We are Making History!

Big Spring in the Snow - DallasTrinityTrails.blogspot.com

I really can't watch anymore....come on Cowboys!

Better do this and get the mind off the game.

We are making history! How is that you ask?

If you have been keeping up with the blog, though I have been rather slow in writing, you have seen information about Big Spring. Yes, a Spring that still flows in Dallas. Books have been written about the number of springs in Texas, but this area was not covered well due to the fact that too many springs here were already gone and others were unknown or had been forgotten.

Oh no, I saw the final score. Good try guys...

So back to the history making part. If you live in Dallas you will be aware of the Preservation for historical structures and places like Fair Park for all of the fabulous art work and buildings, love that place! But never has a place without structures been designated an Historical Landmark, until now, well almost.

For the past 2 years we have been working to establish long lasting recognition for Big Spring due to its historical connection with Dallas. Margaret Beeman Bryan and John Neely Bryan, credited with the founding of Dallas, lived there after the Civil War. Margaret sold it to the Pemberton family. Billy Ray and Zada Pemberton still own part of that land today. The Spring section was purchased by the City of Dallas (COD) from another part of the Pemberton family. This important connection makes it a place to be preserved and protected.

               Billy Ray Pemberton, Jill Jordan COD, and MC Toyer, descendant of the Beeman family

                                                                                                      photo by dallastrinitytrails.blogspot.com

We asked the COD how to make that happen and with the help of Mark Doty, senior planner for City of Dallas Historic Preservation, the Dallas Landmark Designation is in the works of being finalized. This is a new approach for the Department and the City to recognize that there are very special areas of Dallas, sans buildings, that should be recognized for their place in our history. It has also been speculated that the Spring Sam Houston visited, recorded in his journal on his way to Byrds Fort to sign a treaty with the Indians, was in fact Big Spring. History here in the Great Trinity Forest.

We are working with the City and LAERF to make sure that this place will be here for all of us to enjoy and that we will continue to learn about the history, both the natural history and settlement history, of this beautiful place. We call ourselves the Pemberton Preservation League, a loosely formed group of individuals that have degrees in areas ranging from Archaeology, Paleontology, Wildlife Biology, Education, Finance, Engineering, Construction and more. Some are retired but many are not. Some have military backgrounds. The common thread is the connection with the land and the desire to preserve our history. On we continue to make it happen.

Making Nature "Better"?

Little Bluestem and Downtown Dallas                  Photo by Becky Rader

This seemingly disconnected image between Nature and the City has been a long standing factor, not only here but everywhere.  In the past 75 years we have grown from a country that was predominantly an agrarian society to one that is now an urban populated one.  We now have little connection to the natural world, as we once did just a short time ago. Yes, things have changed....but what have we lost?

In the constant rush to build it and they will come scenario, the value of natural open area is often ignored.  To a developer or an engineer, the land and the natural resources have no value unless there is a road or a building on it.  It is argued that this is part of economic development and I argue that without it there is a loss to our quality of life.  

I know many business people, lawyers, scientists, educators, bankers, and more that choose to spend their free time hiking trails, riding bikes, bird watching, and taking pictures of natural areas to de-stress from the everyday rat race.  Is this advantageous to the City?  You bet!  There are now studies that show a direct correlation in improvement of work or study when the availability of natural areas are offered and used.  These studies are not news to most educators that are connected with environmental education, for those of us in this field it is common knowledge.  But now we have those studies to back up what we already knew.

Richard Louv wrote a book that was published in 2005 that became a voice for this, " Last Child In The Woods".  A must read for anyone interested in the health and well being of our children.  The book became a sensation and has created an international following with nature clubs being established, and yes, even cities joining up to provide the best for our children.  It has become a movement, the Children and Nature Network or CNN, www.childrenandnature.org   The website is filled with the latest research and so much more.  And not only for children, his latest book, "The Nature Principle" is focused on the need for all of us, yes adults too, to have a connection to the natural world.

We have so much opportunity to be recognized as a City that realizes this is a value that cannot or should not be ignored.  The Value is in fact monetary, how much would it cost to re-create a system that cleans the water like a wetland, to try and create something that cleans the polluted air better than plants and yes, all plants clean the air and provide oxygen...not just trees, or to allow natural diversity which is necessary for a healthy ecosystem.  Each of these and more are part of the systems that are necessary for our health and well being; clean water, clean air, and open areas to allow diversity of plants and animals and places for us to walk...the bonus factor which leads to quality of life.

The City is taking strides to embrace this with the Trinity Project, but care needs to be given so that those systems that have been in place for centuries are still allowed to function.  Springs and wetlands are much more than beautiful places to visit and observe wildlife.  They provide clean water for the Trinity River which is used by millions of people and animals as their main source of water.  It is the source for the nurseries in the brackish waters of the estuaries at Trinity Bay in the Gulf which is the place for shrimp, fish, mussels and oysters to begin the cycle of life.  Care must be taken and responsibility for that begins here.

The open land itself serves as the place where rain water is absorbed into the ground, replenishing the groundwater and deep aquifers. Those sources provide the springs and creeks which flow into the river.  It is also the place where raptors and other predators hunt for their prey.  Open land with native flora and fauna is a place to connect with nature and teach our children to do the same.  Let's not destroy that which already exists to make it "better".  Nature has already accomplished that.

 

A Close Look at the Hall of State Doors

Symbols

Every time I enter this iconic building I notice something new.  But perhaps my favorite work of art in this beautifully constructed building begins with the bronze doors under the Tejas Warrior sculpture.

There are five pairs of doors which open from the rotunda entry way into vestibules leading into the Hall of Heroes.  The doors contain symbols designed by Donald Barthelme, the architect/designer of the Hall of State.  Each of the sections contained in the sculpted door panels is a symbol of the industries that made Texas what it is, leading up to the year of the Centennial, 1936.

Above is the most recognized one for many who visit the building. It represents the ranching industry which carried the backbone of this state's economy for decades.  The ranching industry is still significant, but no longer is the predominant industry.  

You will notice that the representative steer is not a Longhorn.  It is a Shorthorn or a Hereford, breeds that were introduced to replace the legendary Longhorn, a hardy breed that traveled the cattle drive trails providing wealth for many. 

The Rattlesnake is symbolized, common on ranches and a part of life in the country, even today.  

The zig-zag line above and below the steer head represents barbed wire.  The closing of the open range.  There were even range wars over this, disagreements over closing off open land and dividing it up into smaller parcels which limited the access to grass and water for the huge free-roaming herds cattle.  

So much history here that is a part of who we are and how we came to be in this state.  But looking up at     the Tejas Warrior we should not forget that for at least 10,000 years there were others here before us.  Lessons still to be learned, and history not to be forgotten.