Anahuac, TX. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Bike Tour, Sept. 8th. Texas Gator Fest, Sept. 12-15. Japanese Surrender. Ford Falcon. Happy Labor Day.

 

For “Travel Tuesday”: Let’s visit Anahuac, TX in the Texas Gulf Coast region.

“Home to some of the best beaches in America, the Texas Gulf Coast region draws millions of visitors to this Texas playground. Stretching some 350 miles from South Padre Island & the Rio Grande Valley, all the way to Beaumont & the Louisiana border, this region is renowned for its wildlife & natural beauty, as well as the home of America's space program. Discover the Beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast Region.”

The Story of Early Anahuac: The Beginning

“Nestled along the banks of the Trinity River in present day Chambers County; lies the historic town of Anahuac. For over 150 years this small sight played a significant part in early Texas History. It has a colorful past, and is a tale worth retelling. The earliest inhabitants of the Texas coast were members of the Karankawa Indian tribe. Made up of several bands, including the Cocos, and the Kopans, the Karankawas were a nomadic people, moving with the change in climate and the availability of food. They ranged all long the Gulf from near Galveston Bay to present day Corpus Christi.

Their name is generally believed to mean "dog raisers" due to the canine like animals kept by the tribes for hunting game. Archeological evidence from skeletal remains indicates that the Karankawa were an unusually tall race, with strong limbs and broad facial features. They were excellent runners and swimmers capable of long endurance.

The Mexican term Anáhuac comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. The name has various meanings, including "center", "world", and "city", but it also means "capital". Anáhuac is the pre-Columbian name of the Valley of Mexico and its former lake basins around Mexico City, often including the Lerma and Pánuco river systems. Despite the name, neither the city of Anahuac, Texas nor the immediate region were ever part of the Aztec Empire.

Other sources say that the first dwellers in this area were the Anahuaconian Indians. In 1721, Frenchman Jean Baptiste de La Harpe reached this area. The area became known under the name Perry's Point, named after Colonel Harry Perry, who erected a military post here in 1816.

First hand accounts from the first Spanish explorers mention the practice of using rendered alligator grease for protection against mosquitoes and flying gnats. The smell must have been overpowering! One of the most persistent stories regarding this tribe is the alleged practice of cannibalism. While there is actually some evidence to support these stories, most acts of cannibalism were performed on an enemy to gain their strengths, NOT out of pure hunger. Feared and hated by the settlers, the struggle to defeat them was ruthless. Despite coming to the aide of the Texans during the revolution, the tribes were forever treated as enemies. Numerous attempts at treaties would fail and by 1858, the few remaining members of the tribe were annihilated by Texan forces led by Juan N. Cortina.

Established in the 1830s by the Mexican Government as the capital of Texas, Anahuac (pronounced "anna-WHACK") is one of the oldest settlements in Texas. It was at Fort Anahuac that Texans first rose up in opposition to the Mexican Government, a resistance which culminated in the Texans winning their freedom from Mexico in 1836. There are over 30 official Texas Historical Markers throughout the area, including a 1936 Centennial Marker, commemorating this historical site and the people, places and events which ultimately led to Texas` independence.”

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

“In addition to its historical significance, Anahuac and the surrounding area is a naturalist's delight! With its prolific wildlife and its beautiful waterways and estuaries, Anahuac attracts a cross-section of tourists from bird watchers to hunters and fishermen. The City of Anahuac is the county seat for Chambers County and is the home of over 2200 people.

Southeast of the city of Anahuac is the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge which is popular among birdwatchers because almost 250 species of birds (see external link) have been reported there. Anahuac NWR is home to several species of marsh birds called rails including Yellow Rail, Clapper Rail and Black Rail.

 

The 1935 discoveries of the Anahuac and Turtle Bay oilfields brought another period of economic development for Anahuac. Voters approved the incorporation of the city of Anahuac on October 30, 1948, and elected attorney Everett Cain mayor on January 8, 1949. The Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge is located sixteen miles southeast of Anahuac. The Anahuac Area Chamber of Commerce organized the first annual Gatorfest in September 1989, an event that drew 14,000 people to Fort Anahuac Park.”

