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.