The Wild Texas Stampede written my Margaret McManis and available on Amazon.

Her father was close friends to many politicians and famous creative people throughout Texas and around the world. In photos from the University of Texas historical collection where Miss Ima donated her memoir, you can find a picture of her at seven seated with her father in front of a company of Civil War veterans. His only daughter was a favorite of Governor Hogg’s and after her mother’s death when Ima was just thirteen, she accompanied her father to many state events, even tagging along in 1898 to see the United States flag raised over the Hawaiian Islands. While there it is recorded in her diary that she was out walking one morning with a friend when she ran into Queen Lilikulani in one of her many gardens. What a privilege for this young woman to be a part of such an historical event. But this part of her life was just beginning and it would bring fame and notoriety to Ima in an unexpected way which had nothing to do with her name.

Of all the personalities that she met as a young girl the lady who intrigued Ima the most was Mollie Bailey, the Circus Queen of the Southwest. Governor Hogg visited Mollie’s family circus whenever it came to town, even calling it the Texas Show for Texas Folks.

 

Click here to Get your Copy Now

Mollie’s calendar records her visits to small towns all over south Texas, even visiting Conroe, Cut and Shoot and surrounding areas. Ima and her brothers loved visiting the circus as youngsters and into her old age, Ima, who died at 93 in 1975, loved to visit the Barnum and Bailey circus when it came to Houston, perhaps remembering the joy of her first circus, The Mollie Bailey show. 

Ima Hogg was interested in many things as a child and accompanied her governor father to historic events around the U.S. and the world. She was a prolific letter writer and diarist and wrote about all these adventures in her journals. At her death the journals were donated along with all her correspondence to the University of Texas, her alma matter and many scholars have accessed the records to write about the first lady of Texas. One such book by Virginia Bernhard and Roswitha Wagner, cover her entries from her time in Vienna where she studied music with Franz Xaver Scharwenda, the court pianist of Francis Joseph I of Austria. Her musical background began at the age of three when her mother taught her to play the piano and spawned a lifelong love of music what manifested itself in the creation of the Houston Symphony. For ten years she served as the President of the symphony and even today there is are annual music competitions in Houston(39th Annual Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition) and the Woodlands, Texas(Ima Hogg Young Artists Competition) sponsored by the symphony, that honor Ima Hogg. The winners of the Ima Hogg competitions are from all over the world and are independent musicians who don’t belong to an orchestra.

She was also interested in providing inner city kids with musical instruments and started a program for schools that allowed students to borrow instruments and learn classical music. That program exists to this day.

It is said that Ima was accomplished enough to become a concert pianist but chose to teach piano lessons instead in the Houston area. The new book by Virginia Bernhard is the second written by the author about Ima Hogg. Her first book Ima Hogg The Governor’s Daughter, is a biography of the great lady that covers more a brief history of their family fortunes, while Grand Tours covers her time in Europe during World War I. In that book the author mentions a mystery about Miss Ima that many have speculated on. In her travels to Europe, she always visited Germany and even lived there for several years, supposedly to learn the language. She was always partial to the German people and it has been speculated that she had a sweetheart in Munich that may have been killed in the war. In the archives in Austin there is a photo of a young Ima and an unidentified young man. In other photos he is identified as Fritz. Perhaps this is the reason for her early depression. In her diary she doesn’t mention a possible suitor and perhaps we will never know, but Miss Ima never married and spent her life in the service of others.

That service to others became the city of Houston in the shape of Bayou Bend, the world class gardens where Ima introduced azaleas and camellias to the area. The home and gardens were donated to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in 1965 and have been one of Houston’s greatest treasures since opening to the public the next year.

Today the gardens can be viewed on many levels. First to the residents and visitors to Houston it is an incredible resource, a fourteen-acre oasis in the midst of urban sprawl. The gardens are an incredible horticultural and educational asset, offering programs for families, and educators throughout the year.

Second on a national level, Miss Hogg’s creation at Bayou Bend represents an outstanding example of the neo-antebellum garden of the ‘Southern Garden Renaissance’.

And last of all on a more local level, her garden stands as a monument to the golden age of gardening in Houston during the 1930’s. Different designers made contributions but it was Miss Ima herself who was the guiding spirit that gave Bayou Bend its unique and personal character with her hands on attitude, generous spirit and vast knowledge. In fact, it was stated by her many friends over the years that they could never reach her over the phone, because she was always outside with her gardeners. I imagine her getting more soil under her fingernails than is proper for a fashionable lady of that time.

Ima Hogg was something of a visionary and a forward thinker. Her belief that the oil money came from the land and was not truly hers but should be returned to the people and the land it came from encouraged her philanthropic efforts throughout the state that she loved. Her gift of Bayou Bend and Memorial Park located in the center of Houston have afforded people endless pleasure throughout the years. Texas was the benefactor of her time and money and we are all better for it because of a little girl named IMA HOGG.