TRANSCRIPTION
What are your earliest childhood memories?
A lot of my childhood was spent on the ranch prior to entering first grade in Tilden we did not have paved highways the nearest paved road was 60 miles away. I remember one time we had a huge rain and we had to walk about 15 miles to get to the ranch. My dad carried me on his back. Also we did not have the luxuries we have today. We did not have electricity and our water was from stock tanks, we bathed in this water. Our drinking water was rain water off our roof. We had butane lights and butane heaters and a butane refrigerator, we amazed me because it produced coal fire. So the ranch was a great place for children to grow up, we played in the brush and learned to ride bareback early we worked when we got older. My childhood memories are very good. I don't have very good recollection of everything.
How did your family survive the drought of the fifty's?
By working very hard, the ranch was on the verge of collapse and go into bankruptcy. We had a long term credit source from Fort Worth that loan money to ranchers all over the South Texas. I don't recall the name of the bank, they worked with Dad. He was very resourceful, worked very hard and kept an accurate; he knew where he was business wise. The drought actually lasted 7 years; we had some rain in the 7 years but very little. It ended in 1957, before I graduated from high school. And it was so bad just we almost forgot what rain looked like. In the summer we went up to the hill country and we would stay in the hill country for a week on vacation. And it was dry in the hill country, the rivers were very low, but you had very clear and beautiful water, which is where we learned how to swim. And we would go to the coast, to Corpus Christi and I remember during the drought, we would go to the hill in downtown Corpus Christi; there were two parts of Corpus Christi, on the water level and up on the hill. When you top the hill you can see the gulf, the bay and all this water. We were like on a rush of adrenalin, it was tough. Some of the cattle were of the ranch; we leased a ranch close to victoria between Goliad and Beeville. And we moved about a quarter of our cattle over to that place in order to survive. We would get up early in the morning to mix feed, the U.S. government declared most of the west as disaster area, so you got feed from the government, to help get through the drought. A lot of the feed had to be mixed. So we would get up early in the morning before we went to school, then mix feed and sometimes help Dad feed the cows then we would go to get on the bus for school. When we got home from school Mother always insisted in us doing homework first, then we would go on the ranch and work until after dark feeding cattle or burning prickly pears with a butane tank on our backs with a burner. And we used that to burn off the thorn so the cattle could eat it sometimes till after dark and on the weekends. We made it, some didn't, and it was a tough time for ranchers and farmers.
What led you to futher your education?
My family has several branches. My Dad's branch of the Walkers all from his generation forward all had college degrees. Because I think some of my father's first cousins did not go to college. My second cousins all got degrees from good schools. I think because my great grandfather married my great grandmother who was half French. She was the one that pushed this because she did not speak English she spoke French, she was a strong woman and she insisted grandchildren, which is my father's generation and my generation to all go to college. On my mother's side, her father came to Texas from Alabama; he was sort of a rebel. He and his wife my mother's parents died at a very early age. My mother didn't get to know her mother and she only knew her father for a few years before he died. My mother's oldest sister took the responsibility of raising them. They all worked and got a technical education. My aunt was chief executive secretary for the Reserve Pacific Railroad. That is why a chose to get an education. My father went to the University of Texas in Austin, so I went there too. And that was a major turning point in my life. A was totally green when I was there; I was walking across the streets on red lights but I did learn a lot of things. I was very country and homesick for the first semester. For the spring semester I went home for a back operation. That is basically why I chose an education.
What made you choose a life in politics?
