Lady in Blue, Panhandle Mysteries Highlight Fort’s Speaker Series Topics

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Fort Concho’s fall speaker series during the lunch hour each Wednesday in September will feature topics ranging from the Lady in Blue to Panhandle mysteries.

Admission is free. Each presentation is from noon to 1 p.m. in the fort Commissary at 702 Burgess St. Attendees may bring a lunch or can order a sack lunch from Mr. T’s Deli for $8.75 by calling 325-657-4441 by 5 p.m. the prior Monday.

This year’s lineup of topics and speakers includes:

• Wednesday, Sept. 6: “Midnight Battle Near Fort Lancaster,” presented by local historian David McMahon.
• Wednesday, Sept. 13: “Growing Ranching and Setting the World on Fire” by Jake Landers, a retired range specialist with the Texas A&M Agricultural Center.
• Wednesday, Sept. 20: “Panhandle Mysteries” by local historian Joe Weaver.
• Wednesday, Sept. 27: “The Lady in Blue” by local historian Ken Phipps.

It’s said an apparition of Maria de Jesus de Agreda — the Lady in Blue — appeared and brought Christianity to the Jumano Indians along the Concho River in the 1600s. According to stories, the young nun in Spain, would go into trances and her apparition would appear throughout the world, a phenomenon known as bilocation. The Vatican is engaged in a fact-finding mission to determine the tale’s validity and whether she should be considered for sainthood.

For more information, contact Carol Cummings, Fort Concho’s special events coordinator, at 325-657-4441 or [email protected].