Luby's a homegrown San Antonio Institution.

This will be my last post on this blog. We are ending our semester here at Palo Alto College. We have covered many different things in this class involving our city. I thought I knew a lot about San Antonio yet this class has taught me so much more about my city. I now have a good knowledge of the history of this city as well as places that are worth going to such as the Mc Nay art museum and the botanical gardens. I am asked in this essay to discuss anything about San Antonio that I want. We need this essay to be in depth and well written so this essay will be my longest work to date. I chose to write my essay over Luby’s Cafeteria which is a chain of cafeterias that serves good food and was founded right here in San Antonio. I thought what better to write my essay on than a restaurant I eat at all the time. I am going to give you the history of Luby’s as well as their philosophy on running a restaurant. Obviously the owners of Luby’s have good business ideas because they were able to turn a local San Antonio cafeteria into one of the largest cafeteria chains in America.

Sixty years ago, Bob Luby had a dream. As a young man in his early twenties, he had a vision to develop a chain of cafeterias that would provide good food, good service and reasonable prices. Bob's vision was a product of his upbringing. In 1911, the year before Bob was born, his father, Harry Luby, started the New England Dairy Lunch cafeteria in Springfield, Missouri. Eventually, Harry's small cafeteria business grew to include restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. By 1927, at the age of 39, Harry Luby retired from active management. Bob, who had grown up in the business and loved it, was determined to enhance his father's principles and work ethic with his own new ideas and passion for serving top quality food in a welcoming atmosphere. In 1947, Bob returned to Texas from his World War II service as an intelligence officer stationed in California. Determined and driven, Bob joined forces with his cousin Charles R. Johnston, and together they opened the first Luby's Cafeteria in San Antonio. It was thought to be an extremely risky venture since downtown San Antonio was deserted at night, and many people doubted that servicemen just home from the war would accept standing in line for anything again. The skeptics were wrong - the 180-seat cafeteria was packed for both lunch and dinner. And so the Luby's Cafeteria chain began. Over the next 11 years, Luby and Johnston continued to open new restaurants in Tyler, Harlingen, El Paso and Beaumont. An interesting challenge of their early expansion was not the availability of capital or land, but rather, the accessibility of well-trained managers capable of maintaining Luby's uncompromisingly high-quality standards. In 1959, with nine cafeterias in various locations, the San Antonio-based company incorporated under the name Cafeterias, Inc. It became a publicly held corporation in 1973, then changed its name in 1981 to Luby's Cafeterias, Inc. and joined the New York Stock Exchange the following year. In 1987, 40 years after its founding, Luby's reached a milestone when its 100th cafeteria opened in Round Rock, Texas. In 2001, two of America's most successful restaurateurs, Chris and Harris Pappas of Houston, joined the Luby's management team, continuing the company's commitment to high standards of excellence. The Pappas brothers each brought 30 years of restaurant experience to the organization, which included Harris' own experience working for Luby's as a young man in the early 1970s. For 60 years, Luby's has forged a unique relationship with its customers. The emotional connection Luby's has with its diners is unlike any other restaurant company in America. I can attest to this claim that Luby’s has a warm atmosphere. I have went to Luby’s and been entertained by live music how many places can you say have live music. Luby's success is due, in part, to consistently serving good food at reasonable prices. Another and no less important ingredient to that success is the understanding that meals can provide more than just nourishment. They can be memorable times that add warmth and meaning to all of our lives. Bob Luby's vision remains strong and continues to guide the company today, so future generations can create their own special Luby's memories. I called my local Luby’s and talked with the manager and he referred me to the company web site and I thank them for giving me all the great background information I needed. Now that you have all the background you need on Luby’s I want to tell you why I like Luby’s.