I was president of my class from 7th grade till 12th grade. I was active in talking about issues with my teachers, the teachers in freer were very good, so I was well prepared when I went to college. I started in Austin. I am the oldest of three brothers, we were close but also I was isolated from my brothers. And there was a man that came to the ranch to work for my father. I knew him from when I was 11 or 12 till I went to college. He was like my big brother, he taught me Spanish, and we would talk about different things. He also taught me many things about Mexico. While I was in Freer I saw that there were a lot of discrimination against the Hispanics. I'd say in my time that there were at least a quarter, Freer is not an old town, it is an oil town. San Diego and Benavides are old towns. Hispanics have been there longer than Anglos. And they are the majority until oil was discovered. There was or it seem to me that there was a lot of discrimination against students not necessary because of the teachers but because of the atmosphere of the town. That got me or motivated me to begin looking at society and what happened to society. Then when I got to the university I found out that we didn't have any black people, we didn't have any African American people in my town we had one couple and they didn't have children. And so I hadn't been around African American people till I got to the university and they had just recently when I got there in the student body and until recently integrated. There were people and I found out they couldn't go into the theaters across the street from the university. There were two major theaters downtown; none of the four theaters would admit blacks. And that really opened my eyes. That really made me upset well not upset just made me mad and got involved in the civil rights movement. I made I participated in the sit-ins and the stand-ins not only in Austin but also in San Antonio. In San Antonio there was an H.E.B or PigglyWiggly or one of the older grocery chains in the East side in San Antonio. At the E. commerce or E. Houston and the store was 95% supported by African American neighborhood yet they would not hire them, not even as baggers. They would only hire them as a janitor. A friend of mine went out there from the AANCP had a protest out there with picket lines. A friend of mine joined the picket lines. So that was in San Antonio and in Austin. From there I got involved in the civil rights from there I sort of naturally moved in to politics, into the young democrats. At that time the young democrats were an important part of the party because in Texas the senior democrat party was not loyal to the national party they would vote democrat in the primary and then in November they would vote republican. And the young democrats were the only loyal branch of the party. So I got involved and helped a young lady get elected the first woman in the State Chairman. I was State Chairman once and I was national committee man, represented Texas in the national committee for the young democrats. So I got involved in politics that way.
How did your travel to different parts of the world help your life as a politician?
It gave me a perspective; I learned a whole lot in October 1963. I had been in the university, not counting the time I had to drop out for my back surgery. I had been at the university since 1958, the fall of 58. I was not doing any good, I was registered and I dropped out. I lacked 43 hours to graduate. I wasn't making much headway; I didn't know what I wanted to do really. So I dropped out completely and moved to Houston. I used some of my political contacts to get a seaman's document. A seaman's document is used by individuals in the Merchant Marine like a passport. It's hard to get because there not very many jobs in the American Merchant Marine, anyway I got one. And I began to look for a job in big ships, freighters and tankers. Some went along the coast and some went across the ocean too. I ended up going to South and East Africa twice. That would be Southwest Africa, South Africa, Portuguese East Africa, bosanwick, Tanzania and then Kenya and then back down to South Africa back home, did that trip twice. I did a trip on the west coast of South America, to Peru and to Chile and then I did another trip through the Panama Canal to Asia. That was my last trip. By that time I was married. My future wife and I had been going together even before I went into the merchant marine. Then we got married early 1965 I think January 1965. And shortly after she got pregnant, and I we needed money. I wanted to go to law school, she wanted to go to graduate school, we needed a house to raise our family in. so I went back to make another trip. The other reason I made that trip was that we were already involved in the Vietnam War and the escalation of the war started in 1965, and I had already been given my classification, I had already volunteered. And had been classified 4F, for my back. So I went back, and when we got the freighter in Houston and we went through the Panama Canal to San Francisco to two ports in Japan, one port in the Philippines. And we shuttled back and forth between Saigon and Taiwan carrying cement to make air stripes for the war. And I spent in Saigon because the corridor was so crowded we could not get out, we had to wait out, wait for a birth in the harbor, a place to park the ship to tie up the ship. And so I got a lot of experience in Saigon, I learned a lot about Vietnam and I found out that we were wasting a lot of time, lives and money over there. That was a turning point in my life also.
What was the place you most enjoyed?
