Texas Highways Magazine March 2023

Over the last decade, Senior Managing Editor Matt Joyce has written dozens of stories about Texas’ majestic landscapes, charismatic people, and multifaceted history. While he’s moving on to a new job at Texas State University, he leaves behind an impressive legacy of creative influence across 125 issues of Texas Highways. Before his departure, I asked him to share some memorable stories and travels. And luckily, he’s promised to write a story here and there as his schedule allows, so this won’t be the last time you see him in these pages. Which of the issues you worked on is your favorite? The February 2016 issue, which was dedicated to the centennial of the National Park Service. Outsiders don’t necessarily think of Texas when it comes to national parks, but the truth is…

German immigrants made influential contributions to the identification and collection of Texas wildflowers when they moved to the state in the 1800s. Writer Robyn Ross explores some of those historical figures in “A Texas Botanical Guide” (Page 36). “All these bits of history made me curious about my own ancestors who immigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s and whose stories I’ve never investigated,” the Austin-based writer says. In addition to exploring the past, Ross also learned about the flowers that surround her now. “In the process of reading through many, many flower books, I learned the names of two wild-growing plants in my neighborhood: silverleaf nightshade and jimsonweed,” she says. “Both are poisonous.” Featured Contributors Kathryn Jones After moving from Fort Worth to Glen Rose in 2005, Jones learned of the area’s history…

Fender Bender Grew up here in Corpus Christi to Freddy Fender’s music [“El Bebop Kid,” January]. Keep resting easy, Freddy—I’m sure the folks upstairs are lovin’ the music still. Vicki Mann-Hawthorne Silver Falls There is plenty of water when the rains come and the falls are thundering [“Parting the Waters,” January]. I grew up in Crosbyton and spent a lot of time at Silver Falls. @sherrberr71 Down the Dunes Enjoyed going to Monahans Sandhills State Park with my Camp Fire Girls troop from Midland [“Lines in the Sand,” January]. As we headed to campouts in Fort Davis, this would always be a stopping point to get some energy out. @FFTXGAL…

Theresa DiMenno was driving to Llano for a Hill Country photography trip one April when she came across this field of white prickly poppies just south of town on State Highway 16. “It’s always been one of my favorite photos—the warmth of the light, the vibe of it,” says DiMenno, who lives in Austin. “The sun was low on the horizon, and I love the way the light filters through the trees and spills out across the poppies.” Most years, DiMenno makes springtime trips around Texas, keeping track of websites like wildflowerhaven.com for insight on regional wildflower conditions and peak blooms. “I typically photograph wildflowers during the weekdays instead of the weekend when most people are out there,” she says. “This scene captivated me not only for its beauty and…

Newcomers to Beeville might assume the town was named for the black-and-yellow pollinators that swarm the South Texas brush country each spring when wildflowers are in bloom. In truth, the town was named for Barnard E. Bee Sr., who served as the Republic of Texas’ first secretary of the treasury in 1836. Originally inhabited by native Karankawa people, the region was later divided by the Spanish into land grants, which attracted Irish settlers. The Irish came by ship to the coastal plains of Texas in the 1830s in search of land for raising cattle, cotton, and corn. Agriculture remains an important part of the local economy, along with oil and gas, which was discovered in the area in 1929. Photographer Sylvia Garcia-Smith was born and raised in Beeville, and she…

My mother was 30 years old when she came to the United States from Changchun, China. This was 1992. She spent her first year alone, enrolling in the University of Mississippi in Oxford with a graduate student visa and working a babysitting job on the side that paid $2 an hour. Her plan was to establish a life for our family, then bring me and my father over. During that year, my parents communicated via an unreliable email system, handwritten letters, and the occasional phone call. My mother tells me of nights when she would dream she was with us, only to wake up crying at the reality of her loneliness. A new mother, so separated from her husband and 2-year-old child. The price one pays for the American Dream, she…