On November 17, 2012, the museum held a very successful yard sale and enjoyed several great events also. Honored with new cowboy hats were Lawrence Coffee and Kent Fortune, as these gentlemen have continuously assisted with tours and guided the museum with their knowledge. Plus they loaned us a lot of the neat stuff being displayed in the museum!
We have opened the new exhibit with the 212-year-old Bible. This Bible was given to John Hamilton Pickens in November of 1800 by the Blocker brothers as a gift to the winner of a rodeo held in Kansas. The Blocker brothers owned a ranch here in Blanco County, which at one time owned the XIT brand. This famous brand was given to the Blockers by a man named Barbeque Campbell for their ranch here in Blanco County. Later, when Barbeque Campbell became foreman of the largest section of land in Texas, he was seeking a brand for this land. It was at this time that the Blocker brothers gave the brand back to Barbeque. It was said that the XIT meant ten in Texas? Well, I’m not sure of that but it makes a great story and, as you are aware, the XIT was the most famous of the ranches in Texas. The Blocker brothers drove cattle to Kansas and many of our Blanco County residents rode with them. A Casparis from Johnson City was one of their good friends and drover. This fact can be found in The History of Blanco County and Blanco County Families for 100 Years by John Stribling Moursund.
Now back to my Bible story - a family genealogy has come with this Bible from the great-grandson of John Hamilton Pickens, Mr. Homer Pickens, along with pictures that are being displayed along with the Bible. Dear Readers, Mr. Homer has quite a family history also. Homer’s father was one of the gentlemen who found the original Smokey the Bear and took it to Washington.
Do you know your family history? I have been working on mine for years now after finding a story of Jesse Lawhon being killed by the Indians while cleaning out a dresser drawer of my father’s after his death. And yes, Jesse was my great-great-grandfather, killed in 1855 while working as an overseer for William Early Jones right here in what was still the area that became Blanco County. Want to know more about your family? Well, try genealogy to track those lost relatives down, but don’t expect everyone in your family to be famous or of good moral character.
We had a demonstration of horse massage by Cheri Lightfoot. I had never thought that animals could be stressed and would enjoy a massage like their human owners but the horse really relaxed and enjoyed his massage. We thank Cheri very much for educating us on this type of hands-on healing for animals.
Music filled the rest of our afternoon as Alex Dormont played the guitar and sang western songs from both the past and the present. He certainly is welcome to come back! Next, Lawrence and Patty Coffee played their guitars and sang good old gospel music like the pioneers sang. Thanks to all of our musicians.
Sorry you missed a great afternoon, if you did not visit us on November 17, but we are planning another event so keep reading our articles in the paper for future announcements.
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