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    The liberal from lufkin has left the building

    Legendary Congressman Charlie Wilson dies

    Sarah Rufca
    Feb 10, 2010 | 2:25 pm

    Famed Congressman Charlie Wilson, who served as the "Liberal from Lufkin" from 1972-1996, died Wednesday in Lufkin of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 76.

    According to George Crile's book, Charlie Wilson's War, Wilson fell in love with the American political system when he was 13. After a local city councilman in his hometown of Trinity, Texas, knowingly killed his dog, Wilson managed to procure a hardship driver's license and on election day, offered rides to the polls to black voters. Stopping at the polling station, Wilson would simply say, "I don't want to influence your vote, but Charles Hazard killed my dog." At the end of the day, Wilson had driven 96 people to vote and Hazard had lost by 16 votes.

    For Wilson it was the beginning of a long and distinguished career in politics. Elected as a state representative in 1961 at the age of 27, over the next 12 years he made a name in the Texas House and Senate as a fighter for Medicaid, a minimum wage bill and the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1972 he was elected as a U.S. Representative, a position he held until his retirement in 1996.

    Wilson had an uncanny knack for political wrangling, but he was also an incorrigible sybarite. In the 1950s, his naval commander said that Wilson was "the best officer who served under me at sea and undoubtedly the worst at port," according to Crile's book. When Speaker Tip O'Neill appointed an unlikely Wilson to serve on the congressional ethics committee, Wilson joked that "It's because I'm the only one on the committee who likes women and whiskey, and we need to be represented, too."

    But Wilson was more than just a "Good Time Charlie," the nickname gossip columnists bestowed on him. In the 1980s when his friend, Joanne King Herring, brought the plight of Afghan rebels fighting the Soviet Army to his attention, Wilson made use of his array of contacts and pivotal position on the House Appropriations Subcommittee of Defense to increase the CIA's Afghan aid budget exponentially, arming and training the mujahideen through covert CIA operatives. After the Soviets were successfully expelled from Afghanistan, Wilson was the first civilian bestowed the CIA's Honored Colleague Award for his efforts, though some of the CIA actions in the region have become more controversial with the rise of Al-Qaeda and the attacks of September 11.

    Married in 1999 to Barbara Alberstadt, Wilson lived out his retirement in Lufkin, receiving a heart transplant in 2007. That same year Wilson was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the movie version of Charlie Wilson's War.

    Wilson is survived by his wife Barbara.

    unspecified
    news/city-life

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    telling stories

    Black-owned Houston bookstore opens new home in historic Third Ward space

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 13, 2025 | 2:45 pm
    Kindred Stories bookshore Eldorado Ballroom
    Photo by Craig D. Lindsey
    Kindred Stories has moved to its new location.

    Even though its grand reopening will be held this Saturday, May 17, Third Ward bookstore Kindred Stories has already begun a soft opening at its new location inside the Eldorado Ballroom at 2310 Elgin Street.

    Since September 2021, the Black-owned bookstore was located on Stuart St., one of many businesses that came to life thanks to Project Row Houses’ Incubation Program. Last year, the nonprofit informed Kindred and the other business that they had to vacate their premises at the end of this month to allow new businesses to occupy the spaces.

    Thankfully, Kindred already had its eye on the Eldorado location, next to neighborhood eatery The Rado Market (which has a collection of cookbooks curated by Kindred). It’s a space previously held by Hogan Brown Gallery, which abruptly closed in December. “I had caught wind that this space might be available,” Kindred founder/owner Terri Hamm tells CultureMap.

    Hamm turned the moving process into a fun little event for her and her loyal customers. “Last Tuesday, we invited about 20 of our top community members that, you know, are always in the store and have really supported us all of the year,” she says. “We packed up all the books in the space in an hour and, then, we moved everything in an hour. So it was like the beautiful way to close out that space in the midst of the community that has really supported us throughout three-and-a-half years there. And we spent the last four days kind of unboxing and just getting all set up.”

    Hamm says the new location is certainly roomier (around 1200 square feet) than their previous spot, which was only 450 square feet.

    “There's more room to just spend time in the store,” she says. “I feel like that's the ideal bookstore experience, when you can go in and really take your time. I feel like in the other space, it was so small, people kind of felt like they were in a rush.”

    Although Kindred is open and ready to welcome anyone looking for Black-and-proud literature, Hamm insists they’re only 90 percent done. More light fixtures need to be installed. Plants and furniture have to be brought. They even have custom-made wallpaper that needs to be installed.

    “So, we have a few little things that need to happen,” says Hamm, “And, then, I feel like the space will be really, really ready – probably in another six months.”

    In the meantime, it’s business as usual. This month’s calendar of events includes various appearances from authors as well as a couple of book clubs. Hamm is looking forward to new bookworms coming in and discovering what Kindred Stories has to offer.

    “The bestsellers are selling,” she says, “But I feel like, in this space, people are going to get to discover a lot of under-the-radar titles, just because there's more space to see the books and explore.”

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