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 September is a busy month in Anahuac:

2013 Texas Gatorfest Festivities

Schedule

Thursday, September 12

6 pm  Gates Open
6 pm–Midnight  Food/Drink Booths & Beer Garden
6 pm–Midnight  Carnival Rides
6 pm–Midnight  Attractions & Merchant Vendors
6 – 8 pm   Airboat Rides
6:30 pm  BGS – High Street Band
8:30 pm  BGS – Jason Cassidy
10:30 pm  BGS – Aaron Watson Band
Midnight   Gates Close

Friday, September 13

6 pm  Gates Open
6 pm–Midnight  Food/Drink Booths & Beer Garden
6 pm–Midnight  Carnival Rides
6 pm–Midnight  Attractions & Merchant Vendors
6 – 8 pm  Airboat Rides
6:30 pm  Seth Candan & Company
8:30 pm  Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band
10:30 pm  Wayne Toups & ZyDeCajun
Midnight  Gates Close

Saturday, September 14

7 am – Noon  Fly In @ Chambers Co. Airport Anahuac
10 am  Gates Open
10 am–Midnight  Food/Drink Booths & Beer Garden
10 am–Midnight  Carnival Rides
10 am–Midnight  Attractions & Merchant Vendors
10 am–Midnight  Marsh Pit Stage & Karaoke
10 am – 6 pm  The Great Texas Alligator Roundup
10 am – 8 pm  Airboat Rides
10 am – 8 pm  Alligator Education Tent
10:30 am  Gator Motorcycle run
11 am  Trinity River Boat Tour
12 noon  Trinity River Boat Tour
12 noon  BGS – 11th Hour
1 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
1 – 7 pm  Misc. Stiltwalkers & Clowns
2 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
2:30 pm  BGS – Jody Booth
3 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
4 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
4:30 pm  BGS – Quaker City Night Hawks
5 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
6 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
6:30 pm  BGS – Whiskey Myers
8:30 pm  BGS – Stoney LaRue
10:30 pm  BGS – Josh Abbott Band
Midnight  Gates Close

Sunday, September 15

Noon  Gates Open

Noon – 6 pm  Food/Drink Booths & Beer Garden
Noon – 6 pm  Carnival Rides
Noon – 6 pm  Attractions & Merchant Vendors
Noon – 6 pm  Marsh Pit Stage & Karaoke
Noon – 6 pm The Great Texas Alligator Roundup
Noon – 6 pm  Airboat Rides
Noon – 6 pm  Alligator Education Tent

Noon  BGS – Mark IV Band
1 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
1 – 5 pm  Misc. Stiltwalkers & Clowns
2 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
2:30 pm  BGS – Buck Yeager Band
3 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
4 pm  Trinity River Boat Tour
4:30 pm  BGS – Al White

 

Alligators, a boat tour to see the wildlife and a mud the dress all in one day??? Yup! We will start with a early morning boat ride to see if we can catch a glimpse of the wildlife in Anahuac that will include birds, snakes, alligators, etc. Then we will move to a location for a mud the dress shoot. 

The time is getting near that we’ve all been waiting for – the 2013 Texas Gatorfest!  Savor the foods from a wide variety of vendors, shop our Merchant Booths, ride the carnival rides, hear live music, see the Stiltwalkers, interact with the Clowns, take Riverboat Tours and Airboat rides, watch the Great Texas Alligator Roundup and the Gator Motorcycle Run.  We’ve got it all and it starts Thursday, September 12th at 6 pm and runs through Sunday, September 15th gate closing.”

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“Welcome to Anahuac - the Alligator Capital of Texas. Come join us for live music, airboats, Cajun food, alligators, carnival rides and much more.”

Texas Gator Fest   Live gators ...

