Press Release - 1/16/2016 - 3/2/16 Sam Houston B-day & Tx. Independe For news and press release
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Posted on:January 16,2016
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35th Annual March 2 Celebrations . City Connection
Announced . General City News
The Walker County Historical Commission, • This Week inHuntsville
the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, and
the City of Huntsville's Sam Houston Statue
and Visitors Center announces the 35th
Annual Texas Independence Day and
General Sam Houston's Birthday
Celebration in Huntsville on Wednesday,
March 2, 2016.
Festivities get under way on March 2 with a
coffee and reception from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15
a.m. at the Gibbs-Powell House Walker
County Museum, 1228 11th Street. Around
10:15 a.m. the traditional march to Sam
Houston's gravesite at Oakwood Cemetery
will assemble at Austin Hall, located on the
campus of Sam Houston State University,
and proceed to Sam Houston's grave along
University Avenue led by the SHSU ROTC
and students.
A special ceremony will take place at 11:00
a.m. to honor General Sam Houston at his
gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery (Sam
Houston Memorial Drive at 9th Street). This
year's featured speaker is Denton Florian,
Executive Director of the Sam Houston
Project. He is a native Texan and graduate
of both the University of Texas at Austin and
Texas State University. In addition to his
work in the private and nonprofit sectors in
operations, team building and organization
change, he has pursued his lifelong interest
in early American history. He organized and
led the team that produced the celebrated
documentary, Sam Houston, which won five
EMMY Awards. The film, the web site, and
the assets represent the largest collection of
digital information on Sam Houston's life that
has ever been assembled. From this
background of research, he will speak on
"Why Sam Houston Matters."
The gravesite ceremony will include a
"Baptized Texan Ceremony." As featured in
the March 2013 issue of Texas Highways
magazine, this is a way for non-Native
Texans to burnish their Lone Star
credentials. Being "baptized" as a Texan at
Sam Houston's gravesite on Texas
Independence Day is an event to be
experienced. (In case of inclement weather,
the gravesite ceremony will be held at
Mance Park Middle School located near
Oakwood Cemetery.)
Immediately following is a buffet luncheon at
12:30 p.m. at the Gibbs Conference Hall,
Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education
Center, 1402 19th Street. The day
culminates at 2:00 p.m. at the Sam Houston
Statue and Visitors Center with a "Toast to
Texas" and birthday cake and a special
commemorative award.
The tradition of celebrating March 2 in
Huntsville stems from 1889 when students
from the Sam Houston Normal Institute
would march to General Sam Houston's
grave.
"This annual event continued until around
1971. It was almost always done by the
student body at Sam Houston and several
times the Governor attended," said James
Patton of the Walker County Historical
Commission. "There was a big celebration in
1936 and again in 1986 for the 150th
anniversary of Texas, and [there was]
another big event in 1993 for the 200th
occasion of General Sam Houston's
birthday. It has grown over the years and
many of the descendants of General and
Margaret L. Houston attend each year. It is
always a fun day!"
In 1981, the Walker County Historical
Commission began sponsoring March 2
events through a program called Texas
Heritage Days. In the last couple of years
students from Sam Houston State
University, with the help of the ROTC and
the History Department, have continued the
tradition of marching to Sam Houston's
grave.
Reservations are required for the "Baptized
Texan Ceremony" by February 15 and for
the luncheon by February 25, 2016. For
more information on reservations and
payment please contact Jamie Matthews at
jmatthews@huntsvilletx.gov via email or call
291-5931. For more details on the March
2nd schedule of events visit
www.wal ke rcou ntyh istory.org,
www.samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com or
www.huntsvilletexas.com.
Additional Info...
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