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The Great State of Texas is home to countless stories of courage and independence that embrace the bold Texas spirit. Some fill Texas history books, while other are shared across dining room tables.

KERA 13 celebrates the stories of innovation and imagination of ordinary citizens in the documentary television series Nowhere But Texas. The series made its debut on KERA 13 in summer 2007 with stories of community spirit celebrating the Gainesville Community Circus, the Cowboys of Color Rodeo, the introduction of Tex-Mex cuisine, underground gambling casinos and of Texas hospitality generously extended and lovingly received by members of the British Royal Air Force training in east Texas during WWII. 

Nowhere But Texas celebrates a new collection of stories for 2008 from communities across North Texas:

"The Mighty Mites"
High school football beneath the Friday night lights has long been a Texas tradition. Generations of fans have cheered teenage stars on to victory in their quest for the state football championship. The stakes were never higher than in the 1930s when the Mighty Mites came to play. A team of small but agile players from The Masonic Home, a small school for orphans on Fort Worth’s southeast side, took on the elite of the high school football league. In 1927, Rusty Russell coached the team, teaching them trick plays using short passes. The strategy leveled the playing field against their larger rivals. In 1932 the Mighty Mites tied Corsicana for the state championship, establishing themselves as one of the toughest teams in the league. The Mighty Mites rags to riches story brought them national attention in post-Depression America. Russell went on to coach the Highland Park Scots and Southern Methodist University Mustangs. Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker was among those under his tutelage.

"WASP"
In the 1940s, during the height of World War II, many women traded their traditional roles for work in support of the war effort. While husbands, fathers, brothers and sons fought on the front lines, the women went to work in factories and some learned how to fly. In Sweetwater, Texas, women joined an experimental government program to become Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASP). From 1942 to 1944, more than 1,000 women were trained to test airplanes. They delivered new planes from the assembly lines to military bases and towed targets for anti-aircraft artillery practice. The WASP prided themselves on their excellent flying safety records and proved to skeptics that they were capable pilots. Still, they had no official military status. In 1944, the WASP packed their bags and went home. It would be take some 30-years for women to return to their roles as pilots with the U.S. Air Force.

"The Sportatorium"
From rasslin' arena to concert hall, the Dallas Sportatorium was home to some of the biggest names in entertainment from 1935 to the end of the century. Located at the corner of South Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Streets, the 4,000 seat auditorium made its debut as a wrestling arena. Beginning in the 1940s, it was home to the Big D Jamboree, a music show in the spirit of the Grand Old Opry. Sunshine Ruby was a singing sensation who captivated audiences when she was just a child. An arson fire, rumored to be the work of a disgruntled wrestling promoter, temporarily shuttered the building in 1953. It reopened later that year as the Million Dollar Sportatorium, hosting rock-and-roll concerts, including a performance by Elvis Presley. In the 1960s, wrestler Jack Atkinson, known to his fans as Fritz Von Erich, became co-owner of the facility. He launched promotion of World Class Championship Wrestling, which saw its heyday in the 1980s. Attendance dwindled following the tragic deaths of some of the top stars and the building fell into disrepair. The building burned in 2001 and was demolished in 2003.

Featured segments from the first installment in 2007 include:

“Gainesville Community Circus”
The television special opens with the remarkable story of the acclaimed Gainesville Community Circus, an amateur, three-ring circus – complete with high-wire acts, clowns and tamed animals. The circus was conceived as a means of paying off the debt of Gainesville’s community theater. Interviews are supplemented with vintage footage featuring amazing performances by some of the nearly 1,500 daring citizens who performed during the more than 25 years the circus operated, and put Gainesville in the national spotlight.

“Mama Cuellar”
In the late 1800s, Adelaida Cuellar dreamed of emigrating to the United States from Mexico – and in 1891, she realized that dream by moving to Kaufman, Texas. Before long, the independent-minded entrepreneur discovered she could sell tamales and other dishes based on family recipes at the Kaufman County Fair and make more money in one weekend than her husband could earn during an entire year. “Mama” Cuellar’s success would eventually lead to establishment of the first El Chico restaurant in Dallas in the 1940s. At the height of its success, El Chico employed 4,000 people and served meals to over 16 million people a year, making it one of the largest Hispanic-founded businesses in North Texas during the 20th century.

“Lucky Streak”
During the Depression era, parts of Tarrant County were notorious for high-stakes gambling and gangsters – and that was particularly true along a stretch of highway running through the center of Arlington. In the 1930s, celebrities, high rollers and hooligans hit the racetrack at Arlington Downs and flocked to Top O’ Hill Terrace, a nearby estate that established an underground casino. This segment features an account of the highly successful casino and the crusade of a zealous local minister that put an end to this North Texas gambling operation.

“Soul Circuit”
Cowboys and rodeos have been synonymous with Texas, but few know that in the early days of the Lone Star State, nearly a third of the first cowboys were cowboys of color. This segment features the stories of those cowboys – including rodeo legend Bill Pickett – who put black cowboys in the history books by introducing the sport of bulldogging to the rodeo circuit. The segment includes interviews with a Lancaster rodeo family that is helping bust myths about the West and encouraging young African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans to reclaim a part of their past.

“Texas Welcome”
When members of the British Royal Air Force came to Terrell, Texas, for flight training during World War II, they turned more than a few heads. “Texas Welcome” tells the story of a decades-long love affair between the East Texas community and the cadets – and how these young "foreigners" captured the hearts of the community, forging life-long friendships in the process. More than a third of the British Flying Training School's cadets ultimately died in battle. The 20 cadets killed while training in Texas are commemorated annually in Terrell with a community memorial service in their honor. While hundreds never returned, those who did still consider Terrell their second home.

Told through the voices of dozens of Texans, the hour-long special is a nostalgic look back at fascinating but seldom-heard stories of Texas communities, their people, and the circumstances that gave them a colorful place in the state’s rich history. The documentary, by Producer/Director Linda Stogner and Co-Producer Therese Powell, is shot in high-definition and offers a rich, film-style approach to storytelling. The original signature musical score was composed and produced by Mack Price.

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