Aransas County volunteer chosen for Texas Historical Commission lifetime achievement award

ROCKPORT — If it relates to history in Aransas County, Pam Wheat Stranahan will be there.

Stranahan is an active volunteer at the History Center of Aransas County, the Aransas County Historical Commission, the Aransas County Historical Society and the Texas Maritime Museum. Before she retired in Aransas County, Stranahan was executive director of the Texas Archaeological Society and director of education at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

She was there when the shipwreck of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle's ship La Belle was excavated in Matagorda Bay in the 1990s, sifting through sand for artifacts and traveling to coastal communities to share the discoveries as education coordinator.

For her contributions, Stranahan was recently chosen for a lifetime achievement award from the Texas Historical Commission, an honor that isn't bestowed every year, but only when a deserving recipient is identified.

"What makes me the most proud is the three historic organizations in town got together to submit the nomination," Stranahan said, describing how she was lured to visit the Aransas County Commissioners Court where they surprised her with the news she had won.

Stranahan moved to the area 25 years ago after her retirement. She and her husband were drawn to the water, looking for a community where they could fish and kayak, but there was enough going on in town to keep Stranahan busy.

Stranahan and her husband were involved in supporting Aransas Pathways, a county initiative supported by a venue tax that maintains hiking, biking and kayaking trails connecting historical sites and nature, including birding spots. County voters approved the project in 2011.

Along the historic site walking route in town are spots like the Baldwin-Brundrett House, where a historical marker describes how Flavilla Brundrett sheltered 200 people at the home, where she started a makeshift hospital, during the 1919 hurricane.

When Aransas County purchased a property in Rockport with plans of building a new courthouse, Stranahan was one of the residents that worked to save the late 1880s-era Queen Anne-style cottage that sat on the land.

The local group formed the Friends of the History Center, found a spot for the house on Cedar Street in Rockport in 2012 and set about developing a rotating slate of historical exhibits and events. Today, Stranahan spends about eight to 10 hours a week volunteering with the center.

"There was nobody telling the story of Aransas County and all the people in it, so that's what we aim to do," Stranahan said.

In addition to a "Voices of the Past" exhibit focused on the county"s history, the center is also currently hosting an exhibit focused on the history of healthcare in the county.

Stranahan was one of the volunteers who helped put together both exhibits.

"In the 1860s and 70s, yellow fever and cholera killed so many people," Stranahan said. "Sometimes a ship would arrive and two-thirds of the people would die because they got yellow fever or cholera."

To combat this, there was once a quarantine station on Harbor Island near Aransas Pass.

"Today, guys that fish do it on 'Quarantine Shore'," Stranahan said.

Stranahan has stories to share about everything in Aransas County, from the Confederate blockade runners who once attempted to slip pass Union ships through Aransas Pass in the U.S. Civil War to the adventures of Rockport birdwatcher and naturalist Connie Hagar.

In the History Center library, visitors can find more than 450 Texas and local history books, including a few by Stranahan herself. Stranahan has written about archaeology, La Salle's journeys in Texas and local postcards.

Stranahan said her love of history was encouraged by her parents and her seventh grade social studies teacher and debate coach, who allowed students to create their own lessons based on their interests.

As an adult, Stranahan raised a family before becoming a teacher, a path that led her to archeology and work in museums.

"The part I liked the most is trying to figure out how to relate history so that people are interested and maybe spark an idea so that then they are willing to delve into it and support it and maybe volunteer," Stranahan said.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Aransas County historical groups honor volunteer Pam Stranahan