Pandemonium and the Fugitive Governor 

By the end of the Civil War, Texas was impoverished, lawless, and had experienced suicide in the governor’s mansion. Wartime turmoil ensnared the state, especially its last Confederate governor, Pendleton Murrah. Orphaned by his mother as an infant, Murrah was raised by a charitable organization, which saw to his education. Despite having tuberculosis, he moved to Texas and became a lawyer and politician. He was elected governor in November 1863 and served until the end of the Civil War. The war brought on multiple hardships, culminating in chaos. Former soldiers robbed the state treasury in a violent shoot-out while Murrah and other Confederates exiled themselves to Mexico. Murrah died south of the border, where his remains are still lost.

Author Lori Duran exhumes a treacherous and tumultuous time in Texas’s early statehood. 

A Tale of Two Lone Stars

Two different breweries from two different centuries, both steeped in German and Texas history, happen to be connected in name only. St. Louis’ seasoned beer man, Adolphus Busch, and several San Antonio businessmen sought to modernize brewing in Texas and leave their distinctive mark on the burgeoning industry. They brought more than just German lager, serving up porters and bocks as well. Ultimately, Prohibition precipitated their shuttering. Meanwhile, Karl Haegelin’s Sabinas Brewery in Sabinas, Mexico raised the bar for quality while enduring the whims of Pancho Villa. Eventually, Haeglin would move the operation to San Antonio at the end of Prohibition. By 1940, name and ownership had changed too, rebranded as Busch’s old trademark – The Lone Star Brewing Company. The reborn Lone Star, steered by Harry Jersig, would craft a recognizable, purely Texas persona – in its identity, its approach to brewing, and its relationships with customers. Join author Jeremy Banas and savor the lineage and legacy of a cherished local libation. 

Join Andrew Warburton, author of Fairies of New York and Fairies of New England, as the deep, but often overlooked, deep roots of fairy lore in the mist-shrouded mountains of Northern Appalachia.

The magic of Old World folklore lingers in Northern Appalachia’s hills and hollers. From banshees to tommyknockers to mischievous elves, myriad fairy spirits populate the stories of the region’s mountain folk. The Little Hunchbacked Man who dwelled in corners of Pennsylvania Dutch homes. Pixies whose knocking warned of explosions in West Virginia’s mines. A red-haired fairy whose magical arrows tormented the Scots Irish of Kentucky’s Cumberland Mountains.

In this vivid and well-researched history, Andrew Warburton gathers the region’s forgotten fairy stories—from tales about “ancient pygmies” in Ohio to a psychiatrist’s account of photographing fairies in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Preserving Pride through Art

Cheyenne’s downtown demonstrates an ongoing appreciation for public art. Melding art and history, bronze statues decorate the streets of Wyoming’s capital city. Following the completion of thirty-five sculptures on Capitol Avenue, the project exploded with the addition of more than fifty bronzes. The city-wide installation immortalizes symbols of the American West. The Cheyenne Children’s Museum includes several statues celebrating paleontology. Others pay tribute to remarkable women like Lakota Sioux Princess Blue Waters and Louisa Swain—the first woman to vote in Wyoming Territory. Near Cheyenne Regional Hospital, the Healers of the West monument honors a notable doctor and nurse. And of particular pride is the statue of champion cowboy, Verne Elliott, riding a wild buffalo for the visit of President Teddy Roosevelt at the 1910 Frontier Days celebration.

Authors Starley Talbott and Michael E. Kassel return to complete the story behind the city’s inspired and ambitious display of The Cowboys State’s unique culture and heritage.