43rd Annual WHA Conference • Fort Worth, Texas
Renaissance Worthington Hotel
October 8-11, 2003

Wednesday, October 8th

The Sid Richardson Collection
Those who arrive early on Wednesday may want to take advantage of the time to visit the Sid Richardson Collection located at 309 Main Street, just a few doors down from the conference hotel.
The collection of Western art formed by Texas oilman Sid W. Richardson (1891-1959), rich in the work of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, has been on permanent display since 1982 in a free admission museum located in Sundance Square, a minute’s walk from the Worthington.  The Sid Richardson Collection is a must-see for anyone with an interest in the art of the Old West.
For more information about the collection, visit their website at http://www.sidrmuseum.org/
Their regular hours are 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 10:00a.m.-8:00p.m. Thursday-Friday, 11:00a.m.-8:00p.m. Saturday, and 1:00p.m.-5:00p.m. Sunday.

WELCOMING RECEPTION    6:00p.m.–8:00p.m.
Join us for the opening reception at the Amon Carter Museum, at 3501 West Camp Bowie Boulevard.  Located across the Trinity River, just two miles west of downtown, the Amon Carter Museum contains one of the finest collections of both American art, and Western American art in the United States.  Erected in 1961, the museum was remodeled and enlarged during 2001, and features spacious galleries, a multi-media auditorium, a library, preservation and restoration facilities, offices, and a gift shop.  The reception will be held outdoors, on the museum’s front portico, which offers an excellent view of the Trinity Valley and Fort Worth skyline.  The reception will feature traditional Texas barbecue, and will be hosted by the Amon Carter Museum; cocktails will be available from a cash bar.

At 7:00p.m. those who wish may attend a lecture by Peter Hassrick entitled “’Without a Trace of Trancendentalism’: Nature, History and the Art of Alexander Phimister Proctor.”

Busses will provide transportation between the Renaissance-Worthington and the museum and will leave every thirty minutes between 5:30 and 8:30.

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American Society for Environmental History Breakfast  7:00a.m., Bridge

Mining History Association Breakfast7:00a.m, Post Oak

Phi Alpha Theta LuncheonNoon, Bridge
Speaker:  James A. Ramage, Northern Kentucky University
"John Singleton Mosby: TR’s Land Agent in the Sand Hills"

Graduate Student Reception - 5:00p.m. to 6:00p.m, Post Oak
Co-sponsored by Western Region - National Association of Graduate and Professional Students

THURSDAY TOURS:

DALLAS TOUR    1:00p.m.–6:00p.m.  Travel coaches will transport participants to Dallas, where they will attend a reception with light refreshments at the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University.  The DeGolyer Library contains a diverse collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, and other materials focusing on the Trans-Mississippi West, particularly the Spanish in the American Southwest.  The library also holds extensive materials focusing on the history of business, particularly the history of railroads.  During October the library will feature a spectacular exhibit focusing on Lewis and Clark and the exploration of the West and featuring maps used by the expedition, early accounts of Louisiana, works by Karl Bodmer, and early photographs of the west.  At 3:00p.m. busses will leave Southern Methodist University and transport participants to the Sixth Floor Museum/Kennedy Assassination Site, where participants can examine the site of this tragedy and view the scene of the assassination from the window where the assailant allegedly fired the fatal shots.  The Sixth Floor Museum includes exhibits on the assassination, but its focus is a broad spectrum of American culture and politics in the early 1960s. Busses will depart from the Sixth Floor Museum at 5:00p.m., and will return participants to the Renaissance-Worthington by 6:00p.m., so that those who wish can attend the festivities at Joe T. Garcia’s.

FORT WORTH MUSEUM TOUR     1:30p.m.–5:00p.m.  Busses will provide transportation from the Renaissance-Worthington hotel to Fort Worth’s museum district on Thursday afternoon, so that members may visit as many of the museums in the district as time and their interests permit.  The Amon Carter Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame all are within easy walking distance of one another, in an open, pleasant, park-like setting.  There will be no formal WHA conducted tour of these museums on Thursday afternoon, but the museums will be open and will have docents available.  Please wear your conference badge to gain entry to the museums. Busses will depart the hotel at 1:30p.m. and will return at thirty-minute intervals beginning at 3:00p.m.  The last busses return to the hotel at 5:00p.m.

