This Day In Texas History - May 30

[joe817]

1688 - Governor Alonso De León of Coahuila arrived at the Indian village ruled by Frenchman Jean Jarry. This deserter from the La Salle expedition (1685) took up residence among the Coahuiltecan Indians in what is now Kinney County, Texas, and held sway over them as their ruler. The location is generally believed to be Anacacho Mountain, some fifteen miles southeast of Brackettville. The Spanish governor, fearful of a French-inspired Indian uprising, persuaded Jarry to return with him to Monclova. The next year, Jarry served as a guide on De León's expedition to Fort St. Louis. Afterward, De León sent the Frenchman to the Rio Grande to await visitors expected from the Hasinai, or Tejas, Indians in eastern Texas. Nothing more is heard of him.

1871 - Adelaida Cuellar, founder of the tamale stand that grew into the El Chico restaurant chain, was born near Matehuala, Nuevo León, Mexico. In 1892 she and Macario Cuellar crossed into Texas and were married in Laredo. At the time they spoke no English. They worked on ranches in small Texas towns before settling as sharecroppers in Kaufman. In 1926, with twelve children to support, Mrs. Cuellar decided to supplement the family income by selling homemade tamales at the Kaufman County Fair. The tamale stand was a success, and the venture was repeated the following year. Soon after, sons Frank and Amos opened a Mexican cafe in Kaufman with Mama Cuellar, as she was called, doing the cooking.

The cafe closed after two years, as the Great Depression tightened its grip on the community. Eventually, using her recipes, several of the sons opened Mexican restaurants in East Texas towns, as well as in Oklahoma City and Shreveport. All of these ventures closed by the end of the 1930s. In 1940 Mrs. Cuellar's sons Macario and Gilbert moved to Dallas and opened a restaurant, El Charro, in the Oak Lawn neighborhood.

The menu featured Mama's tastiest recipes, and eventually most of the family moved to Dallas to help with the popular business. Within three years the restaurant was profitable, and the business began to expand. By this time, the restaurants had become known as El Chico and the Cuellar sons as "Mama's boys." By the time Mama Cuellar died in 1969, the El Chico Corporation was involved in twenty separate business enterprises, from restaurant franchising to canning.

1890 - In Fort Worth, the Texas Spring Palace was destroyed by fire. It opened on May 29, 1889.

1898 - Gen. Nelson A. Miles ordered the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, better known as the "Rough Riders," to Tampa, Florida, to take part in the forthcoming invasion of Cuba as part of the Spanish-American War. The regiment, nominally commanded by Col. Leonard Wood but in fact led by Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, was one of three volunteer cavalry regiments raised in the western states and territories to augment the regular defense establishment, and the only one of the three to serve in combat.

After assembling in San Antonio, the men of the First--many of whom were Texas Rangers--encamped in what is now Roosevelt Park and learned drill and discipline. As no transports could be found to move the division's horses to Cuba, however, they fought as infantry. The Rough Riders were the first United States troops to land in Cuba, and on July 1, with elements of the Ninth and Tenth United States Cavalry regiments, made the famed charge on San Juan (actually Kettle) Hill, seizing the Spanish fortifications and pushing the defenders back into Santiago de Cuba.

The fame of the Rough Riders catapulted Roosevelt into the vice presidency and later the presidency of the United States. In San Antonio, in addition to Roosevelt Park, Roosevelt Street and the Roosevelt Bar of the Menger Hotel, a favorite watering place of the regiment, are named in memory of their sojourn in Texas.

1909 - Just after midnight, on this date in 1909, an F4 tornado struck the town of Zephyr in Brown County destroying large parts of the town, leaving vacant lots in its path. The path of the tornado is uncertain, however, most deaths occurred in the residential areas on the south and east sides of the town. The tornado damaged nearly 50 homes, 6 businesses, 2 churches, and a high school. It killed 34 and injured 70, and was the eighth deadliest tornado in Texas history.

1912 – The Galveston Causeway was dedicated by Governor Oscar B. Colquitt. On opening day, 6,000 vehicles passed over the causeway.

1943 - On this date in 1943, Arthur (Dooley) Wilson died. As an actor, his most famous roll was that of "Sam" in the 1942 film Casablanca. Dooley Wilson, actor and musician, was born Arthur Wilson in Tyler, Texas, on April 3, 1886.