Daily Archives: January 10, 2014

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewright,_Texas

Quedlinburg treasures
Main article: Theft of medieval art from Quedlinburg

Whitewright was the home of US Lieutenant Joe Tom Meador, who after World War II looted several major pieces of art from a cave near Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

On April 19, 1945, American troops occupied Quedlinburg. Various treasures of art were secured in a cave near the castle Altenburg. Meador was responsible for the security of the cave.

Meador, a soldier with good knowledge of art, recognized the importance of the treasures (among them being Gospel of Samuel and the Crystals of Constantinople). He sent the treasures to Whitewright via army mail, and the art was placed in a safe at the First National Bank of Whitewright.

Meador died in 1980, and his heirs tried to sell ten pieces of Beutekunst (looted art) on the international art market. After a long search and judicial processes, the art was returned to Germany in 1992 and were investigated because of damages to the pieces. At first those stolen artefacts were exhibited in Munich and Berlin but were finally returned to Quedlinburg in 1993. However, two of the pieces stolen by Meador are still in the United States at an unknown location.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_of_medieval_art_from_Quedlinburg

On April 20, 2000, the IRS and the Meador family settled for $135,000.

Kentucky town.

http://www.texasescapes.com/They-Shoe-Horses-Dont-They/Three-Bean-Salad.htm

Tom Bean
Tom Bean was a mysterious character that showed up in Grayson County one day – having just traded his horse and pistol for a wagon with a yoke of oxen carrying a barrel of whiskey. He had everything needed to open a saloon and so he did – naming it the White Elephant for what he considered his end of the trade. His profession other than saloonkeeper was said to be that of surveyor.

He bought or traded his services for so much land that it was said he could ride to Austin (a three day trip) and camp out every night on property he owned. Reportedly he owned 25,000 acres in Grayson County alone.

When asked where he hailed from – his usual reply was “from a Bean patch.” Bean carried books with him and volumes of Shakespeare and Dickens seemed to be favorites. He was a Mason and a clean-shaven man – rather unusual for that period. According to one source he had one blue and one brown eye. He was not married, although he had a woman with him and quite a few children running around the place. He was described as always carrying an umbrella and wearing a bee-gum hat – whatever that was.

He granted 100 acres of land to the railroad – having the town named in his honor in return. When he died, over 100 people filed claims against the estate, making it one of the most famous of Texas civil law suits. Tom Bean is buried in the Willow Wild cemetery in Bonham, Texas.

The Tom Bean Tom Cats are the local high school football team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant

Mr. Bean.