All the claims Luby’s makes above about being more than just your average diner is true. Since I have grown up in the San Antonio I have eaten at Luby’s many times before. Every time I eat there I am greeted by friendly workers with smiles. The food is always fresh and hot. You have a good variety of choices so the menu accommodates picky eaters like my girlfriend. You sit down and enjoy your meal in a relaxed environment. I now know the business philosophy of Luby’s and it is you treat your customers the absolute best that you can and provide them with a nice environment. This is a simple philosophy but it has worked in producing a San Antonio institution and one of the largest restaurant chains in America. I am not the only person in San Antonio who sees Luby's as one of their favorite places to eat. I recently visited my local Luby's on southeast Military drive to get some opionions from others. I was looking for some elderly people who were eating there. I wanted the input from elderly people who may have eaten here for many more years than myself. I was fortunate that I met Mr and Mrs Caldwell who heppened to be eating at this Luby's. I walked up to them and asked them if they come to Luby's often. They said yes so I proceded to ask them a few questions. Mr Caldwell was 67 and Mrs Caldwell was 61. The have been eating at Luby's since the sixties when there was only a handful of Luby's in existence. I was amazed that they have come to eat at the same place for so many years. They told me the reason they have been coming to Luby's for so long is the consistency of the product. Every time they have come here over the years the food is allways fresh and hot. The also said that Luby's restraunts were allways clean with a friendly staff. This is the key to a successful restraunt. You have to be consistent with the food and service and Luby's has done this very well for many years. I have enjoyed this series of post this semester. I have learned a lot but now it’s time to log off for the last time. I would like to thank my teacher Mrs. Ornelas for teaching me so much about San Antonio.

This is the latest field assignment that I had to do for my humanities class here at Palo Alto College. We had the oppurtunity to learn about a certain form of music that is unique to south Texas. This music is called cojunto music. This genre of music gets it's roots in the old world polka genre. They took the accordian and mixed in the six string bass guitar to form this new style of music. We also had the honor of having a very special guest speaker come to class and talk with us. This guest speaker is a professor of this form of music. He runs the only cojunto music program in the nation. I was very glad to have him come and give us some background in cojunto music. In addition to learning about this music he explained how cojunto music and the mexican race go hand in hand. With the birth of cojunto music the mexican people now had a form of music that they can truly call their own. This gives the mexican people a forum to share their ideas and struggles in the form of music. This is very important andI now know why this guest speaker was so proud of this music. To wrap up his presentation he played the accordian for us as well as a drum and an old flute. I now have a better understanding of cojunto music and I am glad this guest speaker came to enlighten us on this music.

This is the latest entry in my Humanities blog here at Palo Alto College. This essay will cover some of the art work that we have here in San Antonio Texas. San Antonio is a place where we have many nice local galleries for art and sculpture. In addition to the galleries here we also have a growing artist community that show off their work downtown. The place I chose to go to for my assignment was the Mcnay art museum. This gallery was once the residence of one of the most prominent women in San Antonio. Mrs. Mcnay the resident of this estate was an avid art collector and when she passed she willed her house to be made into an art gallery. She had quite a collection that served as the base for the artwork that would be shown here. Since opening five decades ago, the McNay Art Museum continues to build on an already strong collection of 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings and sculpture by significant artists ranging from Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, to Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Sloan, and Marsden Hartley. In addition to the impressive collection of artwork here the grounds are beautiful. So beautiful in fact that many people here in San Antonio choose the Mcnay as the site for their wedding pictures. I really enjoyed my visit here and now I would like to discuss two pieces I saw here that really caught my eye.

The first painting I liked was Corn Hill by Edward hopper and this painting is oil on canvas and was done in 1930. Edward Hopper was an American painter and printmaker. His works represented light as it is reflected off of familiar objects. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. This work shows two European villas on top of a big hill in the European countryside. Just as Hopper was known for this portrait is full of light and it shows the effect of the sun on colors in this landscape. You have different color grasses on the hills and a real nice contrast in the painting with the clear blue sky. This is a very nice painting and I really enjoyed seeing this piece. Another piece that I saw at the Mcnay was Women crossing the fields by Vincent Van Gough. This piece was done in 1890 and is oil on paper. Van Gough was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist.[1] His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces. You already may be familiar with some of Van Gough’s art such as starry night which is probably his most famous work. This work has that distinct Van Gough look and I was very happy to be able to see works by such famous artist right here in my own city. This was a very fun trip and I look forward to coming back to the Mcnay to see some of the exhibits that are coming soon to the Mcnay.

This is the latest entry into my blog. We are in the end of our semester here at Palo Alto College. This short essay is the most recent field assignment we are required to write. I will tell you guys about a building here in San Antonio that has a unique look. The Bexar County Courthouse has a majestic old world style to it. This essay was supposed to be on art in San Antonio. However we had the option instead to write this essay on buildings in San Antonio. I chose the courthouse not because it has a modern artsy look. I chose the courthouse because it reminded me of an old English castle. The building is made of red sand stone that has a very nice red tint. The architect J Reily Gordon designed this courthouse in the Romanesque revival style of the old world. Hence the reason why the courthouse looks like a castle. The high walls of the courthouse along with the huge tower and high arches above the entryway add to the castle feel. This is a beautiful classic structure that definitely stands out here in San Antonio. It adds an old world flair that complements the newer buildings around it. Classic lines, grand old world design, all of these things help make this building not only functional but also very beautiful to look at. This is art in every since of the word.

