The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 31, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 5, 2021 Page: 4 of 6
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4A starlocalmedia.com
The Colony Courier Leader
Sunday, September 5,2021
EDUCATION / GOVERNMENT / VOICES
TO SUBMIT YOUR
STORY IDEAS
OR PHOTOGRAPHS,
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VOICES
The grandfather
of Texas
VOICES
What you can get at
the library
T AT any historians have
called Stephen F.
L • Austin the ‘father
of Texas” for his efforts to bring
the first settlers from the United
States into Texas. But the story
begins with his own father, busi-
nessman and visionary Moses
Austin, who in his oum way be-
came the “grandfather of Texas."
Moses Austin was born in Connecti-
KEN
BRIDGES
Texas History
Minute
business and founded several
communities along the Mississippi
River. While in Missouri, he and a
group of business partners formed
the Bank of St. Louis, which was
the first bank established west of
the Mississippi River. While the
effort did not last long, the bank
helped solidify St. Louis’s position
as a major center of commerce.
You may know
The Colony Public
Library offers books,
audiobooks, mov-
ies, and music, but
modern libraries are
more than books and
physical materials.
We have many items
and resources that
MEGAN
CHARTERS
Library director
City of The Colony
search platforms, to
name more than a
few.
No. 7: Specialty
kits for all ages.
Specialty kits are
self-contained bags
or backpacks that in-
clude everything you
need to try an activity
cut in October 1761, already part of a
pioneer tradition. His ancestors arrived in
the early waves of settlers from England in
the early 17th century. His father, Elias
Austin, was a man of many trades and
had worked as a tailor, tavern owner and
farmer. He thus learned from his father’s
business sense and soon wanted to step
out into more lucrative trades.
Austin had a sharp eye for business. In
1784, he joined his older brother, Stephen
Austin, in a successful dry goods busi-
ness in Philadelphia. Here, Moses Austin
The Panic of 1819 wiped out Moses
Austin’s mining fortune. Deeply in debt
and frustrated, he began looking for new
outlets to repay his business partners and
creditors. His vision turned toward Tex-
as colonization.
At the time, Spain struggled to hold
onto its vast empire in the New World. Its
territories, running from California to Tex-
as to South America in 1819, were thinly
settled in many areas and difficult to de-
fend or develop. Austin’s proposal to bring
American settlers to the area and develop
married Mary Brown in 1785, the daughter new communities was met with deep skep-
may surprise you! Here are or learn something new. For
10 things you didn’t know you young children, we offer Story
could get at The Colony Public Time Backpacks; elementary
Library and middle school kids love
No. 10: Downloadable eB- our STEM Kits; we have Maker
ooks. audiobooks, magazines, Kits for teens and adults; and
comics, and more. We just said our Family Discovery Kits are
libraries are more than books
- and that’s true - but to start
off our list, TCPL offers your
great for game nights, road
trips, or fun adventures. We
also offer Memory Care Kits
favorite titles in digital formats to help facilitate discussions
for free. Fiction, non-fiction,
newspapers, periodicals, and
children’s read-alongs are at
your fingertips and on your
device with your library card
of a wealthy iron mine owner, and the two ticism in December 1820. After an initial
would have five children. rejection by the Spanish governor in San
Eager to build on their success in Penn- Antonio, Austin convinced the respected
sylvania, the Austins moved to Virginia to local businessman, Felipe Neri, Baron de
expand their dry goods business and move Bastrop, to appeal on his behalf. Because
into mining. In 1789, the brothers assisted of the baron’s appeals, the governor reluc- sive collection of award-win-
with the construction of the Virginia State
Capitol building, designed by Thomas
Jefferson. The Austins, through their lead
mining business, constructed the original
roof for the building. The two soon expand-
ed their mining operations into southwest-
ern Virginia. They founded the small com-
munity of Austinville to support their lead
and zinc mines in the area. However, the
mine played out within a few years. With
money problems mounting, Moses Austin
moved to Missouri in 1798 to establish a
new series of mines.
By the time the United States pur-
chased the region from France in 1803 as Austin, accepted his father’s mission and
part of the Louisiana Purchase, Austin was soon charged into his destiny, leading the
tantly agreed. Eventually, several thousand
acres were offered for settlement.
The trip to Texas exhausted Austin. In
his already weakened state, he obsessively
worked to make his Texas settlements
a success when his frail health col-
lapsed. Determined that his Texas dream
would continue, he enlisted the support
of his son. With his dying strength, he had
his wife write a letter to their son begging
him to continue his father’s work. Mo-
ses Austin died in June 1821. Their son,
the always loyal and devoted Stephen F.
already an established business leader in way for the first American settlements
the area. He made a fortune in the mining in Texas.
MEMORIAL CENTEF
Cemetery Spaces in
serene & beautiful Coppell
Glass Front Cremation Niches
i A.starting at $995
Burial Spaces from $1,095.00
Leorn more about affordable community-owned buric'
972-462-5147
RollingOaksMemorialCenter.com
400 South Freeport Parkway
Coppell, Texas
Owned and Operated by The City of Coppell
and memory sharing between
seniors and their caregivers.
No. 6:3D printing services.
Whether you’ve designed your
own 3D object or found one on
No. 9: Streaming movies, TV a shared design site, bring your
shows, and music. We offer free 3D files on a flash drive and
access to popular streaming
titles, as well as to an expan-
ning educational videos from
channels such as HBO. A&E,
National Geographic, and
BBC - think documentaries,
nature programs, DIY shows,
children’s programming, and
more!
