“When we got that, we thought we’ve got something,” Hecker said.īy 1987, the pair had recorded 28 oral histories - noteworthy Texans describing in great detail their childhoods and the people and circumstances that shaped their foundation for success later in life.īut the typewritten manuscript languished in file drawers for 27 years while more than two dozen rejections came in from book publishers.Īfter working together at the newspaper for almost four years in the early 1980s, the authors had gone in different directions. The first people the authors interviewed were folklorist and character actor Guich Koock (born in Austin), interviewed at the Menger Hotel bar in San Antonio author and feminist Liz Carpenter (born in Salado), interviewed at the LBJ Library in Austin and Lady Bird Johnson (born in Karnack), interviewed at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall.īilly Joe “Red” McCombs, pictured as a red-haired infant in his hometown of Spur, played football and was a Boy Scout before he grew up to be a successful businessman and philanthropist. “No one can understand Texas and not understand how closely people are tied to the land.” “When you’re from Texas, you share a respect for the land,” Rather says. He gained fame covering Hurricane Carla on TV in 1961, but in the book he recalls riding soft-shell turtles the size of a washtub in the thicket behind Buffalo Bayou as a kid.
In his chapter of the book, the Wharton-born newsman vividly describes the smells of the salty air in Galveston, the rich, black land of Bloomington (near Victoria) and the pines of Nacogdoches. He was in his desk chair with his black cowboy boots propped up on his desk, getting word from his secretary that UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was waiting on the phone. Rather’s oral history was recorded in his office in New York City. It was the same year that “60 Minutes” correspondent Dan Rather succeeded legendary newsman Walter Cronkite to become the face of CBS Evening News. She and Odom wrote in the book’s introduction that Texas had captured the imagination of America, “seemingly branding a big T on entertainment, politics, publishing and even network news” at the time. “Texas was hot,” said Hecker, pointing to the presence of everything Texas in pop culture and politics. Bush, a former Texas congressman, as his vice president. Both were dispatched to the nation’s capital to cover black-tie-and-boots inaugural parties when newly elected President Ronald Reagan moved into the White House with George H.W.
Hecker and Odom started the project in 1981 when they worked in the features department of the San Antonio Express-News.
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