Certain events in history have changed the lives of Texans forever. The Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston is still the deadliest hurricane on record. On a day in Dallas, in 1963, a nation lost a president. In 1966, a shooter atop the UT Tower terrorized a city by committing the first mass murder on a college campus. And now Harvey. These defining moments are embedded in the memories of those who lived them, but for everyone else, we rely on the written record.
Years from now, folks who want to know what Harvey was like will refer to the issue of Texas Monthly hitting newsstands Wednesday. Tim Taliaferro, editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly, says that the magazine's October issue, “Unsinkable: How We Defied Hurricane Harvey,” strives to capture the reality of what Texans endured during and following one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to strike southeast Texas.
As Texas Monthly editors constructed the issue, Taliaferro says they came across more and more people eager to share moving stories about the strength and resilience of Texans.
“Before we knew it we had about 60 or 70 voices that was the raw material that we were working from,” Taliaferro says.
Two stories that stood out among dozens were of Holly Hartman, a high school journalism teacher, and a chef named James Cantor. Hartman’s story, one of desperation and loss, showcases the struggle that many in Houston, Rockport and beyond were forced to endure. Cantor’s, on the other hand, reminds us all of how much a simple good deed can do.
“I think we tried to capture both the devastation and the response to that,” Taliaferro says.
“You don’t want to make it all gloom and doom. There was a lot of that but there was also a lot of real heroism,” he says.
Written by Nahila Bonfiglio.
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