2022 Uvalde and 1966 UT Tower Shootings

The harsh criticism leveled at the response by law enforcement to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde May 24, 2022 brings to mind the response by officers to the first mass school shooting in the nation at The University of Texas Tower in Austin August 1, 1966.

The comparisons, and contrasts, are striking.

Uvalde Officers in Robb Elementary School (photo: Texas Tribune)

Though separated by almost exactly 56 years, the extent of both events was horrendous. Both were carried out by lone gunmen, who were killed by lawmen. In Uvalde, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers, wounding 17 others.

In Austin, 25-year-old Charles Whitman shot and killed 15 people, wounding 31 others, after stabbing to death his wife and mother the night before.

Both events lasted more than an hour. Many law enforcement officers were involved at both locations. While there were other similarities, let’s focus on one stark difference – the response by law officers.

In Uvalde, many armed-and-armored local and state officers with high-powered weapons, waited and waited inside the school -- apparently deciding what to do, maybe awaiting orders to storm the classroom where the killing was occurring. One investigative report said as many as 376 law enforcement personnel were on the scene, though not all went inside the school. Frantic 911 calls were begging for help. Yet, the killing continued inside a small classroom. And many officers waited just steps away from the carnage.

Contrast that with what happened on the UT campus.

A few unarmored Austin police officers carrying only handguns, a rifle and a shotgun entered the Texas Tower – on their own, individually, without being ordered to do so.

They were even joined by a civilian who asked to be deputized and was handed a rifle after going to the top of the Tower.

Bear in mind, these men didn’t know how many shooters were involved but they had seen dead bodies and wounded students all around the campus, they were hearing continuous gunfire, ambulance sirens were wailing as they hauled victims to Brackenridge Hospital. And yet, these few men kept going, climbing over dead bodies near the top of the Tower, to confront the gunman. However, in Uvalde, lawmen waited an inordinate amount of time in the school hallway.

Think about what was going on in Austin in 1966. It’s difficult to describe the extreme courage it took for these few men to climb out onto the open UT Tower deck where they knew the killer lurked above. But they kept going. Until they were face-to-face with the gunman, just steps away. Two officers fired simultaneously as the killer turned to aim his weapon at them. They killed Charles Whitman.

Fifty-six years ago. (Long before SWAT teams. Long before too many mass shootings that have resulted with regular police training exercises to deal with similar events.) These were just individuals, acting on their own without orders and without a plan, doing what they felt they needed to do.

You can learn more about the Tower Tragedy in hard cover, ebook or audiobook in my memoir With the Bark Off please Join My List.

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A Fun Twist on the Owners of Austin's Most Famous Home

The historic Pease Mansion, or Woodlawn, was the subject of a lengthy front-page story in the Austin American-Statesman with the headline “Who Bought Historic Pease Mansion? One Year After Property Changed Hands, New Owner Still Hasn’t Revealed Identity.”

Pease Mansion (photo: wikipedia)

What makes this home so important? Well, first and foremost, it was the home of two Texas governors. And therein lies this fun story told to me by one of the governors, Allan Shivers.

The 8,000 square foot mansion, on almost 4 acres at 1606 Niles Road in West Austin, was designed by Abner Cook, the architect of the Governor’s Mansion near the State Capitol. It was completed in 1853 and has been classified as a historic landmark. In 1857, it was acquired by Governor Elisha Pease.

The American-Statesman’s crack reporter Ryan Autullo delved deeply in a well-researched piece on the history of the mansion, ending up with today’s still-unanswered question – who now owns this bit of Austin real estate? But how the home became the property of Governor Allan Shivers in 1957 was not mentioned. It was probably not mentioned because this little story was told to me by Governor Shivers and later recounted every time I asked the governor in private meetings to tell this story again and again. Let me fill in the gap.

