Tyler, TX. Tyler Rose Festival, Oct 17th-20th. C.S.S. Hunley. Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize.

 

For "Travel Tuesday", Let's visit Tyler, TX, in the Texas Piney Woods region:

"Experience the warmth and Southern hospitality of the Texas Piney Woods Region. This beautiful forest land offers visitors a glimpse of the history of the Republic of Texas and early statehood times. The Texas Piney Woods offers some of the best fishing, down home cooking, championship golf and family activities in the Lone Star State. Discover the Southern Hospitality of the Texas Piney Woods Region."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Tyler’s charming brick streets lead visitors to an array of family attractions, quaint antique shops and unique specialty stores. Outdoor buffs enjoy crystal-clear lakes, challenging golf courses and scenic campgrounds that offer fishing, picnicking, paddle-boating and hike and bike trails.

For those who prefer refined culture, Tyler’s exciting Broadway and ballet performances, symphony concerts, world-class art museums and wonderful cuisine are sure to please any palate!

As a regional educational and technology center, Tyler is the host for more than 20,000 higher education students, a College of Engineering, and a University Health Science Center; two regional billion dollar hospital systems; and a variety of technology startups.    Tyler is also a major medical center which serves the city as well as the surrounding East Texas area.

Children of all ages love Caldwell Zoo, Discovery Science Place and Hudnall Planetarium. Special events throughout the year include the Texas Rose Festival, Azalea & Spring Flower Trail, Festival on the Square and Movies Under the Stars in Bergfeld Park. We invite you to treat yourself to Tyler for a few days or a lifetime!" From: http://www.visittyler.com/

-----

"Tyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, both part of the University of Texas System, Tyler Junior College, and Texas College.

Annually, the Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler.^[16] The festival, which celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy, is held in October and features a parade, the coronation of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. There is also a Rose Museum featuring the history of the Festival. Tyler is home to Caldwell Zoo, several local museums, Lake Palestine, Lake Tyler, and numerous golf courses and country clubs.^[17] A few miles away in Flint, TX is The WaterPark @ The Villages, a year-round, indoor water park. There is also an "Azalea Trail" in Tyler, which are 2 officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with azalea shrubs.^[18] Tyler State Park is a few miles away where visitors can camp, canoe, and paddle boat on the lake. Activities include picnicking; camping; boating (motors allowed - 5 mph speed limit); boat rentals; fishing; birding; hiking; mountain biking and hiking trails; lake swimming (in unsupervised swimming area); and nature study. The Smith County Historical Society operates a museum and archives in the old Carnegie Library.^[19] The East Texas State Fair is held annually in Tyler.^[20] Lake Tyler was the location of the HGTV Dream Home contest in 2005. The 6,500 square feet (600 m²) house briefly boosted tourism and interest in the community. It subsequently was sold at public auction in January, 2008, for 1.325 million dollars.^{[21]    From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler,_Texas}

-------

History:

"Despite the importance of the railroads, agriculture long remained the mainstay of the city's economy. During the early twentieth century cotton was the leading cash crop, accounting for four-fifths of the agricultural income of the county. After the mid-1890s, however, truck farming and fruit orchards became increasingly important as cash crops. By 1900 there were more than one million fruit trees, mainly peach, in the county. When a peach blight wiped out much of the fruit industry, many farmers turned to growing roses, which proved ideally suited to the climate and soil of the Tyler area. By the 1920s the rose industry had developed into a major business, and by the 1940s more than half the U.S. supply of rose bushes was grown within ten miles of Tyler. The flourishing rose business gave rise to the Texas Rose Festival, which has become one of the city's major attractions.

Tyler remained a small agricultural and railroad city until 1930, when the East Texas oilfield was discovered, setting off a huge economic boom. Numerous oil companies and field developers established offices in Tyler, and the city emerged as an important regional center for the oil and gas industry. The population mushroomed to more than 25,000 by 1933 and to 28,279 by 1940.