I think I most enjoyed Africa. I loved Africa it was right after Africa got its independence from the European power, Germany mainly Great Britain. They were very exuberant, they were feeling great about their future, and they had just gotten their independence. In east Africa they speak a language sawelee, which is a combination of Arabic and local languages and some English. In saweegi the word for freedom is wahuro, everybody was celebrating wahuro. So that was a very pleasant time to be in Africa. And I learned a lot and enjoyed it. I brought back some folk-art that I still have. But I have traveled a lot in Latin America I love Mexico. I have traveled a lot in Mexico. I have to say that Mexico is one of the places I like to visit and continues to be one of my favorite places to go. I worked in Latin America in the 90's, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. That was a very interesting and enjoyable.
Does your family have the same views on politics as you?
No, my middle brother is a republican and my younger brother is an independent. My younger brother used to work for the government, state government and used to be a democrat. He changes back and forth. And my dad was a liberal with a lot of issues; he was sometimes voted republican and sometimes democrat. My mother was a pretty good democrat.
What would you change from your life?
I can not think of anything I would change, but I would have spent more time with my son when he was a baby. I was very active in politics and traveled a lot and I worked. It may have cause the break up of my marriage and caused me to not spend enough time in my opinion with my son. And I missed out and wished I had spent more time with him. We spent a lot more time now.
How did you get involved in the civil rights movement?
I think we already talked about that, I got involved because the background of being in the south Texas and seeing discrimination against Hispanics and African Americans in the early 50's in the urban areas of this state.
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
My father and my mother, I have had a lot of influential people in my life, but my mom and dad were the most influential. Dad taught me to work hard and my mother taught me to be concerned about my surrounding and she taught me a whole lot. I'll just stick to my mom and dad
Who encouraged you to become involved in the civil rights movement?
I don't think anybody, I think my father was sympathetic and an environmentalist. He was not a tree hugger, but he realized the dangers of pollution in the environment. I think my involvement just came from where I grew up.
Did you feel that your childhood could have been different if you were born in a different era?
Oh yeah it would have been whole lot different if I had been born a hundred years earlier because of the different state of technology, transportation and communication differences. I don't know how it would be I was born a hundred years later, but pretty soon I'll be there. If born earlier I could have seen many different things, I'm very interested in native American cultures before they were hurt badly by immigration and I would have liked to see the west before the modern era. I would have been fun.
Did you get to meet Cesar Chavez while you were in the movement?
Yes, I met him several times. As a matter of fact my ex wife babysat his children when he was in Austin on several occasions. He was an incredible person, he was very gentle and patient, but at the same time fierce and persistent and an amazing person.
What do you do to encourage people to vote?
That is what I am doing right now, encouraging people to vote. I worked most of my life in politics, organizing political efforts, campaigns and raising money, talking about issues, and getting people to go vote. I have failed on getting my friends on this ranch to go vote, they haven't gone to vote. One person can make the difference. I have helped a lot of people get involved in politics, students and women. Many of my friends are in congress.
What do you wish you could do differently?
Well I told you I would have spent more time with my son as a baby.
Since you said you were not able to participate in the Vietnam War, is there anything that you would like to say to the men that did go to the frontlines?
I saw the escalation of the war in Saigon, and I saw a lot of young people come back from the front and they were very disturbed. The war was not thoroughly taught through, and caused tremendous injuries both physically and mentally to their wellbeing. I have been to thehttp://thewall-usa.com/ Wall memorial in Washington D.C., every time I go there which is very often. Every time I go back and look at it, I think of all the folks that went and made an extreme sacrifice, its hard to talk to a war veteran about the war, I may seem wrong, but it was the government that did wrong. And a lot of people payed the consequences, now we are friends with Vietnam.
During your teaching years were any students immigrants?
Yes, when I taught in Tilden, I had two girls from Mexico, their parents worked on ranches north of Tilden. They were my favorite students; they went on to become a teacher and a nurse. They did very well in college. I also had immigrant students in Aransas Pass.
Did they suffer any kind of discrimination that you were aware of?
