The Chad and Ma Summer 2016 Adventure

Huntsville, TX (June, 2016)

We usually go to a far-away place for our summer adventures; however, since we had spent spring break in New York, this year, Ma opted to introduce Chad to the wonders of places almost in our backyard----Huntsville, Texas, only 40 miles north of his home. We didn’t have to pack, we didn’t have to go through security, and we didn’t have any layover times. We got in the car around 10:00, drove north, and arrived at the Sam Houston Visitors Center in about 35 minutes. The statue of General Sam Houston is 77-feet tall and is the tallest statue of an American hero. Chad enjoyed doing gross things to Mr. Sam’s nose on the prototype of the statue’s face.

After we had explored the statue and the park area—and the gift shop, of course, so Chad could get a shot glass for his ever-growing collection—we drove past Sam Houston State University, then headed to downtown Huntsville, which is known to all Texans as the home of “The Walls” unit of the Texas State Penitentiary. This facility is located about a block or two from the city center, and we found out that this facility is the oldest Texas state prison. It also houses the execution chamber, but Chad and I didn’t talk too much about that, except to say that only very, very, very bad people are put to death. Then—we started talking about other, more pleasant things, such as who runs the facility, the duties of the warden, the white uniforms of the prisoners who are trustees, and why these prisoners get to go outside of “The Walls,” etc. We actually went inside the vestibule of the main building, although I don’t think the correctional officer was pleased that we did. But, as always, Chad was polite and stuck close to his Ma. The heavy door opened a couple of times, so we did get to see the inside—somewhat: the bars that enclosed much of the back part and a sign that indicated the Warden’s Office. We also saw the guards in the watch towers and discussed their roles.

After all of that, it was time to eat!!!!! Mr. Hamburger is a Huntsville institution and is located about one block from the prison. I can imagine that 20 years ago, a visitor could eat a hamburger there and could watch any action with an unobstructed view. Appropriately, it has items on the menu, such as the KILLER BURGER, OLD SPARKY, and the WARDEN.

Our next stop was the Texas Prison Museum. We saw many displays, including a replica of an actual cell! Before Chad went inside, he made sure that the door wouldn’t lock behind him. He was fascinated with the little table that housed utensils and a real Bible. We talked about privileges that prisoners earned and why those privileges were given or were taken away.

Old Sparky is housed there, but we didn’t discuss that. I took a picture—but Chad was otherwise occupied with looking at handcuffs, balls and chains, and information about Bonnie and Clyde. The most fascinating picture to Chad was of Bonnie and Clyde in the morgue. We talked about that at length, then looked at and discussed the WANTED posters of those two. He thought it was funny that Bonnie and Clyde tried to rob the Ponder State Bank, but since someone had robbed them the day before, there was no money. (That information wasn’t in the museum, but it is legend to residents of Ponder!!!!)

At the museum, we studied a miniature replica of the “Walls” unit and saw the different areas housed inside that 54-acre facility, including a church and a full-size football field. After we had thoroughly explored the museum, we drove across the interstate to another prison facility called “The Holliday Unit.” This area is surrounded with a barbed wire fence, laced with razor wire. We talked about the difference between “The Walls” unit and the “Holliday” unit, and saw that the trustees are able to tend to a big garden on each end as well as work with the horses in the field adjacent to the prison.

A trip to Huntsville wouldn’t be complete without seeing Mr. Sam’s home. The “dog run” home is on his original homestead, along with a long, skinny home known as the “steamboat” home. Chad was most fascinated by all the different kinds of roosters that were running all over the place!

The adventure was fun, educational, and different from the ones we’ve had in the past. Since Chad is going to be studying Sam Houston in the 4^th grade (this is according to the park ranger at the Sam Houston Statue Information Center), he is sure to be well ahead of his classmates. Just ask him how tall the statue is—he will know immediately!!!!!