During World War II the economy received a further boost with the establishment of Camp Fannin ten miles to the northeast; it had a troop capacity of nearly 19,000 at the height of the war. In the 1950s commercial dealings replaced agriculture as the city's economic base. Foremost of these was the petroleum industry. Between 1931 and 1973 more than 167,000,000 barrels of oil were produced in East Texas, contributing to an annual income of $17 million by 1973. Other industries competed with the oil industry in terms of the number of people employed. By 1966, even though the petroleum industry still represented the largest actual monetary expenditure, the metal and fabricating industries involved more workers. The city also had extensive railroad and machine shops; manufacturers of woodwork, furniture, clothing, and fertilizer; cottonseed oil mills; and various types of food-processing plants.

By the middle 1960s Tyler had 125 manufacturing plants employing 8,000 workers. The more important industries included aluminum foundries, petroleum and chemical plants, concrete block plants, a tire factory, machinery manufacturers, and air-conditioning and refrigeration plants. Other significant industries were concerned with timber production and the manufacturing of clothing. Roses, other horticultural production, and cattle and hay production accounted for the most important sources of agricultural receipts.

Also attracting large numbers of visitors is the annual spring Azalea and Flower Trails Festival."  More at: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hdt04

-------

ROSE SEASON

"Each October thousands of visitors flock to Tyler for the excitement and pageantry of the Texas Rose Festival. For the entire month of October, Tyler celebrates the Rose Season with a plethora of activities that range from family fun to educational and cultural events. We welcome you to come and enjoy all Tyler has to offer during this special season.

Nestled in the piney woods of East Texas a short 90 minute drive from Dallas, Tyler is home to the largest municipal rose garden in the United States. Known for its natural beauty, Tyler celebrates it rose growing history during the month of October when the roses are at their peak bloom.

In addition to the Rose Garden, which features more than 32,000 bushes and 600 cultivars, the Rose Season presents horticulture workshops, tours of the renown Chamblee Rose Center specializing in Earthkind® Roses, a Texas Music Festival, the Tyler Rose Marathon, garden tours, the Arts, Crafts and Plant Sale, and so much more.

The highlight of the Season is the Rose Festival, Texas' most beautiful event. You'll be overwhelmed by the unbelievable aroma of hundreds of thousands of roses growing in manicured beds in the Rose Garden. Enjoy "tea with the Queen"; relive the past in the beautiful Rose Museum and be enchanted by courtly costumes at the Queen's Coronation. When your eyes have taken it all in, treat your ears and tap your feet as the bands march by in the Rose Festival Parade. Come see why everyone who visits the Texas Rose Festival leaves saying, "I'll be back!"

Since its beginning in 1933, the Texas Rose Festival has represented the spirit that brings Tyler together as a community.

Rich in heritage and tradition, the Festival offers enchanting ceremonial events - the Queen's Coronation, the Rose Show, the Queen's Tea, the Rose Parade - all amidst a backdrop of brilliant roses as vibrant and colorful as the community they represent.

Mark your calendars for this year's Festival,  October 17th - 20th, 2013." Below are highlights from the 79th annual Texas Rose Festival.  Enjoy! http://vimeo.com/52042367

______

ALL ATTRACTIONS

"For a city its size, Tyler has a large number of quality attractions for visitors (and locals alike) to enjoy. A complete listing of all attractions is below. You may also view them by category by clicking on the above links. We hope you come see them in person soon!" http://www.visittyler.com/attractions.php

--------

I hope that peaked your interest in Tyler, TX.

______

On This Day:

Confederate submarine sinks during tests, Oct 15, 1863:

"On this day in 1863, the C.S.S. Hunley, the world's first successful combat submarine, sinks during a test run, killing its inventor and seven crewmembers.

Horace Lawson Hunley developed the 40-foot submarine from a cylinder boiler. It was operated by a crew of eight—one person steered while the other seven turned a crank that drove the ship's propeller. The Hunley could dive, but it required calm seas for safe operations. It was tested successfully in Alabama's Mobile Bay in the summer of 1863, and Confederate commander General Pierre G.T. Beauregard recognized that the vessel might be useful to ram Union ships and break the blockade of Charleston Harbor. The Hunley was placed on a railcar and shipped to South Carolina.