I am currently in the middle of a semester here at Palo Alto. We are required to write a series of essay’s for my humanities class. This essay I will write today will cover our environment. I am going to tell you about a wildlife preserve here in San Antonio. The name of this preserve is Mitchell Lake and it is located on the south side of San Antonio. This Lake has a unique past and I would like to give you some information about this place.

Mitchell lake preserve is located on the south side of San Antonio not too far from our college campus. This place was not always a wildlife preserve. Before this place was a preserve it had a lot less flattering job. This was the site of a waste management plant that treated raw sewage from the city of San Antonio. In fact this area was not the most popular site for the residents who lived nearby. However it was tolerated by everyone here because they realized the need for this treatment facility. The sewage treatment plant stopped releasing the sewage into the lake preserve in 1987. Mitchell Lake had more to offer than just a dumping site for raw sewage. The series of wetlands in the area is a haven for many species of birds. The lake is positioned on a natural migratory bird route and serves as a resting point for tens of thousands of birds each year. Bird-watchers come from all over the world to see the unique variety of birds that visit there. Among the more than 300 species observed are pelicans, egrets, roseate spoonbills, wild ducks, and hawks.

The preserve has gotten so popular that is attracting bird watchers from around the world. It is rare to have a place to go and see so many different species of birds. The city of San Antonio realized that this was in fact a unique habitat and that it would be a good idea to protect it. At the same time developing the area would provide tourist easier access to the preserve. But in December 2002, SAWS Board committed $1.5 million to improve roads and bridges on the property and to build a visitor's center. Those improvements were substantially completed in January of 2004.The visitor's center was created through the restoration of the Leeper House, a historic building relocated to the lake from the McNay Art Museum. The converted building features a meeting room, testing lab, office and disabled-accessible restrooms. Eventually Mitchell Lake will be part of a Mission Trail with hiking and biking paths. So if you like to do stuff in the outdoors I would suggest you take a trip to Mitchell Lake. Bring you a good set of binoculars and enjoy all of the different species of birds that frequent the area. This is a place so close to home where you can go and enjoy the environment in a purer sence. A place that has not been spoiled by man so enjoy!

This week in my Humanities class at Palo Alto College we had the pleasure of hosting a guest speaker. She was a young lady about our age. She recently graduated from college and is now an active member of our local politics. She has a particular interest in protecting our aquifer. San Antonio has natural underwater aquifers and we rely on this aquifer for our water. However some people in our community believe making money takes priority over keeping our water clean. These people are contractors who want to develop high priced homes and shopping complexes in areas in our city that supply the aquifer with water. The more we develop these areas the more risk we run in polluting our water source. We as a community need to be more involved in our city’s politics so we can fight things that are harmful to our environment. I was glad the guest speaker opened my eyes to some of the things we need to keep an eye on as far as protecting the aquifer. She was quite impressive to me because most people our age are consumed with things not nearly as important as the things she is involved with. This was a positive experience to me and I was glad I took part in this experience.

I am involved in a Humanities class at Palo Alto College in San Antonio Texas. This class requires a series of essays covering different aspects of the city in which we live. We cover everything from the early history of San Antonio to the modern San Antonio in which we now live. This particular essay is going to be the most personal essay that I have been asked to do so far. We are asked to go more in depth and discuss the particular part of San Antonio in which we live. San Antonio is a large metropolitan area and the culture from area to area can be vastly different. I personally don’t even live in San Antonio however I live just a few miles out of San Antonio so I still consider myself a San Antonian. I will now go more in depth on my neighborhood in order for you to get a better feel of the person that I am and where I come from.

I live in Pleasanton Texas. Pleasanton is a town that has about 10000 residents. There are also two smaller towns that are about five miles from Pleasanton. These smaller towns are Poteet which has about 3600 residents and Jourdanton which has about 3200 residents. All three of these towns since they are so close are referred to as the tri city-area. To get to Pleasanton from San Antonio is not that hard. Palo Alto College is on the South Side of San Antonio. From Palo Alto College you will get on Highway 16 south and go about twenty miles. You will come to the town of Poteet which I mentioned earlier. You are very close to Pleasanton once you get to Poteet. Once the speed reduces to 45 miles on Highway 16 in Poteet you will see a Dairy Queen on the left side of the road. Take a left hand turn right before the Dairy Queen. You are now on Farm Road 476 this road will take you to Pleasanton.

