The Light and Champion (Center, Tex.), Vol. 138, No. 95, Ed. 1 Friday, November 27, 2015 Page: 4 of 18
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4AI Friday, Nov. 27,2015
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File photo/The Light and Champion
Belated and related: Thanksgiving thoughts
Snyde Comments
Managing Editor
Brothers open stagecoach service to California
This Week in Texas History
Historian
See HAILE, Page 5A
Contact your officials
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The Champion • The East Texas Light ■ The Light and Champion
JLigljt Champion
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Steve
Snyder
Bartee
Haile
20 Years Ago
Week of November 27, 1995
The Light and Champion
• Vandals damaged New Prospect Missionary Baptist
Church • A county hunting accident injured a Lufkin man •
Center’s football playoff run ended in the second round with
a loss to Waco Robinson • Center ISD approved creating a
new computer lab • The Donna Warren home was the Center
Tour of Homes’ hospitality house
40 Years Ago
Week of November 27, 1975
The Champion
• The Champion turned 98 • East Texas had a good
start to deer hunting • John-Boy was in the hospital for a
Thanksgiving special version of ‘The Waltons” • A number of
lights were reported broken at the airport
30 Years Ago
Week of November 27, 1985
The Light and Champion
• Texas’ mandatory seat belt law was set to take effect •
A group of local doctors and investors looked at taking over
Memorial Hospital • Burma Thomas won the women’s bass
fishing title at Lake Sam Rayburn • Editorial cartoonist “J.P.
Doodles” visited Center Elementary • Joaquin began work on
a $1.6 million sewer project • J.R.’s Casa Mesquite restaurant
opened
10 Years Ago
Week of November 27, 2005
The Light and Champion
• The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the current state
tax system for school finance was unconstitutional as a de
facto state property tax • Center ISD began discussions about
a possible new elementary school • Bad weather put a damp-
er on Fly-In activities at the Center airport • The city of Center
had a formal thank-you for volunteers who helped evacuees
from hurricanes Katrina and Rita • The city of Center and
Center Point Energy remained in a dispute over natural gas
rates
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I hope you, Dear Readers,
will indulge me in these belat-
ed thoughts, which are as much
about thankfulness in general as
the holiday.
First, if FDR could change
Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving
date from the last Thursday of No-
vember to the fourth Thursday,
why can’t another president make
it a Friday holiday? Some business-
es close both days (or, as when I
worked at a seven-day newspaper,
gave equivalent time) but others
close just Thursday.
OK, that ends the Andy Rooney
moment, part 1.
Now, for an additional two-
parter.
Of course, the first Europe-
an-American Thanksgiving may
well not have been in New England.
It was possibly in what’s called
Texas today, where Juan de Onate
had a Thanksgiving Mass at San
Elizario, south of El Paso, in 1598.
But, here’s the additional two-
parter.
First, El Paso really should be
part of New Mexico, as this New
Mexico-raised person will sup-
port. (Even today, given a chance,
El Paso itself, and possibly other
chunks of the Trans-Pecos, would
likely vote to shift states.)
Second, that may not be the first
Friday
74°F/62°F
Showers possible
Saturday
a
65°F/51°F
Showers
Tuesday
59°F / 47°F
Showers ending
by midday
Monday
61°F/46°F
Chance of
showers
w
The first load of U.S. Mail left
San Antonio on Nov. 27, 1857 on
a mule-drawn stage bound for San
Diego, California.
At the reins were George and
James Giddings, old hands at
hauling freight and the occasional
paying customer through Indian
infested West Texas. Undeterred
by the fate of their brother Giles,
one of the few Anglo-Americans
killed at the Battle of San Jacinto,
they headed for Texas in 1845.
Taking what looked like a per-
manent detour at Louisville, Ken-
tucky, both came down with small-
pox. Sure his patients had expired,
the attending physician was won-
dering what to do with the bodies,
when George suddenly sat up in
bed and shouted in protest, “I’ll be
damned if I’ll die!”
