McKinney -- No doubt you would expect the person designated as the Texas State Historian to be quite an informative speaker, but you just might be surprised at how much fun history can be when Dr. Light Cummins is at the podium.
Cummins was at The Pantry Restaurant in McKinney on Friday, July 17 as the first speaker in a series of lectures sponsored by North Texas History Center. Vicki Day, Executive Director of NTHC, introduced the renowned historian.
Dr. Cummins, the Guy M. Bryan Professor of American History at Austin College in Sherman, Texas proudly bears the mantle of Texas State Historian these days. He is also a former member of the Louisiana Historical Association Board of Directors, was a Fulbright Scholar to Spain and received a Ph.D. in history from Tulane University.
Still, even those impressive credentials don't always guarantee a hearty welcome on the lecture circuit in today's political climate.
"Sometimes," Dr. Cummins remarked tongue-in-cheek, "you feel a little like the Socialist Party candidate campaigning in Highland Park."
To appreciate the perspective behind that observation, it is important to note that Cummins served his country as an intelligence officer for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era.
North Texas History Center invited Cummins to be the first speaker in what has already proved to be a fascinating lecture series and his talk was centered on the myths and mythology of Texas. Some of our Lone Star myths are fairly accurate derivatives of the larger-than-life people and events that are woven into the very fabric of what it means to be a Texan. Some are somewhat distorted accounts of pioneer Texans and the challenges they met head on. And others are fictional fabrications designed to take advantage of the world famous heritage Texas enjoys.
When Cummins speaks of "branding," he doesn't mean the West Texas cowboys who still rope calves and drag them to the branding iron. He tosses around the term with the same implications you would expect from an advertising executive. He means LBJ pushing that now-famous Johnson hat back on his head so he can look over the ranch while photographers snap away.
To be fair, Johnson's place in history is firmly built on the advancement of civil rights during his administration, his War on Poverty, legislation enacting Medicare and Medicaid and many other worthy facets of the Great Society. But LBJ was also a cunning politician that understood which side of the bread the butter went on and he played the role of "good ol' Texan" to the hilt, exaggerating his poor upbringing and purchasing the ranch that served as a fitting backdrop after becoming a U.S. Senator.
"Just how poor can you be," Dr. Cummins rhetorically asked his audience in McKinney, "when you are born near a town named after your family?"
Johnson, in fact, had a rather modest beginning, although it does seem he embellished the situation. Contrast that with Sam Rayburn, Johnson's mentor. As a child, Rayburn rode a train out of Tennessee in the late 19th century during the great exodus to Texas. Rayburn grew up dirt poor on a farm in Fannin County and would frankly admit that education saved him from a lifetime of poverty, yet he dressed like the conservative lawyer that he was and would have bristled at the idea of branding an image. "Bristled" is probably an understatement, actually. Was Sam Rayburn more authentic? Was LBJ more complex? Was Texas simply changing?
Perhaps the answer to all three is yes.
The change continues, too.
For a variety of reasons, the last two presidents from Texas saw no need to cultivate the familiar image of what it means to be a Texan. George H. Bush and George W. Bush, Cummins observes, were both button-down collar, country club personas not derivative of the wide open spaces. Perhaps as the influx of new residents alters the very image of what it means to be a Texan, the branding has become more sophisticated.
As Texas has become less Anglo, rural and male-dominated, a more diverse cross section becomes part of the mythology. Quanah Parker "has now been discovered" by today's writers, Cummins remarked. The achievements of Babe Zaharias and Barbara Jordan are better appreciated now that Texas is no longer known as a place that is "hard on horses and harder on women."
At the same time, historians are hard-pressed to preserve the legacy of the Lone Star State.
"No one even knows of Bigfoot Wallace," lamented Cummins in reference to the legendary Texas Ranger.
Allen, Texas is no longer famous for being the site of one of the last remaining stone dams built to supply water for steam locomotives. The city is better known as the home of the biggest high school marching band in Texas.
Cummins told the audience to appreciate the unique shops and restaurants around the McKinney Square. Today's youth feel as though they have achieved pioneer status when they discover a new chain restaurant, he added with a smile.
To the delight of the crowd, Cummins told of a relative of his from many years ago that refused to take delivery of his new Ford until the dealer brought him one with a sticker that read, "Made in Texas by Texans."
As the laughter died down, the Texas State Historian noted this would be that last generation to appreciate the humor from that situation.
At one time, practically all Texans were historians and certainly every family had an historian to educate young people about the mythology of Texas.
By the time today's children reach adulthood, the myth of Texas will be consigned to museums.
"When, now, do you hear of a school named after James Butler Bonham or Robert E. Lee?" Cummins asked as he looked around the room.
Was Texas a land filled with tumbleweeds or a land filled with families hoeing weeds in a cotton patch? That answer would depend on whether your reference was East Texas or West Texas. Will North Texas be remembered for smartly-dressed cowboys in ginger shirts or families posing in front of hastily built frame houses with bleak-faced children holding the halter rope to a milk cow? One version is marketable and the other much closer to the truth.
"That is why what is happening at North Texas History Center is so important," Dr. Cummins remarked.
This series continues through October and benefits North Texas History Center.
The next lecture is at 7 p.m. Friday, August 21 and features Mike Howard, who was a Secret Service agent for the Johnson and Kennedy families. He’ll be talking about his experiences.
Purchase tickets in person at NTHC, via telephone at (972) 542-9457, or in the online gift shop at www.northtexashistorycenter.org.