Laura Vernon Hamner
Encyclopedia
Laura Vernon Hamner was an American
author
, ranch
historian
, radio
commentator, educator, and public official from the Texas Panhandle
who was known informally in her later years as "Miss Amarillo", a reference to her adopted city of Amarillo
, Texas
.
to James Henry Hamner and the former Laura Lula Hendrix, Laura was educated at Miss Higbee's School in Memphis
, and Peabody College
in Nashville
. She also studied at the University of Chicago
. Miss Hamner, who never married, was a teacher
for many years. From 1913-1921 (Woodrow Wilson
administration), she served as the appointed postmistress
at Claude
, the seat of Armstrong County
east of Amarillo. From 1922-1938, she was the Potter County school superintendent, a position which brought her to Amarillo, where she resided for the remainder of her life. Hamner lived for years in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, owned by Mayor
Ernest O. Thompson
. Long after she had been school superintendent she was informally known as "Miss Amarillo".
work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight
and his wife, Mary Ann, In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote The No-Gun Man of Texas, a novel
-ized biography
of the legendary cattleman, former co-owner of the large JA Ranch
. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to Short Grass and Longhorns
(Norman
: University of Oklahoma Press, 1943) and Light 'n Hitch (1958). For more than three decade
s, Hamner wrote features for the Amarillo Globe-News
. She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.
In 1947, she published in Reader's Digest
an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an African American
cowboy
from Amarillo. Hooks, who was born to former slaves, was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas
plains, broke horse
s, and handled the remuda
s on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black church
es in West Texas
.
. She adopted a child. She was made an honorary member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
. “Laura V. Hamner Week” was frequently observed in Amarillo.
Hamner died in Alabama
, where she was visiting a relative. A Methodist, she is interred beside her parents in Claude. Most of her papers are in either the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
in Canyon
or the Eugene C. Barker
Texas History Center of the University of Texas at Austin
. She is included in the “Listing of Great Texas Women”.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
commentator, educator, and public official from the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
who was known informally in her later years as "Miss Amarillo", a reference to her adopted city of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Life
Born in TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to James Henry Hamner and the former Laura Lula Hendrix, Laura was educated at Miss Higbee's School in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. She also studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Miss Hamner, who never married, was a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
for many years. From 1913-1921 (Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
administration), she served as the appointed postmistress
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
at Claude
Claude, Texas
Claude is a city in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,313 at the 2000 census. Located east of Amarillo, Claude is the county seat of Armstrong County in the south Texas Panhandle...
, the seat of Armstrong County
Armstrong County, Texas
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, and was formed in 1876 from Bexar County. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. As of 2000, the population is 2,148. Its county seat is Claude. Armstrong is named for one of several Texas pioneer families named Armstrong...
east of Amarillo. From 1922-1938, she was the Potter County school superintendent, a position which brought her to Amarillo, where she resided for the remainder of her life. Hamner lived for years in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, owned by Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest Othmer Thompson was a general in the United States Army during World War I, a mayor of Amarillo, Texas, an attorney, a businessman , and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum and natural gas production and conservation...
. Long after she had been school superintendent she was informally known as "Miss Amarillo".
Writing
In the early 1890s, while she assisted her father in his newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
and his wife, Mary Ann, In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote The No-Gun Man of Texas, a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
-ized biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of the legendary cattleman, former co-owner of the large JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to Short Grass and Longhorns
Texas longhorn (cattle)
The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
(Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
: University of Oklahoma Press, 1943) and Light 'n Hitch (1958). For more than three decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
s, Hamner wrote features for the Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News is a newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by the Morris Communications Company.The current-day Globe-News is a combination of several newspapers published in Amarillo. One began on November 4, 1909, as a prohibition publication by the Baptist deacon Dr. Joseph Elbert Nunn...
. She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.
In 1947, she published in Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
from Amarillo. Hooks, who was born to former slaves, was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
plains, broke horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, and handled the remuda
Remuda
A Remuda is a herd of horses from which ranch hands select their mounts. The word is of Spanish derivation, for "change of horses" and is commonly used in the American West. The person in charge of the remuda is generally known as a wrangler.-Necessity:...
s on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black church
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
es in West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
.
Later years
In the 1920s, Hamner and a friend, in an effort to encourage other writers, formed the group, Panhandle Pen Women. In her later years, she resided in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, where she frequently met with literary agents, publishers, and writers from throughout the world. At one point, she lived briefly on a land claim in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. She adopted a child. She was made an honorary member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
Daughters of the Republic of Texas
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas is a sororal association dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Texas pioneer families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas is best known for its role as caretakers of The Alamo. They also operate a museum in Austin...
. “Laura V. Hamner Week” was frequently observed in Amarillo.
Hamner died in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, where she was visiting a relative. A Methodist, she is interred beside her parents in Claude. Most of her papers are in either the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is a history museum on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, U.S.A., a small city south of Amarillo. The museum's contents are owned and controlled by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, while West Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M...
in Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,875 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randall County. It is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is some twelve miles east of Canyon...
or the Eugene C. Barker
Eugene C. Barker
Eugene Campbell Barker was a distinguished professor of Texas history at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the first living person to have a UT campus building, the Eugene C. Barker Texas History Center, named in his honor. The structure is part of the Center for American History and was...
Texas History Center of the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. She is included in the “Listing of Great Texas Women”.
Publications
- Hamner's first major publication, The No-Gun Man of Texas (1935) was the result of her long-term acquaintance with legendary Texas cattleman Charles GoodnightCharles GoodnightCharles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
. - Short Grass and Longhorns, the University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
Press in 1943. - Hamner's article in Reader's DigestReader's DigestReader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
(1947) introduced the African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
former cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
Matthew Bones Hooks of Amarillo to a national readership.
Further reading
- Ina M. O. McAdams, Texas Women of Distinction, McAdams, Austin, 1962.
- Deolece Miller, Miss Laura of Amarillo, Texas Parade, December 1954.
- Clarence R. Wharton, ed., Texas under Many Flags, 5 vols., Chicago: American Historical Society, 1930.