilmington/weather-history-january-18-record-temps-storms-tornadoes-snow-wind
http://www.weatherbyday.com/texas/wichita-falls/january-wichita-falls-weather.html
http://www.bestplaces.net/city/texas/wichita_falls

This Day in History December 29, 1845

Well, this one is kind of interesting for me.  Since I lived, worked, and was a resident of Texas for a number of years, it was neat to discover that on this date in1845, Texas became the 28th state.  I did not know until I lived in Texas that it was the only state that actually was its own country--the Republic of Texas.  Then a lot of things made sense.  I understood why Texas did things so differently from other parts of the country!

It should come as no surprise that this move by President Polk angered Mexico.  And they were further angered when the Rio Grande was announced as the boundary.  It did require some military influence to "settle" the issue.  And is wasn't too many years later the Civil War broke out with Texas as a slave state.

For those of you who would like more information, please check out these links:
http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/history/timeline/annexation-and-statehood
https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Annexation
http://timelines.com/1845/12/29/texas-is-the-28th-state-admitted-to-the-union

This Day in History September 3, 1955

I thought this would be a nice change for this day in history today.  Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I love music--I am a certified music teacher--and that I lived in Texas for quite some time.  So when I learned that on this day in 1955 that Mitch Miller had the number one song The Yellow Rose of Texas, I knew that this was what I would share about today.

The song The Yellow Rose of Texas was actually written in 1853.  The history is somewhat sketchy at best, but here is what seems to be the story.  Emily West, a free black teenager, arrived in the wilderness of Texas in 1835.  She worked for Colonel James Morgan as an indentured servant.  When Santa Anna came through the area, he took her as his "wife."  Supposedly, it was because of his activities with her that led to his capture by Sam Houston.  It is said that the true love of her life from whom she was separated wrote this song for her.  

This is Mitch Miller (who died just last year at the age of 99), and he is best-remembered as a record executive and sing-along host.  He was one of the early pioneers who brought country music into pop music (and here we thought that was a new idea!).  It was on this day in 1955 that his band's rendition of The Yellow Rose of Texas went to #1, and I remember reading that it was at #1 for 6 weeks.  Not bad for an old song!



For more information, please check out the following links:

• http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/
• http://www.blackpast.org/?q=perspectives/yellow-rose-texas-ironic-origins-state-song
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080202954.html