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Portrait of Fidel Tafolla

The original handwritten manuscript was written in Spanish by the Reverend Santiago Tafolla at the age of 71. Tafolla was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico under Mexican rule; traveled widely in the US; and served in the Texas Indian Wars and the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The memoir offers a rare look at 19th century Texas from the Tejano perspective and is the only known memoir of a Mexican American who served in the Civil War. Tafolla's great-granddaughters Carmen and Laura Tafolla transcribed, translated, and edited the memoir, which was ultimately published as A Life Crossing Borders: Memoir of a Mexican-American Civil War Soldier, by Arté Público Press in 2009.

William Liddle talks about local politics in Hays County in the 1960s and 1970s, especially the involvement and sentiments of certain voting groups such as Democrats, the Mexican-American community, and the Black community. He relates controversial school board elections. He discusses issues of academic freedom that certain professors encountered, including Bill Emery, as well as the McCrocklin Case.

Cover story on Mark Benno