Genre: Biography / Texana Publisher: Texas Christian University Press Facebook Instagram TwitterPublication Date: October 12, 2018Number of Pages: 160 pages with B&W photos
MY REVIEW:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Whole Damn Cheese by Bill Wright is a 2018 Texas Christian University Press publication.
What an interesting piece of Texas history!!
Texans are familiar with Big Bend National Park, but people travel from all over to visit it, and the storied hot springs, said to have healing powers. However, I must sheepishly admit, I never gave much thought to it’s history or to the frontier days before the park became a popular campground.
Maggie Smith has become a legendary figure and a huge piece of the park’s history. In 1943, all the way up until 1965, Maggie served this area in every way imaginable.
Maggie’s life was certainly an interesting one. She was there for Big Bend’s transition from state to national park. She was especially useful to the NPS due to her ability to speak Spanish. She operated the general store and post office, but she also had a warm relationship with those on the other side of the border. She performed weddings, took candy to the Mexican children at Christmas, cured snake bites, and delivered babies, among many other things. In other words, she was ‘the whole damn cheese’ out there.
The early parts of the book chronicles Maggie’s early life and marriages, etc. While this is important, and necessary, it was a tad bit dry, initially, But, once we got past that and began to learn about her life in Big Bend, the book flowed much easier and it became obvious why Maggie’s exploits became the stuff legends are made of.
The bulk of the book is naturally centered around Maggie’s many adventures, and kind deeds, which are still spoken of today, with much warmth and appreciation. The author, who is a Big Bend photographer, had heard stories about Maggie over time, which gave him the idea for this book.
I think Bill showed great respect for his subject and his enthusiasm shows. Maggie’s spirit is captured through these oft told tales and thanks to Bill, everyone can read about this extraordinary woman, and learn the history of the frontier days in West Texas in the days before Big Bend became the popular tourist spot it is today. I will admit I raised my eyebrows on one occasion, when a snake bite was treated in an extremely unorthodox way. But, amazingly, the victim lived- so, despite my incredulity, it worked!!
The book is very well organized and is utterly fascinating. I would have loved to have met Maggie Smith. She is an inspiration, a person who helped people from all walks of life without complaint, and certainly lived her life with gusto!
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