Interview with Ned Huthmacher
AS: How long have you been a student of the Alamo?
NH: Like most ‘Baby Boomers,’ I reckon that I can trace my Alamo origins back to Disney’s 1955 DAVY CROCKETT AT THE ALAMO episode. (And I can still remember how my mother sacrificed the rabbit fur lining of her winter coat to make ‘coonskin’ caps for my brother and I.) It wasn’t until 1960, however, upon viewing the trailer for John Wayne’s upcoming film THE ALAMO, that I became a die in the wool Alamo devotee. There was just something about that trailer, with its fleeting glimpse of the Waynamo facade that got me entranced. The day after seeing the film, I picked up my first Alamo book, William Weber Johnson’s THE BIRTH OF TEXAS. I was 7 1/2 years old.
My interview with Ned Huthmacher, author of One Domingo Morning, was conducted on July 25th, 2007.
AS: How long have you been a student of the Alamo?
NH: Like most ‘Baby Boomers,’ I reckon that I can trace my Alamo origins back to Disney’s 1955 DAVY CROCKETT AT THE ALAMO episode. (And I can still remember how my mother sacrificed the rabbit fur lining of her winter coat to make ‘coonskin’ caps for my brother and I.) It wasn’t until 1960, however, upon viewing the trailer for John Wayne’s upcoming film THE ALAMO, that I became a die in the wool Alamo devotee. There was just something about that trailer, with its fleeting glimpse of the Waynamo facade that got me entranced. The day after seeing the film, I picked up my first Alamo book, William Weber Johnson’s THE BIRTH OF TEXAS. I was 7 1/2 years old.
AS: When was the first time you saw the famous shrine?
NH: Skip ahead some 14 years to 1973 and just after my 21st birthday. In the company of my 15 year old brother, I travelled by bus to San Antonio in the heat of a late August. After checking into our hotel room at the Travelodge on 4th & Broadway, we proceeded immediately to the Alamo. Approaching from E. Street, east of the Post Office, we hurriedly proceeded on past the face of the Long Barrack. Then, as we were turning the corner, my heart caught in my throat. While I had seen photographs of the Alamo in history books and encyclopedias, nothing had prepared me for gazing upon that sad facade, face to face. I found myself filled with such an unexplainable feeling of both melancholy and awe. It was as though the facade was trying to impart something to me, if I would but listen.
AS: You’ve been an amazing contributor to the Alamo field for years. From the publications to bringing Alamo buffs together. Please, if you will, tell us one of your earliest memories from before the Alamo field flourished into what it is today.
NH: The same year (1973) that I first visited the Alamo with my 15 year old brother, we also made the sojourn to Alamo Village in Brackettville. At that time I was in the process of building a h0 scale model of the Alamo and mentioned it to Happy Shahan’s secretary, BJ Burns at the Village. BJ informed me that there were a number of other Alamo enthusiasts who’d also visited the Village; she gave me a list of their names and addresses. One of them was Kaj Andersen of Denmark who was also preparing to build a model of the Alamo. Another was Mike Waters of San Antonio, an artist, living historian and Alamo enthusiast. I contacted everyone on the list and most of them promptly replied, sharing their Alamo interests and knowledge. Those of us in California managed to get together at Joe Musso’s place every now and then for a day of swapping stories, info and for just relishing the moment. Before these get-togethers, many of us had imagined that we were the only person in the world with an interest in the Alamo. We were isolated no more. Then Mike Waters formed the Alamo Lore And Myth Organization (A.L.A.M.O.) and that organization’s newsletter. An offshoot of A.L.A.M.O was Phil Rosenthal’s ALAMO II group. (ALAMO II eventually changed its name to ALAMO INTERNATIONAL, finally becoming THE ALAMO SOCIETY in 1986 under the helm of Bill Chemerka.)
AS: Many of us know about your extensive Alamo photo collection. Is there any photo or Alamo collectible that you prize the most? And how many Alamo photos do you own?
NH: I specialize in collecting old Alamo/Texana books and many of the photographs stem from those volumes. I’ve also taken quite a few photos of The Shrine on my many visits over the years. My most prized collectible is an 1839 edition of COLONEL CROCKETT’S EXPLOITS AND ADVENTURES IN TEXAS , perhaps the first novel on the Alamo ever written. How many photos? Well, ‘Yuh gotme there, Davy!’
AS: You’ve been an extra in Alamo : Price of Freedom and The Alamo (2004). In which film did you enjoy working on the most? Is there a story you could share with us from both sets?
NH: I guess that I enjoyed working on PRICE OF FREEDOM a little more, because I was about twenty years younger then! One of my most memorable moments from that filming oddly enough does not involve the filming itself. ‘The California Contingent’ of reenactors had set up its camp by the low wall in front of the chapel. One morning, one of the wranglers was practicing running the cattle in through the main gate and into the cattle pen behind the Long Barrack. The sound of the lowing and pawing cattle woke me up and when I sat up, I was greeted by a small herd, all milling near the chapel facade. In THE ALAMO (2004) one of the first things that struck me was a sort of deja-vu feeling. In 1987, some 17 years earlier, I had participated in the Sam Elliott film GONE TO TEXAS as one of Houston’s army at San Jacinto. Now, here I was on the Hidden Pines set of San Jacinto waiting to charge the Mexican barricade once more!
AS: Concerning your novel, One Domingo Morning. How long did it take you to write the story of Travis’s slave, Joe? And what resources were available for you to work on it?
NH: I first started gathering notes for ONE DOMINGO MORNING around 1976. The first draft was commenced in early 1980 and ‘finished’ about a year later. In mid-2003, around six drafts later, the manuscrip was finally completed. The DRT Library at the Alamo was a good resource for information on Joe and the Daughters themselves were both cordial and willing to help. The University of Texas at Austin also provided some useful documents from their dusty archives, while my own Texana collection included biographies on Travis, as well as his law diary. (An entry in the diary reveals the date when Joe first came into Travis’ possession.)
AS: Finally, what about the Alamo do you think draws people to it? And what do you hope to see from the Alamo field years from now?
NH: Every Alamo buff has his, or her own reason for being drawn to it. While some, by way of explaination, may give reasons such as the aura of mystery surrounding all ‘last stand’ stories, yet others may tell you that it is simply inexplicable to them. The old stones seem to call out to those who will listen, saying, “Remember me, remember me for what I was and for what transpired here.’
The future of the Alamo, therefore, lies with those who will continue to seek the truth about its past. And, with the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation not getting any younger, the old school of Alamo buffs—me included— is beginning to fade into the sunset. It is the ‘new kids on the block’, such as Wade, Victoria and Greg who will be left to pick up the slack and carry on the torch. But, not to worry. They all seem to be ‘mighty willin’ boys—and girls— regarding that!
A big Texas hoozah to Ned for taking part in the interview!
~Wade