 

“Anahuac is the Alligator Capital of Texas. Come to the 2013 Texas Gatorfest for live music, live alligators and a good time.

 

Texas Gatorfest celebrates the alligator which outnumbers our citizens over 3 to 1! Entertainers - Cross Canadian Ragweed and many others.  35,000 attendees expected.”

Fort Anahuac Park, Anahuac Texas

Get Directions

Anahuac - Texas Gatorfest

“This is a short documentary about a town festival in Anahuac, Texas that kicks of the 30 day alligator hunting season.”

Apart from seeing the dead alligators, I hope you enjoyed your visit to Anahuac, TX.

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On This Day:

Allies celebrate V-J Day, Sep 2, 1945:

“On this day in 1945, the USS Missouri hosts the formal surrender of the Japanese government to the Allies. Victory over Japan was celebrated back in the States.”

“Japanese Surrender - A Rare Record Of History - Amazing Footage Sept 2, 1945.

This film is believed to have never been seen before, only shots of the surrender were known.  If you are a history buff you will enjoy this. General McArthur's voice is a rarity in these old film clips. This is an actual film made of the surrender ceremony of the Japanese to McArthur in Tokyo Bay in September 1945.

Interesting the other signers to the document, from New Zealand/Australia to Europe/Russia.  We always saw the "stills" but never the film itself.  Click here: Japanese Surrender”

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Ford introduces the compact, fuel-efficient Falcon, Sep 2, 1959:

“On September 2, 1959, at a news conference broadcast to viewers in 21 cities on closed-circuit television, Henry Ford II introduces his company's newest car--the 90-horsepower, 30 miles-per-gallon Falcon. The Falcon, dubbed "the small car with the big car feel," was an overnight success. It went on sale that October 8 and by October 9, dealers had snapped up every one of the 97,000 cars in the first production run.

In 1959, each one of Detroit's Big Three automakers began to sell a smaller, zippier, lower-priced car: Ford had the Falcon, while General Motors had the Corvair and Chevrolet had the Valiant.

After years of building huge, gas-guzzling, lavishly be-finned cars, American companies entered the small-car market because European carmakers like Volkswagen, Fiat, and Renault were selling their little cars to American buyers by the thousands. (Foreign-car sales in the United States had jumped 1,060 percent since 1954 and accounted for about 10 percent of the nation's new-car sales.) Executives in Detroit hoped that cars like the Falcon would "drive the imports back to their shores."

Mostly, people liked these smaller cars because they were inexpensive. The Falcon cost about $1,900 (about $14,029 in today's dollars)--still much more expensive than even the priciest of the European imports (the Triumph and the Simca sold for about $1,600, while a Fiat, the cheapest car you could buy, cost about $1,000), but more affordable than any other American car. In addition, more fuel-efficient cars like the Falcon also saved their drivers money on gas.

Many people believed that the introduction of American compact cars would permanently transform the automobile industry. The "desire of American car buyers for sensible automobiles," one industry executive told a reporter, would soon make big, inefficient cars obsolete. Unfortunately, though the Falcon was an immediate sensation--Ford sold more than a million of them in the car's first two years on the market, and its design went on to inspire the iconic Ford Mustang--this did not prove to be the case. Today, small cars account for less than 20 percent of new-car sales.”

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Labor Day

“In the United States, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

End of summer, Labor Day has come to be celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable to wear white or seersucker.

In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. NCAA teams usually play their first games the weekend of Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race was held that day from 1950 to 1983 in Darlington, South Carolina. At Indianapolis Raceway Par, the National Hot Rod Association hold their finals to the U.S. Nationals drag race. Labor Day is the middle point between weeks 1 and 2 of the US Open Tennis Championships held in Flushing Meadows, NY.”

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Yesterday:

Misty and I went to get Jay, and had our walk down there.  We put one more metal section on the roof, this time it is where the screen porch and front porch roofs meet. The next panel will be a translucent one over the front door.

We can’t do much more to that area, until Ray paints it, hopefully, today.