5. Alright pardner, let's saddle up and head fer Texas! Yee-haw! Let's go visit a town which I am proud to share my surname with. Which Texas city is known as the home of the Caldwell Zoo, the Texas Rose Festival and the Camp Ford historic site?
From Quiz T Is for Texas, Tennessee, Tampa and Terre Haute
Answer:
Tyler
Tyler it is!
The Caldwell Zoo originated in 1937 in the Child Development Laboratory, which was started in 1937 and was operated by the Hogg Foundation and the American Association of University Women of Tyler. Mr. and Mrs. David King Caldwell operated it, as Mr. Caldwell had first opened a Child Development Laboratory at his home. Among the initial residents of the actual zoo itself, which opened in 1953, were a lion and chimpanzee who were 'retired' from television shows.
The first Tyler Rose Festival was organized in October 1933 for the purpose of bringing attention to the importance of the economic benefits that the rose industry provided to the city of Tyler. In 1936, it was renamed the Texas Rose Festival in celebration of the Texas Centennial. The three day festival that is held in the third week of each October showcases the beauty of the city and its abundance of roses, bringing literally thousands of tourists to the city each year.
Camp Ford, near Tyler, was the largest Civil War Confederate P.O.W. camp west of the Mississippi River. While the northern captives were initially held out in the open air, that was quickly changed when 800 new prisoners threatened a mass breakout in November 1863. A military stockade was soon built to contain the prisoners and to offer a modicum of protection from the elements. The area is now managed by the Smith County Historical Society as a public park.
Thanks to all the residents of TYLER for sharing your city's name with me!
(In case you were wondering, "logcrawler" is simply derived from portions of my name; LOGan CRAWford TyLER. I know, I know. Someday I'll have to address Logan, Utah and Crawford, Texas, too!)