b'Pres. Teddy Roosevelt returns to San Antonio in 1905, where he formed the Rough Riders in 1898.SAVIOR OF THE ALAMOClara DriscollsThe convento property was turned over to first public reference as an young adult wasthe State of Texas, which in turn, under the at age seventeen, upon her return from Eu- leadershipofGov.SamuelWillisTucker rope in 1898. Having settled in San Antonio,Lanham and with the approval of the legis-the young Clara penned a letter to the Sanlature, assigned control of the entire Alamo AntonioExpressnewspaperinwhichsheproperty to the Daughters of the Republic of conveyed her dismay at the dilapidated stateTexas, who operated it as one of Americas of the Alamo and surrounding former bar- most famous and visited historical sites for racks structure, known as the convento. 110 years, until 2015.As the granddaughter of a Battle of San Ja- Forhereffort,ClaraDriscollwashailed,Clara Driscoll photographed in New cinto veteran, Clara encouraged leaders tothe Savior of the Alamo by the governor,York City following the publication respect the sanctity of the site by clearingin the press and in Texas lore ever since. of her second novel, 1906.the blighted grounds adjacent to the originalTWOYEARSWRITINGBRILLIANCEBelow: Modern photo of the former mission and letting the Alamo stand aloneClara returned to New York City to pursueFrench finishing school attended by as a memorial to those who died fighting forher aspirations as a writer, after her briefClara, Chteau de Dieudonne.Texas independence. The City of San Anto- stint in San Antonio. In 1905 at age 22, she nio had purchased the iconic mission build- published The Girl from La Gloria, a collec-ing from the Roman Catholic Church fifteention of semi-autobiographical short stories yearsearlier,in1883.Thelongbarracksabout her summers growing up on family building adjacent to the Alamo was ownedranches in South Texas.byawholesalegrocerypartnershipwho planned on building a hotel in its place. The following year, Clara Driscoll published In 1903, five years after Clara composed herher second novel, In the Shadow of the Ala-inspiring letter, she was contacted by Adinamo, the story of a New York girl, Talcott, and Emilia De Zavala, the granddaughter of theherdramaticallyadventurousjourneyto first vice president of the republic, invitingSan Antonio and the outlying countrysideher to join the Daughters of the Republicagain,highly-autobiographicalandwholly ofTexas,thehistoricalpreservationsoci- representative of her personal identity.ety formed in 1891 by the widow of the lastClaras proud, Texas roots persevered as the president of the republic. Their goal was todefining theme of her work as a profession-raise funds to purchase the convento fromal writer, although she enjoyed an education the grocers, which Clara did with her ownand rearing equal to royalty and the chil-money, $75,000 or about $2.4 million today. dren of tycoons, who were her classmates.64 THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'