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'''Laura Vernon Hamner''' (July 17, 1871 &ndash; September 20, 1968) was an [[United States|American]] [[author]], ranch [[historian]], [[journalist]], [[radio]] commentator,  [[educator]], and public official from the [[Texas]] Panhandle. She was informally known in her later years as "Miss Amarillo," a reference to her adopted city of [[Amarillo]].<ref>Ranching exhibits, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, include reference to Laura Vernon Hamner.</ref>​

'''Laura Vernon Hamner''' (July 17, 1871 &ndash; September 20, 1968) was an [[United States|American]] [[author]], ranch [[historian]], [[journalist]], [[radio]] commentator,  [[educator]], and public official from the [[Texas]] Panhandle. She was informally known in her later years as "Miss Amarillo," a reference to her adopted city of [[Amarillo]].<ref>Ranching exhibits, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, include reference to Laura Vernon Hamner.</ref>​

==Biography==​

==Background==​

Born in [[Tennessee]] to James Henry Hamner and the former Laura Lula Hendrix, Laura was educated at Miss Higbee's School for Young Ladies in [[Memphis]] and Peabody College in [[Nashville]], She also studied at the [[University of Chicago]]. Miss Hamner, who never married, was a [[teacher]] for many years. From 1913 to 1921, she served as the appointed postmistress at Claude in Armstrong County east of Amarillo. From 1922 to 1938, she was the Potter County school superintendent, a position which brought her to Amarillo, where she resided for the remainder of her life.<ref name="hbook">{{cite web|url=[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhadb Handbook of Texas Online |title=Hamner, Laura Vernon|author=Deolece M. Parmelee|publisher=The Handbook of Texas on-line|accessdate|December 14, 2019}}</ref> Hamner lived for years in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, owned by then [[Mayor]] Ernest O. Thompson, later a long-term chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. ​

Born in [[Tennessee]] to James Henry Hamner and the former Laura Lula Hendrix, Laura was educated at Miss Higbee's School for Young Ladies in [[Memphis]] and Peabody College in [[Nashville]], She also studied at the [[University of Chicago]]. Miss Hamner, who never married, was a [[teacher]] for many years. From 1913 to 1921, she served as the appointed postmistress at Claude in Armstrong County east of Amarillo. From 1922 to 1938, she was the Potter County school superintendent, a position which brought her to Amarillo, where she resided for the remainder of her life.<ref name="hbook">{{cite web|url=[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhadb Handbook of Texas Online |title=Hamner, Laura Vernon|author=Deolece M. Parmelee|publisher=The Handbook of Texas on-line|accessdate|December 14, 2019}}</ref> Hamner lived for years in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, owned by then [[Mayor]] Ernest O. Thompson, later a long-term chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.

==Writings==​

==Writings==​

In the early 1890s, while she assisted her father in his [[newspaper]] work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) and his first wife, Mary Ann,  In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote ''The No-Gun Man of Texas,'' a [[novel]]-ized [[biography]] of the legendary [[cattle]]man, former co-owner with [[John George Adair]] of the [[JA Ranch]]. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to ''Short Grass and Longhorns''  (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]]: [[University of Oklahoma]] Press, 1943) and ''Light 'n Hitch'' (1958). For more than thirty years, Hamner wrote features for ''The Amarillo Globe-News.'' She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.<ref name="hbook"/>​

In the early 1890s, while she assisted her father in his [[newspaper]] work in Claude, she met Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) and his first wife, Mary Ann,  In 1935, six years after Goodnight's death, she wrote ''The No-Gun Man of Texas,'' a [[novel]]-ized [[biography]] of the legendary [[cattle]]man, former co-owner with [[John George Adair]] of the [[JA Ranch]]. Her research into life stories of old-timers led to ''Short Grass and Longhorns''  (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]]: [[University of Oklahoma]] Press, 1943) and ''Light 'n Hitch'' (1958). For more than thirty years, Hamner wrote features for ''The Amarillo Globe-News.'' She appeared weekly on radio to discuss life during early Panhandle times.<ref name="hbook"/>​

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In 1947, she published in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an [[African- American]] [[cowboy]] from Amarillo. Born to former slaves, Hooks was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas plains, broke [[horse]]s, and handled the remudas on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black churches in West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bones+Hooks:+Pioneer+Negro+Cowboy-a0155039526|title=''Bones" Hooks: Pioneer Negro Cowboy''|publisher=Free Online Library|accessdate=December 14, 2019}}</ref>​

In 1947, she published in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' an article about Matthew "Bones" Hooks (1867–1951), an [[African-American]] [[cowboy]] from Amarillo. Born to former slaves, Hooks was only semiliterate but had an historical consciousness. He crossed the West Texas plains, broke [[horse]]s, and handled the remudas on cattle drives, later settling into life as a townsman. Hooks became a leader of the black community in Amarillo and the High Plains. He established one of the first black churches in West Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bones+Hooks:+Pioneer+Negro+Cowboy-a0155039526|title=''Bones" Hooks: Pioneer Negro Cowboy''|publisher=Free Online Library|accessdate=December 14, 2019}}</ref>​

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==Later years==​

==Later years==​