JOE T. GARCIA’s  6:30p.m.–9:00p.m. Treat yourself to the best “Tex-Mex” food south of the Red River!  On Thursday evening WHA members will assemble at Joe T. Garcia’s restaurant for an enchilada or fajita dinner that you’ll always remember.  “Joe T’s,” as the establishment is fondly called in Cowtown, is unquestionably the best known restaurant in Fort Worth and is a fixture for residents who wish to treat themselves and out-of-town guests to authentic Tex-Mex food and warm Texas  hospitality.  The restaurant is located on the southern edge of Fort Worth’s historic Stockyards district.  What appears to be a small frame house opens into numerous courtyards replete with gardens, fountains, and patios.  The WHA will dine in one of the large, private gardens.  The food is delicious, and you’ll enjoy the strolling mariachi musicians.  The cash bar (bring cash, Joe T’s doesn’t take credit cards) will open at 6:30p.m., and the buffet dinner will be served at 7:00p.m..   “Joe T’s” is a “must” for any visit to Fort Worth.

Friday, October 10th

Coalition for Western Women’s  History Buffet Breakfast  7:00a.m, Brazos II

Public History Breakfast 7:00a.m., Bridge
 

PRESIDENTIAL LUNCHEON Presidential address by Brian W. Dippie - "Drawn to the West” Noon Grand Ballroom

Annual Business Meeting 5:00p.m., Trinity Central
 

ANNUAL BANQUET Banquet  address by Elmer Kelton - "Western History and Western Fiction: Two Sides of One Coin" 7:00p.m. Grand Ballroom President’s Dessert Reception follows the banquet.  Sponsored by the University of Victoria.

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Westerners International Breakfast 7:00a.m., Pecos I

Indian Scholars Luncheon Noon, Pecos I

Military History Luncheon  Noon, Post Oak

SATURDAY TOURS:

ARCHER CITY TOUR    12:30p.m.–7:00p.m.  The answer to a bibliophile’s dream!  On Saturday afternoon, comfortable motor coaches will transport WHA members to Archer City, where they will spend the afternoon perusing and shopping in Booked Up, author Larry McMurtry’s immense used book establishment which now occupies several of the retail buildings comprising the courthouse square in Archer City.  The community, immortalized in McMurtry’s best-selling novel, The Last Picture Show, remains a classic example of small-town Texas, and moviegoers familiar with the 1971 film based on the novel will instantly recognize the setting.  Archer City is located about seventy-five miles northwest of Fort Worth, and the trip will provide members with an opportunity to view the Texas countryside.  Booked Up currently occupies four separate buildings and contains over 400,000 volumes, including hard to find volumes of Americana, Texana, Western history, Western literature, travel accounts, etc.  Participants can shop for several hours.  This is a tour book collectors won’t want to miss.  Be sure to bring your credit cards.  A box lunch will be provided.  Booked Up closes at 5:00p.m. and busses will return to the Renaissance-Worthington by approximately 7:00p.m..

FORT WORTH ARCHITECTURAL TOUR    1:00p.m.–4:30p.m.  Back by Popular Demand!  Architect Jeff Limerick will lead a tour of Fort Worth which will examine many of the architectural highlights of the city.  Busses will leave the Renaissance-Worthington at 1:15p.m. and will transport participants to the Penn Street residential district, the Fort Worth Water Gardens, the Mary Leonard Community Chapel, and other sites, including several of Fort Worth’s museums.  Limerick will conduct the tour and comment on the significance of the structures.  This tour offers a rare opportunity for both residents and visitors to familiarize themselves with the rich, multi-faceted architecture of the city.

STOCKYARD DISTRICT TOUR    1:30p.m.–4:30p.m.  Here’s an opportunity to gain an inside look at Fort Worth’s most famous historic district.  Busses will transport WHA members from the Renaissance-Worthington to the Stockyards district, where they will be conducted on a guided walking tour of the region.  The Stockyards District contains museums, historic buildings, shops, boutiques, and the Fort Worth Livestock Exchange Building.  In many ways it remains the very “heart” of Fort Worth’s “cowtown” identity.  Here you’ll see authentic cowboys, in for an afternoon (or a night) on the town.  Step into the lobby of the Stockyards Hotel, or take a few minutes to sip a cool beverage at the White Elephant Saloon, and you’ll understand why Fort Worth still relishes it’s western heritage.  Billy Bob’s Texas, the “world’s largest honky tonk” sits on the district’s northern perimeter and features leading country and western artists (and other performers) from across the nation.  You can watch rodeo cowboys ride live bulls at a special arena inside Billy Bob’s huge interior.  Busses will depart from the hotel at 1:30p.m. and will depart the stockyards at 4:30p.m.

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