at the square

photo:Jonathan Versen, 2006

Occasionally I wonder how many UNT and TWU students come here and go to school, then leave without ever noticing "Old Reb", or "Old Jeb" or whatever his name is-- or do notice-- "hmm. old statue."-- without wondering about his import.

Old Reb was installed on the courthouse square in the early part of the 20th century, to commemorate Denton's confederate civil war dead. In the early to mid 90s there was a movement afoot to tear down the statue, but it ran out of steam. For my
part I'm glad the statue wasn't removed, for a variety of reasons.

Partly as a response, they put up another, less interesting statue to commemorate Denton's other war dead, through the 1st gulf war, because at the time(c. 1997, I think)we'd only had the one.*

I'm tempted to segue into a discussion of why removing Don Imus
from the airwaves is an altogether different matter(and it is an altogether different matter), but I don't have the energy at present, and I'm also kind of thinking the subject of Imus has been talked into the ground at this point.


*I believe that Denton has had two deaths thus far in Gulf War II.