February 18, 2017 – Victoria College

            Last night I camped at Goliad State Park in Texas.  The stars were just coming out when I zipped up the tent, but overnight light rains started to fall.  By the morning most of the rains had passed leaving the bike and tent clean and wet.  Before leaving I took a few moments to visit the reconstructed mission and museum at the park.  A friendly ranger informed me that many of the original artifacts found at the site were on display in a museum located on the campus of Victoria Junior College just about 30 miles to the east.

            Now I had decided not to visit any more Community Colleges in Texas.  My original intent was to just get through the state as fast as possible to make up for lost time.  I did however need breakfast and I spied a lovely bakery café right on the quaint town square in Goliad the night before.  Finding not only a warm cinnamon role and coffee but also a Wi-Fi connection at the café I spent the morning writing up the previous days blog and getting to know the locals.  The waitress at the café absolutely beamed about Victoria College.  She attended classes four days a week and described it as her happy place.  She loved the English classes she had taken and was challenging herself to take Algebra this semester.

            While this trip seems to be about visiting college campuses, I am starting to realize that it’s really about the people.  I don’t really need to visit colleges.  The people who make up the College are in every community.  To find them one just needs to ask.  There is this invisible web that connects local communities to opportunities, advancement, and the joy that comes with learning. 

            Part of the early history of Texas I encountered at the Mission earlier in the morning involved how the Spanish priests taught the indigenous people skills and trades.  Some tribes were easier to assimilate into church culture than others and I wondered if the deciding factor was more related to the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques that religion.

            With these thoughts in my head I headed off to Victoria College to view their museum.  The Museum of the Costal Bend, located on the campus of Victoria College, is and excellent presentation of the archeology and story of the early settlers to the Area.  I learned much I did not know, such as the failed attempts by the French to colonize the area.  They thought the Mississippi entered the gulf in Texas.  The French set two ships with supplies for settlement, but the attempt was thwarted when one the ships was raided by Spanish pirates.  (I wonder if that’s why the Victoria College mascot is a Pirate?)