JoAnn's NTGD Giving Back to the Land Fundraiser

Around the turn of the century both sides of my family migrated to Texas. My dad's side settled in the Blackland Prairie near Leonard, while my mom's lived in the Western Cross Timbers near Bowie. As Texas was settled, all available land was farmed and grazed without regard for the natural ecosystem, leading to the near-complete destruction of the local habitat. Now, the remaining land is under assault from urban development and the spread of so-called "green" installations that cover natural landscapes instead of coexisting with them.

I am a proud member of the Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT)  and serve on its state board. We work to protect and restore the native prairies that remain in our state. I'm asking you to join us in the vital cause by contributing to NPAT during our North Texas Giving Day fundraiser. Every dollar raised will go directly toward our North Texas Prairie Initiative, allowing us to conserve more prairie land here in North Texas. 

A few years ago, I came across a photo of my grandmother sitting on a cutaway of a creek bank, likely Bois D'arc Creek in Fannin County. What amazed me was the depth of the roots in the exposed prairie soil. Preserved native prairies have deep root systems that allow them to absorb between 7 and 9 inches of rain in one event. This is a crucial function for managing both water and soil health. My father often told stories of this childhood in the region--of "bodark" , crawdads, hunting dogs, log walks home from football practice, and cotton farming. This area, home to the Bois D'arc tree, was know for its rich, dark soil. As kids, my brother and I would attach bacon to a string and drop it into cracks in the ground to catch crawdads.

My grandmother's garden was lush, and I can still see her in her bonnet, working outside. One of my fondest memories was sitting on top of the ice cream freezer while my dad and grandad churned homemade ice cream. I also remember going to the icehouse on the town square to pick up a block of ice for this favorite treat. My grandad was a cattle trader, constantly buying and selling livestock. Leonard was in Fannin County, where, at one point, over 10,000 people lived across the county, mostly in rural areas. After losing a son in WW2, my grandfather went to Fort Worth to find work for his sole remaining son. He found work and a boarding house on the southside of Fort Worth. That boarding house was down the street from the church where he met my mother. 

I'll always regret not walking my dad's old farm with him. However, I find comfort knowing that Clymer Meadow, located between Celeste and Leonard, is one of the largest preserved blackland prairies in Texas. How I wish I could ask him now about the land of his birth and the bodark trees that once dotted the landscape. 

On the other side of my family, my mother grew up in the Western Cross Timbers near Bowie. She was born in Iowa Park, the second of a set of twins--so unexpected that she spent her early days sleeping in a drawer. Her grandfather called her "Runt" because of her size, as she was much smaller than her twin sister. She nearly died of diphtheria as a child, and the family credits castor oil with saving her life. At the age of 2 the family moved to Newport, near Bowie. The soil here was nothing like the rich, black soil of Fannin County. Instead, it was rocky and sandy, typical of the Cross Timbers region. 

I remember Sunday afternoon drives with my mom and grandmother, where they'd discuss the farm crops we passed by. I, on the other hand, was always more interested in what was growing along the fencerows. Life on their farm had its hardships--a tornado blew down the barn, and my grandfather was injured in a truck accident. Farming wasn't as successful as they had hoped, so my grandmother moved the family to Bowie, where she took a job at Piggly Wiggly. My childhood memories of Bowie center around exploring around their house in town which was across the street from the Bowie High School. 

In those early settlement days, no one understood the critical role of prairies and their deep-rooted systems. Sadly, even today, we continue to destroy these ecosystemsm replacing native plants with species that don't support our wildlife or soil. We now know better but we still have much to do to live in harmony with our environment.

Our North Texas Giving Day fundraiser is a key part of this initiative allowing us to raise the funds needed to work with landowners on conservation easements. With NPAT"S guidance these easements allow landowners to maintain control of their property while protecting its ecologial value for future generations. 

 The land on which Fort Worth built its economy, the same land that once supported cattle drives, deserves to be preserved and restored. 

Every donation will be doubled by a generous matching fund. Please share your own prairie stories in the comments. 

We now KNOW better, and it's up to us to DO better for prairies and for Texas!