Books by Donna Gholson Cook

Gholson Brothers in The Thick of It: True Stories of Early Texas as Told by Two Who Lived It is Donna Gholson Cook's fourth book. Donna is a sixth-Generation Texan and Great-Granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin Gholson. Sam and Frank Gholson were born in the Republic of Texas and were two of the first Texas Rangers in their teens. Their stories range from gut wrenching to heartwarming, and every account in this book is from participants or eyewitnesses. Albert and his sons were involved in Indian fights and were major early Texas cattlemen. Albert died young, leaving three young children, but his two older sons lived to a ripe old age-Sam in New Mexico and Frank in his rock home in central Texas, which has been beautifully restored. The home is a monument to the Texas frontier and their stories are a treasure trove of Texas history.

In Annie Lippe's 103 years, she witnessed the greatest changes ever known in human history in such a short time, from the first automobiles and airplanes to watching the moon landing on television. Life on the farm was a daily struggle, trying to survive and feed eleven children by raising cotton on rented farms in Texas in the early 1900s. Annie and her husband, Fritz, grew almost everything they ate-vegetables from the garden; hogs for meat, lard, and soap; and chickens for meat and eggs. Money from the sale of the annual cotton crop was used to buy coffee, sugar, and farm tools and other necessary items. Even though the future must have seemed very bleak at times, Annie's faith in God, stemming from her German Lutheran roots, always sustained her.