THE CAMP FORD PUBLIC FORUM

Except for June, July, and December, The Camp Ford Historical Association hosts a monthly Public Forum, to which the general public is invited as well as members. These events feature a guest speaker along with refreshments provided by the association board of directors. Unless advised otherwise, these meetings are always scheduled at 7 p.m. the third Monday of the month, in the Genecov Room at the Chamber of Commerce Building, 305 N. Broadway Avenue.

COMING EVENTS

East Texas celebrity Tom Perryman will be the guest speaker at the Community Forum meeting of the Camp Ford Historical Association (C.F.H.A.) at 7 p.m. Monday, February 15th at the Genecov Room at the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, 315 N. Broadway Ave. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. before the public forum meeting. The title of Mr. Perryman’s presentation is "The East Texas influence on country music." Tom’s experience as a radio disc jockey spans more than half a century. A member of the Eat Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Perryman’s talk is based on vast personal experience. Perryman has worked at the Grand Olde Opry in Nashville, and worked with a wide variety of successful performers including the King himself, Elvis Presley.

PAST EVENTS

Bradley W. Brookshire, chairman of the board of Brookshire Grocery, will tell the story of the business founded by his grandparents. He will speak at the Community Forum meeting of the Camp Ford Historical Association at 7 p.m. Monday, November 16, at the Genecov Room at the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, 315 N. Broadway Ave. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. before the public forum meeting

Brookshire Grocery Co. began in 1928 when Brad’s grandfather, Wood T. Brookshire, opened a small, 25 x 100-foot store on the downtown square in Tyler, Texas. He and five brothers operated several stores in East Texas until the partnership dissolved in 1939. At that time, Wood became sole owner of three stores in Tyler that served as the cornerstone of today’s company. Through the years, the company continued to experience healthy growth, building new stores in new markets and branching into even more territories by acquiring stores from other operators. Today, Brookshire Grocery Co. has more than 150 supermarkets operating in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi:

The Camp Ford Historical Association is organized to build and maintain a museum dedicated to educating the public about Camp Ford, the largest Confederate prisoner of war internment center west of the Mississippi . More information about the CFHA can be found at their Web site, http://www.campfordhistoricalcenter.org/. Community Forums are held at the Chamber of Commerce Genecov Room on the third Monday of every month. The meetings are always free and open to the public.

THE 2008 PUBLIC FORUM

We can look back with satisfaction over the 2008 forum meetings, and with gratitude to the speakers who enlivened them.

• The first Forum speaker for 2008 was Mark Vogl, who gave an inspiring presentation about the life of Robert E. Lee. Lee was born in January, so Vogl’s January 2008 talk was very appropriate. Lee’s birthday on the nineteenth, which was once a Texas state holiday, sadly has been usurped by the celebration of the birthday of a lesser man, but Vogl reminded us of why Lee, America’s greatest general and a genuine Christian gentleman, is still revered by Southerners.
  
  
• February’s Forum featured Art Hall from Athens. He gave a riveting history of the Parker family, before, during, and after the massacre of the Parker family by Comanche Indians and the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker. The years-long obsession by an uncle to find and recover Cynthia was the basis of the John Wayne movie, “The Searchers,” and Art Hall’s presentation was more entertaining than the movie.
  
  
• Texas legislature Representative Leo Berman was the speaker for March. Representative Berman has been a supporter of historical and heritage groups in our district. His topic was the difficulties involved in controling illegal entry into Texas across the Mexican border.
  
  
• Noted historian and board member Dr. Robert Glover was our speaker for April. His presentation, “Howdy Martin, a Texan in Search of a Fight,” covered the career of William Harrison (“Howdy”) Martin (1823-1898), lawyer, Confederate officer, and congressman. His nickname came about when, due to lack of military training, he addressed Robert E. Lee with, “Howdy, General!” Martin’s life was colorful, and so was Dr. Glover’s talk.
  
  
• Byrd pottery was the subject of May’s meeting, delivered by Gary Fleet. Byrd pottery, once made in Tyler, is artistically distinctive and has become sought after by avid collectors. Gary Fleet, teacher and high school coach, has an extensive collection and brought many pieces to show. Thanks to the efforts of D.M. Edwards and Maxine Herbst, we had excellent newspaper coverage for this event and consequent good attendance.
  
  
• Our Executive Secretary, Maxine Herbst, was our speaker for August and her topic was one dear to her heart, “Spirits of Oakwood.” Under her leadership the United Daughters of the Confederacy took on the job of restoring the neglected gravestones of Confederate veterans in Tyler’s oldest cemetery. To help fund this activity the UDC has an annual “Spirits of Oakwood” event at the graveyard in which volunteer “ghosts” don period costumes and assume the personas of departed notables. They stand near the graves that contain the remains of the persons they represent and give the onlookers first-person stories of the lives of the deceased. Maxine was assisted in her talk by an outstanding Power Point presentation prepared and shown by Mary June Goodson.
  
  
• Dr. Archie P. McDonald of Nacogdoches, long-time head of the East Texas Historical Association, addressed the Camp Ford Historical Association in September. Dr. McDonald recently retired after 37 years as Executive Director of the East Texas Historical Association. East Texans are acquainted with Dr. McDonald from his regular newspaper column, “All Things Historical.” The topic of his talk was “Texas in Secession, Civil War, and Reconstruction, with Music,” and Dr. McDonald brought some of the forgotten songs back to life with voice and guitar.
  
  
• Kevin McCall spoke at the October Forum. His talk was about the life of Chief Bowles, whose colorful life ended just west of Tyler in a battle with the Texas Rangers during the days of the Republic of Texas. He has occupied several posts in the Sons of Confederate Veterans at camp, brigade, and division levels.
  
  
• Mark Vogl, who began the year with his talk on the life of Robert E. Lee, wrapped up the 2008 Public Forum season with a discussion of more recent historical events, namely the Cold War, how it came about and why it ended. Mark always delivers a well researched and entertaining talk.