Part one: The Softer Side of Coal It’s that joyful time of year! A time when we deck the halls, hang stockings on the chimney (with care), bake (and eat) lots of Christmas goodies, and sing lots of off-key Christmas carols with family and friends. And if you were perhaps...
by Mary Adams Christmas MemoriesAs the holidays approach, people tend to reflect more on memories and stories of years gone by. As the Director of the Gordon Center I have been extremely blessed with the opportunity to listen to, record, preserve, and share memories of Thurber. Some of the memories and...
by Kyndall Howard Over a hundred years ago Texans walked in a land void of electrical conveniences. It wasn’t until the early 1880s that Texas claimed an electrical power plant, after which it was a slow process for industrial development. By the turn of the century, small privately-owned generating systems...
by: Mary Adams Thurber, Texas, a company owned coal mining and brick making town, provided jobs for workers from all over the world. We spend a lot of time talking about the town, the Company, and the people who moved to Thurber because without these three entities there would be...
by Lea Hart In the early 1900s, Thurber saw a rise in candid photographs. Funny moments and snapshots of everyday life became increasingly popular, and remain so today. These moments captured by Thurber locals show us a much different story than factual census records; these photographs show us their personalities....
Cultivating Minds in a Company Mining Town February is often affiliated with the concept of love, whether it is through loving significant other or ourselves on Valentine’s Day, or by loving our fellow man by recognizing Martin Luther King Day. This month let us focus on loving education and being...
by Shae Adams Last year our blog explored the history of Thurber in twelve objects from the Gordon Center Collection. While we love the artifacts in our Collection, photographs donated by families with Thurber ties far outnumber our 3-dimensional objects. To honor the stories told in those pictures we’re using...
by Shae Adams As one year ends and another begins, we take time to look back on the past 12 months. Today that might mean enjoying a video of our memories on Facebook, flipping through old diary entries, or scrolling through photos on our phone. I love this beautiful facet...
by Lea Hart When friends and family gather together for the holidays they usually gather around food. With the holidays approaching we decided to bring out an artifact that families still use today: a recipe. Leaflet No. 66 “Rabbit Recipes” from the U.S. Department of Agriculture made its way into...
by: Corey Holbert Dr. J.T. Spratt Sr. was the original owner of an X-ray tube that is now a part of the Gordon Center collections. Dr. Spratt tended to a number of patients in Pecos and Mingus. Practicing near a mining town Dr. Spratt may have conducted X-ray examinations of...