Prairie Blume Literary Society Holds Meeting

The Prairie Blume Literary Society had a lively meeting on November 18 at the Fayette Public Library in La Grange. The program included two interesting and informative presentations.

The first was a talk by Sally Reynolds about the history of the mortar cannon now displayed on the Round Top courthouse square. The cannon is one of over 600 that were produced for the Civil War. It was a rifled cannon with a large bore, weighing about one ton (2000 pounds). After the war these canons were stored in various places. In the 1880s they began to be used in holiday celebrations. This one was fired for several years as part of July 4 celebrations. When it was fired in 1889, the cannon broke apart, injuring two men, one of whom subsequently died. Some pieces were left on the ground and some picked up and stored. In preparation for the U. S. bicentennial celebration in 1976 the cannon was restored. Since then it has been carefully maintained, displayed, and fired annually on Independence Day in Round Top.

The program continued with a reading by Larry Jackson of the first chapter in a book he is writing about the La Grange Railroad Depot. This year is the 125th anniversary of the current depot building. The depot museum has been open since 1999. It’s collections and displays are continually being expand-ed. The museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The Prairie Blume Literary Society is a resurrection of the original Prairie Blume Society, which operated in Fayette County between 1857 and 1859, under the guidance of Johannes C. N. Romberg, who has been called the German poet laureate of Texas. The current Society was started in February 2023 and has now held four quarterly meetings. Presentations at the first three meetings included:

• Information about the German immigration to Texas in the nineteenth century and the dozens of German language newspapers published regularly in Texas. About a third of all immigrants to Texas in the 1800s came from Germany, driven by the lack of political freedom in Europe. In the 1850s. New Braunfels was one of the largest cities in Texas.

• A detailed and fascinating story of European ancestors before and after they came to Texas from eastern European countries, told by their descendant living in Fayette County

• A talk about “Fairy Tale Fathers and Resilient Disney Daughters,” showing how folk and literary tales have evolved from German cultural history. It included literary and psychological analysis with emphasis on changes in the classic princess stories from the Grimm brothers, and the eventual shift to less passive female role models.

• A tour of the Fayette Public Library archives and portions of the library not usually open to the public The next meeting of the Society will be on Feb. 10, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Fayette Public Library. Everyone interested in local history and literature is invited to attend. Membership in the Society is open to everyone.

Another announcement of the February meeting will be sent out late in January. If you are not already a member and would like to receive that notice by email, please send your email address now to Rod Koenig at rodney. koenig@nortonrosefulbright. com and to Arnold Romberg at faromberg@gmail.com. If you have a subject which you would like to present at a future meeting, please let them know also.