Woodlawn Mansion (Photo: Library of Congress)

Woodlawn had remained in the Pease family for about a century when Allan and Marialice Shivers bought it. It was a historic moment. A Pease descendent, well-known in West Austin real estate circles, understood the significance and got Governor Shivers to agree to sign the closing documents on Woodlawn’s front porch in the last hours before Shivers presided over the inauguration of his successor. When Shivers showed up, dressed in his inaugural finery, he found the Pease descendent sitting at a card table with two folding chairs on Woodlawn’s porch. On the card table alongside the documents was a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Caught up in the emotion of the historic moment, the descendent was teary-eyed and, well, snockered. Yep, he was drunk. And he kept pouring whiskey into the two glasses and urging the governor to share a toast to the occasion. Again. And again.

By this time, the Pease descendent was practically blubbering and babbling. The governor told me he also was beginning to feel the effects a bit as well. Hey, this was just before noon and Shivers’ term as governor was ending at noon when his successor took the oath of office blocks away on the steps of the State Capitol. The governor kept politely urging him to move along and sign the papers. At the last minute, the papers were signed and the outgoing Texas governor showed up for the ceremony a bit tipsy.

Inauguration of Governor Allan Shivers (Photo: Portal to Texas History)

But at least, Governor Shivers had a new home in Austin. They lived there for about twenty years. Whoever the new occupants of the Pease Mansion will be, they will have a lot to do to live up to the stories played out over the 170-year history of The Pease Mansion, Woodlawn.

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Progress May Change Things, But It Can't Change Memories

For almost 100 years, well, since 1926 anyway, University of Texas students particularly and Austinites generally have enjoyed burgers, fries and shakes at Dirty Martin’s on the Drag at 2808 Guadalupe. Okay, Dirty Martin’s is not the real name. It is officially Martin’s Kumbak Place, but everybody calls it Dirty Martin’s or simply Dirty’s.

It doesn’t appear to have changed since we first set foot there as a UT freshman in 1952 (or even maybe changed since 1926, but that was before we were born). However, this may be all about to change if Capital Metro’s Project Connect carries its plans forward. The proposed light rail Orange Line map shows the rail project slicing through part of Dirty’s property. Progress.

Photo: Dirty Martin's

Now just because something is 96 years old doesn’t make it historic or worth keeping in the name of historical preservation. But, memories? C’mon. I know, nobody has ever put a plaque on a memory. But memories are precious to you as an individual. And you can preserve those as long as you are able.

Let me quickly share a Dirty’s newsmaking memory with you. One Sunday night in 1953 we were eating the Size Royal mexican food plate with a handful of fraternity brothers at the Night Hawk. Young, naïve, and mischievous that we late-teens were, we talked about how we could help the Texas football team beat the nation’s #3 team, Baylor, that was coming to town Saturday.

“I got it. Let’s start holding pep rallies tomorrow, Monday.” So we all agreed to meet at 7 am (pretty rare time for college kids!) and write on every classroom chalkboard “Beat Baylor. Pep Rally tonight at 10 at Dirty’s.” We rounded up a few stray members of the Longhorn Band and climbed atop Dirty’s overhang. And proceeded to make a lotta racket.

Photo: Dirty Martins. c. 1953 (that's me in the silly hat banging a snare drum)

We repeated that exercise every night at Dirty’s. Crowds grew. Traffic stopped. Car horns honked. “Beat the pee out of #3” echoed throughout the neighborhood. It got so big, and almost out of hand, that we moved downtown, closing Congress Avenue. We led the crowd in cheers and music from the streetside balcony of the Stephen F. Austin Hotel.

It didn’t stop there. We led the crowd into the Paramount Theater, interrupting a movie to lead cheers, from in front of the screen, to startled moviegoers. Ahh, youthful enthusiasm! Oh yeah, as we left the theater we led the mob to the Governor’s Mansion for a final rally.

Photo: Twitter

The crowd was electric at the UT/Baylor game. The student section stood the whole game. And, yes, the Texas Longhorns upset the favored Baylor Bears. And, it all started at Dirty Martin’s.

Don’t know at this writing if progress will impact Dirty’s. But even if Dirty’s changes as it nears its 100th anniversary, those of us who chowed down on cheeseburgers there over the generations will relish our cherished memories.

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