Here's Your Sign

D. E. Barker, Historical Interpreter

One of the subconscious pleasantries about parks is the lack of signage; nature enjoyed without the intrusion of manmade obstacles blocking your view.  It does not register with most people because that is the way nature is meant to be.  No giant boards saying, “Don’t, don’t, don’t!”  Most of our visitors are of the law abiding, thoughtful, caring variety.  Those that read the paper and, in particular, the Museum’s articles are probably those that respect the unwritten rules of the park. They, and many others, would never think of saying, “Well, there’s no sign saying I can’t.”  There are those few though, that might transgress the un-posted rules, so let’s talk signage or the lack there of!

There are no signs saying: “Don’t harm the animals.”  “Don’t steal the animals.”  “Don’t handle the animals.”  Most visitors wouldn’t harass, wound, or kill any of the animals living on the grounds.  People often forget that it is natural for dogs to chase other animals and bring them unleashed to the park.  Dogs are required to be on a leash by both city and state laws.  Some animals have been chased relentlessly, found with blow gun darts in their bodies, killed, or wounded by sticks and rocks; some even disappear like a sock in the laundry.  Once a goose was goose-napped and found in a dorm on campus.  Recently a young woman had a long stick and was beating the bushes where a few of the ducks were trying to hide.  Her reason?  She wanted to feed them!

SHMM

Most visitors wouldn’t break or steal plants, nor would they enter the garden to pick the flowers, fruit, or vegetables.  There are signs in the garden that say, “Please stay out.”   Unfortunately, there have been incidents of people breaking over the bamboo, removing plants from the park grounds, or helping themselves to the fruits (and vegetables) of our labors.  Some “visitors” have removed plants, roots and all, apparently for their own yards beautification.  It’s bad enough when “Greedy Gus’s” hog all the pecans or fruit from the trees, but when you have them going into the fenced garden, a garden they did not plant, weed, or water,  and take every bit of produce they can get away with, one would really like to dispense some old time justice on them.   Think the “Little Red Hen” fable.

There are no “do not litter” signs in the park.  Most people manage to find one of the twenty to twenty-five trash receptacles located inside the park.  Yet, there are times when trash is found dumped on the ground, stuffed in the forks of tree branches or hollows, and thrown in the creek and pond.  The amazing thing is that at the picnic tables, where you are less than twenty feet from any trash receptacle, the ground is often littered.  There are a few people who seem to be unable to walk over to the cans and dispose of their trash.  This is not just little pieces of paper.  We are talking about diapers, piles of bags, and all the other by-products of local fast food palaces or anything else one has decided to discard on the spur of the moment.

The park pond, Lake Oolooteca, and the creek, called the Mac-Mize River, are not places for fishing or wading.  You do not see people fishing in the city parks of Houston, Austin, or Dallas.  What looks like a running, natural water ecosystem is in actuality a closed system of recirculated pond water.  It is not the cleanest water in the world.  Years of ducks swimming in the water, leaf rot, matter thrown, dropped, or leaked  into the lake has decayed and added to the soup, making eating anything caught from the pond or creek questionable.  It also makes the water undesirable for wading.  Just looking at the water should make one think “no fishing.”

Of course one seldom sees a sign saying, “no vandalism anywhere.”  If you look around the Museum grounds though, you might think one is needed.  From the small, bricks lining the pathways being kicked over, to the more glaring, spray painting on the sides of the historic buildings, it occurs here from time to time on the grounds of the Museum.

Does saying, “there are no signs,” really make it right?  Could one really say that because there is no sign on a neighbor’s property someone would be in the right to harm a pet?  Steal what they want from another’s property?  Plants?  Veggies?  Should you go on another’s property to fish or hunt without their permission?  Throw garbage on his land?  How would you feel if someone did this to your home?  If you should see a visitor who needs a gentle reminder of these unlisted rules, and you are reluctant to approach them, just tell a member of the Museum Staff so they can help out.  This is your park, held in trust for you and future generations, deserving the respect reserved for a historic site of great significance.  So, we would like to extend a thank you to those who show the respect due this shrine to Texas history and Texas hero, those that show respect for the rights of others, and the right to a pleasant experience in a serene, clean, peaceful park, a park without an overburden of signage.