b'Pres. Teddy Roosevelt returns to San Antonio in 1905, where he formed the Rough Riders in 1898.SAVIOROFTHEALAMOClaraDriscollsThe convento property was turned over to the first public reference as an young adult was atState of Texas, which in turn, under the lead-age seventeen, upon her return from Europe inership of Gov. Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham 1898. Having settled in San Antonio, the youngandwiththeapprovalofthelegislature,as-Clara penned a letter to the San Antonio Ex- signed control of the entire Alamo property to pressnewspaperinwhichsheconveyedherthe Daughters of the Republic of Texas, who op-dismay at the dilapidated state of the Alamo anderated it as one of Americas most famous and surrounding former barracks structure, knownvisited historical sites for 110 years, until 2015.as the convento. For her effort, Clara Driscoll was hailed, the As the granddaughter of a Battle of San Jacin- Savior of the Alamo by the governor, in theClara Driscoll photographed in New to veteran, Clara encouraged leaders to respectpress and in Texas lore ever since. York City following the publication of the sanctity of the site by clearing the blightedher second novel, in 1906.groundsadjacenttotheoriginalmissionandTWO YEARS WRITING BRILLIANCEClaraBelow: Modern photo of the former letting the Alamo stand alone as a memorial toreturned to New York City to pursue her aspi- French finishing school attended by those who died fighting for Texas independence.rations as a writer, after her brief stint in SanClara, Chteau de Dieudonne.The City of San Antonio had purchased the icon- Antonio. In 1905 at age 22, she published The icmissionbuildingfromtheRomanCatholicGirl from La Gloria, a collection of semi-auto-Church fifteen years earlier, in 1883. The longbiographical short stories about her summers barracksbuildingadjacenttotheAlamowasgrowing up on family ranches in South Texas.owned by a wholesale grocery partnership whoThe following year, Clara Driscoll published her planned on building a hotel in its place. second novel, In the Shadow of the Alamo, the In 1903, five years after Clara composed herstory of a New York girl, Talcott, and her dra-inspiringletter,shewascontactedbyAdinamatically adventurous journey to San Antonio Emilia De Zavala, the granddaughter of the firstand the outlying countrysideagain, highly-au-vice president of the republic, inviting her totobiographical and wholly representative of her join the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, thepersonal identity.historical preservation society formed in 1891Clarasproud,Texasrootsperseveredasthe by the widow of the last president of the repub- defining theme of her work as a professional lic. Their goal was to raise funds to purchasewriter, although she enjoyed an education and the convento from the grocers, which Clara didrearing equal to royalty and the children of ty-with her own money, $75,000 or about $2.4coons, who were her classmates.million today. Also in 1906, at the tender age of 23, Clara wrote 104THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'