Features

Texas State’s Department of Theatre and Dance is inviting Black and Latinx playwrights from across the country to submit for the 20th Annual Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration at Texas State.

San Marcos Parks and Recreation will host its Spring Break Camp coinciding with SMCISD’s school break period March 13 - 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Spring Break Camp is for children ages 5 - 11 years old.

Fifth annual women’s art show set for March 4 - April 29

The flamingo is a most stately and dignified bird. All pretty in pink, it has long, skinny legs that have been described as looking like two toothpicks sticking out of a ripe cherry.

Q.What role has the Ku Klux Klan had in San Marcos? A. I found quite a few articles written about the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the archives of the “San Marcos Daily Record,” found online at the library’s website: hank. ci.san-marcos.tx.us/ Docs/History/Local. htm. MOST of them were very positive. As Dr. Holt, the archivist for the Calaboose African American History Museum described it, San Marcos was a “Klan Friendly” town. (youtube. com/watch?v=CxHStr6wfqQ) The KKK donated money to the hospital, encouraged people to go to church and put a good face on their activities. It functioned here much as other social organizations would, and the city welcomed the KKK openly. However, there was a sinister and deceptive side to their public dealings. For example, on July 20, 1923, the KKK pub-lished a letter in the “San Marcos Record”notifying readers that the KKK had a secret “investigating committee” to report wrongdoing by citizens. In the very same letter, citizens were assured that “it is the policy of the Ku Klux Klan to assist in all worthy causes.” Another example involves the burning of the First Baptist Church in San Marcos in 1873. While they gave money to the community and they stressed morality, religion and going to church, they burnt down a church.

FRIDAY

A classic musical and wine-tasting top the list of places to go this weekend.

Community members, family endeavor to preserve Staples Colored Cemetery

Q. I was stopping for a train yesterday and started to think about the history of the trains in San Marcos. Can you tell me about that? What about train wrecks? A. Trains, while often frustrating and sometimes dangerous, have a long history in the West. Even before the train “came” to San Marcos, it had been a waypoint for cart and stagecoach travelers going between San Antonio and Austin. In 1880, train service was introduced from San Antonio to New Braunfels. That line was then joined from the north to San Marcos in 1881 by the International-Great Northern Railroad (I&GN). The arrival of the railroad, much like other towns throughout the United States, made a huge impact on the development of our town. In 1870, the population of San Marcos was 742. After the arrival of the railroad in 1881, it grew to 2,335. That is a tripling of population — in just 18 years. (Hugh) Compare that to population growth in recent years. In 2000, San Marcos had 36,120 residents. Twenty years later, in 2020, its population doubled to 67,553.

When it comes to butterflies, there’s just no place like Texas.

Texas State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance presents the devised work titled “DeMaskUs” Feb. 23-26, in the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre.

The comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest” opens on the Wimberley Players stage Feb. 24 and runs through March 19. Written by Oscar Wilde, the play exposes the absurdity of Victorian norms when two gentlemen lead double lives for the sake of living and loving their way. Their comic ruse provokes difficulties for themselves and their ladies, delivered with Wilde’s classic wit and charm.