Historian Lawrence Eugene Fernandez To Share Regional Stories

EDINBURG, Texas — The Museum of South Texas History welcomes Lawrence Eugene Fernandez as a guest speaker during the Sunday Speaker Series presentation, “Jackass Flats: Tales of the Deltaland of the Rio Grande,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 10.

Fernandez will discuss why it was important to preserve the stories about regional families and historical events. His independently published book is a collection of Rio Grande Valley word-of-mouth historical accounts as told by family members, friends and community leaders. Those tales would have been lost on back porches, where most stories are recited to family and friends, but are now preserved through Fernandez’s book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase in the Museum Store. After the presentation, Fernandez will be available for a book signing.

Fernandez has a family lineage from those who settled in Camargo in 1746, and from the original 300 of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. He is presently the director of a 501(c)(3) foundation that performs historical research management and conducts grant programs for historically-oriented projects throughout the Brownsville area. Fernandez also ran a feature on KVEO called “Throwback Thursdays” and printed a column in the Brownsville Herald which told various points of Rio Grande Valley history.

This program is made possible by the generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was committed to educational causes in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created by her family to honor her memory and to continue providing educational opportunities for the community.