Hood, Lee print donated to CTOM

May 22—A framed print of an oil painting by Texas artist Clyde Heron represents a significant donation to the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum's Terry's Texas Rangers 8th Texas Cavalry Museum, Johnson County Historic Foundation CEO David Murdoch said.

"We're fortunate that [Glen Rose resident Michael Tandy] thought of us to donate this painting," Murdoch said. "It's a significant painting with [Confederate General John Bell Hood], which shows the significance of Texans in the Civil War and [Confederate General Robert E. Lee's] regard for Texans."

The print, titled "Lee Calls on Hood's Texans," number 110 out of 950 produced, now occupies a place of honor on the museum's fireplace mantle.

"They've decided to put it right up there on the mantle so it's the first thing you see when you walk in the museum," CTOM On-Site Director Carrie Reynolds said.

Heron, who has since passed away, was a friend of Tandy.

"Clyde was a fellow Rotarian in Oddessa, Texas and he went to all these reenactments all over the country," Tandy said. "He just loved doing that. Later he started painting. That's an oil painting he made copies of. I saw him after a meeting one day and told him I wanted to buy one of his copies of this painting. He went back to this old Cadillac he had and opened the trunk and pulled one out and said, 'You ain't buying that,' and handed it to me. This would've been back in the early '90s. My wife and I framed it and were happy to have it ever since."

Tandy, who moved from Odessa to Glen Rose in 2007, recently donated the picture to Terry's Texas Rangers 8th Texas Cavalry Museum "in loving memory of his wife," Nelda J. Tandy who has since passed away.

Nelda Tandy worked 35 years as a school teacher and Michael Tandy the same amount of years as a banking trust officer.

"I hadn't really thought about anything like this but I'm glad that I did so that now more people can enjoy the print," Tandy said.

The museum, which occupies one half of the CTOM's larger Terry Building, is dedicated to Terry's Texas Rangers, a local reenactment and historical group, and Civil War history. The other side of the Terry Building houses a museum dedicated to the Texas Rangers as well as local law enforcement agencies.

Tandy said his friend, Glen Rose City Councilman T. J. Walker told him about the CTOM and suggested that he donate the print.

"I've always been a Civil War and history buff and so thought that would be a good idea, just to have it someplace where a lot of people can see and enjoy it," Tandy said.

CTOM President Gary Barger said many no doubt will.

"A lot will see this because there's literally hundreds of people who come through here," Barger said. "They come through and want to learn about history, the truth about what really happened and they're just enthralled. We had a lady in here not long ago from Sweden. She couldn't speak English but she could speak Spanish and so a man and woman from Columbia translated for her."

It's interesting, Barger said, the number of people visiting the museum who claim some relationship or tie to Lee.

"That's like next door at the Texas Rangers Museum," Murdoch said. "Every week we get someone saying they or someone they knew were robbed by, met, fed or are related to Bonnie and Clyde."

Tandy's donation of the picture, Reynolds said, ties into a recent partnership between CTOM and the city of Glen Rose.

"We partnered with Glen Rose and they promote us, sponsors us and sends us off to all these trade shows," Reynolds said. "The members of the Glen Rose City Council wanted to be here today but were tied up in meetings all day. But we wanted to thank Glen Rose for partnering with us and hooking us up to get this incredible piece of art and for helping spread word of our museum.

"There's a whole corridor called Gateway to Hill Country with a lot of towns involved including Cleburne with us, The Depot and Plaza Theatre Company that also takes in attractions in Glen Rose, Lampasas, Hamilton, Hico and all the way down the corridor to Hill Country. That spreads word of us further and makes our tourism dollars go further, but also helps travelers who are coming from around the world to experience Texas."