Pleasanton is a working class town and is not as diverse as a big city like San Antonio. I think most of the people that live in Pleasanton commute to San Antonio to work. We do have a hospital here so there are a few skilled professionals that stay here in town to work. I would say that the racial makeup of Pleasanton is about 60% white 35% Hispanic and about 5% other consisting of African American, Asian and other. For the most part the houses in Pleasanton are medium sized houses for working class families. For the most part these homes are well maintained. There are about three neighborhoods in Pleasanton which I would consider Upper class neighborhoods. The homes in these neighborhoods are large, new and very well landscaped. My parents are business owners and are fairly well off and me and my family live here with my parents.

My neighborhood is one of the three upper class neighborhoods here in Pleasanton. My house is a large five bedroom three bath brick home. The yard is landscaped nicely with shrubs and new trees to go with a bunch of potted flowers. For the most part my neighbors are white. The neighborhood I live in has about 65 homes and all but maybe 5 are white families. Most of the people who live here are middle aged professionals with either teenagers or college aged kids. There are a few younger couples here with young children.

There are not that many things to do for fun here in Pleasanton. We are a small town so you can expect it to be pretty boring. However the fact that it is a small boring town is part of the charm of living here. We have a very low crime rate here in fact we have only had three murders here in the last twenty five years. Everybody knows each other here so you get a real sence of community which is also nice. If you want to have fun you simply make the twenty five mile drive to San Antonio and now you have access to all commodities of a large city. We get the best of both worlds small town living with a large city close by to satisfy all you leisure needs. Yes I have to commute to San Antonio to school but for me a twenty five mile drive is not that bad. I hope you now have a better idea of the place I lay my head when I’m not a school. It is a nice quiet town that I really like to live in and I would not have it any other way.

The Alamo Essay 2

I have lived in the San Antonio area for about ten years now. San Antonio is a very interesting city with a lot of historical significance. San Antonio is especially important when you talk about the Texas revolution. As many people know the battle of the Alamo was fought here. This battle was a crucial one in the Texas revolution. This battle is not significant because of the number of Texas fighters that fought there. As a matter of fact the Alamo only had 187 men in its walls when the battle was fought. The Alamo is not significant because of the number of Mexican soldiers that were killed either. The Alamo was a significant battle in Texas independence for a number of other reasons. I will discuss the reasons why the Alamo was such an important battle in the following paragraph.

Now why would a battle with only 187 men on one side fighting be a significant battle? Can you even call that a battle? Yes the Alamo was indeed a battle not because of the number of participants but because of the amount of time it bought the rest of the Texas army. The Mexican army marched into Texas in the early part of the year 1836. They were here for only one reason and that was to crush the Texas army and quell the uprising. The Mexican army fought two battles here in Texas before arriving in San Antonio. The Mexican army ran over the small Texas forces before arriving in San Antonio. The leader of the Texas forces in San Antonio was Colonel William Travis. Travis knew that the Mexican army that was before him was much too large for the 187 men to defeat. He told the men about the odds they were facing and told the men there would be no shame to anyone who decided to flee. However the men all decided to stay and fight. This is where the legend of the Alamo was born. This decision by the Texas forces in San Antonio to stay and fight bought the main Texas army led by Sam Houston the time they needed to train and prepare. This time was critical to the Texan’s and ultimately helped Sam Houston and his army defeat the Mexican army. This is why the Alamo was such an important battle in Texas history.

These facts that I have just told you I learned while taking history classes in college. Most people know about the battle of the Alamo because they have watched the movie. There have been several movies depicting the Alamo to come out over the years. Probably the most famous version of the Alamo starred the legendary John Wayne. You have to be careful when you watch The Alamo on the movie screen. You will not get the whole story if you watch the movie. The movies about the Alamo show the same thing. The Anglo men at the Alamo all killing a hundred men a piece. These are fictional events being portrayed and they are not the truth. The truth is many people were involved in this struggle including many native Tejanos who are Texans of Mexican descent. Without their contributions Texas would not have gained their independence. If you want to get a good idea about the whole picture of this battle you are better off reading a book which is nonfiction rather than watching a fictionalized movie of the Alamo.

