McCaw shares ‘The Texas You Don’t Know’

[Local retired educator and author Rick McCaw drops off copies of his new book, “The Texas You Don’t Know,” July 19 to Gladewater Museum’s history aficionados (from left) Beth Lewis, Elaine Roddy and Elane Osteen alongside his wife – and editor – Mindy.]

Rick McCaw was never one to stick to the stories in the Texas History textbooks – the good ones were left out all too often – and others looking to read between the lines of the historical record can now find plenty in “The Texas You Don’t Know.”
The crisp pages of the new paperback represent a two-year labor of love by the longtime Union Grove ISD educator, boasting an official publication date of June 27, 2024, according to the freshly-minted listing on Amazon. McCaw was eager to drop some hot-off-the-press author copies at Gladewater Museum Friday morning.
It was a way of saying ‘Thanks’ to some key contributors to the project: “I wouldn’t have much of a bibliography if it weren’t for you guys,” he told the museum’s staff July 19.
McCaw credits the local history buffs with giving him access, guidance and fresh anecdotes to share in the leaves of his Texas tome, tracking the state’s history “From Noah to 1870.” Sam Houston, Davy Crocket, James Bowie and other Lone Star State titans make appearances alongside common rogues, ranchers, runaways and everyone in between. McCaw’s research took him from Gladewater to Gonzales, Galveston, Grimes County and beyond, collecting as many accounts as possible.
“A lot of these stories I have in there are actually by the person that was there,” he said, recounting them in the same storyteller tone he learned from his history mentor in the mid-90s, Dr. Archie McDonald of Stephen F. Austin State University. “That’s the way I wanted to teach class,” not by rote instruction and textbook test questions but by breathing life into the tales.
McCaw carried that example with him through almost three decades at UGISD, and he took encouragements from students there who told him, time and again, “You’ve got to write down some of these stories you’ve been telling in class.”
Retiring in 2021, McCaw hoped to have his first published project in print by the time Union Grove’s 2024 seniors graduated this May. He was close: after two years of research, writing and editing, the hard part was finished with time to spare but then came six months of formatting and finalizing the book to pass Amazon’s AI gatekeepers.
“That eats your lunch. It took a while to get it through there,” McCaw jokes, praising his graphics guru, Stephanie Ransom, for getting the book across the finish line. “It took a while for us to get the right recipe. She did a lot for it.”
Ransom wasn’t the only one, of course. McCaw’s quick to heap praise on his editor, as well. That would be, his wife, Mindy. She earned the title honestly, too, responsible not just for spellchecking but for the proper punctuation of the final product. “She did the commas. She did the apostrophes. I had to find a place to put her name in there, so she’s the editor.
After two-and-a-half years, many miles traveled, scores and scores of true stories, tens of thousands of words and hundreds of pages, the book’s now available for purchase on Amazon in paperback or a digital edition. Find it via tinyurl.com/rickmccaw.
“Instead of sitting around the house and watching soap operas, doing yard work, I said I’d see what I could do,” McCaw said. “I finally finished.”
Copies are also available at Gladewater Museum with more bound for other local bookshelves.
“It’s gonna be great,” according to museum mainstay Beth Lewis, eager to sit down with her copy. “I know it will be.”
In the meantime, McCaw’s second volume is already underway.

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