Number 1 …Panna Maria is THE oldest Polish settlement in the United States. Note…it is not just the oldest Polish settlement in Texas. It is the oldest in the entire United States. In 1854, Polish settlers from Silesia finally landed in Karnes County. They had fled Poland due to poverty but also because the Revolutions of 1848 had been squelched. Panna […]
Casey Hayden deserves a Statue at UT
Casey Hayden passed away on January 4 of this year. People’s History in Texas was honored to interview her in 2012 for our Stand-ins Documentary. NBC’s TODAY show with Willie Geist featured her as “A Life Well Lived” on January 22, 2023. Footage from PHIT’s Stand-Ins documentary was included in the tribute. Casey Hayden was a key figure in the Austin anti-racist activities […]
Organic Blog 5 Keith Jones
This is the fifth blog on the subject of Texas creating the first organic label. Please read the first 4 which explains the background of organics in Texas. Once the process of organic certification had been set up, someone needed to enforce it. In Texas, that someone was Keith Jones. “I was looking to get back into agriculture. I […]
Texas Organic Label part 3
Hightower, in his crusade to save the family farmer, focused on efforts to market higher value-added food products in niche markets, markets that wouldn’t interest the big commodity farmers and the big agribusinesses. Organic vegetables, organic grains, and organic meats were seen as one of those efforts. Growing food organically also just happens to aid the reduction of exposure to […]
Texas Organic Label part 1
Texas has Bragging Rights to the First Organic Label in the United States Yep! Texas! Who would have thunk it. Texas! First in the nation! Wait a minute!!. What?? The first? Yes…dear readers. Texas has bragging rights! Yet you won’t hear the current Agriculture Commissioner ever mention it, nor will you hear it from any of the Ag. Commissioners […]
The Jeff Friedman Story: A First Glance
By Sarah Pike Today, Austin faces a myriad of problems including rampant water issues, gentrification, and overcrowding; and like the population, these issues are only growing. However, in an alternative world, Austin might have been a different city. It might have been a city that saw its imminent future as a booming metropolis, and instead of ignoring it’s looming […]
How Hope Blooms: A Story of Rabbi Nancy Epstein
by Blake Herrera Imagine this: It’s Valentine’s Day. You walk into any supermarket in the state of Texas (be it H-E-B, Whole Foods, or Kroger) looking for a bouquet to give to your special someone. But wait — there is no cut flowers section! Valentine’s Day is a wash. If you have ever bought a bunch of flowers at a […]