AUTO-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT:
Hey greetings everyone, Lieutenant Colonel Allen West here and welcome to the Steadfast and Loyal program.
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[ALLEN WEST] Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the Steadfast and Loyal program. You know, living in Texas, this place just has a wealth of history. Just recently driving down to Port Aransas, we went through Gonzales and we went through Goliad and pulled my wife over and we stopped there La Bahia and we saw the site where Colonel James Fannin and his men were executed by the Mexicans, some 400.
Now this month is the 200th anniversary of the Texas Rangers, one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in North America. And so I couldn't think of a better person to talk to about this 200th anniversary than former Texas Ranger Joe Davis who is a fifth-generation Texan and a descendant of George Lamb who fought and was killed at the Battle of San Jacinto for the independence of Texas. He was accepted into the DPS Academy in February of 1963 and in 1968 was promoted to agent in the DPS Intelligence Service station in Houston. He was appointed as a Texas Ranger on the 1st of October 1969.
He is now the past president of the former Texas Rangers Association and current president of the former Texas Rangers Foundation and we're joined by Joe Davis right now. It's good to see you Joe. How are you doing?
[RANGER DAVIS] Everything's going well, Allen. Just trying to fight this heat that's in Texas but we're doing that well and having a great summer in Fredericksburg.
[ALLEN WEST] Yes sir. Well stay inside, drink a lot of tea or lemonade and water and just stay in the air conditioning. Let's talk about this month because it was 200 years ago in August of 1823 when Stephen F. Austin called forward for the first 10 Texas Rangers. You having served as a Texas Ranger, what does this mean for you? Well, you know Stephen F. Austin of course is known as the father of Texas and he brought the first colonists into Texas about 1821 and then of course 1823 saw a need to protect them and that need was fulfilled by 10 men that he hired, became known as Rangers and their job was to protect the settlers that he brought in and little did he probably know at that time when he hired the first 10 that they'd be around for the next 200 years and as a young man growing up, young boy growing up here in Texas and I've become kind of fascinated with the history of Texas and the history of the Rangers and so growing up I made a commitment that one day I'd like to be a Texas Ranger. You know the interesting thing when you think about the state of Texas before there was the Republic of Texas, before there was the state of Texas, there were Texas Rangers so they were there guarding something that had not yet come into its full fulfillment. So you have been the past president of the former Texas Ranger Association and that's an organization that was founded in 1897 so it's about 125 or plus years of age and now you're the president of the former Texas Ranger Foundation and that's been around for over 50 years. So you're kind of a keeper of an incredible legacy. What does that mean for you to be the the guardian of that Texas Ranger folklore and that legacy? Well of course growing up and as I said and then actually becoming a Texas Ranger, it's been a part of my life actually I guess since I was about 14 when I first wrote that letter to Colonel Garrison who was then chief of the Texas Rangers inquiring about the Texas Rangers and he sent me a badge which I have still have and it's hanging in my office. So they've been a part of my life I guess since I was 14 and being a native Texan in the background of the history of my family it really means a lot to be able to be a part of this great history of this state. I thank God every day that I was born in this state and was able to serve as a ranger and be a part of that history and continue to do so today. So what are some of the events that the former Texas Ranger Foundation has planned for this 200th anniversary and can the public come down and participate and be a part of some of these celebrations there in Fredericksburg?
[RANGER DAVIS] Yeah we actually are having an event this weekend called Celebrate Texas that we were due to have back in March but because of a storm that came through we had to cancel it and so it's coming together this weekend it'll begin Friday at our Texas Ranger Heritage Center with a play on Captain Bill McDonald, a well-known early ranger who actually is responsible for calling the phrase one right one ranger and Wyatt Earp who is actually pardon me on that right no problem and Wyatt Earp who was actually a descendant of the real Wyatt Earp an actor from Timson will be in Friday night playing the one-man play honoring the Texas Ranger Bill McDonald. So it's been starting with that event and then Saturday we have an all-day event beginning at 9 a.m. we'll have some Indians camped out on the ground some ranger camps we'll have some entertainment here for them be swearing in kids that come to the event they'll be swore in as junior rangers and receive a junior ranger Texas Ranger badge and so it's going to be a great day honoring the 200th anniversary with different ones participating the mayor of Fredericksburg is coming over and reading the proclamation about the design that day Texas Ranger Day here in Fredericksburg. Now a lot of people have come to know Fredericksburg as being this you know wine central location wine capital of Texas but when you think about the history that is there and the former Texas Ranger Foundation and the the ranger heritage center that is there and also Fort Martin Scott can you tell people a little bit more about Fort Martin Scott which is one of the oldest uh forts east I mean west of the Mississippi River. Yeah of course our heritage center is right here in Fredericksburg as you enter the city limits and we had joined Fort Martin Scott.
