The History of Thurber in 12 Objects: Reflecting on History
by Lea Hart
While reflecting
on the abundance of Thurber history in our collections for this blog post, I
found my gaze reflected back at me. Our Alberson collection features a set of
four rectangular framed mirrors, one of them with a minor spot warped with age where
the glass has resettled. Few delicate objects survive the test of time
completely intact, and even fewer can still function with their intended
purpose; these mirrors have done both.
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| Our museum mascot, Clay, contemplating the Snake Saloon mirrors Alberson Collection |
These
mirrors started their lives in the Snake Saloon. The Snake Saloon, owned by the
Texas Pacific Mercantile & Manufacturing Company, was known for its
enormous horseshoe bar. With no seating available patrons would stand around
the bar or outside under the arbors. The latter may have reminded immigrant
customers of the beer gardens they left behind in Europe. According to Gene
Rhea Tucker’s book Oysters Macaroni &
Beer, the bars lack of chairs and rules against gambling and women in the
bar did not stop the saloon from being one of the most profitable divisions of
the TPM&M Co. For those who preferred to drink at home, likely the majority
of the patrons, the Snake sold kegs for four dollars. Women barred from
entering could purchase kegs from the saloon staff at the back door.
The mirrors were
initially hang on the cabinet behind the horseshoe bar where many of Thurber’s
male residents would have had the chance to gaze into them after a hard day’s
work. A careful observer can spot them
in one of the only surviving photos of the Snake Saloon. That the mirrors
survived without shattering stands a testament to how orderly the Snake Saloon
was kept despite the few arrests that were made.
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| This photograph of the Snake Saloon clearly shows the mirrors hanging on the back cabinets. Gordon Center Collection |
Mose M. Miller, Chief Clerk of the TPM&M Co., saved the mirrors from destruction during the Thurber’s close. Miller kept the mirrors in a barn with other Thurber furnishings. After his death Miller’s niece, Leona Miller, rediscovered the mirrors. She had them re-silvered and framed to preserve their unique story. In 2017, the family donated these pieces of Thurber history to the museum .While no longer utilized as cabinet doors the mirrors are stored in collections until we are able to once again hang them, to be gazed upon as they once were by Thurber’s laborers.
