Roadside Crosses and Memorial Complexes in Texas

"You always have been, and forever will be, my friend."

The quotation is from the 1982 motion picture Star-Trek II--The Wrath of Khan. They are Spock's dying words to Kirk.

[3] The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which regulates highway construction and maintenance, including the maintenance of all rights-of-way, divides the state into fifteen administrative districts. Austin is in the "Austin district." The administration of each district decides it own policy regarding roadside memorials such as those discussed here. Thus, while the Austin district allows individuals to erect memorials through MADD, any type of roadside memorial is prohibited in the Dallas district (Hurt 1997). Moreover, even MADD memorials in the Austin district (which are not limited to crosses, but may also take the form of a Star of David, for example) are subject to size, construction and placement restrictions. However, like the Roads and Traffic Authority in Australia, as previously reported by Robert James Smith (1999, 105), officials in the Austin district avoid dismantling or moving any memorials, MADD or otherwise, unless they are in the path of road work, or deemed to be dangerous obstructions and/or distractions.

[4] Tammy and Nathan are buried near each other in a large, non-denominational cemetery.

[5] Both Margie and Susan state, however, that Jeffrey Suggs's family has never been involved in maintenance or decoration of the memorial.

References Cited

Barrera, Alberto. "Mexican-American Roadside Crosses in Starr County." In Hecho en Tejas: Texas-Mexican Folk Arts and Crafts, ed. Joe S. Graham. 278-92. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1991.

Berlandier, Jean Louis. Journey to Mexico during the Years 1826-1834. Translated by Sheila M. Ohlendorf, et al. 2 vols. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1980.

Biggs, Vicki. Interview by author. Tape recording. Austin, TX, 15 January 1998.

Crane, Susan. Interview by author. Tape recording. Austin, TX, 20 January 1998.

De Leon, Alonso. "Itinerary of the De Leon Expedition of 1689." In Spanish Exploration in the Southwest 1542-1706. [1908] Edited by H. E. Bolton. Translated by Elizabeth Howard West. 388-404. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963.

Drury, Susan. "Funeral Plants and Flowers in England: Some Examples." Folklore 105 (1994):101-3.

Edgette, J. Joseph. "Death Site and Grave Sites: Bridging the Memory." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society, Austin, TX, 1997.

Grider, Sylvia. "The Poisoning of Treaty Oak: The Exploitation and Transformation of Tradition." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, St John's, NF, May 1999.

Griffith, James S. Beliefs and Holy Places: A Spiritual Geography of the Primeria Alta. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1992.

Hurt, John. Interview by author. Austin, TX, 2 May 1997.

Kozak, David and Camillus Lopez. "The Tohono O'odham Shrine Complex: Memorializing the Location of Violent Death." New York Folklore 17 (1991):1-20.