A chunk of a community’s treasured history can suddenly be gone with the wind

FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Sam Houston is the publisher of the Hood County News. He is also an actor, author, playwright, performer and entertainment producer/promoter.

Just a few short weeks ago, the square in Granbury had quite a scare. The Granbury square is full of stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and they jointly serve as an attraction for tens of thousands of visitors. These visitors enhance the tax revenues of the municipality considerably, and their love of the square serves as a focal point and gives the town an identity when outsiders talk about Granbury.

In the middle of the night, and without warning, the historic Nutt Hotel caught fire. The building had been in the process of being renovated and was near competition when the dangerous blaze began. Fortunately, local firefighters responded quickly and controlled the damage from spreading to other buildings. It was also a blessing the Nutt Hotel sat on a corner of the square and there was open space between it and neighboring buildings.

Many locals, including myself, felt a sense of relief no further damage was done. If the firefighters had not been able to control the blaze, or if the wind had been stronger, or a thousand other “what if’s,” the Granbury square could have been destroyed, resulting in tremendous losses for the owners and for all the citizens of Granbury. All week long I heard speculation as to “what could have happened,” how long it would take to rebuild the square, and how much damage to the community would have been created. Thanks to the grace of God, these problems never came to pass.

Just this past weekend, in our neighboring town of Decatur, another fire broke out — at the Wise County Heritage Museum. The building was built in 1893 and originally was the home of the Decatur Baptist College; often referred to as the oldest junior college in the world. The fire started around midnight, and despite the best efforts of firefighters, the walls crumpled inward by 2 a.m. There has been no determination as to the cause of that fire. Fortunately the building was unoccupied, and no one was injured.

The Heritage Museum had been housed in the landmark building for more than 50 years and contained the largest single collection of Wise County history. There were items, writings, and stories that went up in smoke on a March night in Decatur, and they cannot be replaced. I have no words to describe the loss but “pitiful” and “deeply sad.” I genuinely feel sorry for the residents of Wise County, and for the people who will become residents in the future. A part of their history is lost and cannot be replaced.

Our history is an important part of our lives. Without knowing our past, evaluating how we have evolved and changed, knowing the challenges others faced to get us to the present, it is difficult to appreciate who we truly are. Granbury dodged a bullet, and Decatur took one right to the chest. When and where the next fire will erupt, leaving nothing but burnt memories of our past, is unknown.

I hope residents of communities like Gatesville, Azle and Springtown are on guard about what can happen and take measures to secure their sacred past. Our memories are precious to all of us and need to be cherished and safeguarded. Our children and children’s children, and all generations to come, deserve that.

Thought for the day: The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.

Until next time … I will keep ridin’ the storm out.

sam@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 260