News & Events - April 2022 | Museum of North Texas History

April 2022

News and Events from

The Museum of North Texas History

MUSEUM OF NORTH TEXAS HISTORY

DIRECTOR'S LETTER

Dear Members,

I don’t know about you but I’m pretty excited that it is springtime! We are kicking off April with a Limited Edition Hardcover Women of Wichita County Book signing on Saturday, April 2, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. We will have paperback editions of the book for sale as well.

Thursday, April 7, is the first After Hours Art Walk of 2022! This is one of our favorite events and we can’t wait! This month we are featuring Local Artist, Tom Roberts. He will be leading a fun and free activity for visitors during Art Walk.

Hope to see you at one of our April Events!

Madeleine

North Texas Area United Way

The Museum of North Texas History was honored to host an exhibit celebrating 100 years of North Texas Area United Way!

Women of Wichita County Texas

On April 2nd at 1:30 pm, MoNTH will sponsor a second book signing for Women of Wichita County Texas at the Museum. A limited number of hardback books will be available along with paperbacks.

After Hours Art Walk 2022

Gathering Oral Histories

The Wichita County Archives, housed in the Museum of North Texas History, is assisting in a project to gather oral histories about Booker T. Washington School and Eastside of Wichita Falls. Here, Brenda Jarrett and Hernandez Jackson discuss photos from Jackson’s collection. If you have a story to contribute, contact the Museum or the Archives.

Texas Association of Museums

Annual Meeting 2022 - Waco, Texas

Last week, Executive Director, Madeleine Calcote-Garcia attended the Texas Association of Museums Annual Meeting in Waco, Texas. She represented Wichita Falls along with staff from the Wichita County Heritage Society, the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, and the Archer County Museum and Arts Center.

Madeleine attended sessions ranging from "Exhibits on a Budget" to "Strategic Vision and Institutional Planning". She also attended the evening events, which highlighted Waco museums and cultural institutions.

Legends Exhibit

Charlye O. Farris Family Day

The Legends Exhibit honoring Charlye O. Farris continues at the Museum of North Texas History through April.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME

Membership for the Museum of North Texas History extends from January to December. Now is the time to renew your membership. You should have received your membership envelope in the mail-out of the January newsletter. If you didn’t receive your newsletter, please let us know!!

You can renew your membership in multiple ways. You can return your check in the membership envelope. Memberships can be dropped off at the Museum during regular business hours. The easiest way to renew is through the links provided at the Museum of North Texas History website.

Your membership is the “energy” we need to keep the Museum “running.” Thanks for keeping us on the move!!

Renew your membership online.

Bit of History

Each month we will highlight "bits" of North Texas history.

Catherine Young Clack

Wichita County Historical Commission

Mrs. Catherine Young Clack was born in 1905 in Edna, Texas, the daughter of John and Margaret (Hutcheson) Young. She graduated from Edna High School and the University of Texas (B.A. – 1932; M.Ed. – 1932). She married Edward E. Clack and lived in Dallas, working as a teacher and Spanish interpreter. Following her husband’s retirement, they moved to a farm west of Burkburnett.

Mrs. Clack’s interest in history came to her naturally. Her family’s roots have been traced back to the Revolutionary War. Upon moving to the North Texas area, Mrs. Clack began researching and publishing articles relating to local history. She became involved in (what is now called) the Wichita County Historical Commission, ultimately leading the organization for five years.

During Mrs. Clack’s time with the Commission, she was instrumental in increasing the number of historical markers in the county from 16 to 43. Mrs. Clack herself wrote applications for five of those markers: Monroe Dodson, Mabel Gilbert, First Elected County Officials, and Governor James V. Allred. Mrs. Clack championed the preservation of the first municipal airport building, called the “Little Adobe.” (Built in 1928 to serve as an air terminal at Kell Field, adobe revival style-building is now a part of Sheppard Air Force Base.) Wichita County Beginnings, the book documenting the history of Wichita County, was published during her tenure as chair of the Wichita County Historical Commission.

Mrs. Clack was recognized on many occasions for her leadership. She was state president of Delta Kappa Gamma. She was named “Woman of the Year” by the Burkburnett Chamber of Commerce in 1974. In 1981, Mrs. Clack received the first Historical Preservation award from the Wichita County Historical Commission.

When told of her death in 1983, then Wichita County Judge Tom Bacus described Mrs. Clack as a true lady who had the sincerest desire to preserve the history of the area. He further expressed that the citizens of the county were indebted to her for her devotion to the people and history of the county.

The Nat's Hat Project

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS HAT?

The Museum of North Texas History is excited to announce our latest effort to preserve our area’s history, The Nat’s Hats Project. When the Cow Lot Western Wear closed in 2006, owner Nat Fleming donated the over 500 “used” hats that had decorated the walls of the Cow Lot to the Museum of North Texas History. Thanks to the work of many board members, the hats have been displayed in Heritage Hall in the Museum since 2007. Executive Director of the Museum, Madeleine Calcote says “Nat’s Hats is the heart of the Museum’s collection, and we can’t wait to learn more about the amazing people represented in this collection of hats.”

Along with the North Texas Genealogy Association and the Wichita County Archives, the Museum of North Texas History wants to tell the stories of these hats and further preserve the history of our area. If you, a family member, friend, or neighbor has a hat in the exhibit, we would like to talk to you. Please email Archives@co.wichita.tx.us for more information.

UPCOMING EXHIBITS

“Rural Texas Women at Work” pays tribute to our rural grandmothers and their families in the middle third of the 20th century. Industrious and enterprising, rural Texas women performed the common tasks of housewives everywhere—cooking, housekeeping, and doing laundry. In addition, they raised large gardens, tended flocks of poultry, canned and preserved foods for their families, made and repaired furnishings, picked cotton, drove tractors, and took over the men’s work during World War II.

(Photo and text from Humanities, Texas)

100^th Anniversary of MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY-TEXAS

Wichita Falls Junior College opened in September 1922, the second municipal junior college in Texas. It was operated by the Wichita Falls Independent School District and superintendent Randolph Lee Clark. Its liberal arts curriculum drew fifty-five freshmen that fall. Classes met in the high school on Broad Street. What a change 100 years brings!

(Photo from MSU Texas; Text from Texas State History Online)

German-Texas Settlers

The largest ethnic group in Texas derived directly from Europe was persons of German birth or descent. As early as 1850, they constituted more than 5 percent of the total Texas population, a proportion that remained constant through the remainder of the nineteenth century.

From their first immigration to Texas in the 1830s, the Germans tended to cluster in ethnic enclaves. A majority settled in a broad, fragmented belt across the south-central part of the state.

(From Texas State History Online)