From East Texas to El Paso, Four Texans Reflect on Where They’re From
Over the years, Texas Monthly’s most celebrated voices have written about the places that shaped them, from the Panhandle to the border. We revisit some of the classics.
Anne Dingus was born and raised in Pampa and attended Rice University. After graduating in 1975, she worked as a journalist at NASA and in the oil industry. In 1978 she joined the staff of Texas Monthly, first as a fact-checker and then as a writer. She wrote on a variety of topics, particularly history, popular culture, and humor. Her 1994 article “More Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At,” which contained 662 Texas rural expressions, was by far her most popular article and quickly became a book. Dingus left the magazine in 2005 after more than twenty years on staff.
Over the years, Texas Monthly’s most celebrated voices have written about the places that shaped them, from the Panhandle to the border. We revisit some of the classics.
His stories are grotesque, disturbing, and award-winning: Meet Nacogdoches’ Joe R. Lansdale, the most twisted writer in Texas.
By Anne Dingus
It’s not just another roadside attraction—here’s to a lasting monument of Texas kitsch.
By Anne Dingus
Which future Texas governor hired Bob Wills to play on his Fort Worth radio show?
By Anne Dingus
What was Texas like before air conditioning? Thinking about it gives me the chills.
By Anne Dingus
It spelled the end of the open range and the beginning of modern Texas.
By Anne Dingus
At what age was Leon Jaworski the youngest lawyer in the history of Texas?
By Anne Dingus
How much are the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders paid per game?
By Anne Dingus
How much did Life pay Abraham Zapruder for the rights to his assassination film?
By Anne Dingus
How many times did Mary Martin shampoo onstage while appearing in South Pacific?
By Anne Dingus
Sexist, shmexist: For pure viewing enjoyment, my feminist friends and I know that nothing can match the Miss America Pageant.
By Anne Dingus
Phyllis George and Texas’ other former Miss America’s didn’t let the tiara go to their head.
By Anne Dingus
What was so special about Mance Lipscomb’s dentures?
By Anne Dingus
The laid-back Texas way of saying howdy on the road.
By Anne Dingus
Let's hear it for beans and cornbread, the tastiest of plate-mates, a classic Southern supper—and a meal any fool can cook.
By Anne Dingus
From a boutique hotel in hip South Austin to a bed-and-breakfast across the Mexican border, from fly fishing on the Llano River to bathing in the Chinati Hot Springs, 33 getaways the guidebooks don’t tell you about, courtesy of our intrepid staff of weekend warriors.
Explaining the enduring appeal of Jell-O can be as challenging as, well, nailing it to a tree.
By Anne Dingus
From bullet bras to panties emblazoned with the Lone Star flag, a brief history of women’s underwear in Texas.
By Anne Dingus
How the cosmetically challenged among us manage to save face.
By Anne Dingus
From buckskin to polyester, a look at 166 years of Texas fashion that doesn’t skirt the issues.
By Anne Dingus
Man makes the clothes.
By Anne Dingus
Elegant antebellum furniture in Jefferson, Latin American folk art in Smithville: Where the buys are in two dozen communities.
By Anne Dingus and Pamela Colloff
If traditional holiday meals leave you hungry for something new, you’ll devour the dishes that Dallas chef Dean Fearing has prepared.
By Anne Dingus
How many Texans died at the Alamo?
By Anne Dingus
Did The Texas Chainsaw Massacre really happen?
By Anne Dingus
Does the ten-gallon hat hold ten gallons?
By Anne Dingus
Who put the Bowie in the bowie knife?
By Anne Dingus
Was J. R.shot in Dallas?
By Anne Dingus
Do horny toads really squirt blood?
By Anne Dingus
Oil’s well that begins well.
By Anne Dingus
Great Houston’s ghost!
By Anne Dingus
1. a, 3; b, 1; c, 2 2. d 3. the horny toad 4. c 5. b 6. XIT 7. c 8. 1936 9. a, 2; b, 5; c, 6; d, 7; e, 1; f, 3; g, 4 10. buffalo 11. Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was the second president of the
By Anne Dingus
One hundred simple questions—well, not that simple— stand between you and Texas literacy.
By Anne Dingus
Is DWB (driving while barefoot) illegal?
By Anne Dingus
I’m in love with you, cherry lime.
By Anne Dingus
From tamales and chile con carne to boiled fish and macaroni with mushroom sauce, the first-ever compendium of Mexican American cooking, Mexican Cooking: The Flavor of the 20th Century—That Real Mexican Tang, takes readers on an unusual culinary ride.
By Anne Dingus
Is Juneteenth ours?
By Anne Dingus
You’d love my collection of vintage Texas cookbooks. Just don’t ask me to cook from them.
By Anne Dingus
Bluebonnet burglars, beware?
By Anne Dingus
No, you can’t shoot your adulterous wife.
By Anne Dingus
Blondness—natural or otherwise— is even more Texan than Big Hair.
By Anne Dingus
Gene Autry’s reindeer games.
By Anne Dingus
What to do if you're bitten by fire ants, lost in the wilderness, sprayed by a skunk, attacked by a shark, stuck in a lightning storm, swept away by a riptide, or caught in any of eleven other worst-case scenarios.
By Anne Dingus
What to do in ten more worst-case scenarios, from getting bitten by a brown recluse to getting caught in a dust storm.
By Anne Dingus
The seven dips on a Texas trip.
By Anne Dingus
I've been collecting vintage Texana since I was ten years old, and believe me, I've got loads. But it's time to sell.
By Anne Dingus
How high may our flag fly?
By Anne Dingus
The myth of the saguaro cactus
By Anne Dingus
Why Anne Dingus hates "Texas, Our Texas."
By Anne Dingus
If you're an Alamo fanand even if you aren'tyou'll find these fifteen titles worth your while.
By Anne Dingus