The Padre Island Story


Book Description

The Padre Island Story is a compelling anthology that delves into the rich tapestry of history, culture, and natural beauty that defines Padre Island. Through a carefully curated selection of essays, poetry, and short stories, the collection explores the multifaceted identity of this unique locale. The editors, Loraine Daly and Pat Reumert, have achieved a remarkable feat in gathering works that span a range of literary styles, from narrative nonfiction to evocative poetry, offering readers a comprehensive view of the islands significance in both ecological and human terms. This assortment not only celebrates the beauty and diversity of Padre Island but also probes the complex relationship between people and the natural environment, making it a standout contribution to regional literature. The contributing authors, Daly and Reumert, bring to the collection their diverse backgrounds in environmental science and local history, respectively. Their combined expertise enriches the anthologys exploration of Padre Island, grounding it in both personal experience and scholarly research. This fusion of perspectives situates the work within broader conversations about conservation, cultural history, and the impact of human activity on natural spaces. The anthology aligns itself with contemporary movements in environmental literature and regional storytelling, inviting readers to consider the intricate interplay between human narratives and the natural world. The Padre Island Story is an essential read for anyone interested in environmental literature, regional studies, or the art of storytelling itself. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with the myriad ways Padre Island has been perceived, experienced, and imagined. This volume is not just an exploration of a geographical locale but a journey through the lenses of varied authors who, together, weave a comprehensive narrative that is as educational as it is engaging. Readers are encouraged to immerse themselves in this rich collection, which promises not only to broaden their understanding of Padre Island but also to foster a deeper appreciation for the complexities of human-environment relationships.




The Padre Island Story


Book Description




Texas Treasure


Book Description

In 1554 a fleet of Spanish ships, laden with treasures from the New World departed from Vera Cruz in Mexico, bound for Havana. For reasons yet unknown, at least three of the vessels were wrecked on the coast of present-day Texas at Padre Island, not far north of the Rio Grande where their remains languished for centuries. Treasure hunters armed with metal detectors began finding Spanish coins on Padre Island in the 1960s. Billy Kenon, a local salvage master teamed up with the Znika brothers from Indiana and formed the Platoro Group with an eye toward finding the remains of the ships and their treasure cargo. This is the story of Billy Kenon's successful salvage of one of those ships, and the 20 year battle he endured with Texas authorities over rights to the treasure he and the Platoro Group recovered in the turbid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Bob Baer gives Billy Kenon a voice, drawing attention to the treachery of Texas bureaucrats, and the true significance of the Platoro Group's discoveries.




Padre Island


Book Description




Islands at the Edge of Time


Book Description

Islands at the Edge of Time is the story of one man's captivating journey along America's barrier islands from Boca Chica, Texas, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Weaving in and out along the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina, poet and naturalist Gunnar Hansen perceives barrier islands not as sand but as expressions in time of the processes that make them. Along the way he treats the reader to absorbing accounts of those who call these islands home -- their lives often lived in isolation and at the extreme edges of existence -- and examines how the culture and history of these people are shaped by the physical character of their surroundings.




The Padre Pandemic


Book Description

A JIMMY REDSTONE / ANGELLA MARTINEZ THRILLER Angella and Jimmy are drawn into a drug investigation when a parachute carrying a dead man lands on the beach. Their investigation brings them face to face with a killer from their past on the squalid docks of Buenos Aires where prescription pharmaceuticals are being loaded on an Iranian ship for transport to the United States. Imposters, impersonators and double agents abound in this international thriller that pits nations against each other with the United States helpless to intervene.




Spirits of the Border V


Book Description

This is the fifth volume of the Spirits of the Border Series covering all hauntings and unsolved mysteries in the State of Texas.




Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States


Book Description

Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Project is a national project to locate, identify, preserve and make accessible the literary contributions of U.S. Hispanics from colonial times through 1960 in what today comprises the fifty states of the United States.




The Fire Island National Seashore


Book Description

A comprehensive account of the history of the Fire Island National Seashore since its creation in 1964.




Texas Market Hunting


Book Description

From its earliest days of human habitation, the Texas coast was home to seemingly endless clouds of ducks, geese, swans, and shorebirds. By the 1880s Texas huntsmen, or market hunters, as they came to be called, began providing meat and plumage for the restaurant tables and millinery salons of a rapidly growing nation. A network of suppliers, packers, distribution centers, and shipping hubs efficiently handled their immense harvest. At the peak of Texas market hunting in the late 1890s, Rockport merchants shipped an average of 600 ducks a day in a five-month shooting season, and in the last year of legal market hunting, an estimated 60,000 ducks and geese were shipped from Corpus Christi alone. Market men employed efficient methods to harvest nature’s bounty. They commonly hunted at night, often using bait to concentrate large numbers of waterfowl. The effectiveness of the hunt was improved when side-by-side double barrel shotguns and large-gauge swivel guns gave way to repeating firearms, with some capable of discharging as many as eleven shells in a single volley. Their methods were so efficient that, by the late 1800s, Texas sportsmen and others blamed the alarming decline of coastal waterfowl populations on the market hunter’s occupation. In 1903, after a long fight and many failures, the first migratory bird game law passed the Texas legislature. Though the fight would continue, it was the beginning of the end of the year-round slaughter. Most market hunters quit, and those who didn’t became outlaws. In this book, R. K. Sawyer chronicles the days of market hunting along the Texas coast and the showdown between the early game wardens and those who persisted in commercial waterfowl hunting. Containing an abundance of rare historical photographs and oral history, Texas Market Hunting: Stories of Waterfowl, Game Laws, and Outlaws provides a comprehensive and colorful account of this bygone period.