The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988 Page: 123

Book Reviews

units in the park system, including Glacier, Grand Canyon, Big Bend,
and Yellowstone National Parks. In addition, Garrison was superinten-
dent of the Horace Albright Training Center at the Grand Canyon, direc-
tor of the Midwest and Northeast regions, and the first" 'Chief Ranger"
in the Washington office.
Garrison's superintendency at Big Bend National Park is the subject
of one chapter and is of particular interest to Texans. Garrison writes
of the development at Big Bend, or rather the lack of it, in 1953 - 1955.
He describes his experiences controlling candellaria (wax plant) "poachers,"
developing agreeable relations with conservative Big Bend ranchers, work-
ing with Alpine Chamber of Commerce boosters and pistol-packing Mexi-
can government politicos. Following Garrison's retirement, he and In-
ger moved to College Station, Texas, where he became a distinguished
lecturer at Texas A&M University.
This book is not a detailed memoir of Garrison's life, but rather a ram-
bling narrative of his experiences, wanderings, friends, and personal com-
mitments. The author's down-to-earth personality and sense of humor
come through clearly. The book is organized chronologically, except for
one chapter that reviews the organization and function of the National
Park Service during the author's service. While the work is somewhat
narrow in appeal, owing to its focus on a specific subject and person, the
author's pleasing writing style makes it very readable and of interest to
any outdoor enthusiast.
Fort Davis JOHN SUTTON
Lone Stars. A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836 - 1936. By Karoline Patterson
Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. Foreword by Jonathan
Holstein. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986. Pp. 156.
Foreword, preface, acknowledgments, introduction, selected
reading list. $29.95, cloth; $18.95, paper.)
Quilts are much more than they appear to be. Not only a genuine
American art form, they are much like family albums, providing a valuable
understanding of how our forebears lived and persevered. This splendid
volume is an insightful history of sixty-two quilts made in Texas or brought
to the region from the time of the Republic to the Centennial celebra-
tion. Most importantly it is an affectionate acknowledgment of the con-
tributions made to Texas history by women, the primary quilt makers,
who "lived, loved and toiled" (p. 21) in great isolation amid numerous
difficulties.
The authors, who are cousins, were directors of the Texas Quilt Search,
a statewide survey to document and photograph the most interesting an-

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