Books
The Parker County Prairie Sketchbook has gone through three editions since it was first published in 1990, and it just keeps getting better and better. The current edition, published in 2006, includes 105 hand-lettered pages of interesting facts, history, archaeology, and nature, all illustrated with Homer Norris’s pen, both in black and white and color. It is my opinion that every family in east Parker County should have a copy of this book, so if you don’t have one yet, why not get one? We hope to have them for sale on this website before long, but until then, you can purchase a copy at the East Parker County Library.
The Aledo Country Sketchbook is a lesser-known work of Homer’s, which was published in 1987 by Annetta Valley Farm Press. It includes drawings of a number of historic buildings in and around Aledo, as well as artwork of some landmarks and common livestock of the area. Each drawing is accompanied by a description by Doyle Marshall, and the whole work is very interesting, if not quite as eye-catching as the Prairie Sketchbook.
In addition to the sketchbooks, Homer has also had a hand in illustrating some books that were written by his good friend and Annetta North resident Doyle Marshall. A Cry Unheard is another book that all Parker County citizens should read. Published by Annetta Valley Farm Press in 1990 (now out of print), it is “The Story of Indian Attacks in and Around Parker County, Texas,” a work about a turbulent time in our county’s history that few remember, made even more provoking by Homer’s maps and illustrations.
Published in 2002, also by Annetta Valley Farm Press, The School Under the Live Oak Tree is another of Doyle Marshall’s historical books. This one is about a school and settlement once located in the southeast corner of Parker County, and with its large illustrations by Homer Norris and Ken Fry it paints a vivid picture of what life on the frontier was like back then.