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| Visitor to Seguin
about to sample a taste of "The World's Largest Pecan."
(Trained professional - Do not try this at home.) |
Seguin,
Tejas: the town famed author Sandra Cisneros
(who lives in San Antonio) describes as having "[a] nice sterling
ring to it," like "[t]he tinkle of money" has quite a unique downtown
tourist attraction. Poised atop a concrete pedestal in the middle
of the courthouse's lawn rests a larger-than-life sculpture celebrating
one of the town's native crops: the pecan.
Mmmm-hmmmm. That's right. Pecan are very much a staple fare of Texan
cuisine. From pecan pancakes to pecan pies, pecan patties to pecan-crusted
catfish, pecans reign supreme as a hearty native addition to any dish.
Texas' 36th legislature proclaimed in 1919 that the pecan tree be
the official state tree of Texas. And the 77th legislature (2001)
continued the praise by declaring the pecan the official "health nut"
of the state.
So why shouldn't the pecan be immortalized for the public?
There's something to be said about the unusualness of this local tribute.
It's evidenced as easily by the Chamber of Commerce's touting of it
on its list of "Things to See and Do" as it is by literature. Cisneros
shows the pecan's importance to the city's identity through her playful
description of it in her short story "Woman Hollering Creek;" she
describes Seguin as a "town with its silly pride for a bronze pecan
the size of a baby carriage in front of the city hall."
"Silly," perhaps. But uniquely and unabashedly Texan, proving,
once again, everything IS bigger in Texas.
©
Audrey
A. Herbrich |
 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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