Junction High School - Golden Eagle Yearbook (Junction, TX)

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For several decades, Americans have watched with anticipation as astronauts reported to Mission Control in Houston. TEXAS Jhina-' Much ado about Everything The Astrodome, eighth wonder of the world,” was the first fully air-conditioned, enclosed, domed, multipurpose- sports stadium in the world. The stadium seats 66,000 and could hold an 18-story building. The Astrodome is the home of the Houston Oilers football team and the Houston Astros baseball team. ☆ ☆ ☆ The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, was formed in 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Manned Spacecraft Center is an astronautical complex of more than 1,000 acres located near Houston. It is here that the spacecraft that have been to the moon and back are displayed. ☆ ☆ ☆ The Texas Flag was adopted by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on Jan. 25, 1839. Texas became known as the Lone Star State because of the single star on the flag. ☆ ☆ ☆ Chili became the state dish of Texas in 1977. Chili is similar to stew cooked with a variety of ingredients, ranging from jackrabbit, rattlesnake and pork to jalapenos, frijoles, cayenne and comino. Texans pride themselves on their chili recipes and host many chili cook-offs to show off their culinary expertise.

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Early Spanish missions add a sense of history to modern Texas. Gm m'fhoX' RELIGION The 1837 Ecclesiastical Committee of Vigilance for Texas was more likely to find a group of rough, rowdy Texans preferring to raise hell than seek salvation. Nevertheless, the committee’s efforts were undaunted, and the missionary zeal that brought Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian ministers to Texas lives in many counties today. w t hen the state entered the Union in 1845 — 12.5 percent of the population belonged to a church Camp revivals soon became a way to relieve the monotony of the frontier. Baptists were among the first to pioneer changes in the wicked West and the religious press. Texas Baptist George Washington Baines (Lyndon Baines Johnson's grandfather) published the Texas Baptist from 1855 to 1861. The Cumberland Presbyterians followed with the Texas Presbyterian. Evangelism was spread by publicity gained through the efforts of individuals and groups like William Y. Allen and his Texas Temperance Society. Many religious leaders did more than fight hard liquor. Organized religion opened the first colleges in the state. Many fought illiteracy. Thomas J. Pilgrim, a Baptist, started the Texas Sunday School Movement. The founding of Baylor University in 1845 prompted many religious organizations to seek education as a means of sending their message. Some religious groups appealed to the diverse immigrant population. German, Czechoslovakian, Polish and Hispanic people were Catholic. By 1860 over 30 percent of the Texas population wa« black and many joined the Baptist church. Famous religious leaders became advocates of social justice. Joseph Martin Dawson, a Baptist, fought child labor, exploitation of immigrants, advocated women's rights and rebuked the Ku Klux Klan. In 1950, the Baptist General Convention created the Christian Life Commission, an activist agency dedicated to applied Christianity. They opposed universal military training in the early 1950s, defended the supreme court's desegregation and school prayer decisions of the early 1960s, sanctioned abortion under certain circumstances, promoted sex education, urged a settlement in Viet Nam, and fought against air and water pollution. Texas Catholics like Archbishop Robert E. Lucey placed the church in support of the underprivileged. He championed rights to decent wages, racial integration, housing, equality and health services. Today 56 percent of the Texas population belong to organized congregations.

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Tidbits and fun facts for those in pursuit of trivia. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was born on Feb 24, 1885, in Fredericksburg, Texas. He graduated seventh in his class from the United States Naval Academy in 1905. In 1938, he was promoted to rear admiral. At the outbreak of World War II, President Roosevelt chose Nimitz to be Commander-in- Chief of the Pacific Fleet. This appointment made Nimitz one of the most powerful commanders up to that time. Sam Houston was born in Virginia in 1793. At age 36 he married an Indian woman and later moved to Texas as an agent of the Cherokee tribe. He was elected major general of the Texas army and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. Following his victory over Santa Anna, he became the first president of the Republic of Texas. He later served 14 years as a U.S. Senator from Texas. The Longhorn evolved into their own tough breed in South Texas when they were abandoned to run wild when Texas won its independence from Mexico. The Longhorns were the first cattle raised in Texas for breeding and selling. They were transported to the northern slaughter houses via the famous Chisholm trail to Kansas. The state herd of longhorns is at Fort Griffin, on the Brazos River. ☆ ☆ ☆ The Astrodome, called the eighth wonder of the world, is so immense — once water condensed in The King Ranch began its the top forming clouds, and exciting organization in 1852 when Captain Richard King acquired 54,000 acres of grassland on Santa Gertrudis Creek in South Texas. It is now international, with the Texas ranch alone covering more than 1,500 square miles. The King Ranch has always set and maintained the highest standards for farming, cattle and horse breeding and all other facets of ranching. Their extensive scientific research program developed the Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle, which is the only recognized variety of purebred cattle developed in America.