So Fort Martin Scott was actually the first fort built out west to protect this area from the Indians right after Texas became a state in the United States they sent federal troops down here and they needed a place for them and so Fort Martin Scott was in the area that where the settlers were farming here at the time had been here a couple of years so they decided to build the first fort which became Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg. Uh the Rangers had a lot to do with this area too at the same time as Captain Jack Hayes, a early well-known ranger, patrolled up this area. He followed what was known as the Penta Trail that had been in existence for a hundred years that came out of San Antonio and run up to direction west northwest and it was made actually by the Indians that they traveled back and forth on and it became a trail that used by the settlers and the rangers. So Fort Martin Scott is a big historical monument here in Fredericksburg being the first fort built out west and we're part of that history because of the rangers that camped in the area like Jack Hayes and others during that time it was in existence. Now not too far away from the heritage center and Fort Martin Scott you got a couple of ranger engagement areas where they had some skirmishes with the local the Comanches there. One of them is Enchanted Rock and I think that's where Captain Hayes kind of became part of the Texas Ranger Forklore. Yeah Enchanted Rock is just a few miles northwest of Fredericksburg. It's a 640 acre granite mountain. It was actually the Indians used it and thought it was a monument that they was very sacred to them. So Captain Hayes of course was out in this area patrolling and got in the area of Enchanted Rock and was camped out there and one day he went up to observe the area from that rock and was surrounded by some Indians and actually had a Indian battle up there and his men who were camped down below heard the shooting and came to his rescue. But that's just a few miles northwest of here and it's still in existence. It's now a state park where people can actually come up there and climb the mountain and observe the same thing that Captain Hayes observed when he was up there on the Enchanted Rock. So the unique thing about you know the Texas Ranger Heritage Center there in Fredericksburg is that you are actually on the ground where the Rangers had an outpost, the Rangers stayed, the Rangers patrolled and there was an Ranger engagement there and there was another I think it's the Battle of Walker's Creek that's not too far away either. Right Battle of Walker Creek was Jack Hayes again which is just south of here located basically between Fredericksburg and the city of Burney and
Captain Hayes had just got some revolvers from the Texas Navy and they were five shot revolvers known as the Patterson, the first revolver made by Cold Factory and he just hit his men a pair of those revolvers and each one of them carried five shots so they had 10 shots before they had to reload. And while they were patrolling out here south of Fredericksburg they spotted a group of Indians and then an engagement occurred with the Indians and actually the historians will tell you that those revolvers was like almost the atomic bomb when it came to battle that much because the Indians wasn't expecting that. They were used to the Rangers firing one shot from their muskets or their pistols that they carried and then had to reload and it's actually surprised the Indians and they were badly defeated that day at that battle because of the new Patterson revolver that Jack Hayes and his men were carrying.
[ALLEN WEST] Let's talk about your vision for phase two of the Texas Rangers Heritage Center there. Phase one has been completed you got the beautiful pavilion you got the amphitheater that is there the you know generational ranger statue and of course the the star that has the ranger uh character characteristics and traits. What's that vision for that phase two that you want to bring to Fredericksburg?
