The People's Path - Texas Governor's Series LbNA #30865

Beauford Halbert Jester, the 36th governor of Texas, was an East Texan, even though he was born and raised in Corsicana in Navarro County, which, admittedly, is located on the edge. And Jester also was born to politics, since his father served two terms as lieutenant governor from 1894 to 1898. As a campaign slogan, Governor Jester promised to keep the state on that middle course he termed “The People’s Path”. Jester was educated at the University of Texas and attended Harvard Law School before leaving to command an infantry company in France during WWI. He returned to Austin to complete his legal studies, then opened a practice in Corsicana in 1920. Most of Jester’s cases involved the oil and gas industry, and he also managed family ranching and mineral interests. Jester served on the Board of Regents of his alma mater during the 1930s, until appointed by Governor Coke Stevenson to the Railroad Commission. Later, Jester was elected to a full term on the commission, and served until elected governor in 1946. That election originally featured fourteen candidates for the Democratic nomination. The most controversial contender was Homer Price Rainey, former president of the University of Texas and also an ordained minister who had earned a Ph.D. Rainey’s "former" status really meant fired, because he had opposed the university’s board of regents over firings of faculty and banning books from its library. Tactics of Rainey’s opponents included men-only meetings featuring readings of portions of the banned books. Jester, who stayed above the fray, then claimed that he was the only candidate "without mud on his hands," and he won. Jester was reelected in 1948 but died following a heart attack on July 11, 1949, sustained while he rode a railroad train from Austin to Houston, and Lt. Gov. Allan Shivers succeeded to the governor’s office. Jester had been a successful governor. His administration witnessed passage of the Gilmer-Aiken Law, which established state funding for public education, adoption of state assistance for rural roads, and other reforms. He is the only governor of Texas who died while still in office.

Directions:
Corsicana is located on I-45 about 55 miles south of Dallas. Take the US 31 exit and head west. You will be on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., which will shortly become 7th Ave. Turn right onto N. 18th St., left on W. 4th Ave., then right on N. 19th St. This will take you directly into Oakwood Cemetery.

To the box:
After entering the cemetery, turn left at the first road CROSSING and count five roads (rows). Turn on the road between “Horn” and “Sam H. Butler”. Go to the end of the row, passing a flag pole about half way. A tall monument marking Governor Jester’s grave will be on your left. After admiring the monument, go back down the road from whence you came, about 45 steps to the E. D. Oakes plot on your right. Look for Susie Oakes Adams. Next to her is a tree. The box is hidden in a cavity about 4 feet up the trunk, hidden under bark and pieces of wood. Please replace it as you found it, and recover it so that it can't be seen. Thanks.