Throughout the summer, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library offers “Spotlight Saturday” programs (10am-2pm), with each one highlighting different aspects of 19th century life.
This past Saturday, LEAP enjoyed one of our many visits to the Museum to learn about spinning, home-made ice cream as made during Sam Houston’s time, and the art of dueling, an interestingly complex artifact of another time.
The ice-cream, always a significant draw, wasn’t quite ready when we arrived, so we walked the Museum’s grounds (approximately 18 acres), enjoying this rustic retreat nestled in the heart of the community. There were waterfowl…
…squirrels, and turtles, including one that had a special need for attention.
When we returned, they were still churning the ice cream.
So, we ventured into the gift shop, which, in many ways, is a typical gift shop for a historical site. There are t-shirts, mugs, magnets, and the like.
But a few things distinguish the Wigwam Neosho. They have a nice book collection, including one written by Mac Woodward, one illustrated by Wade Dillon, and one written by an assemblage of students and staff, as well the excellent Houston biography written by James Haley. Moreover, Neosho has soap and pottery made on the Museum grounds, a nice touch.
We purchased one, this one made by Grady Mangum, who worked at SHSU.
Some of the bowls were a good size for ice-cream, but as it turns out, the ice cream wasn’t yet ready.
Accordingly, we checked out the spinning, which drew a full house.
After roaming the historic buildings on site…
…we managed to catch the leadup to one of the docents’ dueling sessions.
Phillips discussed some of the preparation work…
…including showing off the weapons used (which are also on display in the Museum).
Tim Ross and Matt Phillips discussed the finer points of dueling “etiquette,” which involved the use of seconds/mediaries, how to extricate yourself from an impending duel, and the negotiations over the specifications of the duel (weapon choice, number of paces). Timed for exactly “high noon,” the duel took place in front of us; Ross and Phillips did a realistic enactment of the contest–without, of course, real bullets–taking their paces, aiming, and firing, and without hurting anyone.
With the suspense over and the heat of the day bearing down, we turned back to the porch for ice cream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ready.
After more than two hours on the grounds and feeling the heat and the pangs of hunger, we prepared to leave, having enjoyed the structures, the nature, and the gift shop, albeit without the ice cream.
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