AUSTIN, Texas—On Nov. 22, the birthday of former Vice President John Nance Garner, The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for American History will rededicate the John Nance Garner Museum in Uvalde, Texas and celebrate the reopening of the museum and its new exhibit installation.
The program, which is free and open to the public, begins at 1:30 p.m. on thelawn of the museum at 333 North Park St.
Former Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe, who as a young man was a friend of the former vice president, will introduce the principal speaker, Dr. Larry R. Faulkner,president of The University of Texas at Austin. The program also will featureTexas State Sen. Frank Madla, State Rep. Pete Gallego and State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran.A ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the reopening of the museum.
After the program, guests will be invited to tour the museum and its new first-floor exhibit. The exhibit chronicles the life and career of John Nance Garner andthe important role he played in the political and social changes that occurredin the first half of the 20th century.
Garner was vice president of the United States during the first two terms (1933-41) of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, and was the first Texan to serve asvice president. Garner had been elected to Congress in 1902 and was Speaker ofthe House of Representatives from 1931-33 He also was the first Texan to serveas Speaker.
Garner’s experience in and mastery of Washington politics proved critically important to the Roosevelt administration. His leadership was vital in shepherding much of the New Deal legislation through the Congress. This legislation was aimed at healing the nation’s economic woes—restoring integrity to the stock market, creating jobs, extending electricity to rural America and starting a public works project that laid the foundation for the nation’s infrastructure.
The John Nance Garner Museum is the former home of John and Ettie Garner in Uvalde, the county seat of Uvalde County, 70 miles west of San Antonio. It was designed by influential builder Atlee Ayres and is where John and Ettie Garner lived, worked, raised a family, entertained dignitaries and hosted thousands of citizens from all walks of life.
The John Nance Garner Museum became a division of the Center for American History on Nov. 20, 1999, when the City of Uvalde transferred ownership of the museum to The University of Texas at Austin. Other divisions of the center include the Sam Rayburn Library and Museum in Bonham, Texas, and Winedale, near Round Top, Texas.
Note to editors/producers: The museum in Uvalde, Texas, will be open for news media availability from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 21.
For more information contact: Dr. Patrick Cox, Center for American History, 512-495-4515, or Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