“Well, I’ll be damned if you
do die!” the doctor exclaimed in
amazement. “You’ve pulled your-
self back to life!”
The hardy Pennsylvanians re-
covered and resumed their jour-
ney to Texas. After seven hair-rais-
ing years on the Lone Star frontier,
they signed on to carry the mail
from San Antonio to Santa Fe, New
health may boost our physical
health, too.
Nothing wrong with a “sound
mind in a sound body,” as the an-
cient Romans knew
That said, “reasonableness” is
part of the equation.
Most mental health profession-
als (which could include clergy
who use psychological princi-
ples along with religious ones in
counseling) would agree that this
doesn’t call for a Pollyanna attitude
of ignoring or whitewashing real
hardships in life. Nor does it call for
triviality, like being thankful I don’t
have dandruff today, or whatever.
Rather, it’s a realistic “attitude
of gratitude” for things like the job
I have, the teamwork that makes
that job easier, the fact that I have
money to buy food, even if it’s
sometimes unhealthy and more.
I noted job teamwork among
things for which to be grateful.
That of course expands to include
family, friends, the ability to enjoy
personal interests of mine, and oth-
er non-material blessings of life.
So, whatever your personal be-
liefs, feel free to be thankful year-
round. (And to take a nice healthy
walk after too much food. This time
of year, it’s often a good time for a
walk to enjoy some fall colors and
fall air, anyway.)
European-American Thanksgiving.
The Spanish may have had such an
event at Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
in 1565. So, both Texas and would-
be New Mexico may not be on the
historic beam.
Beyond that, American Indians
of various tribes certainly had days
and celebrations similar to Thanks-
giving.
That said, according to Wikipe-
dia, Texans and others can proba-
bly thank New Englanders for the
idea of football games on Thanks-
giving.
The idea of thankfulness is cer-
tainly a general one. And, too much
food in general, and too much rich
food in particular, at our Thanks-
giving Day aside, thankfulness in
general can be a healthy activity.
Psychologists note that promot-
ing a generally positive outlook
on life can help our mental health.
And, from there, better mental
Mexico. In the summer of 1857,
the postmaster general awarded
the coveted California contract to
James Birch, who hired the expe-
rienced Giddings boys.
With their invaluable experi-
ence, the inaugural run was made
that November. Postage was three
cents per half ounce for West Coast
delivery, while the full fare for hu-
man cargo to San Diego was a
whopping $200. Passengers going
only as far as El Paso were charged
$100 even though they never left
the confines of the sprawling state.
A ticket cost several times the
average monthly wage, but those
that could afford it rode in style.
The San Antonio-to-San Diego
stage line featured the latest in
modern transportation, the 3,000
* < • 7A . * * • ‘ 1
Remember when...
JR
pound Concord coach. Made of
the finest hickory and equipped
with leather seats, the luxurious
conveyance cushioned the well-
to-do traveler against the ups and
downs of the bumpy road with a
newfangled leather brace suspen-
sion system. While comfort-
able by mid-nineteenth century
standards, the trip to San Diego
was undeniably dangerous. By far
the most perilous part of the route
was the isolated stretch from San
Antonio to El Paso.
Attacks by hostile Indians oc-
curred with frightening frequency
on the first leg of the long journey.
Birch had been in business less
than a month, when a war par-
ty waylaid a passing stagecoach.
George Giddings rode along as
shotgun on the next trip, which
nearly was his last. Renegades am-
bushed the stage coach nine miles
from Fort Davis, forcing the driver
to make a desperate dash for the
sanctuary.
“The six horses were given their
heads and ran all the way to Fort
Davis, the Indians following close
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From the Dec. 1,1995 issue, Scouts Eric Williams, center, and Anthony Burch, right, work on merit badges by helping the Center Fire Department install Christmas
lights on the old courthouse square.
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Snyder, Steve. The Light and Champion (Center, Tex.), Vol. 138, No. 95, Ed. 1 Friday, November 27, 2015, newspaper, November 27, 2015; Center, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1278944/m1/4/?q=music: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library.