Initially, it seemed to me that the bulk of this information would be about the meetings concerning the placement, funding, and finances that went behind the building of the memorial for Dick Dowling. It still remains true that there was a great wealth of information on things of that nature. One example includes some financial records of the statue, from the source code SC1268-f2-06 on the Houston Library Digital database. In this we see the records of some financial discussion. Its these kind of primary sources that will really help us discover why the statue was founded and under what circumstances, as well as who was involved and what kind of actions were taking to erect the statue. This will answer a lot of the questions we had about the statue from the first observation of it in the park.
However, another interesting thing I found within the archives of the Dowling statue records were gatherings and acknowledgments that were recorded after the statue itself was erected, such as some documents in the 1960’s and 1980’s. For example, one record we have of the statue after its erection is found in the souvenir book from 1984. We can see in page four of this book that a few acknowledgements are made to people that kept the history of the statue alive. I find it very interesting to see not only who kept the history of the statue, but also why. One must ask what the motivation was for this. Its possibly that the people were related to the original founders of the statue in some way. The souvenir book also quotes Jefferson Davis’ admiration of the statue as well. It’s very interesting to see how people have preserved and spread the knowledge of that history throughout the century.
Another interesting document I spotted was the invitation to a celebration of Jefferson Davis’ birthday. It was actually the “Mint Julep Party of the Dick Dowling Camp,” that held the party in observance to Jefferson Davis’ birthday. It is held in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Moers. One must wonder why the camp would recognize Jefferson Davis’ birthday, as well as why the Moers held it at their house. It’s even interesting to question why the birthday is being held even in 1980. I find it very interesting that the birthday is celebrated for almost 100 years by the Dick Dowling camp, and it makes me wonder who was invited as well.
The presence of these more recent documents citing the older events makes it very interesting to wonder how and why these memories have lasted so long. Who is keeping them alive? How is it being celebrated today? These kind of questions can really help relate the past to the future and connect the two together. It would be interesting to look for indications of the party and camp today, as well as when the last celebration was.