West Texas Historical Association





Michael Collins speaks on the Texas Rangers

The West Texas Historical Association met in Wichita Falls on April 5 and 6 on the campus of Midwestern  State Univesity. My wife Victoria and I had the pleasure of attending, seeing many friends, and going to some excellent sessions dealing with the history of the western region of the Lone Star State. The West Texas Historical Association is one of the oldest and most venerable historical orgnaizations in the state, having been founded back in 1924. It is currently housed at Texas Tech University where Tad Kriedler is the executive director. As its website notes: "Throughout its long and distinguished history, the WTHA has encompassed a wide range of both professional and non-professional historians--from lawyers and physicians to ranchers, business people, and teachers. Although their interests vary, members share a common desire to preserve the rich history of the West Texas region for present and future generations." One particularly interesting session that I attended featured talks by Michael Collins, Donly Brice, Stephen Hardin, Tom Crum, and Chuck Parson on the subject of the Texas Rangers. It was also a pleasure to see the current Texas State Historian, Bill O'Neal, attending this meeting. He is an acknowledged authority on the western history of Texas, having written a number books on frontier violence, especially outlaws. Bill, like me, maintains a blog about his activities. Click here to see it. Below is a picture of Bill O'Neal autographing one of his books at the meeting.

Bill O'Neal autographs one of his books
at the West Texas Historical Assocation meeting