San Antonio is a city that is not only beautiful but is also full of history. We as natives of San Antonio go about our daily lives in a rush and sometimes forget to take a step back and look at the past. I had just that opportunity. To go to a very popular monument here in San Antonio. My college Humanities class was asked by our professor to go to the Alamo and write an entry on this blog about our experiences there. It has been quite some time since I had been to the Alamo and I was looking forward to seeing this historic landmark again. We were also asked to go a bit more in depth and answer a few questions regarding how we view the Alamo. We as Americans and Texans in particular see the men who died at the Alamo as heroes. These men are heroic legends in Texas who fought off the evil Mexicans. There is however two sides to every story and the story of the Alamo are no different. Not only did Anglos fight at the Alamo but native Texans of Mexican decent also fought and died there. When walking through the Alamo the focus seems to be on the well known heroes that fought here and very little is there that pays homage to the others who fought here as well. In other word we as Americans see this battle as white people who fought off Mexicans. There were however many people of Mexican descent who without their contributions Texas may still be part of Mexico. These are the little mentioned unsung heroes of the Alamo. We need to acknowledge their contributions to this cause. The Alamo is very well kept with three main buildings for you to walk through as well as a beautiful garden you can walk through as well. This trip was a good experience for me and I encourage you to go somewhere historic near where you live and experience some history. I also ask that you try and get the story of any historic event from both sides and all involved in order to get a complete view of what really happened.

The Dam at Mission Espada

My Humanities class was recently asked to write an essay on a number of topics that relate to the mission system in San Antonio Texas. I chose to write my essay on the dam that is on the grounds of Mission Espada in San Antonio Texas. This Dam is connected to an acequia system that was used to bring water to crops. Acequia's are ditches that channel water from the dam to crops. This acequia system at Mission Espada is the only acequia system in the whole United States. This was a marvel of engeneering when it was constructed in the mid 1700's. This acequia system was vital for the Spanish because it was essential for the farming of crops. When the spanish arrived here they had the task of teaching Native Americans a new way of life. This included converting a hunter and gatherer society into a society that could learn to farm and no longer had to constantly move around in search of food. Without the dam and corresponding ditch system the crops the spanish and natives were attempting to grow would die in times of drought. With a constant food supply the spanish had stability and could use their energy on teaching the natives the catholic religion and spanish ways. This dam system was dependant on a source of water. This water source was the San Antonio River. If you look at the layout of the Missions in San Antonio They are all along the banks of This river. Without this river the Missions would not have been able to function. Now I am going to discribe the way the dam functions in more detail so you can get a clearer picture of the layout of the dam and acequia. The san Antonio river sits right at the edge of Mission Espada and the dam is built on the river. The water at the dam will dam up and eventually the pressure of the current will force the dam to overflow. This is exactly what the makers of the dam wanted. With the water that is flowing over the dam they dug ditches (or Acequias) to catch this water. The ditches ran down to the fields where the crops were planted and now the crops had a constant supply of water in order to grow. This was a very well built dam and proves this in the fact that people who farm near Mission Espada in the current time still use the dam and acequia system to water their crops. The Area around the dam is lush and very green due to the fact that there is never a shortage of water in this area. The Mission is a very beautiful place and if you are ever in San Antonio I encourage you to stop by the mission and see for yourself this amazing place.

My Mission Espada Experience

All too often these days we as a community and a nation for that matter look towards the future. We are allways seeking to progress in our technology, our ability to make things more efficient and so on. This is a good thing in many ways however we must not forget all of the people who have came before us. We can look to the past for knowledge, inspiration and beauty. This past Monday I was able to take a step back in time and see a structure that has been in San Antonio for over 250 years. This structure is Mission Espada and it is on the Southeast side of San Antonio. Although this Mission is a shell of it's former glory there are still many imprerssive things to see here. The thing that probobly caught my eye first was this very well preserved church that stands at least three stories high. It must have been a grand sight back then with its three big bells chiming and its custom carved doors. Another innovative and interesting feature at mission Espada is the Acequia which were canals diverted from the San antonio river that gave the mission much needed water for the crops that grew nearby. This was the first spanish settlement in Texas. It was a self sustaining settlement that served as a place to convert the native americans and gain a foothold in Texas for the Spanish Crown.