Meet Friendswood author Bob
Arnold at the Friendswood Public Library on Wednesday, August 15
at 7pm. Bob Arnold’s book First
in Texas chronicles the lives of three men who made significant
contributions to more than one hundred and fifty years of Texas History.
These men include Josiah Bell, successful entrepreneur and businessman and the
founder of two towns, one of which was briefly the capitol of the Republic of
Texas; Josiah's third son, James Hall Bell was the first native-born Texan to
serve as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court; and Red Arnold, known as the "law
in Northeast Texas," serving 25 years as a Texas Ranger.
The book begins with the struggles of the early Texas settlements
and continues with the slavery and states’ rights issues that led to a terrible
civil war and the difficulties in reestablishing Texas’ rightful place within
the United States after the conflict was concluded. The history spans the
development of Texas law as a frontier justice administered by honest and moral
men, through the infancy of written Texas law, and into the enforcement of today’s
complex code of criminal law. Each of these men offers lessons of
responsibility, commitment, and resolve to many of today’s difficult social and
political issues. ~from the author
Bob Arnold
graduated from Texas Tech and entered the United States Army as a Signal Corps
officer. Following his military service, he was employed by Union Carbide
Corporation as a polymer chemist and had a 35 year career in various roles
within the laboratory, manufacturing, and business organizations of Union
Carbide and Dow Chemical. After his retirement, Bob spent several years of
research and writing First in Texas.
The interview
below was conducted and written by Mount
Pleasant Daily Tribune editor Bob Palmer in July of 2011. Author Bob Arnold
answers questions about his book, First
in Texas.
Posted:
Saturday, July 30, 2011 12:00 am
Mount
Pleasant Daily Tribune
It's Like This By BOB PALMER - Tribune Editor and Publisherdailytribune.net
My
memories of Texas Ranger Red Arnold are vivid. The first come from that period
when the Arnolds lived next door to the Palmers on East 5th when I was about
10. The sight of Red’s sawed off shotgun mounted inside the driver’s door made
an impression on me. Later we would interact as reporter and lawman. And then,
I helped report his death. When Red’s
son, Bob, called a couple of weeks ago to tell me he had written a book, “First
in Texas,” about Red and two of his mother’s forbearers, I was leery this might
just be another exercise in ancestor worship. I was pleasantly surprised to
discover that Bob’s efforts are well worth the read.
I
enjoyed getting to know Josiah Bell, a friend and associate of Stephen F.
Austin, and Judge James Bell, who opposed succession and helped found the
Republican Party in Texas. There were also several intriguing stories about
Red, ranging from his service as a Marine Gunny Sergeant on Peleliu to cases
Titus County residents will easily recall.
After
I finished reading “First in Texas,” Bob and I sat down last week for a visit.
Why
the book?
Originally,
I had been asked to write a book about my dad. I had written a couple of
articles for the Texas Ranger Dispatch Magazine. At the same time, I had begun
research on my mother’s family. The research let me understand how interesting
her family was as well. So, I decided to incorporate those two individuals in a
book with my dad.
What
anecdote or story did you uncover in your research that touched or struck you
the most?
It
was very easy for me to know about my father. I was not as struck by what he
did as I was about the Supreme Court Justice Bell. His life was the most
interesting part of the research that I did.
The
Reconstruction era was the period that gave me the most new ground. Was there
some point where James Bell or someone could have made the process smoother in
Texas? Or was that moment when Bell met with Grant and convinced him to tell
Gov. Davis to go?
A
lot of that information that I had in the book was new to me as well. I think
the confrontation when E.J. Davis refused to relinquish the governor’s office
to Richard Coke was probably the turning point in Reconstruction.
How
painful was it for you to write about your father’s death?
I’m
doing this 30 years after his death. It was not as painful as you might think
it might be. I accepted it for what it was. There were parts that were very
painful that I chose not to include in the book. They brought back memories
that were too painful for us.
I
found your picture of the Bells to be somewhat uncritical. Do you feel that you
have missed something in their portraits or this was as complete a picture as
you were willing to go?
I
didn’t find anything (negative). I wrote what I could find on them. I had to
piece together a lot of sources. For Josiah Bell I used primarily the letters
of Stephen F. Austin. There was not a whole lot of other information. The same
thing was true with Judge Bell. I didn’t find anything that might have shed a
different view of them, other than he took positions that were out of the
mainstream and he lost a lot of friends. I didn’t try to judge why he took
positions or didn’t. I didn’t try to understand why he did what he did.
What
advice would you give someone contemplating a similar project?
This
is a long story. Most people writing a book for the first time think it will be
easy getting a book published. Over a year, I learned that was wrong. Most
publishers are not interested in publishing first time authors. I had finished
my draft and was in a used bookstore in Fredericksburg. A man was there who had
written a book on how to get a book published. He told me to throw away any
thoughts I had about how to get a book published. You need to have a group of
people to look at the manuscript and comment on it. He recommended about 25
people. I sent them portions of the book. Once the book was completely read, I
sent them a questionnaire and used their comments to make quite a bit of
changes. I did find a publisher, but unfortunately they pulled back. I decided
to have someone edit the book; then, I had it printed without a major
publisher. For anyone wanting to do this: make sure you have something people
enjoy reading before you take it to a publisher, otherwise you will be
disappointed.
“First
in Texas, Three Texans and Their Contributions to Texas History, 1821-1978” is
available at Hastings. I think you will find it as enjoyable and interesting as
I did.
