My Momma was a Texas girl raised in New Mexico. Her Momma, My Love Grammy, and all her sisters and brothers were born in Texas and still lived in Texas. (Except for Gram and Lois). My Grandfather was also a Texas boy, although born in the last land rush of Oklahoma, but raised in Texas.
Every year of my growing up we went to Texas for part of the summer. The year Walt Disney produced the movie DAVY CROCKETT it was smitten with the history of the Alamo. I wanted to go! I begged and asked, and probably whined…in general I was probably very irritating.
My wonderful great aunts and my hero great uncle Fred and my fun great Aunt Marie (we stayed with them at their ranch in Junction, Texas) told my parents they would take us to San Antonio to see the Alamo.
(Google maps)
So we all dressed up (back then all women wore hands, gloves, and hose, even little girls had gloves and hats) got in Fred’s big car and made the almost two hour trip to the ALAMO!!! I was soooooooooo excited.
Not only was I going to get to see the Alamo, but I was going to get to see a real picture of Davy Crockett! Of course it didn’t enter my mind that the REAL Davy Crockett wasn’t the same as Fess Parker. I just knew he was going to look just as daring and handsome and wonderful as Walt Disney could ever portray him!
There a many things I remember about that trip…how hot it was. How old the Alamo looked, the many displays of the battle…being allowed to stand and stare all I wanted at whatever I was interested in…and how UNLIKE Fess Parker looked like the REAL Davy Crockett. (I laugh about that now.)
It was the ‘opening of my eyes’ that if you see it in the movies…it just might not ALL be true. It also told me that history really was a real thing and even today you can make it come alive. I think this was the step that turned me toward studies of history and genealogy.
Momma gave me this photo when I was about twelve. I’ve kept it ever since…just to remember the Alamo!
Your friend,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
i was surprised at how small the alamo looked in real life. 🙂
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what a pleasant surprise to see a photo from my home. Howdy from Texas
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What a great post. And what a gorgeous picture. You are darling!!!! In fact, everyone is just way too attractive. Now, can we please just talk about how cute Fess Parker was? I watched Daniel Boone in reruns when I was a kid and already knew that his lower lip was sorta special.
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What a wonderful story and great memories. I love history and would to visit the Alamo. I have to admit that you looked good in your hat and gloves. I’m glad you had a good visit to the Alamo.
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Believe it or not, I lived in Texas for 12 years –and never got to the Alamo…. Crazy, huh???? George and I have talked about going sometime.
Love reading about your memories going there… Love the photo… You were a cute little girl –just like you are now!!!! Yes–I remember wearing hats and gloves when I was little–especially to church!
Hugs,
Betsy
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Fess Parker died in 2010, but his winery and resort still exist in the Santa Barbara area in California. Davy Crockett was a big deal in our house. When my brother was about 10 he found a dead raccoon down by the creek and snatched it up to make himself a coonskin hat. He even draped it over his head to see how the tail would hang. It took my mom a long time to wash all the fleas out of his hair. She was pretty griped, buried the carcass in the fields if I recall, a big disappointment to little brother.
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What a little doll you were with your fancy dress and little hat. I have always imagined Fess Parker looking like Davy Crockett.
Taking children to historic sites is very important to give them a sense of their present time.
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What a cool picture. And the memories. 🙂
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I was in my 60s before I saw the Alamo and was shocked at how small it was….at least I already knew fess Parker was just an actor! But the movies had me expecting a bigger building.
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Adorable!
I loved visiting San Antonio a few years back. Didn’t miss visiting the Alamo!
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What a neat picture!! You were adorable in your pretty dress, hat, gloves and purse!! I have been to the Alamo, but it was closed that day, so didn’t get to go inside. It was only 108 degrees that day, the huge trees around it made great shade to stand in. As I have gotten older, I have become more interested in history.
And, Fess Parker!!!!! He was my absolute hero! Loved him in Gentle Ben, too, remember?!
I’ve been in Texas 30 years, so think that makes me a Texan!
Blessings!
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Awww…..love the picture! Love the story about the Alamo. Memories are best!
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A real cowboy girl from Texas…wow! wow! wow!
When I was about 12 years of age I wanted to go to Texas, I had seen the film Blue Grass of Kentucky and I badly wanted to be a cowgirl with a big white horse like Trigger. My Mum said it was not possible as we lived in London and there was nowhere to keep a horse.
My Grandma said that if I could ever save up enough pennies to buy a horse we could keep it in her garden , but there was a provision: We had to allow Grandma to attach her basket to the horses tail when she went to market every week…seemed a reasonable request.
I spent many months and years thinking of going to Texas on this big white horse. I so wanted to be a cowgirl.
I was leaving from Grandma’s house in Essex, galloping across land and sea until I reached Texas.
Wonderful dreams, wonderful memories but not like reality at all……
Loved your photo of the family and what a great story…you can tell when people has reached 65..they start looking back instead of forward…just like me!!!!! but that is what memories are for…
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We too love seeing the REAL THING as it is today and not how movies have portrayed it. So many places in US to go and see though sadly so few actually do. I am glad you got to go and have such a nice photo and all the memories too.
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That would be pretty darn awesome, going to see the Alamo!
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Are you cute or what! All dressed up for your big trip! What a great photo to remember your trip! I have never been there, but I too thought Davy Crockett was something special! Davy, Davy Crockett king of the wild frontier:)
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We went to The Alamo about five years ago because, like you, I had always wanted to go.
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I got to visit the Alamo when I was six or seven years old. I had not ever seen the movie you wrote about, but I do recall getting teary eyed when I found out that the defenders of the fort all died. I’ve wanted to go back and visit it again, but haven’t had the chance yet. Unlike your picture with everyone looking so fine, when I went our family was dressed in a much less fashionable attire. 🙂
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Great memories.
I saw the Alamo when I was stationed in Texas. It’s pretty impressive if you remember all the history it holds.
Wonderful post, Linda. ♥
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I always enjoy your Delta scenes and journaling, but this was a nice excursion into my now-home state. My dad, and his dad were Texans, so I have roots here. I like your Alamo recollections. When I took my younger son there once on a weekend “buddy trip” years ago the dioramas really illustrated what it looked like before the big city was built around it. Joe looked at the battlefield and the thousands of “soldiers” in Santa Ana’s army surrounding it and said: “Dad, they didn’t have a chance, did they?” Wow. So, much as I am partial to western Colorado, I have come to appreciate Texas, its history, and its people.
Thanks, Linda.
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Great story, Linda! It’s good to remember how important trips are for children and how trips like that shape lives forever.
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