[RAMGER DAVIS] Yeah that phase two is actually going to be a unique state-of-the-art facility it's going to be more than a museum. When you come to this facility you'll not only see the artifacts you'll also learn the history as you go through there. The museum will be divided into as you enter a theater and a ranger will actually come out as if he's there in person on his horse and tell you about what you're fixing to observe as you go through. There'll be five galleries after you leave the theater and it'll start with actually Austin hiring the first 10 Rangers and you'll be there as if you were actually there as it occurred. Then you'll go into gallery number two and you'll actually be in the city of Gonzales. This was when the Alamo was being fought and a writer comes in to the city of Gonzales with a letter from Travis uh saying that he's surrounded and needing help and in that particular gallery you'll see a mounted ranger group from Gonzales that was just formed and after the letter is read the captain of that group will tell him to mount up we need to go to the Alamo. Well that particular group it was the only group that uh made it into the Alamo. They knew when they left Gonzales they may not get out of there and they actually lost their lives 32 of them in the Alamo that day. They're known now in Texas history as the immortal 32. So that's gonna be part of it and you you travel along through there you'll as history progresses and you'll see an outlaw named John Wesley Harden one of the most notorious outlaws in the state that was responsible for killing over 30 men and the rangers got on his trail and ended up following him all the way to Florida where they arrested him and brought him back and you'll actually be in the train station where he was captured and learned that part of the history and he goes on to uh the modern day ranger and what he does today and how many they are and you'll learn the history of them and then as you leave that area you'll go out to uh what we call the hall of honor. We're different rangers and they're recognized in that hall of honor. Men like uh Sullivan Ross who later in life became uh president of Texas A&M University. He was governor of the state of Texas. Tom Frost who uh was a ranger captain before he formed Frost Bank in San Antonio. Men that not only were rangers but after their ranger career they they uh got involved in Texas and built Texas uh what it is today and what people know about it. A lot of them serving in the rangers and you'll learn that as you exit uh at uh ranger uh hall of honor the many men that that uh did that as well as rangers that served like in my time period and afterward. You know and we can't forget uh Frank Hamer and what he did and bringing uh justice to Bonnie and Clyde you know tracking them down and the unique thing about the galleries that you have set up there in the phase two of the Texas Ranger Heritage Center is broken down based upon the Texas Ranger characteristics and values which are courage, determination, dedication, respect, and integrity and I think that if there's anything that our young people need today it's a lesson in those five Texas Rangers values and that's why it's so important that we get this phase two completed.
[ALLEN WEST] How can people support uh the former Texas Ranger foundation in getting that phase two started and completing?
[RANGER DAVIS] Well we have several ways I don't know that you can do that through the Farmer Texas Ranger Foundation which I'm currently the president one of the easiest ways is to get involved with us through our membership program. You can go to our website or call our office and when we formed the foundation it's uh we have a board of directors that uh serve it and uh and we first formed it we formed a membership where you could join up a tax deductible donation and you in in that membership uh you receive a certificate uh naming you a uh member of the Farmer Texas Ranger Foundation you join at various ranks from private to major like in the Texas Ranger service and that's one way you can do it other ways we have different areas in the museum that you can join and put your name on maybe a place there that you can uh like it maybe uh in the museum a certain display that uh you can uh donate to and have it named after you are a member of your family so many different ways out there that we raise money through various donations which are all tax deductible and just like that membership if you become a member your name will go on the wall uh in that facility as you enter in the museum into the lobby area to show that you were part of this and so every day we're out there looking to get this thing finished and uh it's time to take everybody that's a part of this state and outside this state uh that to make this uh to complete it and uh so we're looking for those donors out there to and we're anxious to finish it because as I said it's more than a museum right now even in phase one we're having school kids and kids come out and you know what's going on in our country today it's very important that people know about where they came from and how fortunate they are to be a part of this country and this state and our objective is to make these young kids better citizens through those ranger trades you just talked about and we wanted to know you only have one chance in life and you can either be somebody or uh and be a responsible citizen and you don't want to mess that up and you don't want a ranger on your trail so we kind of encourage these kids through this program to be a leader not a follower be a part of what the ranger tradition is all about and be a good citizen and uh make your life complete because there's only one opportunity you know my favorite texas ranger quote does come from captain bill mcdonald and i'm sure that uh it may be recited during the play this weekend and that is a man in the wrong can't stand up against a man in the right that just keeps it coming and that's about persistence that puts it all in perspective and uh and it's a true statement and that's one of the statements actually that Captain Bill McDonald made um the ranger we're honoring friday night here as well as one right one ranger and if you think about it you know the ranger that's their job and and that's basically law enforcement and uh so if a man is done wrong he owes it to society to pay for that wrong and that's why we have law enforcement but uh and that's why we try to encourage these young kids because you have to get them at an earlier age there's so much out there today uh it wasn't out there when I was growing up too and they really have a lot of uh uh things that are presented to them growing up and today with the narcotic problem and other issues out there they really need this training early and that's what we're really trying to do at this facility because if you learn that and and and and that's what the ranger is all about it's not that he's out there trying to arrest people he's out there to prevent all this crime and and to try to tell people to what to do and to do right and if you prevent and if you do prevent to do the crime he is there to see that you to be punished and so uh the ranger has been a big part of this state from the very beginning he's still a big part of it he was an indian fighter at the earliest stages and then got turned into law enforcement after that was finished and he's still out there today wearing that white hat uh trying to do what he's always done and that's to protect the people of this state you know
[ALLEN WEST] what would you consider your most memorable moment as a Texas Ranger?