No. 8: Online classes and
resources for personal devel-
opment, career advancement,
self-directed learning, and
we can print for you! Printing
is $0.10/gram of filament used
($1 minimum).
No. 5: Mobile hotspots for
anywhere, anytime internet
access! One thing that has
become apparent during this
pandemic is that internet ac-
cess is no longer a luxury; it is
a necessity. You can check out
the internet from TCPL and
use it at home, on the road, or
out in nature.
No. 4: Library of Things.
beyond. With your TCPL card, A Thing is a useful, non-book
you have free access to online object that you may want to
tutoring, language learning
apps. genealogy research
“try before you buy” or borrow
once or twice to save on invest-
sites, craft and hobby projects, ing in expensive equipment,
software instruction, and job Our Library of Things includes
an electric power washer, a
small upholstery cleaner, hand
tools, electrical gadgets, board
games, and a home health
care kit. We’ll be adding more
Things in the future, including
cake pans!
No. 3: Fishing gear. TCPL is
a partner in the Texas Paris &
Wildlife Department’s Tackle
Loaner Program, which means
you can stop by TCPL to check
out a fishing rod and tackle
before hitting up any of the
fishable spots in the City by
the Lake.
No. 2: Spices. The first
rule of Spice Club is ... try
something new! Each month of
Spice Club features samples of
two different spices, along with
recipe and cookbook recom-
mendations. It’s a great way
to experience the cuisines of
different regions and cultures
from around the country and
the globe!
No. 1: Seeds. Seeds? You
heard us right! We’re develop-
ing a Seed Library and you can
check out seeds for growing
fall vegetables and spring
flowers. The best part of this
sustainable, community-shar-
ing project is there are no
overdue fines if you don’t have
a successful crop!
To learn more about what
The Colony Public Library of-
fers, visit us at thecolonypl.org
or follow us on social media, @
tcpltx.
Megan Charters is the
library director for the city
of The Colony. She may be
reached at mcharters@thecol-
onytx.gov
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Don’t try to understand,
just understand
The past few weeks have been very
painful, stressful, and triggered both good
and bad memories for many veterans and
itable death at the hands of the Taliban,
have taken their toll on many veterans.
The veterans themselves are now making
previous deployments to Afghanistan, the these frantic calls to help bring back their
Middle East and as far back as the Vietnam comrades in arms and it’s making life crazy
these frantic calls to help bring back their
War.
A lot of people, and rightfully so, want
to politicize what is occurring right now
in Afghanistan. However, there are many
veterans who find it hard to see this
withdrawal occur and remember the lives
for many families.
This is where families simply need to
know it’s okay to not fully understand, just
understand.
Many veterans have a new mission, a
calling so to speak, to accomplish tasks
lost trying to keep America safe. To see the that may seem insurmountable. It may cost
Taliban, who military members fought for money, sleepless nights, restlessness, and
20 years, take over a country in mere days even angry episodes never seen before,
is so heartbreaking. It makes everyone who Families may be on the edge for a bit, but
has ever served, especially during this time please know that it will get better, it will
period, so demoralized that we are beside
ourselves as to why we were even there?
Now, there are frantic phone calls com-
ing from Afghanis that worked alongside
fellow Americans. It’s not just interpret-
ers, it’s also mechanics, cooks, and fellow
foreign military service members. The fall
of Afghanistan and suddenly these frantic
calls coming from people in dire need of
wanting to survive, what may be the inev-
get better!
Your veteran is simply needing to work
through their own “military operation” that
only they will know when it’s truly “mission
accomplished.”
Please don’t try to understand, just
understand.
Paul Perez,
A veteran
ouIACT per $100 property valuation, Because the existing
DUDUEI a rate which signifies a 3% maintenance and operation
decrease from the 2020-21 rate exceeds a calculated
rom PAGEONE fiscal years rate of $1.3473 “no-new-revenue” rate of
Chief Financial Officer R. per S100 valuation. Of the $0.9134, Lewisville ISD offi-
Mark Youngs called a “net ers will pay $0.9278 will cials are required to say that
net deficit of $9.5 million. fund maintenance and oper- the tax rate of $0.9278 “will
Presented in tandem ation while $0.3809 will pay raise more taxes for mainte-
with this budget was a pro- principle and interest on the nance and operations than
posed tax rate of $1.3087 district’s outstanding debt, last year’s tax rate.”
D A W the jail,” he said. is a huge issue, and I think
PIT He added that the Sheriff’s this...hopefully this is going to
Office recently lost a chap- help with some of that morale
From PAGE ONE lain and a detention officer to issue as well.”
“I actually think this may COVID-19. Murphree said there were
cut down on the amount of "So they have that in the stilla few applicants “trickling
people that we’re paying over- back of their mind," he said, in" and getting hired. He also
time now, and it may even out "The things they have *» deal said he would not be lowering
because we’re going double with and some of the people hiring standards.
time” he said they have to deal with, and at “I’m fully confident that
Murphree described a “mo- the same time, they don't get we're goingt0 get back to some
cole arsin adding that there those two days off. They get sort of normal rate of folks who
are 1,200 people at the jail. one day off or they had a va- are coming in, and that way we
“It’s like a small Denton cation planned, and then we can get those numbers back to
County communitv and there can't do it because we’re going where they need to be,” Mur-
are cases of COVID that are in to be understaffed. So morale phree said.
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The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 31, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 5, 2021, newspaper, September 5, 2021; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1622597/m1/4/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.