In pioneer Texas, the family was under constant assault. Many fathers lost their lives in deadly battles including the revolutionary war against Mexico and the Civil War. Settlers in west Texas were often attacked by marauding Indians and wild beasts. Sometimes both parents died defending the homestead. And then there were rampant diseases that frequently left children as orphans. Having few choices, these orphans had to fend for themselves and hope that someone would provide help. By the...

When visiting the city of Alvin, Texas, you can enjoy a good meal at Joe’s BBQ or Dairy Land. Or you may dine at the historic Stanton’s Shopping Center which has been providing groceries, meats, clothing, fabric, housewares, hardware, and a fountain area for meals for over 100 years!   Additionally, Alvin has several notable athletes who grew up in their fine city.  Some of them include MLB pitchers Nolan Ryan and Nathan Eovaldi, NFL quarterback Joe Ferguson, and sprint car racing champion...

In the mid-19th Century, when Texas was struggling to recover from the war with Mexico and the Civil War, the fledgling state was not prepared to fight the deadly yellow fever epidemic. The pathogen that caused this plague was not isolated until 1927, though some doctors accurately suspected earlier that it may have been transmitted by the Aedes aegypti female mosquitos. But that was too late to save thousands of victims. In 1867 alone, Galveston lost about 5% of its population of 22,000 to...