[RANGER DAVIS] well I had a lot of good moments you know as a ranger you get involved in a lot of different activities not only in the criminal investigation but with a lot of people you deal with from presidents and governors i've been with uh and it's been an honor to meet a lot of those and to be involved with some of those uh some of the crimes that i had to investigate were pretty terrible crimes that happened out there that brought a lot of public attention but the main part of it was that as a whole uh not one incident but the whole picture of being a ranger at my part was uh just getting up every morning uh knowing i was going to go out there to put on that sink old face old badge as a texas ranger and carry the traditions that the earlier rangers had because you know when you put on that badge alan uh you're putting on a lot of history yeah and when you receive that badge uh uh it's your duty then to keep up that tradition and to honor that badge and what it stands for and so uh every day i got up that was my intention to not let that badge be tarnished to go out and do the job that the ones before me did so my whole career to me was what i always thought it would be as a young man growing up and it was a great honor to wear that badge and to serve the people of this state protect and serve
[ALLEN WEST] In our final moments tell us about the former texas ranger foundation gala that's going to be coming up in November down in Kerrville, Texas, down in Hill Country?
[RANGER DAVIS] yeah that's a big uh one of our big fundraisers that's how as you said people can really get involved with this and it's a great event. It'll be November uh third and fourth in Kerrville this year it starts out on Friday night where we honor our members and the rangers and our volunteers and we have some entertainment and then Saturday night is the big night we'll have a sit-down dinner and and a live and silent option then we'll have some entertainment this year we're going to really have some great entertainment we're going to have uh George Surratt's son above his straight and ace in the whole band that uh George Surratt plays in he's up and we'll have rangers there and and our members and descendants of rangers that uh be there and uh it'll be a great night and so i encourage you if you're interested in being a part of that go on our website the information will be there will be you can already make reservations there by calling the end of the hills in curvil and we'll be sending out uh invitations and so if you want to come and you haven't been there before be sure and call our office get on our invitation list and and go to our website our website is www uh trhc.org as Texas ranger heritage center dot org or our phone number 830-990-2262 all right November the third and the fourth down in Kerrville, TX, end of the hills for the former Texas Ranger Foundation gala uh above his straight and his ace in the whole band is going to be there and it's just a great celebration
[ALLEN WEST] and it'll be a great way to close out this year which is the 200th anniversary of some incredible men and women now the Texas Rangers so again please folks go by Fredericksburg, Texas. Drop in and see Joe Davis at the former Texas Ranger Foundation drop in to the Texas Rangers Heritage Center and wherever you are in the world uh support this organization like I said older than the uh Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Texas Rangers are older the oldest law enforcement agency in North America 200 years this year and we want to thank you Joe Davis for being part of that incredible legacy and may God be with you and thank you for being with us on Steadfast and Loyal
[RANGER DAVIS] thank you Allen and uh it's been a real pleasure being with you always
[ALLEN WEST] Ladies and gentlemen thank you so very much for joining us on this episode of Steadfast and Loyal. Very special thanks to Ranger Joe Davis not just for what he is doing now but for all the years of service that he has given to the great state of Texas and to the United States of America if you like this podcast please click that like button and share it if you like this program please click the like button and share it with others and until next time, Steadfast and Loyal!
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Allen West | Steadfast & Loyal | Texas Ranger History with Joe Davis