TEXAS…
Fellow Thunderbirders, take a brief moment to roll the word around on your tongue. Let your imagination take a stroll. Does the word alone bring to mind old western movies with images of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers riding the trails singing songs along with a soundtrack? Or John Wayne driving cattle along the Chisholm Trail? Or are you picturing gunslingers meeting their enemies at high noon for a shootout on the main street of town. In truth, the romanticism of the cowboy life portrayed in western movies is far from accurate. Of course, a real cowboy, similar to the cowboy portrayed in movies, had to be made of strong stuff, however, the life of a cowboy was a lonely one. Many were just teenagers that left home for work and adventure. 
Cattle drives were brutal and the cattle were far from docile. The cattle were bred for endurance. Longhorns were a cross between wild feral cattle from Mexico, which had been imported from Spain during the fifteenth century and a few cattle brought by settlers from the east. The result was strong hardy cattle with horns that could span up to eight feet from tip to tip. These cattle were well suited for the rugged Texas terrain. This stock could withstand harsh winters and hot summers. They also were immune to disease that decimated other breeds. The wildness of this breed resulted in an animal that could turn on the cowboy with little or no provocation. Stampedes often led to the death of both cowboy and horse. 
The Great Western Trail was a thoroughfare for Texas cattle sent to market up north to Dodge City, Kansas. This trail was the convergence of several trails from across lower Texas, blending in Kerrville to form the Western Trail. Up to 3,000 head of cattle would be driven along the western trail, which extended from Kerrville to Kansas City, Kansas.
Thunderbirders, as you drive across Texas and converge upon Kerrville like cowboys from the old west drove their cattle, think of the true heroes that shaped this glorious state.
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