Outdoors With Mat Taylor
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame worth the trip to Waco

My wife Nelda had a birthday last week, and to celebrate the occasion we decide to go somewhere special for lunch. We drove to Waco and ate seafood at a well-known restaurant.

After lunch, we visited the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. I have driven by the museum many times, located just off IH-35 near Baylor University. For one reason or another, however, I had not taken the time to stop previously. I wish I had, as it was very interesting and worth the trip.

The museum provides an introduction to the Texas Rangers, one of the most elite law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Numerous exhibits show a timeline of Ranger history, advances in weapons and development of the Ranger badge.

Other exhibits provide the visitor insight on the early Frontier Battalion, Prohibition and the Rangers, and the infamous couple Bonnie and Clyde. Also, modern investigative techniques and tools are displayed.

In the Hall of Fame lobby are paintings and stories of Rangers who have been inducted into the select group. Many of them gave their lives in the line of duty.

Photos of all current Rangers are on display as well.

One interesting portion of the museum is the Pop Culture Gallery, which shows how the film industry and television have portrayed Texas Rangers. Of course, there is a display about "The Lone Ranger" and "Walker, Texas Ranger." Many movies have been produced about the Rangers.

As in most museums, there is a store and gift shop. While browsing, I noticed H. Joaquin Jackson's new book, "One Ranger Returns." It is a sequel to his first book, "One Ranger."

Jackson is a retired Ranger and lives in Alpine. He has appeared in several movies, and his photo in Texas Monthly magazine was one of the most popular to appear in the publication. It also graces the coversheet of his first book.

I read "One Ranger" and found it interesting and entertaining. The book became one of the fastestselling in the history of the University of Texas Press. I purchased "One Ranger Returns" and look forward to reading it.

At present, I am reading another series of novels about the Texas Rangers in the early years of the state. Elmer Kelton, my favorite author, has written seven novels about the Rangers. They are works of fiction but, as in all of Kelton's books, a lot of Texas history is intertwined in the story.

It has been said Kelton writes stories that are historically correct, not politically correct. Some of the Ranger titles are "The Buckskin Line," "Badger Boy" and "The Way of the Coyote." His latest novel on the Rangers is "A Hard Trail To Follow." I have read them all and now am rereading the novels.

Kempner Mayor Gene Isenhour is also a big fan of Kelton. Recently Gene, his wife Lenora, Nelda and I drove to Fredericksburg to attend a book signing for Kelton's latest novel. We had several books signed by the author and got to visit with him briefly.

Kelton, in addition to being an excellent storyteller, is down to earth and no matter how busy he is makes time to talk to anyone.

Gene and I have attended several book-signings in the last year, including trips to San Angelo, Goldthwaite and other cities. We both own a number of Kelton's more than 40 novels signed by him, but I think Gene has a few more.

Kelton said that in his latest book, "A Hard Trail to Follow," even though he likes Lampasas and has presented several programs here he might have portrayed the city in an unfavorable light.

As was probably true in the late 1870s and early 1880s, the novel describes Lampasas as having a rough reputation. The Rangers had been called in more than once to put down a fierce feud between families and to break up gangs that made life precarious for people caught in the middle.

One of the main characters in the book is Luther Cordell, a fugitive pursued by the Rangers. During the feud, he and his cousin, who lived north of Lampasas, sold horses to one side only to steal them and resell them to the other side.

You'll have to read the book yourself to get the rest of the story.

I would recommend reading all of Kelton's novels, Jackson's accounts of his time in the Rangers, and making a visit to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar.net.