The submarine experienced problems upon its arrival. During a test run, a crewmember became tangled in part of the craft's machinery and the craft dove with its hatch open; only two men survived the accident. The ship was raised and repaired, but it was difficult to find another crew that was willing to assume the risk of operating the submarine. Its inventor and namesake stepped forward to restore confidence in his creation. On October 15, he took the submarine into Charleston Harbor for another test. In front of a crowd of spectators, the Hunley slipped below the surface and did not reappear. Horace Hunley and his entire crew perished.

Another willing crew was assembled and the Hunley went back into the water. On February 17, 1864, the ship headed out of Charleston Harbor and approached the U.S.S. Housatanic. The Hunley stuck a torpedo into the Yankee ship and then backed away before the explosion. The Housatanic sank in shallow water, and the Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship in battle. However, its first successful mission was also its last—the Hunley sank before it returned to Charleston, taking yet another crew down with it. The vessel was raised in 2000, and is now on exhibit in Charleston."

-------

From me: It's a wonder that submarines ever became popular!

______

Mikhail Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize, Oct 15, 1990:

"Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending Cold War tensions. Since coming to power in 1988, Gorbachev had undertaken to concentrate more effort and funds on his domestic reform plans by going to extraordinary lengths to reach foreign policy understandings with the noncommunist world.

Some of his accomplishments include four summits with President Ronald Reagan, including a 1987 meeting at which an agreement was reached to dismantle the U.S. and USSR intermediate-range missiles in Europe. He also began to remove Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1988 and exerted diplomatic pressure on Cuba and Vietnam to remove their forces from Angola and Kampuchea (Cambodia), respectively. In a 1989 meeting with President George Bush, Gorbachev declared that the Cold War was over.

Gorbachev also earned the respect of many in the West through his policy of non-intervention in the political upheavals that shook the Eastern European "satellite" nations during the late-1980s and early-1990s. When Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, and other Iron Curtain countries began to move toward more democratic political systems and free market economies, Gorbachev kept Soviet intervention in check. (This policy did not extend to the Soviet republics; similar efforts by Lithuania and other republics were met with stern warnings and force to keep the Soviet Socialist Republics together.)"

_______

Yesterday:

I knew that Ray wouldn't be here, so I had made up my mind to bathe Misty, and to vacuum and mop all the linoleum floors. Most of that was done.

Misty was too sound asleep to disturb after her breakfast, so I concentrated on laundry and mopping.  Isn't it strange that as soon as you start to change the sheets that you have feline 'help'!

The day before, little Peekers my new foster kitten, had been let out of his cage for the first time since his surgery and had explored the Grooming Room,… when I wasn't grooming Muffie that is.  Each time I started to work on her, I would put him back in his cage, as I didn't want a confrontation.  Chris, another foster mom, came by with his vaccinations, and to take some pictures of him for his future www.Petfinder.com  webpage.  He behaved beautifully, purring all the time.  She remarked how sweet he is, and she isn't a 'cat person'.  Ray comes to see and hold him each day, and just loves him.  How could his previous 'parents' just dump and abandon such a sweet kitty?

One time, while he was still in his cage, Nala, my foster cat had gone up to the cage and hissed at him, so I didn't know if they would ever be friends.  But yesterday, I let him come in the house and explore.  He seems quite at home, and likes to sleep on my couch.  Nala follows him around as if to say "I wonder who he is?  He had better not take over my territory."  Her 'headquarters' is in my bathroom where she has her three-storey kitty condo, water, food, box etc.  Peekers has claimed the Grooming Room as his area, as his food, water, kitty condo, and box are in there, so I leave that door open.  So far, they are just staying away from each other, but that might change at any time.  At least they aren't fighting.

Last night, when I let Misty out, a little tabby cat came up to me, so I got it some food.  Then I noticed that it was wearing a collar, a dog collar at that, not a cat's break-away collar, and it was really tight around it's neck.  I didn't know if, or when, I would ever see this kitty again, so I knew I had to get it off it's neck.  The collar just wouldn't unsnap, so I carried the cat into the Grooming Room and cut off the collar. The cat was a friendly cat, but that spooked it, and when it scratched me, I quickly let it back outside so I could tend to my dripping wounds.

So I am going around with two hands bandaged today.