Yes, it wasn't overt discrimination, it was tough to come in to a society where you are a new comer. It was tough for immigrants from Ireland, Poland and now for our Hispanic immigrants. I totally favor for a reform of immigration system to keep families together, and to allow people that are here citizenship. If they want to or a legal worker.
Have you accomplished everything you have ever wanted?
No, I still have many dreams. I have enjoyed my life.
Is there anything you still want to do?
Yes, I want to travel more, there are places that I still want to visit. I have friends in Mexico that I would like to visit, I came into contact to many acquaintances that I met while doing relief efforts after the earthquake of 1985. I'm retired now but there are still many things I want to do.
ANALYSIS
This project helped me to understand the importance of voting, without our votes many of our concerns would not get addressed. As Tom said "every vote does count," otherwise you have no right to complain about the turn outs on voting days. During my interview I learned that his wife had babysat for Cesar Chavez's wife while they were in Austin. Since he never talks about him past achievements, we did not know these details. I also learned that even though he is white he does not discriminate against other races, instead he supports them. Tom's memoir states "cranky, delighted, renegade, resourceful, catalytic, and impatient," my memoir would probably state something like this "caring, romantic, hard working, patient, loving, and strong." Tom was very cooperative with me during the duration of my project, but at the end unhappy because he was not able to talk about everything he did during his time with the governor of Texas. Overall this is an excellent way to learn about different times in history through the lives of people we know instead of through books.
TIMELINE
- Born in Alice, Texas on June 15, 1940
- Raised in Tilden, Texas from 1940-1948 and attended McMullen County Elementary
- Moved to their ranch in 1948 and attended school from 1948 till 1958 in Freer, Texas.
- Graduated in 1958 from Freer High School.
- Attended U.T. Austin from 1958 till his graduation in 1963
- 1959 back surgery in Corpus Christi
- Worked as merchant seaman 1963-1965
- Married in January of 1965 to Janette Aden Workman
- Son Joseph Todd Walker born in December 11, 1965
- Attended law school at U.T. Austin from 1966 to1967
- Taught in Tilden history and Spanish from 1968 to 1969
- Taught in Aransas Pass from 1969 to 1971
- Divorced in 1973
- Was active in politics from 1971 to 1994 in Austin and Houston
- Lived in Austin again from 2000 to 2002
- Lived in El Paso from 2002 to 2005
- Came back to ranch in 2005
- Representative the 21st district on the Texas Democratic State Executive Committee 2006
- Reelected in 2008 and 2010
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
List a minimum of FIVE sources. There must be links to each of the sources within the transcription. Consult Citing Web Sources MLA Style for further help. Not sure how to cite a reference, utilize EasyBib: Free Bibliography Maker. Here's an example of an annotated bibliography:
- The Handbook of Texas Online
is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the
Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at UT-Austin. It was produced
in partnership with the College of Liberal Arts and the General Libraries at the University of
Texas at Austin. Copyright © The Texas State Historical Association.
- Texas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History has an extensive collection of annotated photographs of twentieth century Texas. Included in the collection are historical images of courthouses, churches, schoolhouses, banks, jails, cemeteries, gas stations, and water towers. Website Content Copyright ©1998-2008. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
- Texas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History has an extensive collection of annotated photographs of twentieth century Texas. Included in the collection are historical images of courthouses, churches, schoolhouses, banks, jails, cemeteries, gas stations, and water towers. Website Content Copyright ©1998-2008. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
- Small Town Texas Projects. Palo Alto College student/s ___________________ project on the town of ____________________________, Texas. This Small Town Project was completed in the _____________ semester of 200_ as a requirement for Assistant Professor of Robert Hines's History 1302 class.
- Cost-of-Living Calculator. The calculator uses the Consumer Price Index to do the conversions between 1913 and the present. The source for the data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index reflects the cost of items relative to a specific year. The American Institute for Economic Research. P.O. Box 1000. Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 01230.
- Photographs and/or documents on this website were provided by William Thomas Walker. these pictures were from his home on the ranch.
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