SAPL : October 18 In San Antonio History...

Press release from the San Antonio Public Library:

Andrew Crews

18 October 2021

1909
No less than 50,000 people packed Alamo Plaza today on the occasion of President Taft’s first public speech in this city. Other thousands lined the streets to get a glimpse of the distinguished visitor.

1932
At the instigation of Maury Maverick, the War Veteran’s Relief Camp is organized at Exposition Park where remnants of the Bonus Army are camping. Maverick is designated the camp director and R. R. Rogers is Camp Commander. The camp census lists forty-three adults and thirty-two children and is a place where veterans and transients can obtain a meal and a place to sleep.

2009
Early morning worshipers preparing for Mass at San Fernando Cathedral hear a man shouting obscenities in Main Plaza. The agitated man runs through the plaza, picks up a rock and throws it at the head of the marble statue of St. Anthony de Padua (right), causing the head to detach from the body and fall to the ground. The head is being kept inside the cathedral. The agitated vandal gets away.

This press release was produced by the San Antonio Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.